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Apr 05, 2007

Jharkhand Teachers' woes take front seat in Assembly

Ranchi: The education system is in a shambles.

Sample this: primary school teachers in Lohardaga have not been promoted for the last 21 years! Worse, there are only 10 headmasters for 74 middle schools in the district.

These stark realities were revealed in the Assembly today while human resource development minister Bandhu Tirkey replied to a volley of questions on the poor state of school affairs in Jharkhand.

Congress member Sukhdev Bhagat threatened to go on fasting if the state government did not complete the exercise of giving promotion to the teachers within a week.

Tirkey said 33 teachers were promoted in two batches in 1995 and 1997. The cases of rest of the teachers were under consideration, he said.

The Congress legislator said teachers were facing hardships in getting salary due to shortage of headmasters (there are only 10 headmasters for 74 schools). The headmasters are the drawing and disbursing officers for the withdrawal of salary from the treasury. Shortage of headmasters delays the salary of teachers.

The minister, in reply to another question from Radha Krishna Kishore of JD(U), conceded that 3,380 posts of teachers in government high schools and 1,820 posts of headmasters in middle schools were vacant. He said the Jharkhand Public Service Commission had been urged to hold the test for direct recruitment of 2,507 teachers for high schools. The JPSC has received 1,88,000 applications, he said.

Ironically, Tirkey said, the process to amend the Jharkhand secondary school (service conditions) rules is still under consideration of the government. The recruitment process could be initiated only after the rules were amended in pursuance of the high court's order on October 6, 2005.

The House members, cutting across party lines, however, asked Tirkey to set a timeframe to fill up the posts. But the minister ducked the question by blaming the previous government for keeping the issue pending. "I have at least sent the vacancy position to the JPSC," he said.

The HRD minister again begged for answers when Congress member Pradeep Balmuchu asked why books in Bangla were not made available to students in 2006.

Admitting the lapse, Tirkey said the government has secured the translation rights from the NCERT and would make all the books, including those in Bangla, available to students at the beginning of the 2007-08 session.

Bill on panel court

The Assembly on Tuesday handed over the agriculture products' marketing committee bill to the select committee following demands by legislators belonging to the treasury and the Opposition. The select committee has been directed to submit its report within 30 days. The legislators argued that that this bill was prepared by the Arjun Munda government last year, but could not be passed in the Assembly following objections from different corners. The Madhu Koda government, too, had tabled the bill without making any amendment.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070404/asp/jamshedpur/story_7604520.asp

Software pill for health hubs

Jamshedpur: Jharkhand may not be India's silicon valley, but a pioneering information technology firm headquartered here and operating out of Ranchi is going places.

Alpine Techno, the Jamshedpur-based technology company has come up with a new mobile computing software to be used in hospitals.

Titled "Life Line", the software solution has been implemented in a hospital abroad and is in the process of being negotiated for major hospitals in India.

The product will help doctors have real time information about their patients on their palm tops, which can even be accessed through wireless internet.

Apart from the new software solution, the 10-year-old company has been providing services in various streams of software.

While a large portion of Indian software companies fall under services, industry bodies such as Nasscom has encouraged product portfolios so that India has a better edge in the global IT industry.

Life Line is Alpine Techno's brand developed completely by its own engineers. The company set up by N.A. Khan and A.A. Khan, who share their Jamshedpur background and a passion to make something successful in the state.

"We are both from the engineering background and wanted to build a successful business here. Though Jamshedpur is known for its manufacturing industries, we cashed in on the fact that no company can afford to do business without IT," says N.A. Khan, CEO.

Alpine Techno is the first call centre of Jharkhand and is situated at Software Technology Park of India in Ranchi. The 48-seater centre caters to mortgage companies of USA. Headquartered in Jamshedpur, the company has offices in Ranchi, Gurgaon and Noida. Plans to open another office in Bangalore is on the cards.

Currently the company has about 150 employees. "In three years' time we plan to be among the top 200 IT companies of India," said N.A. Khan. The clientele of the company include Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Nusantau Hospital, Indonesia which has the company's Life Line solution.

Both the Khans agree that the firm is still too small to be counted. But it is now the take-off stage for the duo and wait to hear more about them.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070403/asp/jamshedpur/story_7600051.asp

IMA to discuss lifestyle diseases

Jamshedpur: Over 500 doctors from the districts will take part in the first annual conference of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Jharkhand, to be organised at the Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute (SNTI) in Bistupur on April 14 and 15.

The conference will mainly focus on recent developments in medicine and surgery and will also have special sessions on lifestyle diseases that have become a common problem with people living in urban areas. Emphasis would be laid on case studies.

Eminent experts on diabetes and hypertension management from Delhi, Calcutta and Madras are expected to share their experience with the delegates during a special session.

State health and medical education minister Bhanu Pratap Shahi will be the chief guest at the inaugural programme.

The general secretary of IMA, Jamshedpur, Mritunjay Singh, said post graduates pursuing education in the three medical colleges of the state would be invited to make presentations based on their findings.

Sources in the organising committee said in the two days members would also evolve a strategy to create pressure on the state government for appointment of permanent doctors against vacant posts.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070404/asp/jamshedpur/story_7604336.asp

Big brothers watch progress

Development of four major cities of Jharkhand already lying in limbo for over a year now, the ministry of urban development has proposed spruce-up plans for the smaller towns.

The ministry will invite expressions of interest (EoI) from parties experienced in urban development for 30 small and medium towns in the first phase.

Although the government has failed to get a detailed project report prepared for the major cities — Dhanbad, Bokaro, Ranch and Jamshedpur — in more than a year, this time it plans to get it done in three months from the date of appointment of consultants.

The towns include Seraikela, Kharsawan, Khuti, Chas, Bundu Deoghar, Godda, Hazaribagh, Chaibasa, Dumka, Madhupur, Garhwa, Latehar, Koderma and Chakulia. They would be developed on the guidelines of urban infrastructure development scheme for small and medium towns under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Officials in the department said since the process of preparation of a detailed project report of the major cities was taking a lot of time and were getting stuck due to anomalies of the consultants appointed by the government, it was decided to take up the work for development of small and medium towns.

The state had failed to prepare even a single detailed project report that could satisfy the Union government for allocation of funds in the past one year.

"The government's focus till now was on the major cities and we neglected the smaller towns, whose population had grown manifold over the last decade. When plans for major cities got stuck, we decided to shift focus to the small cities and work rationally," said an officer.

Chief engineer (technical cell) K.K. Singh said that according to the proposal, interested parties have to submit a detailed plan — both conceptual and investment — by April 20.

Selected consultants would be required to prepare a detailed project report within three months of their appointment.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070403/asp/jamshedpur/story_7600185.asp

Jharkhand government finalises site for new capital area

It was the dream project of the first chief Minister of the State.

But it took six years and the fifth chief minister's Cabinet to give it the official go ahead.

The much-awaited New Capital project - Nayee Ranchi - would now, finally, come up on the northwestern flank of the existing Capital between Patratu and Ratu road areas.

The government has approved the setting up of the New Capital project, on 2630 acres of land and also earmarked an amount of Rs 200 crore for the same.

"The New Capital would come up on the northwestern flank of Ranchi -- between Ratu Road and Patratu Road and north of Jumar River. An area of 2630 acres of government land has been identified for the purpose," Cabinet Secretary JB Tubid told media persons. An area of 132.97 acres of raiyyati land has also been earmarked for the New Capital township.

A committee, constituted under Chief Minister Madhu Koda to revive the new capital project, had submitted a proposal to this effect on March 12. The committee also had officials from the departments of Building Construction, Water Resources and Transport on board. The Government plans to start the project during the current financial year.

The officials have been tasked to do the landscaping, plan architecture, develop water supply and distribution, power generation and carry out digital mapping and geotechnical investigations. The State Government, however, also has the option to rope in global consultants for the process.

The New Capital project, a brainchild of Babulal Marandi, had been shelved by his successor Arjun Munda, who cancelled the work allotted to the ORG for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for the then "Greater Ranchi" project, later renamed Nayee Ranchi project.

The Marandi government had invited a global tender for the preparation of DPR for the project, initially pegged at around Rs 900 crore.

Government sources said the old consultant and the initial project report would not be revived. "The work would be undertaken by entirely new teams," they said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=ee81cdd5-63f9-4049-971f
-387cb02c80b4

Of Roopchand and prostitutes' children

PATNA, April 5: What's in a name? Juliet said it first but now it's become the chorus of hundreds of sex-workers in the infamous Barda Red Light area in Bihar's Rohtas district.

Faced with the prospect of their children being thrown out of schools because they do not have fathers, the women got together and found a common "husband" to solve the problem. By appropriating "Roopchand", a fictitious character, as a collective father to the children, the youngsters could then be enrolled in government schools without a hitch.

This novel practice was uncovered during a state-wide enrolment drive by police to get children loitering on the streets admitted to schools under a policy of the new Democratic Alliance Bihar administration. Yesterday, the Rohtas police raided the Red Light areas yesterday looking for children that weren't in school, bringing around 30 of them to a local government school for admission. According to reports the school authorities were baffled as it began to emerge that all the children had the same father: Roopchand.

Mr Manoranjan Bharati, officer-in-charge at Moffasil police station, was dispatched to find out why all the children had the same father. An angry prostitute reportedly told him: "None of us know for sure the father of our children. They are basically the children of our customers driving heavy vehicles on the busy GT road. How could we all figure the names of their real fathers? You came only today looking for our children and we've taught them to give their father's name as Roopchand. That's all." The police went back to report to the school and asked the concerned authorities to fill in only the names of their children's mothers in the admission registers.

However, by that stage it was too late - according to the documents, the enigmatic Roopchand had already become the father of more than 20 children.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=152188

Other Backward Classes simply the average Indian

Whether in terms of income or ownership of goods, the result is unambiguous

Data from the the National Council of Applied Economic Research's (NCAER) latest National Survey of Household Income and Expenditure (NSHIE) 2004-05 show that the Other Backward Classes (OBC) are very similar to the average Indian, both in terms of income and expenditure, as well as in ownership patterns of consumer goods like radios, television sets and two wheelers. Like the National Sample Survey 2004-05 findings, NSHIE 2004-05 also shows that OBCs are a little over 41 per cent of the population —the NSS, however, does not capture data on income levels or on ownership of durables like NSHIE does.

NSHIE shows that while the average annual income of Schedule Caste (SC) families in the country in 2004-05 was Rs 44,641, it was Rs 39,218 for Schedule Tribe (ST) families, Rs 57,384 for OBCs and Rs 81,731 for the rest which includes upper-caste Hindus — the average for all Indians was Rs 62,066. In terms of expenditures, the figures were Rs 32,208, Rs 27,236, Rs 38,288, Rs 50,731 and Rs 40,607 respectively (see table). That is, income and expenditure levels for OBCs are almost identical to the all-India averages for all castes/religious groups.

When you look at the data in terms of per capita income quintiles as well, the results are not too different. SC households in the bottom-most quintile had an annual income of Rs 19,376 in 2004-05, that for ST households was Rs 17,533 while that for OBC households was Rs 20,093 and the average was Rs 19,600 (that for upper-caste Hindus was Rs 20,687). In the top-most quintile, the SC, the ST and OBC families had remarkably similar income levels (Rs 134,000 to Rs 138,000) while the upper-caste Hindu was Rs 157,869 and the average for everyone was Rs 148,339.

In the case of televisions, while 20 per cent of SC families, and 13 per cent of ST families in the bottom-most quintiles owned a set, the figure was 28 per cent in the case of OBCs and 26 per cent for the country as a whole — for the upper-castes, the figure was 40 per cent. For the top-most quintile, the ownership levels are above 90 per cent for all groups except STs where the figure is a slightly lower 84.5 per cent.

For two-wheelers, a remarkable similarity in ownership patterns can also be seen for the creamy layer, or the top-most quintile. While 62 per cent of the SC creamy layer owned a two-wheeler in 2004-05, the figure was 72 per cent for OBCs, 74 per cent for upper-caste Hindus and 72 per cent for the country as a whole. In the case of cars, it was 12 per cent, 18 per cent, 23 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

Of course what matters is not just the absolute numbers of consumption, income and ownership in each income quintile, but also the number of families in each quintile. Thus, a tad over 30 per cent of SC families and 40 per cent of ST families are to be found in the lowest income quintile. For upper caste Hindus, this proportion is under 11 per cent while for OBCs it is 19.5 per cent, that is, just a bit lower than the average of 20 per cent for the entire country.

Similarly, while just 9.6 per cent of SC families are in the top income quintile (9.4 per cent for STs), the figure is 17.2 per cent for OBCs — that is, in this case as well, the distribution is very close to the average for the country. In the case of upper-caste Hindus, 31 per cent of all households fall in the top-most per capita income quintile.

The NSHIE Survey procedures were decided after reviewing the experience in 36 countries, including major national surveys such as the NSS. The multi-stage stratified sampling had a listed sample of 440,000 households spread over 1,976 villages, 250 districts and 24 states/UTs. From this, 63,000 households were chosen for a detailed questionnaire. According to RK Shukla, NCAER's senior fellow who was in charge of the survey, its results were validated against the census, national accounts and even the NSS. While the NSS 2004-05 gives an annual monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of Rs 725, NSHIE's figure is Rs 678. Within this, the NSS says the MPCE for Hindus is Rs 717—NSHIE says it is Rs 674. Figures for different groups like the SC/STs and OBCs are also remarkably similar.

These are just preliminary findings of the survey, and only a detailed analyses will provide information at the level of individual states, top cities and for high income groups. A more detailed analyses will also provide valuable cross-tabulations of incomes and occupations and the differences across regions and perhaps states. With the Supreme Court now asking for more data on the number of OBCs in the country, and others such as the Youth for Equality arguing that OBCs are not really backward in the sense that SCs and STs are, the results of a more detailed analyses will make the debate a lot more lively in the months to come.

http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu2&subLeft=3
&autono=279973&tab=r

Protest against Haripur nuclear plant in West Bengal

To reach Hairpur, a remote fishing village along the West Bengal coast, one has to get off the main road and walk 2.5 km over a broad mud dyke. Access to this path is blocked by a log barrier. Outsiders are not welcome.

Haripur villagers have been protesting since last September against a 10,000-mw nuclear power plant on their land. In November, they and people from neighbouring villages turned up in thousands on two consecutive days to block a 12-member site-selection panel from the department of atomic energy.

If the project comes through it will displace at least 25,000 farmers, fishermen and their families. The villagers aren't giving in. "If the project materialises we will have nowhere to live, nothing to eat, and the fish in the sea will die," says Sandhya Dalal, who lives in a one-room shack by the sea with her fisherman husband and two little sons."Surely when such decisions are made, the government should first ask us if we want such a project near our homes."
Little logic Coastal east Midnapur earns about Rs 360 crore in revenue from fish exports: that's 60 per cent of the state's export earnings from fishing. It also boasts a rich agricultural economy. The fertile, multicropped land yields paddy, pulses, vegetables, paan (betel) leaves, chillies and several fruits. Income from this land is high. Even, small farmers like the Manna brothers—Biren, Bidhan and Bikas—earn around Rs 2.5 lakh a year growing tomatoes and brinjals on their half-acre ( 0.2 hectare) plot of land.

A nuclear plant, requiring millions of tonnes of fresh water to cool its reactors, will deplete the water table and destroy this agrarian economy, say anti-nuclear activists. And hot water from the reactors released into the sea will affect marine life in the Bay of Bengal.

Also, the location of Haripur—along a cyclone-prone coast—makes setting up a nuclear plant here dangerous, activists say. If tidal waters enter a reactor, which nearly happened in Kalpakam during the 2004 tsunami, it could poison large tracts of land. Given the Indian nuclear establishment's penchant for secrecy, however, not much is known about the proposed project. It will reportedly have six nuclear reactors each of 1,650- mw capacity, three times the size of the country's largest reactor as of now, 540 mw. It will be one of the five new nuclear power projects that the centre intends to set up in coastal areas (see box: Unsafe and unclean).

Considering all these factors, why Haripur? asks Suvendu Adhikari, local Trinamul mla. "When I asked (chief minister) Buddhababu, why Haripur, he told me 'not too many people live there'." According to census figures, the population density in a 5.6 km ring around Haripur is 890 per sq km.

No cakewalk That's a lot of people and they are mobilising. With the help of local farmers' and fishermen's bodies, people have launched the Haripur Vidyut Prakalpa Pratirodh Andolan. The mood is both defiant and dejected. "People are willing to put up an all-out resistance, but seeing what's happened in Singur, they wonder how far they can stand up against state power," says Harekrishna Debnath of the National Fishworkers Forum, part of an anti-nuclear alliance.

At the other end, the state government has roped in Jadavpur University to conduct seminars on the benefits of nuclear power; and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, which will run the plant, will take 30 Haripur residents on a tour to a nuclear plant site.

Unsafe and unclean

The centre's decision to set up five new nuclear power projects has caused concern among anti-nuclear activists. They say these projects will feed India's weapons programme. "India's nuclear programme has always been used as a cover for its weapons programme," says Suren Gadekar, an anti-nuclear activist.

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd runs 16 plants capable of producing 3,900 MW of power. Seven more with a combined capacity of 3,000 MW are nearly over.

Plants operate at less than 50 per cent capacity. The department of atomic energy (DAE) has "a history of failure" when it comes to generating power, says Sukla Sen of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, an anti-nuclear network. "Even if DAE meets its projections of 20,000 MW by 2020, it will only be 8-10 per cent of installed capacity."

Also, say watchdog groups, India's safety record is poor. About 300 accidents have occurred, leading to radiation leaks and deaths.

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20070415&filename=news&sec_i
d=50&sid=27

SEZs here to stay, but no forcible land acquisition

The Indian government Thursday said special economic zones (SEZs) that have evoked violent protests in several parts of the country, particularly from farmers, are here to stay but limited their size to a maximum of 5,000 hectares.

It also put an end to the compulsory land acquisition by state governments in the wake of recent spates of violence in the states of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) of the government, which met to clear the pending SEZ proposals, also said that SEZs would be treated like public utility.

This means that the states need not intervene to acquire land and leave the decision to sell agricultural land for SEZ to the discretion of the farmers and owners of the land.

These recommendations, once adopted and implemented, could put to rest the controversy surrounding the recent acquisition of agricultural land by several state governments, that tends to threaten the livelihood of farmers and farmhands.

However, this limitation to size is expected to hamper the business plans of some of the big companies like Reliance Industries that proposes to set up SEZs of 10,000 hectares in Maharashtra and Haryana.

"The decision will be applicable to all SEZs including those which have already been notified," Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath told reporters after the meeting.

The smaller size of the SEZ is something UPA government's Left supporters like the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have been asking for.

The government, however, said nothing on the recommendations made by rural development ministry to drastically amend the land acquisition policy formulated by the previous NDA government to make the farmers as partners in the development.

However, according to Kamal Nath, one member from every displaced family would be given a job in the project, adding that a relief and rehabilitation policy in this regard would be finalised soon.

The meeting of the EGoM follows a clearance from the Congress party last week on SEZs, which were facing uncertainty after violent protests over land acquisition at Nandigram in West Bengal and uproar in other states.

The government has so far received a total of 234 SEZ proposals with formal approvals, of which 63 have been notified and 83 were cleared Thursday for notification.

The SEZ Act, which was passed by parliament in May 2005, has so far attracted investment of Rs.134.35 billion and offered employment to 18,457 persons.

India Inc raises toast to SEZ clearance

Leaders of the Indian industry welcomed the government's move Thursday to lift a freeze on approving new special economic zones (SEZ) and clear 83 pending proposals.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in a statement that it "supports the concept of SEZs and hopes that the decision to put an end to compulsory land acquisition by state governments and limiting the size of SEZs will end the ambiguity about the future of SEZs".

"The state industrial development corporations may now use land already earmarked for industrial purposes for creation of these SEZs," it added.

Underlining that SEZs are here to stay, The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said "SEZs have an important role in today's competitive environment."

It also said the decision taken by the government Thursday will clear all the ambiguities regarding SEZs.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) lauded the government's decision to restrict the size of the SEZs to 5,000 hectares, as it would help in settling recent controversies regarding land acquisition SEZs.

"The clearance of the proposals to set up SEZs with a limit on multi-product zones at 5,000 hectares and the discretion to the states to lower the size below this limit will give flexibility," said FICCI.

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=41723

Orissa man leads a green revolution

Cuttack: Every summer, the Orissa government takes several measures to combat the heat wave in the state.

Most of them are short term, but a farmer from Cuttack district in Orissa has been waging a battle for the past seven years to tackle the problem.

Forty-six-year-old Pravat Mahapatra, along with his family, have been planting trees for the past seven years to beat the heat. The farmer says that his crusade began after a devastating cyclone in 1999 uprooted all the trees in the village.

"After the cyclone we could not bear the heat. When we tilled our farm there were no trees nearby under which we could take shelter. It's then that I felt the importance of trees and forest in our environment," he says.

It was then that Pravat decided to plant trees in the 72 acre barren government land near his village. Pravat's 13-year-old daughter, a class eighth student, helps him collect seeds required for plantation from farmers in the area.

When there is a world wide debate over global warming there are very few people who actually do something in protecting the environment. The green man, as he is commonly called, and his family have planted more than 20,000 trees over 30 acres of land so far.

With parts of the state already reeling under temperatures crossing 43 degree celcius, the Orissa government has been forced to order closure of schools in the state after 1030 hrs (IST) in the morning.

"During summer, our school is closed early but no one teaches us how to fight heat through plantation. It's from my father that I learnt how important it is to plant trees," says Pravat's daughter Bharati Mahapatra.

It's a mission that has the villagers' encouragement, but for this green warrior, the real reward will be more people joining him in his crusade.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/orissa-man-leads-a-green-revolution/37807-3.html

Efforts underway to fight alcoholism among tribals

Jhabua (Madhya Pradesh): Chendu, a tribal from Alirajpur in Jhabua district, beat his wife to death. Reason? She asked him to stop drinking. In the same block, another young man killed his brother with an arrow when the latter tried to extract toddy from the palm trees owned by him.
Often the reasons for murders or fatal assaults here are as mundane as someone's hen entering the neighbour's territory or someone's refusal to lend a 'bidi' (leaf rolled cigarette) to a friend. In all these crimes, either the killer or the victim or both are high on alcohol, reports Grassroots Features.

Alcoholism is taking a heavy toll on the socio-economic life of the tribal population. According to an official from the department of tribal development, the age-old problem of excessive drinking in tribal areas is affecting the new generation too.

'One can see teenagers brewing 'arrack' (local brew) in front of their houses. There is lack of conscious effort from the community to prevent youngsters from becoming hard-core addicts,' he said.

This reflects on the literacy rate and high dropout percentage in the district, the highest in the state.

'The attendance in schools also comes down especially during October to March when toddy tapping starts in certain regions of the district. Several students show up for classes drunk while others sneak off for a nip or two of toddy from the nearby palm groves,' said Sanjay Solanki, a teacher.

Efforts are underway to counter alcoholism among tribals, though the progress is not very encouraging. Since alcoholism is also associated with starvation and unemployment, the district administration tried an innovative method to make use of toddy to generate gainful employment.

The project started in November 2004 in Bhavari village in Alirajpur. 'We gave training to one Bhim Singh and his family, who owned 10 toddy palms, to make palm gur (sugar) out of toddy,' said Rajkumar Pathak, the district collector of Jhabua.

The logic of the administration was - a family with 10 toddy palms involved in making gur can earn up to Rs.16,000 a season, while through sale of toddy it can earn only less than half that amount.

The officials in the district administration thought that since gur making was more profitable, more and more tribals would change over from the toddy business. 'This would not only improve their financial situation but also reduce the number of crimes in the area,' said Pathak.

However, this did not happen. Although Bhim Singh is very happy with his newfound enterprise, there are not many takers for it among his community.

The district administration has managed to convince only three more families to pursue gur-making. One reason for the failure of this project was the tribals' love for toddy. 'No one wants to leave toddy,' said Shankar of Khedut.

But many people feel that if effective marketing strategies were in place the new enterprise could have done better. In states like Orissa and Karnataka, it is catching up well.

Despite the setback in the gur-making project, the district administration has not lost hope. It is encouraging tribals to sell fresh, unfermented toddy for making 'neera', a health drink. Unfermented toddy is very sweet and healthy. But fermented toddy contains 50-60 percent alcohol, making it a highly intoxicating beverage.

'We are working on this project. Our effort is to encourage more and more people to sell toddy for making neera so that there is a shortage of toddy for making alcohol,' said Pathak. The administration has approached the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) for processing and marketing neera.

Sources in KVIC say that it is working on the proposal. With suitable technological intervention as prescribed by the Pune-based National Chemical Laboratory, neera's shelf life can be enhanced to six months.

'Neera contains a number of minerals and salts; acids like ascorbic acid, nicotinic acid and riboflavin; proteins and vitamin C. It has less calorific value, apart from being sweet and delicious. It can give mineral water a run for its money,' said A.K. Sharan of KVIC.

According to Sharan, neera can enhance the income of a farmer. One palm tree yields four litres of toddy a day. So if a farmer has 100 trees it would become 400 litres. The same could be sold at the rate of Rs.10 a litre, amounting to Rs.600,000 for the season lasting five months.

Although it makes a lot of economic sense, weaning away the tribals from the toddy business is an onerous task. 'It all depends on the commitment on the part of the administration. If the government really wants to counter alcoholism then it should stop promoting foreign liquor also,' said Shankar.

Alcoholism is linked to high incidences of crime in the district. According to the state crime records bureau, in 2005 there were 124 murders in the district -- the highest among all districts in the state.

'In more than 50 percent cases, alcohol was a factor,' said Avinash Sharma, the assistant superintendent of police, Jhabua. 'Tribals are very simple people. But once they consume alcohol they get violent even on trivial issues and use fatal weapons against each other.'

The crime rates are very high in certain blocks, especially Alirajpur and Jobat. Toddy palms are found in abundance in these blocks.

A survey by the Adivasi Sewa Shikshan Samiti in 2004 revealed that 10 percent of the tribal population in the district could be termed 'heavy drinkers'. About 80 percent of the addicts in the district are below poverty line.

'An average tribal family spends between 60-70 percent of its income on alcohol. It was found that if a person is a 'desi' (local) liquor addict, he spends a minimum of Rs.400 a month on it. But for a person addicted to foreign liquor, his bills touch up to Rs.3,000-3,500 a month,' said Benedict Damor, secretary of the samiti. Even poor families spend huge amounts - to the tune of Rs.25,000-30,000 on alcohol alone during marriages.

The alcohol industry is the only flourishing business in this district. In 2007, the contract for the sale of liquor in Jhabua district was auctioned at Rs.100 million.

For Jhabua, where 47 percent of the population is below the poverty line and 85 percent is tribal, this is a huge sum. The officials in the excise department say the turnover from the sale would be anywhere between three to four times this amount. Besides, toddy and desi liquor (almost like a cottage industry) are available freely and cheaply.

However, Benedict Damor, who campaigned extensively against alcoholism, feels that prohibition is not a solution to this problem.

'Alcohol is an integral part of tribal culture. But consuming alcohol as part of rituals or festivities is different from alcoholism. Alcoholism is linked to illiteracy, impoverishment and many other factors. But there should be a concerted effort from within the community to do away with such evils and to return to our roots,' he said.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/india/features/article_1286324.php/Efforts_underway
_to_fight_alcoholism_among_tribals

Chhattisgarh is new hot-spot for investors: Report

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh got the highest investment in the industrial sector last year followed by Karnataka, Orissa and Gujarat, says the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion's (DIPP) latest report.

Edging out traditional investor friendly states like Gujarat, mineral rich Chhattisgarh got proposals and investments of Rs.1.07 trillion between January 2006 and December 2006. It was the highest investment in a single state in the country, an official state government statement claimed on Thursday.

According to the report, Karnataka stood second with an overall figure of Rs.718 billion, followed by Orissa with Rs.694 billion. Gujarat was at fourth place with Rs.661 billion and Andhra Pradesh ranked fifth with Rs 434 billion.

"Chhattisgarh is witnessing a silent industrial revolution. The majority of investments are going to poverty hit areas such as Bastar and Surguja to take the benefits of the revolution to rural masses and village people," Chief Minister Raman Singh said.

Chhattisgarh has nearly 20 percent of India's iron ore deposits and about 18 percent of the country's coal reserves. But more than 45 percent of its 20.8 million people live below the poverty line.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, which works under the union commerce industry, was established in 1995 and reconstituted in 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1089209

news@jharkhand.org.uk Jharkhand News Network www.jharkhand.org.uk

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