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A question
of integrity Fares
should be fair |
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Disturbing
signals from Kabul
China’s
sinister anti-India moves
Growing
up
Save
Chandigarh from ruin
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Fares should be fair
When
Leh was laid low by mud slides in August and the road traffic was blocked, air route was the only option to pull out trapped people. Even in such an hour of need, some airlines tried to jack up the fares. This was a clear case of thriving on people’s misery. And that was not the only occasion either. Some airlines increase fares routinely whenever there is high demand. Under such a situation of unwarranted armtwisting, the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has done well to step in and ask the carriers to furnish route-wise tariff on their entire network in the beginning of each month. They will also have to report any significant and noticeable change in the established tariff already filed to the DGCA within 24 hours of effecting such a change. The airlines will also have to publish air fares on their websites or in daily newspapers on a regular basis. Welcome that the order is, it must be enforced strictly, because the airlines have the history of not taking such orders too seriously. The DGCA had shot off a letter to them in February last year also asking for information regarding the hike in airfares. Nothing much changed on the ground. The latest order should be implemented forcefully so that the passengers are no longer fleeced. There are also reasons to suspect that there is cartelisation among airlines. A telltale sign is that some of them withdrew their low-end fares last year simultaneously. No doubt private airlines are there to maximise their profits but it should not be done by blackmailing the passengers. There are two major issues involved. One, how much increase would be rational during a peak season? And two, should airlines jack up prices during natural calamities or disruption of road or rail traffic? Making passengers pay through their nose during such contingencies is not an ethical practice at all.
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Disturbing signals from Kabul
As
suggested by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has approved of US President Barack Obama’s troop withdrawal plan for the war-torn country. The troop pullout, beginning July 2011, will end in December 2014, allowing Afghanistan’s security forces to take over from the foreigners. However, it is argued that the US, which has the maximum number of soldiers in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s 28-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), must stay put on some pretext beyond 2014 to ensure that the Taliban factions are unable to stage a comeback. There is the lurking fear that the Karzai government may not last long once the US and its allies leave Afghanistan to the Afghans. But President Obama is unwilling to budge from the stand he has taken despite some experts within the American security set-up opposing his strategy. Perhaps, he believes the US must not lose the available opportunity for an honourable exit. There are three players who must be rejoicing over the NATO-approved troop withdrawal strategy: President Karzai, the Pakistan government and the Taliban. Karzai, who was about to be abandoned by the Obama administration during the last Afghan elections, has been giving clear hints that he has no interest in remaining loyal to the losing side — the US and its allies. He has been soft in his remarks against Pakistan for some time so that Islamabad does not launch a drive against him in the situation that will emerge after the foreign forces leave Afghanistan. The Taliban factions are going to be the maximum gainers. The US-led drive against them not only failed to eliminate them, but also made the super power realise that some of the extremists — the “good” Taliban — must be won over for the rule of law to prevail in Afghanistan. That is the reason why the Karzai government had been holding talks with the “good” Taliban to make them join his regime. All this may help establish a semblance of order in Afghanistan, but it cannot be in the larger interest of global peace. In such a scenario, terrorist networks in the AfPak area will continue to operate unchallenged!
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The unexamined life is not worth living. — Socrates
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China’s sinister anti-India moves
In
its recent annual report to the US Congress on China’s military power, the Pentagon revealed that the Second Artillery — China’s strategic missile force — had deployed long-range CSS-5 (DF-21) nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles close to the border with India. It has also been widely reported that China has agreed to provide two new nuclear reactors to Pakistan in violation of its non-proliferation commitments and in complete disregard of the Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines. China’s military posturing and its continuing support for Pakistan do not augur well for strategic stability in South Asia. China’s nuclear warhead and missile technology nexus with Pakistan has been meticulously documented by several international experts. By giving Pakistan nuclear warhead technology and 50 kg highly enriched uranium for two bombs, helping Pakistan to test its first nuclear warhead secretly at the Lop Nor range, by gifting fully assembled M-9 and M-11 ballistic missiles to Pakistan and by blessing North Korea’s transfer of No Dong and Taepo Dong missiles to Pakistan, China has irrevocably changed the geostrategic equation in South Asia. China’s conventional military aid and joint weapons development programmes, including Al Khalid tanks, F-22 frigates and FC-1/JF-17 fighter aircraft, have considerably strengthened Pakistan’s war-waging capability. The “all-weather” friendship between China and Pakistan is, in Chinese President Hu Jintao’s words, “higher than the mountains and deeper than the oceans”. Under a treaty of “Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighbourly Relations”, signed during Premier Wen Jiabao’s 2005 tour, China has guaranteed Pakistan’s territorial integrity. Had it not been for the cover provided by its nuclear shield, an internally unstable and economically failing Pakistan would have been in no position to wage a proxy war against India in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere through its mercenary terrorists. The Chinese are engaged in building ports, roads, gas pipelines and even dams in Pakistan, including in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Chinese also have plans to build a rail link through the Khunjerab Pass to link up with the main railway line in Pakistan so as to gain access to Karachi port. It was recently reported by Selig Harrison in The International Herald Tribune that 7,000 to 11,000 Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers are deployed in the Northern Areas of Gilgit-Baltistan. They are perhaps there for counter-terrorism activities to prevent Islamist terrorists from moving into Xingjian through the Karakoram Range. The military presence in PoK coupled with the denial of visa to the GOC-in-C, Northern Command, and the issuance of stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) clearly indicates that China has discarded the charade of neutrality between India and Pakistan over the status of J&K. It is sometimes forgotten that China is in physical occupation of 5,180 sq km of J&K territory in the Shaksgam valley. This territory was ceded by Pakistan to China under a bilateral agreement in March 1963. India, of course, does not recognise that agreement. Despite these unfriendly and provocative acts, the India-China relationship is relatively stable at the strategic level. Bilateral trade has crossed $50 billion and is expected to touch $60 billion soon. If India’s trade with Hong Kong is included, China — now the world’s second largest economy — is already India’s largest trading partner. China and India have been coordinating their approach in international negotiations at the Doha round of WTO discussions and on environmental issues in the 2009 World Climate Summit at Copenhagen. Both countries played a calming role in the 2008-09 global financial meltdown. As both hold substantial foreign exchange reserves, they will increasingly play a greater role in decision-making in the existing scenario. However, at the tactical level, China has been exhibiting marked political, diplomatic and military aggressiveness. There are several areas of concern that are limiting the growth of the bilateral relationship. China and India are competing for scarce energy resources all over the world. A strategy based on cooperation rather than competition will help both countries to secure better terms and will enable them to share their risks. China’s deep inroads into Myanmar and support to its military regime, its covert assistance to the now defunct LTTE in Sri Lanka; its increasing activities in the Bay of Bengal, its attempts to isolate India in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) while keeping India out of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and its relentless efforts to increase its influence in Nepal and Bangladesh are all contentious issues. China’s efforts to develop port facilities in Myanmar (Hangyi), Chittagong (Bangladesh), Sri Lanka (Hambantota), in the Maldives and at Gwadar in Pakistan are seen by many Indian analysts as forming part of a “string of pearls” strategy to develop the capacity to dominate the Northern Indian Ocean region around 2015-20. It emerges quite clearly that a major ingredient of China’s grand strategy is its carefully orchestrated plan aimed at the strategic encirclement of India in the long-term to counter-balance India’s growing power and influence in Asia even as China engages India on the political and economic fronts in the short-term. China refuses to discuss nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs) and nuclear risk-reduction measures (NRRMs) with India on the grounds that India is not a nuclear weapons state recognised by the NPT. China’s official position is that India should cap, roll-back and eliminate its nuclear weapons in terms of UNSC Resolution 1172. It would be in the interest of both countries to discuss nuclear CBMs and NRRMs so as to reduce the risk of inadvertent nuclear exchanges. The unstable security relationship and lack of progress on the resolution of the territorial dispute have the potential to act as a spoiler and will ultimately determine whether these Asian giants will clash or cooperate for mutual gains. China’s political, diplomatic and military aggressiveness at the tactical level is hampering further normalisation of relations. Therefore, a border conflict, though improbable, cannot be ruled
out. The writer is Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi.
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Growing up Ours
was an arranged marriage. Our horoscopes were scrutinised. They didn’t match perfectly. There was some problem in our stars. Some stars could cause mischief. It’s all right, we can correct it by doing a havan, the learned pandit said. After all, the two families had agreed on other more important issues. We met only once for an hour. The match was fixed. There was no going back. Perhaps, that’s how arranged marriages happen in India. We got married amidst chanting of mantras. We vowed to stay together in this life and six others to follow. The honeymoon was well…okay. Here were two complete strangers trying to get to know each other physically and emotionally. It was interesting, to say the least. We had our first difference of opinion, to put it mildly, right there. You see, we are like chalk and cheese. I realised that on our wedding day itself when we shared our lunch. Our tongues tingled for differing foods. Anyway, we kissed and made up. Come on, even our honeymoon was not over as yet! We descended on terra firma (not as if we were exactly on cloud nine during those first few days together). Anyway, I conceived within a few months. He said he was getting older and wanted a child right away. That was one thing we agreed on. He took care of my physical needs like taking me to the doctor for regular checkup, making sure that I ate well and took my medicines but he could’nt cope with my mood swings. I would give him full credit because he really tried. I had my son within a year. It’s been 13 years since. From something as basic as food to other finer tastes in life, we differ on many things under the sun. We have our fights. We argue, shout at each other. And we make up. We came into this relationship without any baggage. We have learnt to respect each other’s differences. We have become more tolerant to each other’s faults and are careful not to tread on the other’s faultlines. It’s not that we are head over heels in love but we have grown to like each other. Perhaps that’s the charm of arranged
marriages.
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Save Chandigarh from ruin
The Tribune investigative series “Chandigarh skyline in danger” exposed how Punjab politicians had combined with the Tata Housing Project to plan a 19-tower township in the vicinity of the Sukhna Lake marring the city’s skyline. We have been flooded with letters expressing concern over the project. A select few letters are being published today
Do not dwarf Capitol Complex I must congratulate The Tribune for carrying out such a courageous investigation into
the murky deals of the politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen who conspired for their own benefit . After the Adarsh Housing scam, many such scandals of land grabbing are surfacing. It is disgusting to know that the 129 politicians from Punjab have twisted laws for getting posh four-bedroom flats and Rs 82.5 lakhs in cash from the Tata housing project. It is also strange that the Punjab government has given all clearance to the Tata Housing Development Corporation for going ahead with the housing project, overruling the edict of Chandigarh which clearly states that "there is to be no development in the north of the Capitol Complex." What is more shameful is the fact that such a complex which comprises 19 high-rise buildings, will block the Shivalik range that forms the backdrop of the Capitol Complex. One really wonders if this is the true form of democracy. The Court must deny permission to the Tata Housing Development Corporation for erecting these illegal towers which will dwarf Le Corbusier's Capitol Complex and mar the City Beautiful. R K
KAPOOR, Don't mar city's beauty
Chandigarh: city of the future held the personal interest of Jawaharlal Nehru. Commissioned to reflect the new nation's modern, progressive outlook, Nehru famously proclaimed Chandigarh to be "unfettered by the traditions of the past, a symbol of the nation's faith in the future." Many years have passed, and the country writhes in the grip of incompetence, corruption and hypocrisy. We have willingly
cultivated this bureaucratic hydra for self-serving ends. The hydra now slithers into our neighbourhood defended by beneficiaries who are part and parcel of it: a housing project backed no less than by the prestigious Tata group. If this horrific plan materialises, Chandigarh's tryst with destiny will have been brutally buried, and we will be fettered forever with the consequences. RANJIT SAHGAL, via e-mail
Keep city’s plan intact
Chandigarh was named "City Beautiful" because it is the first planned city of India and the cleanest city in India. It is known internationally for its architecture and urban planning. It belongs to the world, its residents, the future generations of India, and numerous architects like Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Matthew Nowicki, and Albert Mayer, who devoted a part of their lives to designing the city, so that it could be called "City Beautiful". The original intent with which the city was planned and created should not be altered by politicians who were not even part of the team when the city was created and who are blinded by greed and are willing to sacrifice the City Beautiful. Politicians will come and go, but the city is going to stay here for future generations. Let us not deprive the world and the future generations of India of the pleasure of owning a beautiful city for the temporary materialistic gains of a few. I request Punjab politicians to whom power has been given by the people to use their power to protect the "original intent with which the city was planned and created" for the benefit of the world and the future generations of India and not be tempted by temporary monetary gains. PARTAP
CHAUDHARY, Drop the housing project
In response to the raging controversy over the construction of high rise buildings, as opposed to the Punjab New capital (Periphery) Control Act 1952,the head of the Tata Housing Development Company says that "as long as we have the support of the government, we have no problem". With so many political big guns, of all hues and shades, being direct beneficiaries of the project, it is more than obvious that no government would ever raise any objection. The present legal status of the controversial land apart, what is to be looked into is the fact that what prompted the Punjab Government to sideline the Periphery Act? There have been instances when unauthorised approach roads have been constructed at the expense of public exchequer to benefit certain farmhouses owned by politicians, which benefit some ordinary people also. But that does not justify the unlawful act. The project must be dropped sooner rather than later BALVINDER, Chandigarh
Laudable crusade
I applaud The Tribune for raising this serious issue and hope that the Indian courts, the Chandigarh administration and above all the people of Chandigarh and Punjab shall have the courage to freeze this ugly project in its tracks. D PAL SINGH
KAHLON, Preserve the city
Chandigarh has been my home since October 1956. I have seen the city grow brick by brick and faced its hot and cold winds. Today, it is the City Beautiful. It is different from other parts of the country. Its air has a different scent and it symbolises the India of our dreams. Let the greed of a few not bring grief to thousands who have made it their home. The city is a national asset. Its periphery and purity need to be preserved and protected. J L GUPTA, Say no to skyscrapers
Chandigarh is known for its modern architecture
merging with the gentle slope of Shivalik foothills and interspersed by rivulets working as natural arteries. The magnetic pull of this marvel has already added to its fragility and city is choking under vehicular pressure. The erection of skyscrapers in the vicinity would not only mar the architectural aesthetics of the city but would simply be non-sustainable. The most important question people are asking is that if the trustees of the democratic system are undependable where should they fall back upon in moments of crisis. MANIJIT SINGH, United in greed
We see a unique unity in diversity in our political system where some of our MLAs and MPs ,members of a Cooperative Housing Society at Nayagaon, who differ on many things of public interest, condemn each other's party ideologies, call each other corrupt and never appreciate the good work done. But for personal interest they forget their party ideologies and affiliations. They bend all the rules, laws and regulations to sell their Cooperative Housing Society to Tatas for commercial consideration. The question is of their integrity, responsibility and accountability. This is nothing but moral bankruptcy. The Camelot project is nothing but a "commonloot project". Ratan Tata lamented that his airlines company did not get licence some time back as they did not pay a bribe of Rs. 15 crore to a minister. Every right thinking citizen of Punjab in general and of Chandigarh in particular is against this scandalous project. Tatas, which are known as corporate with ethics must pull back from this project immediately and action may be initiated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court against all these politicians who tried to make the mockery of our system. Capt AMAR JEET
KUMAR, SAS Nagar
Don't violate Periphery Act
"Save Chandigarh" campaign was launched by Chandigarh Sanjha Morcha about five years back, which received tremendous boost from the media. Besides protesting against the ad hoc, unsystematic and forced land acquisition by the UT administration for vested interests, we have been crying hoarse against the violation of the Periphery Act, flouting of environmental norms and edict of Chandigarh by the UT as well as satellite townships of Mohali and
Panchkula. The coordination panel set up by the government of India to review and finalise the integrated Master Plan of Chandigarh with high-powered empanelled members such as Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Haryana and top UT officials and many other specialists failed to complete the assignment. If the bureaucrats and politicians had an iota of interest in Chandigarh, then the Tata Housing Project would never have been conceived. We strongly protest against the project and other projects which may come up around Chandigarh. These will not only pose a serious threat to environment, flora and fauna but also affect the very existence of UT villages. Therefore the Tata Housing Project must be scrapped. Brig. KULDIP SINGH
KAHLON, Don't transfer Chandigarh
I was flabbergasted to read the response of the politicians of Punjab. I would like to remind them that Chandigarh was developed with a vision by Jawaharlal Nehru to represent modern India. It was additionally planned to house lakhs of people who became refugees due to Partition. Inhabitants of the city have fought for the preservation of its character and master plan for the last 60 years. The state of Punjab lays claim to Chandigarh and yet its legislators are determined to destroy it. Do they really have the interest of Chandigarh at heart when they claim it? Do they deserve Chandigarh
at all? If the representatives of the people of Punjab continue with the proposed project, the people of Chandigarh will start a campaign to oppose Chandigarh ever being transferred
to Punjab. JAISHREE THAKUR, Hope better sense prevails
The entire idea behind the multi-storeyed project called "Camelot" seems to be the fallout of the short-sightedness of the politicians of
Punjab. Chandigarh has gained international recognition and is hailed as a success story in urban planning. In fact it is rated as one of the best projects of the 20th Century. The Swiss (Le Corbusier was born in Switzerland) consider it important enough to put the Capitol Complex i.e. High Court, Secretariat and Assembly on the Ten Franc currency note in honour of Le Corbusier. But closer home, people are out to destroy the City Beautiful. While the citizens of Chandigarh are trying to get world heritage status for the Capitol Complex and the city, the leaders of Punjab are only looking at a gain of a few crores of rupees. It is a classical case of killing the goose that lays the golden egg. I hope the legislators from Punjab will voluntarily withdraw from the proposed project. BRIJINDER S. D. SINGH, Heed environmental concerns
Did the Punjab Government give the permission to THDC as per the legal parameters/provisions under law or did it violate it for the benefit of the mighty and the powerful? Further, since the reputation of an esteemed organisation like Tatas is at stake ,I don't think that they would have compromised on any legal parameters/necessary stipulated bye-laws/necessary compulsive permissions under the "periphery act". We can just pray that good sense prevails among the people who are behind this massive commercial project. They must incorporate the genuine concerns of the masses, especially environmental concerns. GIRISH
ANAND, Mind people’s interests
I take this opportunity to laud the efforts put in by The Tribune, particularly by their principal correspondent Ruchika M. Khanna, who has taken great pains to investigate this big scam of politicians, who have shown utter disregard to the future of Chandigarh and its environment. To achieve their selfish motto, politicians from all parties, irrespective of their great differences in ideology, have joined together. Their greed has overpowered the need. Now that they seem to have plugged all legal loopholes, I can only appeal to their consciousness to give up this project in the interest of the people. Brig JOGINDAR SINGH
(retd), Don't disfigure its head
The "City Beautiful" is a gift of Nehru and French architect Le Corbusier to India. City Beautiful has been designed as a human body, where all aspects of nourishment to tiniest part of body have been taken care of and "Capitol Complex" is the head of the body. Bureaucrats and politicians are dismembering and disfiguring the head and ruining the body by violating rules and regulations. Let us preserve it for future
generations. KULDIP RAI WADHWA, via e-mail
Why highrise building?
Hand over Chandigarh to Punjab and they will convert it into Ludhiana or for that matter Delhi within no time. Why do these people want to make their apartments just on Chandigarh's head? Why don't they buy a suitable land in Mohali which is also a satellite city of
Chandigarh? I know Tatas must have got all the necessary approvals from authorities. But their claims are based on mere technicalities. No doubt Nayagaon is a notifed area committee. But it does not need rocket science to understand that it falls within the periphery of Chandigarh. Even if the high and mighty want to live adjacent to Sukhna why can't they live in a low-rise apartment? HARPREET SINGH,
Send in your views whether for or against the project at editorinchief@tribuneindia.com We will carry a select few of them in the paper apart from putting the rest on our website.
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