stopping the officers/private persons who were Private Secretaries/OSD in the previous government............

The Honorable Prime Minister Modiji has done a wonderful thing by stopping the officers/private persons who were Private Secretaries/OSD in the previous government,from taking similar posts under the present government.This will help the  present government Ministers in many ways which hardly needs to be detailed.The fact of the matter is that the power brokers used to remain the same whosoever became the Minister.There is no dearth of talented officers in the country and it would be inthe fitness of things that new setof officers take over in these sensitive posts.

Let us hope this government fulfills the difficult task to protect and strengthen Mother India!

increase in railway fair is justified but....

The decision of the Central Government to increase the rail fair is wholly justified. Successive Rail Ministers have failed to perform this unpleasant task which is responsible for present precarious condition of the railways. If we want the railways to improve, we must be ready to pay for then services it provides.

 

It is,however,inportant that the government  also makes efforts for increasing facilities for the travelling passangers.first of all, the railway reservation system needs complete overrhauling. The booking of tatkal ticket over internet is a total failure. Security of passengers in the trains needs to be improved .More trains have to be provided during peak seasons. New railway lines should be developed in backward areas and for all these things railways will need money. Let us, therefore, cooperate with the Central Government in their efforts to make improvements in the railways.

 

It is common knowledge that the previous Rail Ministers have been more concerned with their political future than the future of the country. We must say good bye to the subsidies and freebies.Let us pay for the facilities we take. But then the Central Government should ensure that our railways are really world class and for that the people of India ,too, will have to cooperate with the hard policy decisions  being taken by the Central Government.

Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).should be abolished

  Under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), each MP has the choice to suggest to the District Collector for, works to the tune of Rs.5 Crores per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency. The Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament can recommend works in one or more districts in the State from where he/she has been elected. The Nominated Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may select any Districts from any State in the Country for implementation of their choice of work under the scheme.

The MPs identify works, which are allowed under the guidelines, and recommend them to the District Authority, which in turn is responsible for the overall implementation of the works. It is the responsibility of the District Authority to scrutinise and sanction the recommended works and to identify an implementing agency to execute the work. Local self governments such as the Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies, government departments (such as Housing Boards, Electricity Boards and Urban Development Authorities), or reputed NGOs can be selected for implementing works.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation formulates the guidelines, releases funds, and monitors implementation. At the State level, a nodal department is responsible for coordinating, monitoring and supervising the implementation along with other relevant departments and the District Authorities. 

MPLADS has been in contention since its very inception. There are a number of issues which plague the scheme. First is the issue of corruption - there have been cases of widespread corruption and mis appropriation of funds. In a lot of cases, private contractors (which are not permitted) are engaged to implement the works.¹  Also, there have been instances where expenditure has been incurred on works which are prohibited under the scheme.²  Second relates to funding - there are large amounts of unspent balances rising over the years, low utilisation of funds and an expenditure bias towards a particular sector. A significant number of MPs are yet to open a bank account.³  Third relates to delivery - there are weaknesses in the process of sanction. The District Authorities tend to execute works without receiving any recommendations from MPs concerned or on the recommendation of the representatives of the MPs rather than the MPs themselves. Further, there are lapses on the monitoring and supervision front, with the District Authorities failing to inspect the required number of sanctioned works as well as in sending regular monitoring reports.⁴  Fourth issue relates to the sustainability of the scheme - there have been charges that the scheme goes against the spirit of the 73rd and the 74th Amendment, with MPs enjoying the privilege of an uninterrupted yearly flow of funds to do the work which local bodies are better placed to deliver. The constitutionality of the scheme has also been questioned, with the argument that the scheme erodes the notion of separation of powers, as the legislator directly becomes the executive.⁵ 

Along with these, there are other issues such as - lack of adequate information available to MPs, which sometimes leads to a disproportionately large amount of money flowing into one district. There also seems to be an absence of a proper mechanism to ensure constituent participation in order to determine locally felt needs, leaving open the possibility of a small group, having easy access to the MPs, impressing upon him to recommend works according to their needs.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has examined this scheme thrice and the government has sponsored independent surveys to assess the scheme. On each of these occasions, the auditors and surveyors have expressed concern over lack of supervision at the district level and gross violation of guidelines by MPs. But, there is no sign of credibility measures to set matters right.

The CAG also found that contracts were awarded without adopting standard tendering processes. Another irregularity was the absence of financial sanction and administrative approval. Auditors found that 26 per cent of the works were executed without sanction in four states that were surveyed by them.

The auditors have also come up with evidence which establishes fraud. Some samples of state- and district-level records showed misappropriation of funds in some states including West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Mizoram. School classrooms which were “constructed” by village education committees were nowhere to be found. An FIR had to be lodged with the police about the missing classroom! In Jharkhand a company took an advance of Rs 8 lakh for installing solar water pumps and vanished. In Bihar, officials of the National Rural Employment Programme were duping the government by claiming MPLADS funds for roads already constructed.

In Sikkim, funds from this scheme were used to construct anti-erosion bunds and walls to protect the private property of the MP and his relatives. Of 22 works sanctioned, all but one related to private property and in a dozen cases the contractors were also the beneficiaries. But, the biggest area of misuse is allocation of these funds to trusts and societies, often controlled by the MPs themselves. In ten states, the CAG found that funds in excess of the prescribed ceiling per society or trust had been released. In seven states, auditors found that 145 ineligible societies and trusts were given funds. Finally, the accounts are not audited regularly.  The auditors found 40 such districts. Strangely, the accounts of one DA (District Authority) in Jammu and Kashmir and one DA in  Lakshadweep had not been audited since the inception of the scheme in 1993!(Public Money, Private Agenda -- The Use and Abuse of MPLADSby A Surya Prakash)

This is clearly an executive function which should be handled directly by the Central/State Gpvernments .There is lot of murmuring in the public about functioning of this scheme which may or may not be correct but the fact is that that  the scheme involves huge funds which could be better utilized by direct involvement of the executive.

The new central government should  look into the matter and abolish the scheme and utilize the funds so saved in a better manner for development of the country.

Article 370 of Indian Constitution

There has been ongoing discussion over abrogation of article 377 of the India constitution.Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is a 'temporary provision' which grants special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. Under Part XXI of the Constitution of India, which deals with "Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions", the state of Jammu and Kashmir has been accorded special status under Article 370.

All the provisions of the Constitution which are applicable to other states are not applicable to J&K. For example, till 1965, J&K had a Sadr-e-Riyasat for governor and Prime Minister in place of chief minister.

The provision was drafted in 1947 by Sheikh Abdullah, who had by then been appointed Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir by Maharaja Hari Singh and Jawahar Lal Nehru. Sheikh Abdullah had argued that Article 370 should not be placed under temporary provisions of the Constitution. He wanted 'iron clad autonomy' for the state, which Centre didn't comply with.

According to this Article, except for defence, foreign affairs, finance and communications, the Parliament needs the state government's concurrence for applying all other laws. Thus the state's residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to other Indians. As a result of this provision, Indian citizens from other states can not purchase land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.

Under Article 370, the Centre has no power to declare financial emergency under Article 360 in the state. It can declare emergency in the state only in case of war or external aggression. The Union government can therefore not declare emergency on grounds of internal disturbance or imminent danger unless it is made at the request or with the concurrence of the state government.

By far, the most debated and discussed article in the entire Constitution, the current  debate on the abrogation of Article 370, has once again brought this provision in the limelight.

But what exactly is Article 370 and why is the Article so important to keep Jammu and Kashmir as a part of India? Here are 10 facts that explain why:

1. According to the Constitution of India, Article 370 provides temporary provisions to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, granting it special autonomy.

2. The article says that the provisions of Article 238, which was omitted from the Constitution in 1956 when Indian states were reorganised, shall not apply to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

3. Dr BR Ambedkar, the principal drafter of the Indian Constitution, had refused to draft Article 370.

4. In 1949, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had directed Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah to consult Ambedkar (then law minister) to prepare the draft of a suitable article to be included in the Constitution.

5. Article 370 was eventually drafted by Gopalaswami Ayyangar

6. Ayyangar was a minister without portfolio in the first Union Cabinet of India. He was also a former Diwan to Maharajah Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir

7. Article 370 is drafted in Amendment of the Constitution section, in Part XXI, under Temporary and Transitional Provisions.

8. The original draft explained "the Government of the State means the person for the time being recognised by the President as the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers for the time being in office under the Maharaja's Proclamation dated the fifth day of March, 1948."

9. On November 15, 1952, it was changed to "the Government of the State means the person for the time being recognised by the President on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly of the State as the Sadr-i-Riyasat (now Governor) of Jammu and Kashmir, acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers of the State for the time being in office."

10. Under Article 370 the Indian Parliament cannot increase or reduce the borders of the state.

Horrendous Consequences of Article 370

1. Secessionism spread to other states

The venomous tendencies of secessionism and separatism, strengthened by those, who incorporated the baneful Article 370 in the Indian Constitution, later on spread to Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and the Punjab.

2. Regionalism and parochialism

The Article 370 tanned and fed the forces of regionalism, provincialism, parochialism and obscurantism. It created regional conflicts, collisions and controversies in truncated India.

3. Denial of fundamental right to settle permanently

Under Article 19 (1) (e) and (g) of our Constitution, it is fundamental right of the citizens of India to reside and settle permanently in any part of the country, and to practice any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business. But Article 370 deprived the citizens of India of the right to settle permanently in Jammu and Kashmir. Is it not a strange discrimination that citizens of Jammu and Kashmir could settle in any province of India but the citizens of India could not settle in Jammu and Kashmir, because of this discriminatory Article 370? Even Pt. Nehru, the Prime Minister of free India, could not settle in his own ancestral land Jammu and Kashmir, because of the baneful barrier of Article 370. No citizen of India could go to the state of Jammu and Kashmir without a permit issued by the state government, headed by Sheikh Abdullah. Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (the progenitor of BJP) defied the permit system and entered the territory of Jammu and Kashmir without permit. He demanded from Nehru Government the abrogation of the detrimental Article 370, which smacked of secessionism. Consequently he was arrested on May 11, 1953, and detained in Srinagar Guest House. On June 23, 1953, Dr. Mookerjee breathed his last, while in police custody in the Srinagar Hospital under suspicious situation: The unofficial probe pointed to medical murder. Thus the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh sacrificed his life for the abrogation of the venomous Article 370.

4. Denial of Fundamental right to purchase property

Under Article 370, citizens of India cannot purchase immovable property in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, but the people of Kashmir can purchase property in other states of India.

5. Deprivation of the right to vote

The citizens of India cannot become the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir. Due to Article 370, they are deprived of their right to vote in the elections to the state assembly or municipal council or panchayats.

6. Denial of Jobs

On account of Article 370, Indian citizens cannot get jobs in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. All the jobs in the state are reserved for the citizens of the state.

7. Detrimental to women of the state

Article 370 is highly detrimental to the women, who are even born and brought up in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. If a woman, who is permanent citizen of the state, gets married to a man who is not a citizen of the state, she loses her properly. She is deprived of even her ancestral property. In the state of Jammu and Kashmir, domicile certificates issued to women are valid up to their marriage only. They have to acquire fresh 'Permanent Residence Certificate' after their marriage.

8. Denial of admission and job to Kashmiri women after marriage

If a woman, who is born and brought up in Jammu and Kashmir and is permanent citizen of the state, marries a citizen of India, she cannot get a job in the state, nor can she get admission in medical, engineering or agricultural colleges established with the financial aid by the Union of India.

9. Victimization of Hindu Immigrants - Supreme Court helpless:

On account of unholy partition of our holy Motherland, unfortunate Hindus were ousted from their ancestral homes in West Pakistan. A few thousand Hindu families migrated to Jammu and Kashmir and settled there. Though, fifty five years have elapsed since their migration, yet they, their children and even grand-children have not been granted citizenship on the ground that outsiders cannot settle permanently in the state on account of Article 370. Consequently, these unfortunate Hindus are deprived of their fundamental rights. They cannot purchase land for construction of their houses. Their names are not included in the electoral rolls of the state assembly. Hence, they cannot exercise their franchise in elections. They cannot get Government or semi-government jobs. They arc not sanctioned loans by the state government. They are not granted government licenses for the purpose of business. Their children are not granted admissions in medical or engineering colleges of the state, though the Government of India bears most of the expenses of the said colleges. Thus, they are treated as second-class citizens in a state, which is declared as an inseparable part of India. Having seen no other alternative, the unfortunate displaced persons knocked the door of the Supreme Court. It is a matter of irony, agony and astonishment that though the Supreme Court realized the injustice rendered to them; yet, it could not give any relief to them because of the discriminatory Article 370. It is a heartrending tale that the honorable judges of the Supreme Court, in spite of having recognized their grievance as justifiable, expressed their inability in their judgment to give any relief to the unfortunate Hindu immigrants in view of the peculiar constitutional position prevailing in the state.

10. Incapability to alter the boundaries of Kashmir

Under Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, the Parliament has the right to change the boundaries of any province, provided the President consults with the authorities of the concerned province before signing the bill. But, on account of Article 370, the Parliament of India cannot alter the boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir. For doing so, it has to seek approval from the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. It indicates that the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir is above the Parliament of India. Had Pt. Nehru not applied Article 370 to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Parliament could have split Kashmir into various parts and annexed the said parts to the adjoining provinces. The only panacea to the problem of Kashmir is to abrogate Article 370, split Kashmir into parts and annex the said parts to the adjoining provinces in such a way that the Muslims may lose the majority, and Hindus may be induced to settle permanently in the said parts with overwhelming majority. The well-planned systematic dispersal of Muslim population and settlement of Hindu population in its place is the only remedy to the malady of Kashmir.

11. Non-acceptance of Hindi

The decision of the Union of India pertaining to Hindi as National language could not be applied to Jammu and Kashmir because of Article 370. No member could speak in Hindi in the State Assembly without prior permission of the speaker.

12. No CBI in Kashmir

On account of baneful barrier of Article 370, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was not allowed to work in Jammu and Kashmir. Thus Sheikh Abdullah and his accomplices were let loose to collude with Pakistani conspirators and infiltrators. The reports of his collusions and conspiracies with Pakistani agents and spies could not reach the ears of the ruling leaders of India.

give the government reasonable time to gear up and deliver.

With the Modi government having been formally set up ,there is a sense of pride and achievement in the entire country.People have been waiting for a change.They have given clear mandate for a new government so that it should be able to function free from pressure tactics of regional parties/allies.Now that the Modi government  has finally taken over,people are expecting positive results.Of course,it is not possible to bring about a total turn around overnight but initiatives in the right direction will itself make a lot .Inviting SAARC countries for participation in the swearing ceremony of the Prime Minister Modiji and his cabinet colleagues has been a master stroke in the field of foreign affairs.There are lot of issues inside the country which if suitably attended,will create tremendous goodwill in favour of the central government.Difficulties being experienced by the common man in getting railway reservation is one such problem which needs immediate attention

We must,however,give the government reasonable time to gear up and deliver.Let us hope and pray that the Modi government brings a new era of development in the country.