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TBDay.pngAhead of the World TB Day–observed on 24 March – the WHO has called upon countries and partners to “”Unite to End Tuberculosis””. The call comes as the world enters the era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ending tuberculosis (TB) by 2030 is a target of the SDGs and the goal of the WHO End TB Strategy. Describing it as an ambitious aim, the WHO has said in a statement that while there has been significant progress in the fight against TB, with 43 million lives saved since 2000, the battle is only half-won: over 4 000 people lose their lives each day to this leading infectious disease. Many of the communities that are most burdened by tuberculosis are those that are poor, vulnerable and marginalized.

“”Ending TB will only be achieved with greater collaboration within and across governments, and with partners from civil society, communities, researchers, the private sector and development agencies. This means taking a whole-of-society and multidisciplinary approach, in the context of universal health coverage,”” the statement says. Momentum is growing at country and community levels – including in the 30 countries with the highest TB burden (over 85% of the global burden). A number of countries are strengthening the strategic agendas of their TB programmes, by adopting newer tools, extending access to care and linking with other parts of government to reduce the financial costs borne by patients. Other countries are partnering with researchers to speed development of diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines, and to improve delivery.

Citing India’s progress, the statement says that it is home to more people ill with TB and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) than any other country, and has committed to achieving universal access to TB care with its campaign for a TB-Free India. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is expanding its capacity to test patients rapidly for drug-resistant TB and is initiating use of bedaquiline, a new, WHO-recommended drug in MDR-TB treatment. In addition, by making TB case notification mandatory in 2012 and by intensifying efforts to engage the private sector, case notifications rose 29% in 2014 alone. In working towards universal health coverage, South Africa has greatly expanded access to Xpert MTB/RIF, a WHO-recommended rapid molecular test for TB and drug-resistant TB. South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV who are receiving TB preventive treatment in the world. Similarly, the statement also cites the achievements made in Thailand, the Russian Federation, Brazil and Vietnam in dealing with TB at various levels.

However, despite these advances, the WHO points out that formidable challenges remain including fragile health systems, human resource and financial constraints, and the serious co-epidemics with HIV, diabetes, and tobacco use. MDR-TB is another critical challenge. Urgent and effective action to address antimicrobial resistance is key to ending TB by 2030. So are increased investments, as the global tuberculosis response remains underfunded for both implementation and research. TB ranks alongside HIV/AIDS the world’s top infectious disease killer with 9.6 million falling ill in 2014 and 1.5 million dying from the disease including 3.8 lakh among those living with HIV. More than 95% of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and TB is among the top 5 causes of death for women aged 15 to 44.

Even worse, in 2014, an estimated 1 million children became ill with TB and 140,000 children died. Globally, in 2014, an estimated 480,000 people developed MDR-TB. The WHO End TB Strategy aims to reduce TB deaths by 90% and to cut new cases by 80% between 2015 and 2030, and to ensure that no TB-affected family faces catastrophic costs due to TB. India has the highest TB burden in the world. According to the WHO Global TB Report 2015, of the estimated global incidence of 9.6 million TB cases, 2.2 million were estimated to have occurred in India though there have been remarkable achievements in combating the disease since 1990.

“”Despite the highly acclaimed Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) and other initiatives of the government, there is no respite from this disease and we continue to lose thousands of valuable liver every day because of TB notwithstanding the valuable loss of human capital and huge economic burden of nearly 24 billion dollars annually,”” points out Dalbir Singh, president of Global Coalition Against TB. According to Mr Singh, since nearly 60 % of patients are still treated in the highly unregulated private sector, it is imperative that we engage it productively and proactively with a rational structure so as to prevent spread of Multi Drug Resistant TB, caused largely by inappropriate treatment regimens used in the private sector.

“”The shortfalls in the budget allocated for TB in the public sector must also be addressed on priority. If we have to eradicate this epidemic in the timeframe set in our strategic plan, we have to display enormous political will, step up our research and development efforts possible by establishing a ‘National TB Research Consortium’ and make effective use of tools like ICT, create partnerships and learn from best experiences of other countries in addition to sensitizing policymakers at all levels,”” he says.”

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Over 300 academics, activists, artists and writers from across the globe have condemned the ongoing `brutal attacks’ on and `illegal detention’ of peacefully protesting faculty and students at the University of Hyderabad by the administration and the police. They have also condemned the restriction of access to basic necessities like water and food on campus. In a joint statement issued on Sunday, academics, writers, activists and artists have expressed their solidarity with the protesting students, staff and faculty of the University and demanded immediate withdrawal of police from the campus and release of and withdrawal of all cases against arrested students and faculty. They have also asked for suspension of the Vice-Chancellor P.Appa Rao and a judicial enquiry into the role of the Human Resource Development Ministry and the HRD Minister of State Mr Bandaru Dattatreya in inciting violence against Daits on the campus.

Further, the statement seeks an independent enquiry into the incidents of violence on the campus including the `role of ABVP in vandalizing the Vice-Chancellors office,’ action against police personnel named by students in their complaints and passage of the `Rohith Act’ against caste discrimination in education. The students and faculty members of the University of Hyderabad were protesting the reinstatement of Dr. Appa Rao Podile as the Vice-Chancellor despite the ongoing judicial enquiry against him related to the circumstances leading to the death of the dalit student Rohith Vemula on January 17, 2016. Students and faculty members of the university community are concerned that this may provide him the opportunity to tamper with evidence and to influence witnesses. Suicides by dalit students have been recurring in the University of Hyderabad and other campuses across the country, the statement said.

The issue spiraled into a nationwide students’ protest with the death of the dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. The protests have pushed into the foreground public discussion and debate on the persistence of caste-based discrimination in educational institutions, and surveillance and suppression of dissent and intellectual debate in university spaces.””Since the morning of March 22 when Dr. Appa Rao returned to campus, the students and staff have been in a siege-like situation. The peacefully protesting staff and students were brutally lathi-charged by the police, and 27 people were taken into custody. The 27 detainees were untraceable for 48 hours, brutally tortured, and denied legal access. In short, all legal procedures of detention have been suspended. After the incident, the university has been locked down with no access to food, water, electricity, and Internet connectivity.  Â Students were brutally assaulted when they opened community kitchens.  Lawyers and members of human rights organization as well the ordinary citizens of the city were denied access to students. University of Hyderabad is one of India’s biggest public universities,”” the statement said.

“”We have followed, with deep concern, similar violent attacks and undemocratic crackdown on students on the campuses of Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Film and Television Institute of India, the University of Allahabad, Jadavpur University, Burdwan University, and others across the country. That the highest administrative authorities in the university have allowed the silencing of debate and dissent is unfortunate. We are disturbed by the pattern of growing nexus between student vigilante groups, youth wing of the ruling party, state and university authorities in colleges and university campuses across the country in order to mobilize the state machinery against vulnerable students. This has created a climate of fear and oppression in the country, and continually violates fundamental human and Constitutional rights of students,”” the statement said.

The signatories include: Lawrence Cohen, Director, Institute for South Asia Studies, University of California, Berkeley; Navtej K Purewal Deputy Director, South Asia Institute SOAS University of London; Akhil Gupta, Director, Center for India and South Asia (CISA), UCLA; Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus), MIT; Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director, The Oakland Institute; Barbara Harriss-White, Oxford University; Kavita Krishnan, Secretary AIPWA; Sandeep Pandey, former Visiting Faculty, IIT, BHU, Varanasi; Michael D. Yates, Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh, United States; Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Professor of Political Science and Chair of Women’s Studies Department, Simon Fraser University, Canada; Gerald Epstein, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Nivedita Menon, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Alpa Shah, London School of Economics; Rahul Varman, IIT Kanpur; Ajantha Subramanian, Professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies, Harvard University; Dr. Pérez de Mendiola, Richard Armour Professor of Modern Languages, Chair, Dept. of Latin American, Caribbean and Spanish Literatures and Cultures & Humanities, Scripps College; Samantha Agarwal, PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins University; Valentina Dallona, Johns Hopkins University; Xiao Yu, Peking University; Narendra Subramaniam, McGill University; Suvrat Raju, TIFR; Preeti Shekar, Asian College of Journalism; Ahmed Sohaib, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; in addition to a number of faculty members from JNU and Delhi University among others.”

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ConflictCommunication.pngAs the former Principal Information Officer of the Union government, he never dodged scribes and was literally available 24X7. Being an uncanny newshound sharpened his skills of being an effective communicator. He was never one to duck a challenge. The ever smiling and amiable I Ramamohan Rao was a hands on communicator and highly reliable. Anyone could bank on him with a query and if he did not have a response immediately, he’d say “”I’ll get back to you.”” Got back he did in quick time. He held a typical open house every evening when a large number of scribes assembled in the PIO’s spacious office at the Press Information Bureau in Shastri Bhawan in Lutyens Delhi firing away questions on a wide range of issues. He would patiently contact ministers and secretaries concerned to assimilate the facts and disseminate information without the least fuss.

After he superannuated, the PIB became a dull and boring place with hardly any one willing to take such an initiative as it would amount to needlessly burdening themselves in disseminating information. Having served four Prime Ministers — Rajiv Gandhi, V P Singh, Chandrasekhar and P V Narasimha Rao — he reveled being in conflict zones as evidenced in his highly absorbing book “”CONFLICT COMMUNICATION : Chronicles of a Communicator.”” The PIB lost the vibrancy of communication after he superannuated. Rao captures in a simple and direct style the major happenings in the country over the last five decades encompassing politics, war, economics and what have you. He joined the Press Information Bureau (PIB) in 1956 and was later inducted into the Indian Information Service when it was created

He headed the PIB for seven years. He served as a communicator in various capacities right from the time of the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He served in the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in Gaza and edited their weekly magazine Sand Dune. He was involved with creating communication facilities during the 1962 Chinese aggression. Even as efforts were on to rebuild the defenses of the country, he continued reporting on the conflict from the field as a Public Relations Officer during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. Later he was at the Defence Headquarters in Delhi during the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict which saw the emergence of Bangladesh. Rao has had a highly chequered career. He makes it clear this is not an autobiography.

As a communicator he was privileged to have a ringside view of the processes; the pulls and pressures that go into decision making at the highest level. He believes the lessons he has learnt as a communicator hold much greater significance in the world of constantly breaking news and social media. The challenges for the government are indeed greater. He joined the PIB by chance during his first visit to Delhi in 1955. He escorted his cousin Meera Rao from Bombay who participated in the Hindustani music competition by the All India Radio. With time on his hands he strolled towards Parliament House. The banner of a seminar organised by the Bureau of Parliamentary studies on the Indian Constitution caught his attention. As the subject interested him he walked into Parliament House easily as no entry pass was required those days.

In one of the rooms more than a hundred people had gathered and Jawaharlal Nehru was on the podium elaborating on the Constitution. Barely 21 years old, Pandit Nehru came near the table where he was picking up a cup of tea. He asked Rao “”I guess you are a student. Did you find the discussion interesting?”” He replied “”Sir, I have just finished my law degree and MA and I found the speeches interesting.  What are your views, young man,”” Panditji asked again. “”I took the courage to say that the Indian Constitution was unitary in character than federal, and that there was a danger to the unity of the country from the demands for the reorganisation of the states gaining momentum. Panditji smiled, patted me and told me to keep alive my interests in Parliamentary democracy.”” It is a moment which has remained etched in his memory. “”It was overwhelming for me to be in the presence of Panditji, a charismatic leader, and to be spoken to by him.””

Accompanied by his maternal grand uncle U S Mohan Rao, who was Director of the Publications Division, they went to meet the PIO T R V Chari. He mentioned that the results of his law examination was due. The Bombay Edition of the Times of India was promptly requisitioned and Rao had passed standing first in the Bombay State. Chari told his uncle not to send the young man back but appear in the written test and interview. He was selected for the job in the PIB. During the UNEP assignment, Rao’s boss Ole Dich wanted him to join the UN civil service as a communicator. He got the offer but declined as there was real excitement with war brewing at home in 1962. Ole Dich gave him sage parting advice: “”Ram stay close to the generals during war. They know how to look after themselves.””

The reverses against China had a traumatic impact on the morale of the country. To rebuild the army and restore the confidence of the people in the ability of the armed forces to defend the country’s frontiers, the government felt it necessary to share the information with the people. New directions were laid down that during future operations there should be an office of War Information in New Delhi and arrangements should be made to set up press camps in forward areas near the formations. At the camps the formation commanders or their authorised representatives had to brief the media. Correspondents were to be put in uniform to cover the war to facilitate their movement and safety if they became prisoners. It was also decided to have a war correspondent’s course for the media. Rao conducted the first course in 1967 at the division headquarters near Pathankot. By the time the next war broke out in 1971, there was a team of defence correspondents well trained in reporting the war.

Today there is no time lag between what is happening on the battlefield and its dissemination. Information is available across the nation’s frontiers. The country had a taste of the close link between the media and national security during the Kargil operations in 1999. What was happening in Kargil was seen by the citizens of the country in a matter of hours, if not minutes. The television coverage also exposed Pakistan’s claims that those entrenched in Kargil were Kashmiri militants. On the contrary they were Pakistani soldiers. It became evident to the whole world that the Pakistani army was fully involved in the Kargil operations. Rao referred to the Al Faran episode in Kashmir in July 1995 when ten European tourists were taken hostage. It established that militancy in Kashmir was being carried out by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. It exposed the involvement of the Pakistanis and terrorists of Afghan and West Asian origin in Jammu and Kashmir.

Several committees were constituted to look into the matter according access to cover the war and frame guidelines which have since been adopted. At the same time communication between the government and the people is essential so that government policies and activities are widely known. An incisive and must read book.

TR

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator.)
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defexpo2014.pngKnown globally for its serene beaches, scenic beauty and old architecture, Goa attracts domestic as well as international tourists in large number every year but for the first time Goa is opening its doors to Defence Exposition 2016 (DefExpo) from March 28 which will bring together 1,030 Indian and global armaments manufacturers. The four-day premier defence exhibition of the country is being inaugurated Monday by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, former Goa chief minister who guided the ninth edition of DefExpo out of New Delhi to Quepem Taluka of South Goa. March-end also marks end of the peak tourist season in Goa but this year around, the picture is different as required infrastructure on such a large scale is being readied and delegates from foreign and Indian companies have descended here for participating in the exhibition.

The interest of foreign armaments manufacturers can be gauged from the fact that major exhibitors are from the United States (93 companies), Russia (71), UK (46), Germany (39), France (38), Israel (38) as well as arms firms from South Korea and Italy. Being the world’s largest weapons importer, India evokes substantial interest in the global arms market. “More than 47 countries are participating in Defexpo 2016. For the first time, we will be holding live demonstrations of equipment, which was a constraint in Delhi”, said AK Gupta, Secretary, Defence Production. As many as 490 foreign arms manufacturers and 540 Indian companies are participating in the current edition of DefExpo. While Pakistan has not been extended an invitation as usual, China has not confirmed if it will send an official delegation to the exhibition.

This time around, the BJP-led NDA government has not barred any blacklisted or scam­tainted companies from participating in DefExpo.  As a result, Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, which was asked to stay away from the DefExpo held in the national Capital in 2014, will be taking part in DefExpo 2016. Finmeccanica’s UK-based Agusta-Westland’s VVIP helicopter deal had run into controversy and the then UPA government had scrapped it as allegations of corruption in swinging the deal in Agusta-Westland’s favour surfaced. “”The DefExpo assumes tremendous importance in the backdrop of the government’s Make in India thrust,” Mr. Gupta said. He indicated that the success of Defexpo 2016 would not be gauged by the contracts signed, but by how effectively it would provide a business-to-business forum for Indian and foreign companies to tie up partnerships to benefit from the “Make in India” policy.”

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The ninth edition of the DefeExpo 2016, the biennial land, naval and internal homeland security systems exhibition opened in Naqueri-Quitol, South Goa on March 28. The four-day mega event has travelled out of the Capital and is being held in Goa for the first time. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, also a former Chief Minister of Goa, inaugurated the DefExpo and unveiled the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) which gives top priority to the Indian-designed, developed and manufactured (IDDM) category. “”This DPP can actually push the agenda of `Make in India’ and India’s target of achieving major successes in creating a defence industry network for its own needs as well as exports,”” Mr. Parrikar said.

• The government will finance 90% of the cost of producing defence equipment by the private sector under a new sub-category in the DPP-2016.
• The defence sector is a key sector among the 25 sectors of industry covered under the initiative, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2014.
• “”The government is proactive in promoting Make in India. Startup India can be a big contributor in the defence sector. With the new DPP, we have ensured that transparency is greater and clearances are faster,”” Mr. Parrikar said while inviting the industry to participate in a big way.
• “”The DPP favours swift decision making, provides for suitable timelines and delegates powers to the appropriate authorities to ensure an efficient and effective implementation of the procurement process, by all stakeholders concerned,”” the DPP said.
• For the past several years, the private sector’s engagement in the defence sector has not been substantial as the domestic manufacturing is still dominated by the defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB). India continues to import high-tech and major defence equipment and is the largest importer of arms globally.
• In the recent past, companies like Bharat Forge Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd, the Tata Group, Larsen and Toubro Ltd, the Godrej Group, the Kalyani group, the Punj Llyod group and the Mahindra Group have shown interest in scouting for business opportunities.
• Global giants like Airbus and Boeing are also keen to make their products in India and exporting them.
• As many as 1055 Indian and foreign companies from 47 countries are participating in DefExpo 2016 as against 624 in 2014.
• The pavilions of Russia, the U.S. and Israel are among the largest in the exhibition which is spread over an area of 40,725 square meter.

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The daring terrorist attack executed with clinical precision at the airport and the metro during peak rush hour in Brussels on March 22 has sent shock waves in Europe requiring re calibrating and upgrading security measures not just in Belgium but all of interconnected Europe. Ever since one of the main suspects of the Paris carnage Salah Abdeslam, who was preparing for more attacks in Europe, was arrested in Brussels recently after a hunt lasting four months, the threat became imminent. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel’s expressed their helplessness in no uncertain terms by emphasizing “”what we feared has happened”” thereby acknowledging the failure of the intelligence and security establishments. The terrorists have not just sent a strong message to Belgium but the entire European establishment.

The Islamic State (IS) which has claimed responsibility is making the point that it cannot be wished away or cowed down despite being bombed by Western powers in its den in Syria. One of the reasons for these attacks in faraway locations in that the group is facing military setbacks in and around the so called ‘caliphate’ the seat of its influence. For Europe, the chinks in its armor have to be bridged urgently. All countries including India must step up the vigil. No country can afford to be terror stricken especially as questions have been raised if terrorism has managed to get an upper hand especially in Europe. Ibrahim El Bakraaoui, the suicide bomber who killed 11 people at the airport was apprehended by Turkish authorities last summer just a few miles from the border with ISIS heartland in Syria. Police returned El Bakraaoui to Europe and warned he was a known extremist who posed a terror threat in his home country of Belgium.

However, officials in the Netherlands and Belgium let him walk free saying there was no evidence that he had committed a crime. Europe has also to consider the idea of a border-less continent and whether such a proposition can provide adequate security from terrorists being able to travel back and forth freely. The significance of striking at the headquarters of the European Union cannot be overlooked. The demand for stronger borders is bound to arise in the wake of this terrorist attack. The heightened search for jihadists has led to the arrest of seven persons — six in Belgium and one in France. What is alarming is that there is a serious assimilation problem with the refugees in Europe especially in Belgium which has the maximum number of 500 IS operatives and sympathizers compared to all the other countries in Europe.

Recent attacks in Europe shows that indoctrinated local youth have been carrying out these attacks. Europe has to find ways of stopping its youth from getting radicalized. There have been voices in Belgium underlining the need to effectively silence these elements spreading terror so that people can pursue their normal life. At the same time terrorists are increasingly picking soft targets at crowded places for maximum impact globally. It wants to create panic in societies known for their democratic and pluralistic values. The growing perception is that the IS has declared war on civilization. Ordinary believers of Islam have become as much victims of terror as others who are followers of different faiths. If the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria are tormenting much of West Asia, it is al Shabab and other affiliates of Al Qaeda which are attacking the innocent at regular intervals in large parts of Africa.

Even though the United States has not seen a major terrorist attack since 9/11, it has managed to foil a number of similar plots. The main conspirators of last November’s attacks in Paris were holed up in Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek. The migrant crisis has compounded the problems for the Europeans. Statistics reveal that Belgium has the maximum number of 500 young people owing allegiance to the IS compared to any other country in Europe. It has been widely suggested that there may have been five terrorists in Brussels and that Abdesalam’s arrest some days back might have foiled strikes on the Belgian nuclear plants which would have been catastrophic. It has become apparent that Belgian authorities missed the signals of the diabolical plans of the terrorists. They are getting irritated and frustrated with others finding fault with them.

Investigators must remain calm rather than getting provoked. The authorities in Brussels have disclosed that it might take them weeks before verifying the DNA samples taken from tiny body parts of the suicide bombers. This means that families from around the world have a long and agonizing wait to know if their loved ones are among the dead. Terrorists despise the very freedoms that Europeans enjoy because in their wildest dreams they cannot imagine a society in West Asia which is open, progressive and multicultural. In the carnage in Brussels 30 people died and nearly 300 people were injured. What is of concern is that Europe is already fractured by debates over immigration and race.

At the same time security services have not been able to track and apprehend those terrorists whose identity as being the perpetrators of the Brussels attack was already known. Intelligence experts contend that greater intelligence sharing among European allies would have offset this perceived advantage to terrorists of the free movement rule. The specific aspect of intelligence sharing might come up at a special meeting of EU ministers to discuss the fallout of the Brussels blasts. Despite all this there is also the inherent problem that intelligence is usually never shared fully. Under the circumstances can real time intelligence sharing without holding back anything have saved precious lives and foiled the terrorist attack. India could lose much as it has a significant presence of its diaspora in West Asia which has the portends of threatening its energy security and business interests.Nevertheless, the offensive against the IS with Russian assistance has enabled the Syrian army to take control of Palmyra captured by the terror group last year. Paris and now Brussels has revealed what the IS can do. International powers and those fighting the scourge of terrorism must come together to defeat the threat of peace and stability in the region. There is also a dirty nuclear angle to this which cannot be ignored. Coordinated action against the IS has become imperative to restore the territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria.

(The writer is a senior journalist and commentator. Views are personal)“

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The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate $848 million (Rs. 5,681 crore) in funding to develop solar parks across India. Through the agreement, USAID will align the technical resources of two of its programs to support ADB’s investments in the development of solar parks and renewable energy transmission infrastructure in states at the forefront of India’s efforts to promote clean energy. The collaboration will initially focus on Rajasthan. The cooperation will design and develop public-private partnership models as well as study options for managing grid reliability. In particular, USAID technical activities will help place investments of $348 million (Rs. 2,331 crore) by ADB for transmission infrastructure for renewable energy deployment in western Rajasthan.

USAID will also work with ADB across India with an additional $500 million (Rs. 3,350 crore) of investment in the design and development of solar parks. The Indian government’s target for renewable energy is 175 Gigawatts of installed capacity by 2022. In support of this, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a solar parks scheme to attract investment from project developers by reducing risks, streamlining the permitting process, bringing down cost through economies of scale, and modernizing infrastructure to allow easier integration of renewable energy into the grid. MNRE plans to establish 25 solar parks with a combined capacity of 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2020. This agreement between USAID and ADB will help finance the development of solar parks in support of the Government of India’s renewable energy targets. The agreement was signed by Jonathan Addleton, Mission Director, USAID/India and M. Teresa Kho, Country Director, India Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank.”

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A fact-finding team that visited West Bengal to investigate the attack on Kaliachak police station on January 3 has said the attack was not planned by the organizers of the rally, and criminals seem to have taken advantage of the situation. Quoting a number of eye-witnesses, the fact-finding team has arrived at this conclusion and said that it was media reports that alleged it to be a communal attack by the Muslims. “”The involvement of certain political parties and Hindu nationalists in spreading rumours and giving the incident communal hue at the crucial time before the West Bengal Assembly elections needed investigation,”” the report of the fact-finding team of CSSS said. The team comprised Irfan Engineer, Director of the Mumbai-based Centre for Study of Society and Secularism that organized the probe; Subhapratim Roychowdhury, AAMRA; Nasim Akhtar Choudhury, ActionAid and Anupam Adhikary, Criminals seemed to have taken advantage of the rally, and behind the cover of the rally carried out their attack on the police station. Their target was not any member of the Hindu community but the police station and criminal records therein. Their target was also the RAF personnel quarters. They seem to have reacted to the crackdown on their illegal activities, the report says.

Highly critical of the role of the media on the whole, with exceptions of course, the report says media coverage of the attack on Kaliachak Police Station by criminals who happened to be Muslims, was given communal overtones and portrayed as if the incident was a national disaster under the influence of Hindu nationalists and their propaganda. “”Worst and more violent attacks on state properties and on police occur in which non-Muslims are involved and they do not receive national coverage on the scale that the Kaliachak incident received. On account of the scale of media coverage, even the secular minded prominent citizens and civic and political organizations from all over the country felt obliged to condemn the attack as if it was communally motivated and of national significance,”” the report says. Pointing out that competition between two organizations – Ahle Sunnatul Jamaat and Idara-e-Sharia – to hegemonize and control the Muslim community seems to be the motive behind the organization of the rally which ultimately led to attack on the police station. “”Such competitive mobilization and any reaction to any provocation should be avoided to defeat the communal politics. The more these organizations react to provocation, the more elements from Hindu nationalists are encouraged to provoke the community by publicizing derogatory remarks against the holy Prophet. Such provocations must be fought legally rather than on streets. At times Muslim community organizations pick up issues more out of political objectives rather than love and reverence for the holy Prophet,”” the report has said.

Noting with pain the criminal-police nexus and the normalcy and the way in which the serious crimes are taken with a casual attitude, the report says that the state has done pretty little to ameliorate the dwindling livelihoods of the people due the riverine draining of alluvial soil from the Gangetic planes. The unemployed are used by the criminals as labourers in their “industry”. The Hindu eyewitness told us that as a result of growing poppy cultivation, the vegetables have become costly as the area under food crop is going down. “”Pro-active measure to promote peace and strengthen relations between different communities would have to be undertaken. The initiative from the political parties – even TMC and CPI (M) was lacking to say the least. The secular Hindu leaders of TMC and CPI (M) could also have taken peace initiative but the efforts were lacking. Hindu nationalists are trying their level best to misuse the violent attack on Kaliachak police station to create fear among Hindus about Muslims by demonizing them as violent-criminals-terrorists-anti-nationals-prowling upon Hindu women,”” the report recommends.

Suggesting that political parties were trying to communally polarize the situation for political objectives, the report says that this needs to be countered in the long run. Legal action needs to be taken against them for the offence of promoting enmity, ill-will and hatred between Hindus and Muslims and openly publishing and distributing such leaflets. Such attempts also need to be countered politically by dispelling such propaganda by secular political forces and exposing the political designs of the Hindu nationalists, it says.”

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By October this year, 1,000 widows in Vrindavan will have a decent place to live. Much before that several ‘ashrams’ there which are home to thousands of destitute women will have Water Purifying Systems, solar power plants and many other facilities. The huge shelter home to be constructed by the Union Women and Child Development Ministry and the facilities announced by the Akhilesh Yadav-government just this week will, no doubt, bring some relief to thousands of women who have made the streets of Vrindavan their home for years. But these women need much more than just this. Help comes to widows as charity and not out of a sense of responsibility towards them or because they deserve to live with dignity. Whatever is being done by the governments appears to be too little, too late. So far, whatever efforts have been made are by non-governmental organizations. These, too, are in silos, not concerted and coordinated.

Many groups working for the welfare these widows have often disagreed with each other. While some work on the policy of empowering women by making them economically independent, there are others who believe many of these are very old to be skilled now and need monthly maintenance in addition to shelter and medical facilities. Just as the Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi laid the foundation of the 1,000 capacity special shelter home under ‘Swadhar Greh Scheme’—the largest one to be established or funded by the government – social activist Mohini Giri shot off a letter to the Minister asking her to ensure that the women were skilled and empowered and not made dependent on doles as was being done by Mr Bindeshwar Pathak.

Reminding Ms Gandhi that as Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, she had funded shelter homes for widows including Ma Dham – being managed by her – Ms Giri said that over 2000 women had been empowered by imparting skills at the homes and many of who were now employed or self-employed. There was also a huge sanitary napkin collection centre which sold sanitary napkins in the rural areas at a cost of Re 1 per piece. Ms Giri has further reminded the Minister that there were five other shelter homes in Vrindavan which needed much to be desired and asked her to make a surprise check at these homes so that the real condition of these shelter homes is known. She points out that these were being run by the tax-payers money and hence needed to be held accountable.

Regretting to inform that these widows had picked up a habit of picking up doles and collecting charity by way of Rs 2,000 being distributed by Mr Bindeshwar Pathak. “”While I appreciated the sentiment behind the doles, this has transformed many widows into lazy women and are not willing to be empowered,”” she said while adding that they collected the doles given as sarees, utensils, blankets and such things which were then sold in the market instead of being used while in some case the children of these women came every month to collect the cash while suggesting that empowering women was more sustainable and dignified than living on charity. Mr Pathak  has been giving cash in addition to other facilities to over 2,000 widows in Vrindavan and Varanasi after the Supreme Court directed his organization to provide welfare of the widows.

The government’s, on their part, have failed to rise to the occasion and draft a concrete policy or scheme for rehabilitation of these hapless women. In fact, the only time the governments intervened was when the Supreme Court called for a survey of the shelter homes and the condition of women living in there. The report presented a pathetic condition of the women – particularly after death as the report revealed bodies of these women were chopped to pieces and disposed off in garbage as there was no provision for their cremation, and no one would spend money on this. These women have been there for decades—surviving on alms, charity and pity. The U.P Government never considered that these women needed more than charity, and neither did the other State from where they come, particularly West Bengal from where more than 80 per cent of these women come. Ideally, respective State governments should ensure that destitute, abandoned and widows are looked after by the state by rehabilitating women who are abandoned by their children or who do not want to live with their families, and ensuring that they are skilled to earn a dignified living and their legal rights are protected.”

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The Centre has announced Unified Building Bye-laws for Delhi making them user friendly by introducing single window system for clearances. Revised after 33 years, the applicants can make one single online application to concerned urban local body instead of approaching various agencies thereby enabling approvals in just 30 days. The single window mechanism will improve the ease of doing construction business in the national capital as desired by the Prime Minister’s Office besides promoting investments. “Delhi’s Building Bye-laws were last revised in 1983 and several amendments were made over the last 3 decades resulting in complexity and even confusion in understanding various changes and filing applications accordingly. To do away with this problem, the Bye-laws have been unified for easy reference besides simplification of processes” Union Urban Development Minister vankaiah Naidu said.

The Minister said that building plan approvals have been streamlined through simplification and integration of processes by introducing a common single application form which has been devised for online submission by the applicant to the urban local body concerned instead of applying to various agencies like Airports Authority of India, National Monuments Authority, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Urban Arts Commission, Delhi Metro, Power Distribution Companies, concerned central ministries like Forests, Railways, and Defence.  Applicants will not be required to make required payments to various agencies separately and instead can make single payment to the concerned urban local body electronically. Seamless integration has been put in place so that concerned urban local body will obtain approvals from other concerned agencies online there by drastically reducing the time taken for sanctions besides eliminating human interface with various agencies.

AAI, NMA, DUAC, and DMRC have been integrated for single window clearance. Central Ministries concerned will be integrated shortly. By this, applicants will not be required to separately approach these agencies for approvals/No Objection Certificates. The Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change has now concurred to integrate approvals by agreeing to empower urban local bodies to accord Environmental Clearance for built up area up to 1,50,000 sq.mt as against the present norm of obtaining EC from State Environment Assessment Authorities under  that Ministry for built up area of 20,000 sq.mt and above up to 1,50,000 sq.mtrs. Under SARAL Scheme, for residential plots of size up to105 sq.mtrs, the plot owner need not obtain sanction of building plans.

He/she has to just to submit an undertaking intimating about construction along with requisite fees and other documents to start construction. Under-risk based classification newly adopted for residential plotted buildings and warehouses/storage facilities/godowns, architect/engineer is empowered to issue building permits for Low Risk residential buildings (105-500 sq.mtrs) and Very Low Risk godowns of upto 250 sq.mtrs. For Low Risk and Moderate Risk category buildings, local bodies will be required to grant permits within 10 to 20 days. Approvals /No Objection Certificates by external agencies like AAI, NMA, Delhi Fire Services, DMRC, and Ministry of Environment shall be issued within 15 days. The number of documents to be submitted for obtaining building permits has been reduced from 40 to just 14 while the procedure for obtaining Completion-cum-Occupancy Certificate has been simplified by reducing the number of documents to be submitted by the owner from 36 to just 9.

Obtaining permission for commencement of construction has been removed. Instead, the applicant, who had already obtained building permit can intimate the concerned local body and proceed with construction work. The maximum time limit for granting building permit has been reduced from 60 days to just 30 days to enhance the ease doing business. In the context of climate change challenge, the Unified Building Bye-laws for Delhi -2016 seek to promote green and sustainable construction practices. All buildings on plot sizes of more than 105 sq.mtrs have to conform to the mandatory green building norms for obtaining sanctions. These include provisions for Water Conservation and Management, Solar Energy Utilization, Energy Efficiency and Management. These measures help in making Delhi more sustainable and environment friendly. New Bye-laws require measures for ensuring safety in terms of provisions for structural design and earthquake disaster mitigation.

All buildings and facilities used by the public such as educational, institutional, assembly, commercial, business, mercantile buildings and group housing shall have provision for universal design for differently-abled persons, children and the elderly. Owners of plots of more than 3,000 sq. mtrs area shall construct public washroom complexes with access from outside, in addition to other mandatory sanitary requirements.”