The Amazing Judgement

We have seen High Courts giving judgment of sending  persons to jail, converting death penalty to life imprisonment and sometime even letting convicts off due to lack of evidence. We have seen cases dragging on for years all together and sometimes even to the next generation and there is usually a big back log of cases in various courts. Even Supreme Court is not above all this. To top it all there are cases where even after decision of the Supreme Court the government is yet to implement those decisions. Our Judicial system has also at time been accused of favoring the government in power and there are instances of corruption at the highest places. The curious part is that of the cases of corruption against judges are also being heard by them only. The most curious case is that of Judicial Accountability where the Supreme Court was hearing the case in the vacation time to decide whether the judges have the sole responsibility of appointing the future judges or the government or public at large has a say in it also. There have been instances where the judges much after they demitted office have admitted to being wrong during their tenure as judges and regretting. Take the case of right to die. The Supreme Court changed its decision thrice and still the right to die is not settled yet or the famous case of imposition of emergency (the Habeas Corpus Case).

The most amazing judgment in my opinion and which will be a landmark judgment and may become a game changer is that of what the Allahabad High Court, which is famous for its bold, innovative judgments, gave a few days back. Yes I am referring to the judgment where the lordships  passed an order that the wards ( sons and daughters) of MLA, MP, Judges and public servants should study in government run school and if they choose a private school then a 20% cut in pay will be done.  The public servants will definitely call it as an invasion to their privacy, their right to educate and choose school for their children, etc., etc. and may even label it as judicial activism and going beyond the case and encroaching on the authority sphere of the executive. The blame game and trying to find escape route will go on and it will be challenged in the Supreme Court also but what they cannot even deny is that it is one of its kind judgment or what we may call a true social judgment.

It is not only a judgment which is a step towards eliminating the class barrier but also in the direction of right to education by giving all persons the same kind of education. It is a step forward in creating a class less society and also ensuring that all children get the same education irrespective of whether he is from a poor or rich family. It is another matter that the quality of facilities and education imparted in a majority of government, corporation school is rather poor. But if the facilities are bad or quality is bad, then it is these persons whose children should study in these schools, are responsible for these poor conditions. Now at least they will pay attention and try to improve the quality of facilities and education in these schools since their own children will be studying there. Thinking from this point of view it is an excellent judgment and all praise for the Judges who gave it and for their foresight.

I was also in Government service and due to my very frequent transfers during my short stint there my children had to study in Central Schools and I have till now never regretted and I am sure my children will also agree with me as they are doing good in their life and are successful and are proud to have studied in Central Schools. It is another matter that at two places I had to pitch in as well as some of my fellow officer’s wives due to shortage of teachers in that particular subject but we never regretted it and enjoyed being with them.

Another landmark judgment of Allahabad High Court was when they ordered the demolition of the illegally constructed twin towers constructed by the builder Supertech in sector 93 -A of NOIDA. It was the first judgment of its kind in India and has become another landmark judgment which will benefit a lot of persons. As usual it has been challenged in Supreme Court where the hearing is still going on.

I hope that Allahabad High court where my father, brother practiced and even sat as a judge and where my son and daughter in law are practicing will keep up its reputation of giving such bold, innovative and social judgments. Allahabad High court I am proud of you.

Okhla Bird Sanctuary

Okhla Bird Sanctuary was notified in 2002 and is a home to a large variety of migratory birds in the winter season. It is located on the wet lands of Yamuna river in between NOIDA in UP and Delhi. I have been a frequent visitor to this sanctuary since its inception and even before that. It used to be a treat to walk around the sanctuary in the morning hours and see all the birds in their natural surroundings. The watch towers were located at a good spot and gave unrestricted view of the whole wetland. The walk over the bamboo bridge to go to the watch tower was an entirely new experience. The information board on the roads gave details of all the migratory birds visiting the wetlands and was very informative. The broucher provided at the entrance was equally helpful and one did not mind paying the small entrance fee of Rs.10/= and now Rs.20/= per head and the Rs.100/= entry fee for the car. Benches provided at various place not only helped in taking rest but also gave a view of the wetland for observing the birds and suitable places for photography enthusiasts. It was also a good place to spread your mats and take a picnic lunch break for the whole family in the nature’s lap. It was here that my granddaughters saw their first migratory bird. One could go there in the evening also but mornings were the best for bird watching.

All this changed sometime in 2006 and later with the construction of Prerna Sthal by the then chief minister Mayawati. The noise and the constant arrival of trucks, the hammering of drill,  the noise of the saws and the human noise forced these migratory birds to change their annual pilgrimage to this place. The number and type of birds decreased considerably. The sighting of the birds became rarer and rarer and some of the birds stopped coming all together. Only the information board provided an insight into what this sanctuary   was in earlier days. Of course the morning die hard walkers continued but the birds changed their habitat. It was the start of the decline of this once beautiful bird sanctuary. Of course one cannot compare it to the Bharatpur bird sanctuary but this sanctuary provided the same enjoyment to the visitors as Bharatpur bird sanctuary. Now it is not even 5 % of what Bharatpur is and it is not even 10 % of what this sanctuary earlier was. Such is the greed of humans that they did not even stop to think about these poor winged creatures in depriving them of their habitat just to make a memorial and now to make a home for themselves. It is true that we humans have not learned to live in peace with nature and its other inhabitants. We do not share but we forcibly create for ourselves so as to deprive others of their natural habitat which they have been using for centuries. Sad but true.

The UP government did not specify the Eco- friendly zone for this area even after they declared it a bird sanctuary. This non specification prompted other government agencies to permit the construction of memorials, housing projects, commercial areas very close to this sanctuary and this further led to the decline of migratory birds. Nobody ever thought about these poor winged creatures and their habitat. The greed of money in the name of development was so strong that it overrode all objections from the nature lovers and environmentalists. Even the Supreme Court refused to entertain a PIL for stopping all this construction activity of the memorial. Successive government whether in state or in center only talked about protecting the environment but did little to protect it on ground and used all used their powers to destroy it. In hindsight one gets the impression that probably all this was done deliberately in the name of development to enhance the government and their personal wealth of some persons. Some skeleton are now tumbling out but a majority will never come out probably.

In order to overcome the tough decision of the National Green Tribunal of a 10 km radius of eco- friendly zone the state government submitted a proposal which has now been notified by the central government by restricting the Eco- friendly zone to just barely 1.7 km in the north and a pathetic 100 meters on all other sides. This 100 meters does not even cover the wetland fully and a large portion of it towards NOIDA is outside the Eco- friendly zone. It even does not cover the road which forms a bund on this wetland and the gate of the sanctuary.  It is death warrant being issued by the central government for the once famous Okhla Bird sanctuary. It would have been better if the government has de-notified this sanctuary to a bird park only rather than coming out with this pathetic, and anti- migratory bird’s notification. At least then this will not be quoted as a precedent in other sanctuaries and their sanctity would still be preserved. This notification may start a spate of other similar notification if human greed and the builder’s lobby have their say. Surely after the few years the only thing left in the sanctuary will be the ever decreasing wetlands and we will be forced to raise another memorial there in honor of the migratory birds which once used to make this as their habitat. The other question is whether the forest department should now maintain it as sanctuary, spent government money on it and charge entry fee for it when an individual cannot even enter the eco- friendly zone even what to talk about the sanctuary.

National Highways and Toll Tax

                                                     

Government is building new four and six lanes highways for faster, smoother and less fuel consuming highways in order to give the road transport a boost besides making it safer and smoother. This is required if the economy is to get a boost and make communication between different cities and states better. This will also lead to making it available better medical, educational and other facilities to the area where it was not impossible but difficult to get these facilities easily. This massive project comes under the ministry of surface transport and is the responsibility of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). These projects are capital intensive and require huge amount of investment which can only be recovered with a large gestation period only.

PPP (Public Private Partnership) model was therefore evolved in order to promote private partnership in these road building projects, where the investment comes from the private sector and the land is made available by the government under the public partnership. These private companies are given the right to collect toll on these section of roads which they develop for a fixed period of time under a contract. The length of this toll collection is based on a projected figure of average number of vehicles using the section and an average toll collection.  The collector is expected to provide certain facilities on this section and to maintain the stretch in good shape during the period of contract, which is normally found to be absent.

Highway tax forms a part of the indirect tax which is added to the fuel price by the government. It is this toll tax which is in addition to this highway tax which has become a bone of discomfort to the users of this highway. The notification by the government provides for some type of users as being exempt from paying this toll tax. Besides these statutory exemptions there are others who try to get to use the highway without paying this tax. This includes the local population, local or other political leaders and their supporters who refuse to pay these taxes. This leads to shuffle and everyday there are reports of fight, firing and breaking of toll tax barriers by miscreants who terrorize the persons manning these barriers. Besides these on high density sections there is invariably a long queue of vehicles waiting to pay the toll tax and sometimes it takes anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes to cross a barrier besides increase in fuel cost due to this long waiting period and slow movement. The removal of toll barrier at the Delhi- Haryana border near Gurgaon was a classic example of these jams even though there were supposed to be 32 toll collection booths in operation and ultimately led to its removal by Haryana government. This has now led to the jams being reported from the roads leading to NH 8, namely the Dhaula Kuan Road and Rao Tula Ram Marg.

If it is the duty of every citizen to contribute towards the development of the nation then why it is so that only a few persons end up paying for these taxes and others get away with it due to local, political or gun power. It is grossly unfair to the large number of honest tax paying individuals. There is, therefore, a requirement to ensure that all persons who use the particular section of the road pay the toll tax. It is other requirement that certain person, who are exempt can be reimbursed these toll taxes later on, but to be fair it is the duty of the government to ensure that  every citizen of India irrespective of who or what duty he is performing as an official  of the government pays the tax. This will not only bring a transparency in the collection system but will also make it fair and efficient.

The other option is to do away with these large number of ever increasing toll tax booth on the highways and make the movement of traffic smooth and faster, which will not only reduce the time taken to reach destination but will also save energy, consumption of fuel and wear and tear of vehicles. This will also mean more number of trips for the transport sector and will not only boost economy but will also improve the earning capacity of this sector. But the point remains as to how the government or the private sector is going to recover its money and earn profit so that this investment becomes viable and able to fuel the growth of this road development sector. The money earned can be utilized to invest in other areas of road development and also on the maintenance of the existing roads. The option is to go in for an indirect taxation rather than direct taxation through the collection of toll at these toll barriers. This indirect taxation which could be in the form of an increase in excise duty or VAT or a fixed amount added to the price of fuel along with highway tax and reimbursed to the private company which has developed that particular section of highway. Of course this will involve an agency and suitable record maintenance to implement and maintain these records but the benefits far outweigh the problem of this difficulty. This will also increase the amount of toll collection as all vehicles run on fuel only and hence will end up paying the toll irrespective of who he is or what is his post or power. This will also bring in a lot of transparency in the system and will reduce the wait on toll tax barriers and faster movement of traffic on the highways thus reducing the travel time considerably.

Cooking Gas Subsidy

                                                          Cooking Gas Subsidy

The prime minister has been appealing on radio, television and through newspaper adds to those who can afford the normal price of cooking gas to give up the gas subsidy so that the same can be given to the needy poor. An excellent idea, that is worth considering and implementing by every Indian citizen. But it raises certain broader issue of subsidy and of giving free things to persons. Of course economic criteria are the best and poor must be given the benefit so that they can raise their standards and also the elimination of TB and respiratory diseases most common and prevalent in economically weaker section of the society due to smoke from cooking.

But are the members of parliament or the persons of press or visitors to the parliament can be classified as economically weaker section? By no means at all and they can be considered only as a privileged class enjoying big bungalows, servant quarters, free telephone , electricity , water and free travel. The list of subsidized things which they are enjoying is endless not to mention the pension which they get and to top it all there is minimum required service of 20 years for them as in the case of other public servants. They can raise their pay , pension or other allowances in the parliament itself without any check or balances whereas it take any other person years to get their legitimate dues and sometimes not even after the intervention of the Supreme Court. The most talked about is the case of One Rank One Pension case concerning defence personnel which was decided by the Supreme Court in 2008 but the implementation is still lingering on. In parliament canteen MP’s and other visitors or press can get food almost free or at a highly subsidized rate of up to 400% and are not even ashamed to keep enjoying them. They justify it by saying that they work very hard ad a parliamentarian. Well I fully agree with them on this issue but they work very hard to sit outside in a dharna, not allow the parliament to function or keep shouting on top of their voices, break chairs and mikes and whatever they can lay their hands on and they do definitely need highly subsidized food to keep and maintain their energy level. What a shame? It would have been much better if the prime minister had also asked the members of parliament and state assemblies to give up their subsidy on canteen and other items and at least cut down on their perks also. The visitors to the parliament have no right to get subsidized food as they can well afford to pay the price of it and should be asked to do so and not to pamper them by offering subsidized food as bribe. It would be proper if this food is supplied to all on no cost no profit basis but unfortunately it is restricted to only the persons who work there or have passes to go there. Why cannot these well off persons give up subsidy on their own in order to set example for others and change the format of the canteen to be run as on no profit no loss basis rather than being a highly subsidized one.

Big corporations are providing subsidized food to their employees in their canteen but the food is not subsidized by public money and that too not so highly subsidized up to 400%. It is subsidized out of the profit which these companies earn because of the production or work carried out by their employees and is in a way an incentive for them to perform better. But sadly this is not the case in the parliament where the tax money is used to subsidize the food. The money which they have collection by taxing the ordinary person and about their productivity the less talked about it is better.  The recent Lok Sabha session is a shame on the performance of the parliament where no fruitful work has been carried out with a huge loss to exchequer because of the dharnas and protests. Sadly, there is policy on no work no pay for these persons or the removal from their posts if they are absent or refuse to work or allow the parliament to function. Will the government consider such a policy in line with other conditions of work for public servants and force these to do some productive work for the benefit of the country and its citizens and remove all these subsidies for the privileged class as a whole?

Phasing Out Old Vehicles

                                                            Phasing Out Old Vehicles

In the name of growth in economy we are adding new cars every day to our existing population of vehicles in India. Newer and newer models are being added everyday with new features, fuel economy, safety features or improved engines. Individual is tempted every day to buy these newer version and either exchange or replace the existing one. As one moves up in the promotion ladder he envisages a new bigger or modern car rather than using the old one. The result is that the population of vehicles in India is increasing at an alarming rate.

Roads are getting choked due to not only the density of vehicles but also by a variety of vehicles starting from cycle, rickshaw, e- rickshaw, scooters, motorcycles, buses to all types of transport vehicle with their own speed limitations and thus throwing the traffic system in a chaos. This is the same scene in every city and it graduates into long traffic jams if the city is old with narrow roads and no organized parking.

This increase in vehicles not only lead to slow to very slow traffic but also to the increased level of pollution which is more in big cities but is gradually expanding to other smaller cities also. The more vehicles are there on the road the more pollution is created. More pollution will lead to more respiratory diseases and will spiral into other issues. Is there a solution to all this madness? Sadly no simple solution exists and whatever decision one takes it will lead to have effect on other sector. Decreasing the number of vehicles will lead to a down in vehicle manufacturing sector and will impact the GDP of the country. Decreasing the number of vehicles on the road will necessarily lead to arranging for a better public transportation in the cities. Some short term measures like carpooling can be done but with the mushrooming offices, population, jobs, distance from work place to house increasing, it will be shortly overrun.

Government have come out with a number of suggestions, like, Odd and even number plates vehicles on different dates, phasing out of old cars more than 10/15 years old, higher road taxes on vehicles, restricting the number of vehicles per family, improving public transport, cluster system for offices and homes, etc. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in the long run with possible effect on other sectors of economy. It is like a devil’s alternative. Irrespective of which alternative you choose there is bound to be some problems in other sectors and it is only the choice of lesser evil which can be chosen. The choice of zero damage does not exist at all.

Take the recent case of the decision of the National Green Tribunal about phasing out of old diesel vehicles which are more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles which are more than 15 years old. It is good decision if one looks at the pollution being created in India with these old vehicles and there is a need to phase out old vehicles and add only those contributing less pollution and this is to be an ongoing process and not a onetime action. But the polluting ability of the vehicles besides the age depends more on how it was used and maintained besides how much mileage or time it has done. Thus fixing the phasing out by only the age is not a correct criteria and the condition of the vehicle is to be taken into account. But who will check this suitability. The Government departments are notorious in flouting the rules and bending then with a hint of money. This will lead to more corruption but not decrease in pollution. Suitable checking centers in private sectors are another option but how to maintain their integrity not only of personnel but also of the equipment is another issue which requires details and checks and balances. The present set up of pollution control centers are a classic example of what not to do. There are no simple and easy solutions and there is a need look at the number of vehicles being checked Vis a Vis number of centers and their accessibility. But one thing is certain that the mileage done by the car and its maintenance is to be taken into account while phasing it out. Maybe one could specify a check list of the checks which are required to be carried out before a vehicle is declared is fit for use and these need to be revised based on the inputs received, problems faced and new technology and yardsticks being available every day. Therefore, the emphasis should be on the process rather than being of standards. Besides new and better performing engines the vehicles companies should also devote time and energy on the possible ways of upgrading their old vehicles on the road to meet the new standards and checks at a reasonable price and these to be fitted in the old vehicles at the time of its servicing at service centers.

The bigger issue than this is what is to be done of the old vehicles which have been declared unfit or have outlived their lives as per the guidelines. These will invariably be found lying on the road side, at dump yards, repair stations thus occupying space and adding to other type of garbage and pollution.  There is an urgent need to have a policy of disposal of these vehicles and needs to be followed before a person can buy the new car. There is an urgent need to create a graveyard or dump yard where these vehicles are to be deposited by the owners and where these vehicles can be stripped so as to take out the usable parts and to recycle the whole vehicle in its basic components/ material so that these can be used in future vehicles or in other sectors. This will reduce the load on the requirement of these basic materials to some extent and will lead to less pollution.

In order to reduce the number of vehicles the government can come out with a policy where the number of vehicles in a residential house/flat is restricted to the number of vehicles which can be parked in the given plot or to a number say two. An affidavit is required to be given by the person in whose name the vehicle is being registered that he has adequate parking space at home and office to park this vehicle and should be physically checked before the permission to purchase /register the vehicle is given. Unless these old vehicles are phased out or sold the permission to but new vehicles is not given. The same yardstick can apply to the offices also. This is to be coupled with a stricter policy of no parking on the roads whether it is a house, society or an office building. Of course this will have to be coupled with the construction of more multilevel parking by the corporations. Even the vehicles found on the roadsides with driver sitting/engine running are to be removed and such parking to be treated as illegal parking and not tolerated. This may require fixing of number of vehicles in a given geographical area depending on its size or population density. This will affect the vehicle industry and its growth but the health of a nation as a whole is more important than the health of a sector. This will automatically require fixing the capacity of production of each vehicle manufacturers in order to avoid over production and big unsold inventory.

Declaring certain areas as vehicle free zones may help reduce the congestion or traffic jams there but then there will be a requirement of parking nearby and the provision of suitable public transport from the parking to the areas or roads which have been declared vehicle free. It will not be out of context to mention that there should be certain days in each city when no private transport is allowed on the roads except the public transport and emergency vehicles or cycles. The issue is not of declaring such days but the bigger issue is of implementation and we Indians are notorious for not following the rules and will find excuses or reasons for breaking them rather than following them and the first amongst these will be the politicians and government servants. If they can be cajoled into obeying them then more than half the battle is won.

The other option is that change the working hours of the offices, businesses, etc., in order that there is a staggering of the time to report to office and a different time to leave the office. This will reduce the congestion on the roads at a particular time in the morning or in the evening and spread it over a longer time frame. This can be done industry wise, area wise or based on any other consideration.

Encouraging the use of electric powered cars by giving them incentive or reducing duty on them and provision of suitable recharging points will help reduce pollution. similarly the use of cycles in another option but in a country where there are hardly any cycle tracks or they are used for park of cars or by the small shop/stall owners or shops themselves as display such an idea looks too farfetched unless government and the society accepts it as a must and as status symbol.