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Round The States
New Delhi, 20 July 2012
States Face Drought
WILL LORD INDRA
OBLIGE?
By Insaf
The monsoon continues to play hide and seek in various
States in India.
Till date the country has recorded a deficit rain fall of over 22 per cent and
rising. So far, the worst hit is Gujarat which
is staring at severe drought where deficit rain ranges between 66 per cent and
71 per cent. The Western half of Rajasthan, too, is suffering a similar plight
and the short-fall for the season is at 82 per cent. This is not all. Maharashtra,
has recorded 40 per cent deficit rain fall, so also Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana. All are in for severe famine. Interestingly,
battling its worst drought in decades, the Karnataka Government has not only
asked the Centre for Rs.2000 crore relief to off-set its distress but is all
set to spend Rs 17 crore for special prayers to appease the Gods. Will Lord
Indra oblige?
Undeniably, with a third of the country sitting on the
drought precipice this could result in untold miseries. Not only would the
farms sector be hit but cause acute distress to the labour class which would be
rendered jobless. Adding to the Northern
States, Punjab,
Haryana and Rajasthan’s rain woes, the Bhakra Beas Management Board has reduced
its water release by 10 per cent as the reservoirs are at “worrisome” low
levels. Coming as it does in the paddy sowing season, deficient
sowing is likely to result in a large dent in the country’s coarse cereal and
millet output, which could push up prices of manufactured food products, such
as biscuits. Notwithstanding, an optimistic Union Agriculture Minister Sharad
Pawar, fingers are crossed that the drought does not lead to acute famine and farmers
suicides.
* * * *
States To Increase
Power Prices
After the skyrocketing vegetable prices, States are in for
another shock. The Planning Commission has recommended an increase in power
tariffs in the coming years without any assurance of 24x7 electricity supply.
The reason put forth is that the distribution companies have not been able to
recover their cost of supply. The worst hit will be the aam aadmi in Bihar, Maharashtra
and Orissa where the cumulative losses of the State discoms have increased from
Rs.79,339 crores in March 2009 to Rs1,06,247 crores in 2010. In Uttarakhand,
the losses are as high as 73%, 43.45% in Jharkhand, 41% in Madhya Pradesh, 38%
in Chhattisgarh and 34% in UP. Four States, Himachal, Punjab,
Andhra and Tamil Nadu have bucked this trend by reducing their electricity losses.
It remains to be seen if this shock therapy will work?
* * * *
Eight States Say
Not To Child Marriage
Finally, some good news in eight States infamous for
maternal deaths and infant malnourishment. For the first time, under age
marriages, below 18 years, have decreased according to the first annual health
survey conducted by the census authorities. In 284 districts comprising
Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar,
Jharkhand and Odisha and Assam
have said a big No to child brides. While in 2005-06 two third of the girls
were married before they turned 18, in 2007-09 just one fifth marriages were
under age. In Jharkhand, the proportion went down from 60 per cent to 18 per
cent. At 22 per cent Rajasthan has the highest number of women under 18 getting
married. Indeed, the 8 States survey clearly underscores that the half of the
country’s population has grown up!
* * * *
UP Khaps Latest
Order
After Haryana it is the turn of UP Khap Panchayats to issue diktats. In Aasara village, the Khap has prohibited women below 40 years
from using cellphones or going to the market without a male member of the
family. More shocking, is that a group of women of three villages in
Muzaffarnagar district have not only endorsed the Khap’s decision but gone a step further ---- vowed to burn jeans
and tops at an all women Mahapanchayat.
Adding grist, the National Commission for Women Chairperson has asked girls to
dress carefully to avoid crimes read molestation, rape et al as witnessed in
Guwahati recently. Compounding matters, despite the Supreme Court asking the Centre
to bring in a law to rein in these “self-styled decision makers”, various Khaps in Haryana and UP continue
regardless. Primarily because, the political establishment is vary off taking
them head-on as these self-styled courts constitute captive vote banks. So much
for women empowerment?
* * * *
Haryana Ups Ante On
Nuclear Plant
Yesterday Tamil Nadu was up in arms against the Kudankulam
nuclear, today ditto the case with Haryana. Wherein, the proposed Gorakhpur nuclear power
plant in Fatehabad district is being opposed by former Chief Minister
Chautala’s INLD along-with Kuldeep Bishnoi’s fledging Haryana Janhit Congress.
Both have come out in support of farmers who are against the State Government
acquiring 1500 acres of lands in the district and have threatened to start a jail bharo campaign. Pertinently, while
farmers had readily agreed to compensation for giving their land for setting up
Special Economic Zones they have refused the Government’s offer of Rs.35 lakhs
per acre for the plant. All eyes are on how Chief Minister Hooda douses the
nuclear flames.
* * * *
Odisha Shuts Nine
Coal Mines
On the heels of Karnataka and Goa,
Odisha has recommended shutting down closure of nine coal mines. According to
the State’s Forest Department, these mines should have been closed last year
but continued to operate without any impunity. Recall, the Supreme Court
appointed Central Empower Committee which probed allegations over forest law
violations in the multi-crore mining scam in Odisha two years ago had zeroes in
on a large number of mines operating without requisite approvals under the
Forest Conservation Act. Adding impetus to this closure, are investigations
being carried out in the Coalgate scandal which has resulted in a loss of lakhs
of crores to the national exchequer. Better late than never! ----- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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