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Bloated babudom Princely rescue Never too old |
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Entering into a treaty
Wayside exchange
Bomb factory Job scheme off to good start
in Haryana Delhi Durbar
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Bloated babudom Punjab has a bloated bureaucracy. This fact is not unknown to the government either. That is why it is very wary when appointing teachers or doctors. But when it comes to the IAS and IPS officers, it seems to think that they do not constitute the flab. Leave alone curtailing their number, there is always one reason or the other to appoint more of them or promote them. The situation has gone totally out of hand. The state may soon have the dubious distinction of having as many as – hold your breath – nine Directors-General of Police. That is not all. On current reckoning, there may be as many as 22 IAS officers in the Chief Secretary scale. They are not the only officers to have sinecure jobs. There will be a subsequent increase in the number of officers down the line as well. Who will pay for the tremendous expenditure on this huge army and the subordinate staff which they will require aplenty? Certainly not the political bosses who will appoint them. The money will come from the pocket of the common man, the Aam Admi. Like cancerous cells, the bureaucracy is always eager to grow and grow — at the cost of the public exchequer. Many types of ruses are tried to make sure that a large number of officers get kicked upstairs. The most prevalent is the route of time-bound promotion. Join service in a particular year, serve for a particular time period, and whether you are incompetent or otherwise, whether you have done a day’s honest work or not, you will move up the ladder. Even that is not enough. If a person has to be appointed over the head of others, either because he is more competent than others, or because he is the political bosses’ favourite, all others senior to him are also promoted. There could not be a bigger hypocrisy which the people are expected to live with. While vociferously demanding salaries commensurate with those prevailing in the private sector, the babus ought to know that out there if somebody is not fully competent, he is shown the door. And those in the public sector are rewarded rather than punished for incompetence or non-performance. This parasitical tendency can play havoc with the country’s innards, besides being an extra burden on the exchequer. Punjab should not make a mockery of administrative reforms — and certainly not for expediency.
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Princely rescue ALL is well that ends well. This can be said about the two-day drama at Hardaheri in Kurukshetra district. Many things happened there which should not have happened. Whoever had dug the deep bore well should not have left it open to let anyone fall into it accidentally. And when the hapless Prince fell into it, the local authorities should have been more proactive in saving the child, rather than shrugging it off, as reported by a news channel. Many VIPs who visited the scene saw it as a great photo-op because news channels were giving minute-by-minute account of the rescue operation. Little did they know that their presence only hampered the operation, rather than facilitating it. If Prince and his parents need to be grateful to anyone, it is the Army jawans who from the moment they landed at Hardaheri never allowed any slackening in their bid to save the child without causing any injury to him. It required staying put on the spot for two days and two nights and thinking up of different ways and means of reaching the child and bringing him to safety. By their heroic act, they have proved that rain or shine, war or peace, the Army can be depended upon in times of need. The Prince episode adds yet another feather to the caps of the proud jawans. There are many others who helped in Rescue Prince. Particularly commendable are the heroic deeds of those villagers who jumped into an abandoned well littered with glass particles and other dangerous objects and dug it deeper, virtually with no implements. They did not aspire for either fame or glory. They only wanted to save Prince. Thanks to all of them, Prince has got a second life. The episode underscores how unconcerned we, as a society, are about safety. Ordinarily, the fire brigade from Kurukshetra should have been sufficient for the job. The need to summon the Army points to the competence of the civil authorities to handle such a situation. As a news-report mentions, accidents of the type that happened to Prince occur frequently in the countryside. It was not long ago that a woman fell into a manhole in Chandigarh and her body was recovered from somewhere in Mohali. All this shows that the people and the local administration need to be more safety conscious to prevent such accidents from occurring in future.
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Never too old A proposal to raise the retirement age of central university teachers from 62 to 65 has apparently received a fresh lease of life. Given the woeful shortage of teaching staff and the increasing demands upon our education system, a lifetime’s worth of accumulated skills and experience, not to mention the stature, maturity and dignity that can only come with age, are too valuable to discard. There are tens of thousands of contract, ad-hoc and “guest” teachers in both government and aided institutions across the country, and seats for the permanent posts are lying vacant. Many of these non-permanent teachers are on ludicrously low pay scales. Such a situation serves neither the teaching nor student community, and seriously erodes the quality of education the system is capable of providing. A few months ago, the HRD Ministry had asked the states to reemploy superannuated teachers up to the age of 65 in all colleges and universities. Chief Secretaries were asked to fill vacancies in time for the academic session. The proposal targeting central universities has reportedly picked up momentum now, given the prospective task of dramatically raising student intake, in the wake of introducing 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Castes. It suggests thus, that the government is resorting to this move for all the wrong reasons. There is a danger that this kind of creeping ad-hocism and reactive policy-making will further dilute the quality of higher education. There will be financial implications of hiring more people at the top end of the scale, rather than at the entry-level. The government may save some money on delayed pensions, however. But years of myopic policy-making limits the options for decision-makers, when they finally do wake up. One can only hope that the senior teachers walking into classrooms across the country will do their bit to raise a different generation.
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‘Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed’ was the ninth beatitude. — Alexander Pope
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Entering into a treaty
Recently the question has been raised whether the Constitution should not be amended to provide that Parliament should have a role in pre-ratification in the treaty-making power of the Central government. Now, Entry-14 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution empowers Parliament of entering treaties with foreign powers. But Article 73 of the Constitution provides that the executive power of the Central government shall extend to the matters with regard to which Parliament has power to make laws. As per the present law, at the stage of entering into a treaty with a foreign power, like the recent Indo-US nuclear agreement, the executive is under no obligation to have Parliament’s approval. The serious consequences are visible to everyone — parliamentarians learn from rumours and newspaper reports as to what are the exact terms. As against this, the embarrassing situation being reported in the Press daily how publicly the US Senate is discussing the agreement — and many of them not in complimentary terms. It is for this reason that some people have objected that the practice under which the treaties are entered into by the executive without significant parliamentary or public involvement is undemocratic because it is ultimately the people whose rights and entitlements are going to be affected. But the more delicate and intrusive question concerns Article 253 which empowers Parliament to make any law for India for implementing any treaty, even on an entry/topic reserved exclusively for a state legislature under the Constitution. This raises an important question of federalism which is a basic feature of our Constitution. Fears are expressed that under cover of treaty-making power there will be serious inroads into the autonomy of the states. It is evident that in order to effectuate treaties, legislation is a necessary compulsion. So far as the Central subjects or Concurrent subjects are concerned, Parliament could pass a law and no problem would arise. But many of the treaties like the WTO, especially dealing with agriculture, require legislation which can only be dealt with by the states as it is in the State subject. Thus, whether how much agricultural products should be allowed to come in the country (considering the present critical situation which is leading farmers all over the country to commit suicide) is a life and death question to the states. Of course, it is not suggested that the Central government is an outsider, but considering our federal set-up, the concern of the states would be more direct and urgent as and also because the interests of different political parties and governments may not coincide. It can, therefore, happen that in such cases, the Centre may exercise its power under Article 253 to pass legislation contrary to the wishes of the state — a critical impasse — and no one will dispute. It needs to be remembered that though the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties, which is sometimes mentioned in favour of Parliament’s sole power to make law, itself provides that this power is subject to Article 46 which allows states to have a defence that it cannot carry out the international treaties because it violates domestic law. There is a general concern not only in India but in all developing countries that the executive should not have any untramelled powers to enter into any treaty without legislative approval and later on to browbeat Parliament into giving effect to legislation on the ground that failure to do so would be embarrassing to the country. That is why it has been suggested in some countries like Australia that the executive would not ratify a treaty or accept an obligation under the treaty until the appropriate domestic legislation has been passed, which would necessarily mean that the ratification treaty has been in principle debated and approved by Parliament. Furthermore important that the states will be consulted before entering into treaties and all information will be shared between the various chief ministers of the states. In Canada, though the ratification of a treaty by the government is left to Parliament, the Constitution also require that any legislation required to implement a treaty can be enacted only by the provinces. In a majority of 24 OECD countries, parliamentary approval is required at least in the case of certain categories of treaties, excluding of course the self-executing treaties. The grave harm done by exclusive power to the government to enter into treaty making without prior consultation with Parliament is apparent from the fact that though the Standing Committee of Parliament attached to the Commerce Ministry of 40 members had opposed the draft agreement on TRIPS and had voted against product patent, the same was not debated in Parliament; rather the government signed the TRIPS agreement in 1994 in the same form as the draft agreement without approaching the Parliamentary Committee or Parliament which had taken a different view. We are now reaping the strain of high cost of medicine and farmers’ suicides. This unfettered and secretive way of the executive to enter into treaties without seeking the approval not only of Parliament but especially the states (even when the danger to the states’ rights was glaring) was strongly commented upon by the People’s Commission on GATT presided over by Justice Krishna Iyer and other Supreme Court judges as far back as in 1996 wherein it recommended that “it is a matter of constitutional necessity that legislation be enacted so that all treaties go through ratification of the agreement by the legislature. Applying the constitutional text devised by the Supreme Court, the direct and inevitable effect of the treaty would be to infringe the right to medicine, food and livelihood. It even suggested on the basis of a detailed examination, that the final text resulting in the Uruguay Round is ultra vires the treaty making power.” The Justice Venkatachalliah Committee Report of the National Commission to review the working of the Constitution (2002) submitted to the Central government had recognised the delicacy of the situation and recommended “that for reducing tension or friction between the states and the Union, and for expeditious decision making on important issues involving the states, the desirability of prior consultation by the Union Government with the Inter-State Council may be considered before signing any treaty vitally affecting the interests of the states regarding matters in the State List. In spite of all this weighty opinion, the old fossilised bureaucratic method of government functioning still continues at its snails pace, cocking its finger at all modernisation schemes of computers and satellites. Why, with all this explosive situation, is Parliament avoiding to pass the necessary amendments and legislation? Has the monster of globalisation so totally unnerved our
legislatures? The writer is a retired Chief Justice of the High
Court of Delhi.
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Wayside exchange During early 70s local currency cash values in eastern Europe were quite low as compared to hard western currencies in the open market. Our friends in Stockholm were keen to shop for household items in Poland or East Germany. They knew about my next scheduled visit to Polish ports of Gdynia and Gdansk with a cargo of iron ore. The Polish population was believed to like everything western. Western music, western currency and western movies made Polish youth crazy. It was in this atmosphere that our friend’s family from Stockholm arrived by road through Malmo-Gdynia ferry for a two-day stay with us. Just as they rolled out of ferry after immigration clearance and were clear of wharf they were confronted by touts on the roadside for currency exchange. Touts were shouting in subdued tone “momento sacramento, dollar for 8 times bank rate”. I had already informed them before leaving Sweden that they must avoid roadside currency deals as the local markets in Poland were ready to accept major western currencies at quite a high premium although not so high as offered by wayside touts. Moreover, we had already hinted them that it would certainly go against our position and reputation if they were seen exchanging in roadside. The friend’s car arrived on jetty and they joined us. Within two hours, our friend’s family was with us in departmental stores of Gdansk buying goods ranging from quality curtain cloth, readymade three-piece suits, Elizabeth Arden perfumes, royal oyster tudor swiss watch, oven proof crockery, etc at about 1/6th rate compared to what was prevailing in stores of Sweden. During this errand we continued to convey moderation to our friends so as to avoid reckless buying. They must not buy more than what their car could accommodate. Even with this limitation they had saved hundreds of US dollars while making payments to Polish stores in US dollars at exchange rate six times more than the prevailing bank rate. In this way they also saved botheration of carrying leftover small Giloti Polish currency change with them to Sweden. My friend’s wife was so fascinated by sheer high exchange rate of US dollar that despite my advice/caution she had quietly made up her mind to exchange some of her US dollars at eight times the bank rate from wayside currency changers while we were inside the store. She offered to exchange 500 US dollars in cash for Polish ghotis. The tout took the dollars and noticing the lady alone shouted “police”. My friend’s wife panicked and left the scene to join us inside leaving cash with touts outside the store. It was a fake call to dupe her.
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Bomb factory Pakistan has begun building what independent analysts say is a powerful new reactor for producing plutonium, a move that, if verified, would signal a major expansion of the country’s nuclear weapons capabilities and a potential new escalation in the region’s arms race. Satellite photos of Pakistan’s Khushab nuclear site show what appears to be a partially completed heavy-water reactor capable of producing enough plutonium for 40 to 50 nuclear weapons a year, a 20-fold increase from Pakistan’s current capabilities, according to a technical assessment by Washington-based nuclear experts. The construction site is adjacent to Pakistan’s only plutonium production reactor, a modest, 50-megawatt unit that began operating in 1998. By contrast, the dimensions of the new reactor suggest a capacity of 1,000 megawatts or more, according to analysis by the Institute for Science and International Security. Pakistan is believed to have 30 to 50 uranium warheads, which tend to be heavier and more difficult than plutonium warheads to mount on missiles. “South Asia may be heading for a nuclear arms race that could lead to arsenals growing into the hundreds of nuclear weapons, or at minimum, vastly expanded stockpiles of military fissile material,’’ the institute’s David Albright and Paul Brannan concluded in the technical assessment, a copy of which was provided to The Washington Post. The assessment’s key judgments were endorsed by two other independent nuclear experts who reviewed the commercially available satellite images, provided by Digital Globe, and supporting data. In Pakistan, officials would not confirm or deny the report, but a senior Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged a nuclear expansion was underway. “Pakistan’s nuclear program has matured. We’re now consolidating the program with further expansions,’’ the official said. The expanded program includes “some civilian nuclear power and some military components,’’ he said. The development raises fresh concerns about a decades-old rivalry between Pakistan and India. Both countries possess dozens of nuclear warheads and a variety of missiles and other means for delivering them. Pakistan, like India, has never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. One of its pioneering nuclear scientists, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who confessed two years ago to operating a network that supplied nuclear materials and know-how to Libya, Iran and North Korea. The evidence of a possible escalation comes as Congress prepares to debate a controversial nuclear cooperation agreement between the Bush administration and India. The agreement would grant India access to sensitive U.S. nuclear technology in return for placing its civilian nuclear reactors under tighter safeguards. No such restrictions were placed on India’s military nuclear facilities. India has an estimated 30 to 35 nuclear warheads based on a sophisticated plutonium design. Pakistan, which uses a simpler, uranium-based warhead design, has sought for years to modernize its arsenal, and a new heavy-water reactor could allow it to do so. “With plutonium bombs, Pakistan can fully join the nuclear club,’’ said a Europe-based diplomat and nuclear expert, speaking on condition that he not be identified by name, after reviewing the satellite evidence. He concurred with the Institute for Science and International Security assessment but offered a somewhat lower estimate—”up to tenfold’’—for the increase in Pakistan’s plutonium production. A third, U.S.-based expert concurred fully with the institute’s estimates. Pakistan launched its nuclear program in the early 1970s and conducted its first successful nuclear test in 1998. The completion of the first, 50-megawatt plutonium production reactor in Pakistan’s central Khushab district was seen as a step toward modernizing its arsenal. The reactor is capable of producing about 10 kilograms of plutonium a year, enough for about two warheads. Construction of the larger reactor at Khushab apparently began sometime in 2000. Satellite photos taken in the spring of 2005 showed the frame of a rectangular building enclosing what appeared to be the round metal shell of a large nuclear reactor. A year later, in April 2006, the roof of the structure was still incomplete, allowing an unobstructed view of the reactor’s features. “The fact that the roof is still off strikes me as a sign that Pakistan is neither rushing nor attempting to conceal,’’ said Albright of the institute. The slow pace of construction could suggest difficulties in obtaining parts, or that other key facilities for plutonium bomb-making are not yet in place, the institute report concludes. Pakistan would probably need to expand its capacity for producing heavy water for its new reactor, as well as its ability to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to extract the plutonium, the report says. After comparing a sequence of satellite photos, the institute analysts estimated the new reactor was “a few years’’ from completion. The diameter of the structure’s metal shell suggests a very large reactor “operating in excess of 1,000 megawatts thermal,’’ the report says. “Such a reactor could produce over 200 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium per year, assuming it operates at full power a modest 220 days per year,’’ it says. “At 4 to 5 kilograms of plutonium per weapon, this stock would allow the production of over 40 to 50 nuclear weapons a year.’’ There was no immediate reaction to the report from the Bush administration. Albright said he shared his data with government nuclear analysts, who did not dispute his conclusions and appeared to already know about the new reactor. “If there’s an increasing risk of an arms race in South Asia, why hasn’t this already been introduced into the debate?’’ Albright asked. — By arrangement with
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Job scheme off to good start
in Haryana Being among the 200 most backward districts in the country, Mahendergarh and Sirsa districts of Haryana were selected for the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in the first phase. There was skepticism about the practicability of the scheme in the beginning. It was thought to be ‘old wine in a new bottle’. The author has made an attempt to shed light on some issues, based on his own experience of the implementation and monitoring of NREGA in Sirsa district of Haryana during the month of May, 2006. There was a huge rush for registration in the month of February. 57,597 households got themselves registered for employment in the district with 333 Gram Panchayats. This rush for registration was due to the myth among the people that registration would confer on them the right to unemployment allowance or that mere presence on the worksite will entitle them to wages. That is why about 25 per cent of the registered households did not turn up to take the job cards despite repeated offers from the Gram Panchayats. Despite all that, the scheme has proved to be a boon for the members of the households in need of employment. During the month of May 2006 itself, about 4000 members of the registered families turned up for employment in 77 villages. The workers were happy and satisfied as they could get employment on demand and that too during the lean season, when no work was available in the agriculture sector. Secondly, the jobs were available in the villages itself. There was all-round enthusiasm for the scheme. The turn out of women for employment was more than expected and above 30 per cent, which is the minimum requirement. The doubts about practicability of the scheme were shed. All mandatory provisions like registration of families, verification before issue of job cards, issue of job cards, issue of receipt for job application, job offers, maintenance of muster rolls and issue of other documents were met by the Gram Ganchayats. The wages were paid weekly and in a timely manner. The work site facilities like safe drinking water, first aid, and shade for rest were also available. Some suggestions: Immediate steps for planning of intensive awareness generation campaign in local language about the Act should be taken. The role of Panchayati Raj Institutions (Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, Zila Parishad), Programme Officers and engineering wing under the scheme needs clarity. Delivery mechanism should be strengthened, by creating a separate NREGA cell at the DRDA level manned by dedicated persons of proven ability, appointing Programme Officers at the Block level, deployment of engineering personnel to assist the Gram Panchayats in estimation and measurement of works done for timely payments of wages, and appointing Rozgar Sahayak at the Gram Panchayat level. Construction of buildings for animal husbandry, education, health, women and child development and water harvesting should be taken up under the scheme, to create sustainable assets. In view of the rising cost of materials the wage to material ratio should also be relaxed to 50:50 instead of the current 60:40, to create durable community assets. The judicious use of machines wherever it is unavoidable should be allowed.
***** The author is Project Economist, Rural Development Department, Haryana.
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Delhi Durbar Ever since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh mentioned that a full-fledged external affairs minister could be appointed “any time”, the Capital’s political grapevine has again been activated. The usual names, ranging from the senior Congress leader Karan Singh to Union ministers P. Chidambaram, Kamal Nath and Kapil Sibal, are being mentioned as possible contenders for this coveted portfolio. A new and rather unusual name has also recently cropped up. It is being argued that the manner in which the Manmohan Singh government has propped up Shashi Tharoor for the UN secretary general’s post, knowing full well that his chances of making it are highly remote, suggests that the PMO has other plans for him. Corridor gossip is often creative. Missing Human rights activist and religious leader Swami Agnivesh is generating awareness both here and abroad about the issue of missing girls due to sex selective abortions. He was recently seen sporting a badge that read “Missing” at the National Day celebrations of the French Embassy here. He explained that he has actually been wearing the badge for the last six months to highlight the problem which has resulted in an adverse sex ratio in several states in India. Since he travels quite a bit, Swami Agnivesh says the badge has helped arouse people’s curiosity in countries such as Norway, South Africa and Switzerland. Demanding justice While it is well known that happiness draws people together, loss of a dear one can also prove to be a great binding factor. This is amplified by the manner in which three persons, unknown to each other, have come together to get justice for their loved ones. Jessica Lall’s sister Sabrina Lall, Nitish Katara’s mother Neelam Katara and Priyadarshini Mattoo’s father C.L. Mattoo, had been battling the system alone for years to bring to book the high-profile accused responsible for the killing of their kin. The three have now got support from the `Together-for-Justice’ effort, initiated by a television channel. It is being hoped that these collective efforts will eventually pay off and ensure that the sons of powerful fathers, who are named as the main accused in these cases, are not allowed to go scot-free. Parting shot Having been appointed by the NDA government, K.S.Sarma, who retired last month as Prasar Bharati CEO, was known to be close to the previous regime. This did not prevent him from seeking another term, but when it was denied to him, he apparently made several last-minute decisions designed to embarrass the present dispensation. For instance, he included Jaya TV, the AIADMK channel in Tamil Nadu, on Doordarshan’s DTH platform but kept the rival DMK-backed Sun TV out. IT and Communications Minister Daynanidhi Maran, whose DMK is a crucial ally of the UPA government, was predictably angry over this decision. Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi urged him not to withdraw from the ruling coalition on this count and placated Maran by ordering Sun TV’s inclusion.
***** Contributed by Prashant Sood, Vibha Sharma, Tripti Nath and Anita Katyal
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From the pages of Sharing the cake
Percentages are by and large a tricky business and have a bad odour about them. At its meeting on July 12 the National Development Council Committee reached a consensus on the criteria for allocation of Central aid to the States but got stuck on the modus vivendi — the percentages for weightage. According to the Council guidelines, the aid should not be extended on the basis of population alone but “on considerations of existing backwardness and the leeway to be made up.” Until then the populous States had received the lion’s share of the aid. For weeks past, each State has been pressing for acceptance of the criteria that would suit it best in claiming the largest slice of the national cake. On both economic and political grounds the loudest clamour has been made by backward States such as Kerala. Mr Naik’s compromise of allocation percentages is obviously designed to appease these States. The reduction in the number of Centrally-sponsored schemes from 89 to 63 also meets the long standing objections against New Delhi’s dominance.
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The pure at heart are innocent of the meannesses of the world. Purity sustains their belief in God. God reveals himself to those who believes in him unconditionally. Innocence is a great pathway for reaching God. Small pettinesses and large greeds are boulders and chasms on this path. —The
Bhagavadgita Truth without humility would be an arrogant caricature. — Mahatma Gandhi Restrain your mind from running towards evil, then all will call you the Blessed one. — Guru Nanak Do not fall into a quarrel by calling anyone bad. — Guru Nanak Some seek bliss in this life; some seek bliss in the other life. Wise is he who seeks bliss both in this life and hereafter. — The
Upanishadas
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