Round The States

New Delhi, 26 May 2011

Bloody May

Naxal Menace Bares Fangs

By Insaf

It has been a bloody May in Naxal-prone States -- Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand. Shockingly, 50 lives have been lost since 5 May in Chhattisgarh alone. Thirty-three of those killed have been security personnel and the rest civilians. Scattered across disparate districts, and tucked away from the national limelight, these deaths are symptomatic of the persistent insurgency engulfing Chhattisgarh from all four sides. In Dantewada district, the Maoists most-intense battle ground, 17 CRPF jawans have been killed in landmine blasts. Followed by violence ricocheting from the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border district of Raipur in a dense forest. In Jharkhand, six trucks carrying food grains from UP and Bihar for the tribal areas in the State were ransacked by the Maoists in the naxal-affected Palamu district on Thursday last. Around 40 Maoists armed with firearms intercepted the vehicles, asked the drivers, cleaners and passengers to get off before setting the vehicles ablaze.

In Orissa, 10 police personnel including an Additional SP were killed on Wednesday last close to the inter-State border between Chhattisgarh and Orissa. Another senior police officer has been abducted and there is no clue of his whereabouts. Coming on the heels of the abduction and release of a District Magistrate of Malkangiri, these incidents underscore that the State Government has neither learnt any lessons in tackling the Maoists insurgency nor has it come out with a policy to ensure the safety of its people. In fact, Sunabeda sanctuary, spread over 600 sq km, is reported to have become a safe heaven for the Maoists over the past several years. Bordering Chhattisgarh, the sanctuary is used by the Maoists to train their cadres. Tragically, the Centre continues to be clueless about how to tackle this problem, which has become the numero uno issue in the country. A recent poll showcased that a majority of Indians treat this as the biggest menace.

*                                               *                                   *                                               *

Mamata’s Land New Policy

West Bengal’s new Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is all set to review land allotments made by the Left Government since 1991. The first on the block is returning 400 acres to farmers in Singur. Recall, the Trinamool Chief’s campaign in Singur had not only got the Tata’s to abandon their car project but had catapulted her to national fame resulting in her recent historic win. Not only that. She has asked for a status paper on all industrial projects approved and MoUs signed over the past decade, details of land allotted in these cases viz investment data and employment potential. It remains to be seen whether she will take the State back to its pre-industrialisation era or carry forward the policy of her predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who had notched up West Bengal as the fourth industrialised State in the country following Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.  

*                                               *                                   *                                               *

Maharashtra Most Corrupt

With corruption being the flavour of the season, two States -- Maharashtra and Rajasthan have earned notoriety. According to the National Crime Record Bureau, Maharashtra registered 4,566 corruption cases followed by Rajasthan with 3,370 and Orissa with 2957. Most scandalously, Maharashtra which averaged 450 new complaints every year has an average conviction rate of a mere 27 per cent, one of the lowest in the country. Notwithstanding, that it has the highest disposal rate. It comes as no surprise that bureaucrats top the corruption list, yet their conviction rate leaves much to be desired. The value of property seized from them is low—much less than the property value seized in Orissa, Karnataka, Bihar and Andhra. Astonishingly, the highest conviction rate is in Bihar followed by UP. Indeed, corruption no longer seems to pay dividends.

*                                               *                                   *                                               *

Punjab-Haryana Fight

A battle royal is brewing between Punjab and Haryana over the upcoming international airport at Chandigarh, reminiscent of the cat fight over the Union Territory of Chandigarh, some years back. At the heart of this latest friction are two issues: the naming of the new airport, and the two new approach roads that are being constructed by the Punjab government. A worried Haryana top brass is arguing that the manner in which both these issues are being handled will tilt the balance, making the new airport seem a “Punjab airport”. Given that it holds an equal 24.5 per cent stake in the project, this is not acceptable to Haryana which wants it to be called simply as Chandigarh International Airport. Both States seems to forget the famous Shakespeare adage: what’s in a name? A rose would smell as sweet if called something else.

*                                               *                                   *                                               *

Bihar’s Invoking Bihar’s Pride

Bihar’s Chief Minister is now busy instilling a sense of pride among his people. Specially, the Dalits in the 2,6000 Scheduled Caste villages across the State, whereby it has become mandatory to hoist the national flag on Independence Day, Republic Day and Bihar Divas. Asserted Nitish Kumar: “We need to educate the people about our history and heritage.” Needless to say the move is to consolidate his hold over the Dalit constituency as well as to popularize the latest Right to Service Guarantee Act, under which a Government servant has to provide his or her services within a time frame viz-a-viz getting a BPL card, I-card and driving licence. Clearly giving a leg up to empowering people by giving them a new effective powerful tool in the hands of people!

*                                               *                                   *                                               *

Mayawati Easy On Acquisition

The UP Chief Minister Mayawati is busy grappling with the land acquisition controversy, which caught her Government napping when Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi took up the baton for the farmers of Bhatta Parsaul village. Following the farmers of Greater Noida villages’ outright rejection of the new land compensation rate, the Dalit Messiah has decided to trespass on further land acquisition carefully. As a first measure, the State Government has denotified about 500 acres of agriculture land out of a total 800 from the Maitraiya Buddha project in Kushinagar district, famous as a Buddhist pilgrimage. The centre piece was supposed to be a giant 500 ft sitting Buddha statue, the largest in the world. All eyes are now riveted on Mayawati’s next move.

*                                               *                                   *                                               *

Goa language Tussle

Sun-kissed Goa is in the throes of a language tussle. There is a rising demand that English along with regional languages such as Konkani or Marathi be permitted as the medium of instruction at the primary level for aided schools. This has sharply divided the ruling Congress and its coalition partners. While the MGP opposes any change in the policy of teaching in Konkani and Marathi, the Congress wants English to be included as the medium of instruction at the primary school level. Recall, the problem has its genesis in the backdrop of the implementation of the Right to Education Act, which envisions English as the medium of instruction.  ABC or Marathi, how does it matter? Education is education. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)