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Blacklist Areva Corp in India: Former Sec alleges Massive Scam in Letter to DAE

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Image Credit: Livemint

Massive Scam in French Nuclear Industry alleges former Secretary in this Open Letter to the Department of Atomic Energy and Power Ministry

MOU with Areva on Reactor in Jaitapur signed in Non-Transparent Bidding process

Fear of Fukushima like Accident at Jaitapur

Text of the Open letter by Dr. EAS Sarma, Former Secretary in Power Ministry, Government of India, to the Department of Atomic Energy

E.A.S.Sarma
14-40-4/1 Gokhale Road
Maharanipeta
Visakhapatnam 530002
Mobile: 919866021646
Email: eassarma@gmail.com

To

Dr. Sekhar Basu
Secretary
Dept of Atomic Energy (DAE)
Govt of India

Shri K D Tripathi
Secretary
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MPNG)
Govt of India

Dear Dr. Basu/ Tripathi,

Subject:- Substandard parts supplied by Areva company and its subsidiary, Creusot Forge, to IOC and several nuclear power plants in the world- Request initiate action to blacklist the company for doing business in India

I enclose the following three documents, the first two being announcements by the statutory nuclear regulatory authority in France and the third one, a DNA news report relevant to those announcements.

“AREVA has informed ASN of irregularities concerning components manufactured in its Creusot Forge plant”

“Falsification of materials analysis reports: ASN is collaborating with the ongoing judicial inquiry”

“AREVA components substandard: French nuclear regulator”

Creusot Forge is a subsidiary of Areva, the French company, which has signed an MOU with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for supplying nuclear reactors for the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power project (6 X1650MWe) in Maharashtra. This is also a part of the India-France Joint Statement signed by the Indian Prime Minister with his counterpart in France during the former’s visit to France in April, 2015.

According to the official report released by the French Nuclear Regylatory authority, Areva/ Creusot Forge have not only supplied uncertified, substandard components to nuclear power projects, oil refineries etc. worldwide but also tried to cover up that fact, even after the authority had asked the company to come up with the factual position. Some of these substandard components were supplied in the past to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)’s refneries.

MPNG and DAE may like to secure a copy of the detailed report from the French nuclear regulatory authority to ascertain the position.

The following points emerge from the above reports.

Critical components manufactured for oil, gas and nuclear plants as well as refineries since 1965 may have been compromised. Creusot Forge claims to have supplied 2,300 forged parts for oil and gas installations and 2,700 such parts for nuclear primary islands throughout the world. The website particularly names Indian Oil Corporation Ltd as one its clients.

The scandal came to light last year when defects were found in AREVA’s EPR reactors vessel head in Flamanville, France. The defects in Flamanville reactors are substantial defects with a possible impact on all existing EPR projects currently underway. India has signed an MOU with AREVA/EDF to build six of these reactors in India.

This is a case of deliberate cover up on the part of Areva and its subsidiary.

The company’s dealings as indicated by these reports raise an apprehension about its corporate ethics. While the substandard components supplied by Areva and its subsidiaries to other industrial unirs will certainly have caused a great deal of damage, the use of substandard parts in a nuclear power project raises far more serious apprehensions in regard to public safety. A Fukushima-like accident can occur at Jaitapur as a result of any malfeasance on the part of Areva.

Against this background, I believe that the latest revelations by the French nuclear regulatory authority need to be taken seriously. I request you to consider intiating action as follows.

— Secure a copy of the report available with the French nuclear regulatory authority on Areva and ascertain the damage already caused to IOC and the other cmpanies in India which have obtained components from Areva and its subsidiaries for their industrial units

— If any malfeasance is detected, blacklist Areva and its subsidiaries with immediate effect with respect to its future operations in India in all sectors
Advise the Indian companies affected by Areva’s substandard components to sue the company and prosecute it for criminal negligence.

— Areva has also been involved in a uranium mining scandal which has come under judicial scrutiny in France as indicated in a news report dated 2-5-2016 (BREAKING: The Uramin Scandal – another shocker for AIM, damning Canadian Report & arrests in France » Views & News | ShareProphets).

This raises another major concern in so far as the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has signed with the company. Since the selection of Areva as the reactor supplier for Jaitapur is based on a highly non-transparent, single-bidder approach, as in the case of the scandal surrounding the acquisition of Augusta Westland helicopters by the Ministry of Defence, Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh State governments, it is possible that there are middlemen taking part in the price negotiation process and there is considerable scope for rent seeking. This needs to be carefully investigated before any final decisions are to be taken on Areva’s involvement in the Jaitapur project.

The problem of substandard components being used in nuclear power projects is a widespread one. Some of us had, in the past, brought to the notice of the Central government and the DAE that there were indications of substandard cables and other equipment and parts being used in Kudankulam nuclear power project. I enclose a copy of my letter dated 2-6-2013 addressed to the PM on the subject. We failed to receive any meaningful response on this from the DAE.

In this connection, I enclose a copy of a news report dated 26-3-2011 (25-3-2011) in Christian Science Monitor, according to which a significant number of nuclear power stations in the US deliberately suppress information on the use of substandard parts. This had come to the notice of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

I hope that the DAE will realise the gravity of what the French nuclear regulator has revealed and act quickly to safeguard the public interest.

Regards,

Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to GOI
May 15, 2016

The Slow Death of the Old India

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Image  Credit; Samir Kelekar
When I first came to Bangalore in 1996, Brigade road was a happening place. Bangalore was then known as the pub city and pubs such as the famous space station clone Nasa were the talk of not just the town but of young urban youth. On my way home from work I used to pass by Brigade Road and rake in what was the new India.  In that new India, however, there was also a place for the urban poor who used to sweat it out to make ends.
 
I remember the guy who used to help park two wheelers of people stopping by, adjusting other two wheelers so that as many could fit in the small space available. He would also be the only guy who would know how to manoeuvre take your two wheeler out when you were ready to leave. Out of sheer courtesy one would give him two rupees as tip. He wouldn't mind if you didn't pay him. 
 
I also remember another guy who used to sell goggles standing on the pavement of Brigade Road. He had a small space. Just a wire on the wall to hang up his 'goggle wares'. As I purchased one or two Ray Ban look-a-likes from him — it was a craze in those days to speed on bikes wearing goggles to impress girls — he became friends with me.
 
Brigade Road also had some thriving night life. There used to be these bars where women used to sing Hindi songs of your choice. A man used to be also around who used to double up as a singer and a 'co-ordinator'. His job was also ensure that customers did not cross limits. Old soulful Hindi songs were the flavour of the season and I remember visiting with friends and asking for my favourite farmaiish (request) ‘ Naina barse’ by Lata (Mangeshkar) a number of times. There was a certain Indian-ness to the whole thing for want of better words. Hindi was the language used and after a second visit, you would be recognised and welcomed; they would be friendly but it was all within limits. At shutters down time, when the bar was closing, the men would ensure that the women were dropped home. I suppose the auto drivers were also regulars.
 
As Bangalore became internationalised and morphed into the IT capital of India — and slowly the outsourcing capital of the world– things changed. 2001 and the dot com bust was the turning point. 
 
Malls suddenly shaped the landscape, as one by one, the old buildings on Brigade Road were demolished to make way for the glass and steel swanky look. Rents sky-rocketed so only the Van Heusens and the KFCs could afford them. Indian restaurants got replaced by high end lounge bars.
 
One day I saw the same  'in-charge of' parking guy all ruffled while he was begging for 10 rupees. I asked him what had happened. He said that the parking is now managed by high end contractors who outbid each other to win the parking bids. Old men like him are no more needed. The parking man now gives you a smart receipt. In some places it is automated parking meters for cars. Convenience is the name of the game and our man is an inconvenience; also an eye sore and a nuisance.
 
A few days later I bumped into my friend who used to sell goggles. He also was begging for money. When I asked him what happened, his story was similar. He said police chase me off now. He had lost his space. The 'Arrows' and the 'Van Heusens' didn't want him among their midst. To make things worse, our man was sick.  He had varicose veins probably due to long hours of standing  in one place. He didn't have the money for the surgery the hospital had suggested.
 
As Bangalore moves upwards to become one of the top cities of the world you have no space here if you can't look like, fit in or give what the high-end market wants. The old India is dying. Suicide probably is the only recourse for many.

(The author is a techie and an activist)


Image Credit: Padhaaro.com
 
 

Dual Attack on Education: Attempts to Homogenise and Control the Mind

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2 Years of the Modi Regime: Saffronisation and Corporatisation are Attempts to Homogenise and Control The Mind

India’s education sector is under a persistent attack from the BJP-dominated NDA II government, which is also trying to convert the centers of learning to a saffron bastion. In addition, the present government has intensified the neo-liberal agenda of the UPA I and II governments and their policies within the education sector.

The government is also pushing very hard to corporatise India’s education sector and is also trying to bring in foreign direct investment in education. This will severely impinge tha access to learning for students and scholars from the more marginalised sections of society.

In content, to further more divisive and entrenched ideas within younger generations, the current regime is aggressively pushing the agenda of ‘saffronisation’ within education. The changes in the curriculum, first begun in Gujarat in 2014 (and even earlier since 1989), the brazen scrapping of important figures like Jawaharlal Nehru from Rajasthan textbooks topped by appointments to senior posts of persons withinin educational and research institutions owing allegiance and long association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is also a bid to kill intellectual calibre and rationality.

It is clear that the current regime doesn’t want people to think logically, and wants to push its agenda of homogenous society with a clear dominance of the upper-class and castes. The removal of the freedom struggle from the curriculum is motivated to shield generations from knowing the absence of the Hindutvawaadis role in the movement and struggle for independence.

Newsclick interviewed Nandita Narain, President DUTA and FEDCUTA –teachers organisations within Delhi University to discuss two years of the Modi-led NDA II regime and it's impact on education sector

 

Courtesy: NewsClick

Malegaon Blasts: NIA must Probe Mohan Bhagwat’s Admission and Allegations about Art of Living

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The latest turn around by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the cases of bomb blasts in Malegaon, allegedly conducted by some of the Hindutva cadres makes it very clear that,  these Hindutva-inspired terrorists are going to be gradually given a reprieve, in a carefully scripted move orchestrated by the current political dispensation in Delhi, all of whom also happen to be senior cadres of the RSS. The Malegaon blasts charge sheet appears to be just the beginning; a similar outcome will probably result in other similar blasts where Muslims had been targeted in different parts of the country, including the blasts that occurred on board the Samjhauta Express in 2007.

It was not unexpected that this would happen once the Modi government assumed power in May 2014. The chief prosecutor Rohini Salian  in the Malegaon case (investigated first by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS, then the CBI and finally the NIA) case had warned that this was coming in the first half of 2015 itself. Julio Ribeiro, perhaps the most decorated cop in independent India and an expert on terrorism, had, in a signed piece on June 27, 2015, warned that "going slow on ‘Hindu terror’ is dangerous. [i] It’s also an insult to the memory of Hemant Karkare". In his article Julio Ribeiro  went on to share the crucial facts about the case:

"A day before he was shot dead by Pakistani terrorists who had clandestinely sailed from Karachi to Mumbai, Hemant Karkare, an outstanding IPS officer of impeccable integrity as well as high intelligence and abilities, had come to meet me. He was disturbed by the reactions of some BJP leaders, particularly L.K. Advani, to the turn his investigations had taken in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
 

"The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which he headed at that time, had initially suspected jihadi fanatics. Such thoughts would come naturally to any policeman those days as Muslim groupings like Simi had been responsible for several terrorist acts across the country. But, the ATS had suddenly, unexpectedly and, I must add, fortuitously come across incontrovertible evidence, which included taped conversations, to prove that the Malegaon blasts, as well as the Ajmer, Hyderabad and Samjhauta Express blasts that killed nearly a hundred people, were conceived, planned and executed by a group of fanatical Hindus bent on revenge.

"It is the duty of law enforcers to seek the real offenders and ensure that they are dealt with by the law of the land. Politics, religion, caste, community have no role to play in the pursuit of truth and justice. It is true that such lofty ideals are often forgotten but fortunately there are still police officers who act according to their conscience and the Constitution. Hemant Karkare was one such officer.

"I went through some of the evidence he had gathered. I was staggered. I could understand the anger that prompted the perpetrators to embark on their misconceived journey. But a police officer has to do his duty, which is to stick to the truth and the letter of the law. I advised Karkare to abide by his 'dharma'. I offered to speak to Advani if required. I was sure that Advani would appreciate the fact that Karkare was doing what any true gentleman and patriot would be expected to do.

"Unfortunately, Ajmal Kasab and his brainwashed companions snuffed out the life of a good man. Karkare was not around to pursue the case but his successors carried on the investigations and filed the charge sheet against the real culprits in court."

While discussing the fears of Rohini Salian stating that NIA may renegade on the persecution of the Hindutva terrorists Ribeiro had commented:

"Rohini Salian is a legend in the world of public prosecutors. Every policeman knows her name. So do the lawyers and judges of the city of Mumbai. She is single-minded in her commitment to her duties and, above all, everyone knows that she cannot be bought.

"Salian’s lament on being asked to go soft on Hindu extremists accused of terrorist acts frightens us to believe that the country is steadily being led on to the path trodden by our surly neighbour on our western border. The masterminds of the 26/11 attacks are treated like heroes in Pakistan."

What he feared in June 2015 that "if hidden hands nudge the judicial system to free murderers of the saffron variety" has now taken concrete shape with the charge sheet of NIA reportedly submitted before the court on May 13, 2016. According to a press report, "In a turnaround on Friday (May 13, 2016), the National Investigation Agency dropped all charges against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and five others in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, while charges under the stringent MCOCA law have been given up against all the other 10 accused, including Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit".[ii]

In fact, the cowardly killing of Hemant Karkre on November 27, 2008 in Mumbai by the Islam-o-fascists, much to the glee of Hindutva terrorists, actually derailed the whole process of bringing to justice the perpetrators. The prosecuting agencies, even during UPA II’s rule –after Hemant Karkare's untimely removal from the scene – did not follow important leads.

The chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Mohan Bhagwat had publicly confessed while addressing a meeting of the RSS at Surat (Gujarat) on January 10, 2011 that "of the majority of the people whom the government has accused (in various blast cases), a few had left voluntarily and a few were told by the Sangh that this extremism will not work here so you go away."[iii]

Mohan Bhagwat had, thus quite candidly disclosed then, that ,of the 'majority of the people' who were accused and who were from the RSS a 'few had left voluntarily' and others were told by the RSS to 'go away'. Bhagwat should have been called for investigation(s) by the agencies to share the names of these persons allegedly accused of perpetrating acts of terror. It appears that this was never done. Since, according to the oral and written assurances given by the NIA, the search for the "real perpetrators" is still on, Bhagwat should be asked under oath to disclose the list of those who had left and who were asked to go away. In fact, Bhagwat should be made a  party to the case as a crucial witness.

The current charge sheet also makes a startling revelation. According to a report in a prominent English daily of India[iv], "The key accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, had organised a training camp under the guise of an ‘Art of Living’ event, the charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency said. The NIA has recorded the statement of the owner of a hotel in Panchmarhi in this regard. The owner, who was a prosecution witness, said that in September 2005, Purohit met him in the hotel and asked him to arrange a camp for 40-50 people related to ‘Art of Living’ (AoL) at Panchmarhi. "

If the NIA is at all serious about further investigations into the leads contained even its diluted charge sheet, it must question senior functionaries of the AOL (the outfit is headed by Sri Sri Ravishankar) and explore wither the possible nexus in its entirety or those responsible for mis-using the banner. Of course, the questioning/examining of RSS chief, Mohan Bagwat must also be accorded top priority.

The key accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, had organised a training camp under the guise of an ‘Art of Living’ event, the charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency said. The NIA has recorded the statement of the owner of a hotel in Panchmarhi in this regard. The owner, who was a prosecution witness, said that in September 2005, Purohit met him in the hotel and asked him to arrange a camp for 40-50 people related to ‘Art of Living’ (AoL) at Panchmarhi.

 

[i]http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/why-we-must-listen-to-salian/99/
[ii] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/2008-malegaon-blast-nia-files-charge-sheet/article8594294.ece

Boycott Vedanta’s London festival and bid to seek legitimacy: Writers

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The mining company has been implicated in international human rights violations, claims a letter signed by dozens of writers, academics and activists and the London edition of the Jaipur lit fest must be boycotted since ‘literature does not exist in a vacuum”.
 

Image: phulbarisolidaritygroup.wordpress.com

An open letter signed by dozens of academics, authors and activists around the world has urged writers to reconsider attending the Vedanta Jaipur Literature Festival London 2016, saying the event's title sponsor is infamous for human rights violations around the world.

"Are you aware that Vedanta's activities are destroying the lives of thousands of people in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Punjab and also in Zambia, South Africa and Australia?" the message asks prospective participants.

Vedanta Resources is a metals and mining company headquartered in London, and has often been under scrutiny for its human rights and environmental record. The allegations against it include dangerous working conditions, destruction of crops, unlawful exports and widespread environmental damage, among others.

The open letter raises the issue of ‘accidents’ at the company's factories, its irregularities in obtaining environmental clearances and its efforts to out-muscle locals in legal battles, citing examples from Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Goa and Rajasthan. The letter blames Vedanta for trying to seek legitimacy and "create favourable public opinion" by sponsoring events such as the Jaipur lit fest and the International Film Festival of India.

"Literature does not exist in a vacuum" and that writers and artists "also have responsibilities". It urges writers to "withdraw from involvement in this discredited and damaging PR campaign, rather than lending [their] name to it".

The full text of the letter date May 12, 2016:
 

Dear All,
We are deeply shocked and dismayed to hear that you have agreed to participate at the Jaipur Literature Festival claiming to be "The Greatest Literary Show on Earth" which has 'the world's most hated company' Vedanta as its key sponsor. Are you aware that Vedanta's activities are destroying the lives of thousands of people in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Punjab and also in Zambia, South Africa and Australia? Are you also aware that Zambian villagers are currently taking Vedanta subsidiary KCM to court in the UK, accusing it of consistently poisoning their water over the last decade?

In 2011 Zambian High Court Judge Phillip Musonda said he wanted to make an example of Vedanta for their 'gross recklessness' in polluting the River Kafue without remorse, and highlighted 'KCM's don't care attitude whether human life which sacrosanct in our constitution was lost or not.' In 2014 Vedanta 69% owner and Chairman Anil Agarwal was caught on video bragging to businessmen at a Bangalore conference that he had bought the Zambian copper mines at a fraction of their value and was making $500 million each year despite declaring a loss in Zambia. The Zambian government reacted by auditing the mines, and discovered vast tax evasion schemes and asset stripping.

In Korba, Chhattisgarh, India between 40 and 100 workers died at Vedanta subsidiary BALCO's aluminium smelter complex when a chimney under construction collapsed on them in September 2009. The subsequent judicial inquiry into the incident found Vedanta guilty of negligence and using sub-standard materials and construction methods. However, Vedanta's lawyers suppressed the report which was leaked by activists in 2014.

In Odisha, India a nineteen year struggle by indigenous communities, Dalits and farmers led to a historic victory in 2014 when Vedanta was stopped from mining the sacred Niyamgiri hills for bauxite. Vedanta's attempt to secure the mountain through State Owned OMC was rejected by the Supreme Court again on May 6, 2016. Vedanta Aluminium Ltd had built the 1 mtpa Lanjigarh refinery at the base of the Niyamgiri hills in 2004, and even expanded it six fold, despite having no permission to mine bauxite from the hills above. Vedanta's launch on the London Stock Exchange in 2003 was based on the impression given to financiers that they had permission to mine Niyamgiri.

In Goa, India, Vedanta's iron ore mining subsidiary Sesa Goa (now Vedanta Limited) was the largest company indicted by the Shah Commission in 2012 for illegal mining, including failure to obtain leases or environmental clearance, and exporting 150 million tonnes of iron ore from Goa in 2010/11 while only declaring 76 million, their agreed export allowance.

Not far from Jaipur itself Vedanta is accused by an employee's union of casualising and de-unionising the labour force at Hindustan Zinc Ltd by reducing permanent workers to only 2,500 of 18,000 workers. The Maton Mines Mazdur Sangh (Maton Mines Workers Union) is also opposing Vedanta for poor working conditions and destruction of crops and houses around their phosphate mines. Meanwhile, on 11th May 2016 Anil Agarwal promoted Sterlite Technologies announced its successful bid to to run a second 'smart city' project in Jaipur.

Vedanta has been attempting to create favourable public opinion by sponsoring International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the Our Girls Our Pride gender project and even the oxymoronic Mining Happiness campaign, using celebrities and media houses to hush up its liabilities. But each of these attempts has been exposed by grassroots groups and people's movements pointing out Vedanta's corporate crimes using social media and letter writing.

The Vedanta JLF at Southbank is yet again another cynical attempt to distract attention from Vedanta's crimes at a time when it stands exposed across India and internationally. Vedanta's interests are directly opposed to the Dalit, Adivasi, Bahujan Samaj and black communities it claims to be helping.

Literature doesn't exist in a vacuum. As public figures, we believe that writers and artists also have responsibilities. It makes little sense to discuss books and ideas and the problems of the world in abstraction, while being funded by and publicising a company that has been and continues to be a gross violator of human rights across the world. We hope that you agree, and will withdraw from involvement in this discredited and damaging PR campaign, rather than lending your name to it.
 

Yours sincerely,
Anu Ramdas, Editor, Round Table India
Naren Bedide (Kuffir), Editor, Round Table India
Courttia Newland, writer
Dr. Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
Medical doctor and author, Jharkhand, India
Firoze Manji, former Editor, Pambazuka News
Gladson Dungdung, Activist, Author
Arao Ameny, Founder of Association of African Journalists & Writers
Neetisha Xalxo
V.Divakar, Editor, The Baroda Pamphlet
Sruthi Herbert, Doctoral Candidate, SOAS
Ashley Tellis
Akash Poyam, Founding Editor at adivasiresurgence.com
Surya Shankar, Filmmaker
Ashutosh Wasnik, senior human resources analyst at SaskPower, govt of Saskatchewan, Canada
Gaurav Somwanshi, Entrepreneur
Akshay Pathak, Writer
Cathal Healy-Singh, Environmental Engineer, Trinidad & Tobago
Atul Anand, Researcher & Documentary maker
Alex Lubin, Professor, University of New Mexico
Rafiq Kathwari, poet
Hemant Divate
poet, editor, publisher and translator
Amrit Wilson
Kavita Bhanot, writer
Manju Rajak, Artist
Gouri Patwardhan, filmmaker
Aflatoon, All India Organisational Secretary, Samajwadi Janaparishad
Vinay Shende, HR Professional
Nilesh Kumar, PhD Researcher, TISS
Dharma Teja, Dalit Camera
Amita Kanekar
Ananta Dash
Rollie Mukherjee, Artist & writer, Vadodara.
Tariq Mehmood, writer, Assistant Professor, American University, Beirut
Vinita Damodaran, Director, CWEH, University of Sussex
Saransh Gautam, IT Professional
Prameya M, Ph.D student
Vaibhav Wasnik, postdoctoral researcher, Saarland University, Department of Physics
Pinak Banik, Artist and Teacher
Stalin K., Director, Video Volunteers
Priyadarshini Ohol, Artist
Abhiyan Humane, Artist and Teacher
Priyabrata Mahapatra, IT Professional
Subash Kulesika, Youth Leader, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti
Rebecca Oliner, Artist
Devangana Kalita, Foil Vedanta
Amarjit Chandran, poet
Taru Dalmia, the ska vengers
Samara Chopra, the ska vengers
Mohinder Singh, Assistant Professor, Political Science JNU
Samantha Asumadu, Media Diversified
Koonal Duggal, Researcher, Department of Cultural Studies, EFL University
Ganesh Digal, Odisha Research Scholars For Social Justice (ORSSJ)
James Nyasulu, community activist and pollution affected person, Chingola, Zambia.
William Chitundu, KCM former miners, Zambia.
Jonathan Mbewe, Residents of 1st Street against Pollution, Chingola, Zambia.
Miriam Rose, Foil Vedanta
Samarendra Das, Foil Vedanta

FCRA : Is the BJP Trying to Clear Way for Foreign Funding of Political Parties?

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The Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley performed a neat and quiet job. Buried in the fine print of the Finance Bill 2016, he tweeked a section that, in effect, let both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress off the hook from accepting donations from companies based abroad.

In 2014, the Delhi High Court had ruled that both the parties have been guilty of violating the rules laid out in the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act  2010 (FCRA) and ordered the government and the Election Commission to take immediate action against two parties. The FCRA bans political parties from receiving funds from any foreign source. In its original provision, the law defines foreign source to include any company with foreign investment of above 50%.  Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley’s clever-by-half amendment says, “‘Provided that where the nominal value of share capital is within the limits specified for foreign investments under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, or the rules and regulations made there under, then, notwithstanding the nominal value of the share capital of a company being more than one half of such value at the time of making the contribution, such company shall not be deemed a foreign source.”

This allows companies like Vendanta to pour money in the kitty of these political parties.

To discuss this controversial issue and its implications –at a time when the Modi regime is out to stiffle dissent and the legitimate functioning of rights driven organisations in the non-governmental sector – NewsClick interviewed Prashant Bhushan, senior advocate who also represents the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL).

Courtesy: NewsClick

Geospatial Bill, the Monumental Stupidity of the Home Ministry

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The Geospatial Bill, May 2016 has been released by the Ministry of Home for public discussions before being placed before Parliament. The Bill is not about geospatial data or applications of geospatial data for development and better governance, but only about how to “protect” India's borders on various maps, and “hide” sensitive information from its enemies. In the process, we now have a regime with a throwback to the 19th century mindset, when the Survey of India was the sole map making entity, maps were confidential and only paper maps existed.

For Rajnath Singh, the current Home Minister, whose Ministry has cooked up this special Geospatial Bill, the 19th century yardstick might itself be a huge step forward. For the rest of us, such a mindset is not only completely regressive, but also designed to cut India out of the 20th, let alone the 21st century.

As per the draft Geospatial Bill, for anyone publishing any geospatial information on India, we will need a license from a Security Vetting Authority. No, we did not invent this Kafkesque name, it is actually there in the Bill. Neither is this a one time license that would need to be sought. Such ‘permissio’ would be required, every time we want to publish any such data and it applies to every bit of geospatial data we generate – from a map showing, say drought or an earthquake in a newspaper (or a website), to a paper to be published in a journal. Or even a geotagged photo you take on your smartphone and publish on your Facebook account or on Instagram. All of them, if this Draft is allowed to become law, will need an application, payment of license fees and waiting for the Vetting Authority to clear your application. The failure to obtain a license can lead to a fine up to Rs. 100 crore or 7 years in jail!

This is not just a downright stupid move, but is also designed to divest all geospatial data out of any development activities; or even in our daily lives. No research either on geographical differentiation, urban geography, or anything to do with location as a parameter in development.

Not only is the overreach only in terms of what it limits, it is also in terms on who it will apply to. Any Indian anywhere and any entity in or outside India will be affected by this law if it is passed. This extra territorial reach of Indian law is again unworkable.
Geospatial information is any information that has some geographical location tied to it. It could be for example, land records, electoral data, spread of disease in an epidemic, location of restaurants, road maps, etc. All of them have have a geographical component and therefore can be displayed on maps. But they are much more than maps. When we use a GPS system with Google Maps, we are using data such as roads, street addresses, etc., on Google Maps, and our location on such maps derived from GPS signal on our mobile phones to navigate to the destination we want to go. This is an example of geospatial application, where data from different sources are meshed together to produce an application that helps us perform certain tasks. Without such systems, Ola or Uber, the cab systems would not exist – their application rides on top of mapping software, uses the GPS signal and is able to provide a way for the cabbie to reach a customer.

The problem with the proposed Geospatial Bill is that the Ministry of Home believes that all these applications are really maps, and any “map” should be vetted and any cleared before its use. They think publishing is printing, and therefore this function of vetting maps is akin to pre-censorship of any sensitive printed material. While we have rejected such pre-censorship in print, they think it should apply to all maps to ensure that the borders displayed are correct and all sensitive information pertaining to defence are removed. It does not recognise that maps today are a part of our everyday lives in myriad ways.

Yes, we need maps to show our borders correctly and not have detailed maps and images of sensitive areas. But we also need to understand that this should function by exception – unless it is a border or a sensitive area, no map needs to be vetted. And the only vetting required is of those areas and if sensitive installations are being shown. Asking for licensing of all maps and all geospatial data is like licensing each stalk of hay in the haystack for controlling the use of just the needle.

There is also the Hindutva mindset – the minute you say nation, you seem to get a Pavlovian reaction from its mass base. We only have to see the comments on various websites on this issue to realise that the BJP has a one-dimensional view of the world, where everything is a danger to the nation: from beef eating, to students asking from freedom from hunger and discrimination. The world is indeed a dangerous place for the ignorant, and their only answer is jailing all the dissidents and censoring the rest.

The difference between the Geospatial Bill and the existing mapping policy as given in our National Mapping Policy (NMP) of 2005, is that NMP applies only to maps. It describes what is not to be done – do not show wrong borders and do not show sensitive areas. It also makes a distinction between Open Series maps and Defence Series maps, with few restrictions on Open Series maps. Anybody using a map that conforms to the NMP provisions can overlay what they want on top of such a map. This means that only the underlying map has to conform to NMP, there are no further restrictions on what can be overlaid on top of it. We can put street maps, restaurants, our research data, or any other geospatial information of interest that we want.
Almost at the same time that the Home Ministry has come out with its desire to put all map makers behind bars, we have a very different document from the Department of Science Technology (DST), in the National Geospatial Policy, April 2016. While one can argue about the role of DST, and its failure to administer properly the mapping activity of the Survey of India, its policy document is at least a recognition that geospatial information is vital to development of the country. It also recognises that software, data and maps are all a part of today's geospatial world, and we need to take all of them into account when framing a geospatial policy. It has also tried to get the Ministry of Defence, and Department of Electronics and Technology (DeitY) on board in such a policy formulation. What is missing here is Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which is the only one that out of all the government institutions, have provided geospatial information with its satellite imagery and Bhuvan program.

The problem the Government policy has is that it has fallen way behind what is happening in the world of geospatial data, satellite imagery, converting images to vector form, mashing other data including maps on to such images. These are available from various platforms such as QuickBird, WorldView or GeoEye platforms – 0.5 metre resolution satellite images along with software that allows us to develop detailed plans using maps, and on such images. It is not that India is not launching similar satellites, but what we are offering needs to be supplemented by other data that are now commercially available.

Today, no government department can plan without using Google Maps/Earth to check what they are doing. For engineering projects – building bridges, drilling tunnels, alignment of railway tracks, this is not enough, but it is still a start, to be backed up by detailed on-the-ground surveys.

When any project is done today, it requires high resolution satellite imagery. The procedure to get any imagery data below 1 metre resolution is cumbersome and have to be routed through a National Remote Sensing Centre and a Committee for vetting all such proposals. It typically takes 3 months, in some cases even longer.

While all these are bottlenecks, we seemed to have progressed gradually towards a more open policy for geospatial data, a grudging acceptance of its utility and various government departments working together to create a workable geospatial policy. With the Geospatial Bill, we are back to the middle ages, where the only purpose of a map was military and demarcating the borders of countries. It is this one-dimensional view of the country, to see everything through a defence or a police lens that is the characteristic of the BJP's medieval view of the nation.

There is no point in even trying to get some modicum of sanity in the Bill. We need to throw it out lock, stock and barrel. It has no understanding on what it is trying to do. If protecting its borders or not making sensitive information is the objective, then the National Mapping Policy already has that. Provide it more teeth if you want, but do not confuse it with geospatial data.

We do need a Geospatial Policy for the country. The DST's document could be a start, but it needs ISRO and its satellite imagery programs to be folded into such a policy. We need the government to integrate the police, defence, development and the public interests views to create such a policy.

Just to remind the Modi Government – the Gujarat government during Modi-Xi Jingping's discussions in Ahmedabad in September 2014 had annexed maps of India with the wrong Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh borders. Should the officials including the CEO of Gujarat (presumably the Chief Minister) been charged with criminal offence and put behind bars for 7 years? That is what this Bill wants. Time to think Mr. Modi?

Courtesy: Newsclick

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author's personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Newsclick

Delhi High Court Stays Disciplinary Action against All Student Leaders

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Punitive actions seen to be extremely coercive stayed against JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya & Others


Image: The Hindu

Delhi High Court has stayed all disciplinary action against JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and all other students coercively acted against by the administration on April 25, reported ANI.

Twenty students had gone on an indefinite hunger fast in protest from April 27-28 onwards. This protest was still continuing until today though as many as nine had to withdraw due to failing health.

While news agency PTI reported that the HC had put on hold JNU’s disciplinary action against Kanhaiya and others till their appeal against University order was decided the by appellate authority, Sabrangindia.in after speaking to advocates who appeared for the students was told that, the appellate authority is the Vice Chancellor (VC) himself. The order is being viewed as a bid to bring temperatures down and end the impasse with the university administration refusing to even dialogue with the protesting students. In any case, students have been given a window of a fortnight to approach the High Court if the 'appellate authority' rules again, against them.

In oral observations, the Delhi High Court said it would hear Kanhaiya Kumar and the JNUSU's pleas only if they ended their hunger strike. The HC order puts on hold the disciplinary action of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), including rustication, against Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others till their appeals against the order is heard and decided by the varsity’s appellate authority. Until 8 p.m. the order was still being finally worked out.

Justice Manmohan reportedly is recording an undertaking given by the students, who have filed writ petitions challenging the university’s order following a report of the High-Level Enquiry Committee (HLEC), that they will withdraw their ongoing hunger strike and not indulge in any further agitation.

The court also said that if the JNU Vice-Chancellor, who is the appellate authority, rejects the appeal of students, the decision would not be given effectfor two weeks. This will enable the students to move the High Court again to challenge the decision. Three or four batches of petitions were filed by students challenging the penalties imposed on them by JNU for their alleged role in a controversial event organised on University campus on February 9.

Based on the HLEC’s report, JNU had taken varying actions, ranging from rustication to debarment from the varsity and imposition of fines, against the petitioners and other students and research scholars.

The High Court had earlier this week asked the JNU administration to explain the decision for rustication of two students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, who were also accused of sedition, and submit relevant documents as well as the five-member HLEC’s report. Mr. Kumar — who was slapped with a fine of Rs.10,000 — Mr. Khalid and Mr. Bhattacharya are currently out on bail following their arrest on charges of sedition in connection with the February 9 event marking the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

Delhi High Court order

 
Timeline Hunger Strike

April 25, 2016: JNU rusticates Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya. Umar has also been fined Rs. 20,000 and Anirban barred from JNU campus for five years from July 23, 2016. JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar fined Rs. 10,000.

April 26, 2016: JNU students reject punishment, burn report

May 6 2016: VC issues an ‘appeal’ to students saying hunger fast is ‘illegal and ‘unconstitutional’ The VC also writes separately to the students (JNUSU) and teachers (JNUTA) against allowing 'outsiders' into the campus.

ABVP leader from the Delhi university had meanwhile been allowed inside the campus where he had reportedly shouted abusive slogans and also threatened to 'shoot' JNUSU leaders. Besides the VC and other senior administration officials are believed to have direct linkages with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

April 28: Students throw down the gauntlet and launch a hunger strike

Umar and Anirban move court against their rustication, court asks JNU administration to explain the decision for their expulsion and submit relevant documents as well as the report of its High-Level Enquiry Committee. The HC stays the fine of Umar Khalid imposed by the university and orders the university administration to file a counter affidavit and produce all the documents related to the HLEC and procedures adopted before the High Court.

May 10, 2016: A stormy Academic Council meeting is held in which the administration and VC was compelled to discuss the HLEC report. The meeting was then summarily suspended  or adjourned by the VC
 
May 11 2016:  The Registrar of JNU Pramod Kumar issues another appeal to the fasting students referring to the matters in the High Court wherein the HC has asked for all documents related to the HLEC meeting to be produced before the Court.

JNUTA send a memorandum to the Vice Chancellor. JNUSU also sends a memorandum to the VC.

May 12, 2016: Kanhaiya, others move HC against JNU action. Apart from Kanhaiya, the others who have challenged the order are Ashwati A. Nair, Aishwariya Adhikari, Komal Mohite, Chintu Kumari, Anwesha Chakraborty and two others. The JNUSU also challenges the attitude of the administration during the agitation.
 

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