SC questions gov’t on NRC re-verification demand, deadline extension

July 19, 2019

The Supreme Court has demanded an explanation from the government on their request for an extension to the deadline set by the court for publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The court had set a deadline of July 31, 2019, but the center and the government of Assam asked for an extension alleging wrongful exclusions and inclusions, and stating more time for required for reverification.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that sample reverification of 20 percent of the inclusions of people living in districts bordering the Bangladesh border was required. Mehta said, “Wrongful inclusions are manifold in the districts bordering Bangladesh.” Mehta then made a shocking statement, “India cannot be the refugee capital of the world.”

Interestingly, NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela submitted that around 80 lakh people had been subject to reverification already and that this amounted to 27 percent of the claims. This is when a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R.F. Nariman demanded to know why was reverification required if it had already been done for 80 lakh people? The court has now directed the SG to respond to the report submitted by Hajela. The matter will now be heard on July 23.

The NRC is being updated in Assam for the first time since it was originally published in 1951. The people of Assam hope that this update is carried out in the original spirit of the Assam Accord and that no genuine Indian citizen suffers due to the process. 3.29 crore people submitted over 6 crore documents to establish legacy and linkage. The first updated draft was published in December 2017 and it left out 1.39 crore people. The next draft was published on July 30, 2018. This draft left out 40,07,707 people. Out of these, over 36 lakh people filed claim applications to have their names included in the list. This was done as per standard operating procedures laid down for filing Claims, Corrections and Objections applications.

Interestingly, just before the deadline to file objections ended, over 2 lakh objections were filed against people whose names were alleged to have been included wrongly in the NRC. This was curious because these bulk objections were filed during the last 48 hours before the deadline. In fact, CJP subsequently discovered that many people were tricked or coerced into filing false objections! On June 26, 2019 and additional list of names of people excluded from the NRC was published that contained over 1 lakh names.

Modi 2’s RTI Bill seeks to Control Salaries and Tenure of Information Commissioners

July 19, 2019

GoI’s RTI Amendment Bill to control salaries and tenure of Information Commissioners Contradicts its 2017 Policy for other Tribunals, Law Commission’s Views and may fall foul of Article 14 of the Constitution

Within less than two months of returning to power the National Democratic Alliance (NDA-III) Government has revived its 2018 proposal to curtail the autonomy of the Information Commissions established under The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). Readers will remember, a similar attempt was made exactly one year ago but the Bill to assume power to regulate the tenure, salaries and allowances of Information Commissioners across the country was not tabled in Parliament. Perhaps the widespread protest from citizenry and the media supported by the Opposition Parties was the reason for the government backtracking. Emboldened by the big majority that it has attained in the 17th Lok Sabha, the NDA Government is back to its favourite past time- striving to curtail the efficacy of the RTI Act. According to the Revised List of Business, the Government is likely to table the Bill in the Lok Sabha today (19th July, 2019).

The text of the RTI Amendment Bill making the rounds of cyberspace is similar to the 2018 Bill, word for word. The slightly expanded paras #3 and 5 of the Statement of Objects and Reasons attached to the Bill are the only variation over the previous document. Click here for the text of the RTI Amendment Bill, 2019.

Problematic areas in the RTI Amendment Bill, 2019
In 2018 many experts and activists wrote eloquently and passionately about the regressive nature of these proposals to amend the RTI Act. While agreeing with their criticism, I am once again sharing our arguments against these amendment proposals, circulated last year, for the reference of readers. The crux of our arguments is explained below:
1) The amendment proposals contradict the Central Government’s 2017 action of upgrading and harmonising the salary packages of other Statutory Tribunals and Adjudicating Authorities established under various Central Laws:
In June, 2017, through The Finance Act (see Section 156 onwards in Part XIV of the Act) the Central Government upgraded the salaries, allowances, eligibility criteria and the manner of appointment of the Chairpersons/Presiding Officers and Members of 19 Tribunals and Adjudicating Authorities- all of which have been established under a specific law and whose members are not constitutional authorities. Some of these Tribunals are: Central Administrative Tribunal, National Green Tribunal (NGT), Armed Forces Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, Railway Claims Tribunal, Intellectual Property Appellate Board, Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal, Central Excise and Customs Tribunal, Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunals, Securities Appellate Tribunal, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Authority on Advance Ruling and even the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) etc.

The salaries of the Chairpersons of 17 of these 19 Tribunals were hiked to the same levels as that of the Election Commissioners (INR 2,50,000) while the salaries of the Members were upgraded to the levels of High Court Judges (INR 2,25,000). Readers will recall that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) are entitled to draw the same level of salaries as Judges of the Supreme Court of India. It is not clear whether the salaries of the CEC and the two ECs who are constitutional authorities have been upgraded yet. The information regarding salaries paid to them, as per the proactive information required to be disclosed under Section 4(1)(b)(x) of the RTI Act, continues to show INR 90,000 for all three of them. Either their salaries have not been upgraded or the information on their website has not been updated.

What is more intriguing is that the salaries of the Chairpersons and Members of the statutory Tribunals mentioned above were upgraded even before the President of India gave his assent to the law which upgraded the salaries of the Supreme Court and High Court Judges. This law was gazetted in January 2018, six months after the salaries of the Statutory Tribunals were hiked. It seems, the Central Government had no problems raising the salaries of Statutory Tribunals mentioned above, before upgrading the salaries of the SC and HC Judges who are constitutional authorities. So the justification that the Central Government is giving for amending the RTI Act, namely, that the Information Commissions being statutory authorities cannot be treated on par with constitutional authorities like the ECI does not sound convincing at all.

2) The proposed amendments contradict the rationale informing the October 2017 recommendations of the Law Commission of India for harmonising the salaries and terms and conditions of service of other statutory Tribunals established under various Central laws:
The Law Commission of India (LCI) in its 272nd Report on Assessmentof Statutory Frameworks of Tribunals in India released in October, 2017 called for the harmonisation of the salaries and allowances of many of the statutory Tribunals mentioned above. By then the Central Government had already taken action in this regard. LCI did not discuss the salaries and allowances paid to the Information Commissioners in its report. Perhaps this was omitted as their salaries already stood fixed at the same levels which they were recommending for other statutory Tribunals. So the spirit of the recommendations of LCI applies equally to the Information Commissions and there is no reason to treat them differently.

3) The proposed amendments may violate the Information Commissioners’ right to be treated equally by the law as guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution:
The Information Commissions perform quasi-judicial functions much like the statutory Tribunals and Adjudicating Authorities whose salaries were hiked in June 2017.In fact, except the NGT and the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, none of the other Statutory Tribunals or Adjudicating Authorities deal with fundamental rights matters. There is no reason why Information Commissioners should be subjected to a different treatment. So the amendment proposals do not answer satisfactorily to the test of “intelligible differentia” which is a requirement for treating unequals differently under Article 14 of the Constitution of India. So it is submitted that the amendments to the RTI Act if carried out may fall foul of the fundamental guarantee of the right to equality before law to every person.

4) The proposed amendments seek to vest excessive powers of delegated legislation with the Central Government:
The amendment proposals are a blow to the federal scheme of the RTI Act. If enacted into law they will create two sets of laws applicable to salaries paid in the SICs- one made by the State Governments for staffers of SICs under Section 27(2) of the RTI Act and the other which the Central Government hopes to make for the State Information Commissioners. Further, the salaries of Information Commissioners in the States are paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the concerned State over which the Central Government has no control. So the RTI Amendment Bill is another example of seeking excessive delegation of powers by the Central Government.

5) The absence of consultation on the proposals prior to their finalisation is a violation of the 2014 Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy:
As already pointed out by several critics, the Central Government has not conducted any consultation with the primary stakeholders, namely, the citizenry and the Information Commissions on the amendment proposals. This is a clear violation of the 2014 policy on pre-legislative consultation which must precede all law-making exercises or amendments to existing laws.
Click here to read the full critique of the RTI Amendment Bill, 2019 and the Factsheets comparing the Statutory Tribunals and Adjudicating Authorities with the Information Commissions under the following criteria:
a) size of the Tribunal/Appellate Tribunal or Adjudicating Authority;
b) nature of proceedings;
c) appointing authority;
d) qualifications for appointing the Chairperson/Presiding Officer and other Members;
e) search-cum-selection process;
f) tenure;
g) erstwhile and salaries as revised in 2017;
h) the forum where their decisions may be appealed against; and
i) whether they are subject to directions from the Central Government.

CHRI trail of enquiry: RTI Amendment Bill, 2019 | CHRI’s critique of the Amendment Bill

First published on https://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/

Modern Slavery Act is having unintended consequences for women’s freedom in Sri Lanka

July 19, 2019

The Modern Slavery Act was seen as a big achievement for combating the issue of forced labour. But since it was passed by the UK government in 2015, many have pointed out its shortcomings. In particular, how the legislation helps cover up serious forced labour issues, all the while making citizens who are concerned about the problem feel better.

Shutterstock

Less well known is how Article 54 of the act, which assigns British companies the responsibility to clean up their global supply chains, hurts factory workers in developing countries. I’ve witnessed how British companies outsource this responsibility to local factory managers in Sri Lanka.

These local managers feel tremendous pressure to monitor their workforce, even beyond the shop floor, for fear of losing their contracts. And this leads to an excessive amount of surveillance, with devastating consequences for factory workers, most of whom are female.

The Modern Slavery Act was passed after years of pressure from anti-trafficking organisations, which promoted global laws that hold all commercial actors jointly accountable for forced labour. Article 54 of the act requires UK companies to prepare slavery and human trafficking statements that account for their supply chains. Besides protecting vulnerable workers, these statements are also geared toward enhancing their reputations and improving investor confidence.

Legislation in the UK emerged from anti-slavery campaigns. John Gomez / Shutterstock.com

But by recommending universal policies, the Modern Slavery Act fails to take into account how local suppliers around the world respond to it, even though the law effectively transfers to them the responsibility to keep the workforce free from modern slavery. It has led to a climate of suspicion and fear that exacerbates the already difficult lives of their workforce.

I spent two summers speaking about the Modern Slavery Act to female factory workers in Sri Lanka’s free trade zones, which are industrial areas with a number of garment factories that supply many foreign companies. I found there is intense pressure on local managers to clean up their assembly lines in such a way that the western companies which hire them could not be accused of modern slavery. The pressure to appear “clean” results in an unhealthy working environment.

It also limits women’s freedom in a number of ways. For instance, a number of women I spoke to engaged in part-time sex work to make extra money outside of their factory jobs. This work was of their own choosing – and very different to the sexual trafficking or exploitation that the Modern Slavery Act is also designed to stop. But local managers feared it would be seen by Western auditors as exploitation and threaten their contracts. As one factory manager told me: “If we do not fire part-time sex workers, our factories can get blacklisted, and our orders will be cancelled.”

Surveillance and suspicion

Some international companies also have whistleblower policies which put the onus on workers to report any concerns they have about colleagues being exploited. It’s meant to be for their protection, but increases the environment of suspicion and surveillance in factories.

While there is nothing in the Modern Slavery Act that says workers must behave a certain way outside the factory premises, managers are consumed with anxiety over being accused of aiding and abetting sexual slavery.

Many factory workers told me how factory compliance officers asked them to stop doing any part-time work, including sex work, as soon as possible. They were also told to report on colleagues.

Women workers in Sri Lanka are experiencing unintended consequences of the legislation. Shutterstock

One worker speculated that the sudden firing of a colleague had something to do with the new policies that came into place after the Modern Slavery Act. While nobody had actually accused her of sex work, there were rumours that she engaged in casual sex with various boyfriends. Considering the cultural context of Sri Lanka, where this behaviour is heavily frowned upon and even equated with prostitution at times, it can be seen as the misapplication of the Modern Slavery Act at the local level, resulting in an even more stressful work culture.

It’s not the first instance where international attempts to stop human trafficking has complicated things for the local workforce. In Congo, the efforts to halt child labour associated with cobalt mining led to thousands of legitimate adult jobs being lost and much socioeconomic upheaval due to blanket policies being put in place, which pay little attention to local issues at play.

Precarious pay

The workers I spoke to who engage in part-time sex work told me that they do so because their factory pay is not enough. Many women are hoping to earn enough to buy a small plot of land to achieve financial independence.

So a better remedy to stop women from sex work might be to pay them a meaningful living wage. Instead, the Modern Slavery Act’s emphasis on clean supply chains is making women’s livelihoods more precarious. Perhaps if the act emphasised better pay for workers in global supply chains the outcome might be different. But the bottom line is, it must encourage better engagement with the local workforce.

The act was imposed in Sri Lanka without consulting global factory workers and now threatens a space that previously allowed women a path to economic empowerment. The conflation of sex trafficking with sex work assumes the majority of women in developing countries are victims that lack their own agency. But, for many of the women I spoke to, sex work was their own choice.

More disturbingly, intentionally or not, Article 54 makes global factory managers responsible for the leisure activities of their workers and, by extension, their moral conduct. Rather than requiring UK companies to ensure a living wage and help the education and economic empowerment of their supply chain workforce, the Modern Slavery Act punishes them.

Courtesy: The Conversation

Why Mumbai Fire Brigade Gets 1 Structural Collapse Call Each Day

July 19, 2019

Mumbai: The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) answers one call nearly every day regarding a building or its parts having crumbled, fire brigade data show.

There are now more than 14,000 buildings in Mumbai that are over 50 years old and which, due to age-related instability and lack of maintenance, are at risk of collapse. One such building collapsed on July 16, 2019, in Dongri, south Mumbai leaving 14 dead and nine injured, as we reported on July 16, 2019.

The number of such buildings is estimated from tax records–those dating prior to 1969 pay cess to the Maharashtra government for maintenance. Their number has fallen–as they have, literally (either in redevelopment, demolition or collapse)–from 19,642 in 1969 to 14,207 today.

Their rents being frozen under the Rent Control Act at decades-old rates, their owners are reluctant to spend on their upkeep, as The Print reported on July 17, 2019. Residents keep staying despite the risk, for the low rents and because, often, ‘transit’ accommodation (for those having to vacate dangerous buildings, provided by the municipal corporation concerned) is not available.

A 2018 disaster management plan of the Mumbai municipal corporation had flagged these buildings, then 16,104, for vulnerability to collapse.

“Apart from the legal hurdles, paucity of funds has slowed down the work of Mumbai Repairs Board considerably,” the document states. “House collapse is therefore a regular phenomenon and in the absence of adequate ‘transit’ accommodation and emergency shelters become a major requirement in the event of house collapse.”

City densely populated, poorly planned
Mumbai–the city and its suburban regions–home to more than 12 million people–is the second most densely populated city (31,700 people per square kilometre) in the world, after Dhaka (44,500), the World Economic Forum reported in 2017. A large section of this population lives in slums, more than 40% by some estimates.

Mumbai is prone to natural and man-made calamities such as floods; tree falls; structural collapses; landslides; fires in slums, buildings, high rises, industrial units and transport vehicles; and even terrorist attacks.

The city’s vertical growth in the form of highrises and skyscrapers to accommodate its growing population has happened with improper planning and inadequate safety measures, experts say. Old structures are already vulnerable, as we said.

“Mumbai is an old city which is into a rehabilitation phase where the rehab component plays an important role,” Prabhat Rahangdale, chief fire officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade and director Maharashtra Fire Services, told IndiaSpend.

Forty-five emergency calls every day
The Mumbai Fire Brigade received 99,393 emergency calls in the six years ending 2018-19, of which 1.8% (1,830) were for house collapse, official data show. This averages to more than 300 house collapse calls every year. These are mostly regarding collapses of minor walls, parts of buildings, parapets or extensions, wooden structures in old chawls and their extensions.

Rescue calls number the highest among emergency calls–38,345 or 39%, and include the rescue of birds, animals and humans. These are followed by fire calls (30% or 29,829) and those such as oil spillage or tree fall requiring other services (29,056 or 29%).

City’s old and new infrastructure vulnerable
As the data show, fire calls increased 10% over a year to 2018-19. On average, over the last six years, Mumbai’s fire brigade received nearly 5,000 fire calls every year. Short-circuit was the most common reason, fire officials told IndiaSpend.

The city has the “biggest number of high rises still, you can see the old buildings and old infrastructures. These old buildings have old-age wirings, most of the electrical panels are below the staircases,” Rahangdale said.

Too many of these buildings do not have proper evacuation plans. “Many people die due to smoke and less due to fire. So to prevent that you need to have a proper evacuation plan and ways,” said M V Deshmukh, director, government affairs, Fire Safe India Foundation and a former fire adviser to the government of Maharashtra. Many high rises in Mumbai have a single staircase whereas any building above 15 metre is required to have two. “People at large do not know and they have no choice,” he said, “When you and I go to buy a flat we start number one with the budget, number two with the basic amenities like parking, gym, swimming pool. But people don’t bother whether this building is safe.”
The numerous slums are “combustible in nature”, Rahangdale said, adding, “And to add to that the use of gas cylinders and the blast cause most of the injuries and deaths.”

Improper city planning
By allowing cities to grow vertically, we “exploit the available infrastructure beyond its capacity,” Deshmukh said. “This is not [just] a challenge for the fire service, it is a challenge from many other perspectives–like ambient air quality management, water management drainage, sewage management, traffic management.”

Mumbai is home to more than 130 skyscrapers. Some of these range from 100 metres (30-storeys) to above 250 metres (70 storeys), while the fire brigade’s ladders range from 25-90 m only–sufficient only to reach up to under 30 floors.

“If there is a 240-metre building or 300-metre building, in any part of the world there is no ladder which can reach up to that height,” Rahangdale said. “Internal systems like sprinklers, smoke detectors, pumps are an integral part of the building and has to be maintained properly.”

The Maharashtra Fire Prevention Act makes it the responsibility of the owner or occupier to provide fire prevention and life safety measures. The fire brigade’s inspection cells take “stringent action”, “but practically it is impossible to check each of the buildings,” he said.

“Safety is not a law. It is a culture,” Deshmukh said. The National Building Code lays down several provisions for building construction and for access roads to it; which is between 6 and 9 metres.

“If you are going to construct 100-150 metre tower with hardly any space around it, obviously you are blocking your own arteries with no bypass. If there is only one lane going to that building, then it is bad planning,” Deshmukh said.

Six metres is good enough to mobilise fire trucks and fire engines on a road, Deshmukh said. “But when I open the ladders or fire trucks arms, hydraulic jacks, it requires 7.5 to 9 metres space. Then I require the turning circle inside the building. If I enter from one side I have to move out from the other side,” he said, pointing out how tightly-packed buildings hinder rescue services.

The access road to the building that collapsed in Dongri proved a major hindrance to rescue operations by the fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force. Dongri is situated in south Mumbai, which houses several old structures and buildings which are more than 100 years old, and is criss-crossed by hundreds of narrow streets.

“The building [which collapsed] is in a narrow lane which is 1.5 to 2 feet wide [less than a metre], because of which the NDRF vehicles carrying the rescue equipment could not reach the site,” S N Pradhan, director-general of the National Disaster Response Force said. The team had to march on foot carrying the equipment.

Traffic congestion
With 510 cars per kilometre, the most in the country, Mumbai reported the world’s worst traffic flow, as per a 2018 traffic index that assessed 403 cities in 56 countries.

To work around traffic delays, the fire brigade has set up 17 mini-fire stations across the city for a quick response.

“In one-and-a-half-year, we established more than 17 mini-fire stations. The fire engine goes very fast, it reaches to the incident and the backup is given by the main fire station… It is very successful,” Rahangdale said, adding that another 10-15 mini-fire stations will be set up in one and a half-year. “The control rooms and vehicles are now GPS-enabled, which helps to estimate the time required and the shortest route to reach the place of incident,” he said.

Illegal parking is another major hurdle, to prevent which the fire brigade is already working with the traffic department, Rahangdale said. The municipal corporation, in July 2019, increased the fine for illegal parking across the city, ranging from Rs 5,000 (for two-wheelers) to Rs 15,000 (for heavy vehicles); it can go up to Rs 23,250 for late payment.

(Mallapur is a senior analyst at IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend

Nature’s fury spares none: Both animals and humans continue to suffer in Assam-Bihar floods

July 19, 2019

The heavy rains this monsoon have cost dear in several places in India. After the deluge in Mumbai it is Bihar and Assam now. The death toll has reached 97 in both the states. Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have not been spared wither. Lakhs of people have been affected by these floods that have rendered them homeless.

The rivers Brahmaputra and Jinjiram are overflowing while roads, bridges, houses have all been destroyed by the torrential rains. The wild life parks in Assam have also been badly affected and the animals have moved towards highlands.

The wildlife trust has rescued many animals from drowning. A tiger found it’s way to a house and nestled on the bed where it is seen resting after being tranquilized by the vet of the Wildlife trust. Their tweet has caught everyone’s attention and is doing rounds on the social media.

The administrations in these states have sent rescue boats and provided relief camps for the people where they are being provided medical help and other requirements.

However there is still much that needs to be done but according to many people on the social media the situation of Assam and Bihar especially has not been given its due attention.

Many people have tweeted and posted messages on the social media expressing sympathy and pain at the plight of the people but few have come forward to help; while many have been asking why is there no help to Assam? When Kerala was flooded Assam had provided relief fund.

Sprinter Hima Das, who hails from Dhing town in Assam state has appealed for help from corporates and also for funds from the CM relief fund.

Hindi film actor Akshay kumar has donated 2 crores for both the kaziranga park and the people of Assam, while other actors have shared their grief and urged their fans to support the refugees.

Popular front of India cadres have personally gone to the people to reach out and distribute food and water.

Here are a few places where you can donate for both Assam and Bihar:

1. Uday foundation in New Delhi
https://www.udayfoundation.org/donate-for-assam-and-bihar-flood-relief-2019/

2. Goonj Foundation, Delhi
https://goonj.org/assam-bihar-floods/

3. For those living out of India : Global giving foundation:
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/floods-in-assam-and-bihar-2019/donate/

4. Chief Minister’s relief fund for respective states.

You can make online donation from credit and debit card networks like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and RuPay or Net Banking (50+ Options), Payment Wallet, UPI or NEFT/RTGS/IMPS.

And those living in Delhi can even donate clothes, utensils, toiletaries, medicines and other things.

Courtesy: Two Circle

Writers express support for S Raghunandana

July 19, 2019

Acclaimed Kannada theatre artist, playwright and poet S Raghunandana has refused to accept the Sangeet Natak Akademi award conferred on him. The awards for 2018 were announced on 17 July. In a statement released after the announcement of the awards, Raghunandana cited the rampant mob lynchings and “violence in the name of God and religion” and held the “powers-that-be” directly or indirectly responsible.

Image courtesy Youtube screen grab / Muraleedhara Upadhya

“The Sangeet Natak Akademi is an autonomous institution and has been, on the whole, upholding its principles of autonomy throughout the years,” said the Bangalore-based playwright. Raghunandana says that his refusal to accept the award is not a protest, but comes out of despair, “a helpless inability to accept the award”.

His statement describes the hounding, persecution and charges of sedition people like Kanhaiya Kumar ⁠— someone who could shape the future of the country for the better — have faced. “Others – intellectuals and social activists – are facing trial under UAPA. Most of them have not even got bail and are spending time in prison. These are people who have always stood up for the most exploited and downtrodden of our country and everywhere else. They have argued on behalf of the exploited in the courts, have written books and articles about their suffering, have guided them to fight non-violently, have always followed the tenets prescribed by the Constitution of India, and have upheld its spirit and values. They have waged their righteous struggle with not a thought for themselves. Yet they are in prison.”

He holds the “rulers” responsible and says that they have throttled “the voices of these conscientious intellectuals and activists” who speak up for the poor and the powerless. “I cannot, as a theatre artist, poet and playwright, accept this award when such injustice is being done to these dharmamargis in my country, in the name of my country.”

In 2015, writers and intellectuals from across the country returned their awards in protest against the growing intolerance in the country, after the murder of MM Kalburgi and the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq. Writer Nayantara Sahgal was one of the first to return her Sahitya Akademi Award. Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, Sahgal said, “Every Indian of conscience will salute Raghunandana and support his powerful statement refusing the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in circumstances where hatred is being spread over India, horrors such as mob lynching are being freely enacted before our eyes, and dedicated activists who have spent lifetimes serving the poor and powerless are being criminalised.”

Hindi poet Mangalesh Dabral, who also returned his Akademi award in 2015, said: “I thank and greet Raghunandana for joining the group — ‘gang’, according to the Sangh Parivaar — of writers, filmmakers and theatre persons who had returned their State awards in protest against the fast increasing intolerance, violence and utter disdain for intellectuals in our society, tacitly supported or even engineered by the ruling dispensations in various states and at the centre. The most recent instance of this is the filing of FIR against ten young poets from Assam who have expressed their anguish over the arbitrary implementation of National Register of Citizenship. I can very well understand the pain Raghunandana might have felt and stand in solidarity with him.”

Theatre artist Maya Krishna Rao said: “After the first wave of some of us artists and writers who, in 2015, returned their Akademi awards, it is heartening to see the spirit being carried forward of holding to account a sectarian and divisive dispensation. News of Raghunandan’s refusal to accept the Sangeet Natak Akademi award this year will raise the morale of all of us who believe that artists should stand together with those who resist the forces that foster hate crimes and promote divisiveness in society. Raghunandan’s act is proof that dissent is alive and will not be crushed.”

Writers K Satchidanandan, Keki Daruwalla, Ganesh Devy, Ashok Vajpeyi, Nayantara Sahgal and Githa Hariharan, issued a statement on behalf of the Indian Writers Forum:

Since 2015, writers and artists have protested against the culture of intolerance and hatred promoted by the present rulers of India. This tide of protest continues. In the most recent act of protest, theatre artist Raghunandana has refused to accept the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. His open letter to the Akademi describes the acts of violence, abuse and vengeance that he is protesting against: lynchings by gaurakshaks; the abuse of dalits, Muslims and women; the vicious propaganda against intellectuals and the hounding of activists; and the further erosion of educational and public institutions since the general elections of 2019.
We salute theatre artist Raghunandana and express our solidarity with his decision. We also call on more writers and artists to protest against the hate politics ruining our democratic polity and challenging our constitutional rights.
Indian Writers Forum
Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

Overburdened Docs, Ill-equipped Hospitals: Chronic Disorder Continues to Grip Public Health

July 19, 2019

“Even in the biggest government hospitals, you will see 3-4 patients sharing one bed in the general wards. And if this is the situation here, who knows what is going on in other parts of the country?”

In the out-patient department (OPD) of a central government hospital in the national capital, queues start forming from as early as 6 am in front of the registration counter that opens about two and a half hours later. When the counter opens, the patients are handed computer-generated tokens that lead them to more queues in front of the glass windows before they’re assigned a doctor. This waiting period, however, does not end here. After being handed over a piece of paper with the name of the hospital on the letterhead – that will by the end of the day become their prescription – the patients disperse to navigate their way across different floors of the building to find the doctors.

Though the building is newly constructed, its shiny exterior fails to eclipse the situation inside where hundreds of patients wait cramped in dimly-lit halls outside the rooms assigned to their doctors. On a busy day, which is almost every day at this hospital, a patient who had joined the queue at six in the morning would have spent about six hours navigating a labyrinth before they can finally get a consultation. And this patient will be fortunate if they are not prescribed any tests, because for that, the waiting period can be anywhere between 4 to 12 weeks.

If this is the situation in a hospital in the capital with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities, it makes one wonder what could the condition be in the other parts of the country. The government hospitals are the fundamental bricks of the tertiary healthcare. The failing primary and secondary healthcare system in both rural and urban areas of the country push the public-funded healthcare-dependent patients towards the hospitals for even the most basic health problems – ones that can be taken care of in dispensaries, sub-centres, primary health centres (PHCs), and community health centres (CHCs). This leads to overburdening of the government hospitals which are already underequipped.

Following a question raised in Lok Sabha about the shortage of the doctors in government hospitals on June 21, 2019, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey said in a written answer: “Shortage of doctors including specialist doctors and other paramedical staff in public health facilities particularly in rural areas of the country varies from State to State depending upon State’s/UT’s policies and context..”

Interestingly, Choubey has answered along the same lines every time he has been questioned about the National Health Mission (NHM) or National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) – saying that the implementation of the scheme is under the jurisdiction of the states and UTs. This might lead one to the conclusion that the Centre is not too keen on bearing the responsibility for the maintenance of the public-funded healthcare system in the country.

According to the Statistical Yearbook India 2018, published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the total number of government hospitals in India is 14,379. The reference period for this number is December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2017. However, the National Health Profile (NHP) 2018, released by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence says that the number of government hospitals is 23,582 for a similar reference period. This is also the number that has been quoted time and again by several ministers since the release of NHP.

However, there is one small problem with the data presented by the NHP – an easy-to-miss footnote under the table informs the reader that for 15 states and one union territory, the number of PHCs have been included in the number of hospitals in the state. This makes one wonder, why are the health centres that form the backbone of primary healthcare system being counted by the government as hospitals?
As per the data presented in the Statistical Yearbook, in the 14,379 government hospitals across the country, the total number of beds is 6,34,879. For the same reference period, the number of government allopathic doctors is 1,13,328.

Average population per govt. hospital	105065
Average population per govt. hospital bed	1809.8
Average population per govt. allopathic doctor	9085.9

Projected population is taken from Report of the Technical Group on Population Projections May 2006, National Commission on Population, Registrar General of India

According to Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, a movement working to achieve the goal of ‘health for all’, even though these numbers look quite alright, they do not paint a clear picture of the public-funded healthcare system in the country. There is a saturation of doctors in the urban and more accessible areas of the country, while most posts in the hospitals in the rural and remote areas remain vacant. Choubey had said in Lok Sabha: “The State-wise details of the number of posts of doctors lying vacant in the country is not maintained centrally.”

However, one can infer from the data given in the Statistical Yearbook 2018 that while in certain states, the amount of population per government hospital bed and the amount of population per government allopathic doctor is above average, in a huge number of states, the numbers are not even close to the average.

In 14 out of the 29 states across the country and one UT, the population per government hospital bed is more than the average. The situation is the worst in Bihar, where one bed serves 8645.31 people, which is 377.69% more than the average across the country. Bihar is followed by Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Jharkhand.

State	Population per govt. hospital bed
Bihar	8645.3
Andhra Pradesh	3818.9
Uttar Pradesh	3694.5
Haryana	3660.9
Jharkhand	3078.9

The states with smaller populations and union territories are doing better in this area, and among the bigger states, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala are doing well when compared to other states, with each bed serving 573.71, 758.24, and 938.77 people, respectively. Delhi also ranks quite high on the list, with one hospital bed available for every 824 people.

The same is the case for the availability of doctors. While the number of people being served by each doctor is way better than the average for some states, the scarcity in other states shrouds that. In 15 out of the 29 states and one UT, the population per government allopathic doctor is more than the country’s average. Bihar is again the worst performer, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. In Bihar, the population served by one government allopathic doctor is 29057.05, which is 219.8% more than the average across the country.

State	Population per govt. allopathic doctor
Bihar	29,057.05
Uttar Pradesh	20,594.10
Jharkhand	18,518.13
Madhya Pradesh	18,466.07
Andhra Pradesh	17,278.26

Once again, the situation is better in the smaller states and union territories. Among the larger states, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal, and Kerala again lie higher up on the list, with population per doctor being 3174.64, 4713.91, and 6809.89 respectively. The national capital ranks second on the list, with one government doctor available for every 2202.83.

However, this data still does not give us a clear picture of the conditions in the government hospitals across the country. A doctor working in one of the biggest central government hospitals in the capital told NewsClick on the condition of anonymity, “In private hospitals, they keep the patients admitted for as long as they can, to maximise their earnings. In our hospitals, we are forced to send the patients as soon as their lives are out of danger, so that the beds can be given to more patients. Even in the biggest government hospitals, you will see 3-4 patients sharing one bed in the general wards. And if this is the situation here, who knows what is going on in other parts of the country?”

Courtesy: News Click

Anti-mob lynching law: UP following in MP’s footsteps?

July 19, 2019

Earlier this year, the Kamalnath government in Madhya Pradesh proposed to amend the state’s cow protection laws to punish perpetrators of mob lynching in the name of the cow. Now the Uttar Pradesh government is all set to follow suit with a law against mob lynching.

Image Courtesy: Getty Images

The UP Law Commission has submitted a report to the Adityanath government suggesting ways to prevent incidents of lynching as well as possible punishment for the crime. It has recommended life imprisonment in case the victim dies in the attack.

This is not very unlike what the MP government proposed in May this year. The INC’s manifesto for the state elections had promised better cow protection laws, in what was dismissed by critics as peddling soft Hindutva. The state has MP Cow Progeny Slaughter Prevention Act, 2004 which was amended in 2011. The new proposed amendment aims to bring about strict provisions against mob lynching by cow vigilantes. While some reports says that the proposed jail term ranges from 6 months to 5 years, others indicate it could be 3 years for the first offence and 5 years for the second.

At present the cow protection laws in MP can be summarised as under:

Slaughter of cow progeny, and transport of agricultural cattle (s.6) for slaughter is prohibited.
The export of cow progeny is not allowed without permit and the fulfillment of permit requirements that are laid down in the act.
Penalty for slaughter of cows: Imprisonment which is a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 7 years AND a fine which is not less than Rs.5,000.

Meanwhile, after the 2002 amendment to the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, the provisions stand as follows:

Penalty for cow slaughter, sale of beef and transport of cows for slaughter: Imprisonment which may extend to 7 years and a fine which may extend to Rs.10,000.
Penalty for Attempt to commit cow slaughter, sale of beef and transport of cows for slaughter: Imprisonment which may extend to one half of the longest term of imprisonment provided for that offence and and with such fine as is provided for that offence)
Offences are cognizable and non-bailable

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“Even in the biggest government hospitals, you will see 3-4 patients sharing one bed in the general wards. And if this is the situation here, who knows what is going on in other parts of the country?”

Anti-mob lynching law: UP following in MP’s footsteps?

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