Round The States
New Delhi, 3 November 2011
Anna Vs Centre
STATES TAKE THE
LEAD
By Insaf
Anna Hazare is pleased as punch. State leaders are slowly
but positively responding to the anti-corruption movement. For starters, the B
C Khanduri Government in Uttarakhand has cloned Team Anna’s Jan Lokpal Bill, rather
than the one drafted by the Centre. On Tuesday last, the Assembly passed the
Lokayukta Bill, making the State the first in the country to bring the Chief
Minister under its ambit. Additionally, the punishment for any act of
corruption by Ministers, MLAs, bureaucracy and the lower judiciary has been
made stringent, ranging from 10 years imprisonment to life! While Khanduri is
reveling in the kudos coming his way, Anna is hopeful that three other non-Congress
ruled States—Bihar, Orissa and Punjab shall get
inspiration and refurbish their Lokayukta institutions.
Till then, the State leaders are sending strong messages
against corruption. Following in the footsteps of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar, Orissa’s Naveen Patnaik has converted the house of a “corrupt” retired
IAS officer in Bhubaneswar
into a homeopathy dispensary. Properties of two other bureaucrats have been
confiscated. Two months ago, Nitish had converted a three-storey house of a
corrupt IAS official into a school. Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata
Banerjee has in the meantime, announced her “raj
dharma’ of zero tolerance towards corruption. Instructions have been given
to the State Intelligence Bureau to gather information on her Party leaders
“involved” in corruption. This apart, she has warned Partymen against indulging
in the business of promoting and raising syndicates. While these Chief
Ministers are chipping in to cleanse the rot in the system, the State Governors
too have been asked to get active. Addressing the Governors Conference in New Delhi, President
Pratibha Patil urged them to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to combat and
prevent corruption, in view of the rising public demand. How they deliver, is
worth a watch.
* * * *
Kerala Govt In
Jeopardy
The Kerala Congress Government is at the tip of precipice.
Whereby the death of the Food Minister, T.M. Jacob in the Oomen Chandy
United Democratic Front Ministry has
reduced it to a wafer thin majority of 140 MLA House. The UDF has now 71 MLAs,
the LDF 68 and one seat is vacant. A minor desertion or absenteeism will affect
the stability of the Congress-led Government. A worried Congress leadership has
already alerted its allies about the tricky situation and the MLAs have been
asked to remain in the capital Thiruvananthapuram when the Assembly session is
on. Also, Congress legislators have been warned to avoid controversies with the
allies thereby putting the Government in trouble. It is crucial that the party
wins the bye-election six months on to make up the numbers. Clearly, tough days
lie ahead of Chandy.
* * * *
Arunachal Gets New
CM
The old order gave way to the new in frontier strategic
Arunachal Pradesh with the swearing-in of Naban Tuki replacing Jarbom Gamlin as
the Chief Minister. Tuki, 47 was handpicked by Congress President Sonia Gandhi
as the MLAs had left the decision to her.
For the first time, the State boasts of a ‘different’ Chief Minister on
two counts: one, Tuki is a first generation convert, a Christian Chief Minister
of a State where conversion was a major issue till a decade ago. Two, he is the
first from the Nyishi community, the most populous tribe in the multi-ethnic
State. Fingers are crossed that he will be able restore the worsening law and
order situation through a process of confidence building process. It remains to
be seen if this Congressman will be able to control the severe infighting in
the State Congress.
* * * *
Rajasthan Tribal
Hunger
The Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s brush with bad
news continues. Post the Bharatpur communal outbreak, followed by Water
Resources Minister Mahipal Maderna’s resignation over the mysterious
disappearance of a mid-wife and nurse, now comes the shocking news of chronic
malnutrition and hunger deaths among the 90000 Saharia tribals. Worse, the
Rs.72 crores meant for the tribe’s upliftment has been diverted to the
bureaucracy to be used for the welfare of Government employees. This was
disclosed by the State’s Tribal Affairs Minister. A study done last year, found
that nearly 43 per cent of the children in the age group of 1-5 years were
malnourished with little hope of survival. Clearly, the State has some
explaining to do.
* * * *
TN’s Fresh Duel
Tamil Nadui’s AIADMK-DMK duel seems never-ending. On
Wednesday last, Chief Minister Jayalalitha shot down another pet project of
former CM and arch rival Karunanidhi. The Rs 250 crore Anna centenary library
in Chennai, which was touted as being the largest in Asia,
will now be converted into a super-speciality paediatric hospital. Amma,
however, does not want to upset the kids and has assured them that the library
would be housed in a new integrated intellectual park to come up at an
alternate site, notwithstanding that it would add additional burden on the
State exchequer. Coming on the heels of the purtha thailvi converting her bête
noire’s Rs 500 crore pet project of a new secretariat complex into a
multi-specialty hospital for children two months ago, one wonders what will be her
next target?
* * * *
States Fail
Miserably
Urban India
portrays a shocking state of affairs in basic services for its people. A recent survey reveals that 50 per cent of
the 1,405 cities across 12 States have no piped water supply and 70 per cent of
the households have no access to toilet or a sewage system! While the country’s
population has increased from a growth rate of 27 per cent in 2001 to 31 per
cent in 2011, the urban local bodies (ULB) have failed miserably to keep pace.
A sample: Only two cities of 249 in Maharashtra have uninterrupted water
supply, while in Andhra Pradesh over 70 per cent households in 124 ULBs do not
have access to water and in Madhya Pradesh the average water supply is a mere
40 per cent. Likewise, the sewerage system stinks, wherein a majority of the
cities in Maharashtra don’t have underground drainage system, only 10 local
bodies have sewerage treatment plants, 50 per cent of 52 cities in Karnataka
have no access to a sewerage system and 70 households in Andhra don’t have any
such system. Clearly the survey is a wake up call for the Urban Development
Ministry. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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