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Bus link can help Bihar suspense |
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Mismanagement of PSUs Action must on CAG reports The latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has, once again, exposed how badly managed government corporations and undertakings in Punjab are. What can be more damning than the revelation that some of them have repeated the mistakes pointed out in previous reports.
Marching together-I
Wit, or wisdom?
Harvesting water for growth Mugabe — victorious but isolated Delhi Durbar
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Bus link can help The Muzaffarabad-bound bus that will be flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Srinagar on Thursday will take the efforts for peace between India and Pakistan forward. It can not only unite the families divided by history and enable them to share their joys and sorrows, but also help in diminishing hatred between the two neighbours. This symbolic triumph of love over hatred, despite heavy odds, is an occasion that calls for some celebration on both sides of the political divide. The peace constituency is bound to expand considerably. This is, however, not to the liking of those who have a vested interest in creating Indo-Pak tension. That is why these elements — terrorists, to be precise — are upset over the reopening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus route. They have threatened to eliminate those using the new bus service. The terrorists’ threat, however, should be treated as an act of desperation. Their support base has dwindled. They are feeling uneasy with India and Pakistan marching ahead on the road to peace. Both countries are confident that nothing will happen to the passengers who have already reached Srinagar, ignoring the terrorists’ rhetoric to turn the bus into a moving “coffin”. The arrangements made for the safety of the travellers may have to be tightened to give a feeling of assurance to them. It is, however, not fair on the part of Pakistan to disallow the bus facility to certain categories like politicians and journalists. They too have a right to travel. If they can be allowed to cross the Wagah border, why should they be prevented from travelling to the other side of Kashmir by using the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route? Plenty of emotion has been invested in the new bus service. It is, however, imprudent to think that it will mean an end to all problems between the two countries. The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus link opens up a closed border, but the two countries have to travel a long distance before an era of peace and friendship really dawns on the subcontinent. A single incident of violence can cause a setback to the peace process which is still fragile. |
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Bihar suspense Even a month after the Rabri Devi government was voted out, no successor seems to be in sight. Hectic parleys are going on, but there is no consensus on the horizon. The verdict is fractured in such a hopeless manner that no stable government is possible till the major parties bring about a radical change in their stand. LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan often changes his stand, but even that does not help matters because he again resiles from it soon enough. Till recently he had no objection to the BJP offering outside support to a non-RJD government, but has now switched back to the hardened position that his party will have no truck with either the BJP or the RJD. That also puts paid to the hopes of Janata Dal (U) leader Nitish Kumar to cobble together a majority. Mr Paswan has apparently gone back under the UPA umbrella, but the communists have made it plain that they don’t want him to be hunting with the Congress in Delhi and running with the BJP in Patna. Mr Paswan’s position is unenviable indeed. Whichever way he jumps, it will appear to be an opportunistic move. Mr Nitish Kumar may even agree to dump the BJP if only that will help him in coming to power but the respective strength of parties is such that even that will not help in forming a government. If the six parties on whose support he is banking (Paswan’s LJP, the CPM, the Samajwadi Party, the NCP, the CPI and the BSP) and the Independents do come together for argument’s sake — although the CPM and the CPI have already poured cold water on the move — he still remains short of a simple majority in the 243- member House. The BJP seems to know that his majority quest is a non-starter and as such is watching — although not disinterestedly — how Mr Paswan and Mr Nitish Kumar are playing out their games. Bihar deserves an elected government but in the present circumstances, it will be better to stretch President’s rule considerably, till tempers cool down and the leaders can reach a compromise which is ethical as well as durable. The state will be better off under President’s rule than under a Chief Minister who sits atop a house of cards. |
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Mismanagement of PSUs The latest report of the Comptroller and AuditorGeneral of India has, once again, exposed how badly managed government
corporations and undertakings in Punjab are. What can be more damning than the revelation that some of them have repeated the mistakes pointed out in previous reports. Obviously, they refuse to draw any lessons from the annual CAG scrutiny. This should lead to two natural conclusions: one, there is no alternative to privatisation or winding up of such private sector undertakings as have ceased to be relevant. Two, there is need to break the politician-bureaucratic nexus which manages to scuttle punitive action for serious lapses pointed out year after year. This makes a mockery of the valuable exercise undertaken by the CAG, which as an institution commands tremendous public respect for fearlessly highlighting government failings. Some of the CAG revelations are indeed disturbing. For instance, rice millers misappropriated paddy worth Rs 194 crore due to lack of vigilance (or was it connivance?) by the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation. Such losses have been revealed in earlier CAG reports also, but none has bothered to take any corrective action. Almost all top PSUs figure in the CAG hall of shame: right from the Punjab State Electricity Board, the Punjab Civil Supplies Corporation to the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation. Administrative failures have caused huge losses to the exchequer. The failure to adjust surplus staff of the Ranjit Sagar Dam has caused the government a loss of Rs 91 crore. While link roads in Punjab are in terrible shape, funds available under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna were allowed to go waste. The appreciable work done by the CAG should not be allowed to get lost in official files. There is need to ensure some visible action against the politicians and the bureaucrats responsible for wasting public money. If the executive fails to come up with an “action taken report” on the CAG findings within a reasonable time, the judiciary may, on its own, intervene to ensure that politicians and officers are held accountable. Otherwise, there would be no end to the practice of politicians protecting politicians and bureaucrats coming to the rescue of members of their own tribe. |
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Necessity never made a good bargain. — Benjamin Franklin |
Marching together-I
Freeing the Indian economy from controls has greatly reduced the role of the Central Government in deciding locations and priorities. Investments are now increasingly market-led and the onus of attracting investments has shifted to the states. A number of states in the South and the West took an early advantage of these changes and gained the lead over others through a series of strongly development-focused actions. Ironically, the northern region, which prides itself on a tradition of entrepreneurship, has lagged behind just when the conditions for free enterprise and market forces have been most favourable. Since the economy was unleashed 15 years ago, when “the tiger uncaged”, as the Economist then called it, the major northern region states have shown a GDP growth rate of 5 per cent, as compared to 7.2 per cent in the South and the West. The rate of growth has actually decreased in the northern states post-liberalisation compared to the figures in the 1980s. The southern and western states, by comparison, have done well. Prior to liberalisation, some of the northern states were actually doing better than the best of the western and southern states. Five major states, — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, —that together account for less than one-third of our population, account for almost two-third of the private investment proposals over the decade since August 1991. They also benefit from over 60 per cent of the commercial bank credit and financial flows from the national- level financial institutions The worrying thought is whether the growth rate of the northern states in the 1980s was artificially sustained by a control and command economy rather than any inherent competitiveness. As of 2001, the North had a 15 per cent share of the national income, the South 26 per cent and the West 25 per cent. If these trends were to continue over the next 10 years, the West and the South will each garner about 30 per cent of the national income. The share of the North will stay less than half of either the West or the South. The growing internationalisation of the economy since the formation of the WTO in 1995 requires going beyond the small-time mentality of servicing only the local markets. An indication of this mindset is that the northern states have less than 5 per cent of the total units dedicated to exports against over 11 per cent in the West or the South. We now have to look for global markets not just for our products and services but also for investments. A good measure of competitiveness of companies in the current context is the expenditure on research and development (R&D) as a percentage of the turnover. In the northern region it is around 0.5 per cent. In comparison, a company such as TVS Motors in the South spent 3 per cent of its turnover on R&D in 2003. Over 60 per cent of the research laboratories established in India by MNCs have been set up in the South against 12 per cent in the North. It is not surprising then that the northern states have attracted minuscule FDI levels. Given the lack of economic focus and commitment, the northern region states have steadily slipped from a revenue-surplus position in the early eighties, to a revenue-deficit condition. Faced with these challenges, how have the states in the northern region reacted? They have gone ahead with give-aways like free electricity and water, adding to their fiscal stress. They have also indulged in tax wars with each other, offering incentives in the form of exemptions, deferment of sales tax, interest rate subsidies, rebate on power and octroi, etc, to attract private investment. This has eroded their aggregate tax base on the one hand and brought no real development on the other. Disregarding these realities, they have continued on the path of self-destruction. Protection and subsidies have been announced with abundance in the name of competing with neighbouring states. They have relentlessly followed the long discredited mercantilist doctrine of the mid-16th century that viewed trade as a zero-sum game, one in which a gain by one party results in a loss by another, reminding one of the old “beggar thy neighbour” dictum. The role of populist give-aways by the governments is increasingly questionable. When investments take place only to avail of the fiscal incentives, they are not sustainable in the long run and cause severe distortions. The social and economic costs through special incentives soon outweigh the benefits. It is time we took note of the futility of following this path. There is simply no way we can defy the laws of economics. An example of how subsidies hurt the receiver and the non-receivers alike is the special ‘Concessional Industrial Package’ made applicable to certain hill states by the Government of India. Since January 2003, it has granted 100 per cent Central excise exemption for 10 years, 100 per cent income tax exemption for the first five years and 30 per cent for the next five years for the companies, capital investment subsidy, Central transport subsidy and a host of other concessions. In the case of Himachal Pradesh this has led to a completely lopsided development of Baddi, an industrial area in the proximity of Haryana and Chandigarh. In the absence of any real effort by the state government to develop its appalling infrastructure and overhaul its non-performing administrative machinery, it has failed to attract industry in the hinterland areas such as Kangra and Kulu. Investments that have crowded in Himachal Pradesh and other states under this dispensation are not based on a long-term economic viability. They depend neither on indigenous inputs nor markets. In the case of Baddi, these have stretched the social and physical infrastructure to breaking point. They will soon burden the resources of neighbouring Panchkula and Chandigarh. They have distorted investments in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. Predictably, and somewhat sadly, the knee-jerk reaction of these states is to clamour for similar Central Government props of concessions and special treatment to attract investment. Yet, given its potential and with the policies that foster “cooperation” and competition (the new buzz word in the corporate world is ‘coopetition’), this region can emerge as a powerful engine of economic and social development. It is time for states to think regionally and act locally. Without an integrated regional approach to economic and social development, they will face even harder, possibly irreversible, fiscal constraints in future. Worse still, they would have failed their people. We desperately need a regional, not a state-specific, perspective. As initiatives for economic development and investments have flowed from the Centre to the states, there is a crying need for larger cooperation among the states to bring about faster changes in the economic and industrial landscape of the region by pooling their
resources. (To be continued) |
Wit, or wisdom?
A
ready and witty retort which comes in a flash, without pre-meditation, is so telling in its effect that the victim wants to vanish from the scene. A cocky young writer showed a manuscript to American editor, H.L. Mencken, asking for his opinion. “Of course,” said the brash young man “I should tell you that I have plenty of other irons in the fire”. “In that case,” retorted Mencken after glancing at the first few pages, “I suggest you put this where your other irons are.” On another occasion Mencken was persuaded to read a conceited young poet’s “Ode to Eternity.” This poem,” remarked Mencken, “will not reach its destination,” and silenced the effusive poet. Dorothy Parker’s wit had left scores withering. At a party a foolish young man came to her and said, “I simply can’t bear fools.” “How strange.” returned Dorothy. “Apparently your mother could.” George Bernard Shaw once received an invitation from a noble woman who liked to surround herself with great ones. “Lady X will be at home Thursday between four and six.” Shaw returned the card, with the words “Mr Bernard Shaw likewise.” Whistler, who also wielded the brush was once commissioned to do a portrait of a celebrity notorious for the exalted opinion he had of himself. When the painting was completed, Whistler inquired if his client liked the work. “No, I can’t say I do: “You must admit Mr Whistler; It’s really a bad work of art.” Whistler shot back: “Yes. But then you must admit you’re a bad work of nature”. Max Beerbohm, author and caricaturist, was being disturbed by a rusty fellow who kept calling for the waiter. “What do you have to do,” finally demanded the loud-voiced man, “to get a glass of water in this joint?” Beerbohm turned steel-like eye on the man and said: “Why don’t you try setting yourself on fire?” When Oliver Wendell Holmes was eighty, a visiting jurist complimented him on his sturdiness and vigour. “You must,” exclaimed the visitor, “have gone in for a lot of exercise and athletics.” Holmes shook his head, “The only exercise I got,” he said, “was acting as pallbearer for my athletic
friends”.
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Harvesting water for growth
The use of simple engineering skills to create water harvesting structures has not only changed the land scape in the Shivalik foothills, but also changed the social mileau in hundreds of villages falling in the districts of Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar. Water is now available for irrigating the fields, which have come up in the undulating land of the Shivalik foothills (having a typical semi-arid sub-tropical monsoon climate) through water harvesting earthen dams constructed under the Haryana Community Forestry Project. Water availability has had a spin effect on the socio- economic conditions of thousands of people living in this area. Those with land holdings have taken to agriculture in a big way — converting the degraded land into lush green fields. The landless, too, have jobs as farm labourers and those rearing cattle no longer have to migrate to other green spaces in search of fodder. Because of the moisture-stressed conditions, the poor in these areas were left with no option but to rear cattle as the sole source of livelihood. Since cattle offered the only security against the vagaries of nature, the people here were forced to move to the mand area near the Satluj, the Beas and the Ghaggar, for continuous supply of fodder. For women life was a drudgery. With men being away, they shouldered the family responsibilities like fetching water from stream-beds, collecting firewood etc. Though education was never considered important, the girl child was the first to be withdrawn from schools for help at home and because of social insecurity away from home. The winds of change are sweeping across 500 villages in the lower Shivaliks. A visit to these drought-hit villages reveals the success story. At Bharauli village, where the first dam was constructed in 2001, villagers say that three years ago, the only vegetation was wheat and fodder, but now with water being available, they have even been able to grow paddy. Water availability has also decreased the grazing pressure on the hill watersheds, as fodder is now available in the fields cultivated with the water harvested during the rains. This availability of green forage has helped increase the milk yield of animals. Since 2001, 17 water harvesting earthen dams have been built under the Haryana Community Forestry Project, which is supported by the European Commission and aims at adopting a participatory approach to development. Says Mr S.K. Dhar, Project Director of HCFP, "Improving water infrastructure became the logical entry point for bringing about change — both in transforming the means of livelihood from cattle rearing to cultivation and impacting the daily ordeal of women". As a result, 10 dams in Panchkula (at Bharauli, Kaimbwala, Mirpur, Turon, Dhandion, Banswala, Mandappa, Mawas, Bhediwala and Rana villages) and seven in Yamunanagar (at Ibrahimpur, Bhagwanpur, Thaska, Kathgarh, Kansli, Nanheri, and Nawangaon villages) have been built over the past four years. Another dam at Rampur Gainda in Yamunanagar will be constructed later this year. The Shivalik foothills receive a mean annual rainfall of 1200 mm, of which 80 per cent is received in three monsoon months. The ground water retention capacity is minimal. Subsistence being mainly through agriculture and dairying, water remains the only hope. It was felt that the only way to turn around the physical features of the land and improve the socio-economic conditions of the people here was by harvesting surplus rainwater and its efficient use during the post-monsoon dry period. Way back in 1977, a water harvesting earthen dam was constructed at Sukhomajri in Pinjore by the Forest Department with financial help from the Ford Foundation. This dam is functional till date, and demonstrates the technical feasibility, economic viability and social acceptability of harvesting surplus rain water. After making changes, especially involving people to own, manage and maintain the dams, and checking the risk of sediment deposition from the eroding soils in the dams by constructing check dams and coffer dams, it was decided to construct 18 dams. All these dams have been constructed by the villagers themselves. Though the cost of construction is being borne by the Forest Department, villagers create a corpus fund for the operation of the dam. Each farmer is asked to make an initial contribution to the corpus fund, and is then assured water for irrigation for a small monthly fee. An 11-member village resource management committee, having women representation as well as members of the Scheduled Castes and the backward classes, is constituted by the village panchayat to manage the water supply and maintenance of dams. The 17 dams with a combined forest catchment area of 1028 hectares and storage capacity of 260.98 hectares , have been constructed at a cost of Rs 421. 93 crore (of which Rs 327.41 crore is the labour cost). The command area of these dams is 867.1 hectares. This has turned the barren land into lush farms of wheat, vegetables and seed farms of radish, cauliflower and carrots. |
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Mugabe — victorious but isolated A
CRUSHING election victory has tightened President Robert Mugabe's grip on in crisis, and the main opposition party on Sunday demanding a rerun of a poll they insist was rigged. The 81-year-old Mr Mugabe was in triumphant mood, joking that he would now remain in office for another 20 years. Answering reporters’ questions, the President, an international pariah, said he would retire, “when I am a century old.” While the election officer was declaring that the ruling Zanu PF party had won overwhelmingly, most Zimbabweans were resigning themselves to continued food shortages, high unemployment, and soaring inflation. “As you can see, we are trying to drown our sorrow,” said 40-year-old Dan Tabisa as he sat in a bar in the second largest city of Bulawayo. “We thought there would be change this time but it’s the same old story. This means five more years of suffering for us.” Despite widespread evidence to the contrary, African observers declared Zimbabwe's elections to be free and credible. Monitors from the African Union, and government delegations from Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa have all given their seal of approval to the parliamentary elections held last Thursday. Mr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, head of the Southern African Development Community, said: “We are saying that this election was free. The process was credible. It reflects the will of the people of Zimbabwe.” The European Union and the United States, which were not permitted to send any observers, have consistently said the elections are fraudulent, but their criticism has had no effect on 81-year-old Mugabe. Zanu PF won 78 seats in Thursday's vote, easily beating the opposition MDC party which won only 41 seats — 16 fewer than the seats it won in the last election. The president has the ability to appoint another 30 seats. Zanu PF now has the two-thirds majority it needs to change the constitution and set up a second chamber to work alongside parliament. President Mugabe has long wanted to create a senate filled with senior politicians he has appointed himself. Critics say that this will undermine parliamentary democracy even further. Mr Mugabe, whose term of office expires in 2008, also wants to amend the constitution to enable one of his deputies to automatically succeed him in the event of his death. Under the current laws, elections would have to be called to vote for a new president. The only major setback for Mr Mugabe came in the southern constituency of Tsholotsho, where his former information minister, Jonathan Moyo, ran successfully as an independent candidate against both Zanu PF and MDC — making him the only independent candidate to win a seat. Moyo had fallen out of favour after a wrangle over leadership in the party and his victory gives him an opportunity to build up support against Mr Mugabe. The MDC refused to accept that the results had been fair, and the party’s executive committee held crisis talks after the election to discuss their next move. In a news conference after the meeting, party leader Morgan Tsvangirai said: "Today, the world has seen the extent to which Mugabe is determined to hold onto power without due regard to the people. This election cannot be accepted as a reflection of Zimbabwe’s will.” The archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, had called on people to hold peaceful demonstrations to protest at the stolen elections, but President Mugabe made it clear he would not allow the MDC to hold even peaceful marches. “They are not peaceful people. Law and order instruments will be used to prevent any mass action that is likely to lead to lawlessness in the country,” he said. In a sign of things to come, police arrested 250 women of the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise on Thursday evening after they held a post-election prayer meeting in Harare. Amnesty International said many of the women were beaten while in police custody. — The Independent |
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Delhi Durbar The Parliament recess is utilised by various standing committees to critically examine the budgetary grants/expenditure of the various ministries and departments. Hosting lunches/dinners by certain ministers to the members of the parliamentary committees attached to their respective ministries has triggered a debate whether this practice is in keeping with parliamentary etiquette. Since the MPs of the standing committees are expected to do a critical analysis and give their unbiased opinion, some feel that the acceptance of invitation for lunches and dinners by the members of the standing committee is against parliamentary etiquette. Is someone watching and taking note?
Tsunami scare The devastation wrought by the tsunami that hit countries along the Indian Ocean on December 26 and the latest round of quake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale that again hit Indonesia last week has whipped up a fear psychosis among Indian travellers this summer. According to travel agents, Indian tourists are suddenly looking for safer holiday destinations than the Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. This despite the fact that they offer cheaper holidays than other destinations. Tourists from this country are vary and looking at holiday destinations like Mauritius, Seychelles and the Maldives as they have been found to be safer than being in the immediate vicinity of Indonesia. “Life is dearer than money” is an old saying!
Paswan’s plans Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan may have drawn flak from various quarters for his role in the political stand-off in Bihar, but the Union Minister has his priorities clear. Paswan’s demand for a Muslim Chief Minister is linked to his desire to forge a Muslim-Dalit combination in Bihar to replace the Muslim-Yadav axis of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. His wariness to touch the BJP is rooted in his anxiousness to prevent the RJD from galvanising all other “secular” parties to its side. Paswan wants the JD(U) to leave the BJP company and join the non-RJD parties on a platform to form a “non-BJP, non-RJD” government. Paswan’s ideas may seem a bit outlandish at present, but the first of his suggestions — imposing President’s Rule in Bihar — is already a reality.
Weekend film festival The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to hold a weekend film festival in the Siri Fort auditorium for the public. The festival began on Friday with the screening of Kala Bazaar (1960), directed by Vijay Anand. On Saturday, the two films selected for screening were “Hum Dono” (1961), directed by Amarjeet and “Tere Ghar ke Saamne” (1963), directed by Vijay Anand. The frequency of the screenings every weekend will depend on the availability of the prints as well as the auditorium. The entry is free.
Exclusive?
Hardly The message sent out by the Press Attache of the Chinese Embassy at least a fortnight back about an exclusive interview with Ambassador Sun Yuxi on the eve of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s official visit to India was invigorating. Unlike previous occasions, the Chinese were now planning a publicity blitzkrieg. But a surprise was in store for the mediapersons who had also been promised exclusive interviews. Interestingly, everyone including TV news channels were given the identical time of 11 a.m. on April 1. As expected, journalists on the list of invitees kept it close to their chest only to discover that it was a huge press conference at the residence of the Ambassador. That left the scribes disappointed to put it mildly. Mercifully, talking through an interpreter was given a go-by as the youthful and suave Sun was fluent in English and made his points
with clarity. — Contributed by Girja Shankar Kaura, Prashant Sood, Tripti Nath, and S Satyanarayanan. |
Blessed are the pure in heart, for to them is given the knowledge of God. — Sri Krishna The name of the true Lord is the source of all bliss. — Guru Nanak One who conquers one’s self by one’s own self alone experiences supreme bliss. — Lord Mahavir Right views will be the torch to light his way. Right aims will be his guide. Right words will be his dwelling place on the road. — The Buddha Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. — Jesus Christ The knower of Vedas (who carries on the oral tradition) is the highest heaven in which the revealed words of the Vadas abide. — The Vedas  |
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