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Monday,
August 25, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Enter pension fund managers Peace map in pieces Dog bites man! |
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Single Directive clause objectionable
Lady holds the key
Observing the last rites, economically
Consumer rights
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Enter pension fund managers THE
new pension scheme, cleared by the Cabinet on Saturday, will be mandatory for all fresh entrants into government service, excluding defence personnel. It will have a defined contribution, but not a defined benefit as is available under the existing scheme. The provisions of GPF and the existing pension schemes will be rolled back at a later stage. A central employee will be required to pay 10 per cent of his salary and dearness allowance to one of the authorised pension fund managers. The Centre will also pay a matching amount. Each pension fund manager will offer three schemes — safe income, balanced income and growth scheme — with varying degrees of risk. A subscriber can quit the scheme on or after attaining the age of 60. However, 40 per cent of the accumulated money will have to be compulsorily used to buy an annuity from a life insurance company. A central body will keep a record of all payments. The pension fund managers will operate under an interim regulatory authority called the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. These are the broad contours of the new pension system, which can be extended to state government employees as well as those working in the unorganised sector. Why did the Centre choose to replace the existing pension schemes with the new arrangement? The government has been under tremendous pressure to meet its financial obligations. Its pension expenditure alone has grown at a compound annual rate of 21 per cent in the last decade. With life expectancy rising and the number of employees not coming down to the desired level, the Centre’s pension liabilities have increased sharply — from Rs 15,346 crore in 1998-99 to Rs 21,172 crore (excluding the telecom sector). Besides, the role of the government is changing in the emerging economic scenario. From being a “mai-baap”, it is becoming a facilitator. The private sector also needs a reliable pension mechanism for employees. In developed countries it is the private pension and insurance funds that take care of the economic security of citizens in their twilight years. But there are risks involved. India’s financial system is not foolproof for safe investments. It is open to manipulation, as had been proved more than once in the past. The idea of leaving such huge amounts in the hands of a few private professionals, no matter how competent and well informed, can make anyone uncomfortable. Many financial wizards of the developed world have lost billions by investing unwisely in the “Tiger” economies. The IT bubble burst has left many financial czars bankrupt. One can only hope that the government will ensure sufficient safeguards against any wilful or greed-driven financial disasters. |
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Peace map in pieces TODAY
everybody in Israel and the areas under the Palestinian Authority’s control is in a state of rage. The urge for violence has replaced the desire for peace. As a result, the US-backed road-map for peace, which promised a Palestinian homeland and a life free from suicide bombings to the Israelis, has been torn to pieces. The hope for normalcy remains shattered. The Ariel Sharon government has announced that it will continue the controversial practice of targeted killings in the Palestinian-controlled areas. The declaration came after the Israeli forces rained missiles from an F-16 plane on Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab and his two bodyguards on Friday, killing them while they were travelling in Gaza City. Earlier a Hamas suicide bomber killed 20 passengers of a bus full of Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Now the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, the two dreaded militant outfits which had signed a truce accord after much persuasion by Prime Minister Abu Mazen, have said that the situation is back to where it was before the June 29 ceasefire proclamation. This means a revival of suicide bombings by one side and retaliatory killings by the other. Israel has admitted that the ceasefire agreed to by the two sides was never effective. In the process, however, it has justified the Hamas allegation that the Israeli army had been carrying on raids and killings despite the truce. According to the Hamas, Tuesday’s bomb blast in Jerusalem was in response to Israel’s undeclared military campaign against Palestinians, including militants. These are the most difficult times for the US-backed Palestinian Prime Minister. He has been incapacitated by the Israeli army, which has virtually taken over most West Bank and Gaza areas, including Jenin and Nablus, the bastions of the militant outfits. This is despite the American advice to Mr Mazen and Mr Sharon to jointly deal with the extremist threat to the peace process. The Israeli argument is that he is just not capable of taking on the well-organised militant movements. But this is a clear violation of the understanding between them, leaving it to Mr Mazen to rein in the militants. Soon after Tuesday’s incident he had vowed to crackdown on the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. The Israeli action is bound to make Mr Mazen unpopular among the Palestinians and add to the support base of the extremist leadership. |
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Dog bites man! THE
first lesson that most journalism schools impart is that when a dog bites anyone from the human race it is not news. It will have to be revised in the light of several “dog bites man” cases making headlines. That is, perhaps, what makes a newspaper more than a free mail service for politicians. Of course, it goes without saying that had the global village followed the Indian model even a man dying of a dog-bite may not have made news. The western model is different. It does not allow a dog to be given a bad name. The strange instance of a dog biting a man turning into a sensational piece of news was reported from the US Court of Appeals for the 9th circuit. In what can legitimately be called a landmark judgment the court ruled that a Washington sheriff’s deputy did not violate a suspect’s rights when he ordered his police dog to “bite and hold” the man until help arrived. The law may have taken a lenient view had the suspect not been wanted for a prior felony. What is more, the licence plate of the car from which he fled too was fake. Not even the serious injuries that the man received from the dog bite could turn the court against most men’s best friend. It was legitimate use of the canine force for protecting the deputy from being ambushed until other officers arrived. The growl that the suspect could not suppress must have invited the additional charge of contempt. Every dog indeed has his day, but in the present case any resemblance of the suspect to an underdog was not incidental. In another case a professional golfer who lost a little finger in a dog attack in England sued its master for more than £ 1 million in present and future earnings. Had the case come up before an Indian court the prosecution might have quoted an Indian proverb that “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun”. In America the saying that “every dog is allowed one bite” may have made the injured golfer see his claim for £ 1 million in damages go down one of the 18 holes.
War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading. — Thomas Hardy |
Single Directive clause objectionable I have no idea why the Attorney-General of India — the highest judicial official — advised the government to go ahead with the Central Vigilance Commission Bill. His action reflects the scant attention he seems to pay to the Supreme Court. In a judgment on what has come to be known as the hawala case, the court had done away with the government’s prior permission clause to move against a Joint Secretary or officials senior to him. The Bill unthinkingly passed by Parliament last week restored the clause. However, unfortunate one cannot quarrel with Parliament. It represents the people. The court can throw out legislation but cannot stop Parliament from passing it. The government is in a different category. It has to weigh both aspects, its requirement and legal restrictions. Here the Attorney-General comes into the picture. When the government proposes a Bill which comes into conflict with the highest court of the land, it is his duty to think twice before he merrily puts his seal of approval. The Supreme Court has clearly said in its ruling that it wants to treat all civil servants on a par with one another. It has rejected what is called the Single Directive, a distinction between junior and senior officers. Had the Attorney-General warned the government that legislation overriding the Supreme Court’s judgment could be again rejected, the Bill would have been modified. In no case should he have given his approval to the Bill. After drafting the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Bill, the government referred it to a Parliament select committee. I was its member. It was strange to note how all political parties, including the CPM, vied with one another to restore the status quo ante, that is, the clause for government permission. It is obvious that the government of any ideology looks for pliable officers. They are the ones on whom the government can depend to carry out its dishonest orders. I gave a dissenting note, which I reproduce partly below: “The joint committee in its wisdom has rejected the Supreme Court’s decision and restored the status quo ante. The result is that the government has once again acquired powers to shield “delinquent officers”. Public servants who carry out the errands of political masters go scot-free because the permission for their prosecution is not forthcoming. “I have seen that some sort of quid pro quo has come to be established over the years. The officer concerned may be making money on the side, but political bosses may be keeping their eyes shut because of the “services” he renders to them. Corrupt officers have come to rule the roost due to their proximity to the seats of power. Increasingly, public servants are ceasing to be aware of what is right and may not have even the desire to act according to what is right. “We have seen how the ethical consideration inherent in public behaviour became generally dim during the Emergency (1975-77). Government servants became the willing tools of tyranny. They followed the dictates of rulers and their extra-constitutional accomplices. The nation went through hell. The N.N. Vohra Committee has pointed out the nexus between politicians, civil servants and criminals, a parallel mafia. Corrupt deals, dishonest decision and wrong methods are the fallout. By reverting to the old method of prior sanction, the joint committee overlooked the problem which the investigating machinery faced.” Another objection to the Bill is the proposal to entrust the investigation or the prosecution to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had been found wanting again and again. The CBI has a dismal record so far. It is politicised. Over the years, the rulers have reduced it to the status of a government department which political bosses run the way they like. The very exercise of constituting the CVC began when the Supreme Court found that the CBI did not fare well either in the field of investigation or prosecution. What purpose would it serve if the same machinery were put in charge again? It would be going over an exercise to befool the people. There are instances where Directors of the CBI were punished because they wanted to prosecute certain VIPs. I know of a case where a CBI officer was instructed by a Prime Minister on the telephone not to interrogate the accused. The officer was transferred later. The CBI Director got his marching orders at the airport itself while returning to its headquarters in Delhi. It would have been far better if the CBI had been put under the CVC. Both would have functioned more independently. I recall that the parliamentary joint committee rejected even the recommendation of an independent review committee. Apparently, political parties do not want to do anything which might ease the pressure exerted on the CBI. The Bill says the CVC “shall not exercise its powers in such a manner so as to require the CBI to investigate or dispose of a case only in a particular manner.” The government is not even willing to strike, much less to wound. There is probably no alternative to an independent agency. The personnel of the CBI primarily belong to the IPS and other services. Such personnel will be beholden to the political executive and higher echelons of the bureaucracy. Unless an independent agency is established, the personnel will always think of their career prospects. Like the judiciary, the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India and the Chief Election Commissioner, this agency must be completely autonomous and independent of the political executive and the bureaucracy. It should have a constitutional status in the long run but must be immediately given a statutory status. Such an independent agency should be on a par with the higher judiciary, the Chief Election Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India and be headed by a person of the highest integrity and should have a protected tenure. Unless this is done, one cannot expect an agency to investigate effectively its own political and bureaucratic
bosses. |
Lady holds the key SOON
after Mr Bhimsen Sachar was appointed High Commissioner of India in Colombo, it was decided that he would visit Male, capital of the republic of Maldives where he was also simultaneously accredited. My ship, INS Mysore 80000 SHP, a heavy cruiser with four propellers, was ordered to undertake this diplomatic visit with the High Commissioner on board. It was a solemn occasion for our High Commissioner to present his credentials in Male. However, two incidents made it a pleasant sea voyage. An evening party for local VIPs and dignitaries was arranged on the evening of our arrival in Colombo, mainly to pick up Mr and Mrs Sachar and their personal staff. The diplomatic corps, the Prime Minister and the President of Sri Lanka were also present. The party commenced at 7.30 p.m. on the quarter deck. After an hour the Sri Lankan Prime Minister expressed his wish to speak to the Canadian High Commissioner. The Naval Duty Officer assisted by his mate joined the search to locate the High Commissioner who was the youngest amongst the diplomatic corps. He could not be located amongst the hundreds chatting around everywhere on the large quarter deck. Half an hour later the mystery was solved. It appeared that while conversing with one Sub-Lieutenant Muthu, the High Commissioner decided to walk along to the Sub-Lieutenant’s cabin with a beer mug in his hand. They were enjoying the frothy in the small cabin when the duty officer located them. The young Canadian High Commissioner apologised profusely to the Prime Minister as well as to the others present for this serious breach of protocol. Next morning we sailed for Male for a two-day stay there. One of the most important engagements on the second day was an official lunch hosted by the High Commissioner on board the warship. About 100 guests, including the President of the island republic, were to attend. Since the weather was slightly inclement it was decided that this official get-together was to be held in the VIP lounge located in the aft of the ship, which also included the VIP room where Mr and Mrs Sachar were staying. There was only one master key for the entire enclosure with no duplicate one on board. Our High Commissioner accompanied by Mrs Sachar proceeded to present his credentials at 10 a.m. As a normal practice all cabin keys were to be deposited at the ship’s gangway before proceeding ashore and no keys were to be taken ashore. However, Mrs Sachar, despite the duty officer’s insistence, decided to take the entire bunch of keys of the VIP enclosure, including that of the section where official lunchon was to be held. Keys tucked securely in her saree she assured the duty officer that she would return well in time to have the premises cleaned and done up before the party. The party was to commence at 12 sharp and guests started coming while the High Commissioner was still at the President’s villa. It was decided to accommodate guests on quarter deck under the awnings. The westerly wind started blowing along with some drizzle. By the time Mr and Mrs Sachar, the chief hosts arrived on board it was pouring. It was 2 p.m. before the VIP lounge could be made ready to shift the guests from the quarter deck. By this time enough damage had been done with the President of the republic partially drenched, holding nimboopani in his hand. All for one reason — an orthodox belief that the keys of the house must remain with the lady of the
household! |
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Observing the last rites, economically
FOR
the past about two years, select villages across Haryana have been observing the last rites of their dead in a much more economical way, saving money as well as firewood, without sacrificing tradition and religious ceremonies. They are using fuel saving structures called the “energy-efficient crematoria”. Although these crematoria are being put to use by some Punjab villages also, it was the Himachal Pradesh Government that first undertook to promote these crematoria at the state level. Haryana has done it on a much bigger scale. Developed and promoted under the ambitious 126-crore Haryana Community Forestry Project (HCFP), funded by the European Commission, the crematoria reduce cremation expenditure by cutting down the consumption of wood by 50 per cent . This will help save the declining tree cover. The per capita forest area in Haryana is just 0.01 hectare, far below the national average of 0.11 hectare and the world average of 1.04 hectare. With an average daily household consumption of 20 kg of firewood, Haryana’s domestic energy requirement met through trees comes to 12 million tonnes of firewood, equivalent per year as follows: firewood, charcoal and agricultural waste: 8 million tonnes (66.6 %); dung cake: 3.5 million tones (29.3 %) and non-renewable sources: 0.5 million (4.1%). Experts suggest that the tree cover in Haryana will have to be increased 10 times to meet the firewood requirement. It is this very wood deficit that points to the need for more energy efficient technologies, like the fuel-saving crematoria, which need to be gradually propagated in all the 300 targeted villages under the HCFP. Looking beyond Haryana, the crematoria can help protect trees in villages across the country. On an average 400 to 600 kg of wood is used to cremate an adult in India. It is estimated that about 500,000 tonnes of dry wood worth about Rs 500 crore is consumed annually in the country for cremating the dead. With the declining tree cover and the rising cost of wood, the poor are already finding it difficult to meet cremation expenses. Sharing the concept behind the crematoria, provided on a demonstration basis to Tabar village of Panchkula district and Bodla-Birkheri village of Kurukshetra, Mr S.K. Dhar, Project Director, HCFP, said, “The HCFP, which became officially operational on November 30, 1998, will be implemented by June 30, 2008, the deadline for meeting the EU’s commitment. This project has two primary objectives — to improve the natural environment in the 300 targeted villages in 10 districts and to enhance of land fertility, apart from poverty alleviation. The crematoria will also reduce pollution by enabling better combustion and reduce the burden on forests.” The crematoria in Haryana villages are being provided through the guidance of Panjab University’s Energy Research Centre, that has demonstrated through experiments that an adult body can easily be cremated by using about three to four quintals of wood instead of six quintals. The Centre has designed the special apparatus for crematoria, that facilitates reduced wood consumption and better combustion of bodies, thus allowing a saving of two quintal of wood per person cremated. Informed Mr. S.K. Dhar, “The crematoria we are promoting use fireclay bricks that can withstand up to 800 degree centigrade of temperature. The cremation platform is also designed to save energy. The special tray with open spaces facilitates easy collection of ashes, thus respecting the religious sentiments of the people using crematoria.” Encouraged, 10 more villages of Haryana have asked the Haryana Forest Department for the installation of the fuel-efficient crematoria . Mr. S.K. Dhar, who is working on this project in coordination with Mr. Goran Johnson, a Technical Assistant with the EC, says that four villages of Ambala have been short-listed for the crematoria this year. These include Binjalpur, Gaganpur, Sambalkha and Dehar. Apart from providing land, the villages are also willing to contribute 15 per cent of the cost of the crematoria. Each crematorium costs about Rs 50,000, and it lasts 20 years. Gradually, 10 fuel-efficient crematoria will be provided in 10 districts of Haryana. These districts are Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh and Rewari. A survey of the Tabar and Birkheri villages, where crematoria have been provided and are also operational, confirmed that most people use them for two main reasons. As Bhim Singh, a farmer in Panchkula, says, “This structure ensures quicker and more complete cremation of the body. The ashes get collected in the special tray kept underneath the structure on which the body is placed”. Mewa Kumari of Birkheri village in Kurukshetra, adds, “This crematorium suits our religious sentiments. It provides better cremation than the normal ritual where the body is placed on the floor and then cremated. In the crematorium every bit of ash is collected, thus serving the actual purpose of cremation”. Villagers feel the crematoria are specially useful in the rainy season. Mr Navneet Singh, secretary of Manthan, a voluntary organisation that handles community mobilisation, says that “certain priests have objected to the crematoria saying the body should not be kept above the ground’. Manthan has raised its own theatre group which stages street plays to inspire villagers to use energy-saving technologies. Fuel-efficient crematoria are also being promoted by the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), an autonomous body functioning under the Ministry of Rural Development for rural welfare. CAPART has funded the crematoria at Ropar, Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab; at Solan, Sirmaur and Kangra, Bilaspur, Una and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. |
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Consumer rights TO protect consumers from substandard electrical wires and cables, the Union Government has brought them under mandatory quality certification. The notification, issued on February 17, gave the manufacturers six months to comply with the quality control order and said those who did not already have the licence to use the ISI mark should apply to the Bureau of Indian Standards within 45 days of the order. As per the notification, no one can manufacture, store, distribute or sell wires and cables without the ISI certification and stamp from August 17. It also says that “substandard or defective electrical wires, cables, appliances, protection devices and accessories or raw materials or components which do not conform to the specified standard shall be deformed by the manufacturer beyond use and disposed of as scrap within three months”. Yet, if you look around, you will find blatant violation of the order. The BIS, which is to inspect the manufacturing premises, test the products and issue the licence to use its quality seal, has received just about 50 new applications from manufacturers. According to rough estimates, there are about 2000-2500 manufacturers of electrical wires and cables in the country.. Only 600 manufacturers are BIS licensees. BIS officials say that following the notification of the quality control order, they were expecting a large number of applications from manufacturers, but that has not happened. It was first in 1976 that the government attempted to bring all essential household electrical goods including wires and cables under mandatory quality control.. However, over the years, the number of items listed for mandatory ISI standard went down from 55 to seven and wires and cables were not among them. And even for these seven items, quality control orders were issued under the Essential commodities Act and on February 15 last year, they were taken out of the list of essential goods under the Essential Commodities Act. This required a fresh order to be issued and it took the government exactly a year to do that because they were deliberating on whether the order should be issued by the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs or the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and whether it should be issued under the BIS Act or the Industrial Development Act.. Finally, it was issued under the BIS Act and this time, the government brought in 24 essential household electrical goods and accessories under mandatory certification. While the seven items: tungsten filament general services lamps, 2 ampere switches for domestic and similar purposes, switches for domestic purposes, electric radiators, stoves, electric irons and immersion water heaters came under compulsory ISI certification with immediate effect, the other 17 items came under mandatory quality control after six months- from August 17. These 17 items include switchgears, fuses, water meters, circuit breakers, besides cables and wires. Consumers and consumer groups should now demand stringent implementation of the order by state governments. Or else, the very purpose of the quality control order would be defeated. And whether you are buying wires for internal wiring of a building or for connecting electrical goods, insist on buying only those that carry the genuine ISI seal. |
There is one God. He is the supreme truth. He, the creator, is without fear and without hate. He, the omnipresent, prevades the universe. He is not born, nor does He die to be born again. — Guru Nanak I love Him who is the Truth. He dies not; nor is reborn to die again. I flee from Him but He does not forsake me, He is in all our hearts. — Guru Arjan Dev The one theme of the Vedanta philosophy is the search after unity. The Hindu mind does not care for the particular; it is always after the general, nay, the universal. “what is it that by knowing which everything else is to be known.” That is the one search. — Swami Vivekananda All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifieth allah, and he is the mighty, the wise. — The Koran |
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