!! Turmoil and way forward !!

               !! Turmoil  and way forward !!

Agitation has become perennial, credit for that goes to faulty land acquisition law. Amidst political squabble the prime stakeholder, ‘Farmer’s ‘plight is worsening continuously. To gainfully utilize the Protest what we are witnessing is competitive Protagonism by all and sundry political leaders. Rahul Gandhi, Amar Singh on pillion en route to UP’s Bhatta Parsaul village to back farmers. BJP, SP leaders staged Arrest. What we require is that the political class must show vision in this regard.  

The current government is akin to Ottoman ruler which is strenuously acquiring farmers land and not paying enough compensation. Even doleful situation does not ceases here farmers are even being shot at.  This is pillage of the land resources of the farmers. It is not enough for the farmers to get fair compensation, but also rehabilitation and resettlement is too required.

The 165 km Expressway from Greater Noida to Agra is being handed to dubious industrialist, JP Associates {Mr. Jaiprakash is also alleged in Amar Singh CD controversy}. JP Associates has acquired 2,500 hectares of land from farmers for this purpose. But deplorably the lamentable story does not terminate here .the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority has acquired gazillion of land in the areas adjoining the expressway and selling them to real estate consortium at prices much higher than what was given to the farmers. The Industrialist, in turn, sell land at much higher price originally given to the farmers.

Amidst Protest by the farmer there has started confrontation  among various political party Mayawati dubbed Gandhi’s dharna dramabaazi and advised him to raise the matter in Parliament where a Bill to amend the 1894 Land Acquisition Act has been pending for years. Arun Jaitley,’ The Leader of Opposition in Rajya sabha’, said the situation in UP is such that even legitimate protest is prohibited. This is an intolerant Government. Our protest will continue irrespective of repression,”

Let’s now dwell into the oodles of problem in land acquisition. The land acquisition act is of 1894 which require immediate overhaul. THE value of land remains the most perverse issue and adequate compensation need to be given to the displaced people for protecting their living standards. This is one of the common problems in land acquisition and resettlement.

Humans have a bonafide emotional relationship with land, property, hard earned belongings et al. So it is not unforeseen that a sense of collective tribulation and exasperation builds up from time to time as rural folk fluster over future value of land surrendered for industrial and urban use.

Since illiterate farmers are usually oblivious of their rights and cannot dexterously assert them, they are offered compensation much below the market value. The land is then transferred to industrialists.

To solve the vexing land issue problem the government must seek the opinion of every stakeholder before the land is acquired. The antediluvian law must be given makeover.

It is not enough for the farmers to get fair compensation, but also rehabilitation and resettlement is too required. Last but not least Environment should also be given due justice.

ARRAIGNED PAKISTAN

                           

                 !!  ARRAIGNED PAKISTAN!!

!!Oh my god!! The golden goose is dead!!(As I write this piece, two blasts heard in Abbottabad, pak: reports)

The beleaguered nation is again arraigned. The oodles of malevolence seem to have filled the pitcher to its brim and now it’s overflowing.

Lets call spade a spade, Pakistan has always perpetuated terrorism and the pinnacle could not be anything but Osama bin laden slaying. Its merriment time for Americans forces as they have gunned down the most wanted man in this world. But mind you all this is just the beginning as America has killed bin laden not the ideas for which bin laden fought and lived for.
Lets discuss why this is right time to corner Pakistan.

Let’s state the ignominy faced by Pakistan one by one

1. Osama bin laden has been killed in garrison town of Abbottabad just few kilometers away from Pakistan army camp, where most of the construction has been done by army Construction Company.

2. The whole operation lasted for 2 hr appx and the great Pakistani army did not responded (shame on them).

3. What the intelligence agency ISI was doing through these year (probably they might have been planning a Mumbai like attack again).

4. What the neighborhood of bin laden was doing through these 5 years.

There's been a barrage of questions with no answers coming forth from the mighty military establishment, the self-proclaimed defenders of Pakistan’s ideological frontiers.

Clearly this has caught Pakistani with their pants down and is causing much discomfiture to Pakistani. The world is expecting answer to these entire questions and its better arraigned Pakistan should answer all these as swiftly as possible to save its skin. One way is to go before the international community in sackcloth and ashes, beg impunity for its past iniquity and redeem them in totality. 

       

If we talk in term of economics Pakistan is next to bankrupt Greece (15.7 per cent) as the yield on their government’s 10-year bonds, at 14.1 percent, is the second highest in the W o r l d. Country inflation is measly 12.9 per cent. Economic growth is dismal at 3.5%. Per capita income growth is paltry 1.4 %. Pakistan economy is now one ninth of India. Also this is the most appropriate time as the honeymoon between Pakistan and America is getting murkier day by day.

Let us now talk something from India point of view. India has more options and resources now than three decades ago when Osama showed up at the Hindu Kush. Delhi's challenge is to find the necessary political will and diplomatic skill to translate them into effective political interventions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But India has summarily failed to put pressure on Pakistan even at a time when Pakistan is on the mat. If we follow the vigorous debate its apparent that people rescind New Delhi on falling to emulate America and namby pamby and confused response of the government. So now pertinent question arises is of what India should do to mount pressure on Pakistan. One is to (and what most moderate think) is to engage with Pakistan in dialogue and provide them trade incentives what china has done to Taiwan and relation is beginning to be normalize. Second stage an Abbottabad-like operation to neutralize Pakistan-based criminals on our wanted list. Third is to commence a covert operation to gun down criminals on our wanted list. What my point of view is that India can mount pressure by First means And an ort by third way. Second option I summarily reject as in Israeli case it has always fired them back: though they have much higher military capability then us.

“Osama in Pakistan is our incompetence”-general  parvez musharraf.

RTI

! RTI !

Noble Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore dreamt of an India “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, where knowledge is free, where words come out from the depths of truth, into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake”

There is a saying by Bob Marley which says-“Get up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight”

“It’s a right and duty of the wise ones to purify the strong by teaching them their duties and to strengthen the weak by teaching them their rights”

The objective of the RTI Act (as enshrined in its preamble) is to establish a practical regime for citizens to access information held by Public Authorities. This in turn will lead to increased transparency and accountability at the Public Authorities. The act applies to all the states and union territories of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir which is covered under state level Law.

The law was passed by the parliament on June 15, 2005, and came into force on 12 Oct 2005. It has been hailed as the hallmark of democracy for the reasons that it purports to make, as regards government information, disclosure as norm and secrecy as the exception. Experts feel that as the Act aims at making the government transparent and more accountable, the effective use of it would, in the long run, curb corruption.

Article 19(2) of the ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’ (ICCPR), a United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2200A (XXI) of 1966 states: “Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any media of his choice.”  

Every citizen has a right to know how the Government is functioning. Right to Information empowers every citizen to seek any information from the Government, inspect any Government documents and seek certified photocopies thereof. Some laws on Right to Information also empower citizens to officially inspect any Government work or to take sample of material used in any work.

“In a government of responsibility like ours where all the agents of public must be responsible for their conduct, there can be but few secrets, the people of this country must have a right to know, every public act everything done in a public way, by the public functionaries. To cover with veil of secrecy the common routine business is not in the interest of public” (State of UP V Raj Narain (1975)4 SSC 428,Mathew j on the behalf of bench))

 Background

Disclosure of Government Information in India is governed by a law enacted during the British rule over large parts of what is now India, the Official Secrets Act of 1889 which was amended in 1923. This law secures information related to security of the State, sovereignty of the country and friendly relations with foreign states, and contains provisions which prohibit disclosure of non-classified information. Civil Service conduct rules and the Indian Evidence Act impose further restrictions on government officials' powers to disclose information to the public.

SOME FACTS ABOUT RTI

·         RTI came into force on 12 Oct 2005

·         We can ask report and record under this act

·         Individual citizen can seek information under this act

·         PIO is the public authority that provides  the information

·         The information should be provided within 30 days

·         In the case of matter of life and death the information should be provided within 48 hours

·         If the information is denied or not provided then you can file to the appellant authority

·         You are not required to provide the reason for information

·         In case the first appeal is not replied to, you can go to appeal to information commission.

·         It extends to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir.

·         You can complain to the information commission  in case of denial of information by appellate authority also

 This act, has given the people, the power to CHANGE the country. The RTI act has made the inner working of the Govt visible! If WE, the average citizens learn to use this act, WE can change the country. If WE think that the RTI Act does not affect you, "WE ARE WRONG!" If we are a citizen of India, the RTI Act has given us a lot of power that we can and must use. For example, next time you ask for a “telephone line” or a “water connection”, if you use the RTI Act, you can get your work done quickly. You will not have to make 15 trips to the Govt. offices and bribe and beg the officials to get your work done. RTI has changed all that. Are the roads outside your house terrible, RTI will help you solve the problem? Is there a problem of un-hygiene in your area, RTI will help you solve your problem. 

‘No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.’ Abraham Lincoln on Government by consent, 1854

“It is one thing to fight the system but forming the partnership with the system and changing it from within is perhaps the easiest way of bringing about the change.”

RTI -- A Catalyst

“The real Swaraj will come not by the acquisition of authority by a few but by the acquisition of capacity by all to resist authority when abused”—Mahatma Gandhi.

‘This act  is a revolution to bring about the victory of the common Indian, who seeks the assurance of his fundamental rights and justice-from all forms of social, economic and political evils that stem from the inefficient governance and blatant corruption to materialize the dream of our erstwhile freedom fighters & revolutionaries and establish a truly ‘independent and corruption free India’

There is no doubt that the RTI Act enables common man to make a difference. The enactment has enabled citizens to demand records, which highlight deficiencies in working of Government Departments in India. The struggle by citizens to get transparency and public accountability from the Government is gradually showing results and would lead to ushering in a new era of democratic governance. The success of RTI Act in India depends upon these non-Government initiatives. Without pressure from outside the Government, officers would prefer to avoid the quantum jump in their public accountability.

RTI Act has the potential to bring in a socio-economic revolution, provided that various agencies take up their responsibilities as per the spirit of the Act. The Civil Society Organizations and Media can act as pressure points, but most of the execution is to be carried out by the appropriate Governments and Information Commissions.

At the end of the day, transparency and accountability in public administration require sustained efforts by the citizens. If the citizens show apathy towards the public issues and only indulge in arm-chair criticism of the Government, the problems of maladministration would continue. On the other hand, transparency laws which enable access to public records, lead to democratic participation by the citizens. In India, as in all other countries, the quality of public administration depends upon involvement of citizens. RTI Act enables effective democratic participation by the citizens and sustained struggle is required to overcome the historical baggage of highly centralized governance, where citizens do not effectively participate.

At no point of time would it be possible to state that public administration system has reached perfection. In vast organizations, checks and balances are needed to correct the aberrations. RTI Act in India is a vital addition to the existing checks and balances; it may enable the citizens to keep the Government officers at their toes, to demand improved performance.

“I believe that the passage of this Bill will see the dawn of a new era in our processes of governance, an era of performance and efficiency, an era which will ensure that benefits of growth flow to all sections of our people, an era which will eliminate the scourge of corruption, an era which will bring the common man’s concern to the heart of all processes of governance, an era which will truly fulfill the hopes of the founding fathers of our Republic.”

                                                                                Dr. Manmohan Singh

                                                                                Prime Minister of India

                                                                                Speech in Parliament on May 11, 2005.

The Success of the RTI Act in India

The real change would come when the people start demanding accountability and the government is forced to respond. Then it would not be easy for the governments to go astray. Right to Information is the first concrete step in that direction. People are already holding governments accountable by seeking details of funds spent in their areas. Large numbers of Non Government Organizations are helping citizens in building sustained pressure on the Government. “RTI is no less than any great movement of modern India”

“RTI is a law which don’t take any action but forces the system to take action by taking necessary information from the government body and their related ministry which was not disclosed before the law”

§                     RTI Act can help pensioners get their dues.

§                     RTI helps CA student get her answer sheet.

§                     RTI Act has helped in getting electricity connection.

§                      RTI Act exposed MP top cop's fraud.

§                     RTI helps expose poll official.

§                     Woman uses RTI to get salary details of cheating husband.

§                     RTI Act can ensure transparency in National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

§                     RTI Act has helped expose irregularities in Public Distribution System.

§                     RTI Act has exposed criminals facing life sentence on parole from jail.

§                     RTI Act has enabled immediate repair of blocked sewers.

§                     RTI Act used by Belapur locals to save fort.

And there are many more!!

The following achievements are indisputable:

– The basic tenets of the Act have been implemented and the institutional mechanism is in place and is in use by citizens

– The institution of Information Commission has assumed a pivotal position

– Civil society organizations have been, and continue to be, active in ensuring the implementation of the Act in letter and spirit

– Civil society organizations and the media have started using the Act for bringing in transparency

and objectivity

– Centre and State Government departments have initiated the training of key functionaries to assume the responsibilities of PIOs and FAAs

– Government employees/Public Authorities are aware of the basic elements of the Act

– Various State Governments have taken up initiatives, which go beyond the stipulations of the Act, and further the spirit of the Act.

“…democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which

are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and

their instrumentalities accountable to the governed” – Source: RTI Act’ 2005