Rahul Gandhi’s minimum income announcement has jolted the government. It could merely be a political announcement for the poll season and its repercussions and implementations are yet to be figured out. The political announcements can be critiqued by the politicians or discussed by the economists but what is surprising is the government bringing NEETI AYOG vice chairperson Rajiv Kumar into the picture, someone who has no business commenting on a political announcement. Arun Jaitley has already done it and after his surgery, he is working extra hard to prove his relevance in the party. He will stay as long as he manages work and media but now there are other managers in the fray too.
 
I am not fond of MNREGA, which Rahul Gandhi speak so proudly about. His party failed it. The fact of the matter is that BJP ruled government used it best for their purposes. The Minimum Income Scheme too has to be seen under this light. While it is good that at the moment, when the entire debate was revolving around Hindustan-Pakistan, Hindu-Musalman, desh bhakt and desh drohis, at least Rahul Gandhi’s announcement changed the argument. We hope it will continue to highlight governance issues, but such announcements won’t resolve India’s crisis. Congress’s brand managers are known for shutting down, clubbing and introducing new schemes all the time.
 
We need not just Congress Party but all other parties who claim to strengthen social justice, civil liberties and democracy in our country to speak clearly on the following :
 
1. Strengthen Forest Rights Act and get it implemented. Place it in schedule IX so that it can’t be challenged in the courts.
 
2. Indian Forest Act 1927 must be done away with. Modi government is trying to nullify the FRA by bringing some stringent changes in the Indian Forest Act which must be resisted and opposed.
 
3. Will the Central government or Congress Party speak of Land Reforms and fair implementation of Land Ceiling Laws. We need land to redistributed fairly and it is not possible if those holding huge land in their charitable trusts, gaushalas, temples, mutts, and other religious institutions are allowed to take shelter circumventing the law. Bring all of them under the Land Ceiling Law. Tax religious charities and use the funds for improving the lives of the poor.
 
4. Distribute the Bhudan Land to the poorest of the poor.
 
5. National Education Policy which must clarify a clear agenda that the government will strengthen the infrastructure and curriculum and other framework be developed by an autonomous body of academics. Education must strengthen scientific temperament, compassion, the spirit of togetherness and freethinking.
 
6. National Health Services. The biggest casualty post-1990 has been the health services. Strengthen Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centre. Learn from National Health Services in UK and not from the corporate model of the United States based on insurance claims, it will not work in India. All the states must have credible health services without too much paper work and people should have easy access to them.
 
7. Social Inclusion: India’s problems are not merely economical. They are prejudices based on caste and religion. How will political parties ensure our institutions have enough representation of people from diverse sections of society, particularly those from the marginalised sections as well as religious minorities.
 
8. National Judicial Services: If our judiciary remains the domain of a few twice born families then don’t expect too much from it in terms of justice for the marginalised or understanding of their issues.
 
9. It is time to make stringent guidelines for media. In the name of free media, the corporates control your ‘freedom’ and produce filth and garbage in the name of ‘freedom’. Spreading hatred, division and intimidating dissenters on their prime time shows must stop. Media must be made accountable and government advertisements and support should only be given to those whose newsrooms have shown the diversity of caste, religion and regions. Media must reflect India and the idea of India and cannot be a whip of the dominant caste groups to hijack political agendas and deny justice to the marginalised. Investigate the reason of growth behind religious channels and who allowed them to report on political issues. They got their licence in the name of being a spiritual channel but are now being used to spread hatred and create division. It must be stopped.
 
10. The civil society has faced not merely discrimination, intimidation but also defamation. Will the political parties respect the need of powerful civil society and other autonomous organisations, institutions which can critique of government policies in the greater public interest? How will you ensure their freedom and autonomy if you have powerful laws to squeeze them of their resources? How long will you put a gun of FCRA on civil society organisations when you have done away with every law for the corporate. Let the Income Tax laws and other laws deal with them.
 
11. Fight against corruption is important but how do you fight it is the big question. We need specific laws to reduce the political corruption and for that, we must make a law that nobody can be a minister, prime minister or chief minister beyond two terms. It is important to ensure that all the facilities provided to corporates at the cost of state must be withdrawn and efforts should be made to get back the Bank money being held by the corporates in the name of NPAs.
 
12. Political parties should start practicing things in their own domain areas. Let the parties follow the principle of proportionality in all their positions to ensure gender, caste, religious and ethnic diversity in their power structure at every level before enacting a bill. Without preparing for a thing, we cannot force-feed things and it will be just an eyewash.
 
13. Bring a Hate Crime Law and ensure corrupt officials and political leaders are taken to task if their role is found in any communal disturbances or caste violence.
 
14. Strengthen Public Sector Units including BSNL, Railways Air India, ONGC, BHEL, HAL, BEL, Doordarshan, Akashwani and others as these have been systematically destroyed to pave the way for cronies to have their monopoly. Will the parties promise to strengthen them?
 
I am sure there are many more issues which people have been raising but our main concern is to bring in the idea of India which has been hurt during all these years because the parties swearing social justice, secularism and socialism have not been committed to these principles in reality. If our laws and polity remain the domain of powerful hegemonic elites then we can’t expect democracy to flourish here in a true spirit and will remain enslaved to cronies of the corporate masquerading as ‘politicians’ and ‘parties’.
 

The post Opinion: Move over poll rhetoric, can politicians talk to tough on governance? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Over the course of 10 months, IGR has highlighted successful initiatives on issues including health, gender parity, climate change, education, and Kerala’s post-flood rehabilitation. Here is a selection of five stories, each covering one of our focus areas, that made an impact in 2018 and hold out hope for India’s future.

As the country braces for the 2019 general elections, the impact of good governance, or the lack of it, will be under the spotlight. We aim to increase our coverage of governance issues, and welcome your suggestions and feedback.

Climate Change
Farmer Couple Learn To Cope With Climate Change And Flourish

Challenge: Climate change can lower the standard of living of nearly half of India’s population by 2050, the World Bank warned in a June 2018 study. Particularly vulnerable are farmers who are dependent on rainfall for a good harvest, especially in regions such as Karnataka that are prone to drought. In the 15 years to 2015, only three years–2005, 2007 and 2010–witnessed no drought, as per a 2017 assessment report by the Karnataka State Disaster Management Monitoring Centre. In 2018, 77% of the 30 districts were declared drought-hit, The Times of India reported on September 14, 2018.

Action: A farmer couple, Shyamrao and Laximibai Patil, in water-scarce Kalaburagi in north Karnataka, have shown that a combination of state and NGO support, supported by grassroots innovation, can help farmers combat the effects of climate change. The Patils practice organic farming, run a dairy and poultry farm, and are helping their fellow farmers experiment with new methods.

The couple have set up their own self-help group to sell produce such as pulses. From their mixed-crop farming and livestock produce, they make an annual income of Rs 5 lakh and a profit of around Rs 2.5 lakh, at a time when 70% of the country’s agricultural households spend more than they earn on average every month.

Gender parity
Government Hospital Crisis Centres Help Domestic Violence Victims
 

Challenge: In 2017, nearly 50,000 women died at the hands of intimate partners or family members, making “home, the most dangerous place for women”, according to a November 2018 study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

India is perceived as having the worst record on sexual violence, harassment from cultural and traditional practices and human trafficking, and is considered the least safe country in the world for women, according to a Thomson Reuters Foundation poll, as IndiaSpend reported on June 26, 2018. Only 14% of Indian women who have experienced physical or sexual violence have sought help to stop the violence while 77% have neither sought help nor told anyone about the violence they experienced, according to the National Family Health Survey (2015-16).

Action: In Mumbai, health advocacy Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes has since 2001 been running support centres called Dilaasa, which are funded by the National Health Mission, to identify victims of domestic and sexual violence. Using a model of care that can be replicated across government health centres nationwide, Dilaasa centres have provided help to more than 8,000 women.

Over the two years to 2018, Mumbai’s 11 centres identified 5,647 women as potential victims of domestic violence. They got 2,554 cases registered for domestic violence and 809 cases for sexual violence, according to municipal records. Sikkim, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Assam and Uttar Pradesh are replicating and activating this model.

Health
An NGO Is Empowering Communities To Tackle Malnutrition

Challenge: India has 46.6 million stunted children and is home to 31% of all stunted children under five–the highest in the world–according to the 2018 Global Nutrition Report, IndiaSpend reported on December 10, 2018.

Nearly 20% of Indian children under five are wasted (have low weight for their height) and 7% severely wasted, according to data from the National Family Health Survey of 2015-16.

The Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (SNEHA), an NGO in Mumbai’s Dharavi, the third largest slum in Asia by population, is helping reduce the prevalence of child malnutrition by plugging nutrition awareness gaps and supporting local health workers.

Action: SNEHA’s efforts have reduced wasting among children aged up to three by 23% and produced a 109% increase in the services received by children through the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme, a government programme covering health, food and primary education. It plugs gaps in nutrition-related knowledge in the community by training community volunteers, who spread awareness and inform anganwadi (daycare) workers about the status of pregnant women and families who are finding it difficult to feed a newborn.

Education
UP Village School Offers Solution For India’s Learning Crisis

Challenge: India has been successful in increasing primary school enrolment to the extent that more than 83% of primary school-age children were enrolled in 2016-17, according to data from the District Information System for Education (DISE). But fewer than half (47.8%) of grade V rural students could read at least a grade II text in 2016, the Annual Survey of Education Report 2016 found.

Action: World Vision, a non-profit, runs a remedial education programme, Aparajitha, for 4,300 students in government schools in 130 villages in Lalitpur district in Uttar Pradesh. From a zero baseline, within a year 1.55% of enrolled students could read local content (such as newspapers) and understand it; 6.2% (up from 1.8%) could read a story and comprehend it; and 10.4% could read a story (up from 5.1%). World Vision expects to complete the project by 2020 and empower the community to take over.

Disaster relief and rehabilitation
How The Lights Came Back On In Kerala’s Ravaged Homes

Challenge: In the two decades to 2017, India suffered a $79.5 billion loss, ranking among the top five countries in the world to be affected by climate-related disasters, The Wire reported on October 11, 2018. India is taking baby steps towards disaster preparedness, the lack of which is becoming obvious in the wake of climate change-related extreme weather events. Only 7% of the 4,862 dams in the country have emergency action plans, a 2017 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said, the Hindustan Times reported on September 3, 2018. Often, the armed forces are summoned to undertake rescue operations, such as during the recent Kerala floods in August 2018, despite the constitution of the National Disaster Response Force in 2006.

The Kerala floods affected an estimated 5 million people’s lives and damaged infrastructure to the extent that the state needs nearly Rs 30,000 crore to rebuild.

Action: The Kerala state electricity board’s quick response under Mission Reconnect restored electricity to nearly 2.5 million homes in less than two weeks. Kerala is one of the 15 states in India that have 100% household electrification, the Hindustan Times reported on November 28, 2018. It managed the task by improving coordination through a state-level task force and an army of volunteers comprising retired staff, students and private electricity personnel.

(Paliath is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend
 

The post 5 Stories Of Good Governance That Hold Out Hope For India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This book, edited by Teesta Setalvad carries a series of specialised and informed articles on the Myth of the Gujarat Model.

In this capter authored by Gautam Thaker, senior civil libertarian, the repeated interrogations by the Comproller and Auditor General (CAG) on public spending under Narendra Modi’s tenure as chief minister of the state are discussed, and dissected.

CAG Report exposes systemic irregularities

Gautam Thaker[1]

Image: PTI

Good governance of any state can be gauged on the basis of the reports of non-partisan institutions. Certain rules and regulations have been included within the constitutional scheme to determine whether the expenditure incurred by the state and also whether the implementation of planning of the state has been done in a legally proper and accountable manner.

There is nothing orderly and accountable within Gujarat, not only in the economic and political field but neither in the social or cultural field. Individual human rights and freedoms are seriously endangered, the dignity and rights of women, Dalits and minorities under assault from an entrenched system of majoritarian patronage; citizens from these sections do not receive fair and measured treatment. So it also is with atrocities on the working class and the denial of the rights of Adivasis. The Gujarat model which is being presented before the nation is false and misleading – deceptive.

Lakhs of deprived people, Dalits, Adivasis, cowherds of Saurashtra, freely wandering races (tribes), fishermen, salt-workers and unorganised labourers are today, not safe in Gujarat. Pasture lands are being given away to big industry – industrialists are making the life of all classes of citizens, with the exception of the rich, full of hardship. The condition of women workers, labourers, poor workers and farm workers is pitiable. Truly speaking, the poor in Gujarat have no equal opportunities to earn their livelihood with self respect or to improve their life conditions.

There is the rule of fear that has replaced the rule of law in Gujarat. The attitude of the government leans towards high handedness. It is anti-people and authoritarian. As a result, democratic–minded citizens are uneasy, restless.

On the basis of the figures obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, it can be definitely said that there is real chaos in the field of law and order. The life of the common people is in complete disarray with their rights over land and water being snatched away. The government, by deliberately, consciously and shamelessly disregarding the Indian Constitution and the rule of law has been violating human rights. The recently published reports of the CAG and the State Vigilance Commission are shocking eye-openers.

Looking at the CAG report, it can be safely said that the Gujarat government ranks number one in “corruption”. The CAG report clearly states that over the last five years, corruption has crossed the limit and in every department of the government, disbursement of resources are not in accordance with the rules or planned policy. The chief minister and other ministers are using the state treasury as their personal treasury.

The aid from the central government is being misused. Irregularities under NREGA scheme, corruption, confusion about job cards etc. have been raised in the CAG report. A disregard for environment has also been recorded by the CAG in it’s observations. Security of the coastal zone2 has also been squandered away and financial irregularities noted. The state government has provided land to industrialists at extremely low prices and with incentives disproportionate to public good. These same industries are also tax defaulters with serious questions raised by CAG, not being tabled in the state assembly and discussed.

The State Vigilance Commissioner of the Gujarat state in his recently published annual report has observed that of the departments under the control of the state government, the most widespread corruption has been exposed in the Revenue, the Panchayat and Urban Development departments. All three are concerned with disbursal of land user rights.

The State Vigilance department had received a total of 6,924 applications/ complaints related to corruption and monetary malpractices. On the question of implementation of the government schemes, complaints regarding corruption in granting sanction by government servants were also received.
The Vigilance officer has observed that, in comparison with previous years in the past last year there has been an increase in the number of the complaints, consequently his work has also increased.

Of the total number of complaints received, the SVC has recommended the criminal prosecution of 31; process under the rules of the Gujarat government against 705. The CAG report and that of the Vigilance Commission exposes the corruption in Gujarat and the situation of irregular monetary dealings.

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Citizens for Democracy (CFD) have made their presentation before the justice M B Shah Commission appointed for the purpose of looking into allegations of corruption made against the Gujarat government backed with complete documentation. This inquiry Commission had the mandate to investigate the allotment of land to industrialists and the Mundra Port of the Adani Group as also the procedure of land allotment to the Tatas for the Nano car project at Sanand. Besides, there were complaints of the land surrounding Gandhinagar that has been freely allotted to seven companies at throwaway prices, at great loss to the state exchequer. Due process was not followed in these cases as well.

The Commission of Inquiry Act, under which the MB Shah Commission was appointed, clearly states that it is the duty of the Commission to summon witnesses and cross examine them. This procedure has not been followed. To follow due and rigorous process, all documents that are presented before such a Commission need to be verified as authentic and genuine if they are to be used as evidence. For this, established and time-tested procedure demands that with the documents presented, government officers such as collectors, the chief town planner, responsible officers of the revenue departments and the CEOs of the companies receiving the land need to be summoned before the Inquiry Commission so that truth can be discovered substantively, to obtain true justice. Even this basic procedure has not been followed in this Commission.

Under such circumstances how can truth emerge? The land allocation policy in Gujarat over the past years has not followed the procedure laid down in the Gujarat Industrial Policy of 2009. If the very process of allocation of land needs to be neutrally evaluated, but necessary documents, relevant records and witnesses are not presented before an Inquiry Commission, how can any misdemeanour’s or corruption ever be traced? Due process and procedure is being wilfully subverted by the MB Shah Commission, unfortunately and tragically, headed by a sitting judge.

The raion d’etre of any inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act is to restore faith in the system. For this, the process of inquiry should be thorough, faultless, neutral and open. All information and documentary evidence needs to be brought before the commission to enable a thorough probe for the truth to emerge.

On the whole – water, land especially forest land are being looted under the Modi government’s form of governance. Such an Inquiry Commission is a mere ‘eye-wash’ not meant to expose corruption or correct the faulty methodology and practice of the executive. Such is the reality of life in Gujarat.

In recent years, one fact is clearly evident. The present government establishment wants to crush those activists who are struggling for justice for ordinary people and their well being. It becomes very difficult to break and oppose the Hindutvavadi and fascist administration. Hence a wider movement for freedom of citizens, challenging all injustices is the critical need of the hour.

It is possible to re-establish values of democracy, our attitude towards justice, equality and communal harmony. This stupendous movement will bear fruits by the combined efforts of those who have faith in human rights and democracy. Democratic forces that believe in equality, social justice, inclusiveness and inclusive, people-oriented development should come together and join hands for the creation of a democratic, justice-loving and safe Gujarat. Such a movement is the one and only resistance against increasing fascist attacks and for protecting human rights.

References

The post Gujarat Behind the Mirage: The Myth of Good Governance appeared first on SabrangIndia.