New Delhi, June 23
Raising the ante against the government on the contentious Lokpal Bill, the Anna Hazare team today alleged the government version of the ombudsman was not aimed at fighting corruption but for targeting those who complained against the menace.

“Rather than gunning for the corrupt and corruption, the government’s Lokpal seems to be gunning for those who complain against corruption,” a statement issued by the group said.

It said before investigations actually start, the government servant could file a cross-complaint against the citizen in the special court, without any preliminary inquiry by any agency, that the complaint was false or frivolous. “The government will provide free advocate to the government servant to file the case. The citizen will have to defend himself on his own. Then there is stiffer punishment for the complainant than the corrupt government servant,” it said.

“If the special court concludes that the complaint is frivolous or false, the citizen faces a minimum of two years of punishment. But if corruption charges against the government servant are proved, there is a minimum of six months of punishment for the corrupt government servant,” it added.

The activists said the exclusion of a large chunk of the bureaucracy from the ambit of the Lokpal and the provision to hear officials accused of corruption before filing of case and chargesheet were not proper. Wondering how most public servants could be left out of the Lokpal’s purview while NGOs up to the village level had been within its ambit, they expressed apprehension that the Lokpal would be able to haul up activists from organisations representing farmers, labourers and tribals or movements related to anti-corruption, land and other issues.

They argued while the government said the Lokpal would get overwhelmed with too many cases if all government employees (40 lakh Central and 80 lakh state government), were covered, but decided to bring all NGOs, small or big, under its ambit.

“So, in a remote village, if a group of youngsters detect corruption in panchayat works using RTI, the youngsters can be hauled up by the Lokpal, but the Lokpal would not have jurisdiction over sarpanch, BDO or their corruption,” the Team Anna said.

Citing an example, it said the Lokpal would not have jurisdiction over the Delhi Government officials, but would cover all resident welfare associations in the Capital. No one can dispute the fact that corruption in NGOs needs to be addressed. But how can you leave most public servants out of the Lokpal’s purview, but bring NGOs up to village level within its purview,” activists questioned.

New Delhi, June 23
With the exception of the BJP and its ally, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), most Opposition parties consider Team Anna’s Lokpal Bill draft a bit preposterous, extra-constitutional and impinging on the sovereignty of Parliament.

The BJP has been vociferously backing Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev in their campaigns against corruption and black money. But it is avoiding comments on Anna camp’s Jan Lokpal Bill. “This argument of a body parallel to the government is wholly untenable. You already have the UPSC, the CAG and other independent institutions. There is no merit in the government’s argument,” BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

But Prasad refused to discuss the merits and demerits of the two Bills. “This (government draft) is not the government view. This is only a draft by five ministers,” he said.

The JD-U was even more evasive. “I have been in transit and so I have not read the Bills,” JD-U spokesman Shivanand Tiwari said. However, CPI general secretary AB Bardhan was candid enough to say: “The government Lokpal Bill is ineffective and inadequate. How can you exclude the Prime Minister and the PMO from the purview of Lokpal? So many departments are with the Prime Minister.”

“Lokpal will not end all corruption unless it is accompanied by other simultaneous measures,” he said while making a reference to the Judicial Accountability Bill and demanded a Judicial Commission to regulate the appointment and conduct of judges. “Their (Anna camp) intention seems to be good but they have gone a bit overboard. Parliament is sovereign and none can impinge on that,” he added.

CPM Politbureau members Sitaram Yechury and Nilotpal Basu criticised the government’s decision to engage in special dialogue with Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev.

“There is a systematic design to undermine the role of political parties and political persons. This is happening not just in India but spreading the world over. There is a design to insulate legislative process from people’s concerns as articulated by the political class,” they said.

Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh said he was okay with bringing the Prime Minister or at least the PMO within the ambit of the Lokpal since the PMO is handling so many departments.

But Singh dubbed Anna’s suggestion to have all government departments in the Centre as well as in the states under the Lokpal as unconstitutional and impractical. He also opposed the proposal to bring the judiciary under the Lokpal.

New Delhi, June 23
As the UPA government prepares to elicit views of political parties on the two drafts of the proposed Lokpal Bill that emerged from its inconclusive discussions with the Civil Society representatives, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of the party's working committee tomorrow to firm up its position on the controversial anti-graft legislation.

Although Janardan Dwivedi, AICC media department chief, maintained that the meeting was slated to discuss "current political developments", party insiders maintained that the raging controversy over the Lokpal would top the agenda. The working committee would harmonise its views on the Bill while the government would seek an endorsement for its version of the Bill from the party.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was heading the Lokpal drafting panel, is expected to brief the working committee members on the discussions in this committee and the salient features of the two draft Bills. He is also likely to explain the reasons for rejecting some of the key provisions in the draft Bill prepared by Team Anna, especially the provision on the inclusion of the Prime Minister and the judiciary in the ambit of the Lokpal Bill.

While this emerged as a major point of contention between the government and the Civil Society representatives, there was no unanimity on the issue even within the government and the party. Senior Congress leader Digivijay Singh had spoken out in favour of covering the Prime Minister under the Bill while Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had vetoed it.

At one stage, the government was favourably inclined to adopt a middle path by proposing that the Prime Minister be brought under the ambit of the Lokpal, but only after he demitted office. However, it eventually decided against it as there was an overwhelming view in the government that it should put the onus on other political parties, notably the BJP, to give their views on the issue. The BJP has, so far, been non-committal on the subject.

New Delhi, June 23
Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has cleared the draft National Food Security Bill, 2011, which guarantees subsidised foodgrain to at least 90 per cent of rural households and 50 per cent urban households. The draft Food Bill will now be sent to the government.

While endorsing principle features of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011, the NAC also agreed to 49 amendments in the contentious Bill on the basis of feedback received.

The Food Bill, the most ambitious project of the UPA-II, envisages two types of households as eligible for discounted grain --- “priority households,” which includes those below the poverty line (BPL), and “general households” comprising lower middle class families.

Legally vetted by Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising, the draft Bill prepared by the NAC Working Group headed by Harsh Mander has categorised 46 per cent rural and 28 per cent urban households under “priority group” entitled to receive foodgrains (7 kg per head) at Rs three, two and one for wheat/rice/millets, respectively.

In addition, 49 per cent rural and 22 per cent urban households, categorised as “general group”, are entitled to receive foodgrains (4 kg per head) at not more than 50 per cent of the MSP of the respective foodgrain. The draft Bill follows a life cycle approach and introduces a number of other universal guarantees, including nutrition support and maternity entitlements for pregnant women, nutrition support to children both in pre-school centres and in school (out of school children would also be covered), destitute feeding and affordable meals for homeless and other needy urban populations; and special guarantees for starvation and emergencies.

It also creates accountability framework for protection of these entitlements and allows imposition of fines on defaulters and compensation to the victim and also envisages a strong grievance redress and monitoring system, from the Centre to the block level.

Lucknow, June 23
There is another setback for the Mayawati government grappling with a series of rapes and murders.The prime accused in the CMO murder case, deputy CMO YS Sachan, was found dead in the Lucknow district jail under mysterious circumstances. Amidst unanimous demand for a CBI inquiry into the custodial death by the opposition parties and the family of the deceased, the state government has ordered a judicial inquiry and suspended five jail officials for negligence in duty.

The suspended officials include jailor JP Srivastava, deputy jailor Sunil Kumar Singh, head warden Babu Ram Dubey and wardens Anil Kumar and Ram Naresh.

According to sources, Dr Sachan’s body was discovered after he was found missing during the evening head count in the district jail. His body was found hanging from a belt with his wrists slit in an unused toilet of the jail hospital building last night.

While the state government immediately declared it to be a case of suicide, circumstantial evidence leaves many points unanswered. After a six-hour-long postmortem, the examination report was submitted to the district judge. “A copy will also be sent to the NHRC and the state Human Rights Commission and the DIG,” said Lucknow DM Anil Sagar.

Sources claimed that the postmortem report stated that there were eight wounds on the body and that the death was not due to hanging, but due to excessive bleeding.

Refusing to take charge of the body and demanding a second impartial postmortem by doctors of AIIMS, Dr Sachan’s wife Dr Malti Sachan alleged that her husband had been murdered as he was planning to spill the beans. “He was under tremendous pressure and was being tortured by the police,” she alleged.

The deceased doctor’s brother, RK Sachan, was more explicit in his demand for a CBI inquiry into the case. “The state government’s investigating agencies must not be allowed to pursue the case as we have no faith in them.”

New Delhi, June 23
Boys dominated admissions at IIT, which came to a close yesterday, with 90 per cent male candidates walking away with seats in the premiere technical institutes. Girls made up just 10 per cent of the candidates who landed themselves a berth in the IITs.

In all, 13,197 candidates had qualified for admission to the institutes on the basis of the cut offs limits announced by the IIT Joint Admission Board. However, of these, only 9,319 candidates finally got in. As many as 3,878 candidates who had qualified as per the cut offs failed to get the seats due to a variety of reasons, including seats being filled up by top rankers.

As always, IIT Bombay emerged as first choice of the top rankers (it's the only Indian institute among the top 210 in the world QS rankings; its rank being 202). As many as 70 candidates in the top 100 All India Rank List opted for IIT Bombay, followed by 24 opting for IIT Delhi, 4 for IIT Kanpur and 2 for IIT Madras.

Even for girls, IIT Bombay is the top choice, with 27 girls who landed in the top 100 in the JEE common merit list, going in for IIT Bombay, followed by 26 in IIT Delhi; 12 in IIT Kharagpur, 11 in IIT Kanpur, 18 in IIT Madras and 6 in IIT Roorkee.

Among the courses, IIT Bombay’s computer science and engineering emerged the top course of choice of successful candidates: 3,352 candidates opted for this as against 1,393 who chose to do electrical engineering at the same institute.

Chandigarh, June 23
A study by medical specialists has revealed that about 10 per cent “apparently healthy” Army personnel were found to have symptoms of chronic kidney disorder. Over 37 per cent soldiers have abdominal obesity.

“Although our sample is highly selective and not representative of the Indian population, it does show that the burden of chronic kidney disease even in a low risk healthy population, who are under regular preventive medical surveillance, is much higher than previous estimates,” the researchers assert. Since high risk groups and documented cases were excluded from the study, actual prevalence is likely to be much higher even in the Army, they add.

The study conducted by Maj Gen PP Varma, Deputy Commandant, Army Research and Referral Hospital, and three other doctors - Lt Col DK Raman, Lt Col TS Ramakrishnan and Lt Col Pragnya Singh - has been published in a recent issue of the Armed Forces Medical Journal India. Prior to this study, no data existed on the prevalence of chronic kidney disorder in the armed forces.

Observing that changing demographics, increasing affluence and sedentary lifestyles have led to increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases like heart and kidney problems, the authors have pointed out that chronic kidney disorder (CKD) is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and high-risk for progression to end-stage renal disease, requiring expensive renal replacement therapy. CKD is also the most important independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, with such patients being 100 times more vulnerable to cardiac disorders.

According to the study, there are about 300 serving personnel undergoing renal replacement therapy, which costs the army about Rs 4.5 crore per annum. This does not include the cost of other medical expenses, complications, co-morbidities and loss of man hours. The cost of renal replacement therapy forms a significant chunk of the Armed Forces Medical Services’ expenditure.

The researchers screened and examined 1,920 personnel, out of which 731 were from the armed forces. Screening included a structured questionnaire and collection of anthropometric data besides a series of laboratory tests. Known or documented cases of renal disorders and certain other diseases were not included in the study.

Given the strength of the Army to be about 12 lakh personnel, findings of the sample group translate into over 1.2 lakh troops being associated with kidney problems. Medical experts say similar situation could prevail in other services as well as paramilitary organisations.

Pointing out that early detection can reduce the risk of CKD progression, the authors have suggested that screening for CKD in the armed forces can be implemented easily by dovetailing it with the current medical examination guidelines. It would also be cost-effective in the long run.

New Delhi, June 23
Faced with a staggering 2.5 crore pending cases in courts, the government on Thursday approved a proposal to fast-track the disposal of cases.

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the Law Ministry's proposal for operationalising the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms under which the Centre will bear an estimated expenditure of Rs 5,510 crore over five years till 2016. The mission's objective is to increase access to justice by reducing delays and arrears and enhanced accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards. Its broad areas are policy and legislative changes, re-engineering of procedures, human resource development, leveraging ICT and improve physical infrastructure of subordinate courts.

As part of the proposal, the ministry plans to share 75 per cent of the grants involved in developing the infrastructure in states to bring down spiralling number of cases, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters here.

For the North-East, the Centre will bear 90 per cent of the expenses. So far, the Centre used to share 50 per cent of the grants.

Under the proposal, a mission directorate will be set up to oversee the implementation of the national mission. It was envisaged in the 'vision statement' adopted by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Ministers in October 2009.

The statement contained a road map for improving justice delivery and legal reforms and steps to reduce pendency in courts from 15 to three years by 2012. The deadline has been extended to 2016.

Hyderabad, June 23
Apparently taking a cue from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today asked his Cabinet colleagues to declare their assets.

The Chief Minister’s Office issued a circular to all ministers asking them to make public the details of their assets by the end of August. The move is aimed at ensuring transparency in governance and promotes probity in public life, official sources said.

Soon after the circular was issued, School Education Minister S Sailajanath appeared before the media and announced that he would disclose his assets by July 15.

The development came in the backdrop of the ongoing national debate on corruption in high places and the need for an effective anti-graft mechanism.

However, some skeptics in the ruling party argued that it was a redundant exercise as all the legislators were already required to submit details of their properties to the Assembly Speaker. This rule is observed more in breach than in practice. Several MLAs are yet to submit the list of their assets and liabilities.

The latest directive by the Chief Minister is expected to serve as a reminder not only to his Cabinet colleagues but also to all the other legislators about their obligation. This is in tune with the Prime Minister’s move early this month, asking his ministerial colleagues to declare their assets and business interests and also of their spouses and dependents. The Union Ministers have been asked to furnish the details by August 31 in accordance with the code of conduct for ministers.

New Delhi, June 23
Children living in eastern India are the most vulnerable of the entire lot in the country. A new projection of the children at risk of losing parental care and support on account of vulnerability factors reveals that 62 of the most child vulnerable districts (CVDs) of India are located in the eastern states -Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa.

Measured against three key variables - HIV/AIDS prevalence, social unrest due to caste and other factors and population below poverty line - the child vulnerability index developed by SOS Children’s Villages of India names Orissa’s Koraput district as the most child vulnerable district in India. Koraput is followed by Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh, Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh, Gadhchiroli in Maharashtra, Purulia in West Bengal, Lakhisarai in Bihar and Godda, Girdih and Pakaur in Jharkhand. SOS is the world’s largest orphan care charity.

Of the 100 most CVDs, 62 are in the poverty belt of India, though the study makes it clear that poverty is not the only factor that leads to child vulnerability. Social unrest and exclusion of children and their families on account of caste bias and HIV/AIDS are equally important factors in pushing up the orphan population. As per the SOS estimation of vulnerable children, done on the basis of the Census and population projection data of the government, the north zone does not have a single district falling within the 100 most child-unfriendly districts.

After the east zone, the central zone comprises the highest number of child vulnerable districts - 18 - followed by the south Zone with 17 and the West Zone with three.

SOS developed the India child vulnerability index to fill the gaps in existing literature and guide the future child welfare policies for better results. The index is based on the most felt causes of child vulnerability and situations of orphans and ranks 593 districts on the above-stated three parameters.

With 30 CVDs, Bihar leads the pack of states housing the most child vulnerable districts in the country. It is followed by Jharkhand with 17 districts, West Bengal with eight and Orissa with 7.

Talking to The Tribune, Rakesh Jinsi, Secretary General, SOS Villages India said it was imperative for the government to focus on child populations in eastern India,” he said.

At present, India houses close to 118, 399, 666 vulnerable children (who don’t have parental support of any kind). This comprises 27 per cent of the total child population below 18 years in the country.

“More than quarter of our children live in extremely vulnerable situations, and face the risk of losing parental support. It’s an alarming scenario,” Jinsi says.

Of the vulnerable child population, 38.28 per cent is housed by the eastern states, followed by 32.13 per cent in the Central states and 21.63 per cent in the western zone.