Round The States

New Delhi, 2 June 2011

Immunisation Programme

STATES ABYSMAL RECORD

By Insaf

All is not well with the country’s immunization programme in majority of the States. As a result, the Centre has decided to monitor its operation. The States will now have to report the success of their immunization project to the Union Health Ministry. This follows newspaper reports of the abysmal immunization programme undertaken by the States, wherein last year alone 128 children died after vaccination. Of these deaths, 28 were reported in Maharashtra, 18 in Uttar Pradesh and 11 in Andhra Pradesh. This is not all. The Ministry will soon have a system in place to track and verify children who are vaccinated across the States. To ensure that the State Government’s fall in line they now have to send data of not only vaccinated children but also the mothers’ names, addresses and phone numbers. A call centre to verify the same is also on the anvil. Most scandalously, it was found that the monies sent by the Centre were not spent on the immunization programme. It remains to be seen whether this monitoring system will help bring down India’s appalling infant mortality rate.

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Assam’s Hangmen Shortage

Assam’s convicts on the death row have got a breather. This, despite their mercy petitions being turned down by President Pratibha Patil. It so happens that there is an acute shortage of hangmen in the State. The last time a man was hanged in Assam was over two decades ago in 1990. Even then the hangman had to be brought from Uttar Pradesh as the North Eastern State is devoid of such persons.  Presently, the Gogoi Government has now written to neighbouring West Bengal authorities and other States to find out if they can oblige. In the meantime, in Punjab the Congress and the Akali Dal are on the same side of the coin demanding the PM’s intervention in awarding a life term to Khalistan militant Bhullar instead of the death penalty. Clearly, both the Parties intend milking this issue in the next Assembly elections due in 2012.  

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Mizoram’s Border Scam

Mizoram’s border management project has hit a shocking road block. Recently, the Comptroller & Auditor General has unearthed a major scam in this project, which is designed to reach development in India’s border with Bangladesh & Myanmar. Scandalously, over Rs 46.76 crore was withdrawn from the treasury against false bills without even commencement of work between 2005 and 2010 -- during the Mizo National Front and Congress regimes. Predictable was the State Government’s response: “We have not studied the CAG report so far!” Importantly, the funds for development programmes in the border areas are provided as special Central assistance on a 100 per cent grant basis. These are primarily meant to improve life in inhospitable terrains and to check local support for insurgent groups and foreign spies. With the ISI active in Bangladesh along with its gun runners, the Centre had hoped the project would help scale down insurgency. Instead the funds have been pocketed by the bureaucrat-private suppliers’ nexus. How then will our borders be safe?   

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Solar Energy In Naxal States

Solar energy is being viewed as a panacea to the villagers in Maoist-hit States. With its ding-dong battle with the Maoists making no headway, the Centre proposes to take the help of the Union Renewable Energy Ministry to ease the villagers’ misery at least on one front. It proposes to light up villages with solar power as the ‘red brigade’ has successfully been destroying transmission towers in rural areas. The project is to be taken up in over 31 revenue villages of 60 districts and will be implemented under the remote village electrification plan. All villages would be provided with 50 solar lanterns and chargers at a subsidy of 90 per cent. Shockingly, three States — Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa, where many of such villages lie, still grope in the darkness. Along with this nearly 2,000 mobile towers are to be set up in nine Left-wing districts. Fingers are crossed that this plan will soften the blow of the dreaded Maoists attacks in these districts. 

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Farmers Agitate In 7 States 

Farmers in the country’s seven Eastern States are unhappy. As the Centre's initiative to extend green revolution to them vis-à-vis a minimum support price (MSP) for paddy and wheat has come a cropper.  Thanks to the respective State Governments, namely West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Assam refusing to offer the procurement price to the farmers. To get the de-faulting States to agree, the Union Agriculture Ministry intends reasoning and hopes better sense prevails and the farmers get their dues. It has decided to hold a meeting with the ministries of food, water resources, power and financial services to resolve the problem. Else it would upset the apple-cart of the country's overall food production.

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Gujarat Governor Returns Bill

On the heels of Karnataka Governor, now it is the turn of his counterpart in Gujarat to turn the heat on the Narendra Modi led-BJP Government in the State. The Governor, Kamla Beniwal has returned the Gujarat Lokayukta Bill passed by the Assembly during the last Budget session. Recall, the Bill was introduced to amend Section 2 of the Lokayukta Act 1986 to bring the office bearers of local bodies under the ambit of the Lokayukta. At present, only the Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Minister, Ministers and Chairman of Corporations, Universities Vice Chancellors and public servants come under its purview. The Governor’s reason: The amendment would divert the purpose of the original Act which was to be a watchdog on the highest Constitutional public servants of the State. By adding the office bearers from panchayats and municipalities the Lokayukta would be unable to concentrate on his work. This is not all. Governor is reportedly sitting on five other Bills including the Gujarat Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Bill, 2011. All eyes are on the Governor’s next move.

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J&K’s World Record

Strife-torn Kashmir is to notch up a world record. The highest railway bridge, five times the height of Delhi’s Qutub Minar and 35 m taller than Paris’ Eiffel Tower is soon to come up over the Chenab River in the Kashmir Valley. Costing Rs 5000 crore, the bridge will be constructed by the Konkan Railway Corporation, which is eager to do one better than France’s Tang river bridge, so far the world’s tallest bridge.  At the same time, considering the inaccessible terrain of the Himalayas, and the threat of terrorists, the Government is leaving nothing to chance and has deployed Railway Police Protection Force to provide security to engineers and workers on the site. Fortunately, so far only two incidents of terrorists targeting the project have been unearthed. There is no gainsaying that the Government hopes that this will bridge the hearts and minds of the misled youth and separatists in the troubled State. ----- INFA

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