Open Forum

New Delhi, 23 July 2008

Tackling Corruption

POLITICAL WILL IMPERATIVE

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

A significant portion of the people living below the poverty line (BPL) in India paid bribes to access healthcare, education and water, among other facilities. This was the startling findings of a joint study carried out by Transparency International (TI) and the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) in 2007 which estimated that one-third of the BPL households paid Rs 900 million as bribes in the year for availing one or more of the 11 public services covered in the survey.

The study revealed that the police topped the chart in corruption in these 11 public services. Of the 5.6 million BPL households that interacted with the police, a whopping 2.5 million paid Rs 2150 million as bribe for some work or the other and most of them went to the police station for a simple registration of a complaint. Land records and registration services came second in terms of monetary contribution as nearly 3.5 million BPL households paid Rs 1224 million as bribe to get their work done.   

The study also found out that the public distribution system (PDS) was not readily available as 5.36 million BPL households had to pay a bribe (or use a contact) to avail services that were meant for them. A majority said they had bribed officials or staff to gat a ration card. Similarly 4 million BPL households had to bribe hospital staff to get service like getting admission, getting a bed, diagnostic services and getting an OPD card.  

Apart from this study, another startling report last year found that foodgrains worth Rs 31,500 crores had been siphoned off the PDS. Bluntly, people living below the poverty line were estimated to have been cheated 53 per cent of the wheat and 39 per cent of the rice the State had procured for them. It clearly revealed that the PDS has become a state-sponsored largesse for black marketeers, a lot that includes babus, ration shop owners and various other people, including political leaders and police officials.

These revelations clearly point to the exploitation of the impoverished and backward sections of society as also the poor governance of our socio-political system which breeds corruption. Obviously the lack of education and awareness may have allowed such wanton corruption to thrive. But it is indeed tragic that at such a juncture when the country is moving forward, such high levels of corruption should retard the development process.

Moreover in a country like ours which talks of high ethical standards, it is indeed strange that corruption has penetrated almost all sections of society, both in rural and urban areas, with the Government remaining virtually a silent spectator.

In fact, cases of corruption are being flashed in the media almost everyday. The corruption of the police force, from the lowest to the highest levels, is well known and the Government’s initiative in tackling this has not been successful in spite of all talks of reform. This is more pronounced in the Hindi belt such as Bihar, U.P., Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh etc. where money power rules over everything.

The unethical practices and the decline in moral standards have corrupted a greed-based society and this is not limited to police and administrative officials but also percolated to educational institutions. The former Vice Chancellors of Himachal Pradesh, Utkal and Viswa Bharati Universities were implicated on charges of corruption while the Bihar universities have the dubious distinction of awarding fake degrees. It has been estimated that more than 10,000 persons from Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh obtained such post graduate degrees.

Even the armed forces have lost credibility owing to widespread corruption in their ranks. Also illegal gratification by some judges has had a damaging effect on the judiciary, which even a few years back was not known.

It is indeed unfortunate that there is hardly any deterrent effect on corrupt officials as the process of conviction is slow and has not made an impact. Besides, corrupt officials go scott free as sometimes they have links at the highest levels and manage to evade punishment. Consequently, corruption has been flourishing with more and more instances coming to light. The major problem in controlling corruption is because political leaders, who profess probity in public life and proclaim to curb corruption, are not serious in this regard. Special mention may be made in this regard to police officials who work hand-in-glove with political leaders to aid and abet corruption.

Drastic changes and reforms are imperative to weed out unethical professionals and corrupt practices from the administration, including the police force, academic and public institutions. These should include speeding up conviction of corrupt officials, stringent punishment and stoppage of promotion (for at least 5 to 10 years) for all Government officials, crucial postings for clean officials, specially those in the police, (and not on considerations of closeness with political leaders), removal of all corrupt officials from procurement/purchase in Government offices, hospitals, police forces etc. it is also necessary to give more power and teeth to the CBI, enhancing its strength and empowering it to make checks on hospitals, State police stations and wherever necessary suo motu.    

With the introduction of the Right to Information Act (RTI), the Government has tried to bring in some measure of transparency and accountability in the administrative process. But most people do not know to make use of the RTI for which there is need to generate awareness campaigns at the district and block levels by the Government in collaboration with NGOs and CBOs.

The voluntary organizations, which are funded for different projects, should also be given money for projects related to anti-corruption campaigns, specially in the rural areas, jointly with the panchayats and police, if necessary, and awarded for highlighting cases of corruption.  

The Prime Minister and the former President, Abdul Kalam have been talking of corruption as a major challenge before the Government. A few months ago, Manmohan Singh told the conference of Chief Ministers and High Court Chief Justices, “apart from pendency and delayed justice, corruption is another challenge we face both in Government and the judiciary.” The agenda paper at the conference cited the mountain of pending corruption cases against Government officials and stressed the need for special courts for their speedy disposal.

A suggestion regarding nyayalayas proposed that trial courts at the intermediate panchayat level would ease the load by dealing with simple civil and criminal cases, specially those relating to corruption. Over 5000 such courts are proposed to be established and they would dispense justice within 90 days but the Bill is yet to be passed.

Thus, such innovative steps need to be taken without further delay if corruption in public life has to be tackled effectively. Curbing corruption can only become a reality if the corrupt are brought to book and punishment awarded at the earliest. This can only mitigate the sufferings of the poor and impoverished sections of society who happen to be the worst sufferers of a corrupt system.

It is not difficult to visualize a corruption-free society but for this to fructify, efforts have to be made by all sections of society to inculcate moral values in our life and shun materialistic standards and practices. But more than anything else political will at the highest level is imperative.---- INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)

Open Forum

New Delhi, 18 July 2008

Political Confusion in Delhi

HAS CONGRESS WRITTEN OF FUTURE?

By T.D. Jagadesan

As the Communist Party (M)-led Left drives the knife deeper and deeper into the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre, especially after the Karnataka electorate gave no quarter to any Left Party and foiled the Congress’s ambition to ride back to power in that State, Congressmen are stated to be in a penitent and retrospective mood.

The confusion in the ruling party at the Centre is magnified by the crisis of inflation that has already hit growth in the last two quarters and is all set to intensify if experts are to be believed.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, being an economist of repute, should know in depth what growth and inflation mean. He assures the country that his Government would ride both the horses at the same time. He told a recent business chamber (Assocham) meeting: “our Government is focused on reversing the recent surge in headline inflation rates. It has been our endeavour to tame inflationary expectations without hurting the rhythm of the growth process and also to protect the weaker sections against rising prices.”

Even as Dr. Singh was announcing this “endeavour” the inflation rate crossed the 8% barrier and manufacturing growth slumped once again. His reply to this situation is: “I am confident that the mix of policies we have adopted will yield results once the impact of a normal monsoon is felt.” That of course is a clever political statement as it leaves a door open if the policy mix does not work: a bad monsoon.

For the time being, let us give Manmohan Singh full marks for his policy mix. What is the policy mix he has in mind? He says it would be growth-oriented. He rules out going back to the era of blind controls. At the same time, we have to have the fiscal means to protect the poor from the adverse impact of inflation.

All right, agreed. We need not even dispute his contention that on oil prices, the “protection” offered to the people by raising the prices only marginally “cannot continue for ever.”

The question should be: What prevents the Centre from implementing this “policy mix”? Regarding the “key priority areas” (in his own words) “of infrastructure, agriculture and education,” his Minister in charge of road building is busy changing the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Chief every six months because, according to reports, the official selected each time fails to satisfy the Minister’s demands.

Meanwhile, the rollout of the great projects that the NDA launched like the Golden Quadrilateral has decelerated. The Indian Express reported on May 30: “Last year, the national highway projects crawled the slowest ever.” The Minister concerned at the same time is very much concerned with pushing the “infrastructure” for an industrial unit set up by his son as was revealed in the last days of the last session of Parliament.

As for education, the Minister in charge is all focused not so much on expansion etc., but on pushing his idea of quotas. Among those who are chafing over the politicization of inclusive growth are his own colleagues who think that he is targeting the Prime Minister. All reports on recent Cabinet meetings and on the Congress leadership consultations have revealed this attempt to politicize the quota issue.

The higher educational institutions are groaning under the Arjun Singh effect as the senior Congressman from Madhya Pradesh is trying to hijack the OBC quota issue to preen his own nest and promote the Prime Ministerial candidate-in-waiting in the Congress Party. It appears that only the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister are talking of what Manmohan Singh described as “open economies and open societies functioning within consensually arrived at rules of the game.”

Nobody else in their Party was ever heard of pushing the envelope on economic reforms that are pending for several years now. For instance, the ones on banking, insurance and power. Even the attempt to disinvest Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) without losing Government control over them is blocked by some within the UPA and mostly by the Left that till yesterday had the final say on economic reforms.

Interestingly, the Left is no wiser. It is riven with dissensions as reality hits it on both sides. In the Left-ruled West Bengal the recent upsets the Marxists suffered in the panchayat elections have hit the “reformist” Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya hard. He had to announce that there was no going back on industrialization after several of his Partymen questioned the wisdom of the industrialization policy he has been pushing through against much opposition from within and without.

No Party in the past has written out its own death warrant as the Congress is apparently doing now with the Left achieving its political objective of breaking the Congress hold on the country and the latter kowtowing to it. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Events & Issues

New Delhi, 15 July 2008

N-Deal & Arushi Case

IS THIS ALL THAT MATTERS? 

By Dr. Syed Ali Mujtaba

In New Delhi there are two dramas that are currently being staged. One is the nuclear deal and the second is the twin murder mystery that rocked the neighbourhood of the national capital recently. Thanks to the national media, the entire country is forced to follow the two dramas, scene by scene, frame by frame. It seems both the media and the Government are consciously engaged in diverting the people’s attention from the prices of essential commodities, hitting the roof.

As far as the nuke deal is concerned it is plain and simple politics. The ruling Congress which is piloting the nuclear civil deal with the US is at loggerheads with its own allies; the Left, who are oppose to the deal. By pulling out of the government, the Left has reduced the ruling alliance into a minority. The Congress, the dominant partner in the UPA, instead of seeking truce with its Left allies, is hobnobbing with other political parties to muster political majority. It is resorting to horse trading to reach the magical figure of 272 to pass the floor test in the Lok Sabha.

There seems to be a sense of desperation in the current dispensation, which is keen to override the domestic agenda for foreign policy considerations. This political wisdom is logic of a rare kind. There are so many issues that are left out hanging due to lack of consensus and instead the Government is going ahead with other issues. However, the desperation to clear the N-deal is something unprecedented -- as if the national existence would fall into jeopardy if the deal doesn’t go through at the stipulated time. This is simply intriguing and as rightly commented “what‘s the deal behind the deal?” 

However, more than the nuke-deal, it’s the Arushi-Hemraj murder mystery case that’s gathering a huge TRP rating on the TV channels. Even though it doesn't concern the common man, the TV channels have been selling this story like a hot potato for two months now. The entire country is forced to solve the murder mystery of a minor girl Arushi Talwar and a domestic help Hemraj, committed at home in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.  

The TV channels sought to force down throats a story that when Arushi’s father, Talwar found his daughter in objectionable situation with Hemraj, he killed the two in a fit of rage. A simple honour killing case which leaves many a question unanswered. Can a father kill his own daughter? If the father is the killer, could the mother remain silent? Is she a mother first or a wife first?

The channels, conducting a media trial on the TV screen have shown no respect to the parents, the mental agony they might have been undergoing due the murder of their daughter. Imagine, had the murder suspect been some political bigwig, could the same channels have been able to sell this story for two months uninterrupted? Can one even think how many TV channels would have been up in flames by now? Poor Mr Talwar, who is neither a Ram Sevak nor a Shiv Sainik, is in no position to gather a mob to silence the canard on the TV and thus has little option but to quietly suffer the humiliation.

The big question is who has given a license to the TV channels to conduct such media trials and play with the sentiments of an individual? Can channels be pulled up for such crimes? Or will this become an order of the day, carried forward in the name of providing entertainment? 

If the TV channels are going overboard, the investigating agencies have been equally callous in handling this case. Willy-nilly the premier investigative agency, the CBI too fell prey to the concocted story of honour killings. Talwar was kept in confinement for 50 days to be released on bail when no evidence could be mustered against him. The father was innocent and the crime committed by his staff.   

However, this case brings out some very hard questions to which the people of the country may like to have answers.  Is every Indian guilty till the police exonerate him/ her of the charges? Can the investigative agencies have such sweeping powers that it can detain a person for indefinite time on mere grounds of suspicion? Can it retrieve its action without any accountability? Who will compensate the person for the harrowing and tarnished moments that comes with such arrest?

I am aware of a case where a person was picked up and had to languish in jail for 12 years till he was proven innocent. This case is of Kolkata, where a bomb blast had taken place some time in the 70s. The guy in question who was in his 20’s then was having his hair cut in a barber’s shop when the blast took place. The police who came looking for the suspect, found the identity of this guy (wearing a sleeveless singlet and a technicolor lungi) similar to what they had imagined and so simply picked him up.

His mother, who lived in a remote village in Bihar could hardly afford any money to travel to Kolkatta to fight his son’s case. Unfortunately, there were not many human rights’ activists then who may have taken up this case. The man spent 12 years in jail for a crime that he never committed. His name is Bharati, and I know him well. 

To cut a long story short, Union Minister Renuka Choowdhary, who has spoken on the Arushi Talwar murder case and has advised the father to sue the Uttar Pradesh police for tarnishing his image. Why not the honourable minister herself files a public interest litigation case against the UP police, the CBI and the TV channels for misrepresentation of facts in this case? Where are the professional PIL petitioners, who at the slightest pretext are ready to file one more plea, adding to the court’s litigations? Why don’t they come out and fight against such injustices? Well, to give advice is easy but to fight for a cause very difficult. Time, we all made a contribution to change things around. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

People & Their Problems

New Delhi, 18 July 2008

Climate Change Plan

ENERGY EFFICIENT LIVING VITAL

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

Climate change is no longer a distant scientific prognosis but has become a reality today. The anthropogenic increases in emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere have steadily resulted in a change and rise in the Earth’s temperature. Apart from the melting glaciers and ice-caps, climate change has had a powerful effect on our lives. With floods inundating Mumbai streets or some other part of the country every year, the monsoon-causing dengue outbreaks in Delhi each year and heat waves becoming a part of Chennai life, environmental changes are touching our lives every day.  

It is in this perspective that the relevance of the country’s National Action Plan on Climate Change has to be seen as a step in the right direction as energy-efficient living has become imperative today. “Our vision is to make India’s economic development energy efficient”, the Prime Minister declared releasing the document. This is expected to spur action by different arms of the Government, sections of the industry and eventually by all stakeholders in society. The Plan makes it clear that steps are part of an overall strategy to “promote development objectives while also yielding co-benefits of addressing climate change effectively”. 

The Action Plan aims to boost solar power generation in the country besides launching 7 other programmes in mission mode towards greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation to inevitable climate change. A national solar energy mission would promote expansion of solar-powered electricity and fund research projects specifically aimed at developing “disruptive innovations” that would help solar energy compete with fossil fuels. The mission is also expected to increase local photo-voltaic productions to a level of 1000MW per annum as early as possible though this may take some time to actually become a reality. 

Both China and India have come under growing pressure to take measures to reduce future emissions and adoption of cleaner technologies and this has been envisaged in the Action Plan. However, it needs to be pointed out here that richer and more polluting nations like the US with a per capita emission figure of 20.1, European Union 9.40 and Japan 9.87 ought to implement the Kyoto Protocol reduction targets before expecting developing countries to make parallel commitments. Besides, the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 and discussions are already underway to finalize another more comprehensive agreement by the end of next year. 

Also, like China, India has stuck to its official position of not setting itself any CO2 emission reduction targets. China is currently implementing the ‘20% Target’ which aims to cut the amount of energy consumed per dollar of economic output by 20% within the next two years. This is expected to cut 1.5b tonnes carbon dioxide emissions annually by 2010 and removing 234 large (1000MW) old coal-fired power plants. Similarly, India has rightly decided to formulate an Action Plan and take some measures in this regard.

Meanwhile at the G-8 conference held Japan recently, leaders of the world’s richest nations pledged “to move towards a low carbon society” and endorsed the idea of cutting greenhouse gas emission (GHG) in half by 2050. However, they did not specify whether the starting point would be current levels or 1990 levels and refused to set a short-term target for reducing the gases, though climate change ‘is one of the great global challenges of our time”. The developing countries (G-5) in a statement released at the Summit pointed out that the developed countries take the lead in achieving ambitious and absolute GHG emissions reduction. The G-5 said the developed countries should aim at emission cuts of 25 to 40% of the 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 to 95% by 2050.  

Steps to combat global warming has become imperative today as various scientific studies have concluded the adverse effects of temperature increase on human life and its prosperity. For example, an impact assessment on the hydrology of Indian rivers has found out that conditions may deteriorate in terms of severity of droughts and floods in several parts of the country. Kutch and Saurashtra which occupies about one-fourth of the area of Gujarat and 60% of Rajasthan would face acute water shortage conditions. Even the Cauvery and Ganga would experience seasonal (or regular) water-stressed conditions while Godavari and Mahanadi are predicted to face flood conditions. Water scarcity may become a reality in most parts of the country in the not-too-distant future.

The other important aspect of climate change and increased precipitation will be on agricultural productivity. While in some regions, the increase in local mean temperature of up to 1-3 degrees C may increase production, there is expected to be a fall in crop yields of as much as 25% as the tropics would be greatly affected.

A study done in 2001 projected that with 2 degrees C increase in temperature and 7% increase in precipitation, the net revenue of the country would decline by 8.4%. Losses expected from climate change on agriculture would be more. This would be due to warmer conditions that the farmers face under the present climatic conditions, specially the small and marginal farmers with less land holding.

The impact on coastal areas would come from the rise in sea level and the possibility of more storms. The most important concern is the future of the low-lying delta regions, particularly in the Ganges in the eastern part of the country. A one metre sea level rise would inundate up to 30,000 sq km in Bangladesh and more than 5000 sq km in India, displacing millions of coastal dwellers. Besides, losing space, coastal areas would be adversely affected by salt water intrusion into groundwater aquifers and stronger storm surges.

Climate change will also lead to an increase in the incidence of diseases as it affects the breeding environment of disease vectors. In India (and in most tropical countries), the rise in temperature is expected to spread malaria endemic in a much larger area while water scarcity (coupled with lack of sanitation) may lead to an increase in water-borne diseases. The nutrition status may also be affected as warming may affect crop productivity because of its location.

A recent report has found that India would overtake the US as the second largest emitter of carbon from energy use by 2050 after China. “Together these two emerging giants are projected to account for around 45% of global carbon emissions from energy by 2050 compared with only around 20% of the global trade for the US and the EUcombined”, the report predicted.

Managing climate change involves exhaustive exploration and discovery of organizational potential, business processes and options for GHG abatement through research and development. Adoption of the right strategy for mitigating long-term climate change risks need to be taken immediately. While renewable energy resources have to be harnessed with appropriate technology on a time-bound basis, control of emissions have also to be taken up in an effective manner. We need to integrate ‘carbon risk and opportunity’ into a company’s core strategy framework for navigating it towards a new sustainable growth horizon.

Clearly, the National Environment Policy 2006 and the National Action Plan on Climate Change 2008 should help the country take the proper steps towards climate change mitigation strategies. We need to identify and check climate change impacts on human health, water resources, coastal areas and agriculture and formulate programmes and strategies for effective promotion and implementation in areas like watershed management and rainwater harvesting, coastal zone planning and regulation, agricultural technologies and practices and health programmes.     

The key to reduce GHG lies in expanding renewable energy like solar and wind power and reducing dependence on carbon-laden fossil fuels through optimum energy efficiency. Sadly, the Action Plan does not specify regulatory enforcement of energy efficiency standards on any industry, except automobiles though there has been a shift in approach wherein growth is contemplated through renewable energy. In fact, the process has already started and even private firms are being encouraged to set up solar, hydro and wind-based power plants.

Further, India has plans to have 15% electricity from renewable resources by 2020 and experts believe it would save 10,000 MW by 2012. If proper steps are taken at this point of time and renewable energy exploited in a big way, the emission increase projections of the country in the coming years might be controlled to a considerable extent. ---INFA     

    (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)