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| May 15-21, 07 |
Jharkhand Grievance: Complaints caught in web
Jamshedpur, May 20: You have a complaint, but who's listening?
The Jharkhand government set up an online grievance cell ( www.jharkhand.gov.in) a couple of years ago, promising to redress problems within a week of their registration and display the status on the worldwide web. But only to remain on paper.
About 250 grievances have been posted, with complaints like against former chief secretary P.P. Sharma to request for postal address of departments. Not one problem has been redressed yet.
Some interesting grievances that attract attention of anyone browsing the official website are for example: grievance number 110 addressed to the Raj Bhavan by Lt. Col. B.P. Singh (retd.) on June 4, 2006.
"Request early action on my grievance no. 102, 100. This is regarding grabbing of my four-acre land in Brambey by B.N. Sharma, father of former chief secretary P.P. Sharma, now director-general of the Administrative Training Institute." Singh first registered the complaint on May 26, 2006. Despite three reminders, its status remains the same. The website shows "no reply".
Another grievance posted by one Binay Kumar Singh on February 19, 2006, goes thus: "I live in Pandra. Here one Pawan Saw Mill, which is illegally situated on adivasi land, is highly pollutant in nature. In addition to wood, it also takes up work of marble cutting. Due to air and sound pollution, it has become extremely difficult for us to reside in our house. Even during the night it continues to work. I have my retired ageing parents who are suffering from heart disease. It has now become a threat to our health and our right to lead a peaceful life. Recently an oil mill was also opened. This mill is also highly pollutant in nature. How industry department has given permission to open such industries in residential area needs to be examined."
Another grievance posted by one Vinay to agriculture and sugarcane development department on August 13, 2005 is: "I need your postal address to send agricultural development plan for rural areas." None of the complaints have been replied to nor have any action been taken on them.
An officer looking after the upgradation of the website, however, boasts: "We would have easily deleted the comments which are against us. We have not done so and boldly posted them on the Net." He was referring to an anonymous grievance posted on August 15, 2006, to the agriculture and sugarcane development department. It asked: "If you cannot reply to a single grievance, then is it to fool us?"
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070521/asp/jamshedpur/story_7807002.asp
High on power, low on delivery
The ongoing controversy over the alleged misrepresentation by Lanco-Globeleq Singapore during the bidding process for 4,000 mw Sasan ultra mega power project (UMPP) and the subsequent delays by the Centre in the resolution of the issue has dampened the mood of investors. On top of it, the power ministry's admission that it was not possible to complete UMPPs—at least Sasan and Mundra, which has been awarded to Tata Power Company—in the 11th plan as they would spill over to 12th plan has raised doubts over the Centre's will to develop power projects through public private partnership.
UMPP is the brainchild of former power secretary RV Shahi who took the initiative and roped in the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) as the nodal agency for the development of UMPPs. Initially, UMPPs were planned in Madhya Pradesh (Sasan), Gujarat (Mundra), Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh (Krishnapatnam), Maharashtra (Girye) and Chhatisgarh. These six projects with the total capacity addition of 24,000 mw entail an investment of Rs 96,000 crore.
Shahi, who pursued the progress made by PFC on the bidding process for Sasan and Mundra projects, succeeded in awarding them to the successful bidders before the end of December. Subsequently, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Jharkhand came forward with their desire to develop UMPPs and thereafter, PFC launched the necessary groundwork for the same. Shahi went on to argue that the development of UMPP with 800 mw unit, to be used for the first time in India, would help achieve the Centre's target of capacity addition of one lakh mw by 2012. Meanwhile, Shahi's extension ended on January 31 when the new power secretary, Anil Razdan, took over.
Even after Ernst & Young, the bid advisor for the UMPPs, said the bid of Lanco-Globeleq Singapore was invalid, there has been no decision from the PFC on the fate of the Sasan project.
The bid validity will expire on June 6 and efforts are now being made by the Sasan Power Ltd, a special purpose vehicle set up by PFC to extend the bid validity upto July 6. Otherwise, PFC would have to rope in fresh invites and it is convinced that bidders would not be able to quote a competitive tariff of Rs 1.19 per unit at which Lanco Globeleq Singapore outmarched other bidders.
As far as other UMPPs are concerned, there have been delays in the submission of financial bid for the Krishnapatnam UMPP by providing flimsy reasons such as non-availability of mega status. As per the revised date, the qualified bidders are expected to submit financial bids on May 25. However, due to recent developments involving Sasan project, investors are not sure whether PFC would stick to the May 25 deadline or postpone it further.
Seeking More
• Overall energy shortage in India is 8.8% . Peaking shortage is 14%
• Generation capacity has to be doubled by 2016 with requisite transmission and distribution systems
• Capacity addition of 78,577 mw is envisaged for the 11th plan
• The power ministry has ruled that aggregate transmission and commercial (AT&C) losses above 15%
• States said additional capacity of 25,817 mw could be added
• Power ministry has avoided inclusion of hydro projects in the 11th plan due to gestation period of over four years
• Additional projects include: 230 mw (2008-09), 1,220 mw (2009-10), 8,593 mw (2010-11), 15,754 mw (2011-12)
The first date of submission was March 9 but was postponed to April 12 and later, further deferred to May 25. This was conveyed to the qualified bidders at the last minute.
The request for qualification (RFQ) for submission of Tilaiya (Jharkhand) UMPP was delayed. The date of submission was March 20 but was postponed to April 10. The decision to postpone the RFQ submission was also conveyed to the bidders after the expiry of the deadline. RFQ from various bidders was submitted on April 10 and it has been more than a month now but the names of the selected bidders are yet to be announced.
The power ministry, which had initially been quite enthusiastic about the implementation of UMPPs, is yet to resolve the difference with the Chhattisgarh government with respect to the allocation of certain power at free cost from the proposed UMPP. In fact, there has not been any substantial development.
Similarly, due to the politisation of the issue, the proposed UMPP at Girye in Maharashtra would not be possible. Though the Maharashtra government, which is striving to meet the ever increasing power demand, is keen for the Girye site, it was unable to convince the locals and various political parties. Due to this, the power ministry and state government are looking at other sites in the coastal Raigad and Ratna-giri districts.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy expressed concerned over the turn of events in the case of Sasan project and observed that apart from non achievement of the targets, it may give bad publicity to the government's move to set up other UMPPs and ultimately affect the goal of electricity for all. The committee noted "Having achieved only 21,180 mw capacity addition during 10th plan and with a target of 78,577 mw during the 11th plan, there is no likelihood of acheiving 1,00,000 mw generation capacity by 2012 as had been envisaged by the government. No effort should be spared to achieve this target. The power situation in the country needs daily monitoring and accountability to ensure progress as envisaged by the government."
Apart from UPMM, Shahi had launched an exercise for the development of merchant power plants and held the maiden meeting with states on January 16. After a series of talks with states, Shahi had indicated that the capacity addition of at least 10,00 mw would be possible through merchant plants in various states in the 11th plan. Ironically, there has not been updates on coal linkages to merchant power plants.
On similar lines of UMPP, expression of interest for two tranmission projects were submitted by various bidders on January 31 and its been more than four months now, the power ministry has yet to notify the standard bid documents which is necessary to float the RFQ and request for proposal (RFP).
Moreover, it has been four months since applications were made by power developers for allocation of coal blocks but there has been no initiative from the power ministry to expedite the process of coal block allocation for power projects.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=164801
Jharkhand's MLAs have beacon light vehicles
Ranchi, May 15 (IANS): Over 50 percent of Jharkhand's legislators enjoy vehicles with beacon lights - quite contrary to the spirit of a law that restricts the number of ministers in states to 15 percent of the assembly strength in order to curb official expenditure.
Possessing vehicles fitted with beacon lights usually ensures VIP treatment as these vehicles are virtually accorded first right of passage and seldom stopped for police checks or towed away from no parking zones.
In the 82-member Jharkhand assembly, as many as 44 MLAs have access to beacon light vehicles. What's more, it's not just ministers who enjoy the facility, for even other MLAs of the ruling alliance and those of opposition parties have access to it.
While a law is in place to restrict the size of the council of ministers in various states to 15 percent of assembly strength, it has hardly helped in cutting down expenditure in Jharkhand.
According to the law, only 12 ministers, including the chief minister, are permissible in Jharkhand and logically, they can keep vehicles with beacon lights besides the speaker.
But in Jharkhand, assembly committee chairpersons are also allowed to keep vehicles with beacon lights. And Speaker Aalamgir Aalam has created 31 assembly committees, thus elevating 31 legislators to the post of chairperson.
The chairperson of each committee is entitled to keep one personal secretary, one office with a computer and other facilities - never mind if the state government hardly ever accepts the recommendations of these committees.
Here's an example. Meinheart, a company, was entrusted with the task of preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the drainage and sewerage system of Ranchi.
It was given Rs.210 million for the DPR - something a legislator objected to as financial mismanagement. Soon an assembly committee was constituted that nailed officials and then urban development minister Raghubar Das. But present Urban Development Minister Harinarayan Rai has rejected the committee recommendation.
"If the government does not accept the recommendation of the committee, it lowers the dignity of the assembly," said Sukhdeo Bhagat, a member of the committee.
The chairpersons of boards and corporations are also entitled to beacon lights. There are 32 such boards and corporations in the state.
The irony is while such VIP facilities are increasing along with the cost to the exchequer, the number of families living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) has increased by 100,000 in the last six years after the state's formation.
http://www.nagalandpost.com/Nationaldesc.asp?sectionid=38997
A simple index can track real deprivation. Caste is so misguiding as policy tool
Is there a better question to ask, as the UPA completes three years, than who really is the aam aadmi? Who are India's poor? How does public policy select the right beneficiaries? 'Weaker sections' is a vague expression. 'Backward classes' is a shade more precise, though we can go around in circles trying to define working class, lower class, proletariat, lumpen-proletariat, lower class, under-class and slave-class. Marxist taxonomy has contributed to further confusion. But it is obvious that class is fundamentally an economic construct.
Note that in 1963, when a 50 per cent cap was imposed by courts in the Balaji case, 50 per cent of India's population was indeed below the poverty line (BPL). NSS (National Sample Survey) data show a BPL figure of 27.5 per cent in 2004-05 according to one method (uniform recall) and 21.8 per cent according to a different method (mixed recall). Today, if we continue to harp on 50 per cent, we fail to recognise India has changed. And we do harp on 50 per cent. 15 per cent for SCs and 7.5 per cent for STs add up to 22.5 per cent. Since courts allow 50 per cent, 27.5 per cent must be other backward classes (OBCs). That's a far better justification of the 27 per cent OBC figure than the 1931 Census, though there is a minor complication because combined SC/ST share in the total population has increased to 24.4 per cent. There is a tendency to assume all categories of people must be poor — SCs/STs, OBCs, women, physically handicapped, ex-servicemen, those born from inter-caste marriages, dependents of army forces personnel killed in action, Muslims (after Sachar Committee).
They must all benefit, not from positive affirmation, but from its Indian counterpart, reservations and quotas. There is a joke floating around on the Net about a rich girl (in KG) who was asked to write an essay about a poor family. This family (the couple and their two children), their gardener, driver, guard and four dogs were all poor. The family hadn't eaten chicken for two days, the Mercedes hadn't been serviced, the AC wasn't working properly, the house hadn't been painted for one year, the last foreign vacation was six months ago and so on. The point should be obvious to anyone not inordinately dumb, unless that person happens to be a politician. By correlating class (which is what one should be after) with caste, a double mistake is committed. First, one assumes everyone in a backward caste is economically backward (the so-called creamy layer issue). Second, one assumes everyone in a forward caste is economically forward, even if that person happens to reside in the rural back-of-beyond of eastern UP. The worst BPL state is Orissa, with a BPL figure
of 46.4 per cent — worse than Bihar. Isn't it incongruous that the backward caste (SCs/STs/OBCs and based on NSS 1999-2000 data) population should be 29 per cent in Orissa and 66 per cent in
Tamil Nadu?
To restate, there is no denying deprivation among backward individuals, but this backwardness is an individual characteristic. Any attempt to ascribe backwardness to collective identity (caste or even geography, as is done in identification of 200 backward districts) is incorrect even if it is seemingly simpler. There can be a legitimate debate about whether reservations (education or jobs) are the best mode. But the broader issue is of identifying the poor (poverty not meaning income poverty alone), an exercise also required for subsidy targeting. One needs a BPL census rather than an OBC census. But since that's difficult and also prone to abuse, are there other indicators one can use, spliced into an index? Since some districts (around 100) lack any physical or social infrastructure worth the name, one can also build that collective element into the index. Such indices have been suggested by Purushottam Agrawal (JNU), Yogendra Yadav and Satish Deshpande (CSDS) and Sachar Committee. In addition, there are 13 parameters suggested by the Planning Commission. Whichever technique is used, if the overall beneficiary figure (including for reservations) is more than 20 per cent, we are going wrong. And we will also go wrong if the bulk of beneficiaries aren't in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Orissa, MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, not Tamil Nadu and Andhra.
However, an index is often too complicated. UNDP's human development index (HDI) is a case in point, based on per capita income, education and health indicators alone. Its virtue is simplicity. Other indicators could have been included (and there was a debate when HDI first surfaced in 1990), but it transpires these three capture all we want. The National Family Health Survey found (1998-99) 47 per cent of children (under 3) are under-weight. A Nutrition Foundation of India study (2002) found 29 per cent of Delhi's children (4-18 years) in a private school are over-weight. How many poor individuals are obese or over-weight? If we based reservation criteria on per capita income, BMI (body mass index) and mother's literacy, we would probably do a far better job at identifying those who need reservations. Twenty other indicators can be added, but that loses the virtue of simplicity. As HDI (which is also an indicator of deprivation) showed, because of correlations, a few simple indicators often suffice. In any event, BMI is far superior to caste. Caste may lead to roads being named after specific individuals, but as a public policy tool, it is a road that leads nowhere. Remember the song 'Road to Nowhere'? That has a line, "But they'll make a fool of you." That is what politics has always been.
The writer is an economist
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/31478.html
Virgin mines to ease ore tangle
Ranchi, May 17: Little known till the other day, Ghatkuri mines could bail the Jharkhand government out of the stalemate over providing mining lease to investors and bring the industrialisation process back on track.
Situated about 16 km north of Chiriya mines in mineral rich West Singhbhum district, the state geology department explored the virgin mine for last six months. And the findings were inspiring. The Fe (iron ore) content of the mineral in the mines is 62 per cent, just one per cent less than that in Chiriya mines. Its iron reserves are more than 600 million tonnes — a quantity that companies like Arcelor-Mittal had been looking for its proposed steel plant.
The reserves could be higher than our initial findings, said geologist Arun Kumar, associated with the exploration. The geology department has sought the forest department's permission to carry out drilling work — an exercise that would enable it to ascertain the exact quantity of iron ore reserves in the mines.
Divided into four blocks —Ruam, Lutuburu, Pansiburu and Rajabera — the Ghatkuri mine is located at Ghatkuri reserve forest. Sprawling over about 60 sq km, its mineral deposit is spread over 32 sq km.
Little was known about Ghatkuri till last year when the state government erroneously recommended mining leases to few private companies there unaware that the Union government had reserved that area for PSUs way back in '60s. Before the Centre could act, the state government hurriedly withdrew the recommendations.
The private firms moved the Jharkhand High Court against the government's decision thereafter, but the court gave its verdict favouring the state government.
The government initiated a move to find out the quantity and quality of iron ore reserves of Ghatkuri mine at this juncture. The mines department is already enthused by the findings at Ghatkuri, as they have given a feedback.
Although the government cannot give leases directly to investors at Ghatkuri, it can allot mining lease to Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation (JSMDC) — a PSU of the state government. JSMDC and private investors can enter into joint ventures for mining at Ghatkuri.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070518/asp/frontpage/story_7793757.asp
Hyderabad blast SIM card traced to Jharkhand
The West Bengal Police have picked up one Mohammed Shahid, a mobile phone shop owner from Jamtara district in Jharkhand for allegedly selling the Hutch SIM card, which was recovered from a mobile phone connected to one of the unexploded bombs in the mosque premises in Hyderabad on Friday.
Jharkhand Additional Director General of Police (Special Branch) Gaurishankar Rath, however, said Shahid was not arrested, as he was "apparently cooperating with the investigators."
Shahid, a resident of Mihijam locality of Jamtara district, runs a mobile phone shop at Rupnarayanpur locality under Chittaranjan Township of the adjoining Bardhaman district in West Bengal.
Shahid has confirmed having sold the SIM card to one Babulal Yadav in June 2006. This is one of the two SIM cards that the police recovered from mobile phones connected to an unexploded bomb. Police are, however, convinced that the name Babulal Yadav is a fictitious one.
"Although, the West Bengal Police have not shared details with us, we have been told that he would be released," Rath told Hindustan Times on Monday.
"Shahid has been taken to Kolkata where the sleuths from West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are interrogating him. He would be released soon," Jamtara DSP Rajaram Prasad said.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal is assisting a police team from Hyderabad to probe Friday's blast at the Mecca Masjid.
Incidentally, both Jharkhand and Bihar have no coverage for Hutch SIM cards, and Shahid must have kept it with him for customers from West Bengal .
"The buyer had submitted photocopies of a driving license issued in Babulal Yadav's name as identity proof to procure the SIM card. We are in the process of varifying the document," said a police officer in Jamtara.
"Shahid initially said he does not recall the details about the person whom he sold the SIM card. However, he has identified the photograph of the buyer. The police have also seized his shop's sale-register that has the photograph of the SIM card buyer," the officer said.
11 worshippers were killed and over 50 were injured on Friday when a powerful blast ripped through a heavy congregation at the historic Mecca Masjid near Charminar, the 400-year-old symbol of Hyderabad.
Information from the slightly damaged but still verifiable SIM card, recovered from the mobile phone used as the detonating device has led the police reach Mohammad Shahid at Mihijam locality in Jamtara district of Jharkhand on Sunday.
According to police, a very sophisticated technology was used to detonate the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) filled with a mixture of RDX and TNT in Hyderabad. "A phone call from anywhere in the world to the mobile attached to the IED is enough to trigger the blast," said an officer.
Police sources said they hope to make some more progress by tracing the calls made or received from the mobile phone that used the SIM card.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=b05f5b99-3b9f-
404a-a84c-6d92b212818&MatchID1=4464&TeamID1=10&TeamID2=6&M
atchType1=1&SeriesID1= 1109&PrimaryID=4464&Headline=Hyderabad+blast+SIM
+card+traced+to+J'khand
Jharkhand's mysterious village of the deaf
Ranchi, May 19 - For generations, a village in Jharkhand has produced people who are hard of hearing. But the authorities have hardly lent an ear to their plight.
The problem has mysteriously persisted for decades in the Muslim-dominated Jhumarvad village of Deogarh district, about 350 km from here.
Shamshool Mia, a 62-year-old villager, said: 'I am hard of hearing since birth. I consulted local doctors but their treatment failed to cure me. I will have to suffer it till I die.'
Shakeel Ahmad, another resident, said: 'I have three sons and two of them are hard of hearing. We are unable to understand why the people of this village face a hearing problem.'
'Even treatment makes no impact on us,' he said. Ahmad pointed out that there was hardly a house in the village without at least one hearing impaired.
The problem has refused to go away.
'My grandfather had a similar problem too. While my father was spared, I and my daughter have the same ailment,' said Aabid Ansari, another resident of the village.
In the village's primary school, there are 110 students, of whom 40 face the same problem.
'It is indeed a difficult task to ensure that each student hears me properly. I have to speak loudly in the classroom,' said a teacher.
Doctors are somewhat baffled.
Manish Kumar, an ENT specialist, said: 'The disease might have resulted from some food habit or absence of the hearing vein. It can also be a reaction to medicines or injury in the ear. But the exact reason can be known only after investigating the villagers and studying their medical history.'
When Jharkhand Health Minister Bhanu Pratap Shahi's attention was drawn towards the problem, he said: 'I came to know about the plight of the villagers just two days ago.
'I have asked the district administration to go to the village with doctors and investigate. If need be, we will send specialised doctors from Ranchi for treatment of the villagers.'
http://www.rxpgnews.com/indianhealthcare/Jharkhands-mysterious-village-of-the-
deaf_28603.shtml
Unspent fund worries panel
PATNA: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on health and family welfare has expressed deep concern over non-utilisation of funds meant for elimination of leprosy in several states, including Bihar and Jharkhand. The funds were meant for training and other related activities.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee, in its 22nd report on health and family welfare tabled in both the Houses of Parliament in the current session, said that several states, including Bihar and Jharkhand, had huge unspent balances with them till March 2007. Sadly, Bihar tops the list of such states.
The committee noted that several states, including Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, which are yet to achieve the goal of elimination of leprosy, figure in the list. The committee fears that during the current year too, similar amounts would accumulate as unspent balances.
The committee feels that monitoring of the utilisation of funds is not being done properly by the department concerned. Unspent balances cause targeted beneficiaries to remain deprived of the scheme and, therefore, the prevalence rate in these states is coming down very slowly.
It said that it would like to be informed about the number of physically deformed people, who have been rehabilitated under the programme during the last five years.
Elimination of leprosy at national level has, however, been achieved since December 31, 2005 when the prevalence rate came down to 0.95 per 10,000.
A sum of Rs 40 crore was allocated for the year 2007-08 taking into account the fact that new cases will continue to come up for some time and that newly detected cases have to be provided with quality service so that they are treated in time.
This report could not have come at a worst time when WHO and the WHO goodwill ambassador for elimination of leprosy, Yohei Sasakawa, International Leprosy Union, Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation and other organisations are making an all-out effort to achieve the elimination target in these states at the earliest.
Treatment takes six months to two years with the highly effective multi-drug therapy (a combination of Dapsone, Rifampicin and Clofazimine). Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent the disabilities traditionally associated with leprosy.
Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, fear, ignorance and the persistent social stigma prevent many from seeking treatment.
Most people have a natural immunity to leprosy. In fact, only about 5 per cent of the world's population is susceptible to leprosy. Leprosy is not hereditary. It is not transmitted through casual contact.
Leprosy remains a major health problem in 24 countries, with the largest number of affected people residing in India, Brazil, Indonesia, Myanmar , Madagascar and Nepal.
A survey conducted last year has, to date, found over 800 leprosy colonies throughout India, of which states like Jharkhand accounts for 52, Bihar-42, Chattisgarh-34, West Bengal-39, Delhi-22 and UP-55. These colonies, generally isolated from the rest of society, become the permanent home for those who go there.
They are not funded by the government and most of the residents come to live there as society's attitude towards leprosy has driven them away from their families.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Unspent_fund_worries_panel/articleshow
/2063403.cms
NREGA audit gets underway in Jharkhand
NEW DELHI, MAY 18: A 'unique' social audit of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), one of the UPA government's flagship programmes, is underway in Ranchi district of Jharkhand since May 14. Under the Act, a social audit is mandatory.
The 275-member audit team including economist Jean Drèze (Allahabad University), social activist Aruna Roy (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan), both of whom are former members of the National Advisory Council to the UPA, that set the scheme in motion. According to a press release by NREGA Watch, an informal coalition of organisations working for effective implementation of the scheme, the audit, which will cover 15 gram panchayats, will end with a public hearing on May 23 in Ranchi followed by consultations with the state government on May 24. Since corruption has derailed many employment programmes in the past, there is fear that NREGA may follow the same fate.
Hence, the need for social audit, says the release. Recent experience in many states, especially Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, shows that it is possible to eradicate corruption.
However, this requires rigorous enforcement of transparency measures, effective exercise of the right to information, and building a culture of public vigilance. Citing the success story of Andhra Pradesh, the release said because of social audits the state government had started recovering embezzled funds (Rs 5 lakh in 26 gram panchayats in 12 districts in the last month alone). Another areas prone to corruption is fudging of "muster rolls". Last year's audit found that 85% of muster rolls in one district were fake.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=164566
Helipad plan at CM home
- State to have two chopper harbours
Ranchi, May 20: The Jharkhand government does not have a helicopter after its hired Agusta crash-landed in Dumka last April, but the state would soon have two helipads at its disposal.
While one standard-sized helipad will be ready at the chief minister's house by the end of August, another helipad of the same size would be constructed at Khunti, about 50 km from Ranchi.
The helipad at the chief minister's residence, said officials, would save time and money and is also gives a safer alternative to Koda.
"Every time the chief minister flies, about 10 vehicles are on his cavalcade to or from the airport, about 15 km from Koda's Kanke Road residence. But with a helipad on the doorsteps, the fuel money of the vehicles would be saved. It will also save time and avoid inconvenience to the people," he added.
Koda is not the only person in the government set to get a facelift on the residence. A Rs 42-lakh, double-storeyed building would be constructed beside the Doranda-based government residence of building construction minister Ainosh Ekka.
Tenders have been floated for the three-bedroom building, with plans to finish it within five months.
Ekka wants to shift to the new house as his present accommodation is about 80 years old and often needs repair. The building construction minister has spent less than Rs 10 lakh on his official accommodation, unlike many ministers and bureaucrats who have spent over Rs 50 lakh, said an official.
The helipad, however, would be a novelty as Jharkhand would probably be one of the few states with such a facility on the chief minister's house, an official said.
The plan to set up a helipad was mooted during Arjun Munda's tenure as chief minister but government procedures delayed it, the government official added.
But to make optimum use of the helipad the government would first have to purchase a helicopter.
It had hired an Agusta from Indore-based OSS Aviation but chopper had crash-landed in Dumka on April 28. The government was reluctant to hire choppers and was looking to buy Dhruv choppers from HAL, said sources.
In 2003, Jharkhand government had given an advance of Rs 15 crore to HAL for two Dhruvs but was hesitant after India's first indigenously built advance light helicopters crash-landed repeatedly. However, now it has decided to buy one and is waiting for the finance department's nod to release the remaining payment.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070521/asp/jamshedpur/story_7806999.asp
Protests intensify against Reliance Fresh stores in Jharkhand
Protests against Reliance Fresh outlets are intensifying in Jharkhand as vegetable vendors on Thursday took out rallies in the state, accusing the firm of undercutting and pushing them out of the market.
The protesters were shouting slogans against the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries and demanding closure of the stores in the state.
"If the Reliance does not wind up its shops then we will be left with no other option but to go for violent protests that happened in Ranchi," said Vinod Baitha, a member of Vegetable Sellers Association (VSA) of Dhanbad district.
Echoing his sentiment Kunti Mahto, another vegetable vendor, said: "The state government is helping Reliance and acting against the poor who earn daily livelihood by selling vegetables. If Reliance is not stopped from selling vegetables then we will starve to death."
Vegetable vendors also staged sit-ins in front of the deputy commissioner's office in capital Ranchi and demanded closure of the Reliance Fresh outlets and release of the six arrested vegetable vendors.
On Saturday, vegetable vendors had attacked three Reliance Fresh outlets in Ranchi and damaged property worth Rs 5 million. Police baton-charged the protesters in which about two dozen vendors were injured.
Police arrested 17 people in Saturday's attack and two cops were suspended for dereliction of duty. The Special Task Force of Jharkhand Armed Police has been deployed at Reliance Fresh stores.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=50bb6d6d-321
c-48f8-8070596d35b37bc0&MatchID1=4464&TeamID1=10&TeamID2=6&
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IPS officers unwilling to come to Jharkhand
The Centre has rolled out a red carpet to IPS officers willing to serve in Jharkhand. The invitation, however, has failed to evince any response across the country from the elite men in the Khaki.
Since 2005, the Centre has been sending directions to all states governments, seeking them to depute "bright and willing IPS officers to Jharkhand." The Centre has been issuing such directions after Jharkhand made a series of representations to it, highlighting that the state was woefully short of IPS officers.
"The latest such direction was issued on April 15, 2007," Home Secretary Sudhir Triptahi told HT. " The State Government is still waiting for a favourable response to this effect," said a senior IPS officer.
Jharkhand is faced with an unprecedented shortage of IPS officers. It is left with only 70 IPS officers (excluding those on the Central deputation) to man the 110 cadre posts in Jharkhand police.
Not surprisingly, more than a dozen districts are being manned currently by State police service officers, who are yet to be promoted to the IPS ranks, while about 25 per cent senior IPS posts - officers who play a vital role in police administration investigations - are lying vacant.
The out-of- the box solution mooted by the Centre, according to a section of IPS officer, has apparently failed to yield desired effects because the Centre's letter mentions that the "IPS officers are required in Jharkhand to fight the Naxalites."
"This is in fact a de-motivator. Besides, the officers are unwilling to stay in Jharkhand on deputation due to operational difficulties and a lack of incentives," a senior IPS officer told HT.
Officers, however, also blame the governments, the centre and the State, besides the Union Public Service Commission for having no long-term perspective. The shortage affects efficiency in multiple ways, they said.
Worse still, a number of IPS officers of Jharkhand cadre have shown inclination for central deputation. "It is not that the grass appears greener on the other side of the fence. On the contrary the service conditions, privileges and perks in Jharkhand are far better than what the government of India offers," said a senior IPS officer.
"In Delhi, if you are on deputation below Joint Secretary level, you have to travel by public transport. In Jharkhand, the same officer would get a pool car which would be at his disposal all the time," said a senior IAS officer.
But, the State Government's inclination to post promoted IPS officers at crucial posts while leaving several regular IPS officers shunted to look after insignificant departments has also been a huge de-motivator, said an officer.
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No summer vacation for Jharkhand schools this year
Ranchi: School teachers in Jharkhand have decided to protest a proposed move by the state government to keep schools open during the summer and boycott the classes.
According to a directive of the state's Human Resources Development (HRD) department, all schools in the state would continue during summer and the classes, to be called summer camps, would be held during the morning hours between 7 A.M. and 10 A.M.
The summer camps will be held for a few weeks in all the 35,000 primary, middle and high schools in the state.
The directive, which was issued last week, has asked 67,000 teachers not to leave station during this period.
The teachers have announced to boycott the classes and also demanded that vacation is granted to both students and them.
"How the HRD can issue such a directive? We will oppose the directive and press that the vacation are given following the previous trend," said Sanjay Trivedi, member of Jharkhand Primary Teachers' Association, here Monday.
Other teacher organisations have also decided to oppose the HRD directive.
"If the department wants to organise summer camps then it should offer incentive for the teachers. And the teachers' leave should be made optional on whether they want to enjoy vacation or want to take incentive," Shiva Kumar, another teacher, said on Tuesday.
http://www.indiaedunews.net/Jharkhand/No%5Fsummer%5Fvacation%5Ffor%5FJharkhand%5Fschools%5Fthis%5Fyear%5F1075/
Jharkhand to open tribal university
Ranchi, May 18 -: The Jharkhand government will soon open a tribal university in the state to promote tribal languages.
Jharkhand Human Resources Development - minister Bandhu Tirkey said,' The ministry has prepared the proposal and draft for opening up of the tribal university in the state. The draft will be placed soon in cabinet meeting to get the approval'.
'After the state cabinet clears the proposal it will be sent to central government for final approval. There should be one tribal university in the state to promote the tribal languages of the state,' said Tirkey.
The minister pointed out that a tribal university has been opened in Madhaya Pradesh and the Jharkhand government had sought the draft of that university.
Tribal inhabitants constitute 27 per cent of the total 27 million population of Jharkhand. There are 9 tribal languages and dialects of the state. They are Santhali, Oraon, Kharia, Ho, Mundari, Kurukh, Panchapargania, Nagpuri and Kurmali.
The state government has already issued a directive to its employees to learn one of the languages within 18 months. It has also decided to introduce tribal languages in the primary schools from the next academic year.
Tribal scholars are happy with the state government's move to promote tribal languages. 'It is indeed a matter of pride that the state government is planning to promote tribal languages which has been neglected for centuries. If tribal languages will not be promoted then it will become extinct,' said Dukha Oraon, a schoolteacher.
http://www.rxpgnews.com/education/Jharkhand-to-open-tribal-university_28495.shtml
Ranchi farmers welcome retail food chains
May 18: Farmers in Jharkhand capital Ranchi today welcomed the entry of big industrial houses in retail food chains, saying they would no longer be at the mercy of middlemen.
Vegetable farmers in Ranchi, which witnessed violent protests against opening of food chains by Reliance Industries Ltd. last week, said they have a better deal with the corporate chains.
"We were fed-up with the middlemen. Earlier, we had to take our vegetables to the middlemen who used to pay us a very low cost. But, we were compelled to sell to them in absence of an alternative, they had monopolized the business. Now, we have an option with Reliance who are paying us better prices," said Deleshwar Sahu, a farmer.
Last week, street vendors attacked three stores owned by Reliance Industries in Ranchi, injuring over a dozen people.
It was one of the most serious cases of unrest linked to the entry of large, glitzy retail chains into the country's fragmented 200 billion dollars food and grocery sector, which small shop owners see as a threat to their business.
The street vendors were agitated because Reliance outlets are selling vegetables at prices, much lower than the prevailing market price, driving away their customers.
"We have benefited a lot from the entry of big retail chains. Firstly, we save our time. Earlier we had to reach the market by nine at any cost and if we got delayed, the middlemen used to pay us much lower cost for the same vegetables. But since Reliance has entered the market, there is no time limit. We deliver vegetables according to our convenience," said Laldeo, another vegetable farmer.
Reliance Retail Ltd., a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is investing 5.6 billion dollars in hundreds of stores throughout the country.
Reliance has opened two stores in the city, where farmers are able to sell their produce directly.
Since it launched its retail operations last year, Reliance has more than 90 fresh vegetable and food stores. It expects to start opening hyper-markets in the next few months.
Other big national firms as well as the foreign players like Britain's Tesco and Wal-Mart are planning to enter the fast growing retail food sector.
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/142348.php/Ranchi-farmers-welcome-retail-food-chains
Late fillip to local language
Learn a tribal language within 18 months and clear a written test as well as an oral examination; or forego salary, increments and possibly promotion.
The state government's decision to revive and implement this existing provision for its employees, both gazette and non-gazette, has been hailed across the board. Knowledge of one tribal language will help transform the administration, they all felt.
In Tamil Nadu, no IAS officer is posted as a district magistrate unless he or she is fluent in Tamil. Similarly, Hindi-speaking officers of All India Services posted in Bengal are required to learn Bengali.
The situation in Jharkhand is more complicated with at least five regional languages or dialects being spoken in different areas.
Latehar superintendent of police Ravikant Dhan is a Mundari-speaking tribal but is posted in an Oraon belt. Conceding his difficulty in communicating in Kurukh, the superintendent says he will find it difficult to clear the test in Mundari too without preparation.
In Singhbhum and Santhal Pargana, knowledge of Ho and Santhali is essential to communicate. But large number of teachers, engineers, government employees and doctors are not conversant with the languages.
A Santhal inspector posted at Bundu says he finds it easier to follow Mundari and Ho spoken in the area. But it is difficult for someone with no knowledge of a tribal language.
The fresh crop of IAS and IPS officers in the state are conversant with at least one tribal language. Deoghar SP Manoj Kaushik passed his test in Mundari and can converse with people in the Mundari-speaking areas. But in Santhal Pargana, Santhali, he admits, would have been more useful.
Ignorance of the local language hampers communication between magistrates and litigants, between police and the people and in government offices. The belated decision will go a long way to improve governance in the state, agree the babus.
A JAP commander, who does not know any local language, says that in many parts of the state, people do not respond to Hindi.
While Ranchi University is likely to provide resource persons and arrange for special classes, the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) and the Tribal Welfare Research Institute here are also getting ready to facilitate classes for government employees.
A section of the government feels that given the large number of employees, there is an urgent need for private coaching institutes to come up. Also, it would help if learning a tribal language is made mandatory in schools also for at least four to five years.
Joint secretary of the department of personnel P.C. Verma says that the state government has merely revived an old Bihar government order dating back to 1953. But while the rule was confined to only gazetted officers, Jharkhand government has now made it mandatory for non-gazetted employees as well.
The board of revenue, he informed, will be holding the examination and the interview. "The idea is not to turn them into scholars but to ensure that everyone has a working knowledge of at least one tribal language," he says. This will also reduce the dependence of employees on interpreters and middlemen.
While hailing the decision, a bureaucrat hoped that the government, too, will keep in mind the linguistic proficiency and preference of employees before posting and transferring them.
"An employee who has learnt Santhali should not be posted, for example, to Gumla, where people predominantly speak Kurukh," he adds.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070509/asp/jamshedpur/story_7753002.asp
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