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Rework refinery terms From Arafat to Abbas |
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Destination India Need to tap full potential of tourism THE conclave of CEOs of tourism organisations held in Jaipur has recommended various measures to improve tourism in the country. These include, among other things, putting tourism in the Concurrent List, formulation of a Tourism Act, setting up a Tourism Board, and earmarking special tourism economic zones.
PM in neglected North-East
Ways of the railways
Post-Arafat era depends on Palestinians and US policy From Pakistan
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Rework refinery terms Capt Amarinder Singh’s offer to renegotiate the Bathinda refinery terms is a welcome departure that provides an opening to break the stand-off between the Centre and the state government. Clearly, the state government has recognised the need to adopt a more flexible approach. After taking over as Chief Minister, Mr Amarinder Singh had reneged on the Akali deal on the refinery, saying the state would lose Rs 15,000 crore over 15 years if it deferred sales tax on petrol, diesel and lubricants along with sacrificing revenue from electricity and octroi. On the other hand, the Centre is expected to gain some Rs 1,200 crore a year from the refinery through excise and Customs duties. Although Mr Amarinder Singh reiterated these points, while in Delhi on Tuesday, these may have been more for the record. The fact is that the Punjab Chief Minister is now agreeable to renegotiation, on terms similar to those of the refineries at Panipat and Mathura. This should serve to prod the Centre for reviving interest in the project. In August the Punjab Finance Minister had made the startling claim that HPCL would complete the refinery on the terms of the state government. However, that claim was later debunked by the Petroleum Minister, who clarified in Parliament that the project could restart only if the Punjab Government restored the incentives agreed to in 2000 by the then Akali government. Much like the Bathinda refinery is needed to give a boost to the economy of Punjab, privatisation of all public sector undertakings is a necessity that can no longer be put off. The government’s record on this, so far, has been less than satisfactory. The only disinvestment it has made is in Punjab Tractors Ltd. Otherwise, the loss-making boards and corporations that were to be wound up got Congress MLAs as chairmen, though employees were asked to retire. With a debt at Rs 40,327 crore as on June 21, 2004, the Punjab Government spends bulk of its revenue on salaries, pensions and interest repayments. It is time the state government moved from declarations of intent to the implementation of economic reforms. |
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From Arafat to Abbas After much debate, the name of former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has emerged as the likely successor to Yasser Arafat, the charismatic Palestinian leader who died on November 11 in a French hospital. The Central Committee of Fatah, the biggest constituent of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), has chosen him to contest the January elections for the post of Palestinian Authority President. Before a formal announcement, the decision would be discussed by the Fatah Revolutionary Council and a plenary meeting of 250 members of the most powerful Palestinian political organisation, and they are expected to put their seat of approval. The reason is that the leader who could have been a formidable challenger to Mr Abbas, Mr Marwan Barghouti, now in an Israeli jail, is not interested in staking his claim at this stage. Mr Abbas is already the chief of the PLO. The top Fatah post will, almost certainly, help him in getting elected as President of the Palestinian Authority. That will also mean all the key positions for Arafat’s long-time deputy, admired for his negotiating skill. Arafat, however, did not nominate Mr Abbas as his successor because the late leader had developed serious differences with him when the latter was the Prime Minister. This led to Mr Abbas resigning his post within four months. Arafat began to suspect him when Israeli leaders showed a special liking for him because of what they perceived as the cooperative behaviour of Mr Abbas. How to live down this image is among the major challenges facing Mr Abbas. Successful negotiations are not possible without both sides making some concessions. But during the talks with Israel, which may be resumed after the Palestinian Authority elections are over, Mr Abbas will have to tread with utmost caution to avoid the charge of playing into the hands of Israel. This is particularly necessary for ensuring the cooperation of the extremist groups like the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. Winning over these elements as also the ordinary Palestinians is a must for the success of Mr
Abbas. |
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Destination India THE conclave of CEOs of tourism organisations held in Jaipur has recommended various measures to improve tourism in the country. These include, among other things, putting tourism in the Concurrent List, formulation of a Tourism Act, setting up a Tourism Board, and earmarking special tourism economic zones. The conclave may have debated the pros and cons of all these suggestions, but it is doubtful whether these are enough to tap the full tourism potential in the country. Over the years, there has been no prioritised political effort and bureaucratic support to improve the infrastructural facilities. Bad roads, power cuts and ill-kempt hotels greet tourists in most cities and towns. Himachal Pradesh, for instance, is a tourists’ paradise. But places like Sarsu Peak are yet to be tapped by the government. In fact, most of our temples, forests, beaches and heritage sites are in bad shape. Apparently, the political leadership — at the Centre and in the states — considers tourists as “rich” and “anti-poor”. The problem is indeed one of apathy and fixed mindset. Undoubtedly, Indian tourism has many attractive features. However, lack of professionalism, unhygienic conditions, poor visitor experience and inadequate facilitation services are all obstacles in the smooth flow of tourists. Taxation is yet another major problem. True, one has to pay more for quality and better services, but the problem is that taxes differ from state to state and there is no coordination between the Centre and the states on the need to make them uniform. Innovation is the name of the game. Tourists have become more discerning and thus, our policymakers should not only keep abreast of competition but also the changing profile of the tourists — domestic and international. The hotel sector also deserves infrastructure status so that it becomes eligible for tax holiday and other concessions. There is need for uniformity and rationalisation of taxes on hotels in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Assam where luxury tax is also being charged on room tariff. |
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As President, I have no eyes but constitutional eyes; I cannot see you.
— Abraham Lincoln |
PM in neglected North-East WITH striking unanimity the media has described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Imphal and Guwahati as a harbinger of a “healing touch” in a deeply disturbed and long-neglected region. This is accurate enough. But, as in the case of his earlier sojourn in Jammu and Kashmir, so during his travels in the North-East the impact of his efforts to build bridges with the militants has been limited. In both areas the people at large were greatly impressed by his manifest sincerity and apparent determination to break the vicious circle of insurgencies obstructing development and the lack of development adding to the ranks of the insurgents. While he offered J & K a Rs. 24,000-crore development “package”, he sanctioned a large number of pending projects in Manipur, including those for building the first ever rail link between Imphal and the rest of the country. More importantly, he appealed to the North-East militants to “give up violence” and join him in the “exciting venture of bringing peace and prosperity” to the whole region, including Assam. Significantly, he added that India and China would be the “powerhouse of the global economy during the 21st century” and this country was looking forward to “strong economic and trade links” with South-East Asia for which Assam would soon become “India’s gateway to the East”. Quite clearly, however, the numerous insurgent groups in the area tried to give the impression that they had matters other than money and development projects on their minds. ULFA in Assam in particular was in the mood to say “no”. It, like both the extremist and moderate factions of the Hurriyat in Kashmir, boycotted the meeting with Dr Singh, ignoring his rather emotive remark that with a Rajya Sabha member from their own state as Prime Minister why did young Assamese need to pick up guns when he was prepared to discuss unconditionally all the demands of those who gave up violence? Less intransigent was the conglomeration of 32 groups in Manipur that have been agitating against the Centre for months, under the banner of Apunba Lup. Adopting a middle course, Lup’s hard-core leadership stayed away from the meeting with Dr Singh but sent its second-rank leaders who listened to the Prime Minister in courteous silence and left with responding to his remarks. Remarkably, the citizens’ delegation that did participate in the discussion included two of the dozen women protesters who had taken the chilling step of shedding their clothes to vent their outrage over the alleged rape of Manorma Devi before her death in the custody of the Assam Rifles in July. The Prime Minister’s sagacious decision to hand over to the Manipur government the Kangla Fort, a pride of the Manipuris that the Assam Rifles was using as its headquarters for long years, should hopefully go some way to assuage the hurt sentiments of the state’s people. However, it is only fair to add that some sensible things that are being done at this late stage, if done immediately after Manipur had exploded immediately after the Manorma Devi episode, might have produced better results. For instance, on the agitators’ key demand for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) the inflamed sentiment started subsiding only earlier this month when the Prime Minister promised a Manipuri delegation to look into the question of replacing this law by a “more humane” piece of legislation. Why couldn’t this conciliatory statement be made in, say, August? That would have averted a lot of bad blood from accumulating. Sadly, that is not the end of the story. If the government has acted too late, the votaries of the repeal of AFSPA are currently being unreasonably inflexible. They want the law they hate to be withdrawn by December 10 whether or not any alternative legislation is ready by that date to replace it. In the first place, no government can do away with a law that is being enforced in various parts of the country without evoking the kind of opposition it has in Manipur. Secondly, the committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge, that Dr Singh has formed to review, revise or replace AFSPA includes individuals known for their empathy with the people of the seven North-Easten states. There is no way the committee can complete its complex task in just a few days. In any case, the bottom line is that even if and when the AFSPA problem is out of the way, a huge and bitter backlog of chronic and painful issues would need to be attended to with greater dexterity than has been the case over the past several decades. To catalogue these has become easy because they were succinctly summed up at a recent seminar, organised by the Observer Research Foundation, and attended by some of the best experts on the remote and generally ignored area. These experts included a former senior officer of the Intelligence Bureau who served in the region for 36 years, the last six as Governor of one of the states. A retired Lieutenant-General who also spent long years fighting insurgency in the area and was later Governor of Manipur was another speaker. Other participants had equally impeccable credentials to pronounce on the subject. Perhaps their most important conclusion was that the country — and the government, in particular — must end the folly of treating as one homogenous unit seven widely divergent states inhabited by 200 tribes speaking 195 different languages, often at odds with one another even while insurgent groups are trying to unite against the Union government. The seminar’s other conclusions: New Delhi’s ignorance of the area was matched only by the arrogance of those concerned; nothing whatever had been done to break the insurgent-politician-bureaucrat nexus or utter misgoverance; and the policy of talking only to the underground wielders of the gun, while ignoring the civic society, was doing untold damage. Whether these and other recommendations would reach the appropriate desk in the Ministry of Home Affairs cannot be foreseen. But if they do, would anything worthwhile be done? Serious doubts arise because of the government’s past record, irrespective of which party or combination was in power. As long ago as 1999, the National Security Advisory Board had made a series of wholesome recommendations, most notably that a single Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry just could not run the North-East by remote control. No one has yet moved a little finger to do anything about
this. |
Ways of the railways Indian Railways, faced with an acute resource crunch, is engaged in an exercise to think of ways and means to raise the wind and one of the ideas that is being taken a long, hard look at the highest ministerial circles is to ask bulk customers to provide their own freight wagons. Will the idea catch on and be extended to fare-paying passengers and will they be asked to bring with them second-class, three-tier sleeper compartments and chair cars when they arrive at a railway station to commence their journey? I have been talking to member (Coaching) of the Railway Board. “Yes indeed,” he said, “there’s a distinct possibility that the next railway budget will contain provisions making it mandatory for passengers to lug with them second-class sleeper coaches, but no final decision has yet been taken.” “As you know, the Railway Ministry had almost finalised a deal to import 10,000 bogies and wheel-and-axle sets from Japan, but because of budgetary constraints, it had to be scrapped at the 11th hour and, therefore, passengers holding valid onward and Reservation Against Cancellation tickets will be asked to bring with them, along with suitcases, holdalls, water bottles and tiffin carriers, all-steel bogies and wheel-and-axle sets on which they can perch comfortably and commence their journeys.” “What about the improved amenities for the passengers that the Railway Minister is talking about?” I asked. “That’s receiving our top-most priority,” said the Member (Coaching), “after all, fare-paying passengers are our bread and butter.” “Railway gangmen and able-bodied licensed porters will be asked to help the passengers to unload the bogies and wheel-and-axle sets as they alight from their taxis and autorickshaws and help place them on the tracks. Station Masters will be directed to extend all possible assistance to the passengers in this regard and no laxness in this regard will be tolerated. That ought to convince you that the Railways are committed to providing all reasonable amenities to the travelling public.” “Yes, of course,” I said. “Because of power shortages, labour unrest and infrastructure bottlenecks, Indian industry has failed to supply the Railways its requirements of vacuum and air brakes, heavy buffer couplers and the idea is to ask passengers to bring these capital equipment also.” “I see.” “Many of our airconditioned, first-class coaches and chair car are running without airconditioners because of the perilous financial straits the Railways find themselves in and we’re thinking of asking the passengers to ruthlessly strip their homes and offices of five-tonne room airconditioners and bring them along to be fitted to their compartments and this provision will be enforced strictly.” “I hope you’re not thinking of asking the passengers to provide 52-kg, long welded rails,” I said. “Don’t be too sure,” cautioned the Member (Coaching), “our contingency plans call for directing the passengers to lug with them long welded rails which they will be required to place on the permanent way as their journey progresses. They might also be required to provide signalling equipment and closed circuits.” “I can see that passenger amenities are not being given the go-by despite the difficult resources position the Railways find themselves in, but one last question. What about passengers travelling on prestigious, long-distance super express trains like Rajdhani, August Kranti? What will they be required to bring with them besides steel bogies and wheel-and-axle sets, vacuum and air brakes and heavy-duty coupler buffers and 52-kg long welded rails and signalling gear?” “Just one thing. Engines.”
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Post-Arafat era depends on Palestinians and US policy
Colin L. Powell is in West Asia this week on his final visit to the region as the Secretary of State. To some, Mr Powell's trip symbolises the final flicker of American empathy for the Palestinian cause; to others it is a glimmer of hope — of Washington's re-engagement in a region shunned for way too long by the Bush administration. In an interview with Israel Television Channel One in Jerusalem on Monday, Mr Powell, the sole voice of moderation in the Bush administration who has been perceived by many in the Jewish lobby as being soft on the Palestinians, said President George W Bush has been "committed" to the peace process "from the very beginning." "He has never lost sight of that vision, but he felt that Chairman [Yasser] Arafat had been an obstacle to peace, and now we have new leadership and the President will engage as fully as he can," Mr Powell said. Mr Bush has nominated his National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to replace Mr Powell. Leaders in the Arab world fear Miss Rice's appointment represents a toughening of U.S. policy in West Asia. While Arab commentators remark on Miss Rice's "hard-line" stand on foreign policy, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom described her as "a true friend to Israel." "Her friendship toward Israel is very deep and stems from religious feelings and deep faith," he said. Both the U.S. and Israel accused Mr Arafat of undermining peace efforts and had refused to deal with him for some time. On June 24, 2002, Mr. Bush effectively cut off U.S. dealings with the Palestinian leader. Mr Arafat "did not achieve that 'peace of the brave' that he spoke so often about," says Martin Indyk, Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Washington-based Brookings Institution. "The skills he used so successfully to sear the Palestinian cause into the world's conscience did not suit the challenge of achieving statehood for his people, and he was never able to make that transition from revolutionary to statesman, from artful dodger to a man of his word, from the mythical world he created for himself to the real world. In that sense, he is both a historic figure and a tragic figure," Mr Indyk said. In Mr Arafat's successors Mr Powell said he sensed a "new attitude." The three major institutions that have survived Mr Arafat are the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the Palestinian Authority, and Fatah, the largest Palestinian grass-roots secular movement. Mahmoud Abbas, who was the Secretary General of the PLO, became the Chairman of the PLO a few hours after Mr Arafat's death. Fatah is now under Faruq Qaddumi, one of the original founders of Fatah, who remained in exile. And Rawhi Fattuh, speaker of parliament, is heading the Palestinian Authority until elections for President on January 9. On Monday, Fatah leaders indicated they would pick Mr Abbas as their candidate in the January election. "I believe there is a new attitude and we must take advantage of this new attitude," Mr Powell said. This "new attitude" also is becoming evident in the leadership in Washington. Fresh off his re-election victory, Mr Bush pledged to spend the next four years of his administration using the "capital of the United States" to build a Palestinian state. That promise came during a visit from Tony Blair, during which the British Prime Minister prodded Mr Bush to invest more effort in Mideast peace. Mr Bush said he shared Mr Blair's "vision of a free, peaceful, a democratic broader Middle East." "That vision must include a just and peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict based on two democratic states — Israel and Palestine — living side-by-side in peace and security," he said. "I believe it is in the interest of the world that a truly free state develop… I know it's in Israel's interest that a free state evolve on her border." How this post-Arafat era will evolve will depend on what Palestinians do, "but it will also depend on what the United States does and it will depend on what Israel does," says Amjad Atallah, President, Strategic Assessments Initiative and a former member of the Negotiation Affairs Department in the Palestinian Authority. "The Palestine-Israel conflict is a very small boat, and it's going to float or sink, depending on what everybody does," Mr Atallah said at a recent panel discussion in Washington. Mohammed Al-Atar, Director of the San Antonio, Texas-based Palestinians for Peace and Democracy, says from his experience an acceptable peace partner to Israel means someone who is willing to accept Israel's demands for a peace settlement. "This means no Jerusalem, a Palestinian state full of colonies, no solution to the Palestinian refugees, and no control over our lives," he said. Palestinians are concerned about developing a system of governance that relies on Palestinian popular will and not on American policy or Israeli goodwill, says Mr Atallah. "In the past, the Palestinians have relied on the assumption that the United States government will make decisions that will improve the lot of Palestinians on the ground, thereby empowering moderates to continue with negotiations with Israel. In the past, that hasn't happened. The United States has always failed in actually adopting policies, as opposed to rhetoric or photo ops, that would actually move the process forward," he said. "At this point in time, without President Arafat's presence, without his iconic stature to hold pieces together, relying on the United States would probably be a terminal mistake for the Palestinian figures." |
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From Pakistan LAHORE: Pakistan has refused the Indian request for lifting a two-year ban on its wheat import, asserting that Pakistan will not accept any grain from it, officials sources said Tuesday. “Indian wheat has been banned and will remain banned in Pakistan,” an official of the Food and Agriculture Ministry told The Nation.
Pakistan imports small amounts of agricultural products from India, including pulses and raw chillies, but imports of most of other items are officially banned. Pakistan banned the import of Indian grains two years back, saying that it was contaminated by Karnal bunt fungus. India rejected this stance while Pakistani traders termed the ban politically motivated.
Traders say imports from India would be the most economical option for Pakistan because of lower freight costs, given the land border between the two countries. “Every other country is buying wheat from India, except Pakistan --- it is more a political move,” a wholesale foodgrain trader said about the continuing ban. —
The Nation
WB, ADB push reforms
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have asked the government to accelerate the implementation of its reform agenda which, they say, has not been effectively implemented so far due to "political pressures or changes in the government". Sources said on Tuesday that the government had been told that many reform agreements, including the structural adjustment facilities of the International Monetary Fund, ran into difficulties and were either delayed considerably or not fully implemented. The donor agencies maintain that with ongoing reforms and some improvements in investment rate economic growth might improve. They say the country's political and economic stability is dependent on geopolitical developments in the region, especially peaceful relations with neighbours like India and Afghanistan. —
The Dawn
Stress on unity
KARACHI: Secretary General of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Asif Zardari, husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, on Tuesday agreed on the need for unity among political forces to ensure success of the struggle for democracy. They were addressing a joint press conference after the MMA leader, accompanied by his party colleagues, had met Mr Zardari at Bilawal House and felicitated him on his release after eight years of detention. —The Dawn
Joint markets in Baluchistan
QUETTA: Stressing the need for boosting trade links between Baluchistan and Iranian province of Seistan-Baluchistan, the two provincial governments on Tuesday agreed to promote border trade and set up joint markets in Mand, Panjgur and Pishin areas of Baluchistan, deciding to introduce agricultural commodities and products of each other. The agreement was reached at a meeting between Baluchistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf and Iranian Governor-General Engineer Hussain Amini. Both sides agreed in principle to undertake developmental activities in either province, catering to the needs of the masses, especially in the border areas.
—The News |
O People! Serve your Lord, who created you those before you, so that you may be conscientious. — Prophet Mohammed If you know you are alive, find the essence of life. Life is the sort of guest you don't meet twice. — Kabir The world is lost for want of sweetness and kindness. — Mother Teresa Patience, obedience, sight of the holy ones and religious discussions at due season. This is the Supreme Blessing. — The Buddha God is realised through the Grace of the True Guru. — Guru Nanak |
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