NATIONAL NEWS PAPER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, AGRICULTURE, COOPERATIVES, EDUCATION, YOUTH AFFAIRS, KHADI AND GRAMODYOG, SMALL AND COTTAGE INDUSTRIES, SECURITY, NATION-

ALISM, INDIANNESSVOL-04 ISSUE-04 PAGE-08 NEW DELHI APRIL 2014 PRICE ̀ 10

LOK PANCHAYATJAN MUDDON KA RASHTRIYA MANCH

National Monthly News Paper published in English & Hindi

L.P. Bureau, New DelhiChief Minister of Sikkim

Pawan Chamling in charge ofHome Department, Finance,Revenue and ExpenditureDepartment, DevelopmentPlanning, Economic Reforms &North East Council Af fairsDepartment (and Other Departments not specifically allotted toany other ministers) During themeet the Chief Minister Mr.Chamling serioudly reviews theproposals drafts of each of thedepartments and also directs thedepartments to include furtherproposals and projects for thedetailed, all round, minutedevelopments of the state.Heurges that the revenue projectionof the state should also be asaccurate as possible. He sincerelyreviews the performance of the

CHAMLING,The 'FM'

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works sanctioned under 13thFinance Commission and alsostressed that all the workssanctioned under 13th FinanceCommission should becompleted with the time frame,and there should be no lapses offunds.

According to his appeal, allthe HODs work in tandem with

India'll Need Huge 1405 MTOE GasBare Facts : Revealing Reliance Dominanced

L.P. Bureau, New DelhiSUPPLY/DEMAND-NATURAL GAS

(in million standard cubic meters per day) (MMSCMD)

already one of world's largest importers ofLNG. By 2020, India could need twice asmuch natural gas as it consumes now. (SeeAbove Table). The gulf between domesticdemand and supply is widening. To copewith rising imports, India plans to spendbillions toincrease thecapacity of importterminals forLNG to 26 million tonnes per year fromfrom 13.7 million. Along side, India'spipeline network would need an overhauland expansion to get the gas to market, workthat would require an investment of as muchas Rs 350 billion. At present, around 8.5MMSCMD of gas is being directly suppliedby the JVs/private companies at marketprices to various consumers. This gas isoutside the purview of the Governmentallocations. Out of the total production ofaround 87 MMSCMD, after internalconsumption, extraction of LPG andunavoidable flaring, around 74 MMSCMDis available for sale to various consumers.Production of natural gas, which was almostnegligible at the time of independence, is atpresent at the level of around 87 million

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L.P. Bureau, New DelhiNow that it has been nationally, globally

proved, evinced, accounted for that natural gasrequirement (and it is aplenty) in the country,India is bound to increase by leaps and boundsand this is also true that as of now there arenot enough drillers of those gas in the country--- natural gas is still in its nascentstage in the country --- "BigPlayer" Reliance's $100 billion50 km off the coast of KakinadaKG-DWN-98/1 (KG-D6) is8100sq km. It is only natural that being 'single'(though there are many floating, they are notyet tested in the field/s) in oil drilling field,Reliance would be bullied from all sides andthat is what is apparently happening in thesense Reliance is being openly alleged,accused of overcharging the country'sexchequer thereby killing the country's allround economy and jacking up prices of allproducts sky high. Reliance in the wake ofproving them ('them' include all vestedinterests including Arvind "Aam Aadmi"Kejriwal) all wrong has defered hike of gasthereby agreeing with Supreme Court that afterthe 16th Lok Sabha Elections, they will takeup the matter again. Till then, they will retaintheir earlier price which ended on March 31,

2014, according to the agreement ofReliance with buyers and Government.Now that it is clear that KG D-6 hasabundant gas and all of it is with Reliance,'neat-n-clean' envy on it is working in thesense, Reliance's rivals cum competitorswant to hijack KG D6 from it and dig into

it but yet they do not want tospend money and do newexploration. Reliance is awareof it fully. Mukesh Ambanihas directed his employees to

be cool and calm and keep on digging thewell till new prioces are a reality. Sofar,KGD6 drilled in a water depth of 1,024metres - and to a total depth of 4,509 metres- to explore the prospectivity of a MesozoicSynrift Clastic reservoir lying over 2,000metres below the already producingreservoirs in the D1-D3 gas fields.Formation evaluation indicates a gross gasand condensate column in the well of about155 metres in the Mesozoic reservoirs. Inthe drill stem test, the well flowed 30.6million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) and liquid rate of 2,121 barrels a daywith a choke of 36/64" with a flowing

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Read more in Next Issue

L.P. Bureau, New DelhiThe Government has

released Rs. 729.43 Crore to 23States and UT of Andaman &Nicobar Islands from 2010-11 till19th February 2014 underRashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana(RGSY) and Rajiv GandhiPanchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan(RGPSA) for empowe rment andstrengthening of Panchayati RajInstitutions (PRIs) and electedrepresentatives of PRIs.

Rs. 412.51 Crore have beenreleased from 2010-11 to 2013-14for establishment of trainingcentres in form of State PanchayatResource Centres (SPRC),District Panchayat ResourceCentres (DPRC) and ExtensionTraining Centres (ETC) under theschemes of Rashtriya GramSwaraj Yojana (RGSY) and RajivGandhi Panchayat SashktikaranAbhiyan(RGPSA). With theutilization of these funds, 115SRPCs, DPRCs, ETCs andPanchayat Training Centres have

729.43 Cr for RGSY, RGPSA

been set up/upgraded forimparting training to the electedmembers of Panchayati RajInstitutions.

The scheme of RGSY wasimplemented till 31.03.2013 andfrom 01.04.2013 it has beensubsumed in the CentrallySponsored Scheme of RGPSAwhich was launched in 2012-13.The RGPSA aims to strengthenPanchayats across the country. Itsupports need based activities ofthe States to strengthenPanchayats in their context on the

basis of plans prepared by theStates. RGPSA provides for arange of activities includingadministrative and technicalexpertise at Gram Panchayats,capacity building & training,establishemtn of resourcecentres/training centres, e-enablement of Panchayats, GramPanchayat buildings, support forPanchayat processes etc. Statesare also encouraged to devolvepowers to Panchayats and put inplace a system for increasingtheir accountability.

As against this requirement, the presentdomestic gas supply is 65 MMSCMD. Thegap will have to be met from imports, increasein domestic production and by switching toliquid fuels. Natural gas is fast emerging as the mostpreferred fuel in India in view of it being anenvironmental friendly economicallyattractive fuel and also a desirable feedstock.In view of that, increased focus being givento this potential sector. In view of that, importsof liquefied natural gas (LNG) by India willsoar in the next decade to fuel an expandingeconomy, pitting India against China andJapan for supplies as it domestic gas outputstruggles and overland delivery remains adream. India's trillion-dollar economy is

Year Demand

1999-2000 110

2001-2002 151

2006-2007 231

2011-2012 313

2024-2025 391

2 LOK PANCHAYAT I NEW DELHI I APRIL 2014www.lokpanchayat.com

MP LADL.P. BureauThe Members of Parliament

Local Area Development Scheme(MPLADS) is meant to enableMPs to recommend works of de-velopmental nature with empha-sis on creation of durable com-munity assets based on locally feltneeds.

The recommendation of theworks is made by the MP. The MPhas no role in sanction and imple-mentation. Sanction of the eligibleworks and implementation of thesanctioned works in the field areundertaken by the District Au-thorities in accordance with StateGovernment's financial, technicaland administrative rules.

Release of funds is depen-dent on fulfilment of conditionsstipulated in the Guidelines of

MPLADS. The first instalment ina particular year is released whenprovisional Utilization Certificatefor 80% of the first instalment ofthe previous year is received. The

second instalment is releasedwhen Utilization Certification andAudit Certificate of the previousyear are received and theunsanctioned balance is less thanRs.1 crore and the unspent bal-ance is less than Rs. 2.5 crore.

Release of funds is not an im-pediment in the recommendation,sanction and implementation ofthe works. MPLADS funds arenon-lapsable, both at the end of

the Central Government and atthe end of the District Authori-ties. An MP can recommendworks up to his full annual en-titlement at any time during theyear and the District Authoritiescan sanction and start implemen-tation of the works without link-ing with release of funds (andfunds are released in routine onreceipt of the requisite certifi-cates and on the unsanctionedand unspent balances going be-low the stipulated levels).

The District Authorities arerequired to sanction the eligiblerecommended works within 75days, and to complete the sanc-tioned works generally within 1year. The eligible recommendedworks of an MP upto his full an-nual entitlement are required tobe sanctioned and implementedeven if the MP demits his mem-bership. Delay or laxity in sanc-tion or implementation is the re-sponsibility of the District Au-thorities (and not of the MP).

Rural Min 'OK's 137L.P. Bureau, New DelhiIn terms of the provisions of

Aajeevika Skills Guidelines-2013notified with effect from 20thSeptember,2013, EmpoweredCommittee (EC) in the Ministryof Rural Development has ap-proved 137 projects for skill de-velopment of 4,88,680 ruralyouth at the total Central assis-tance of Rs 1347.79 crore forimplementation in various statesas per details given below:-

List of the Aajeevika SkillsProjects approved by EmpoweredCommittee : ICA Infotech PvtLtd,Haryana; AISECT,Haryana;IKYA Human Capital SoltuionsLtd, Haryana; India Can EducationPvt. Ltd., Haryana; Wazir AdvisorsPvt. Ltd., Haryana; Eagle HunterSolutions Limited, Haryana; BusyInfotech Private Ltd. Jharkhand;CL Educate Limited, Jharkhand;Don Bosco Tech Society,Jharkhand; Gramin Vikas Trust,Jharkhand; Rashtriya SakshartaMission, Jharkhand; IL&FS Edu-cation & Technology, Jharkhand;CAP Foundation, Jharkhand; IndiaCan Education Pvt. Ltd.,Jharkhand; ICA Infotech Pvt. Ltd.,Jharkhand; Laurus Edutech Pvt.Ltd., Jharkhand; Orient Craft Fash-ion Institute of technology,Jharkhand; IKYA Huma CapitalSolutions Pvt. Ltd., Karntaka;IL&FS Education & Technology,Karntaka; Kapston Facility Man-agement Pvt. Ltd., Karntaka;

Shriram New Horizons, Karntaka;Technopack Advisors Pvt Ltd,Karntaka; Wazir Advisors Pvt. Ltd.,Karntaka; ITCOT Consultancy andServices Ltd., Karntaka; LaurusEdutech Pvt. Ltd., Karntaka; Ap-parel Retail Training & Job Solu-tions Pvt. Ltd., Karntaka; ITFTConsultancy Pvt.Ltd, Sikkim;BVG India Ltd, Uttar Pradesh;ICA Infotech Pvt Ltd, UttarPradesh; Manav Vikas EvamSewa Sansthan, Uttar Pradesh;Mass Infotech Society, UttarPradesh; Orient Craft Fashion In-stitute of technology,UttarPradesh; All services GlobalPvt.Ltd, Uttar Pradesh; ArohFoundation, Uttar Pradesh; CLEducate Limited, Uttar Pradesh;IKYA Huma Capital SolutionsPvt. Ltd., Uttar Pradesh; IL&FSEducation & Technology, UttarPradesh; Orion Edutech Pvt.Ltd,Uttar Pradesh; Sahaj e-village,Uttar Pradesh; etc. etc.

From Page 1...

India-US Energy TalksL.P. Bureau, New DelhiIndia and the United States

agreed to further work collaboratively on energy sector. At theIndia-US Energy dialogue in NewDelhi, both the countries agreedto promote scientific cooperation,research & development forgreater technological innovationand for deployment of environ-mentally-friendly technologiesand products. Deputy ChairmanPlanning Commission,Dr.Montek Singh Alhuwalia andthe United States Department ofEnergy Secretary Dr. ErnestMoniz after participating in theDialogue. They hoped that theDialogue will lead to business-to-business collaboration of both thecountries. The expected expand-ing trade and sound regulatoryframeworks would emerge to de-liver energy solutions for sustain-able growth of economies of boththe countries for benefit of theirpeople.

Five of the six workinggroups affiliated with the EnergyDialogue (Coal, Oil & Gas, NewTechnologies and Renewable En-ergy, Power and Energy Effi-ciency, and Sustainable Growth)have held meetings over the lastfive days at the Co-chairs level

including experts/officials. U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Re-search and development Centrehad also brought up issues relat-ing to progress on solar energy,advanced bio-fuels and energy ef-ficiency of buildings underPACE-R. Partnership to AdvanceClean Energy PACE- Research &Development (PACE-R) has beenworking on research and devel-opment projects on solar energy,Building Energy Efficiency andSecond generation bio-fuels. Anumber of consortia from Indus-try, R&D and Education Institu-tions have been formed to take upthe projects in these areas.

In 2009, the India and U.S.agreed to significantly increasecollaboration on energy securityand clean energy through launch-ing the Partnership to Advance

Clean Energy (PACE). India andUSA have also signed two sepa-rate MOUs for partnership inclean energy access (PEACE)and demand for air-conditioningsector.

The MOU on Promoting En-ergy Access through Clean Energy(PEACE) was launched in Septem-ber 2013 for promoting increasedenergy access and is developing sev-eral priority activities.

Dr. Ahluwalia said that theU S Energy Secretary Dr. ErnestMoniz will be in Mumbai tomor-row to witness the meeting ofcivil nuclear working groupwhich could help to work towardscooperation in this sector.

CHAMLING,The 'FM'

the policymakers and takepersonal initiative in seeing thatworks, and schemes of theirdepartments are being undertakenproperly.

He wants that "we should allbe accounted and take collectiveresponsibility to usher Sikkim togreater heights. …We should workas a team and should be focus ongiving quality services and qualityproducts to the people; we shouldtry and give top priority to qualityin all the services and developmentworks."

L.P. Bureau, New DelhiHorticulture production

grew by more than 8% during thelast decade. As compared to theproduction of 257 million tonnesin the previous year and 215 mil-lion tonnes about five years ago,there has been significant jumpin the horticulture produc-tion, thereby leading tohigher per capita availabil-ity of horticulture producelike fruits and vegetableshaving high domestic con-sumption, besides othercommodities like spices,cashew etc. having high ex-port potential. India is nowthe world`s largest producerof Mango, Banana, Papaya,Pomegranate, Sapota, Aonla andOkra and has the second highestposition in Brinjal, Cabbage,Cauliflower, Onion, Potato andPeas. Tomatoes are also producedin sizable quantity. This has beenpossible on account of the Gov-ernmental interventions under theschemes of National HorticultureMission (NHM), HorticultureMission for North East andHimalayas States (HMNEH),National Mission on Micro Irri-gation (NMMI), National Horti-culture Board (NHB), CoconutDevelopment Board (CDB) and

270-M Ton F-n-VVegetable Initiative for UrbanClusters(VIUC). While the NHMcovers 66 crop clusters in 383districts in 18 States & 4 UTs, thecoverage is in all the districts ofHMNEH States.

Under NMMI, about 4 mil-lion hectares have been brought

under improved irrigation sys-tems such as drip and sprinklerirrigation.

Under VIUC scheme, about4 lakh farmers were mobilizedinto 23,000 Farmer InterestGroups (FIGs) and 192 FarmerProducer Organizations (FPOs),besides providing technical sup-port and assistance for taking upcultivation of vegetables in openfield and protected cover. Na-tional Centre for Cold Chain De-velopment (NCCD) has been ad-dressing the issues on cold chaininfrastructure particularly in in-

troducing standards and protocolsrelated to cold chain testing, veri-fication, certification and accredi-tation as per International norms.Cold storage capacity of over 30million tonnes has been createdout of which about 2 milliontonnes was created during the last

two years.The momentum gen-

erated during XIth Planwill be accelerated duringthe XIIth plan by imple-menting the Mission forIntegrated Developmentof Horticulture (MIDH),by subsuming six ongoingschemes on horticulture.

The Mission wouldgive focus on production

of quality planting material, en-hancement of production throughproductivity improvement mea-sures, creation of infrastructurefor reducing post harvest losses,besides setting up markets for im-proved marketing of horticultureproduce.

Mobilization of farmers intoFarmer Producer Organizationsand strengthening of horticulturestatistics are added feature of thescheme. MIDH will cover allstates & UTs in the country andwould cover all horticulturecrops, including bamboo.

LOK PANCHAYAT I NEW DELHI I APRIL 2014 3www.lokpanchayat.com

L.P. Bureau, New DelhiThe President, Pranab

Mukherjee was presentedHealthcare Alliance recommen-dations by knowledge partnersand industry partners. The fourpapers presented to the Presidentwere on control of NCDs throughprimary and preventivehealthcare; Public Private PeoplePartnership; talent fast forward;and upskill, upscale and innova-tion for universal access.

Speaking at the occasionPresident said that these innova-tive initiatives of industry, privatesector and global consultancy aresupported by luminaries ofhealthcare sector India andabroad. Several leading bodieshave come together for this noblecause of good health for Nationbuilding. The Presidentemphasised that healthy citizensare integral to building healthyeconomy. There is fundamentalcoordination between nation andhealth of its citizens. Efficienthealthcare delivery system shouldbe of high quality and affordable.Health indices need to improveto achieve MDGs and the WHOmandate. Need of the hour isgreater convergence of all stake-holders towards common goal,noted the President.

The President said that theGovernment had launched Na-tional Rural Health Mission(NRHM) for restructuring ofhealth services in rural India andnow National Urban Health Mis-sion (NUHM) has been launchedwith focus on urban poor. It aimsto make available essentialhealthcare to urban poor decreas-ing out of pocket expenditure. Henoted that NCDs are world's big-gest health challenge .They havesignificant global burden and will

Health Tips to Prez

Whole Prices Steady

pose significant threat to India'sHealthcare programme.

The president highlighted theimportance of education, innova-tion and technology. Education isa powerful driver for health.Healthcare infrastructure and ini-tiatives need to be complementedwith education especially of girlchild. He further added that in-novative models can improvesituation in India and provide in-sight to the developing world. Hequoted that India is the largestmanufacturer and exporter ofmedicines and provides cost ef-ficiency to world in generic medi-cines. Information Technologycan be a strong enabler in extend-ing reach of healthcare. ICT com-panies should focus on strength-ening healthcare through mobiles.Mobile is now in the hand of mil-lions of Indians, added the Presi-dent.

Shri Pranab Mukherjee saidthat healing tradition has flour-ished in India since Vedic Age.The tradition of Ayurveda hasbeen very popular. Today tradi-tional Indian healthcare respectedworld over. We may develop newcures for new age problems. In-dia has been recognised for inno-vation and professional skills. Allstakeholders need tomakecollective efforts to achievegood health for all. The need isto induce in all a passion forhealthy living.

The Union Health and Fam-ily Welfare Minister, Shri GhulamNabi Azad expressed happinessthat the stakeholders, enlisted bythe Health care alliance, ad-dressed some of the biggest chal-

lenges facing healthcare in thisconference and have come upwith useful recommendations. Hesaid that with careful and mea-sured steps and forging partner-ships, the urban-rural paradoxcan be reversed and issues of in-equity addressed. Shri Azadhighlighted that tremendousprogress has been made in the last5 years in all areas, whether it waspolio eradication, improvinghealth indicators, building infra-structure, increasing human re-sources or innovations in healthresearch. As far as Non Commu-nicable Diseases (NCDs) are con-cerned, Health Ministry launcheda National Programme in 2010 fo-cused on early diagnosis, screen-ing, prevention, treatment andcontrol in 100 districts of 21 states.

The Health Minister ex-pressed happiness that consider-able progress has been made un-der the national programme. Hesaid that 5.3 crore persons havebeen screened for diabetes and5.00 crore for hypertension; 83dedicated NCD Clinics and 61Cardiac Care Units have been es-tablished in selected districts ; andthere is a provision for Chemo-therapy services in the selecteddistricts. He highlighted that a

unique cost effective devicecalled "Swasthya Slate", whichwill help in screening for bloodsugar, blood pressure, blood hae-moglobin, ECG, heart rate, ma-laria and pregnancy among otherurine and blood tests in the remot-est areas has been launched re-cently by the Government. Forawareness creation, a unique ini-tiative called Swasth Bharat wasstarted by Health Ministry underwhich 12,000 empanelled spe-cialists have appeared in over30,000 programmes on 59 Re-gional Doordarshan and AIRChannels across the country. ShriAzad said that Public PrivatePartnership (PPP) is an efficienttool for optimal utilization of re-sources. There are successful ex-amples of PPPs in the health sec-tor which can be built upon fur-ther, whether they are in runningambulance services, diagnosticfacilities or participation in ser-vice delivery under nationalhealth programmes. In the area offostering talent and up-skilling,an appreciable initiative is the set-ting up of the "Healthcare SectorSkill Council" by the NationalSkills Development Corporationand CII, to develop standards forallied healthcare and actively par-

ticipate in the development ofcurriculum, assessment and cer-tification process.

The Health Minister notedthat there has been a revolutionin innovations in health researchand development. The transla-tional research programme,launched by the Government in2010, has identified about 75leads or prototypes to be devel-oped into technologies. In just last4 years, several indigenously de-veloped products like domesticvaccine and reagents for influ-enza-A H1N1, vaccine for Japa-nese Encephalitis (JE), detectionkit for Thallassemia and SickleCell, device for detection of cer-vical cancer, etc have beenlaunched. Healthcare Alliance in-cludes five important industrybodies in health namely All IndiaManagement Association(AIMA), Confederation of IndianIndustry (CII), Federation of In-dian Chambers of Commerce andIndustry (FICCI), Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA) andHealthcare Federation of India(NATHEALTH). It includes fourknowledge partners of globaleminence - Bain & Company,KPMG, McKinsey & Company,and PwC. The research and policythink tank Public Health Founda-tion of India (PHFI) is the tech-nical resources group and ApolloHospitals is the coordinating part-ner. Present at the occasion werethe Health Ministers of Maldives,Mozambique and Mongolia, of-ficials from WHO, Dr Prathap CReddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospi-tals Group, Prof (Dr) SrinathReddy, President, Public HealthFoundation of India, DrJayshreeben Mehta, President,Medical Council of India andvarious other dignitaries.

L.P. Bureau, New DelhiAs per data monitored by the

Ministry of Consumer Affairsand food, prices of rice, wheatand sugar remained steady acrossthe country.

Price Monitoring cell of theMinistry regular monitors pricesof twenty two es-sential commodi-ties at 55 marketcenters.

During theperiod prices ofrice remainedsteady at all re-porting centersand decreased attwo centers whichwere Jodhpur andKolkata. Prices ofwheat also re-mained steady at most of the cen-ters and decreased at one center,Thiruva nanthapuram.

Prices of sugar remainedsteady at all the reporting centersand decreased at two centerswhich are Mandi and Ranchi.

Prices of twenty two essen-

tial commodities are regularlymonitored by Department of Con-sumer Affairs for taking suitableaction to keep the prices undercheck. These commodities in-clude Rice, Wheat, Atta, GramDal, Tur (Arhar ) Dal, Urad Dal ,Moong Dal, Masur Dal, Sugar,

Gur, Groundnut Oil, Mustard Oil,Vanaspati, Sunflower Oil, SoyaOil, Palm Oil, Tea, Milk, Potato,Onion and Salt . Price datas arecollected on daily basis from theState Civil Supplies Departmentsof the respective State Govern-ments.

Rs 5,900-Cr More

for BRGFBare Facts...From Page 1...

Reliance...

standard cubic meters per day(MMSCMD). The main producersof natural gas are Oil & NaturalGas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), OilIndia Limited (OIL) and JVs ofTapti, Panna-Mukta and Ravva.Under the Production SharingContracts, private parties fromsome of the fields are alsoproducing gas. Government havealso offered blocks under NewExploration Licensing Policy(NELP) to private and public sectorcompanies with the right to marketgas at market determined prices.

bottom hole pressure of 8,461 psiasuggesting good flow potential.Well flow rates during such testsare limited by the rig and well testequipment configuration. Thediscovery, named 'D-55', has beennotified to the Government of India(GoI). This discovery is expectedto add to the hydrocarbon resourcesin the KG D6 block. Appraisal willnow commence to better define thescale and quality of the field. Thus,Reliance's gas work goes on…

L.P. Bureau, New DelhiThe allocation under the dis-

trict component of the BackwardRegions Grant Fund (BRGF)Programme for the year 2014-15has been increased to Rs.5900Crore from the current year's al-location of Rs. 2800 Crore. Thisis 110.71 % increase over currentyear's allocation.

Government has released Rs.2689.14 Crore till 18th February2014 out of the current year's bud-getary allocation of Rs. 2800Crore for the distinct componentof BRGF . This is 95.29% of thetotal budgetary allocation. Thefunds under BRGF has been re-leased to 272 districts in 27 states.Highest amount of Rs 440.53Crore .has been given to Biharfollowed by Andhra Pradesh withRs. 325.62 Crore and Odisha withRs. 283.63 Crore.

The BRGF Programme is de-signed to redress regional imbal-ances in development. It providesfinancial resources for supple-menting and converging existing

developmental inflows into iden-tified districts with a view tobridge critical gaps in local infra-structure and other developmentrequirements. The DevelopmentGrants under the BRGF are un-tied in nature and are basicallyutilized in implementing works/activities/ included in the ActionPlan prepared by the PanchayatiRaj Institutions and Urban LocalBodies in a participatory and de-centralized mode. BRGF fundsare required to be transferred tothe Implementing Entities (IEs)within 15 days of the release offunds to the Consolidated Fundof the States failing which penalinterest is required to be paid bythe State to the IEs.

4 LOK PANCHAYAT I NEW DELHI I APRIL 2014www.lokpanchayat.com

LOK PANCHAYATJAN-MUDDON KA RASHTRIYA

MANCHVOL-04 ISSUE-04 APRIL 2014

ON TO 16th LOKSABHA...FIRMLY

Next month in May 16 when results of the

16th Lok Sabha Elections will be officially

declared, it will veritably be on to 16th Lok

Sabha... . For the 16th time in the Indian

Democracy, People of the Country will have

elected their Government of their choice with

the keen, ardent hope that the country would

be equanimously governed by the new

Government leaving aside all --- virtually all ---

riff-raff issues aside. To ensure that, the people

of the country are being sincerely advised to

use their utmost thinking-power to the extreme

and exercise their franchise to the best of their

ability . They should not be distracted by

irrelevant promises which are not just possible

in reality. They have alreadsy seen that in case

of the last Delhi Assembly Elections which

because of their voting catapulted a virtually

fictitious Government in the city that today is

still releling from their false, impractical, hoax,

hollow sky high promises. None of the promises

were fulfilled. On the contrary, normal

Governance in the city came to a grinding halt

as the people wandred helter-skelter wondering

who to approach for 'basic halp' to them. Utter

chaos pervades in the capital city. People are

plain confused, jammed, stuck in the whirlpool

of uncertainty. This should not be allowed to be

repeated in the rest of the country. For the 16th

Lok Sabha, the countrymen should use their

power of franchise to the best of their ability

and caste their votes. They should not allow

themselves to be cowed in by impractical

(howsoever high sounding they be) promises and

vote for fictitious people, non-existent

possibilities, hoax assurances, flimsy

allurements, ephemeral bribes. Couple that with

honesty-posing personalities having

industrialist-like finances and officially posing

as being pro-masses. After election results are

out, will they be ever accessible to the

commoners? No, not at all. No way. What then?

Worse scenarios for the people of the country

if they vote for pro-people posing liers. The latter

will never work for them except making tons

and tons for themselevs without any pangs of

any kind. People of the country thus should avoid

such scenario. They should cast their votes for

the known political parties. They will at least

be accountable. They will not escape. They will

not run away. Unlike the the people in ruling in

Delhi. If they were honest they would not flee.

They would not run away from their

responsibility. They would surely stay firm in

their positions and face consequences to the

best of their ability. Since they have not done

that and now they are tryi ng their best to sway

the country as such , it is high time the people

rejected them and the like. They should stay

firm in their stand that come what may, they

want basic Governance. Sans basic Governance,

their daily system comes to a grinding halt

which becomes difficult for them to bear. The

People, the masses thus should vote for Proper

Government that Works...

Wetlands: Vanishing into the Blue

It is a tragedy that HarikeLake in Punjab, a famous wet-land declared as a Ramsar site in1990, has shrunk to just two-thirdof its total area of 41 sq.km atpresent. This mishap rings thedeath knell for all the 26 sites des-ignated as wetlands of interna-tional importance. Wetlands areessential in India for sustainablefood production and potable wa-ter availability for humans as wellas for the livestock. They are alsonecessary for the continued ex-istence of India's diverse popu-lations of wildlife and plant spe-cies. In short, India's wetlands areone of the most threatened habi-tats of the world and they arecrumbling under the ever-in-creasing anthropogenic pres-sures.

These rare wetlands havebeen dying a slow death due tounplanned development and ille-gal encroachment since 1982,when India became signatory tothe international treaty on conser-vation of wetlands - the RamsarConvention. In fact, similar fatehas been met by other well-known lakes like the ChilikaLake in Odisha, Loktak inManipur, and Wular in Kashmir.Statistics reveal that one-third ofIndia's wetlands have alreadyvanished into the blue or are onthe verge of disappearance.

The unprotected wetlands ofIndia are in a terrible conditionsince each and every wetland isfacing some kind of an environ-mental crisis. Take the case ofBangalore, for example, where ofAhmedabad have already beenbuilt up; and, most of Delhi's 625identified water bodies exist onpaper only. The fact of the mat-ter is that our National Plan for

Rajiv Gupta

EDITORIAL

Conservation of Aquatic Eco-Systems, which came to the forein 2013, has yet to make an im-pact on the wetland scene.

The problem of the disap-pearing wetlands attains a muchgraver proportion as around 74percent of India lives in its vil-lages. And, these rural folk, es-pecially the rural poor, are heavilyresource-dependent. The truth ofthe matter is that most of the prob-lems pertaining to India's wet-lands are related to human popu-

lation. India contains 16% of theworld's population, and yet con-stitutes only 2.42% of the earth'ssurface. The Indian landscape hascontained fewer and fewer natu-ral wetlands over time. Restora-tion of these converted wetlandsis quite difficult once these sitesare occupied for non-wetlanduses. Hence, the demand for wet-land products (e.g. water, fish,wood, fiber, medicinal plants,etc.) will increase with the in-crease in population.

Thus, the rapidly expandinghuman population, large scalechanges in land use, burgeoningdevelopment projects and im-proper use of watersheds has allcaused a substantial decline ofwetland resources of the country.Significant losses have resultedfrom its conversion threats fromindustrial, agricultural and vari-ous urban developments. Thesehave led to hydrological pertur-bations, pollution and there ef-fects. Unsustainable levels ofgrazing and fishing activities havealso resulted in degradation of

wetlands.It is a grave matter that our

twenty year old National Wet-lands Conservation Programmehas not achieved any success interms of protecting and conserv-ing the nation's 115 wetlands inthe protected areas. Even the Cen-tral Wetlands Regulatory Author-ity, established in 2010, has notbeen able to check this damageto these Wetlands, despite all theexisting environmental rules andregulations. In fact, this three-

year-old authority hasbeen ineffective in evenseeking lists of wetlandsfrom the states for noti-fication purposes.

Apart from the laxapproach of the UnionGovernment, even thestate governmentshaven't done their bit interms of checking the

encroachment of the wetlandswith the advent of the rising landprices due to the boom in the realstate sector. Everyone seems tohave forgotten the ecological giftsof the vital wetlands like recharg-ing groundwater, recycling nutri-ents, reducing flooding, purifyingdrinking water; and, providing ahabitat for birds and animals. Allthese virtues of our wetlands havebeen taken for granted. And,hence the country is graduallylosing its ecological heritage. Itis high time that the planners andpolicy makers involve the localcommunities in the process ofconserving wetlands since theyare a common property. Thesecommunities must be engaged indesigning plans for wetlands pro-tection with adequate provisionof incentives at all levels. Finally,it is only the appropriate combi-nation of political will power andparticipatory community actionwhich can save further deteriora-tion of India's wetlands which arealready at the brink of annihila-tion.

L.P. BureauGovernment has released Rs.

801.23 Crore towards the schemeof " DEVELOPMENT OFP A R T I C U L A R L YVULNERABLE TRIBALGROUPS "- earlier known as "Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs)"from 2010-11 to 14th February2014 towards the overalldevelopment of 75 PTGs spreadover 14 states and the UT ofAndaman and Nicobar Island.

The 100% Central SectorScheme " Development ofParticularly Vulnerable TribalGroups (PTGs)" for the overalldevelopment of ParticularlyVulnerable Tribal Groups (PTGs)aims at the socio-economicdevelopment of PTGs in a holisticmanner by adopting habitat

Rs 801.23-Cr for PVTG

development approach andintervening in all spheres of theirsocial and economic life, so that thequality of life of PTGs is improvedand a visible impact is made.

The funds under this schemeare made available to the States/UTs having substantial PTGpopulation for those items/

activities which are very crucialfor their survival, protection anddevelopment.

Activities and programmesunder it include housing, landdistribution, land development,agricultural development, energyfor lighting purposes,conservation of environment,social security or any otherinnovative activity meant for theoverall development approach forthe comprehensive socio-economic development and wellbeing of PTGs.

The rights includingcommunity tenure of habitat andhabitation for PTGs have alsobeen secured under "ScheduledTribes and Other TraditionalForest Dwellers (Recognition ofForest Rights) Act,2006"

LOK PANCHAYAT I NEW DELHI I APRIL 2014 5www.lokpanchayat.com

Who killed the Congress?The CAG had stunned the

nation with seventy six thou-sand crore (or was it one lakhseventy six thousand crore)scam song which completelyput congress on the mat. TheComptroller and Auditor gen-eral never came out clean onhow he came to that figure. TheJPC (hey what happened tothat!) never took him to task toexplain that figure. Nobody col-lated figures of how much reauction netted.

Neither the govt. nor themedia took any interest in go-ing to the depth of the matter.As though the deal was doneand Congress had reclined tothe fact that it was tired andneed rest and is ready to sit inthe opposition. But if that wasthe case Sonia Gandhi should

have categorically told theKarunanidhi that they arewrong and must exit UPA andface re election if necessary.On the contrary if congress wasinnocent Mrs. G should haveasked her spokespersons tostop being defensive. Theyshould have sued the media leftright and centre for making the2g a scam bigger than what itwas.

Ambiguity prevailedwhile; preserving the govt. atany cost seemed most impor-tant. That was the time to intro-spect and not after AAP routedthem in Delhi.

Mrs. Gandhi's second errorwas again for not being articu-late enough. The world startedcalling Rahul the next PM whilehe never was in race and still

isn't for the 2014 election, if youask me. India is too big a nationto be run by a prime ministerwith no administrative experi-ence.

RG knows this more thatanybody. When the mediaanointed him aspirant the Con-gress machinery did nothing torefute it. RG is actually by sta-tus above PM ship of a coali-tion government. He could bePM of a party with clear man-date and anything else willmake Rahul the king living abeggar's life. Also how will stal-warts with huge administrativelegacy work under a novice?Besides, the country is far fromsending any party to parliamentwith a clear majority. So when

1st name that comes to my mind is CAG and the second is Sonia Gandhi.By - C Anand Velayudhan all the above was true why did

Mrs. G allow such preposterousrumours to perpetuate. Thisgives credence to argument thatshe actually wants Rahul to livein 7 Race Course. I would sayshe never said it and so does notwant it. But the damage wasdone and congress offeredNaMo his most reluctant oppo-nent. Congress is the most for-midable obstacle to BJP butalas! by quietly conceding to'Rahul for PM' rants of mean-dering party sycophants Soniadid the biggest disservice to theCongress and mightiest serviceto the BJP.

CAG was the nail. Mrs.Gandhi allowed use of Rahul tohammer the nail into congress'forehead.

But caution must prevail as

far as the next general electionsare concerned. Mrs. Gandhi isthe same woman every com-mentator wrote off during the2004 general election. Shetransformed from a woman intothe most influential lady in Asiaafter the results. In 2009 shebeat her own expectation in LokSabha. Will summer 2014 pullanother surprise victory forCongress from the jaws of de-feat?

NB: The re-auction of 2Gwas at 61000crore that is 10percent lower that the 3G auc-tion of 2010 which was usedas benchmark to calculate theloss to exchequer. So where isthe loss of billions of dollars?Can India afford to a l lowCAG author creative audit re-ports?

Farmers' Suicides in India- A National Shame

Vijay KumarMore than a quarter of a mil-

lion Indian farmers have commit-ted suicide since 1995 and, thealarming suicide spree seemsnever to end ..It is genocide ,saidDr.Vandana Shiva,a renownedenvironmental activist. 'This trulyappalling rate of farmers' sui-cides in India .has stemmed fromthe failure of many geneticallymodified'[GM] crop varieties, la-mented Prince Charles.' The trag-edy described by the Center forHuman Rights and Global Justiceas the largest wave of suicides inrecorded history has been attrib-uted to the ruinous neoliberalpolicies adopted by the Indiangovernment at the behest of theunholy trinity of the WTO, theWorld Bank and the IMF. Thesepolicies also called 'EconomicReforms' or 'Structural Adjust-ment Programmes[SAPs] wereimposed upon us as condition-alities attached to the $2 billionloan we took from the WorldBank when our worst ever fi-nancial crisis struck us in 1991.

What are these poli cieswhich have been killing our smalland marginal farmers and agricul-tural labourers in hundreds ofthousands? What are these weap-ons of mass destruction that havelaid waste our entire farm sec-tor:

Let us take a look at

these . agents of death.

1. WTO's disastrous agri-cultural trade policy: Ruining theFarm sector by opening it to

heavily subsidized cheap importsThe objectives ,nay the sin-

ister designs of the WTO's tradepolicy are:

• To free the agricultural sec-tor from all controls and inter-ventions by the government andfrom all restrictions on imports sothat the giant transnational agri-cultural corporations can obtainunlimited access to the marketsof developing countries. ,

• To allow on the one hand,huge subsidies to the world farmsuperpowers .so that they canartificially bring down the pricesof their imported produce to suchlow levels that they can captureand monopolise the world mar-kets, and

• To withdraw on the other,the existing subsidies from thepoor third world farmers --.all inthe name of freeing them from 'ar-tificial crutches' and makingthem self reliant and competitivein a free trade environment. Therationale behind this measure ishighly questionable and down-right spurious ,and absolutelyuntenable from an intellectual andmoral stand point. For it is thesesubsidies'--called artificialcrutches by the corporate mas-ters-' that the rich EU and the U.S.have been heavily relying uponfor establishing their supremacyin the world agricultural markets.We cannot fail to see through theWTO's blatant double standard-in favour of the all powerful mul-tinational agribusinesses andagainst the crippled farmers who

have been robbed of theircrutches, their subsidies ,theirvery life support.

Now let us see how thesepolicy prescriptions havewreaked havoc on the Indian farmsector.

In 1993 the government in-troduced a new agriculturalpolicy .to implement the WorldBank's disastrous structural ad-justment programme .It deregu-lated agricultural imports . Fol-lowing the removal of import re-strictions our markets have beenflooded with products from thegranaries of the wealthy Westerncountries at prices way below thecost of production. These ridicu-lously low prices have been madepossible by the massive subsidyenjoyed by these granaries worthas much as $ one billion per daywhich is far higher than the totalvalue of all Indian farm productstaken together. .

Our hapless farmers havehad to sell their produce atappallingly low prices and in theprocess livelihoods of manymillions have been extinguished.According to one estimate 'Indianpeasants are losing more than $26 billion annually on accountof collapsing farm incomes. Thisis a burden their poverty does notallow them to bear. 'As debts in-crease-- unpayable from farmproceeds--farmers are compelledto sell their kidneys or are evendriven to suicide.'

Before the onslaught of theWTO-IMF-World bank triad theIndian state used to protect thefarmer against market volatilitythrough the mechanism of inter-nal control over prices. It estab-lished and enforced the remu-nerative minimum support price[MSP] at which it purchasedfrom the farmer all that he had tooffer-directly or through thesemi government agencies ,ruralcooperatives and self helpgroups. ,but without the involve-ment of the middle man.. Itgranted procurement subsidiesand provided affordable institu-tional credit. Above all, it putrestrictions on the import and ex-port of agricultural commoditiesin order to protect the domesticmarket.

But from 1993 onwards ev-erything has changed. .In fact ,thestate has retreated. The govern-ment no longer sets the minimumsupport price or procurementquotas. . Acting on the WTO's

directive it procures the farm pro-duce at ruling market prices-many times below the production,costs , thus driving the peasantryto the edge of starvation. It ispowerless against middle men,private mills, trading and process-ing companies that exploit thefarmers by refusing to buy agri-cultural produce except at pricesmuch below the cost of produc-tion.

Over the years under the tu-telage of the neoliberal gurusthe state has systematically takenaway all the protections, supportand, safeguards--in fact the veryprotective shield that could havesaved the farmer from the 'agribizpredators'.

The state has retreated ,wesaid. Here is another example ofthe classical retreat. The WorldBank's policy of integrating ru-ral marketing with the global mar-ket has forced the states to openthe 'farm produce marketing sec-tor' to private/foreign compa-nies .As a result agriculturalmandies/e chaupals have sprungup where multinational compa-nies like ITC Cargill andHindustan Lever buy agriculturalproduce and in exchange sell theirown expensive products[fertilisers, seeds ,agriculturalimplements etc,] . They are reap-ing immeasurable profits whereasthe agricultural sector and thefarming community are becom-ing increasingly dependent onthese companies.

Contd Page 7...

6 LOK PANCHAYAT I NEW DELHI I APRIL 2014www.lokpanchayat.com

WHO : India Polio FreeAzad Receives gets Certificate

L.P.ExclusiveThe World Health Organi

sation (WHO) presented officialcertification to India for its 'Po-lio Free' status. India is amongother countries in its South EastAsian region which have beencertified as being free of the wildpolio virus. The Minister forHealth and Family Welfare, ShGhulam Nabi Azad received theofficial certificate at a function.This achievement makes theSouth-East Asia Region, thefourth WHO Region to be certi-fied as polio-free, after the Re-gion of the Americas in 1994, theWestern Pacific Region in 2000and the European Region in 2002.

Speaking at the function, ShAzad stated that India has beenpolio free since January 2011.Speaking on the historic occasionon behalf of all South-East AsianHealth Ministers, Shri Azad ex-pressed happiness and satisfac-tion at the historic public healthachievement which seemed im-possible with India having thehighest burden of Polio cases inthe world.

The Health Minister statedthat India embarked on the

Saurabh ChandraNew Oil Secy

L.P. Bureau, New DelhiShri Saurabh Chandra as-

sumed charge as Secretary, Min-istry of Petroleum & Natural Gas,Government of India. He suc-ceeds Shri Vivek Rae, who de-mitted office on superannuation.

An officer of the Indian Ad-ministrative Service, belonging tothe 1978 Batch (UP), ShriChandra was earlier Secretary,Department of Industrial Policyand Promotion, Government ofIndia since 17th April, 2012. Priorto that, Shri Saurabh Chandra wasAdditional Secretary in Depart-ment of Industrial Policy and Pro-motion. He has a rich experienceof working in financial adminis-tration in both his cadre and withthe Government of India. This in-clude his stint with the Ministryof Finance, Govt of India as JointSecretary from 2002 to 2007. In acareer spanning over 35 years, hehas held several posts at differentlevels in the cadre and with theGovernment of India.

Storage UnitsL.P. Bureau, New DelhiCentral Water commission is

monitoring storage position of 85important reservoirs spread allover the country, of which asmany as 37 reser-voirs are having sig-nificant hydro-power benefits withinstalled capacitiesof more than 60MW each. The com-bined live storage inthese 84 reservoirs at the begin-ning of monsoon i.e. 1.6.2013was 21 % of their designed ca-pacity and stood at 50% of de-signed capacity as on 27.02.2014.The present storage is 122% oflast year's storage and 130% oflast 10 years average storage dur-ing the same period. Out of these84 reservoirs there are presently19 reservoirs where this year'sstorage is 80% or less of the av-erage of previous 10 years and inremaining 66 reservoirs the stor-age is more than 80% of the av-erage of previous 10 years. In or-der to derive the best possiblebenefits from the available water,

Virtual ClustersL.P. Bureau, New DelhiVirtual Clusters, an initiative

of the Ministry of Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises, waslaunched by the Minister ofMSME, Shri K. H. Muniyappa,during the presentation Cer-emony of National Awards to Mi-cro, Small and Medium Enter-prises . Conceived as supplement-ing Physical Clusters, VirtualClusters is a dedicated web-por-tal which will enable small busi-nesses located anywhere in thecountry and the other stakehold-ers like banks, other financial in-stitutions, various Government

programme to eradicate the na-tion of polio 19 years ago in 1995,when the disease used to cripplemore than 50,000 children in thecountry every year.

He stated that this achieve-ment has been possible with reso-lute will at the highest levels,technological innovations like theindigenous bivalent polio vac-cine, adequate domestic financialresources and close monitoring ofpolio programme, with which im-munization levels soared to 99%coverage and India achieved po-lio eradication. He stated that thisunbelievable operational feat hasbeen possible due to the tirelessefforts of over a million ASHAsand ANMs who gave a new mo-mentum to polio rounds. A 2.3million strong team of polio vol-

unteers and 150, 000 supervisorsworked day and night to reachevery child.

The Health Minister ex-pressed gratitude towardsWHO, UNICEF, Rotary Inter-national, Bill and MelindaGates Foundation and othersstakeholders, including the par-ents of the children, for theirstrong technical and operationalsupport to this collective effortin this region.

Also present at the certifica-tion ceremony were representa-tives from the WHO's SEAROcountries, senior officers from theMinistry of Health and familyWelfare and representatives ofpartner agencies such as RotaryInternational, UNICEF, andDFID.

Shri Chandra while workingas Director with the Departmentof Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemi-cals and Fertilizers, Governmentof India, he was associated withthe setting up of Oman - IndiaFertilizer Project, perhaps one ofthe most successful Joint VentureProjects set up by a Central Pub-lic Sector Enterprise/Multi-StateCooperative.

He is a Graduate in Electri-cal Engineering from the IndianInstitute of Technology, Kanpurand holds a Diploma in Manage-ment.

bodies, NGOs, industry experts,consultants and trainers,academia, research & technicalinstitutions etc. to come together.This will facilitate the stakehold-

ers to leverage the expertise ofeach other to their mutual growthand benefit.

Sh. Madhav Lal, Secretary(MSME), speaking on the occa-sion, said that Virtual Clusterswould allow small businesses be-longing to different sectors to co-exist with their fellow enterpriseson the web-portal and enablethem to capitalize on the benefitsof networking. This would con-tribute towards further growth ofMSME Sector.

The web-portal will be ad-ministered by The National Insti-tute for Entrepreneurship andSmall Business Development(NIESBUD), an organization un-der the Ministry of MSME.

Central Water Commission iskeeping in touch with the Depart-ment of Agriculture and Co-op-eration and providing informationof the weekly storage position to

the Crop WeatherWatch Group forevolving suitablecrop strategies andalso appraising thesituation to variousDepartments andMinistries involved

in Water Resources Planning.Basin wise storage position

as on 27.02.2014 is as follow:The storage position in Ganga,Indus, Narmada, Tapi, Rivers ofKutch, Mahi, Sabarmati,Godavari, Mahanadi &Neighbouring EFRs and WestFlowing Rivers of South basinsbasins is better than normal (av-erage of previous 10 yearswhereas storage in Cauvery &Neighbouring EFRS basins is de-ficient. Out of 37 reservoirs withsignificant hydro potential, 10reservoirs have storage build upless than or equal to the averageof last 10 years.

StreeShakti

Puruskar

From Page 8...

SHIVRAJ OnLineL.P. Bureau, New Delhi

MP Online projecthas realized the vision ofthe Shivraj Singh Chauhangovernment to providegovernment services at thedoorsteps of citizen andbusinesses. During therelatively short term since its estab-lishment, the benefits of the projecthave penetrated deep into the ur-ban as well as rural areas, and de-liver a very wide spectrum of ser-vices. The success of the project isamply demonstrated by its reachwithin the state, the breadth of ser-vices offered, the confidence ofgovernment departments in the por-tal to increasingly offer servicesexclusively through MPOnline andthe ever increasing number of citi-zens accessing the portal to avail

services. MPOnline is aOne Stop Window inte-grated with Governmentdepartments providing aplethora of Academic, Re-cruitment, Online Counsel-ing, Online AssessmentExaminations and B2C

Services. Currently, MPOnline iscatering to Government depart-ments like MP PSC, CG PSCMPBSE, MPSOS, PWD,TRIFAC, Commercial Tax, Agri-culture, Regional Transport Office,Public welfare Department, DME,Health Department, ElectricityDept, and Police Department. ItsMilestones:MPOnline was formedin the Year July, 2006. The FirstService delivered in the year 2007.Currently catering more than 50+Departments.

businesswomen at the grassrootsand executives in the top echelonsof the corporate world, womenhave, through their individualefforts, made contributions, bigand small to build the India.

As respected professionalsin all walks of life, women have,in no less measure, made theirmark in the frontiers of science,space exploration and researchalike. He made a special mentionof the women in agriculturalsector. He stated that women inthis sector are the mainstay ofIndia's food security - and also the

scores of women workers whotoil shoulder to shoulder withmen in building, brick by brick,the mighty physical infrastructureof our country.

The President said that newlegislations, no matter how wellconceived, must be supported byefficient enforcement mechanisms. Legislation, alone, cannotemancipate our women. There is aneed for a fundamental re-settingof our mental and moral make-up,

our civic sense and our socialconduct. We must do all that we canto revive our tradition of accordingdue honour and respect to ourmothers and sisters; by doing so wewill honour ourselves. Also presentat the occasion were Minister ofWomen and Child Development,Smt. Krishna Tirath, Smt SyedaHammed, member PlanningCommission, Mrs. Mohini Giri,and other senior officials of theMinistry.

LOK PANCHAYAT I NEW DELHI I APRIL 2014 7www.lokpanchayat.com

Farmers' Suicides in India...From Page 5...

The Seed Sector un-

der Multinational Siege

In 1998, the World Bank'sstructural adjustment policiesforced India to open up its seedsector to agricultural conglomer-ates like Cargill, Monsanto andSyngenta. These giant corpora-tions have imposed a draconianregime that has wrecked the farmeconomy forever.

• For centuries 'farm seeds'had been a free, renewable com-mon resource made available byputting aside a small portion ofthe crop every year.. But nowthese traditional seeds- thebackbone of the age old peasanteconomy- have been supplantedby the corporate owned seeds.Under the new dispensation thefarmer has no option but to buythese patented seeds. And he hasto buy them afresh every plant-ing season because they are non-renewable. Thus, a free resourceavailable on farms or in the statewarehouses becomes overnight acommodity to be purchased ev-ery year by the farmers.., .

• Unlike the traditional farmseeds these genetically modified[GMO] seeds need fertilizersand pesticides .They are prohibi-tively expensive because of theextortionist royalties required tobe paid by the poor peasantsunder the Intellectual PropertyRights. For example, Monsanto'sBt cotton seeds cost Rs. 17000/kg. as against the earlier farmseeds that used to cost justRs.7/kg. Thus, in a corporateeconomy driven by insatiablegreed and a criminal quest forhuge super profits more than $200 billion flow every year toMonsanto alone from our impov-erished peasants .

• The dethroned farm seedsconstituted the time tested histori-cal resource based on experienceand expertise passed down fromgeneration to generation .Theywere supplemented by the vari-eties bred and tested in the pub-lic sector seed farms for our di-verse agro climatic zones. Nowall these have been replaced bythe untested ,ill adapted , expen-sive corporate seeds which needcostly chemicals and intensive ir-rigation. These deregulated, sub-standard seeds untested forIndia's diverse soil and climaticconditions have proved to be amajor cause of crop failure.Farmers in Maharashtra, AndhraPradesh ,Karnataka, U.P. Punjaband Bihar have lost billions of ru-pees and hundreds of thousandsof lives to crop failure resultingfrom the GMO seeds like Bt cot-ton and hybrid corn.

Farmers are not choosing theGMO seeds. They have no choiceleft. MNCs have monopolizedthe seed sector and through ag-gressive marketing have system-atically wiped out the local, pub-lic varieties. They have got the

Indian seed companies to enterinto joint ventures and licensingarrangements with them As a re-sult, these companies and the gov-ernment seed banks can only sellthe the MNC seeds and not thedomestic varieties.. These pow-erful, manipulative agri-busi-nesses have started to useeven public resources to pushtheir non-renewable ,hybridGMOs through PPPs[Public Pri-vate Partnerships]

Collapse of Institutionalcredit: Vice-like Grip of Usuri-ous Moneylender and Debt Trap

Millions of peasants havebeen pauperized by the plummet-ing prices of the agricultural pro-duce and the sky-rocketing costsof inputs, thanks to the WTOsponsored invasion of our farmand seed sectors by the all pow-erful, unstoppable transnationalagribusinesses. To add to the poorfarmers' woes, there have beenmassive crop failures broughtabout by the untested, ill-adapted, spurious geneticallymodified corporate seeds.

The response of the state tothis unprecedented agrariantragedy enveloping four-fifths ofthe country's population has beenutterly shocking and deplorable.It has watched with supreme un-concern hundreds of them be-ing pushed every day to the brinkof starvation and suicide. Bow-ing to the draconian neoliberalregime it has systematically takenaway all subsidies and supportmechanisms- from the devastated, dying farm sector. Tragically,each successive act of withdrawalof state support--also the life sup-port- has been another nail in thepoor farmer's coffin, and the de-nial of institutional credit whichwe shall presently discuss hasdriven the final nail.

Under the World Bank's fi-nancial liberalisation policy thestate has been mandated to reducethe quantum and raise the cost ofinstitutional credit to the peasants.This has led to a grossly inad-equate credit supply at an afford-able price to the poor cultivators.Thus, hundreds of thousands ofsmall and marginal farmers andagricultural workers who consti-tute more than 80% of the farmhouseholds have been thrown outof the established formal creditsystem. This virtual zero accessi-bility of institutional credit at thetime of soaring input costs is atthe root of the pervasive, continu-ing agrarian crisis. Ironically,however, the banks ,while refus-ing to provide loans to the poorfarmers have lavishly entertainedthe wealthy multinationalagribusinesses like Pepsi,Kellogs, Hindustan Lever, andCon Agra,. Also, there has beena criminal diversion. of the insti-tutional agricultural credit to thepowerful landlords and rich peas-ants.

The much hyped debt reliefpackages introduced by the gov-ernment from time to time havebeen an utter failure, a cruel joke.The packages have left com-pletely untouched the informalloans ,from the private money-lenders which account for morethan 50% of the total farm debt.

Robbed of the protectiveshield of the state- the subsidies,the internal price protectionmechanisms and finally the in-stitutional credit- the desperatepeasantry now finds itself entirelyat the mercy of the private mon-eylender. Remember, he is thesame moneylender that has plun-dered and ruined the rural Indiasince time immemorial throughruthless usury and brutal exploi-tation. Now the monster is a hun-dred times more brutal in the newexploitative setting provided bythe transnational businesses

Meet the new moneylenderin the countryside. He is at oncea merchant and a moneylender.He can be the man who buys thecrop from the farmer well belowthe minimum support price. Hemight as well be a dealer whosells seeds, pesticides andfertilisers on credit and chargesan exorbitant interest of 24 to30%.Worse,he exacts extortion-ate penalties on top of these al-ready killing rates in cases ofdelays in repayment of debt anddoes not relent even where hisown defective seeds cause cropfailures which in turn lead to de-layed repayments.

The dealer-moneylender hasties with the multinational busi-nesses and enjoys the patronageof the rich rural elite ,the localbureaucracy and the powerfulpolitician. This is a satanic com-bine that over the years has tight-ened its stranglehold over thepeasant sector. The combine aidsand abets an age-old system ofruthless, devious and usuriousmoney lending through mafiasthat have spread terror in thecountryside. Their methods ofpunishing non payment of debtrange from dishonoring the poorfarmers, to disrobing and rapingtheir women and even murder-ing them. This is the notorious,rapacious Sahukari system whichhas destroyed the rural sector withits savage expropriations exactedin innumerable forms. Its perni-cious 'interest on interest' regimereigns supreme and whosoeverchallenges the unholy writ mayend up losing his possessions ,hishonour, his life.. A few lessonseven for Shylock.!

The farmer is destined todisappear. For him all roads leadto hell. It is the tale of life oncredit, death in instalments It is acruel ,agonizing journey fromdebt to death via ,disgrace anddishonour via the loss of everything he owns It is an escapefrom a world that means to him

nothing but debt, hunger ,starva-tion pain, shame, misery and tor-ture.. He chooses death beforedishonour, and suicide as an hon-orable ,dignified way to end awretched ,worthless existence.And this is how millions of ourfarmers groaning under the ex-cruciating burden of debt havesought release in suicide

The Indian state--the grandfacilitator

The Indian state is the grandfacilitator, a facilitator par excel-lence. It has facilitated the takeover of our entire farm and seedsectors .by the transnationalagribusinesses ,It has facilitatedthe irreversible ruination of ourpeasantry. A servile, sinning statestooping to any level to pander toits corporate masters has aban-doned its farmers to be devouredby the hungry pack of wolves-the blood thirsty multinationalsand moneylenders .And finally,it has facilitated a record num-ber of suicides in a historic featof unparalleled abdication ofall moral, ethical and even con-stitutional responsibility for themillions of our farmers teeteringon the brink of starvation anddeath. Is it necessary for fourfifths of our population to be sac-rificed at the altar of theneoliberalist God and his impe-rialist priests? The state standscharged with the gravest evercrime in recorded history againstits citizens.

Here are things our anti-farmer, uncaring, neoliberal statewill never do - because it hasunleashed a war against its ownfarmers

1. Restore seed sover-eignty to its rightful owner, viz,the Indian farmer. Revive seedfarms and start community seedbanks.

2. Rein in the Multination-als- Monsanto, Syngenta, Cargilland the like. Ensure that they donot charge exorbitant price fortheir seeds. Give freedom to thefarmer to obtain his requirementsfrom the seed bank. Subject thecorporate GM seeds to rigorous,objective trials and ensure thatspurious, untested, substandardseeds do not find their way to thefarm .Work around the Patent,IPR requirements that hurt thefarmer. Exclude food staplesfrom the IPR regime.

3. Restore input subsidiesto reduce costs of production. Thegovernment should directly in-tervene in the supply of seeds andother agricultural inputs by es-tablishing fair price retail outletsin rural areas

4. Bring back QRS [Im-port restrictions] to protect farm-ers against artificially low inter-national prices.

5. Ensure that both privateand public procurement is gov-erned and regulated by a mini-mum support price [MSP] which

guarantees the peasant a just, re-munerative price and fair wages.Entry of private players in pro-curement should be curbed.

6. In case of crop failurebecause of unreliable, untested,defective seeds the private com-pany/MNC selling the seedsshould pay compensation to thefarmers.

7. Write off debts of farm-ers resulting from high seed costs,unreliable seed supply and high/usurious interest rates.

8. Introduce effectiveCrop and livestock insuranceschemes.

9. Nurse back to health theinstitutional agricultural creditsystem. Expand rural creditthrough cooperative and publicsector banks to cover small andmarginal farmers at rates not ex-ceeding 4%

10. Come down with aheavy hand on the scourge ofusury. Introduce legislation tomake usury a criminal offencepunishable with life imprison-ment. The UPA's decision to treatmoney lenders, agricultural trad-ers, commission agents as Ac-credited Loan Providers whowould disburse loans to the farm-ers at floating market rates is fa-tally flawed. It will push the farm-ers into a debt trap no differentfrom the one that has turned thefarm sector into a suicide sector.

I will end this article with acouple of quotes that should setoff alarm bells

"As long as farmers havetheir sickle they will be peaceful.But if their sickle is snatchedfrom their hands, it will be re-placed by a gun".

"In the face of debt, drought,land grab, displacement and de-clining agricultural prices, farm-ers in India have sometimes cho-sen to take their own lives. Atother times, in their search forrespite, they have taken up armsto seize by force what is rightfullytheirs"

Sources:1. Vandana Shiva: From

seeds of suicide to seeds of hope2. Vandana Shiva: Seeds of

suicide: how Monsanto destroysfarming

3. Vandana Shiva: Deregula-tion responsible for farmers'plight

4. Munster Daniel: Farmers'suicide and the state in India

5. Arundhati Roy: We woulddole out money provided youprivatise your agricultural mar-keting

6. Dr.Ram Chandra Pillai:Agrarian crisis and the way out.

7. Adam Pugen: Are GMseeds responsible for Indianfarmers suicides

8. GM Watch:The suicidebelt: GM cotton in India

9. P Sainath:The saga offarmers suicide in India

(PNN)

R.N.I. No. DELENG/2011/401478 LOK PANCHAYAT I NEW DELHI I APRIL 2014www.lokpanchayat.com

Str ee Shakti PuruskarL.P. BureauPresident of India Shri

Pranab Mukherjee was the chiefguest at the celebrations to markthe International Women's Daywhere he conferred Stree ShaktiPuruskar to six illustrious womenin recognition of theirachievements.

The awardees for the StreeShakti Puruskar are nominated bystate governments, MPs, VIPsand on suo-moto basis, andselected by a national levelScreening Committee. There aresix awards instituted in the nameof women icons of India. Eachaward carries a cash prize of Rs.3 lakh and citation. The followingare the recipients of the sixawards: 1. Smt. Manasi Pradhan fromOdisha has been honoured withRani Lakshmibai Award for theyear 2013 for her work in the fieldof women's empowerment.2. Dr. M. Venkaiah from AndhraPradesh has been honoured withRani Rudramma Devi Award forthe year 2013 for his contributionin the field of women's health.

ASSAM LOCAL SELF

GOVT STRONG

3. Mrs. Bina Sheth Lashkari fromMaharashtra has been honouredwith Mata Jijabai Award for theyear 2013 for her achievement inthe field of education andtraining.4. Mrs. T. Radha K. Prashantifrom Andhra Pradesh has beenhonoured with Kannagi Awardfor the year 2013 for herachievement in the field ofproviding support to orphans,visually impaired, handicappedand destitute women.5. Dr. Vartika Nanda from Delhihas been honoured with RaniGaidinliu Zeliang Award for the

year 2013 for her creatingawareness on women's issuesthrough media.6. Dr. Seema Sakhare formMaharashtra has been honouredwith Devi Ahilyabai HolkarAward for the year 2013 for hercontribution in the field ofwomen's rights, gender issues,legal counselling and institutionalsupport to women and girls.Speaking at the occasion, thePresident of India, Shri PranabMukherjee said that ashousewives, mothers, teachers ofIndia's future generations,

Contd Page 6...

KARKI for StrongGram PanchayatL.P. Bureau, New DelhiSikkim Minister for Rural

Management and Developmentand Cooperation DepartmentsChandra Bahadur Karki is ardu-ously following the PoliticalEconomy of Decentralisation inSikkim : Strengthening GramPanchayat, Planning and Budget-ing. He hasasked Indo?Swiss Projectin Sikkim, and,the SwissAgency for De-velopment andCooperation atthe Swiss Em-bassy, NewDelhi, to pre-pare report for strengthening lo-cal governance and GramPanchayat planning and to pro-pose a methodology for VillageAction Plan Preparation, Imple-mentation, Maintenance andMonitoring. The Mission Teamwas led by Bernard Dafflon, Pro-fessor of Public Finance andLocal Governance at the Uni-versity of Fribourg, Switzerland.Dr Cherian Joseph was the Insti-tutional Expert and team member.Tashi W. Khangsarpa, the ProjectCoordinator ISPS functioned asthe facilitator. Without his pre-cious support, the interaction withthe participants in the meetings -thus the mission would havebeen impossible. Both playedalso an important role in the

realization of the Report, care-fully scrutinizing the facts ex-posed here, the expert's minutesof the various meetings and in-teractions in the field and the le-gal references. This improvedbeyond doubt the quality of thereport, though remaining errorsare mine. A number of individu-

als contributedto making thismission pos-sible and to en-suring its suc-cess. First, weexpress ourgratitude to MrA. Ganeriwala,Secretary to theGovernment of

Sikkim, Rural Management andDevelopment Department, forgiving us the vision and the di-rection of the Mission and for hisconstant support. The territorialinstitutional design in SikkimRecent History of Decentraliza-tion in India and Sikkim GramPanchayats and BACs visitedTerms of Reference by ThemePlanning at the GP level Submis-sion of the Annual Plan Implemen-tation Budgeting and AccountingPersonal discussions / Institutionsvisited: a Reminder The nature oflocal public expenditures Recom-mendations of the Second State Fi-nance Commission Planning at theGP level Submission of the An-nual Plan Implementation Budget-ing and Accounting.

L.P. Bureau, New Delhi Assam Panchayat & Rural

Development, Environment &Forest Minister RockybulHussain is ensuring full consoli-dation of Local Self Governmentwhich is already very strong in thestate. Assam has, at present 21districts under the Normal orGeneral Areas covered under PartIX of the Constitution and thefollowing districts under the SixthSchedule : (i) Bodoland Territo-rial Council (BTC), Kokrajhar,Chirang,Bagsha, Udalgiri (ii) HillAreas, Karbi Anglong, NorthCachar Hills, 1.1 Assam has avery strong historical backgroundof local self government. The vil-lages in Assam had a strongPanchayat in different names orforms since long past. Assam wasone of the pioneer States in Indiato enact Panchayat Act and estab-lish Panchayati Raj in the Statewhen the Assam Rural PanchayatAct, 1948 was passed. This Actwas amended and replaced by theAssam Panchayat Act, 1959, theAssam Panchayati Raj Act, 1972,

the Assam Panchayati Raj Act,1986 and finally the AssamPanchayat Act, 1994 which incor-porated the provisions of the 73rdAmendment Act, 1992 of theConstitution of India. The AssamPanchayat Act,1994 received theassent of the Governor on the22nd April 1994 and electionswere held in October 1996, forestablishing a three-tierPanchayati Raj system in theState at the village, intermediateand district level.

Rajneesh ShuklaLucknow: The celebrities of

silver screen are in the battlefield of Lok Sabha election in thevarious constituencies in thenorth India. But the big questionin this How they know about theproblems of common man.Everybody know after electionthey will flee and busy in theirown work in Bollywood. So howbeneficial they are for us if theycast vote to them.

There is the Star war goingin the Lok Sabha election innorth India. As very popularactor of silver screen ShatruganSinha from Bihar as a BJPcandidate from Patna. While aBahu of T.V screen Smriti Iranigetting a rousing welcome atAmethi of a slogan "Amethi kiRani" Smriti Irani. She iscontesting against Rahul Gandhion the ticket of Bhartiya JantaParty. Popularity known asdream girl in the Bollywood.Hema Malini is in the battle of

Lok Sabha from city of LordKrishna Mathura against JayantChaudhary of Lok Dal Party asa BJP Candidate.

Raj Babbar is in the fight ofGaziabad on the ticket ofCongress Party. Candidate JayaPrada a shining star of Southfilms is also from U.P. Bijnor inRashtriya Lok Dal ticket.Dancer-actor javed Jafferi haspilled against more seasonedpoliticians like Rajnath Singh of

BJP and Rita Bhahuguna Joshiof Congress. Every youngpolitico Abhishek Mishra the SPcandidate from Lucknow hasmore experience than him.Bhojpuri superstar RaviKishanhas gone back home topursue his political ambitionsfrom his home town Jaunpur ona congress ticket. Nagma whohas delivered few hints in Hindicinema in the 90s is in the battleof Lok Sabha elections at Meeruton the Congress Party ticket.

To counter Congress RLD's

pack of film stars in West UP, theBJP announced cinestar andparty's ex Raj Sabha memberHema Malini's candidature fromMathura while turncoats got themaximum share of party ticketsfrom east UP.

Her first attempt to forayinto direct election. Hema will bepitted against Rashtriya Lok Dalchief Chaudhary Ajit Singh's sonJayant Chaudhary from the Jatdominated Mathura. Jayant is

sitting MP from Mathura.Kirron Kher who playedthe role of mother of AmirKhan and ShahrukhKhan, Abhishek Bachan,Kajol, Aishwarya Rai andRani Mukerjee iscontesting Lok Sabhaelections against GulPanag an Aam Admi Partycandidate.

Despite being a partof Bollywood Kher

insists at Chandigarh. Kirronsaid I know Gul nut I haveneither met her in Mumbai noranywhere else. While 35 yearold former Miss India Gul Panagcongratulated Kher on gettingBJP ticket. She said Kirronthanked me but notcongratulated me on my AAPnomination. May be she feels Idon't need a luck.

I don't want a conversationwith her because I do not thinkabout her. My battle is to put thiscity on the world map.

Star War- Can FilmStar Shine India?