M A I L B A G

A lacklustre budget

THE budget has come and gone but left no scar, not even a scratch. It has pleased barely few and displeased too few.

No budget had ever evoked so much expectations. None materialised. A sustained noise was made from every quarter in the government. It would be harsh. It would be tough. Tighten your belts. So we did. But the Finance Minister did not gather courage to pull down our pants, so to say.

Kargil was behind us. No elections were due. The government was reasonably stable in its first year and, above all, public mood was upbeat. But what was apparently lacking was the political will. Fiscal deficit should have been brought down ruthlessly. But the Finance Minister developed cold feet and let go a golden opportunity.

Wg Cdr C. L. SEHGAL (retd)
Jalandhar

Debate on Constitution

I have read the two-part article on the Constitution by Justice J.S. Verma, former Chief Justice of India. There has arisen some doubts in the matter.

Under Article 235 of the Constitution, “Control over subordinate courts” have been vested in the High Court which inter alia means the Chief Justice of the High Court or a judge of the court designated by the Chief Justice or a panel of judges designated by the Chief Justice.

Under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a judge or public servant can be prosecuted only after sanction is given by the High Court and the government, respectively.

In the case of a government servant, if the government does not give the required sanction an aggrieved person can go to the court and get the necessary orders.

What is the position in the case of a subordinate and district judge where the High Court does not give the necessary sanction. Where should an aggrieved person go and what options are available to him? He can’t make the High Court or the Chief Justice as the respondent.

If the registrar of the High Court is made the respondent and the court gives the required directions, the Chief Justice is not bound to obey the direction given to the registrar of the court. What should an aggrieved person do?

PURAN SINGH
Chandigarh

Seeking justice

This refers to the editorial “What about judicial reforms” (Feb 25). Today the public has no respect for the systems and procedures which our judiciary and advocates are adopting to dispense justice.

“Justice delayed is justice denied”, and our advocates are playing a very negative role which raises so many questions.

I am a victim of such a painful drama and cannot imagine how many others are seeking justice.

I had filed a petition in January, 1994, for the eviction of my house but the case is still pending. I have no hope that the judgement will be passed in my life-time.

For such a terrible delay what is the answer of the judicial system as well as of advocates whom the general public regards as modern messiahs in black dresses. They must know that in other progressive countries justice is quick. The service of foreign advocates will surely be deemed beneficial for quick justice.

R. K. SHARMA
Khanna

Question of human development

I read article “Population policy lacks substance” by Prof Ashish Bose (The Tribune, Feb. 21) and endorse his views for addressing the fundamental issues of human resource development to solve the population problem in India, which cannot be undertaken within the four walls of the Department of Family Welfare at Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi.

To my mind, human resource development is the process of converting human beings into human capital and this involves all facets of human being’s development, including reproductive health and child health, physical quality of working life, real education (not literacy) meaning thereby proper, productive and practical use of hands, head and heart (3P&3H programme), the environment (physical, social, economic and political), etc.

I, therefore, advocate setting up of a human development commission perfectly in tune with the “Population and Social Development Commission” advocated by Swaminathan Committee in place of the proposed National Commission on population. There is a strong case for treating expenditure on human development activities as investment.

It is sad to point out that the central government has a separate Ministry of Human Resource Development on the subject of the Concurrent List which calls for such a ministry at the state level, not so far in any state of the country. All the states are required to prepare human development reports annually on the pattern of the Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as has been done by the Madhya Pradesh government.

It is essential to replace the target-oriented approach by a result-oriented and people-centred approach in all aspects of sustainable development. The post-mortem approach must be replaced by a prognosis approach. Ad hoc measures must be replaced by a concrete programme of action with a comprehensive package of basic needs, which is the true contraceptive.

M. M. GOEL
Kurukshetra

J&K: no solution in sight

This refers to the editorial “Enough is enough”, February 29. It is evident that things in J&K have slided into the lowest ebb. Hardly any stone is left unturned by us to find a solution to the J&K stalemate, but, sadly, no solution is still in sight owing to the unhealthy attitude of the country next door — Pakistan.

Pak-trained militants are well-equipped with ultra-modern weapons and ammunition, which our Army jawans lack. That can be one reason why they often succeed in killing our armymen and grabbing forward posts.

TARUNDEEP AGGARWAL
Chandigarh

Clinton’s visit

U.S. President Bill Clinton’s visit to India cannot change India’s policy line. If anyone thinks that the visit will bring about such a development, this will mean that the person does not understand Indian policies.

(Prof) G. S. JOLLY
Moscow

Tailpiece

Question: What can we say about the annual budget?

Answer: Jo garajtey hain woh barastey nahin!

PUSHPESH KUMAR
Bathinda