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ROUND THE STATES
New Delhi, 12 August 2009
Combating Price
Rise
CENTRE’S RED ALERT
TO STATES
By Insaf
Plans are being drawn up almost round the clock for getting
the States to combat on a war footing the grave crisis thrust on India by the
gathering drought which has hit 141 districts so far. The Centre has already
got the State Chief Secretaries to meet in New Delhi on agriculture and food. The Prime
Minister himself addressed the gathering and candidly stated that they needed
to prepare for a further rise in prices, thanks to a short fall of six million
hectares under paddy this Kharif owing to a deficient south-west monsoon. The
issue of drought and price rise of essentials will also be discussed by the
Chief Ministers at a meeting convened by the Prime Minister on August 17 to consider
national security. That is not all. This would be followed by a meeting of
State Fertilizer Secretaries on August 20 and of State Agriculture Ministers on
August 21 --- also in Delhi.
Ultimately, the States have to deliver. The Centre, at best, can only help and
assist.
The Prime Minister, for his part, has assured the States of
the Centre’s full support. He would like them to quickly send detailed
memorandum for assistance under the Calamity Relief Fund or the National Calamity
Contingency Fund. Surprisingly, no State has so far sent any memoranda. What is
more, funds to increase food production under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
and the Food Security Mission are also lying unutilized with some States. Dr.
Singh is clear that “in no case should we allow citizens to go hungry” and, if
need be, the Government would take strong measures and intervene in the market.
He expects the State Governments to intervene in procurement and “act against
the hoarders.” In fact, the Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, candidly
told the State Chief Secretaries: “Unless effective steps are taken to prevent
black marketing and hoarding we will not be able to control the price
situation.”
* * * *
Warning Against
H1N1
Simultaneously, a red alert has been sounded in the battle
against the Swine Flu pandemic. Union Minister of Health Ghulam Nabi Azad has
personally spoken to all the State
Chief Ministers and urged them to take swift action in controlling the virus.
Azad’s own Ministry has drawn up an integrated control and combat plan and set
up a crack team of bureaucrats pooled in from various Central ministries, which
is now visiting various States. Significantly, Azad has requested the CMs to
chair the first meeting of these crack teams so as to ensure on-the-spot
decisions. The teams will discuss with the States new guidelines issued by the
Centre with regard to capacity building issues such as identifying labs for
testing and hospitals in public and private sectors for screening, diagnosis
and treatment of H1N1 cases. Importantly, the States have been asked to draw
involve all local government establishments, medical colleges and institutes
and private set-ups. Nothing is to be left to chance.
* * * *
W Bengal’s Tandava Of Violence
Trouble has erupted once again between the Governor of West
Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, and the ruling Left Front. This follows a strongly-worded
statement by the Governor regretting “the tandava
of violence” West Bengal has been witnessing and appealing to political leaders
across the spectrum to prevail on their followers to “stamp out the fires”
breaking out across the State. “When the leading political formations of West Bengal have the same objective, why should violence
not abate,” he asked and added: “Because, I believe, those who can act are not
doing so.” Expectedly, the Left Front has taken strong exception to the
Governor’s statement asserting that his remarks have “pained” them and “left no
distinction between the killers and the killed”. It has accused some Union
Ministers of the Trinamool Congress to have encouraged this tandava and asked if the Governor has
sent any report to the Union Government on their involvement. Importantly, it
wants the constitutional head of the State to “exhibit more apparent neutrality
while making a public statement”.
* * * *
Bihar Is Hurt And Angry
Bihar, its popular Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, and other
non-Congress leaders are today terribly angry against the Centre for its
response to their demand for a special package for the uplift of the State and
rehabilitation of the people affected by last year’s devastating Kosi floods.
The Centre has so far cleared a “meagre” Rs.117 crores for the flood victims,
which is angrily dismissed as a “pittance” amounting to adding insult to
injury. In fact, a 34-member team comprising leaders from the Rashtriya Janata
Dal, the Janata Dal (United) and the BJP, jointly led by Lalu Prasad, Sharad
Yadav and Shahnawaz Husain called on the Prime Minister on the last day of
Parliament’s Budget Session to demand a fair deal. The team has asked for
immediate provision of Rs.14,000 crore as a rehabilitation package, which,
strangely enough, has not yet been announced by New Delhi despite several reminders. The PM
acknowledged that India’s
development potential could not be achieved without exploiting Bihar’s own potential and its inclusive growth. But the
question is: when will the Centre act?
* * * *
New Chapter In
South
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu opened during the week a new and
emotionally historic chapter in their mutual relations. Statesmanship triumphed
over linguistic parochialism and partisan politics. Sunday saw Tamil Nadu’s Chief
Minister M. Karunanidhi and Karnataka’s Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurapa unveil
in Bangalore
the statue of the much- revered Tamil poet-saint Tiruvalluvar who lived 2000
years ago. Four days later, both the Chief Ministers unveiled in Chennai the
statue of 16th century Kannada poet-saint Sarvagana. Tiruvalluvar’s
statue was installed 18 years ago in Bangalore
by the Tamil Sangam. However, it was never unveiled as riots involving Tamils
and the Kannadigas over the sharing of the Cauvery river waters between the two
States left many dead. The move to finally unveil the statue followed talks
between the two CMs. Karunanidhi said he had taken a vow 18 years ago to stay
away from Bangalore
until the Tiruvalluvar statue was unveiled. The two poet-saints, he said, “belong
to the whole of humanity.” Chimed in Yeddyurappa: “We are Indians first and
Kannadigas and Tamils next.”
* * * *
Sukhbir Back With A
Bang
Shiromani Akali Dal President, Sukhbir Singh Badal, is back
with a bang as the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab
after a gap of about 40 days. He was forced to step out of the Akali Dal-BJP
Alliance Government, led by his father, Prakash Singh Badal, on July 1 as he
was unable to fulfil the statutory requirement of getting himself elected to
the State Assembly within six months of being sworn in as the Deputy Chief
Minister. Now Sukhbir has not only got elected to the State Assembly from
Jalalabad in a byelection but done so with a record majority of 80,000 votes.
Importantly, Sukhbir is bursting with energy and bristling with ideas. He has
promised a new set of governance reforms in all departments related to public
dealing, close monitoring of all major ongoing projects, setting targets for
implementation of plans and fixing accountability of officers. His supporters
are keeping their fingers crossed. Will he fulfil his many promises? Time alone
will tell. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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