O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

End ambiguity
Air India needs to be run professionally
The pilots’ agitation led to the cancellation of 80 flights on Tuesday – 67 domestic and 13 international – adding to air travellers’ woes. Ambiguity is writ large over the affairs of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil) which was formed in May 2007 by merging Air India and Indian Airlines.

Climate change at G-20
West skirts key issue of financing emissions
Much though the Pittsburgh summit of G-20 deliberated on reducing carbon emissions to check global warming across the world, there was little apparent movement on some of the prickliest issues facing global climate negotiations.

• Thought for the Day

ARTICLE

Right to life redefined
Speedy trial key to prison reforms
by V. Eshwar Anand
The Supreme Court’s directive to the Union Government to expeditiously dispose of action on petitions filed by 26 convicts on death row for the President’s pardon is indicative of its serious concern over their right to life and personal liberty.

MIDDLE

The colours of life
by Justice Mahesh Grover
AS the oars cut through the placid waters of the lake, shattering their stillness on a cold wintry evening, I settled down to my daily stint of rowing. The sun was mournfully going down spreading a stupendous riot of colours in the sky which seemed to be looking down into the water to catch its glowing and blushing reflection that the fading sun had left it with.

OPED

British public libraries becoming friendlier
by Arifa Akbar
Borrowing books in Britain has just got a whole lot easier: people can now borrow books regardless of where they live, under a new scheme revealed by the Society of Chief Librarians. Existing membership cards or a proof of address will allow readers to use any library, although books have to be returned to the same area.

Using tractors for power generation
by Sarabjit Arjan Singh
This is in continuation of this writer’s article “Tractors can generate power” (The Tribune, August 12, 2009) in which the basic thesis was that Punjab has a vast untapped source of electric power generation. By harnessing one per cent of the tractors, the state would add about 88 MW to its generating capacity. There are no technical or managerial difficulties from making this happen. However, the cost of generation does appear to be a disadvantage.

Spread out mega sports events
by Bharat Dogra
India is involved in preparations for hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As it is too late to reconsider the desirability of hosting the Games, the Indian Olympic Association and the Delhi administration ought to receive the cooperation of all concerned. But before hosting such mega sports events in future, it will be helpful to think up some new and innovative ideas which may at the same time be able to sort out a number of problems associated with the organisation of such events.

EDITORIALS

End ambiguity
Air India needs to be run professionally

The pilots’ agitation led to the cancellation of 80 flights on Tuesday – 67 domestic and 13 international – adding to air travellers’ woes. Ambiguity is writ large over the affairs of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil) which was formed in May 2007 by merging Air India and Indian Airlines. On Monday, at one stage it seemed that it was on the verge of suspending operations after the two rounds of talks between the management and the agitating pilots remained inconclusive. But late at night, Aviation Minister Praful Patel prevailed on the airline to give talks yet another chance. The result is that the management is still undecided whether to take resolute action once for all or to still make conciliatory gestures. If it succumbs now, it will only give the impression that it “sees reason” only when faced with an agitation. The consequence will be that if it is pilots today, then tomorrow engineers or some other section of employees will go on strike to stall any kind of reforms in the ailing airline. In fact, its ground staff is already planning to go on strike.

Executive pilots in the airline have been reporting sick to protest the management’s decision to cut incentives by 50 per cent. They want the management to withdraw the order. While highlighting their “hardship”, they tend to gloss over the fact that many of the top airlines of the world have been forced to take similar steps in the face of mounting losses. It is all the more necessary for Air India to cut corners, with staggering cumulative losses of Rs 7,200 crore. It should also not be forgotten that the employees got bonuses of up to Rs 1,400 crore over three years even when the company was making losses.

Air India has been run more like a government department than like a professional airline. It is overstaffed and patronises vested interests. The industry norm is to have 100 employees for every plane. Air India has as many as 141. Because of political interference, there is policy inaction at every step. It has to cut flab and run a lean, mean machine if it has to compete in a cut-throat world. Infusing more and more money into its operations without professionalising its operations would be an exercise in futility.

Climate change at G-20
West skirts key issue of financing emissions

Much though the Pittsburgh summit of G-20 deliberated on reducing carbon emissions to check global warming across the world, there was little apparent movement on some of the prickliest issues facing global climate negotiations. The main climate question for the G20 was how to finance global carbon emission reductions, and how to help developing nations that stand to lose the most from climate change adapt to a warmer world. But G20 leaders put no specific numbers on the table, just a vague statement of intention that did little to clarify global climate negotiations: “Public and private financial resources to support mitigation and adaptation in developing countries need to be scaled up urgently and substantially,” the statement issued by G-20 leaders at the Pittsburgh summit said. But beyond pious platitudes, there was little of substance.

Developing nations are suspicious that rich countries are trying to avoid paying the full amount needed to cut C02 emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change, and seeking to push some of the financial burden on to them. While poor nations have demanded funds to help them develop sustainably and prepare for warming, rich nations have so far been slow to promise money. Unless there is agreement on how much wealthy countries should pay to finance the efforts by developing nations to curb global warming, chances of a new global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol appear bleak at the Copenhagen summit in December.

As US President Barack Obama said on a more positive note at Pittsburgh, world leaders had agreed to phase out 300 billion dollars worth of fossil-fuel subsidies as part of a plan to reduce global warming. He sounded confident that this reform would help combat the threat posed by climate change. But the US knows as well as any other country that the key issue of disbursing the costs imposed on the developing world by the recklessness of western style of development is an issue that cannot wait. Ducking the main issue can hardly help.

Killer heart disease
India must combat it effectively

India is likely to account for half the world’s patients suffering from coronary heart diseases and strokes by 2015. Not long ago, a Delhi Government economic survey found that heart disease is the single biggest killer in the nation’s capital. The situation is no better in other parts of the country. While experts have reported a rise in sudden cardiac deaths, even more alarming is the fact that the disease is increasingly striking the young. Yet the seriousness of the problem has not been driven home.

Both government policies and individual choices have yet to wake up to the enormity and gravity of heart ailments. As it is, Indians are genetically disposed towards heart disease. Unhealthy food choices and sedentary life style makes them, especially those with excessive weight around abdomen, even more susceptible. While the average Indian consumption of vegetables and fruits is far below the desired norm, trans fats present in hydrogenated oils expose them to greater heart risk. According to the Centre for Chronic Diseases Control, New Delhi, trans fats raise bad cholesterol and cause heart ailments. Doctors emphasise that heart ailments are controllable. The solution lies in diet control, exercise and keeping stress out of one’s life to the extent possible.

Awareness drives, not to be restricted to the World Heart Day alone, besides stressing upon healthy food alternatives must also emphasise benefits of early check-ups. Expert opinion that expenditure on health has to be viewed as an investment must guide government strategies. Heart disease prevention measures must include cutting down on trans fat servings. That four Indians die of heart disease every minute and cardiovascular disease could kill 10 million Indians every year by 2015 are warnings that an already afflicted nation can ill afford to ignore.

Thought for the Day

True love springs from the knowledge of universality with all forms of life. — The Upanishads

ARTICLE

Right to life redefined
Speedy trial key to prison reforms
by V. Eshwar Anand

The Supreme Court’s directive to the Union Government to expeditiously dispose of action on petitions filed by 26 convicts on death row for the President’s pardon is indicative of its serious concern over their right to life and personal liberty.

A Bench consisting of Justice Harjit Singh Bedi and Justice J.M. Panchal has ruled that if the executive authorities, as a "rigorous self-imposed rule", are not inclined to take action on a mercy petition within three months from the date of its submission to the President, the condemned convict would be free to apply for commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment as otherwise it will be violative of his right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

While rejecting a Madhya Pradesh petitioner’s appeal against death sentence, the Bench has ruled that "circumstantial proof can be stronger than eyewitness evidence". "In a case of circumstantial evidence, motive does have extreme significance, but it is not correct to say that conviction cannot be made on circumstantial evidence in the absence of the motive", it held. The petitioner was sentenced to death for killing his wife, four daughters and a son in August 2005.

Over the years, the Supreme Court has always sought to protect the prisoners’ rights while taking care of the constitutional niceties. In Sunil Batra vs Delhi Administration, the question before the court was: whether putting a person behind bars will end the judicial process and, if not, what segment is open for judicial intervention? Commendably, it held that there is no "total deprivation" of a prisoner’s right to life and personal liberty. The "safe keeping" in jail custody is the jailor’s limited jurisdiction.

The apex court has given a new dimension to the writ of habeas corpus which is the fundamental instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and whimsical state action. While in Sunil Batra I, the Constitution Bench had crystallised a prisoner’s legally enforceable rights, in Sunil Batra II, it had radicalised the procedure for the enforcement of his rights.

The courts have taken strong exception to the laws of detention without trial. Except in bonafide cases of preventive detention, they have nullified orders for the same in a number of cases, i.e. in proceedings for habeas corpus. They strike down a law which is unreasonable or unjust. Similarly, if the order of arrest and detention suffers from an infirmity, the detenu may be ordered to be released forthwith by the court.

But then, one needs to look at the larger question: the plight of undertrials and the problem of overcrowding in jails. The issue is serious because many undertrials have been languishing without trial even after 14 years of incarceration. In a democracy, speedy trial is not an optional extra of the courts but a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution.

According to Mr N.S. Kalsi, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, undertrials constitute 66.2 per cent of the prison population. The problem is not confined to Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Overcrowding is a whopping 200 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. What happened to the UPA Government’s earlier proposal to completely withdraw the cases against those who have already served 10 to 14 years of imprisonment but are yet to be charge-sheeted? Clearly, the government cannot justify prolonged detention of prisoners without trial.

The Malimath Committee Report (2003) has come out with many salutary recommendations but these have not been implemented because of differences between the Centre and the states. The states’ cooperation is necessary because Police and Public Order come under the State List.

A national seminar in Chandigarh (Sept 18-19, 2009) has examined the problem of overcrowding in the context of prison reforms. Overcrowding has led to other problems such as hygiene, sanitation, corruption, drugs and riots. To ease congestion, speedy trial is a must. There is a need to sensitise the subordinate judiciary (lawyers and judges included). The provisions of probation, parole, plea bargaining and the Lok Adalats need to be used effectively. It is noteworthy that no prisoner released on parole at a Lok Adalat in Ferozepur was a repeater.

Since grant of bail is at the discretion of the trial court judges, they need to be cooperative. According to Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the trial court must justify why it cannot grant probation in a given case. The higher court can grant bail to the accused seeing the nature of the offence committed and the apex court has reiterated this.

Unfortunately, the Probation of Offenders’ Act is not being implemented properly because, according to top prison officers, this comes under the purview of the state government’s Department of Social Welfare and not the Department of Prisons. Surprisingly, Haryana has abolished the system of probationary officers. As prisoners can be released on probation on the basis of their good conduct, there is no reason why the authorities concerned should not make best use of this provision.

At the seminar, which was organised by the Department of Laws, Panjab University, and the Institute of Correctional Administration, Chandigarh, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi, presented a simple and effective tool — EPod (Evaluation of the period of detention) — for analysing the period of detention of undertrials and securing their release. Indeed, EPod helped the CHRI to secure the release of some undertrials in West Bengal with the state government’s active support.

As an EPod calculates the period of detention up to the current date, the data can be used any time. The user is required to input basic data such as name, case reference number, date of admission in prison and the offence(s) with which one is charged. Upon entry of the data, EPod shall inform the user regarding the type of offences charged with (bailable/ non-bailable); date(s) of completion of half or maximum period of prescribed punishment; and whether already imprisoned for a period excess than the half or maximum period of prescribed imprisonment.

Once the data is entered and results obtained, the user can sort the list using in-built filters to list out three things. First, all undertrials accused for bailable offences in which Section 436 Cr PC would be applicable. That is, the person must not be imprisoned for more than seven days from the date of arrest. Secondly, all undertrials who have completed half the period of maximum period of punishment, in which case Section 436A Cr PC is applicable. That is, they can apply for bail and have a right to be considered for release. And finally, all undertrials who have completed the maximum period of prescribed punishment, in which case they have a right to be released on personal bonds under Section 436A Cr PC.

Over the years, several alternatives to imprisonment have been debated to ease congestion in jails. Instead of ordering imprisonment, the courts should impose heavy fines on the offenders and confiscate their property. The Centre should amend the statute, if necessary. This system is already in vogue in the UK, Japan and Holland.

The concept of open jails is yet to catch up in the country as we have only 27 of them. Rajasthan has gone a step further by setting up 13 open air camps with a capacity of 509 inmates. A convict can go out to eke out a living (up to a distance of 10 km from the camp) between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. He can stay with his family in the camp in the nights.

Conceptually, the 18th century punitive theory is out of sync today and has given place to reformative approach which considers jails not as punishment centres but as correctional homes. Successful models in Delhi’s Tihar jail (the Vipaasna experiment), Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail (the Mobile Bhajiya van), West Bengal jails (education, music, dance and theatre) and Rajasthan’s open air camps (livelihood option) need to be replicated by other states to reform prisoners and make them worthy human beings.

MIDDLE

The colours of life
by Justice Mahesh Grover

AS the oars cut through the placid waters of the lake, shattering their stillness on a cold wintry evening, I settled down to my daily stint of rowing. The sun was mournfully going down spreading a stupendous riot of colours in the sky which seemed to be looking down into the water to catch its glowing and blushing reflection that the fading sun had left it with.

Admiringly, I rowed on, when suddenly I heard a loud splash, startling me for a moment. I looked back with concern, praying that it be not someone who had accidentally fallen in water. To my amazement, I saw a young “sambhar” in water trying to swim towards the deeper waters of the lake, while a pack of wild untamed dogs, who were chasing it, initially stood at the edge with all their naked, unmasked viciousness and then jumped into the water to follow it. The “baby sambhar” swam furiously for its life.

I recognised the danger it was in and was, therefore, all concern. I realised that soon this poor animal will tire itself out and since it had lost its direction, it would be doomed anyway, even if it managed to escape its predators. I immediately rang up the staff at the Lake Club and asked them to send the rescue boat. After initial hesitations and a bit of dillydallying, they obliged and soon a motor boat was on its way.

The dogs in the meantime realised that a swim in winter waters was not worth it and that their small legs are not powerful enough to allow them a swift chase in the water and so, they retreated. The men in the rescue boat, who had reached by then, gently tried to turn the young sambhar backwards, towards the shore by nudging it in that direction.

And then suddenly I saw the most moving site. The family of the distressed sambhar appeared on the shore and feverently started called out to their off-spring.

The call was heard by the young sambhar, who heeded it and found its direction. Soon the family was united. The mother fondly licked it while the father gazed towards the rescue team as if in gratitude and also with a glint in his eye daring anyone to harm his family. They then nudged their young one protectively towards the forest and disappeared in the thickets.

The rescue boat turned back and faded away into the distant mist which had, by now, started to settle down.

I was left wondering that in a sequence lasting few minutes life’s various emotions had played themselves out before me, i.e., the viciousness of a predator, hounding its prey, the fear and desperation of the hounded; the urgent sense of preservation of one’s life, the tragedy of separation of a family, the joy of reunion, the affection of a mother, the protectiveness of a father and lastly the joy and satisfaction of having helped someone with which feeling I ploughed my boat back.

Nature reveals itself in many ways. It revealed to me that life, indeed, is a bag of emotions, the colours of which are splashed in everyday incidents. The same are to be savoured and treasured but only if one has time to notice and ponder over them.

(The writer is Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court)

OPED

British public libraries becoming friendlier
by Arifa Akbar

Borrowing books in Britain has just got a whole lot easier: people can now borrow books regardless of where they live, under a new scheme revealed by the Society of Chief Librarians. Existing membership cards or a proof of address will allow readers to use any library, although books have to be returned to the same area.

The ultimate aim is to encourage more people to use libraries in the face of stiff competition from online booksellers and bookshops with the added attraction of coffee bars. Among those who might benefit from the scheme are people who need extra reading material while on holiday. Users will be issued with cards allowing them to drop books at libraries elsewhere under plans set to be announced next month by the Culture minister, Margaret Hodge.

There has been a sharp decline in library use. It looks pretty gloomy for book borrowing, which has fallen consistently over the past few years; the annual statistics for 2002/3 showed that there were 15,843,000 borrowers across the United Kingdom, which by 2007/8, had dropped by 20 per cent to 12,608,000. The total number of full-time staff employed by libraries has also fallen by 6.5 per cent when compared to 2002/3.

Where are libraries going wrong? While the service offers a wide range of uses, it could perhaps do with a PR makeover. Tony Durcan, Chair of the Society of Chief Libraries, said that on the whole, libraries across Britain offered a “tremendous service” but not everyone knew what they had to offer. The solution, he said, was in good advertising on a national scale. “One of the big issues is around how we promote the value of public libraries. There are still people who don’t realise libraries are free to use. There has to be national co-ordination to provide leadership in pulling it together, and let people know,” he said.

The good news is that although fewer books are being borrowed, people are taking advantage of the services offered by local libraries which includes free internet access. The number of people using library services via the internet, for services including book renewals and catalogue inquiries, has risen 20 per cent this year, with more than 76m web visits. Roy Clare, chief executive of the Museums and Libraries Archive (MLA), said this could signal the future. “If you look at the supposed downward curve of the library’s physical use, it is matched or even eclipsed by online access,” said he.

It’s something you can do 24/7 and you can order books from the library at 2am and they will be delivered to your local library for collection.” He said the tenet on which the library was founded as a place for learning still held strong. “The core values in the mid 19th century were around a learning agenda and access to information; libraries are still a wonderful, democratic way to access information and reading”.

Do libraries need an image revamp ? The former Culture secretary Andy Burnham said that libraries needed to shake off their popular image as dusty institutions filled with imposing librarians to thrive in the modern world. A consultation was launched last year that could transform the face of libraries with in-house coffee franchises, film centres and bookshops. Mr Burnham said that the sector needed to “think radical” to modernise, adding: “The popular public image of libraries as solemn and sombre places patrolled by fearsome and formidable staff is decades out of date, but is nonetheless taken for granted by too many people.”

Should we end the silence rule in libraries? Mr Burham floated the idea last year, suggesting that the traditional silence in libraries be reviewed (as well as opening hours extended). He said: “Libraries should be a place for families and joy and chatter. The word chatter might strike fear into the heart of traditionalists but libraries should be places that offer an antidote to the isolation of someone playing on the internet at home.” The silence debate caused a storm with campaigners accusing Mr Burnham of dodging the real issue of decades of under-funding.

How are libraries adapting to modern times? Some libraries have already abandoned the bureaucracy around obtaining membership, with libraries in the Stockport, Blackpool and Manchester areas no longer asking for forms of identification first. Camden council in north London is set to overhaul its rules to allow mobile phones, food, drink and chat. The council is also considering providing computer games to spark interest. In Hillingdon, west London, libraries have been refurbished, with extended opening times and the Starbucks franchise invited to set up coffee shops. In Hillingdon’s Ruislip Manor branch, the changes have led to an increase in visitor numbers by 11,000, with 12,000 more books being lent.

Are British libraries worse off than abroad? Flagship libraries across the globe are impressive visions to behold and the New York Public Library is one of the largest and offers patrons access to millions of books and it has worked with Google to create a selection of digital books; the Bibliotheque Nationale de France focuses on computers more than books including services from four super computers. But the British system, which is funded on a local government level, is apparently the envy of many. “Libraries abroad are in many ways envious of what we are able to do. Big cities abroad have fantastic libraries but they are not so good at having the library at their doorsteps,” said Mr Clare.

The Society of Chief Libraries is considering adopting a similar model to British Columbia Libraries’ “BC One” card, where a library card from home allows access to libraries anywhere in the Canadian province. At the same time, ministers are planning a home delivery system similar to online DVD rental website Lovefilm.co.uk where readers can borrow books online, have them delivered by post, and then return them in a prepaid envelope. The Culture minister, Margaret Hodge, has championed ideas to rejuvenate libraries, such as having libraries in shopping centres or rail stations and a possible deal with coffee chains that would see cafes opened in the building.n

— By arrangement with The Independent

Using tractors for power generation
by Sarabjit Arjan Singh

This is in continuation of this writer’s article “Tractors can generate power” (The Tribune, August 12, 2009) in which the basic thesis was that Punjab has a vast untapped source of electric power generation. By harnessing one per cent of the tractors, the state would add about 88 MW to its generating capacity. There are no technical or managerial difficulties from making this happen. However, the cost of generation does appear to be a disadvantage.

The cost of power generated by liquid fuels is around Rs 12 per unit; tractor generated power may be costlier. Even if we adopt the principle of marginal costing, by taking investments in tractors as sunk cost, per unit cost is unlikely to be below Rs 10. The PSEB has been covering its power deficit by buying power in the range of Rs 7-10. If the price is suitable, it can tap non-liquid fuel captive power generating capacity available in Punjab (306 MW) and its neighbouring states.

The regulatory regime requires the PSEB to purchase power at the least cost. All this makes it difficult for the PSEB to purchase power generated by tractors unless the government subsidises it. In the face of the cost structure, does the proposal of using tractors make any sense? Interestingly yes.

The logic of using tractors or other generating capacities like standby generating sets comes from the effects of non-availability of power. The Tribune (August 13, 2009) gives a graphic account of the effects of lack of generating capacity.

Power cuts have reached 7-12 hours for all categories of consumers. The general industrial sector now faces three offdays in a week. This report continues that Director System Operations stated that attempts to cover the shortfall by purchasing power from everywhere available was insufficient to meet the shortfall.

This writer agrees that “to meet the ever growing demand for power, all available sources like hydel, thermal, nuclear, solar and wind should be tapped on a war-footing.” In addition, short gestation sources of power generation like tractors, standby generators and co-generation from agro waste are also noteworthy. The alarming shortage of generating capacity calls for a multi-pronged approach.

In 2005, R.K. Pachauri calculated the cost of not meeting the power demand on the Indian economy to be anywhere between Rs 15 and Rs 25 a unit. This implies that in 2005 the loss in output was between Rs 15 and Rs 25 for every unit not supplied and should, in today’s rupees, be higher. A rough estimate is that bad electricity supply reduces India’s GDP by nearly 1.5 per cent.

Additional investment in captive power plants, small generating sets and inverters by those consumers who cannot do without power increases their costs of production. Those unable to afford the capital expenditure of standby generation are compelled to close the unit. Reducing power outages is the need of the hour and tractors can play a role in bringing online generating capacity quickly. Industries receiving uninterrupted power supply will produce more and thus pay more taxes. The increased revenue of the state should outweigh the subsidy needed for compensating the PSEB for purchasing power generated by tractors.

Punjab can develop a system very similar to Maharashtra’s Distributed Generation Based Electricity Distribution Franchisee (DGBDF) model for generation of power by tractors in conjunction with co-generation from sugar and small industrial plants, small hydroelectric plants and producer gas-based generation. If this method reduces load shedding and improves quality of power supply, a reliability charge on selected customers will pay for the higher cost of generation from tractors and other generating systems. The state will also benefit from the distributed generation in reduced transmission and distribution losses by reducing the existing transmission system overload.

A high voltage (HV) substation supplies power through a feeder to a defined area which is normally electrically isolated. A franchisee, chosen by open bidding, will supply power to this area by connecting tractor power generating facility and/or co-generation plants or any other sources of power to the feeder. The objective is to make the area allocated to the franchisee a zero load shedding zone.

All consumers in the allocated area will have uninterrupted power and defined consumers will pay an additional reliability charge. Power generation by tractors can be viable if it links with a no loadshedding regime. Reliability charges can cover the higher cost of generation by tractors and other sources. The Pune experience suggests that this is workable and financially viable.

Punjab has an additional source of power generation in its tractors, which the government should use to give rural households another source of income and make Punjab a no loadshedding state. It needs recognition that while the cost of generating electricity from tractors is high, the economic cost to the state and the country by not being able to service the demand is even higher. Hence the suggestion merits serious consideration.

The writer is former Member, Principal Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal

Spread out mega sports events
by Bharat Dogra

India is involved in preparations for hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As it is too late to reconsider the desirability of hosting the Games, the Indian Olympic Association and the Delhi administration ought to receive the cooperation of all concerned. But before hosting such mega sports events in future, it will be helpful to think up some new and innovative ideas which may at the same time be able to sort out a number of problems associated with the organisation of such events.

In fact the time has come for a long-overdue reform of international sports events. It’s time to visualise a new system in which a number of countries will together organise the Olympic games, the Commonwealth Games or other such events. In the new system there can still be a main host country responsible for about 15 to 20 per cent of the events plus the inaugural and closing ceremonies, but the bulk of the games will be held across 20 to 30 countries representing all major regions.

There are several compelling reasons why such a change is needed. The Beijing Olympic Games, it is estimated, cost US $ 43 billion. The Athens Olympics were cheaper at US $14 billion, yet left behind a debt of US $8 billion. Escalating costs and potential losses will make it impossible for a majority of the countries to even think of hosting the Olympic Games. However it’ll be possible for most countries to host at least a few events.

When the Olympic Games are spread over 25 countries from all the continents and regions, then people all over the world will feel closer to the games. When a single country hosts such a high-profile event, several political considerations relating to this country are inevitably highlighted. On the other hand, when the games are spread over many countries, this possibility will be substantially reduced.

When a huge event gets concentrated in a single city, the socio-economic and environmental costs for this city can be far too high. A large number of poor people face evictions while hurriedly constructed infra-structure can play havoc with the normal planning for the city. This has been seen in Delhi where construction activity has been allowed in the Yamuna flood plains so that preparations for the Commonwealth Games do not suffer. Also, several expensive facilities created for mega-events often remain badly underutilised.

Due to difficulties in managing far too many events in a single country and in a short period of time, strict limits have been placed on the number of sports events and participating athletes or players. This deprives a large number of sportspersons and sports lovers of having a sense of participation. On the other hand when it is possible to spread out Olympic Games and other international sports events across several countries, it will become possible to again start introducing new sports events gradually.

There is, therefore, much to be gained and nothing to be lost if the Olympic Games and other mega sports events are hosted together by 20 to 30 countries in future. The burden will be greatly reduced and the kind of high-tension speeding up we are witnessing now in India for the Commonwealth Games will be avoided along with the possibility of several costly mistakes and violation of urban planning norms.