Newspaper Clippings on Panchayat Raj January 2003 -December 2003
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- Newspaper Clippings on Panchayat Raj January 2003 -December 2003
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Newspaper Clippings on
Panchayat Raj
January 2003 - December 2003
Compiled by: Grace Fernanda
Assistance: Krishna Karanth
Institute of Social Studies Trust
Bangalore
January 2004
r
This book is a compilation of select press clippings of
leading Bangalore edition English dailies namely
Deccan Herald, The Hindu, The New Indian Express
and The Times of India.
An attempt has been made here to touch upon
chronologically all themes related to Panchayat Raj.
It is hoped that this compilation will serve as a
useful resource and reference material for activists,
researchers and trainers working for Panchayat Raj.
I Train
in
t©
.
f g ■’(HE ‘modern training proI gramme for Panchayat
JL members’
started in
; •' November in 45 taluks of 18 dis
I tricts, is scheduled to go on till
May This phase-based training c
;, is aimed at making the members >
j fit to rule effectively Bangalore, w
) Dharwad, Mangalore, Udupi and £
. ~
• Belgaum are some of the major c
i
♦ districts where the Panchayat $
members are trained. The Rural w
Development and Panchayat Raj
department, in coordination -Q
with the Nazirsaab centre for o
Rural Development is imparting J
this training.
QWhat is the training about? q
‘Come and see. This is differ
ent,’ says a panchayat member. T
A training programme initiated in some
am enjoying this.’ She doesn’t
forget to add. Who doesn’t enjoy
districts seeks to empower panchayat t
tl dance, drama, and songs? This is
members and has the potential to
exactly what is taking place at
training
programme.
i the
strengthen the system, says B ARAVIND
Panchayat members are vil
i
I lagers
who use the folk medium were discussed in the training moot panchayat discusses the i•
including songs, drama, dance that is imparted in the local lan issue, passes a resolution and {
and other cultural forms to train guage.
arrives at a decision. Resource f
members.
Says Ramu Moolagi, a persons help in case doubts I
The programme also sought resource person at the Hubli arise.
i
to answer questions such as: training centre: T have written
According to me this is very v
Why decentralisation? What are some pf the folk songs which crucial point in training,’ says 4
the responsibilities of a pan explain the importance of the Parvati, a member from Hubli i
chayat? How should a panchayat panchayat, especially the impor taluk. All these years I had never A
work? What are the projects tance of women members.’
opened my mouth in the Grama 2
sanctioned by the government to
Another major aspect of the Sabha meeting. Through this I
the village panchayats? How training is the ‘moot panchayat’. moot panchayat, I learnt the.*
should panchayat members get Members who are being trained important role women members i
work done? How should a pan are given a chance to play differ play in the panchayat process,”'*^
chayat react to and solve the ent roles such as that of a mem adds Parvati.
local problems? What are the ber, president, opposition party,
In addition, educational |
responsibilities of women mem etc. They are asked to respond to movies and phone-in pro- J
bers? These and other issues mock social problems and the grammes, which are attended by ‘J
senior officials, are an integral J
part of the training. Members <
can clarify their doubts by calling
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Above and top right: Panchayat members participating in
plans to extend this programme J
to the remaining districts.
I
‘After May, the remaining dis- *
tricts will also be included in the f
training programme,” says an $
official.
!t
One has to wait to see, the£
effectiveness of the training pro-:i
gramme. The success of thisji
training programme will not!
only strengthen the Panchayats l
but will also go a long way imp
instilling confidence among peo-^
pie in the government.
5
the training programme
DECCAN HERALD
M 3 JW 2003
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TP chief" shot at Republic Day fete J
|
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By Our Staff Correspondent
3
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M
y
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H
■
■
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9
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1 BELLARY, JAN. 26. Surya- ,
scraped his arm. Gowda is
said to have confessed that I
he wanted to take revenge
against Suryanarayan for
allegedly dividing his family
and supporting his elder
brother. He managed to
come near the flag post
from the rear. People were
!l|’
saluting the National Flag..
After making a vain
attempt to attack
Suryanarayan with a
machete, the accused
suddenly brandished a
revolver and shot at him,
I narayan, Hospet Taluk
1 Panchayat President, died
1 after being shot at during
| the Republic Day function
a
■;. ( ,
■ ■'
•■/An
b on the Municipal Grounds
I at Hospet in Bellary District V.
| on Sunday. The incident
Lu took place when the
■.-y
National Anthem was being
sung after the hoisting of
' the Tricolour. Government
‘ officials and the public were a
: present.
The body of Suryanarayan being taken for post-mortem in
-^orc^gto anjyewimess
: This is for the first time
account. The incident
in the history of the district
VIMS Hospital in Bellary.
occurred suddenly, and was
and, perhaps, the State that
shocking and unfortunate,” an
an elected representative was being shot ; Bheema Reddy, Deputy
eyewitness said. Three bullets pierced
Superintendent of Police, Hospet,
at during the Republic Day function.
through the right armpit and one
nabbed the assailant, Chandre Gowda,
G.N. Shivamurthy, Assistant
through the abdomen of the victim.
,
who was once a close associate of
Commissioner, unfurled the National
Suryanarayan was rushed to the
Suryanarayan, immediately. Gowda
Flag. Several loud bangs were heard
allegedly 1UCU
fired OLA
six luuiiuj
rounds uuiu
from his
umuig
LL1C 1C11VUUU1I
U1C nauvncu
axicgcuiy
iuo
.;. Government hospital. As there were no
during the
rendition U1
of the
National
n’.medical
UlCUlCdl CApCILO
1
Anthem. Even before the crowd came to revolver from a range of less than 10
experts OJ1U
and piypei
proper 2
/. infrastructure there,
he
was
know that it was gunfire, Suryanarayan, feet. ' '
— k
----- being taken
to the Vijayanagar Institute of Medical
who was standing near the flag post,
Four bullets were pumped into the
Sciences (VIMS) Hospital when he died.
body of Suryanarayan, and the rest
collapsed. He blednrofusely.
■
I
dbccan herald
2 7 JAN
j Mahila Samakhya
Convention
‘Steps to ensure I 4I’c from-Feb. 3 |i
JAN. 31.JKs many astl
regular GP 1/ 1y BANGALORE,
300 women members of gram1|
in seven districts o0|
meets soon’ r *’■ panchayats
the State will participate in theh
BANGALORE, Jan 18 (DHNS)
. ^31
_.
-_-r-____
and’
____
Rural
Development
Panchayat Raj Minister M Y7,1
Ghorpade today said the govern/1
ment would take steps to ensure!'
that all gram panchayats held,
meetings at least once in three j
months. He was speaking after i
releasing the book /Pragmatic:.
Rural Development for-Poverty:'
Alleviation - A pioneering para-.'
digm’, authored by DrK A’Jalihal;
and Dr M Shivamurthy
>j
It Mahila Samakhya < .Convention^
? to be held here fron? February Sjj
5. • • 1147/
‘
|• to Hanumanth
Rao of the Mahi-j
la Samakhya Sangha, which has'
f
received funds from the UN for;
J' the convention, said the eventj was being ..held to empower, j
;| women. The convention would]
I be held at Maheswari BhavanJ
| Okalipuram. Details may be hacC1
J from Mr. .: Rao j on i ph|j
19845394473, or Nagina.on ph|j
7“’ ' o il
Jlu 670 8727.
HERALD
h 11F th
1 Panchayat
member’s
| wife burnt
B
Times News Network
ij Bangalore: A gram pan§ chayat member’s wife
d was burnt alive by his ri/
vals near, Nelamangala
A on Monday
u.
- Byla Murthy, panchay- (
A at member, had a dispute j
/ with Govindaiah over'al
4 piece of land in Doddaw,
J Banawara.
»'
J On Monday, Govinda-j
$iah,
his
associates, |
Lokesh and three others, |
| reportedly barged into
Byla Murthy’s house. On
3 riot finding him, they
'f- dragged his wife AmmaJ iah out of the house, i
A doused her with kerosene I
2 and set her ablaze, the pog lice said.
ft She died of burns.
I
re Her death sparked
3 protests in the village.
3 The Nelamangala police
^registered a case and
fl tightened security antici■pating trouble.
Villagers eat '
‘rat meat’ for
breakfast
Madurai: Drought and lack
of employment has forced
. people of Alagapuri, a remote
village in Sivaganga district, ;]
turn to “rat meat” for break
' fast,
though
panchayat!
sources claimed that a local I
community in the village re{
ularly eat it as “side dish.” i
■ Local panchayat president1
Subbulakshmi said a corr
munity living in the village
regularly eat “rat meat” and
for them “it is extra food o
side dish.” District Collector:
Santhosh Babu said all the
people were being provide
mid-day meals at the Vem-;
batur panchayat centre
However, many people fron
Alagapuri did not turn up at
the centre for the meals.
Though villagers have ap
proached officials for help,.
2 ^ i cu 4UUd.
2 i Jh.v zuud
4
CM warns inefficient officials
By Our Special Correspondent
day “Conference of Divisional Commis■
sioners, Deputy Commissioners, and
BANGALORE, JAN. 20. The Government will Chief Executive Officers of Zilla Panhereafter make the strictest possible scru- _ chayats” here on Monday, regretted a sort
tiny of the work of officials to “rest” those of detachment on the part of some offiincapable of translating its good intention cials and said the Government had taken
and policies into reality, the Chief Minis- a hard decision that a person, irrespective
ter, S.M.Krishna, has said.
of his position, who had outlived his utilMr. Krishna, who in;ui”tirnt<’ri a two-
i!
itv. he rested and in entrv made in his
C
confidential report. The Government had .
some constraints and constitutional difficulties in taking action, but nothing I
would make it move away from the atten- i
tion that it had bestowed on improving j
sectors such as housing, social welfare,
and rural development. A painful decision
was necessary' even if it became a drag on
the e-'mnm\-
Il I 'active trainlng.’and com-,
Ip'J. munication programme
ll 'launched for the elected repre- ‘
H sentatives of: gram panchayats
H in 'the State has evoked good
I response from the members.The
| ambitious programme initiated
| by the Abdul Nazir Sab -State
Ii.
’ ' of , Rural Development
‘
Institute
|1 (ANSSIRD),
Mysore,
in
November last year is entering
its third phase after the successI
/ ful completion of the first two
(I phases.The training programme -gj,...
I| has been the outcome of months
|li of coercive planning and prepa- i II; ration by the ANSSIRD team. ’’
I; Around 10,000 elected memII, bers from 1,310 gram papchayats
in 44 taluks of Karnataka will
take part in the interactive train
ing programme in five phases till
July, 2003. The ANSSIRD team;
and members will have constant,
interaction during .. the,, prcfy
gramme. '
'.
The first phase of the pro
gramme focussed on the history
, of Panchayat Raj .from, the
' Colonial Rule to the 73rd ■
Constitutional Amendment; and t K
HJ
on illiteracy and caste system.
l}l i The second phase stressed on,
i; ,’ education for equality'and
equality and equal'
equal, »•;
j 1 opportunity, particularly for,
M
i girls and women.The films, .
shown as part of tire training ■
| programme encouraged partici- K
pants to,narrate their experi-. E
ences as gram panchayat (GP)
R
members. The third phase of the
it
l
i programme is all set to be cov- . B
ered in eight transmissions of| i
two days each between March 3
ii
and 28, 2003. This phase consoli
dates the problems in the imple A unique interactive training programme
mentation of the anganwadi pro, ■
.
.
.
• grammes for child care.
for gram panchayat members
................
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£
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UM 1
111
Ik
J
Module for change^i
J
ceived as a one-time event, but as B
part of a longer process of |
change and Improvement in the
panchayat 1 system with the( W
active participation of all the ff•
gram panchayat members. ■ - |
Activities like cleaning vil- |
lage drains, planting trees in ?
schools and anganwadl centres, |
undertaking school and health ,
mapping, campaigning for com
post pits, etc, have been taken up
in between, the training pro
gramme.
The first phase of the training
programme has been completed
and a number of issues were fre
quently raised during- satellite
Thosewimost com
Uinteraction.
,
monly raised reflect the mood of
.
the
elected
representatives
and |
I'!
a
in the State aims at democratic
some others need to be addressed
novel combination of, modern
decentralisation through people’s
through administrative or leg
communication technology and
,
T
ouami/ad
islative action.Several issues
participatory trainingmethodol-^. participation in local planning. onANKAK relating
to decentralisation and
1I ogy.
two modules - trainbig
nm, It has
hnofwAmndniw.
training .r
BENNUR Outlines the programme
delegation of powers were raised
at the local centres facilitated by
during the interaction.
identified resource persons and
Excerpts:
‘
has been developed[
' through a programme transmit- with GP members is to create a Mundakka'
under
the
programme
for
the
* Even if tire GP takes up the
ted by satellite from a centre sit- groundswell for democratic
■«
mj
x
ouvcvuve
.
Department
of
Women
and.w-work
out
of
its
own
resources,
uated at ANSSIRD. The objective ;• decentralisation through peo^thaf^Srirain^g^uid 4 Pie's participation in local plan-’ Child Development The films the powers of counter signature
lie
with
the
executive
officer of
are
not
pre-scripted.
Instead
they
complement and supplement the Xning. Also,, the programme aims are not pre-scripted. 1
taluk panchayats. Hence, the
facilitation of the resource per- at prompting gram panchayat
B,
’1
> Si .S -
•
Il ®
v>
^i\
■;
XD
tn
ExspB ”’'swsssws' sKffliir.ss
..If
E I
inereceivmgveuu^vx^x-----------The
receiving centres of satel- --------------l00^ aI situations,
find solutions includes an artistic mix of work- beneficiaries of various schemes
■ lite communication are located-1'to their problems and enable- shop discussions individual identified in the gram sabhas
. .
.
—..
inrrlir thfl
nitorVIDWC and
nnd plays.
HlSIVQ Twelve
WP VP
have little or no significance as
in 1 ^‘tX'kTanchavatr'The . them to think. Interestingly, the interviews
filmsunder
underthe
theseries
seriesare
aretranstrans they are routinely changed at
titute aims
aims at ’ providing programme is centred on view-, films
institute
co >• i j
:
ing
films
derived
from
the
expe-J
mitted
in
in
four
four
phases
phases
and
and
higher
and make a mockr*
I equipment for functioning as riences of gram panchayat mem-I received at the district and taluk ery of levels
tlie concept of people's
r-i 1 ■
receiving centres in all taluk
stations.
The
system
developed,
participation
in local »!<>»»«"<»
planning
bers, discussing and thinking’ ' " ‘
panchayats in the State by mid , about what ^ey
J
with technical support
support from
from the
the ' and decentralisation.
they can*bring'ouT
can bring out, wnMechniral
ANSSIRD Director Anita - and considering lessons from Department of Space and the * The members also expressed R
Kail exolaSs that Se objeS ve their gram panchayats.
■ Indian •• Space
Research the need for a system of depart-K
^f^^the^^nteractive pro^rmnme I
Interactive
Organisation (ISRO), is used in a ments providing funds to the 0
Interactive programme
programme
of the. Intel active programme
Hejje
.way.video'’ and
Hejje'- .‘one
one-way-video
and 'two-way‘two-way- GPs to
' initiate local specific 0
The series
’ ’ ,-i
;'
; audio’’system. The centre has a works and activities.
g
>,■■
Gram
vyl
illll panchayat xucuxucxo
members «*«.
at uxv
the training t-*
programme
-e.studio "from where
*
anchor
1
per- * The members also complained
. (above and below); top: Inauguration of satellite training at
sons and
£-i panelists «■facilitate
—aid : that resolutions passed by the
bH )
‘ Nargund Taluk Panchayat
Ur>
I,
nJ,H
Dlr,nt
in Dharwad
district
training through live or pre GPs are not considered at the
recorded presentations, discus-, higher levels and by several
departments. A specific case was
sions and demonstrations.
These presentations and dis cited from Jolda in Uttara
cussions are transmitted to the, Kannada, district where the
j an earth sta Excise Department issued
satellite through
tion, which is linked to the stu- licenses for arrack shops despite
dio.The satellite relays signals resolutions adopted by the GP to
V
for reception and small satellite, reject applications for opening
■■
terminals relay them through, arrack shops. ,
i
There
are
government
TV monitors located at the train:.
‘— —*— "i districts and instructions to the ZPs that they,
could deduct KPTCL arrears (up
taluks.
Participants at the training to Rs 1 lakh) from the grants.
released to the GPs. Members
centres
can
seek
clarification
{
from the resource persons pres stated that the deduction at:
ent at the studio on an audio, source at the ZP level is against
channel/fax through telecom the principles of decenlralisa-,
RMitfWWJl
munication lines located at the tlon- ;
;
training centres. At the studio,
The institute hopes that aF
questions received from a train
ing centre are looped back on the training
„ ' and communication I
'hie intonsitv
audio channel of the TV signal ■, programme of" this
intensity will
will.
■ emanating from the studio so lead
1 ’’ to changes which will con-;
that the questions can be heard. tribute towards instilling a sense
' tlie
"
of confidence among GP mem-,
at all the training centres in
bers and help them in the overall
districts and taluks.
ANSSIRD
Additional planning, resource mobiliM'rfT-'
■'“rector H S Ashokan points out and development of village
.,^1 tlie-programme is not con‘ If- <
'J-. <i ' r
a S> H
u
gga
■
<
■..
MT'
g i'.
3
_ZT_
1
*3?,
^Katdoesgender
Village begs for living 1 equality
mean?
equality mean?
BYAshwani
Sharma
'•
■ .But if.
’s the exten|
nioharma
II that
mats
extend ' .
’
-.
.,
> .
vcertain^
’
-*ofhis literacy,r^t
’s certain
strap their
feet then
i
' zr. • V ?Mhls
Women
strap their
feet I • Women
‘
U1ei. '
jugate^them.
It demeans
Pratap Pur (Durg), Feb ■ -ly not a reflection of his«tightly to have tinv
a4 inferior, being weak in body
iSrJhumakl^ofPratap-^^
ahdfiri^ind
aii’d. v in 1 inind, curtails k
he?
7 rM '^^~>7$nie
Pur village is a sarpanch _ year, Jhumak received a
Sights, denie s her an identity
with a difference. He^is a/ special award for'his pan
to do Wittig .^i'and
/and aiifonon
autonomy'.Thus a woman
Dalit ;saipanch , in an ,up- v chayat for eliding ‘ untoiicll their minds
'
y
no freedom' of movemen
________
■.
no freedom of -thinking, no |
pe^dste ’ village, and 4ie ' hability. ^ 'His panchayad 4 b ■
'
freedom of action. In short, a F
begs for a living.
has also fixed its target^ By R Akhileshwari ~
■VV
woman is the prisoner all he •
T TT
That is gender equality? life. She is a slave, subjugated .
TThafisgendere.uali^
M^the pagers, and
VV S
both in body and in mind.
I
An enslaved person suffer. ,
;that was previously used . known to be more mteres-Lj we view it
context of
to keep pigs. Away from ted m amassing wealth,kequality?! asked a young girl from low self-esteem, lack of t
the mam village, it has no Ohumak has got .develop-} of i8 what gender equality confidence and dependence
power. Jhumak has no ass- ment works, worth severalj meant to her. “When I can walk These are interpreted by thv
man-controlled, man-domi- |
ured source of income on lakhs executed in the pan-ion the road at night without
mated society as natural or ir
family support, so he begs chayat without obviously 1 fearing a man will pounce on
herent traits of being a i
in nearby villages to sup//no* benefit to himself'..or jme,” she said. I asked the same woman. So a woman is sub- I
( port his wife and two mi- 'his family. Two houseless!question to a woman activist
jected to more control, mor
' nor children. If he finds families have’ got houseslTWhen a woman is safe in her subjugation, more suppre- |
himself busy with pancha- under the Indira Awas Yoj-ihome> when she does not have ssion. Any assertion by the wo
yat activities, Resham Bai ana even as he lives in'ajt0 fear 1116 return of her man is seen as a threat to th ’
substitutes him on the borrowed house. On Sun- [husband from work in the man’s position and his powe*. i
“job”. •
day, Durg Collector LC.P.I [evening... fear of being physi- All assertions, if not con- |
■■ As sarpanch, Jhumak is - Kesari promised ..to. get acally and sexually assaulted,” trolled, can lead to rebellic
expected to attend official . Jhumak '.a house /underj fehe said. This then is the re which in turn can weaken the I
functions,' and since he 'the Yojana. ' Thankful for ality: A woman is not safe from man’s hold. Even the smallest |
on the road. She is of assertion is snuffed out an
climbed to the post, he has being selected .as f???™
.ccrp?. .'Strangers
safe hi her home from men
. so we have been taught from i
learnt .to'sign his name in nch by the .village, he’says'
familiar to her. According to
to walk in public I
! Hindi on official, papers.
he has lots "of plans for it. ! the latest report of the Delhi j childhood
wjth head bowed down, not t
2 2_.t
*
police on crime against look at men in their eye, to !|
women, 90 per cent of rapes are f‘ laugh
teugh"softly
softly, even silently Any 1
a committed- by the victim’s show of strength, manifested „
■^relatives. .,
in walk, talk or thought is la- ;l
J Statistics paint a terrifying belled unfeminine. -r .
HZ FFR 7005 picture of how vulnerable
il
’LU uUvu (women are in all parts of the Empowering women
■ If: women in China gr 11
iworld. In India, a woman is
{(burnt alive or beaten to death or through thgjtorture of having
forced to commit suicide every their feet ■'bound ’ tightly to !|
Ac montr
oc 6500
J’six hnnrc
hours. As
many as
prevent them from growinf
~
and the woman will have ,
■women are killed every year for
{dowry A woman is raped every dainty, tiny, ‘feminine’ feet and I
147th minute.. Twenty out of wobble delicately instead c
jevery 100 married women are walk, women in the north- i
^beaten daily In the US, the eastern. States, pre taught to I
.
wx
.^birthplace
of^ xx.xxxxxxxvxxi,
feminism, xxxx
an our
as- speak in such low tones tha
founding number of women are
literally ’whisper. ■ We in |
pattered, about 3 to 4 million! Hyderabad grew up with the '
Yet only one in a 100 cases is re- rule that when in the company
•- ported. All over the world dis of men, girls always looked at |
crimination against unborn feet, either theirs or ours les+ ’
babies has resulted in 60 they think we are brazen ant ,
million
“missing”
girls. unfeminine! '
A woman is vulnerable, she
Whether in Canada or Banglastorm in the Assembly today. trate that she did not knowdesh, a majority of women is subject to attacks of all ,
DH News Service
*
— Independent
’ '
’
MLA
Dr how to deal with the killed are the victims of their kinds, from physical to sexual {
BHOPAL, Feb 17
Sunilam, who wanted the Panchayat
secretary’shusband/boyfriend/live-in to emotional and mental be
Unable to tolerate the unend matter discussed by the unending demands. The con-jPartner. “Battering at home cause she is powerless, has no ;
ing greed of the secretary of House immediately, was sus currence of both the secre-constitutes the most universal authority, and is perceived to »
her Panchayat, a tribal pended from the member tary - who is a governmentform of violence against be weak. She is vulnerable be
woman Sarpanch in Betul ship of the House for seven appointee
cause she is not equal to man ' |
and
thejwomen,” says the UN.
district of Madhya Pradesh days. He refused to relent
and because the mate-centred
SaKpanch is required MEndless subjugation
set herself ablaze after pour even after repeated admon
and maledetermined societal
ing kerosene on herself.
rules do not r
give
any recogishments from the Chair.
--------------------~-... ;
The^Sarpanch, Sukhiya Bai, “This incident is ^ympto- The secretary was demand- (?OU ?y S mtion or protection to women,
Hl? 11S „i -ey How to set right this imbalance
in her statement said that matic of the rot that has set ing the money for releasing^ PJL
^^on accordmg pf relationship? Two factors ! [
frustration made her decide in the Panchayat! Raj sys the payment of a well dug
the Panchavat "
‘ ■
it0
2001 Census- Yet they are are recognised world-wide as
to end her life. She had sold tem,” Dr Sunilam said.
off her buffalo to pay Rs
empowering women, that is ed- <
The lady, who sustained
ucation . and economic inde- i |
5000 to the Panchayat secre 80. percent burns and is ordered the'suspension of^
’■—pendence. -When 'the -women
tary - a sort of CEO of the admitted to the burns ward the panchayat' secretary
hie most abused, arg released from the shackles s
village Panchayat. But he of
r_the Bhopal Medical col- alsVhis arresf.on‘^e charge?/6^
.. lege
TheMost °f
of them have no say in
m of illiteracy and economic dede^ il
J
was demanding more.
lege hospital,
hospital, in
in her
her recordrecord- of
of ‘* abetting
abetting suicide.
suicide. Thef'
matter in their household.
------------- ,. pendence, , they
uxicy < will
win 1find
-Lilli
The incident kicked up a ed
ed statement
stafpmpnt told
tnlri a
a magismaoric'.. . accused
armcod is
ic absconding.
ah>cnr»Mr1ir»cr
- . I"
?ro?e’ freedom, l
d
:g?-sr.'flirii’FrftHr.hriiUraeAMiw
* V'4 rt "i- -*rr.- ‘r>jr »•
rty. They have no say m any de
. So what is gender equality? •
cisions. They have no control 'When the woman can think for .
over thefr/ bodies or _mmd. ]herself, take decisions fori
They have no power to take herself
]
and he'f'faimly, when^
? control of even a few houfSfso her
j
-contribution , is appre^
.there is no question of them ciated,
(
when she is respect^
having control over their
DECCAN HERALE
B 8 l-tb zoo3
4-
DECCAN HERALD
Sarpanch sets herself
ablaze over corruption
Th" government hasfe™n8 *e P00^
•
PM plans to hold all-party11
1 meeting on Women’s Bill ji
I
leaders, including Sonia Gandhi,
the leader of the Opposition in
NEW DELHI, Feb 15
the Lok Sabha, with whom she
Prime Minister Atal Behari discussed the Bill.
Vajpayee will convene, an all
She also met the Prime Min.
,
x_
=--------------party meet soon to build consen- ister, Vice-President Bhairon
sus on the long pending Singh Shekhawat, Lok Sabha
Women’s Reservation Bill which Speaker Manohar Joshi, Deputy
seeks to ensure 33 per cent reser- Lok Sabha Speaker P M Sayeed,
y
---- -/• of' the
vation for women in the Lok,. Deputy
Chairperson
Sabha and state assemblies.
~Rhiya
‘
■-■■--•
Sabha Dr Najma Hep■' Announcing this at .an in
in- tuhah and. leader of the Oppoformal meeting with ■reporters; sitior{ in the Rajya Sabha Mantwo days before the com- mohan Singh.
mencement of the Budget POSiTVE
RESPONSE:
Ms
Session of Parliament on Feb Swaraj told the reporters, “The
ruary 17, Parliamentary Affairs response was quite positive and
Minister Sushma Swaraj said Ms Gandhi_ told me that it was
the meeting was likely to be held the dream of her husband the
before March 8, International iate ‘Prime Minister Rajiv
Women’s Day
Gandhi to get the Bill passed.”
For better co-ordination beTo evolve consensus on the
tween the ruling coalition led by issue, Ms Swaraj is planning to
the Bharatiya Janata Party meet leaders like Mulayam
(BJP) and the Opposition Con Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party)
gress, Ms Swaraj has already and Laloo Prasad Yadav (RJD)
held meetings with several who have opposed the Bill in its
~
PH News Service
DECCAN HERALD
6 Kb 2003
present form and have stalled ‘
this legislation earlier. When I
asked whether the Bill would be i
passed this time since both the •
BJP and the Congress favour it, i
Ms Swaraj said, “Let us first r
evolve a consensus on the issue.” j «
On criticism within the BJP, ■
Ms Swaraj said, “Whether it is
the Congress or the BJP, once the |
party (BJP) takes its stand, indi- t •
xnrlnal
vidual rhniroc
choices nr
or nnininns
opinions do
do nnt
not j| !
matter.”
With the Ayodhya tangle
bouncing back, the Opposition
may demand discussion on the
issue, and Ms Swaraj said, “We
have never shied away debating
any issue.
A meeting of the Business
k
Advisory Committee of both the
Houses is scheduled on Feb 17.”
On whether the budget
session of Parliament will be a
stormy one, she said, “Par-.
liament is a forum for
Continued on Page 9
Women’s Bill
■ i
on February 28. To finalise the
Continued from Page 1
government business of the
iiscussions not for raising budget session, Ms Swaraj said
she had held a meeting with sec
storms.”
! The budget session will com- _retaries
______of_various ministries on J
imence on February 17 with . February 10 in which various
Presidential address by A P J items of legislative business
I Abdul Kalam and, after 39 sit- were divided into three catei tings, end on May 9. Parliament gOries depending on their readi- .
r|fi
is scheduled to.be in recess .from- ,ness, importance and priority.
The government will give pri- J
March 14 to April 6. / ..ku i < '
—o the
_3 ority to a Customs Tariff 1
. ms
Ms owoiaj
Swaraj ocaxva
said,,“During
first1 part of Jthe budget session Amendment Bill which seeks to |
there will be a total of 19 sittings replace an ordinance, the '
and in the second part which will Finance Bill 2003, the Speci 1 .
commence from April 7 there Group
(Amendment)
will be 20 sittings.” The session Bill, proxy voting, etc.
Ms Swaraj also said the
will be devoted to financial busi
ness relating to the Railway and Centre had no proposaT on the
recommendation of Justice
Union budgets for 2003-2004.
The Railway Budget will be Guman Mai Lodha, chairperson
presented by Railway Minister of National Commission on
! EVuZ^the^rsS;.- cattle, seeking a ban on cow.
! on February 24 immediately; slaughter. r^ommendation is
! ^Statoy^Union Budget Widely suppbrted by the saffron
wJTbe Resented by Union outfits and Hindu religious lead-
£
^Finqnce Minister Jaswant Singh
ersi,„„_^
_.
.r. • ,i;
. ■ paxichu ••
■
<:■*' UH zi&r.-i
,.
i.rd-1
•
•
.•“■ettin--
-
5
I
I
■■■ _'
2
\7'..
I Educate lier
• fp
: i
!
B ‘j®
“rGENDERT
.
X;//
,
■N
E'i.
women.
Alka Trivedi, one of the members of the
, family, is desperate every time she con
ceives, gets weaker and weaker, but it takes
the courage and guts of Shabana Azmi to
take her to the local clinic for a tubectomy.
The number of Indian women dying ev
ery year during or immediately after child-.
birth is higher than that of Europe put
together. Not surprising, since 80 per. cent
of them hardly ever sees a doctor.
One cannot ignore here the fact that Al
ka’s screen husband agrees with what the
two women had done behind his back: "It is
after all for the good of my wife,” he pacifies
a raving and ranting Nandita Das, his sis
ter-in-law in the story, who feels that it is a
sin to mess around with what god had
willed as a unique role for women.
In what appears paradoxical, Nandita’s
fictional husband undergoes vasectomy ‘
much to the chagrin of his wife who, de
spite her bookish education, seems out of
touch .with reality.
The moral here, do not always paint the
-■ : ■ n■ . man
black, and often a woman tends to be
■••awoman^
prstenemy:
—?
this little barb in a way that it does not jar, 1
and yet cannot be missed.
.
There are other striking features. Shaba- '
na’s screen husband is appalled at the veiy i
I Shyam Senegal's/Hari Shari”
thought that he might be responsible for his !
■ 1 wife not being able to beget a son. This is j
i suggests that one way of
something that most Indians are unaware i
of, with die result'that women continue to '
] alleviating the misery of Indian ■
,• be. harassed, brutalised . and eventually ; traumadsed.
•"
j women Is through education. ■
Senegal also weaves in the evil of marital
rape, an occurrence far more common than
Allow a girl to study, and
we would like to imagine. He conveys’
you have enlightened
.through Shabana the agony and torture of
loveless sex. ... .
. p
I
.a generation, writes
-In the final analysis, what is interesting,, j
:
even invigorating, was Senegal's message ’
. GAUTAMAN BHASKARAN.
J j on education, education of girls. Rajeshwari
; j Sachdev is barely 16, but the family plots to.;
' s
get her married to a much older man. No'
HYAM SENEGAL may not have Dealing with women’s world ... A scene from . school anymore, she is told, despite her
pioneered the Indian New Wave “Hart-Bharl" (above). Shyam Bengal (below). „’ZSries against this injustice. Shabana, her.
‘
mother in the narrative, is 'sympathetic to
in cinema. Surely, that credit
X’. ■
her ambition, which is to become a teacher
goes to Bengal’s Satyajit Ray and mika".
. One of his'latest works, .“Hari Shari", is and lead an economically independent life.5
III Ritwick Ghatak. A little later,
there were, of course, directors cinematically quite disappointing, coming Rajeshwari’s grandmother too is not quite;
, like Mrinal Sen and Kerala’s John Abraham. as it does from one who has been acknowl- 'in favour of pushing the girl into mindless:
< But, in the early 1970s, Senegal injected a edged as far more sensitive than the rest in /matrimony. But the rest of the khandan,
' ■
■. ”
want to get rid of Rajeshwari, they want the;
' dose of celluloid oxygen into Indian films, the flock, i
Yet, the film cannot be dismissed out-7 responsibility off their backs.
(’> !
’ which had grown melodramatic, exaggerat• ed, artificial and shallow. At least a good right; it must be considered for the issues '• However, in a turn of events, the girl gets;
that it throws up — all are not only highly ' back her schoolbag, her .freedom and,i many of them had.
! • Senegal’s foray into this medium came , relevant today, but also go beyond the spec- /. above all, the hope of a better, existence,
one community
’ “Hari Shari” ends on this ’positive, joyous
: with his 1973 “Ankur”. Its rural imagery —•. ificity of any
...
. or caste. Al.
-.rfocuses on a .large Muslim • note and ip india where 35 million children/
■ in direct contrast to the auteur’s earlier life though• Senegal
:; with sophisticated
- commercials usually agrarian
family, its trials and tribulations,
sophisticated-commercials
agrarian-family,
tribulations. -out of a total 227-milhon between five and
> made in antiseptic confines —- was a sue- - problems and prospects have a kind of uni- 14 years of age do not .go to school, Bdhe: > ■
j; cess, which egged him to create more such versality that is hard to miss. Wha^jappens
WhajJiappens . gal s picture evokes the right respdnses. In
ii --h — impressions.
--------- .-—
—»•’” and “Man- -’ Sr.
60
village
“Nishant
in tKot
that kif/ieiim
Muslim bnmo
home ran
can hann»n
happen in
in any
any fact,
,
...per cent of this 35 million are girls.
w
t.
’ than’’follow’ed.
. \
,other home tob.7^71 So, When Rajeshwari prances about with .
f However, it was "Bhumika” on the life of . Op^pfthefir^t
ie firkthings
’things:that
’tlut tlie
die movie talks ’-.her
. her. schoolbag, a smile writ large on her •
.. ’ i<’a. w&rainIS
1 a well known Marathi actress — brilliantly " about
w&minIS •reproductive rights: *' fzee,
face, “Hari Rho
Shari’’, despite its innumerable J
‘‘,have said it in so many •i-1 flaws, captures a certain radiance which j
• portrayed by the late Smita Patil — dtat will Senegal-tinay
BenegalMay qot
no^'have
go down in the annals of movie history as a frames^butAhMWS??
frames/butAheg^eitor indication that a'
a’ can emerge only out of a pertinent point
work of great art. Senegal made many'more key (td
explosi^^opula^on predica- Educate her, and transform this land of
i^filinsi but pot ope to equal or.sun)ass "Bhur„,.D^(^^wg^J^mi^e^e4iaQy^rmepXj)LB^uj^>aswt«^^u,K».i^tfttrii. '»
I
it
121 Mllk-W VUUUUJt UVJ U1U
fl 6 f
aaa
—q-— - — — ——
U
'
•’
»• '
‘
2003
the HINDU
6
aiocrii
_.l__
•*
^SUES
Jr
.
In a man s world
| HE conference hall at Mum’ bai’s Shanmukhananda Hall
‘. was overflowing and the pro■-gramme had to be shifted to
• ' the huge main auditorium,
auditorium.
■
,
— ' No one expected the Round
-a*.
: Table of Women Achievers discussing the
. i role of women for a developed India (Indi-.
'■[an
! an Women in 2020)
20201 to attract so
so■-many
’-mahv”r
jpeople. I
'
As distinguished women from different
* fields^ Sivasankari (novelist and human
ist), Capt. .Saudamini Deshmukh (India’s ■
! first woman commercial pilot, and curi rently deputy general manager of Indian
■ Airlines), Nawaz Modi, Professor, of PolitiI cal Sciencq and Civics in Mumbai yriiver! sity, Akhila Srinivas (Shriram Investments
■ Ltd., Chennai) and Satya Saran (Editor, Fe-_
i mina) discussed various topics, the audi- '
i
' ‘' ' i.'
\The changing roles and images
: of women in society were the
J focus of the Round Table of
Women Achievers, writes
1
iI H-1j
1 Ji
■
Q
. |'
'J'
V. GANGADHAR.
Juggling her multifarious roles ...
f ence was treated to exciting revelations on
"Women have~ a long way to go,” said ible now, she pointed out. “But there isj
tire working of the women’s mind. ~
' " who
’ > was disturbed
the still
a longo way
1 . The comments were hard hitting but Nawaz ’
Modi,
- -------------by
j -.w
----------..-j to
— go,
o-,” warned
..----------the
— writer.1
------- .
; more appealing were the personal refer- declining woman-man ratio. Even educat- Quoting instances about change in worn-]
’ ences and anecdotes. They began with the ed women misused science and technol- en’s image from rural life, Satya Saran par-,
ogy
get
rid of. the
female rated the story of a rural midwife.’ After.
issue of opportunities. When Sivasankari c
OJ to
— o
—.—
—- unwanted
successfully delivering the'child in an up-i
‘ began writing 35 years ago, readers be- foetus, she pointed out..
How essential was man in a woman's per caste family, the woman was given tea
.jlieyed that men normally wrote under a
•tfemale name, particularly on man-woman world? "For heaven’s sake, men .are not in a broken cup reserved for the lower
'relationships! “I had a hard time establish- our enemies,”, snapped Sivasankari. "We castes? But the newbom’s father protested
are not their competitors and many worn- against such treatment.
i ing my identity,” she explained.
Narrating the benefits derived by poor
!. Saudamini Deshmukh said she was en achieve success with the help and un[ warmly received in Indian Airlines and derstanding of their husbands, brothers women from the Shri Ram trust,'Akhila
. ..
Srinivas, said that more than 4,500 women'
' people were always helpful. Akhila Srini and fathers.”
For Saudamini Deshmukh, life would in 122 villages were freed from the clutch-1
vas, who joined Shriram Investments as
executive trainee found gender no prob be ideal when men and women were es of village moneylenders and settled in
lem in an environment conducive to equal partners. Akhila Srinivas explained profitable occupations. She regretted that
growth. As a woman, she had to balance that her success was due to help from her while the women worked hard and acquired a new image, most husbands, who},
her home demands with office work but husband and family.
For Satya Saran, being available to chil- had only seasonal jobs, wasted their time.]1
an understanding husband was immense
ly helpful. For Satya Saran, time manage dren was a must When her son returned “This picture will change only with educa-r
, . , . .
,
ment was crucial. Home and office affairs from school, he called her at the office and ^‘tion,” she said. .
Turning personal, Sivasankari urged|!
had to be compartmentalised. In the tradi was reassured by her voice. At the same
tional women’s job of teaching, Nawaz time, children must realise and adjust to women not to wallow in self-pity while j
Modi, often found she was expected to the fact that working mothers have a life of facing personal losses. "When my bus-;
- band died 18 years back, I felt lost and the >
play a low-key role. How important was their own. ,
Women’s image and roles were certain- family members added to my misery. But I y
■ self-confidence to a woman’s career? Siva
sankari pointed out even educated women ly changing in society. Nawaz Modi found found solace in writing and dealing with j] ■
withstood torture and ill treatment from more girls in all the university courses and the problems of juvenile junkies.” .>■!
their husbands. "Can poor women
women ever they did not drop out after marriage? The ... Finally, the women achieves described j
”.she girls had clear views on their fixture and what kept them going. For NawazModi if i
discover confidence in our society?
;
! x^xxx.vx
asked xxx.x.
and mentioned an incident where a - were usually way ahead of boys in per-^was
per- <>was the quest for excellence. Akhila
AkhUa Srinibe- -'•= fonnances.
er^od, p^oTwoman5osrone
poor woman lost one' childin
child in aa flood
flood beformances.
-• r
7
,a oy 'l- vas
vas said
said that^social
that social work
work and hher
associcause she was busy salvaging some left- , ’ Sivasankari,was happy that the tradi- ..ation with street children kept her going.
• , over rice without which the family would '3 tiopal imagefof widows was changing. The < As the women got up, an enthraUed audi-J
ILhave starvedJ
?r , .
7evils-of the ^yryygtgmwye moreyi^:.}}ence ch^d.riy^ _
6
2003^^ ^"’ / ’
.
,
T
■
The usual drill
Why seek consensus on women’s reservation
v- < bill when most parties support it?
c
Meelto discuss
women’s bill likely
....... ■
■
ieb
■■■
B
SSSWWlcOa®'1
rnpihe regular ritual that gets enacted before every session
1
I of Parliament is being gone through this time also —
■ :
- .,o.,
■
S
; JL the promise to introduce the women’s reservation bill
i,!
•-_
- _
; in ’the ..budget session :.that J begins/ this -week.^The
DELHI, FEB. 20. An all-party meeting to discuss the possibility of i t
Parliamentary Affairs Minister^ Mrs Sushma Swafaj, has an- new
a political consensus on a bill giving women a reserved quota of J
•
ku_- T _1, Sabha ^d/theCtAf«
i nounced that Pnme.Minister A B Vajpayee will.convene an ^“^7^
State Aceo^Klioc
Asserhbliesicislikplv
likelytntohp.
be ,
i all-party meeting to build a consensus on the provisions of
by
prime Minister on March 3;^ /h
|
the
long-pending bill. The
minister has
met the
Congress(I) ^.indicating
this here
today,
the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, ;>
uie lung-penunig
111c iiiniioiei
uao mci.
uic v/uiigiuoow
i KlnulCaiing mis
Here ID
1
president and Opposition leader Sonia Gandhi, who has sup- Sushma Swaraj, said this was a "tentative date”, which would be
ported the bill, and is planning to meet Mr Mulayam Singh .finalised after the Prime Minister’s return from the Non-Aligned
Mr T olnn Pracod Vadav whncp nartipe havA on- ®OVement
Summit.
C.vO
'
'
summit' 7..
Yadav and Mr
Laloo Prasad Yadav, whose parties have pp- Movement
•fThere
from ’the Government on
bn whether it
5 There was no indication from
j posed the bill in its present form. The question that immedi- would like to dilute the bill by lowering the quantum,of reservation ■ i
; ately arises is why the Government should be so keen to build
'
frbni 33 per. cent. All'that Ms'. Swaraj was willing to say ms that, if
an all-party consensus on the bill, while it has not cared much instead of allowing the bill to remain in cold storage, the effort
for it on various other issues. The BJP and the constituents of would
* be to see how a consensus
2....
-..u be arrived at for a smooth jl
could
.. . - ■
4
the National Democratic Alliance are outwardly supportive passage;^''- -7 7 "'X'.....
^e would like to take up the bill as it is, but a number of related
of the bill. The Congress®, which is the main Opposition issues
have’been raised, for example, the question of resection j
party, and the Left parties are for it. This would ensure a
three-fourths majority for the bill if it is introduced in
Doriknumt
And i+
ic almost
aimncf likp
all.nar+v rnnQPnqiiQ
js'beuiFsaid in’political circlesthat the Government might j
Parliament. And
it is
like an all-party
consensus bpbe
cause only a couple of parties like the Samajwadi Party, suggest 25 per cent reservation, to begin with. During the tenure of I
whose strength in Parliament is not much to write about, the URGovemmeht, the Samajwadi Party, which.had opposed the
bill/had indicatefthat it would be willing to consider a lower j
have openly expressed themselves against the bill.
A-:/’;;-’. .•/
:
This makes it clear that the search for consensus is only quantum.^.
J ater,'l9pembers shch^as Uma Bharati, from within the.BJP, and
an excuse to keep the bill in cold storage. In the last many ofcodrse the SP. demahdeii reservation for backward caste women |
years the provisions of the bill^which seeks to ensure 33 per
cent reservation for women in^Parliament and State legisla
tures, have been the subject of an informed and extensive
public debate. A number of parliamentary committees have
studied the bill. The present bill is a result of all these efforts.
• In case any changes are still needed, they can be introduced,
debated and incorporated in the bill when Parliament dis
cusses it. Then why should the Government insist that every
single party and every member of Parliament endorse the bill
before it is moved in Parliament? Unfortunately, the truth is
that the political parties, which are all male-dominated,’are new DELHI, FEB. 15. The new Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Sushm?
actually not very enthusiastic about the bill and are only pre Swaraj, today held out the hope of reviving the moribund Women’.
tending support for it. If the Government genuinely supports Reservation BUI. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee,’ is likely |
: the bill, it must introduce it and see who all are for it and who to convene yet another all-party meeting to try and evolve a con
sensus on the issue.
; ?'J '
i are against it.
,
In her first interaction with the media after taking charge,-MsJ
eccan her
Swaraj said she had discussed with the Leader of the Opposition ir
the Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi, the possibility of passing the BUI by a.
majority vote “if a consensus is not possible”. • ’
'
i
* ■.. The exchange of views took place during the courtesy call Mr
' Swaraj paid ph Ms. Gandhi after taking charge. She had al^o calleu*
’ bn the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Manmohan?
Singh.
'V-'5 "<< ; '
'I
:
. fe.The Women's Reservation BUI has been put in cold storage, ano.
fjevery now|and then the Government makes a feeble attempt, to,
have a discussion bnly to put it on the back burner oncq-its oppo
'.hehts raise their voice. Both the Congress and the Left pities have^
.Heeri demanding that the BUI be‘brought before Parliament fort
^discussion. Ms. Swaraj, who has met several leaders on the issue
Lmade it clear that she would discuss the BiU with its most vocal |
Mpbhents ^MulSiyam Singh Yadav, and RJD and BSP leaders —»
Sfto evdlve a consensus. She also denied moves to introduce a bill o
I cbvrslaughter in the current session of Parliament
/ , §
Sushma discusses D i
women’s bill with Sonia .
, ------ - —___ ""T
Atl
4 6 FEA 2003-1
I .- Her denial is significant as it comes a day after the BJP sought to *
i’4t '
-. .
t-
'■* » > si.
« i-tti.T"
*i
t comer the Congress by indicating its wjUingness to introduce sucl
legislation if the latter agreed to support it. The Minister said the|
, BUI did not figure at the meeting she had with the secretaries and *
i senior officers of various Ministries bn February 10 to finalise Go\
r '‘emment .business for fljetthree-month-long session. 3.
J
r* She clarified that the first part bf the budget, session would b,; introducein this session. The Government Was prepared to discus- 1 important issues'faised by, the .Opposition. X. '‘7'T ’r
; *'•' OnAyodhya, Ms/Swaraj said a meeting of the business advisory
committee of both Houses had been scheduled on the first day c
j the session.
■’
•
»f
I__
’i ^Decentralisation needed )
.
to protect rights’
’■ ■>
- ..-- - - ;
1
f
.I
BANGALORE, FEB. 14- L,£. Jain, former Indian Ambassador to South
Z Africa and formerjmember of th& Pltjfmirig Commission, said on
Friday that decentralisation in governance was necessary to pro-,
tect people’s rights and to overcome disparities in access to various
; benefits.
'•
' ..
...
'
Speaking at an interaction programme on “Cities of the 21st
i Century” organised by students of the International Honours Pro' gramme, Boston University, in ‘ collaboration with the Environ
ment Support Group here, Mr. Jain lamented the apathy of
successive governments to the needs of .the people. He said all
governments responded to the needs of the business class and
influential persons and ignored the underprivileged. Participants• at the programme brought to light the condition of slums in the :
• -City and the nonchalant attitude of bodies such <js BDA and BATF.
j
l' ~7
------ ----------------- ------------------- ;----- ^..f
‘
C"
...
By S.Annamalai
--
|
------- ---
§ i
—i
.
Ms.Mariammal, sought the help
of the,village elders.,
The panchayat, at a meeting
on
.. . . on January
January 2, decided
decided to
to
i*
Imadurai, FEB. 23. As Madurai and
foindigul Collectors prepare to
.. Z1
.I
freceive tomorrow the four
children rescued from bondage ” ||||l
in Nellore on Friday, non;
j
governmental organisations
?
Meanwhile, K. Kottaiyur.... . .
Jiave
''
residents’in a signed appeal to
>
.........woken up to possibilities
......
lof coordinating with local
(
Karuppu, pleaded for the
,
§
release of “their child”. The :•
f
fbodies in gathering information
fand effecting similar
appeal was followed up with
,
^•operations.
phone calls to him, but. -. <
«! The release of the children
Karuppu refused to release her.
f‘
! iwas made possible by village
Meanwhile, the managing ■ ^elders, and the panchayat of
trustee of the Littles Trust, T. R.
|
• Karadipatti, who looked beyond
Parvathavardini, sought tthe
.
their immediate concerns and
1 “(activated NGOs and
Sa Community Organisation' ! ’
s ^government agencies.
(SOCO) Trust,
Trust, which,
which, in
in turn,
him
\
(SOCO)
It was the desperauon
desperation or
of The four rescued child workers with members of the
1 1 Ii
Trust.
Socco Trust
Bonded Labour Abolition, P. W.
1 mviariammal,
sMariammal, the mother of 13\
S' i- .
’ Sathya, sold to bonded labour,
‘year-old
resolution to
to work
work for
for the
the rescue
rescue of
of
C. Davidar.
Davidar.
’
'
resolution
C.
’which
village
i h
hiCi made the S
lagie panchayat
Pafnchjy- at put
P
Sathya,
The
managing
trustee
of
the SOCO
- ut
Sathya, who
who had
had been
been sent
sent to
to Indukerpet
Indukerpet
The ...
managing
trustee
of the
SOCO
1 together ?
nlan for
'*•»_
.
ry
_Batcha, pointed out,
Trust, A.
Mahaboob
H
a wnrlrnnlo
workable plan
for fho
the rocmio
rescue
in Nellore district at the age of eight,
after
~
' 'operation.
i operation.
her father's death. She was promised Rs.
in his letter, that many children from the
;
J For the panchayat and the village
5000 and gold jewels. ’
southern.districts were languishing in
? elders, it was a question of rescuing one
one
But the owner of the sweetmeat shop,
Nellore sweetmeat shops.
.
5 of their own, while for the NGOs, the
mone_ and
Karuppu, did not pay any money
The death of the earning member and
? i initiative
opened
up
new
avenues
of
... refused to release Sathya, when
' parents’ separation were the reasons,
gcoordination with the local bodies.
—i ----i— her
j—
Ms.Mariammal,
wanted
daughter
besides unemployment and poverty, for
I'li i Following a request from Ms.
back after coming to know that she had
children being sent to northern States for
i ttllMariammal, the panchayat passed a
I.
jattained puberty. It was then that
paltry sums.
k
i' 81
7'.“s
Ji.''fiTol.
GOG®
CC\1 1 tVl Gm
enevnou
-
?
paowhayat coopGrMihra :
' .©
I
......
. .1
'•
-"/A...
for
7, G'
By Our Staff Reporter
£
i
____ 1
rJirtrnntr
1n
|
I
;
rr. n't
•'
— —■
................... ..
.
* J_______________ & .
DECCAr: HEILALD
•
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-
---------------
I
FLti ZDOa
-j
JSt •
i r^r
*
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■■
V-
f ,(’.i.'i"
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I
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___________
2nd February 2003 mon & women PQ r
S Wiiat
? is the trademark of a social
i worker? More often than not it’s
i his/her know-all attitude and
ideological platitudes. But, 64-year| oldiViji Srinivasan, is decidedly
i different. Her brand of social work
I involves a pragmatic approach to
situations, combined with a
‘ positive outlook.
.
[ This Patna-based lady was
r recently honoured with the
f SARDA Equal Opportunities
f Award, which acknowledges an
fisheries, khadi and village
‘fun’ books for people interested in
industries, handloom, handicraft, - development. She believes that fun
small animal and bird husbandry. • is the only anti-thesis to
It was during this time that she- “ depression. .Srinivasan wants the
made a positive difference in the
readers to derive pleasure while
number of women’s dairy
reading her books, rather than
cooperatives coming up in the
focus on only gaining information
programmes. “My experience has
taught me that the most important
thing for a woman is hot health or
education, but money or cash
income,” she says.
Srinivasan feels she’s lucky as all
the ‘men in her life’ — father,
What women want
W oc
If*
*«• 7
>' e'
w?4is
;L'
I individual creating equal
opportunities for women and the
economically weaker sections of
; society.
Srinivasan’s foray into social
J work started at a very young age.
I In 1962, she started working in the
field of women’s development in a
‘sites and services’ urban
) community development
I programme in Desia Nagar in the
north of Chennai. Till 1980, she
worked with various women’s
i groups at the grassroots level and
for a year, she was also a
consultant with UNICEF. From
, 1980 to 1986, she worked in The
, Ford Foundation’s New Delhi office
and developed a part of their '
• women’s programme, specially
working on women in eight key
economic sectors of the Indian
j economy — agriculture and
1 forestry, dairy sericulture,
Money empowers women
and makes them self-reliant.
WX'
\ And economic independence
is the only way to stave off
male oppression, believes
Viji Srinivasan.
Sudeshna Chatterjee
meets
the firebrand
./•t
social worker
from Bihar
a
from them.
At one
point,
Srinivasan
had plans of
becoming a
lecturer.
Armed with
a post
vC
graduate
country. “In those days, Dr
degree on Ancient Indian History
Verghese Kurien was the head of
and Sociology from the University
the National Dairy Development
of Calcutta and a six-month
Board (NDDB). To him, what
diploma on community training
mattered was productivity, not
from UK, she got a job at Stella
equity. But for me, it was a
Maris College, Chennai, in 1968.
different story. Here, women got up But, she quit within four years.
early in the morning, they bathed
Srinivasan explains, “That’s
the cow, fed them, looked after
because none of the good students
them when they were sick. They
in my MA class (social work)
collected fuel wood and fodder from eventually took up the profession.
long distances, cleaned up the
So, I realised that my teaching was;
cowshed, made cow dung cakes,
not getting me anywhere.”
milked the cow, kept the milk in
In 1988, she started Adithi, a
the container. Then, the man
rural women’s organisation in
carried it to the society and got to Bihar, with support from the Ford
keep the nioney. What happened to Foundation. And ever since, she
the woman? Isn’t she entitled to
has been residing in Pqtna, with
some money as well?”
her husband, who is a professional
Srinivasan has written six books photographer. Srinivasan’s group
on issues like feftiale-infanticide,
works for the upliftment of the
women’s social work experiences
marginalised section of women’s
etc. Interestingly, in the preface of
population, By coming up with
her books, she describes them as
several income generating
J
•j
1
I
husband and father-in-law — have
given her the required space and
support. Her mother and motherin-law too were feminists in their
own way. Perhaps that’s why she
could freely talk of women’s
oppression at a time when it was
not fashionable to do so.
She introduced women
empowerment programmes to
UNICEF when they were only
concerned about the girl child.
According to Srinivasan,
oppression is not limited to wife
beating alone. “It also means the
economic dependence of a wife on
her husband,” she says.
To enable rural women to
become financially independent,
Srinivasan has encouraged them
to take up sujuni work (quilted
embroidery). These creations are
then marketed to benefit the
workers. She has always believed
in marketing the traditional skills
of the people, rather than
thrusting some alien concepts
upon them.
Through her various projects
for women’s empowerment, Viji
Srinivasan is determined to make
her dream of self-reliant women
come true.
Times News Network J
I
2- ttb »
—
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w?-i
Id
U-4 ’
X f. v
. -i . ■ Ln '
. .-.v i r- •
f
r**
. .. c------------------- ;---------------------------- -------------- :------:
Minor unwed mothers to 1
be rehabilitated: ZP chief
,
_
.1
Chitradurga
ZP engineer
murdered
? i
PH News Service .
CHITRADURGA, Jan 23
A assistant engineer with the
Government Girls’ Balamandir must be permanently closed in | Chitradurga Zilla Panchayat,
They will be educated there and the area. District Women’s and ' Ravi (4 0) was murdered
KUSHALNAGAR, Jan 29
steps will be taken to protect Child Welfare Department ■ today. The incident occurred
The minor unwed mothers
Assistant Director M P Subbaj near Lakshmisagar.
ft belonging to the Girijan commu- their children, she said.
<Taluk
Scheduled —
Tribe
Far- Rao,
......
r- —
Rao,Remand
RemandHome
HomeInspector
InspectorBB . .
It is learnt that Siddarooh nity of Basavanahalli village
mers Association President J P D Ravindra and Madikeri Wom[ will be rehabilitated soon to Raju, who was also present, said en’s Congress General Secretary j dha, the son of a contractor,
met Mr Ravi at around 11 am
ensure they have a secure future, Girijan communities ought to
Damayanti and others were pres- f and asked Ravi to accompany
j! Zilla
ZiUa .-.ranuiidyai
rret
.Panchayat President
H B meet once in
three
months
to
di*
---------------- ------- -- dis
ent.^ Later, Mysore State Res- [ him to Lakshmisagar where
' Jayanima said here.'
cuss the problems they faced.
The president, who distrib- “Social ’ Welfare, Health and ource Centre resource person j work was on. The two left on
a bike.
and;District Saksharata Samiti
j uted foodgrains and clothes to
other
department
officials
sho- . Secretary Shamshuddin'yisited .
When they were coming
.,
.
.
--------j the families of these unwed uld visit these colonies to get to - ..theplaceanddiscussedtherenoback, two youths reportedly
mothers on behalf of the zilla know the truth. Police personnel vation of the Kaiika} Kendra. 1
intercepted them on NH 4 and
panchayat, said the minor girls too must visit these communi- Earlier,. State Girijah Welfare '
took Ravi away behind some
would be provided shelter either ties regularly,” he said.
Department Director Kunjappa , bushes where they swiped at
in the Mysore or the Udupi
He also said that arrack shops - visited the place. * . him with a razor several
times, killing him and later
abandoned the body.
DEC ’
Passers-by informed the
policq and the body was shift
ECCAN HERALD
ed to a hospital.
. It is learnt that Siddaroodha was also injured in the
scuffle but had fled.
'I
By M. Madan Mohan
the matter of granting conces
However, he.arrived at the
district hospital today after
HlLBL!l\JfN;2’The gram sahhas in sions for minor minerals and
j scheduled and non-scheduled work out modalities for comnoon for -treatment and was
:■ areas will have a say in the mat- mumty development in mining
^arrested.
___
ter of granting Vo^ceXX oVdXSX
faced^ S
minor minerals if the renort of OI.?'spIaced People.
A 10-ner ce,1 communities.
jPshoS
e5 cent r°yalty money ! 5,000 GP offices
Hhe Task Force constituted by is to teTacet fo6
earmarlfed i to be computerised
I ■ # nXhslt FmPcemJnnded' tl
•b®fOre S'
*S™SS“>n5 f°r creatin8 a ‘
-®hhaiTi“®hip XJ£sdhrM£ KeS
community development.
f!
indent
I
Among other things, the Task By Our Staff Correspondent
hra, Additio^al^Secreu^
'
y( hra,
Additional Secretary, Zas
was
J, ?.Task Fo^ce has prepared rorce has recommendpd thot-rt.
nandan,
I
< constituted
constituted in
in September
September last
last.
NThe Task Force was asTed to
t0 be f°,loWed for
mment, hjj 8
yat Raj L I
T amine and make recommenda- the PESA
^er
• I tions to bring in changes in the the StaV- ’ d haS Said that
it, said
|
J] Panchayats Extension to the consider /ov?mments may
planned a |
Scheduled Area Act, 1996 tPF m. i fadoption, of similar economvshould ho™*7“’ “‘X iuw vouipuiense au o,uuu0 gram :V 5
tate at a £ ?
1 *
■J Act, 1957 (MMDR) toXoS
The.S,ates have been asked to otherXiSXr'l °ffiCeS
? j Addressin
R an
Addressing
anAdministrative
Administrative
strative ,] 8
for effective involvement of
X Pancha>'at A“ “d
XdecS o?h^'
P^elopment Training Camp,
J panchayats in erantm ™ "JX ?S0 the. State Minor Minerals mining;SX ,'’?POSed'-'~8a?used
,Se<i by
Abdul Nazeer
Na^r Sab
Sab 1
by Abdul
y panchayats in granting concesConcessions Rules for
Rural Development Organisa- 1
j sions for minor minerals.
Xeringfe LUbliC,neetin8Ofthe8r"a jtion, district and taluk pan- T
iTh,e Tas^ Force was also the guidelines empc-„\.tlA UIC
chayats at Arkalgud recently, he L
asked to prepare guidelines for pancnayat raj institutions in the
said the idea of computerising ’f
j minerals and for commTmi^ for.minor minerals in scheduled Only itfXn.ton T be final- '
gram panchayats shouId be
PH News Service
Grfloi Scibhas may have
concessions for minor minerals I
3 0 JAN Z(/<
s’fisswj'Si
iceTjll'
rfced (E I
K"=; fc ftsrSS
Is
XX'emXd H’d7,"a'S
n°n'SChedU,ed grW>a4XST^Statea,a
tI
N»»1 •SiSofSiftaK'S Eh*’“ ■■ i" wpi
111
(Jkn.
t0 fet h Rs 200 CTore
'enfire
“•4“ed “
's* "■ 2“
4 era! Advisory Council at its «
meetmg held in September rec- for minor'
t ommended that the process of’ mad™
democratic
decentralisation can be done by ameh&n'p’the irfina
—h hoilding stones, or-;
J was required for all States to ac MMDR Act and alsMi dealing^' 'should
clay’ etcflt
tively associate and involve with majot.minerals’aisc>
S be notified from time J
■
•Ike
Task
Force
h^recom-'
XnX^
people at the panchayat-level in
•«
3 - j/uj zuw
DECCAN HERALD
ss?”" s •■•m™
Sf „K; 4 ”-“™
--------
J
™*7oi‘r n
ir11' ^Knuuanaan said the|B»
model followed by Mad- »new taxation policy was expect- h’
adesh whom
DECCAN HERALD
SL”'
^ZJAN ZuzWcf
-
II
I
response from GPs
■ to water project
I Gram Pradhans
dlccan herald Iseek Magsaysay
1
1 winner’s arrest 1
By B.S. Ramesh
f
tricts. When the KRWSSA sent details,
—, more
than 750 gram panchayats evinced interest in
• ■ BANGALORE, JAN. 24. The Karnataka Rural Water them.
[The local gram pradhans u? Supply and Sanitation Project, assisted by the
In view of the enthusiastic response, the
'Hardoi have criticised the ’I World Bank, to be taken up in 11 districts in agency has decided to implement it in more
’Magsaysay
award
winner? North Karnataka at a cost of over Rs.1,000 than 270 gram panchayats^Besides, it will take
------- *--------*- -1 an f
................ response up the
........................................
Sandeep Pandey and demanded' crores,
has
received
enthusiastic
project in the three more districts
shortly.
a the arrest of social worker froms from gram panchayats. •'
The KRWSSA Director, Raj Kamal,t says plans
J*Lucknow , whose associates. r '’The project, which will be implemented in
; four phases over six years, will cover the dry for the water and sanitation project are almost
Shave been observing 'fast unto I;. districts of Uttara Kannada, Belgaum, Bijapur, ready, and work will be taken up in the gram
h death' to protest against corrupt \ Bagalkot, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Bidar, Gul- panchayats.
■
jq tion in development pro- |! barga, Raichur, and Koppal. ■ t(
He says the agency will contribute about 90
grammes.
The Karnataka Rural Water Siipply and San- per cent of the project cost and the gram panvxwn. picuuu^u
Ration Agency (KRWSSA), under.the
under-the Rural De- chayats will have to provide the balance.
Bharavan block
pramukh itation
The agency will cooperate with them in pre'4 Ram Singh Tomar alleged that J velopment and Panchayat Raj Department, is
p Mr Pandey and others were ) entrusted with the task of providing safe water paring and implementing the project, he adds.
and
the
Once
the project is
commissioned, it will be
h protesting just to malign the • to the inhabitants of t the* 11 districts,
____ .
.
’
' '.
.«
«
Rs.l,035.37-crorc project envisages water sup- up to the gram panchayats to maintain and opimage of gram pradhans and . ply schemes in 2,322
o qqo gram panchayats.
erate the• systems.
J
_ they should be given a suitable [ Besides, under the project, roads and streets
m
_________ ____
Since the tpeople
themselves
will________
maintain
<i_________
mi _
. reply for their act.
j in villages will be paved, storm water drains the systems, it is hoped that they
will
evince
I
They gram pradhans from all i constructed, compost yards provided, manure more interest.
• .
.
.
_____________
1 the Ambedkar villages, who as-l Pits removed from dwelling areas, smokeless
The Jal Nirmal Project, a brainchild of the
I sembled at the Hardoi Gandhi' < “chu,as” and biogas faciUty given to all house- ’ Chief Minister, S.M.Krishna, is expected to
er
700 gram panchayats (2,100
the holds’ and pubIic and household toilets built.
(2,133 villages) and |
Bhavan auditorium, urged
i
ance to
tn 400 I^mhani
___ _
p On its part, the agency is implementing the provide assistance
Lambani tandas and
district magistrate to arrest
Mr
___ ____ , Jal Nirmal Project, and panchayat raj institu- Siddi habitations in Uttara Kannada.
Pandey.
.-rr7T7..
. niHinnj
be involved in planning, implementMore than 40 lakh people living in villages !
S-.
jng operating, maintaining, and monitoring it ’ are likely to benefit from the project.
f
< Since the Jal Nirmal Project demands a parA World Bank team, which toured the State z
. « ,
ticipatory approach, the KRWSSA has involved few days ago, reviewed the progress of the proJ Mi J
•;J gram panchayats in'eight of the 11 districts Ject and expressed satisfaction.
u
l where the project is being taken up.
,!
The team said the project could be extended
P aT
i1 llie Pr°iect’ in 1116 first pbase> was to be im- to all districts if it was successful in the 11 dis-
I 'L JAN
[LUCKNOW, Jan 21 (UNI)
i
o r
/ J
J;
■DECCAN
ii
!?( IVlore ZPmembeSiiSescoin invoTve
uuneuuon '.I.
in leYciiue
revenue collection
allege large-scale yr 111
irregularities
course or the diploma course in If
any branch. The candidat" '■
bangalore, jan. 2. In tune with should have a good financi.
the reforms initiated by the background and be ready to L
school buildings in Kakolu.f Government in the power sec- provide Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh '
Chikkabanavara, Malleswaram. | f tor, the Bangalore Electricity bank guarantee, Mr. Humitaba
JC Nagar and Hessarghatta also . Supply Company Limited (Be- said.
A committee comprisingTepcame to fight at the meeting. The q■■ scorn) has decided to involve
members alleged that while over j \ ’gram panchayats of Tiptur, De- resentatives of Bescom and th
panchayat concerned '-"woulu
Rs 9 lakh had been released in '■ ‘ vanahalli, and Chintamani ta- pancnayat
would |
in revenue collection. *'' ;
' the the ’selection
Lf G'"'
;make
of GVPs.■!
March last year, repairs were ? ?' luks
:
Addressing
presspersons There
would
be
written
test
carried out overnight under the i ‘i
T'hcrc
written*test Bn " ’
i.._..L„ for the candidates.
EO’s supervision recently, only t : here on Thursday, the Minister interview
...
of
State
for
Energy,
Basavaraj
The
chosen
candidates
-----------j would
after they sought progress p1'
S • Patil Humnabad, said Bescom be
1 provided framing?. ? '
reports.
would rope in youngsters to im
They would get an ill1 entiw
EDN FOR ALL: - Another con
prove commercial operations in fee up to a maximum of 10 per I
tentious issue that members dis
rural areas.
<_ cent • of the revenue collected bv '
cussed was the office of the
The scheme would be imple- them,
them. .
.
Deputy Director of . Public
mented on an experimental ba-, , The ?Konagatta Gram Pan- If
Instructions (DDPI) passing I) 'sis
to
increase
revenue”chayat
4’
in
Doddaballabur
taluk r
orders to start . the Central j j
collection and also to provide and the Karahally Grain Pan
scheme of ‘Sarva . Shikshaa T‘ ____
,
efficient 'service to customers, chayat in Devanahalli taluk had li
Abhiyaan’ (education for all) in J, the minister said.'
begun the exercise in revenue L
70 schools out of’the sanctioned
Bescom proposed to engage collection as a pilot project ii
900 schools?' ’
!’Gram ■ Vidyuth
P
Pratinidhis
ro*’’'r’!dhis November 2002 and the results is
ZP member K M-uNagaraju
/.;(GVPs)
(GVPs) and applications were had been enc
’<
’
-Mr.
- li
encouraging,
sought to know why cheques'had i i’ being
bcmg invited to
iu recruit
icuiuii one
uuc GVP
uvr Humnabad said.
saio.
. ’
been issued *without consulting
eacfi
gram panchayat ii
in» uiu
the
To
question un
on power
power uues,
dues,
,1 for _
— c.-xx.
x u aa queaiiuii
A111 It Tn
___sum
__ _ ___
_j
the CEO 0'r : the- Standing
J tnrPP
three ttaluks.
In Chintamam ta- the minister said __
the
pend;
j
luk,
there
are
34
GPs
and
375
ing
from
owners
of
irrigation
Committe on Education.’ He fur
villages, in Devanahalli taluk 21 pumpsets was Rs. 450 crore.
ther sought a reply on why most
of these 70 schools were in J GPs and 205 villages, and in Tip- Many post’s of meter reader ||
tur taluk 26 GPs and 352 were vacant and steps would be ’ ‘
Bangalore City limits. '' ' • . ?
villages.
taken to fill them ( soon, he
A DDPI official said orders to
The modalities for imple- added. , . " .
.." Il
this effect were passed after a
menting
the
scheme
had
been
On the power scenario,-Mr? I 1
meeting with the committee
finalised
and
the
company
Humnabad
said
the
demand
chairman C Nagaraju and the
would invite applications soon, was for 98 million units and the i ?
education minister. When ZP
he said.
KPTCL was able to supply only I ;
President Ms Uma Devi too
f The eligibility criteria is that 85 million units per day.
claimed to have no knowledge of
the candidate should be a resiNearly 60 per cent of the de- i
the matter, the CEO directed . I dent of the respective GPs and mand was being met from hy- /
withholding the present order. ’
in the 18-30 age group as on Ja- dro power stations and the rest
By Our Special Correspondent
i
PH News Service
p
11
Members of’ the Bangalore
Urban Zilla Panchayat, cutting
across party affiliations, on
Saturday alleged that officials of
Bangalore North Taluk -were
involved in large-scale irregular
ities in repair of school build
ings and sanctioning funds to
ii beneficiaries under the Indira
Awas Yojana (IAY) housing
4*1 scheme.
The Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of the ZP told the meeting
that he would examine the matter and write to the Government
to
initiate suitable action
C!
against the guilty.
Raising the issue at the gener
al body meeting of the Panchayat on Saturday, Mr S R Vishwanath (BJP) alleged that some
people have been named benefi
ciaries under all three..housing
schemes — Ambedkar, Ashraya
and IAY housing schemes.
.'>• While the executive officer
(EO) S Merchant claimed that
such irregularities had not
taken place and that no records
were available in this regard, ZP
Chief Planning Officer (CPO)
Shankarappa admitted that the
EO's office denied him access to
records and that beneficiaries
| had received money. CEO S
d
nrr'r'
UhCCAN HERALD
»6 JAN ZBUi
u
li
12-
BANGALORE, Jan 5
1
Five masked men JdUpahchayat official i
I Express News Service
In fact, the hired killers atesh. Rajesh had left the ual day programme of a
After the speeches were
}
searched for Rajesh, a close
: venue a little early. local private high school over, Venkatesh and T-av• Shimoga, Feb ;25: People relative of Venkatesh and On the fateful day, Venka-, along with local . MLA man stayed back to see the
in Tirthahalli taluk were Arehali Gram Panchayattesh had come to Kammar-Araga Jnanendra and ZP cultural programmes.
' shocked on Monday night member, after killing Venk- adi to participate in the arm- member D.Laxman. ' . ’ . However, Venkatesh exc1 when they heard the news ______________ • ' '
________
'' • ■
______ used himself to make a teleof the brutal killing of taluk
<
—a
~l nhnnn
phone rail
call from
from thn
the high
.• panchayat . vice-president
school building which was
J and Tirthahalli taluk Youth
just 100 m away.
Tirthahalli, Feb 25: Life in this Malnad town came to a stand still following a bandh
Congress president Hosalli
On his way to the school,
called by the local Congress unit on Tuesday'to condemn the brutal killing ofTirthaha3 Venkatesh. .
five masked men Attacked
Hi Taluk Panchaya’f vice-president Hosalli.Venkatesh.'
,. .
> '.
;
Just a month ago, Forest
him with knives and taluyHi_s;body, which was brought to Tirthahalli on Tuesday morning, was kept at the Tir ars. They even slashed his ’
Department officials had
thahalli Taluk Panchayat office premises for sometime before it was taken to Hosalli
stumbled upon ganja
head.
grown on vast areas of priv for the funeral. Speaking at a public meeting held at the TP .office premises, MLA
While the miscreants
ate land in Tirthahalli . Araga Jnanendra demanded that the culprits be arrested at the earliest Regarding the
were leaving, they saw Vendemand for a CoD inquiry, Jnanendra said the State police was capable of handling the
taluk.
\
katesh moving his leg. Pres- i
matter. He asked the police to form a separate team to investigate the case.. Venkatesh’s
Sources said Venkatesh’s
uming that he was still •
funeral
was
held
at
Hosalli,
his
native
village
on
Tuesday
evening.
relatives were suspected to
alive, they returned and str
Thousands
of
people
lined
up
on
either
sides'
of
the
road
to
pay
homage
as
the
body
: be involved in this.
uck him with a large, boul- ,
was
carried
through
the
village,
‘
y
■
People believe that smug
. der on his head. ?
While
the
body
was
being
brought
.in
a
procession,
some
miscreants
pelted
stones
on
glers in Koppa and TirthahAfter making a futile eff- J
a house located on the way. Barring this, there were no untowa/d incidents. • ENS
■ Silli may have been responsort to find Rajesh, the mur-1
j)ble for Venkatesh’s killing.
Bandh paralyses life in Tirthahalli
rL
DECCAN HERALD
< FFR 2003
rPanchayat issues ‘fatwa’ 5
nn
in UP
I IP villaap
on TV
TV in
village *
j
PH News Service
• JOGIYAKHEDA (Muzzafarnagarfc Feb 21
Is the television responsible for social
evils? In this non-descript predominant
ly Muslim town in Muzzafarnagar dis< trict, Uttar Pradesh, the village panchayat has found that the youth are
largely glued to TVs, radios and other
entertainment which prevent them
from offering namaz at the mosque.
In a Taliban-type “farman” (order),
the village elders have asked the com
■i munity members to throw away TVs,
radio, tape recorders et al... warning
that the panchayat has the right to
6 seize or smash these “evil” things.
|i
The panchayat also approached the
a > local Mufti, who in turn issued a
1 “fatwa” in this regard. A large number
of TVs, radios and tape-recorders have ...
already been seized from several villagers by the village panchayat There
are reports that some TV sets have
already been smashed and thrown into <
the nearby canal.
-•
There is virtually an uncanny reign
of terror prevailing in the village.
■
Defending the move, the village head y
Afsar Ali said that the panchayat has (
no other option but to issue a “farman”
to seize things which spread evil in the.
community. “We have found that the
youth are not coming to the mosque ;
during namaz time. This is largely due.
to the TV and other social evils which
make young people sick,” Ali told
Deccan Herald. The panchayat will also
sale
sets *'
monitor the s'*'
1'' of TVs and radio co+c
................
e.
in
the village.
DECCAN HERALD
^.2 FEB
t
I
vi.
IS
j Empower panchayat. II!:
j
raj bodies or
.9,ui-vil,a9e’
1
I By Our Special Correspondent
:nt 2002-2003. Without giwng fi
I
- V
J----- _ I _
Bill to check
atrocities against
women likely
B
PTB. 23. A novel move/ejiient, ‘Quit the village, the vilfc’
j'• •
S—9''1 —
age administration is ours, is
likely to
be launched
Iikelv
tn he
lannnhed in the
State next year, if the Union and
do ----------not take
; State governments
jsteps to empower panchayat raj
^Phl0,n.L^Ll“±a{y.,next;
(Which marks the completion of
J a decade of providing Constitupanchayat
_ ■
_
.e
_—__——-------------- ■■■
■'
. ______ PH News Service______
3ANGALORE, Feb 22
comprehensive bill to check
atrocities against women includ; ing domestic violence, dowry
* harassment and sexual harass, ment at workplaces is likely to be
j. placed
before
the
State
' Legislature in the ensuing ses' sion
commencing
from
J February 27 or in the next ses; sion, Women and Child Welfare
Minister Motamma said here
; today
The draft is being readied.
‘We want to severely penalise
people who indulge in atrocities
; against women. The legislation
would encompass all sorts of
• crime against women”, she said.
Ms Motamma said the bill would
: be finalised soon.
ONLINE LOTTERY MENACE:
• Replying to a query on online lot; tery ruining the lives of middleclass people and those in rural
ip: areas, the minister said that she
would convey to Chief Minister
•
nancial powers, the Government was tacitly encouraging a
parallel system with more allocations being made to the
j
.i '
MLAs’ Local Area Development
Fund.
1
'- . ■ ■
|
The vedike wanted the allocation to panchayats to be in““^1
J*- 20 lakh ta the
quoted a report of the
group of the Union
' k^tutS5 t0 :panchavat working
Government on rural develop
- :A.warning to this effect was ment which stated that while
S M Krishna, the apprehensions sounded .by the Gram Ganraj, Rs. 31,000 crore was being spent
expressed by women’s groups •Vedike, a State-level oq■ganisa- by the Centre on rural develop“real" transregarding the online lottery Bon fighting
„ for the
_______
tror.0 ment, the State governments
menace.‘If Sfhree Shakti groups •'r-^er .of *power
people
,to
, the t—
r-~ as •jp'-nu
spent xko
Rs.. tu.uuu
40,000 uiuie.
crore. me
Theveveor other women’s organisations envisaged
m
Karnataka'ss snare
share
r
x the constitutional dike said that i\iuiiaiaK.a
ampnnmpnt
Tha
j.
_r
.i_
.
.
.
.
...
in rural areas oppose online lot amendment. The warning is of the Central funds should be
tery, we will support them’, she contained in separate letter to directiy"'’^^^^* the^nan; the Chief Minister, S.M.Krishna, chayats.
added.
It has urged the Chief MinisNOMINATED TO WOMEN’S and the . Prime Minister, A.B.
ter to prevail upon the Centre to
COMMISSION: Five persons, • vajpayee. '
u - <
including advocate Hemalath^e™^^
ts- release the.funds directly to the
Minister we
/ere panchayats. • . .
Mahishi, Ms Gayathri 1frnrk
___ ter and die
conIn the letter to the Prime Min
Bangalore Rural district, hav^p'written
cj......... after a three-day co
been nominated to the State ,C^e
Davangere.
said Uidi
that acuon
action
...
,
‘ister^
“‘'-M the
u.v vedike
kcuirc a<uu
J/ie
vedrke
has
drawn
the
atshould
be initiated on the letter
Women’s Commission.
/
UCRNS^kpROSyrUTION: Ms 'XS theViflmnved£ written by the then Union Min
ister for Rural Development,
|
Motamma said that she was
3•
ovooivu ui me legislature Babagouda Patil, on strength
m fovniir* nF fHn oncrrrQo+inn * r\F r__
i.
m
favour of the suggestion ' of for amending
the Karnataka
ening and empowering the pan• Karnataka'
State
Women’s Panchayat Act based on the; recCommission
Chairperson ommendations of. a task foj
jrce.
____ —
.wm.cwx-uawiuu
Jhe
Panchayat
ExtensionLUto
Philomina Peris for licensing
p-- - j it pointed __
For. example,
out Scheduled Areas-—
(PESA) ..a
Act
prostitution in the State to, that creation of the institutTon
should be implemented in nonensure various facilities,include 'of ombudsman recommended scheduled areas to give full coning health care to them. Theyj ;by the task force for checking trol to the panchayats on the
(sex workers) can have access tc .' corruption in PR institutions
- —natural
ircLUiol resources. The Prime
health care even otherwise, she had been given ^go-by, .and Minister has been requested to
take“steps
to^Vlememlhe recsaid, adding: “I personally feef^powers taken
— . away from elected
~—V'*
oivpo iu uiiuiciueui uie recthere is no necessity for licensl grepresentauves
i.jpresentatives and eiven
given to of- ommendations of the standing
TSe vedike
demanded
that committee °
n the
ing prostitution in the State’.
uk'-j
■ .
off Parliament
Parliament °
on
•T2e,1 Ke<hkre deJmand.e<? to31 aboUtion of District Rural DeuX
t~aJ°ln} ie’ veloPment Agencies, which had
lect committee. It reminded the not been done by many State
l
Chief
Minister
how
die Minister governments..;:.,:^
foe Rucal Developmek-^
called tor • imp.eU
\
■
YTT___
1
z->
•
Fl-
•
ilUO tUCIVVH LL1C dL“
I
I
DECCA.N HEBA D
l 3 FEB 2003
Panchayat Raj^M.Y.Ghorpade,
had
pr<orn•" failed to redeem the
~-r'
ise of higher allocations to gram
paS T'
•'
mentation of the recommendations of the Eleventh Finahce
Commission with regard to de-
volution of financial
powers
Mr. Ghorpade, it was stated, and added that the Union
Govmade a promise in this regard in emment should discharge the
jd the Legislative Assembly in Ja- constitutional . obligation of
» nuapr 2002, but this was not re- monitoring the implementatiqn
| fleeted, m the Budget -for of it.
....
»
“
J
DECCAN HERALD
• - v
.•
-
*
•*
’4a •
I
4 4 t to 2003
&
!
Sonia hopeful of nod for Bill
on women’s quota
i
5
DH News Service
7
~ ~
’
:-------------------------- ——---- ——
| NEW DELHI, March 1
Regretting that women’s representation in
Parliament and in state assemblies was abysmally low, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today
expressed the hope . that the Women’s
-^Reservation Bill providing for 33 per cent reser
vation of seats in the national and state legisla
tures would be passed soon.
Inaugurating a seminar on Economic
Empowerment of Women here today, Ms Gandhi
said, “The 73rd and 74th Constitution amend
ments providing 33 per cent reservation to
women in panchayats are nothing short of a
social revolution with enormous potential to
transform rural India in particular. We hope that
Women’s Reservation Bill granting similar
reservation to them in Parliament and state legjislatures
will be passed soon.”
Referring
to
the
10-point
Mahila
Sashaktikaran Charter implemented by
Congress-ruled states, Ms Gandhi said it was
high time now that women’s issues were given
priority on the national agenda.
Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, who was
also present on the occasion, said political equal
ity was meaningless in a society where women
continue to suffer because of economic depriva-
[’
I!
iI
I
JA
«»■
WaHayatRS
K
Koratagere
TP
ry ■ government attaches 31
DECCAN HERALD f
[high priority to strengthenling the Panchayat Raj system.
JjfXfter being one of the,first
( By Our Staff Correspondent ,;
States
to bring
in a cumpieneu-,.
comprehem i [■ . •
is 10
oring m
&ive fenactment'■to establish
—-1- a -3-., , : , Jumkur, march 2. A noml.^l.d
nominated iplici
.[member of the Koratagere
Kora.^^ i;
ttier system of Panchayat Raj,
^'Karnataka is also the only Statec
|L?wn Panchayat in Tumkur•.J<K
A (apart from Sikkim) to devolve . district allegedly assaulted the■■ 3
Ball the 29 subjects to the thhee . ' [President and the Vice-PresiWi
...
*r1
1 _«
Of]
S^ent \ of ‘ ♦L.
the 1panchayat
'tiers fully, in consonance with
■^unday.
[the 11th bcneauie
.
'ithe
Schedule oi
of me
the i !§;uaday-,.' :;S
President assaulted
■■
MAH 2003
■
4- * *
changes sougTif
in panchayat
raj system
rT"*_
1
tessss
1[the legislature to bring in 47
gor5er! was nominated to the
i'’amendments to the Karnataka : -panchayat recently. He quar^Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, princi- . gelled with the staff of the panfchayat over supply of drinking
jpally aimed at strengthening the ; LWater to Ward 17, and allegedly
______ PH News Service
i’lGram Panchayat, Gram Sabha , . Assaulted Shiyakumar, an em- -,
BANGALORE, March 4
i [{Ward Sabha and also to bring in
iW°yee °f the panchayat.
; -f
|.' -more transparency and account- jjjj After some time, he quarRn^reSt?eJllber in the ^^slative Council K C
Kondaiah today sought changes in the three-tier nanchav |[-ability in Panchayat Raj institu- j jtfF^ed with Kathi Kavalappa,
I jjjtions.
•‘
iShatin^th0 d
it m°re devel°Pment oriented.
- president of the panchayat, and
Myr government is fully ------awareJ • yianumantha Raju, Vice-Presiii
r 1 g ? d?5™551011 on the motion of thanks to
|!‘that in
L. the' coming summer fi Went, and allegedly /assaulted
Kn 20VeiJ D0^S address 111 the Legislative Council Mr
■ Kondaiah said under the present three-tier system of
' , the impact of drought ril'hem.
ifimonths,
on fhp
the drinking
water situation J w Police said action would be
rl
devoluthiUk ?nd Z1Ua panchayats’ the overlapping in the ■jj' ’nn
vaIutl0n of powers hindered progress and development ,4'iwould be extremely severe in f waken against. Prakash. Howev’■ —t parts
supporters of Mr. Kavalappa
parts of
of the
the State.
State. DirecDirecH an
t?1?k panchayats can be made into Li-most
tions have been issued to all the w'.Ontl Mr- Raju said that they r
'• Ltinnq
■wMyould stage an agitation on
donday if police failed to take
‘
He said every gram panchayat should have a full
3 ^availability of drinking water in
ctipg.^aingtAe mgmber.-.,__
^edigef ts.ecretfdat and the Post of secretary should be
i’lthe coming months. We have
J that of the cadre of a deputy tahsUdar. The present polled :als
ore wells/open wells wherever [S
I sho/iW l/'/l00101'118 °n deputation ‘0 other local bodies
;,bo1
s should be
••
; $ lne<
mc done
uune away with.
witn.
. sM
Jnecessary through the Zilla Pan- g
TPLio nnr+
__
i
.
1 ■ A —z?.’ -r ft < Q
ensure
existing
The post of zilla panchayat president should be for fiVe? ttW31- To er
“-e exi?
V2 bore f:
t vears
±'t“lvlia->'atwenty
L P^iaent Should
be for fivep
urs inQTaaZzTTiT
instead
™ liklf tidwells are rejuvenated. Gov- ?
t prSid^t
Th . of
h the
f present
PreSent
months tn
t0 onahu
enable fthe
Sts
effectlvely monitor the implementation of proj- / .; ernment has positioned hydrofracturing machines in all the [
saiAI10Cati°!1 of,funds sb°uld be need based .and itsutili1 revenue divisions of the State, h
S sation monitored on a regular basis
“ 8 J ] More than 1600 bore wells II
I
“r ^nd-uah also suggested training programme for
i have already been taken up for fi
I levXpmentX* ^^0"™ abreaS‘
the IateSt
ijj rejuvenation through the tech-§
Unique of hydro fracturing, y
8'iUnder the Special Component of U
JI'SGRY, emphasis is being put onjj
rabuilding water harvesting struc-a
WtiiPeS for recharging the ground |j
water table. Adequate ' funds 0.
ffihave been’released to the Deputy M
HCommissioners and to the ZillaM
■Panchayats : • for y ensuring^
t.
I
ii
- —e
j fieid officers to „ adequate
E
HERALD
S MAH 2003
1
■■
!
I
DECCAN HERALD’t
15 MAR 2003
• -1 ■jji'
IS
'ii
KJ
... . .........
kal,
severi-months- .
upper caste women, as they
pregnant Uma Kulkarni • \
project that was started in U.P.,
could go out and work. Wha^
jlay on the floor after a hard
they were thus doing was going ,
i day’s work at tire local angari• Gujarat, and Karnataka to improve the
beyond caste, and identifying:
'’wadi. When she woke up nextK
status of women in rural areas,
with each other on the basis on
j morning, she found Gowramreports ARUNA PRASAD.
gender. "This approach was a|
| ma, die daughter of a cobbler
Ml? who worked at the anganwadi,
real eye opener for us,” says|
Uma. The coming together of|
p p lying'curled. Except for what
all these women was very sub-|
i she was wearing she had nothtly bringing about a change inf
M | ing'else to keep her warm..
the social order.’
|
£'
. Gowramma, an orphan from
The Mahila Samakhya edu-1
Sarjapur, earned Rs. 125 a
cated the women on whom tof
j month of which she had to give
approach for loans. The worn-1
f Rs. 25 to the local official who
en had been prompt in return-£
| had helped her get the job..The
?
ing the loans they had taken |
® remaining Rs. 100 was all she
from
banks and especially from 'B
‘7^ V took home to her grandmother.
igHasJ
NABARD and their sang
1*’
h She wasjust too poor tobe able i
Local government officials
f. w to afford a sheet to cover her- ' g
were amazed at the recovery
self. Uma forcedGowramma to. G
rate because their experience';
set side some money every r:
had been quite the opposite. It;,
v month. Over three months,
was discovered that Ioans un+d
| Uma made sure that she had a
der the Development of Wom-fi
{■ sheet, a glass, and a plate.
■ 3
' Vi! en and Children in Rural Areas?
j
Uma was so shaken by this
(DWACRA) scheme were given^
givem
incident that she realised she <
' J; ■ in instalments to groups of 15!
; had to do much more than dis-^L-.
women. These instalments}
charge her duties between 9
were insufficient to start any)
a.m. and 1 p.m. at the angankind of enterprise and so the?
wadi. And that is how Uma first
‘I women often squandered ith
joined Search, where she
— re-. .'-■.’-■ffiMif- TlIlMTiTBinwwm
away. Finally, they would not.
ceived. training. and then the
get the remaining amount be- •
Mahila Samakhya, Karnataka.
cause they had nothing to show j
: The Mahila Samakhya was a pifor the money they had re-;
1 lot project that was started in ■
ceived. The Mahila Samakhya;
UP, Gujarat, and Karnataka to
helped the women identify ■
; impro ve the status of women in
what enterprises would be suit- ■
rural areas.
able. “This awareness created a
Integral to the whole project
rather unusual situation for of
was educating women. But .
ficials in one instance. The dis- ’
Uma and other workers met
trict administration offered the 1
with opposition from, women "
members of a Mahila Sangha
' themselves when they visited
loans to start enterprises like
the villages. Says Uma: “The
agarbatti making and beedr
women §aid education only
rolling.'
■’
' .
meant trouble. The problem
The women amazed the offi
was mainly of their ’ children,
cials by declining the offer ,and,|
school dropouts, who were un
said that it was not lucrativei
willing to work in the fields be
enough and had other plans,”'
cause they now thought it was
says Uma. This forced govern
menial work. As a result many
ment officials to draw up a new'
of them - started loitering
list. Thus opening uphewpOs-J
around wasting time.”" .
sibilities for women.
I
The Mahila Samakhya had to .
Enhancing the lives of rural women
The Mahila Samakhya orga-j1
take a fresh look at their ap-.
proach. It was imperative for oped a learning kit that cost called Janabai, who was one of nised get-togethers at the"dis
them to connect education to them a mere Rs. 50. The kit those trained, to her house and trict and taluk levels at which
there was a great exchange of
the realities of their life and so helped women develop their asked her if she would treat her
thoughts, procedures, and
they decided that they would cognitive skills. Armed with husband. Janabai said that
ideas. With so much informa
get the women themselves to . this knowledge they have been since it was the landlord who
tion being exchanged the won?
admit that they needed to be ,. able to keep accounts and find needed to be treated it was best
en would follow up with
i literate. During
several
meet-solutions
to
their
problems.
“
I
w
1
that he came to her. There was officials in their areas on vari
ings^ with the women, Mahila definitely do not believe that no news for almost a week be ous
developmental
pro
Samakhya workers asked them you need large funds to devel- cause the landlord’s wife had a grammes.
what thefr wages were. Many op study material,” says Uma.
tough time convincing her hus
“So as you can see, we have
said they; did not know how . " Literacy is only a tool to band. One morning when Jana
to address the issue of empo-|
much the landlords were pay-, bring about a change in the bai opened her door, she found
wering women at various lev-;
ing them or what they were en- lives of these women. There is the landlord and his wife out
els. Literacy is only the tip of
titled to.,They finally admitted the equally important issue of side. She cured the man of his
the iceberg,” says Uma.
that they were totally ignorant, social, economic, and gender ailment. "Today Janabai enters
Uma rose to become project
because they were illiterate and equality.
the landlord’s house through. director of the Mahila Samakunaware. This proved to be a
The
Mahila
Samakhya the front door, sits with him as hya, Karnataka. She says her
major breakthrough because throughout made a conscious an equal,i and
cof joy was to see'so many}
uthas na cup ofgreatest
. they were now open to the idea effort not to adopt a position of fee with him,” says Uma with a of the illiterate women that she
of becoming literate — at least confrontation. She says some big smile on her face. She adds, and her colleagues educated’
for their own sakes. . . ... .. . - feminist groups,visited the vil- » “Now that landlord has be becoming resource .. persons
“Sevehfy-year-old WSunda- lages they worked in and asked come the biggest PR for the and instruments of change in
ramma of Bardapuf village was . .the
t
women whythey could Mahila Sangha and invites vil their communities. ,,
vehemently'opposed to our lit- watch
i
1. a film
CL.. without ltheir
LL L.L
hus lagers from neighbouring areas
But talk about her sacrifices,
eracy campaign. But she joined bands’ consent. “But those are
arc to get treated by them!”
- and Uma retreats into a shell.
< a Mahila Sangha. At the meet- not the issues that we have to
During the Mahila Samak- All she will say is that her familyl
I: Ings she realised that local offi- address. There are certain hya’s meetings with the wom has made tremendous adjust
t‘. cial? had been cheating her of ground realities and one has to en, the majority who were ments for her. “But at the end
|i- he^wfdpw’s pension and palmr ' work around them to make Dalit, said they needed to in
of the day it has been worth all
I ! ing it off, to somebody . else, change possible,” says a visibly clude more women in their fold the punishment transfers and
.Once .-this realisation dawned agitated Uma.
and expand. It was they who months away from my family,
. on her, there was no stopping.
Uma narrates an incident suggested that women from the because I know I have been
V I- Sl?e
learned to read ■ where a landlord in Bhairanahigher castes be included in the able to change the lives of so
,rand write, but also educated halll village had a skin disease Sanghas.
many women for the better.
-L 120 other women in her vil- for almost 30 years. The Mahila
They said that while these And I in turn have learnt a Inc "
Making a
difference
, y
I
, r-
|--------- 1.1
V
:a
!
Pt?
■
• 1
~
-------------------- • J ** **
JLkAAAVAO
<,W UCVCl"
I
PJ1K for
*
passage of
Women's Bill
n
. By Our Special Correspondent
\ Laloo demands sub-quota for SCs at all-party meet .il
Co.
s el f ;
’new DELHI, MARCH 9. Voicing full
;i support for passage of the
'f.. Women’s Reservation Bill in its
.' present form, the Pattali Makkal
l: Katchi (PMK), a constituent of
, the ruling NDA coalition, today
for their rightful place in the de current session but added that
PH News Service
I*, favoured further reservation .
cision-making process of the decision on making changes in
i within reservation for the womcountry, with the Bill being held the present draft could be taken ■
! - en belonging to the weaker sec- NEW DELHI, March 7
FT^HE all party meeting con- up for six long years and po only after Samajwadi Party gave ?
' • tions of society.
I vened by Prime Minister litical parties like the RJD and its opinion. The issue, however,
1, “Our party strongly supports
_L Atal Behari Vajpayee here Samajwadi Party opposing the was also taken up in both Houses
b passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill giving 33 per cent i on Friday to evolve a consensus Bill in its present form. Sama of Parliament on Friday. A short
. reservation to women in the Lok i on the Women’s Reservation Bill jwadi Party leader Mulayam debate on women’s rights al
■ Sabha and State legislators in i failed to arrive at a unanimous Singh Yadav sought two week’s lowed by Speaker Manohar Joshi ?
. the current session of Parlia- i decision with RJD supremo, time, saying he would hold talks was initiated by Congress .
ment itself,” the PMK general I Laloo Prasad Yadav asking for a with the Congress and the Left member Margaret Alva in the
for
minorities, parties to take a final decision on Lok Sabha. but nothing could be ;
secretary and MP, E. Ponntiswa- 1 sub-quota
• my, said at a meeting of the par- ' Scheduled Castes, Scheduled the issue.
heard as the House witnessed ;
. ty’s women’s wing here. The Tribes and OBCs.
turmoil over developments in :
i; party cadres would take out a
The government plans to PM’s stand
Uttar Pradesh. Krishna Bose ■
V. rally near the Parliament House bring in the Bill in the current
The Prime Minister accepted (Trinamool Congress), Renu
tomorrow to demand passage session of Parliament, but it rethis plea and pointed out that ef Kumari (Samata Party), Anita i
of the Bill in its present form. r- mains unclear whether the longMr. Ponnuswamy said the pending measure will be brought forts were being made for the Arya (BJP) and Sushila Saroj J
past six years to create a (Samaj wadi Party) said that even ;
• • PMK favoured giving reservain in its current form or diluted,
f tion within reservation to wom- after yet another attempt at common consensus arid 15 days after five decades of inde- •
en belonging to the backward evolving consensus on it among would not make much of a dif pendence women were con- ;
ference.
tinuing to suffer.
;: community, SC, ST and minor political
parties
was
After the 90-minute meeting,
Raising the issue during Zero t
ities. While appealing to all po
stonewalled.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Deputy |
litical parties to cooperate in
As women across the globe Sushma
Swaraj
told Chairperson Najma Heptulla
building a consensus on the
Bill, he said the PMK would fully . are set to celebrate International newspersons that the gov urged Chairman Bhairon Singh '
support the decision of the Women’s Day on March 8, their ernment was still hopeful that Shekhawat to use his good office
. Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vaj 1 Indian sisters have been fighting the Bill would come up in the to ensure that the. government
payee, in the matter. He wel
pn
brought in the Bill as promised.
comed Mr. Vajpayee’s move to
Meanwhile,
the
Parlia- r
get the Bill passed by a majority
mentary Committee on Empow
vote in Parliament.
erment of Women has expressed ■
Mr. Ponnuswamy said the
concern at the “lackadaisical”
PMK could not attend the all
attitude of the government in fi- |
party meeting held on Friday to
nalising amendments to laws ;
evolve a consensus on the Bill as
concerning women.
there was a communication
The committee, headed by
gap. He has requested the Par
Congress MP Margaret Alva, in
liamentary Affairs Minister,
its report placed in Parliament
Sushma Swaraj, to send all
on Friday, said though the Na- i
communications to him also in
future in his capacity as a party
tional Commission for Women '
functionary.
had sent the government the
He said that it was his party’s
outcome of its review in respect I
. ideology to get 33 per cent resof 32 Acts with provisions af- '
. ervation for women in legislaCongress President Sonia Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs
fecting women five years ago, ;
J tures • and work towards
Minister Sushma Swaraj participate in an all-party meeting
amendments to any of.,the Acts ’
. evolving a consensus around it.
in NewDelhi on Friday.
—hadmotbeen finalised so far.-v, J
Women’s Bill again I
li
PECCAN HERALD
“"t Women pancnayat
DECCAN HERALD:
fc 8 MAh m t
s G MAH ZtiUd
leaders seek theirL H
turn in Parliament i
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, MARCH 7. The Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha,
Najma Heptulla, today hosted a lunch at the Parliament House d
I
annexe for women panchayat members from across the country. ■ i.
Included in the guest list were women members of Parliament ;
and women journalists who cover Parliament.
As the women panchayat members took turns to speak about
their journey from the four walls of their homes to becoming s
"safpanchs” and members of the panchayati raj institutions, it
became obvious that the 33 per cent reservation on the ground had |
• brought about a revolutionary awareness amongst women. •
?
"We can do better if not restricted by our male political col- .
leagues and the bureaucracy,” many of them said.
■
“You’ve had your turn.’Now give us a chance to represent the |
people in Parliament,” a "sarpanch" from Bihar told Ms. Heptulla. ‘
“Yes, I feel you can become a good MP. We all are feeling threat- ||
ened by you,” Ms. Heptulla said in a lighter vein.
The panchayat members expressed a desire to visit the Lok ,
Sabha and the Raiva Sabha and said thev had "come to heaven.”
V
A.P. seekFSS^S p.c. quota for women
month beginning April 1 freeing the
The TDP members, B. Shobha and G.
system from Treasury control, Rs. 1,000 Uma attributed the elevated status to
crore assistance as bank loans to DWCRA
their party, and paid tributes to NTR for
Hyderabad, MARCH 10. After a two-hour
groups next year, release of Rs. 80 croi
the property rights conferred on
discussion on women empowerment in
towards the corpus fund of 86,000
. daughters, and 33 per cent quota
V the context of recent International
unserved DWCRA groups, and making 15
provided in the local bodies.
Women’s Day, the Andhra Pradesh
per cent budgetary allotment for worn
Assembly today adopted a resolution
They lauded the Chief Minister, citing
in all departments a must.
moved by the Chief Minister, N.
the presence of 24 Telugu Desam
Mrs. Saraswathi announced that a npw
: Chandrababu Naidu, asking the Union .
members
in
the
House,
the
election
of
K.
’ C_ __________ _______ f
\
x
project was being launched,' 'Swadhar,
Government to^reserve■ at least• 333 per
. pratibija Bharati as the first woman
i
for rescue and rehabilitation of women I
cent seats to the fair sex in both Houses
Speaker and appointment of Sati Nair as
caught
in
trafficking
with
an
initial
■
' of Parliament .and State legislatures.
State's first woman Chief Secretary.
release of Rs. 61.21 lakhs.
•
The resolution was unanimous but for
Congress members such as V. Sunitha
A Coordination Committee headed by
i protests by MIM members who shouted
Lakshma Reddy, and K. Surekha
the Chief Secretary had been formed t'
‘no’..’no’ when it was passed by voice
countered them saying that it was the
late Rajiv Gandhi, who was responsible for formulate a comprehensive policy for
vote, demanding quota for Muslims also
the present quota in the local bodies, and tackling this problem.
• on the plea that reservation was meant
The other benefits were sales tax
. | for all deprived sections.
referred to their leaders like Indira
exemption to all DWCRA products, stamp <
Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress, the BJP and the CPI(M)
duty waiver on loan documents of
' ' readily backed the motion, saying it was •
The TD members,'however, were in
• DWCRA/self help groups.
’ long-overdue, and even thanked the Chief agreement with their Congress
The Chief Minister rebutted the
. Minister for the gesture. Mr. Naidu said,
counterparts on the sacrifice made by
criticism made by Ms. Sunitha Lakshina
his party, ‘at its level,’ would make all out Indira Gandhi.
Reddy that by women, the Govemmer
efforts and bring pressure on the Centre
The occasion brought a few benefits to’ . meant only those of DWCRA, saying
. ...o t. .
• and all other relevant fora for
women announced by Mr. Chandrababu
success in literacy, population control,
■ introduction of the Women’s Bill in
Naidu, and the Women Welfare Minister,
mid-day meal scheme and many othc
Parliament during its current session
S. Saraswathi, while replying to the
developmental schemes would not havv
• itself. .
debate and to the reaction by members
■ been possible but for the ‘revolution’
During the debate earlier, women
on the resolution.
brought about by them.
members of the Congress and the.Telugu
He was particularly happy that DWCjiA |
The sops included increase in the
. Desam, who were the main participants,
vw anganwadi workers/
- women were representing the
i
honorarium to
• blamed each other for the present ‘fate’
teachers as per die Central guidelines and Government across villages and were
I
? of women or credited itself for whatever
ensuring payment on the first day of the
questioning administration.
j little change achieved.
By Our Special Correspondent
jf.
BILL7/ ‘WE HAVE DONE OUR
OUR.PART
■ WOMEN’S BILL
PAH 1
DECCAN HERALD
B fife sos Pil rcsp®i»M@
for evolving consensus
1 Wd /UUd
women in panchayats and other j
(CHHATTISGARH), forts ’ of political parties to local bodies, she said “now, i
MARCH 8. Fixing responsibility evolve a consensus over die women have their say in pan- ;
on the
the Prime
Prime Minister,
Minister, a
WI Be-,
uc- Constitution amendment' bill
on
Atal
chayats and local self bodies.” j
hari Vajpayee, and other politi- providing for women s reserva- The Panchayati Raj system in- 1
--------------tion
in
Parliament.
. ———,
, cal parties for providing
The Congress had also troduced by him had led to ,
reservation to women in State . amended its constitution to women sharing power.
; ■
Assemblies and Parliament, the
And her mother-in-law, IndiraG^«P^M™.
DrimP NAiniSx— 1■
Congress president, 'fS°^a Kold^e—
Gandhi, said it was Mr.
- •’ Constitutional . ter who lived and sacrificed her
payee's duty to evolve a consen calling ' the
husband and life for the betterment of worn- ,
amendment
her
sus
on
the
Women’s
former Prime Minister, Rajiv en, was the icon of womens i
Reservation Bill.
empowerment, Ms. Gandhi .
“The views of the Congress Gandhi, had brought to ensure said.
adequate
representation
for
on the issue are known to the
nation. But it is the responsib' lity of the Prime Minister and
i other political parties to find a
Aiay and accord the rights *to
Aiomen,” Ms. Gandhi, said, adiressing a women empowernent rally here on the
ntemational Women’s Day.
Since women suffered the.,
■nost — whether it was during
lots or due to increase in prices “destroying” the country’s secular fabric and asserted that her
— she had directed the Conwas committed to national unity.
p-ess Governments in different party
“It is a matter of great concern that the BJP and its sisteJ, . States to provide social security organisations, are attempting to destroy tire social unity of the
o them. “A nation which disre- country. It is not a simple danger. Social unity is linked with
national unity and those attempting to break it are trying to
—oi uruty^she
” shp said
he. need to spend n>ore Ume .break the n—
s addressing a mammothrf
y
DONGARGAON
I
■
‘BJP destroying
secular fabric’
«^xd^so.fthenew“^of
Speaking to sheT^reSed
presspersons
XtlpX
(“Sg
he hope that/“something posi- , said people were
9 MAii “ZW
Mgrab pow“
losing faith in politicians. — PTI
I
f
n
>
I
‘Abortion pill a ¥ AP Dalits to Xlf
j major step towardsF
— ; i
H
2
women’s
|[ move NHRC on
empowerment’ : starvation deaths
■j
■
4 i
'
---------------------
ZP not to entrust^
works to
Land Army
VIJAYAWADA, March 18 (UNI)
i
By Gargi Parsai
£
Sr Concerned over starvation | BANGALORE, March 18 (DHNS)
T
’
The Bangalore Rural zilla pan.! NEW DELHI, MARCH 8. Experts par-|;;
par-S, d ths -H drought.hit Andhra
chayat, comprising Nelamanucipaung at
ai a consortium on the|.
tnej ticipating
d h
.
r- National Consensus for Medical},
.. ,
. • , y. ,
Medical?
gala; Kanakapura, ChannapatAbortion‘in India today agreedformed a ceU to scek
Tmterna, Ramanagaram, Doddaballa- !
that the abortion pill must be iii^; vention of the National Human
pur and Devanahalli, today de- ,
troduced, in phases, in the fam-|; Rights Commission^NHRC),
cided not to entrust any con- ;
ily welfare programme of the|i claiming that tlje TDP Govstruction activity including buil- '
t country. The recommendations? ernment and the main Oppodings, road construction, repairs .
■ji.
L would be placed with the Minis-]
Minis-8 sition Congress have remained
and drainage works to Kar- 1
L try of Health and Family Welfare^ "indifferent" to the socio-econataka Land Army Corporation
; and guidelines would be evolved! nomic and culfural problem.
because of the poor quality of
■ on
oh.the
1*16 manner the two-dose pilfj
pillj ^.^The^
The AnSma
Ancthra Pradesh Dalit
works executed by them.
•t;<< (mifepristone
Sangham saiu
said today
/j ,
, and
. . misoprostol)
—.--x---..si; jvianua oangiicuu
couay that
mat
«>■
alH >• :. .had. ,
The decision was taken at the
• snoiiln
should he
be anministprpri
administered wifh
withaUTi^
attention ofc
precautions.
zilla panchayat meeting held
“On the International Worn-1: NHRC member Justice K Rai today. The meeting also decided
T;' en’s Day, this was a major step]!' *---------- -j to the deaths in the
c to appeal to the government to
-c.,vcr*.3|! State
• towards women’s empower-!
.a‘e , due to the worst-ever
s refer to the Lokayukta to inquire
M"ittai’ J! drought in the last four decades
ment,” said Suneeta I
into the works undertaken in
and^ the Government's "utter U
,l Chief coordinator of the Censor- i and
Bangalore Rural zilla panchayat
j tium unu
tv the
vxxx. xv^vv.v
and U1
of U1V
the UlUia
India lliaio
trials dl
at UlCl
thej’. acuavixv
failure" toO> Cwxtxv.
come to
rescue vx
of
by the Land Army.
<i All-India Institute of KfedicaT. V'the
affectedrpeople.
The-_____
justice
_ ______________
—r— ______
It was decided to entrust the
Jji Sciences.
i y has promised NHRC intervention t
construction of 46 new school
Conaham ■fniinHor*
Jp Speaking to The Hindu, the' i'‘ tti
in thn
the mnttor
matter, Sangham
founder
buildings, sanctioned by the
Secretary.
Por»
Secretary, Department of Family
Family! ’f Vn+ki
Kathi Padma
Raotnia
toldo1 anrocc
press
•*;
caid the
,____
tt_ ...
State government, to the engi
' Welfare
Welfare, Pracada
Prasada Ran
Rao, said
conference here. He urged the
neering department of zilla pan
j Pill
pill could be introduced. Centre fo immediately release
chayat.
.
Amendment will have to be
*t brought to the Medical Termina- rice to drought-hit mandals, byThe zilla panchayat also de
’■ x.n™
ieTuXj
passing
the
State
Govermnent.
in
’w.x wLfxvgLai.vy xxu'ica, U11UC1
cided to request the government
• Act, •he said. The tvfo-dose
•'->'! the wake of the alleged largescale
y.• the
for additional allocation of Rs
h drug is already being used, but . irregularities in the implemen39.23 crore for the 2003-2004
>1 some modification will have to , tation of the Centrally-sponspred
budget in addition to plan bud
Ci
Z
j be notified by the Drug Controll- Food-For-Work programme. Iget of Rs 61.32 crore.
; er for the second trimester med
med- : V
•
...
The members resolved to re
; ical tennination of pregnancy. •
quest the State government for
>
Noser Sheriai, however,
said
'
.1
allocation of two acres of land at
that rules would have to be mod! the location of the Central Jail
, ified to link providers of medical f
t in the City which has now been
; abortion with registered centres
• \ shifted.
. for back-up support As far as
, place of abortion is concerned,
• the Act calls for a place approved;
; by the Government and if the '
^Government can approve the
veccan herald
V PHC, linked to a registered cen•< tre, then the Act need not be
• amended for
lor now. ,
.
*■ Some'of the experts pointed ‘
: out that'the price of the abortion 1 i
' pill at Rs. 300 to.Rs. 400 for both, ■
the doses was “high” but others
..said it was much lower than the
| cost of the surgical terminationI V
)Of pregnancy which, in the pri? J
dvate sector could range from Rs.
1600 to Rs. ”6,000.
/ Doctors underscored the need
''.for a pregnancy test prior to ad■ministering the abortion pill so ,
!that a delayed menstruation cy- ’
cle was not taken for a pregnan-;
pregnan- f
asp nf
siiffprina :J ,cy. In case
of a woman suffering
.'from anaemia, doctors said
anaemic condition would be
•‘^corrected once the woman dp.. riproached a service centre or a
AknrtJnn
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THE HINDU'
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1
^A!!-party meef.on“‘1:
women's bili
( for Friday
seats be reserved for women
By Our Special Correspondent
w
"Hi
Or"'
HF
tssESSJ -
I Prune Munster to try and evolve Election Commission suggest!; ■
a consensus on re^rvatinn
reservation for on dlatit shou]d be
J women in Parliament and State datory for all parties to
; Assemblies has been re-schedB H Jayalakshmamma
nominate women against one-i
------uled for 1'
‘
‘
Marth
7, the
Parlia- third of the total seats they con- fi
mentary
_____
_
A■
u Minister’ test (with each State as a sep- 8
Sushma Swaraj>.said here today. arate . unit] . should
be J
Speaking informally with re considered.
porters, Ms. Swaraj, said that
I Porters,
The idea, she’said, was to do 1
; she had already begun the proc- something rather than not
i ess ot talking to party leaders in- on this vital issde.
ii dividually. On her list of leaders
'
_______ _
'
BANGALORE, March 5 (DHNS) ‘
j she will be talking to are the
Congress member B H Jayala’z
,' A1ADMK leader and Tamil Na
1 shmamma was today elect
du Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa,
•j unopposed as vice-president of .
J Bahujan Samaj Party leader and
J the Bangalore' Rural ZP1'’
J Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, NEW DELHI, MARCH. 4. The Rash- |j Panchayat. Ms Jayalakshn
( Mayawati, Rashtriya Janata Dal
mma, who represents Thyami leader and Bihar Chief Minister, triya Janata Dal president, Laloo 1? agondlu ward of Nelamangala
Prasad Yadav, may have to go
! Rabri Devi, and other leaders,
hungry if he does not direct par-taluk iff the ZP, will have a tei
especially women in other par- tv momkure
----------- - .the
l , k of about 10 months.
ty members to support
; ties, including Jaya Jaitly of the
Women’s Reservation Bill.
?
The election, which had to be ,
; Samata Party, and Mamata Ba
This threat has come from ’J held following the resignation
nerjee of the Trinamool
unexpected quarters — his wife » Ms Vijayalakshmi from the post,
' Congress.
and the Bihar Chief Minister, ? was conducted in the presence of
.
"I am trying to approach the
Rabri Devi. Ms. Rabri Devi con b Bangalore Rural District Dept
] women leaders first,” she said
veyed this to the Parliamentary i’ Commissioner
Narayanas- / '(1 and added that she had already Affairs Minister, Sushma Swa
| wamy, who was also the election fl.
j spoken to Ms. Rabri Devi.
raj, who contacted her as part of V officer. The Congress has 23 r
The meeting will discuss the the efforts to evolve a consensus
!i. mbers in the 38-member Zilla j
.1 Women’s
Reservation .Bill on die BUI.
,
• which would give 33 per cent
Panchayat while the Janata Dalfjr
jI’ (U) and JD (S) have seven ea
Jr
‘
____ __
| Sabha and State Assemblies by
J declaring that one-third of all ra;
_ p'r.
New VP for
Bangalore,
Rural ZP
Ihingl
Rabri threatens
to starve Laloo
DECCAhf HERALD
i^i) HArt dJUd
Immediate decision
I . bii women’s quota
I
bill needed: Gill
I
m
•
m
■ -.?•
"wyn* ut
'HEW
B ■
• "
■
'■ '
fcCCAN HERALD (c
M MAR 2003
"
il
:
already reserved for SCs/STs whUe an equal num- I
By Our Staff Correspondent
„ , •
,
..
ber would be reserved for women if the BUI is ■
Lnew DELHI march15. The Womens Reservation )through,
wouid ^ave a smaU number for the
r^U, being debated for more than five years must
etti
upsetting
the vibrant character
character of
of parlia-,
Parlia-,
I be passed in this session of Parliament itseu, feels
.
he said.
: M.S.Gill, former Chief Election Commissioner.
Admitting
that
the
number
of
women
Admitting that the number of women reprerepre-i
1‘Unfortunately, no progress has been made on sentatives
State Assemblies and Parliament
this vital issue and m each session it is talked out.. was woefully inadequate, Mr. Gill says while
ijffor the next time. An immediate decision is nec- more women must be given a chance to fight
Jessary,” he said.
■ elections for Assemblies and Parliament, they
3 “While we need more Indira Gandhis,' Sonia
active
in -politics.
| Gandhis, Sushma Swarajs, Jayalalithaas and May- must be fully involved
r. lemand
is the
resuR
of a faiIure
“Tka
DECCAN HER AL.
BS fe
HfeU
MAh
I tntt
AJUd
IWd
roe a mfr nrnklnm ic frVio rocillt
c
c
i
HU K Ml
I
c
a Foillirf*
B awatis, we cannot afford to choose the path of . of
UticaJ
^ve women
duer
£ reservation for this purpose once again, Mr. GUI its solution should nQt be looked for
yet one
-> told The Hindu.
.
,
jmoreConstitutionalchange/’hepointsout.ResMr GUI, who was at the helm of affairs when
result.
competition
-/the Bill was introduced in the^Lok Sabha He feels ..
the women legislators and Parliamentar- i
4 that a small amendment in the Representabon of ..ians .Jt is
political parties who are not giving
^Peoples Act, 1920, making it mandatory^or all . ,adeqUate Space to womenjn
political arena,”
^recognised political parties to reserve a percent-, he
In
past 5Q years , we have amended- |
pge of seats for women in all States^would give the constitution 90 times and America about 20
gwomen their due representation. The percent;,
200
At
rate we
have tQ re.write
J.age of reservabon can be agreed upon mutuaUy the
100 years, he explains. .
I
Slta Parliament by all pobUcal parues and any atover
.vibrancy and working I
g tempt to violate this, should result in derecogni- , heal(h orpar|iamcnt
democracy, Mr. Gill beSieves if his proposal is accepted, women would! |
IWth this proposal about four years ago and most getamassivJtic1iet representation in the.coming
LP01'®31Part,eJ ';VCn
°PPoscd torcsc™- / elections in several States and it would be the
amon had found u acceptable
.
party bigwigs who would go looking for good and:
■ ‘ 1aV,A?
'C, '"r P
S
m
H etfective women candidates instead of die other,
ras the Chief Becton Commissioner, Mr. Gd feels way round.
rmlnd "It
„[t should be the political
1)tica] parties
ies giv
iv.
i, that India had a history of reservation, which was ing7 more space to women. Wer cannot rstraitjacket i
.7 not applied anywhere in the world. “I have been issues and destroy a firm democratic structure in i
•jf the dear view that resenation ii- not the best
c:
2o
1
1
3
|Panchayat Raj dept underfire fori
t noia-iffiiaioteffianee of ZP roads
PH News Service_____ _
BANGALORE, March 5
® For the second consecutive day
|i<in the legislative assembly, the
£ ■ Department
of
Rural
2^ Development & Panchayat Raj
(RDPR) came under fire from the
g Opposition members finding
Ji fault with RDPR Minister M Y
'J' Ghorpade for not maintaining
ijizilla panchayat roads properly
if across the State.
if' A heated debate on the issue
<[] began when Mr Rajendra Verma
‘ji (BJP) alleged that ZP roads were
not maintained properly in his
Hulsoor constituency from
many years.
1 Leader of the Opposition in
I the
Legislative Assembly
4 Jagadish Shettar and some of
I’ his party members said that the
’I.' Department must improve the
| condition of ZP roads before
$they become ‘non-existent’.
'i Speaker M V Venkatappa too
^•suggested Mr Ghorpade to take
serious view of the complaints
and improve the rural roads.
When the Minister said his
j ’ueparimen
department lacked sufficient
: funds
for maintenance, the
—
Members arr pd that he could
gi
use funds available under non ing the monuments and palace, I
plan for road work.
she added.
Admitting that ZP roads were
Replying to a question tabled
in poor shape, Mi' Ghorpade said by Mr P H Poojar (BJP), the
only Rs 71 crore was available for Minister said Rs 6 lakh would be
maintenance
against
the spent for maintenance of the
required Rs 150 crore. He said of Kittur palace.
the total one lakh km of ZP
Mr Shettar earlier pointed out
roads, only 23,000 kms have been that Mr S Bangarappa as chief
asphalted.
- minister had announced that Rs
He said the total length of ZP 7 crore for preservation of mon
roads is thrice the PWD roads of uments at Kittur.
30,000 kms in the State, yet the
Ms Satish said the govern
allocation for ZP roads is poor ment had not released Rs 7 crore
compared to PWD roads.
as assured. However, she prom
This anomaly has to be set ised that plans would be drawn :
right and I have been advocating to preserve the monuments.
uniform policy for, road mainte WATER: Minister of State for
nance.
Rural Water Supply K B Koliwad
A revolving fund with contri told Mr A B Patil (JD-U) that his
bution from both Centre and department would sanction gen
State should be set up for road erator sets for zilla panchayats
works”, he said.
provided the ZPs contribute 30
KITTUR: Minister of State for per cent of the total cost.
Kannada & Culture Rani Satish
So far not a single panchayat i
told the House that her depart had forwarded its application ■
ment had allocated Rs 37.60 lakh seeking a generator to provide.. ■
for preserving the palace and drinking water, he added.
monuments in Kittur of
While Mr Patil alleged that
Belgaum district. '
Belgaum district authority had
The department with the no funds for water supply •
assistance of Indian-National • schemes,'______________
Mr Koliwad said as per •
Trust, For Art & . Cultural^ the records, R^.40 crorej was.!
programme to groom
women entrepreneurs
nate in developing a portable
______ PH News Service______
‘train-the-trainers’ kit, and will
? BANGALORE, March 5
best practices from
; The Indian Institute of represent
across
the
country
i Management, Bangalore (IIMB)
The topics covered will
_• has announced a programme for
-‘Trainers of Women Entrepr- include: Self-knowledge, Empow
<;eneurs starting from April 9. erment and Skills Identification,
•;This four-week residential pro- Human Resources, Sales and
‘ .gramme, being conducted in con- Maiketing, Finance and Acco(junction with Oxford Brookes unts, Regulatory and Proce
^University (OBU), aims to create dural Issues, Quality Control
ta cadre of women capable of and Skill Development in Train
.^running successful training and ing Pedagogy
This programme will be con
< consultancy programmes with
: the specific aim of identifying ducted in three distinct phases.
and developing women, who During the first phase from April
have the potential to become 9 to 25, the participants will
^entrepreneurs.
undergo in-class training. In the
AWAKE (Association of second phase, participants will
fWomen Entrepreneurs of Karn- be required to develop a business
f ataka) and Action Aid are part plan of their choice, which will
nering with IIMB and OBU in . be done at their workplace or
.,/h this programme.
organisation'.. In the final stage
The programme will culmi- of \the programme, they will
return to IIMB between May 22
and 31 for further inputs.
This programme is ideally
suited for women already work
ing in organisations involved in
developing entrepreneurship
among disadvantaged women.
Since the course will be conducted in English, a working knowl
edge of both the written as well
as spoken aspects of the lan
guage is a pre-requisite.
A team of experienced Profes
sors will ’conduct the pro- «
gramme, and this will include
Professors Ganesh, N Prabhu,
Kalyani Gandhi and VNagadevara.
For more information, con
tact: Prof Kalyani Gandhi, Ind
ian Institute of Management,
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore
560 076. Phone: 080-6993098, Email: Kalyani@iimb.ernetin
r *-■ T.-y it- -t-"
eRALd
2 6 MAH 2003
-i
■>
r
-.'.A
t
Grant for GPs to jbe
hiked
to
Rs.
5
lakh
I
'
■ " ;H
A,, inn
r ' h V • If
W A'.
-
/■
tional
under the tions received will be disposed of within be increased to 100 per cent for horti
.a. -tl
-------1,000
-— ogram
----- rpanchayats
---------v
ture in Bijapur District.
■ '
Swacha Grama scheme. A provision of three months. ;
2 BANGALORE, MARCH 21. The Lcdgw
J- -t
’- ^3
”''”’*
Budget pro- '' Rs. 100
100 0.^
crore has been .......
made
at the ---rate
As --o"
regards
agriculture
and allied activOn the market intervention scheme, ..
<5 posais
CulcJ today
.«... panchayat. Alnosals lor
for xuuo-u**
2003-04 pi«
presented
today by
by vf
of Ro.
Rs. 1G
10 lakh
lakh per b
gram
Al- ities,
ities, the
the proposals
proposals seek
seek to
to provide
provide aa Mr. Krishna said the market cess wo” dr
• 1.
• r X
C
tr>
ranrlxr 1 QHO irill orrPC hdVO hppn mVPTPd 3*
:»<.1
n oil for
! the
Chief
Minister, S.M.Krishna,
seek to
ready
1,300 villages have been covered at capital
subsidy of CH
50 ^nr
per rant
cent fto
all farm- be increased from one to 1.50 per c .
By Our Special Correspondent
j
.
SA-s'SsrA"
a new to strengthening them.
It will be mandatory for die gram pan! chayats to utilise Rs. 1 lakh of the grant
J to asphalt roads in villages and to con1 struct toilets for women. With the enI hanced grants, the total allocation will
1 go up to Rs. 283 crore. In addition, the
per
| gram
gram panchayats
panchayats that
that record
record 100
100 per
1
ofe taxes and
dues,
1 cent
cent recovery
i
j other
-*.t
1 including electricity and water charges,
11 ..„h u.
n incentive of Rs.
will
be provided aan
" ^0.000.
1 to cover an addi-
s--:xzesaz s. A"“
chayats is the sitting fee for members has scheme on the purchase of drip and .should enable die State handle ma
\.
kann
been raised frrxm
from I?c
Rs. 115 tn
to Rc
Rs. 100
100. TRp
The ; ^nrinklp
sprinkler irrigadon equipment and on support operadons up to a turnover ot
salary of presidents and vice-presidents water guns to enable farmers adopt drip Rs. 500 crore. While appealing to the.
will go up from Rs. 300 to Rs. 500 and irrigation as the mode of water manage- Centre for support with a matching < from Rs. 150 to Rs. 300, respectively.
ment. It is also proposed to increase the tribution to enable the State cover m^eA
Referring to the Veeresh Committee subsidy for purchase of farm machinery, agricultural produce, Mr. Krishna pro- *
formed to study die reasons for suicide including tractor-mounted plant protec- posed to establish raithara santhe
t
by farmers, Mr. Krishna announced a tion equipment, power tillers, and solar all taluk headquarters to be funded
.
compensation of Rs. one lakh to the fam- water pumps from 25 to 50 per cent to the revolving fJ*nd Anodierjounce | .
ilies of farmers who committed suicide . help farmers complete agricultura oper- ment made by Mr Krishna rdated to
J
due to the loan burden. A committee ations on time and to overcome labour increase of subsidy on organic ma
e t
headed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate shortage. Similarly, the subsidy for drip such as compost, vermicompost, and .
will look into such cases. The applica- and sprinkler irrigation equipment is to bio-fertihzers from 25 to 50 per cent. )
"proof«
2 ivlArt ZUd.
AA A-A..'
■'/■"■-‘I
By Our Staff Reporter
State Women’s Commission,-which has a , But. the non-govemment organisation j
.
,
mandate to examine .such ''matters and Vbelieves that the attacks are a socio- ecoj
bangalore, MARCH 6. Haseena was 20 when bring it to the notice of the Government,'-’homie problem; reflecting the.state of our
her boss Joseph Rodericks poured two litres had not'studied these cases. “The head of' . society. A few women activists felt the way
J; .of sulphuric acid on her. It destroyed most the Commission has not met us till now,”.:, .women were projected in the mass media
h.of her face, eyes and body.
according to Mallige of the non-govern-<was also to blame.
Ji Apparently, he “loved her,” but she was ment organisation.
; i 'A A'’'’'
When Tlaseena’s case was first heard, '
11looking for a different job. That was in 1999. . Mahila Jagruti members, however, have ‘- there were 80 witnesses. Now there are 15. :
x'jBarely alive, traumatised, her case is still met Haseena, Shruthi, and Noor Jahan of .Naturally, the importance is diluted, Ms.
f h being heard at a City Civil Court here.
Peenya II Stage who was attacked in 2000. ' Mallige points out. Besides the victim gets
L'j With a family affected by her medical and “A lorry cleaner, Kumar, threw’ acid on Noor\ nd help at all.
k other expenses, and an irrational society Jahan. He was in jail for. a while’... now we ' . . .: The Women and Child Welfare Departthat feels she was some how to blame, Ha- are told he has been let Out on bail, tiiotigh .' merit gives up to Rs.15,000 for corrective
St seena's will to live, is testimony to the in- it is a non-bailable offence,”. Ms. Mallige , surgery. .But each plastic surgery can costi \
.t domitable human spirit.
said.
A
1■ /
' ■.•tip to Rs.llakh if the damage is severe, as in 1
£ _ The case made headlines when it hapIn Shruthi's case, a 17-year-old neigh- : Haseena’s case. • .
\‘ ’ ■ . .
?
pened, like other gory attacks that followed, hour, Rajesh, was the culprit Her family ■
Mahila Jagruti wants the State to take £
ion
and
treatment
f
y the most high profile being the one on 16- even moved ,to Bariashankari, /but his charge of the rehabilitation
sucn victims;
vicums. • ■ ', .
; /
.
year-old Shruthi in September 2002 in . “love” .caught up with her.
. ’
; of such
P• ? • 3
Besides,'it
wants' a specific legal provi-1
provi- j g
i J.P.Nagar.
But why do young men seek'to destroy t Besides,
it wants
J
She was just out of SSLC when it hap- the very objects of their affections: “In one . sion against such crimes. "But our survey is |»)
y
IVIUJW)
j pened; but public memory is short.
case, the man was ‘inspired’ by a movie only
primitive.Ill
InIUUI)
fact,*Pedestrian4. Pictures,
A
ither non-govemment organisation,
’ ‘ When Mahila Jagruti, based in Vijayana-. which has the hero swearing that he will another
gar, Hosahalli, decided to dig more into bum the girl with acid, if she rejects his ,- plans a documentary on such crimes. We &
these acid attacks, it found that even the advances/' Mahila Jagruti says.
will be happy to help”,_Ms: Mallige said^
c.
1
c
c
T I’lAn zi/uj
c
i
r-'
21
7
T
JL___
-3
*
I1 B Leaders from upper castes |
r blocking women’s quota Bill’
■O
By Our Staff Correspondent
I
1
| ruMKUR march 25. A. Lakshmi
.J HJMKUR, MARCH 25. A. Lakshmi
:f saTd^on
I from upper castes were block> ing the passage of the Women’s
Reservation Bill because "they
> are against classifying the quan, turn ofW reservation --for women
i ttesXUVy
”Xa°rd---------------dZ
: belonging to various communi: ties, especially backward classy es, minorities, and SC/ST.
V
u
. ■
*■ •“ “'-ipuuiig ill U1C
Z.1L1C1 IVXi.
JJiila
Sammelan” organised here
T^omen^oftheia:
(
• 3
3
.3
o
-A
r nata Dal (Secular), Prof. Sagar
.said leaders of major communi
ties believed that they would be
j uncomfortable if they shared
j' seats of power with women
A.from lower castes. This was the
i-reason for the delay in the pasJ .sage of the Bill. All political par
ities were aware of "the crux of
.’ithe problem”. However, he was
^'in favour of the Bill, he added.
< P. Kodandaramaiah, former
: MP said. « in countries
^oliHraS|
P0'T1pOnr
0Wn,1 There wasno talk of reservation
’ of seats for women'in other
;-I countries as they were finanjjjcially independent and could
assert their political rights.
. There was gender inequality in
i” countries such as India and Sri
r, Lanka. The Bill had, therefore,
t’ assumed significance. It should
be passed soon, he added.
.. . -C.
culture
Indian
always
held
waslnnoXsttan Wdeny'
was brought to the dais The or| ’
STto
i"8 'hem P0T °r P™'e®eChannigappa to speak. Irked by!
DamP S(Iulb .
?L*VJi67 •end.ed
speech in I
The sammelan turned out to
ThreT resolutions ureinp 33*
be a damp squib. Even after ner cent reservation for &
I
waiting for two hours, only 50 reservation of two Assembly:women Luintu
turned up.
Many of seats for them in each district;
up. ivid
Ink"
b“°»<»>“”*'“'<erywerej
them were from Koratagt
Ink.
...
■ Male workers of the nar
i^ttd^nTS^
h,
thf^^ffO
President of the women’s wing
.
•
■
not attend the sammelan
Widow ‘sold’
''
■..... y':
By Our Staff Correspondent
j. .
|
I
-zr-uis Q'tS 3 ■- a
Later, the member told K
j.v.ovno that
______________
presspersons
the woman j
TUMKUR, MARCH 25. A widow aged 32 married1 a man from Ij.
; has been reportedly sold for Reddy Colony eight years
Rs. 48,000 at Reddy Colony in ago. Her husband died DU1UC
some 1
^ur Disuiec _Ume ago and her b.o.her-inlaw allegedly said her to a
Pavagada unit of the Janata man from Ramagiri in And
DaI (Secular) ra^ed the mat- hra Pradesh. However, the "
ter
the former
ter when
when the
former minister.
minister, woman refused to go with the
RTTalitn
B.T.Lalita Nayak, was ad man
dressing the party’s “Zilla
She said some people had
Mahila Sammelan” here on convened a meeting at VenTuesday.L L
,
katanahalli to sort out the
Though the General Secre- matter.
tary of the party, H. NingapHowever, the police re- ’
pa, supported the member, fused to take action stating
the matter did not receive that it was a “family matter”
much attention.
she added.
IT
1 Local Cong leader | ‘5ECCAN HEEALD
V Z 6 M>«
to
death
1 ____hacked
___
-7)
r .
r
T
PH News Service
BANGALORE. April 7
’ A taluk panchayat member and
•I Block Congress President was
I ’ hacked to death by six persons at
; the Dobbspet bus stand in BanJX galore rural district tonight.
The killers, armed with
J choppers and machets came in a
I red Maruti car and attacked the
1l; victim, Narayana Swamy (45)
when he was waiting for the ari rival of his wife at the bus stand
around 7:30 pm. His wife works
as a superintendent at the SC/ST
. Corporation in Tumku?. The
public caught one of the accused, Raghu (26) while the
3
I. > others escaped. The victim who
r sustained severe blows in the
• ’ head, chest and stomach died on
.
\
v, the spot. - . ;
' Narayanaswamy a resident of
*1 ; Gottigere represented Dodderi
, constituency in the NelaV, I. mangala taluk panchayat. He
was also the Block Congress !
President for Sompura and I
Thyamagondlu.
j
The accused, Raghu, a res- J’
ident of Machenahalli, is the son I
of Basavaraju, a Janata Dal u
leader, who was murdered re- |
cently. Raghu has told police that jhe committed the crime along f
with five of his friends as he sus
pected Narayana Swamy to be
behind the murder of his father.
The news spread like wild fire A
and people started gathering at
the bus stand creating a tense sitnation. Traffic on the busy Na-J ’
tional Highway 4 was disrupted
following this. Police rushed to , I;
the
1116 spot
spot and
and additional
additional force
force was
was 'Ji
reinforced to prevent untoward U|
incidents. Later, police found the L
car abandoned near Hanuman- L
thapura. Police said the crim- 1
inals had escaped after aban- $
doning the car as the wheels got
stuck in slush.
S
f
DECCAN I-IERALI
sb An\ Zuyd
23
.?.
■
fit
Female child workers get Ji
san9prize
hjLbags I ready with set of demands n
Stree Shakti ;j
DECCAN HERALD
The representative female
DH News Service
child labourers at today’s meet
BANGALORE, Feb 25
hailed from occupations like -'
Female child labourers in the
GULBARGA, MARCH 10. Jal Bha- . State today thrashed out their set sericulture, domestic labour,
gyavanti Seva Sahaya Sangha, . of demands to be voiced during agriculture, cattle rearing and
even siblings care.
an all-women non-governmen- . aie Nationai public Hearing on
About a thousand female
ta! organisation (NGO) under
female
chUd
labour
on
March
female child labour on March 5. child labourers from 17 states in
the Stree Shake programme has
the coutry are expected to partic
won the State-level prize for the ;
,
fa..
. 1
three-day national convention of ipate in the national convention.
best managed Stree Shakti
sangha.The office-bearers of the ’ female child labourers to be held They include some 200 from the
sangha were felicitated for their ] at Mysore between March 5 and 7. State. According to CACL esti
Prominient among their mates, there are some five lakh
achievement at the monthly
meeting of the general body of ■ demands are free education, free female ohild labourers in the
the Gulbarga’Zilla Panchayat. j hostel facilites to escape State. The estimate is from the
The awards were presented at , ? unhealthy/abusive atmosphere view point that ‘every child out
a function in ‘Bangalore on J within their own homes, and of school is a child labourer’.
March 8. The sangha, which has r. protection against abuse and illLabour
Commissioner
20 members, was established * i treatment
‘
-by employers. Some Sanjeev Kumar and Director
two years ago. All the members ‘' 150 female child labourers par Department of Women and
of the group hail from econom
ticipated in the day-long deliber Child Development Jayaramraj
ically weaker sections and
ations under the banner of the Urs participated in the delibera
through their thrift habit the
Campaign Against Child Labour. tions.
sangha collected Rs. 40,000 as
____ la_ j
savings. The sangha, which had
opened its account with Canara ■
Bank,’ had taken a loan of Rs. . ;
10,000 from the bank and in ■
turn provided assistance to its J
members to start self-employ- f
ment ventures, such as tailoring fc
units and poultry units, in their h ;
villages.
J
Chennai, MARCH 8. The Life In- launch had been appropriately
----- ---- ---- ----- T:------___ ,
T*1;
i surance Corporation of India
chosen to coincide with the In
launched today a new money temational Women’s Day, he
back plan ‘Jeevan Bharati’, de- said in a release.
signed exclusively for women.
The plan provides for pay- '
The policy comes with critical ment of 20 per cent of sum asillness cover and congenital dis- sured at the end of five years
ability benefits for women in the and 10 years in case of 15 years’
£ age group of 18-50 years for the policy and at the end of 5, 10
Ffixed terms of 15 and 20 years, and 15 years in respect of 20 j r
t
S. ’ Viswanathan, Regional ’ years’ policy.
I Manager (PR & Publicity), LIC,
The policy provides an option 2s ■
| told presspersons here today to the lady to retain survival ■M '
| the policy could be taken for a benefit with LIC and withdraw it
a sum assured ranging from Rs. after its due date subsequently •ie
I 50,000 to Rs. 25 lakhs in multi- depending upon her need.
»• pies of Rs. 5,000.
In case of death of the policy- 5! According to S. B. Mathur, holder during the term of the ■
J Chairman, LIC, Jeevan Bharati, policy, the basic sum assured £ was a much awaited product de- along with guaranteed addi-k
j signed with its focus on the im- tions and reversionary bonuses, •; ■i
| portant role played by woman if any, is payable irrespective of j
__- --Ji in all soheres of life. The date of survival benefits paitLearlur <
11
By Our Special Correspondent
11
llHAri
!
i
I
I
II
LIC launches policy
for women
1
I
DECCAN HERALDj
i
MAH Ztkidi
r
DECCAN HERALD
0 i'IMn ZMUJ.
____ _—-—- ----
!I
Ssefel welfare: Maharashtra t©
1
strengthen delivery system
■
■
■
■
■
Y-----------------------------welfare issues would be dealt .< The concept
evolved after the -----ment,- .v
it has to operationalk
with, emphasising on improve Government decided to divert the intent to attack tire divisions4
MUMBAI, march 29. Maharash- ment of the lifetime concerns any additional resources that in the society.
The overridi cause of
,
itra, known for some time as a area An Additional Secretary become available to the "core
State being increasingly de- would monitor the■delivery, Mr. areas of responsibility where divisions remain° the cond!tion 1
•Ipendent on attaining financial Patil said, but observers said they are most needed and a de- of acute poverty affecting larS
(targets, may just have started on that long promises can be cision to address the critical is- Sections if
of the
the society.
society.”” . , i . ge
’ - on- delivery
J ’•---- /sues
]a new route of reaching physical short
1.*5' . raised
j • , • by the Human
The concept, Mr. Patil eluc;
■^targets instead, going by what
Project- Unite . is a new Development Report prepared
ithe Finance Minister, Jayant Pa- scheme which would focus on in consultation with die Plan- dated in his , recent budgv .
■Jtil,
in the legislature on _
Fri- the “needs'of the weak and dis- ning Commission - and the speech, "predicates the devel-1
f said........
advantaged sections” .to “pull UNDP last year; the Govern- opment of the weakest as th ’
Iday.
.
is a driver
onver of
or the
me development
ueveiopmem an .
’ Utilisation w.
of funds -and more them into the mainstream, to ment now says it will serve “as
views funding for social justice |
^importantly, the implementa- enable and empower them and guidetofutureplanning.”
.uuuv
.vohvu
.uuv
uuu- thereby attempt to do away
vw “~,
v.rfe-‘ as investment with the highe*-* ’
■kion
of.ouwu
schemes
would
be .monThe decision is to
comprelitored at a high level henceforth with the various divides in the hensively define social justice, potential for
socio-econom. ,
o , evolve
as charity
charity or so- |
evolve aa concept
concept of
ofsocial
social jus-'
jus-' returns
returns rather
rather as
•an the critical social welfare sec- society .such as jpoverty,, age,
.
—,1— lo- tice index and design and im* cial security.”
Jtor. The Government would gender, health, occui
~~ rpation,
z, .
plement a scheme under the
Now a mechanism for intt- <
Jtake special care to strengthen cation and caste.”
.u delivery system, especially
This was a significant content nomenclature of Project Unite, grating social justice with develfits
irider tire Project Unite concept of Mr. Patil's budget speech; the Since the budget is “a primary opment planning vwuld con
Junder which a host of social budget was approved on Friday, policy document of the Govern- into being.
1
By Mahesh Vijapurkar
>
.
>
■
,
i
r
.1
•----------
.
xl_ _
1--------------- J_C---------------------------------------------- i_1
------
Z^h
T
e
3
Ghbipadestallsiiienibere
demand for ZP allocation
■5.
Express Newsservice
ade stated that as per rules, local bodies,” he added.
.. '■
there was no such .provis- , At this juncture, memb- ; 3
Bangalore, March 26: ion. Atmananda argued ers, cutting ■ across party '
lines arguedw that ______
the legis- j 2
The high pitch demand by that the legislators were ex
t the legislators of all politi- officio members of ZPs and lators were not getting due
cal parties, including some there was a need to re-def- . importance in the ZPs. Bes- J
‘ ’- ides, the people were look- f
members of ruling Congr- ine their roles. “The legisless (I), for allocating a grant ators do not have. voting ing towards them for develi for them in zilla panchayats power and neither they opmental works and not ZP
p(ZP) where they are ex offihave any members. Under such circ- ||
J cio members, drew flak in
grants... umstances, there was a $ n -1
Why the le- need for the legislators to :fi if
j : the Assembly on Wednes; day with Rural Developmgislators have separate grant even in 2
•; ent and Panchayat Raj Min
should be ZP, they argued.
ister M.Y. Ghorpade refusin ZPs as
When Ghorpade refused
■ ing to bend rules to accomex officio to entertain the proposal,
, ■ modate the proposal.
members? the agitated members.
Legislators,
cutting
Even the rushed to the well of the^£
across the party line urged ZP members do not respect House and began speaking
’; the Minister to consider ear- the legislators or parliame- in raised voices. The Spea- ••
■
■ marking grant for legislat- ntarians,” he added.
ker suggested the Minister -A
; ors and staged a protest in
Ghorpade said the same to- convene a meeting of all , ?
if the well of the House, question cropped up even legislators and look into the ' >t
» Amidst noisy scenes and as- when the Panchayat Rqj problem. Ghorpade turned ■ J
I surance by
by Speaker
Speaker M.V.
M.V. Act was introduced. “The down the suggestion saying; 7
Ij Venkatappa to convene a idea
i’
of having ex officio “Whether I am the Minister’ £
& meeting of ministers and le- members is that the legisla- or not, it is irrelevant. Th^ J
gislators on the issue, Ghor- tors and parliamentarians proposal will defeat the baj
|| pade refused to’entertain
' i had better exposure, they sic spirit of de-centralisats t,can guide the local body ins- ion of power. Whether I con-( J
the proposal.
Answering a question titution to- function better. - vene the meeting« or not,'M TJ-’ ' 15
:3 raised byM.S. Atmananda The ex officio members sho- am not ready
\ to bend1 the
the I| :<S (Cong) about the MLA’s uld not meddle with the day rules
rules tx
of xPanchayat Raj. i
g grant in MandyaZP,
Mandya ZP, Ghorp- to day adminis
administration
tration nf A^".' --
2 7 MAH 2003
1
A!
w\n>v\l\AV«n in
1
OJ'
4^
4 r>
’Art
4
^CM has earmarked maximum
funds for women’s welfare"
i
j
fexPRESs’News Service
. Government started Stree emment has also opened
|
• Shakti programmes with a women’s hostels all over
i Mysore, April 8: Women budget allocation of Rs 72 the State, she added..
1 and Child Welfare Minister crore for self-help groups in
Motamma said the Cover’ Motamma said that the Con- the State.
... nment has already
gress Government in the
Chief
Minister ced free primary and secon.rtate was committed to the S.M.Krishna has allocated dary education for women,
/uplift and welfare of worn- the maximum funds for wo- The Organisation for Devel
men’s welfare programmes . opment of People, a non gov' Speaking after.inaugurat- -d^set^S^ .
.
ing the International Worn- to start the first-ever wornen’s - university in North ups and disbursed Rs 162.30
Jakhioans to the members.
?
ii t
j B 9 AKK 211113
i
. IIs
T.’a
’I
.1 j
V
'9i
!
©
n
k
.&
:tg
■
'
women
celebration in Mysore on Tuesday
Mysore Thomas vazhapllly and Mayor T.B. Chikanna look on.
■
j.
1
I
CAG.
highlights irregularities in ZPs Uy
tl
<■
•/
been finalised. The sum of Rs. 15 lakh
panchayats in Chitradurga, Bijapur,
drawn had remained blocked in the
Gulbarga, Belgaum, and Chitradurga
,• gulbarga
UULUrtHMM,, April 7. Glaring 1irregularities
1 1 V. g LI 1 (11 1 11 U O I in
savings account till March 2001.
engineering divisions revealed
expenditure and irregular withdrawal of
Pointing out another irregularity in the
discrepancies in the maintenance of
funds by zilla panchayats in the State
sanction and release of grant of Rs. 4.65
records, and shortage of material worth
. have knm,
been priori
pointed «..»
out u,
in tko
the report
crore
nearly
croretoto1717schools
schoolscoming
comingunder
under
nearlyRs.
Rs.55crore.
crore.The
TheEngineering
Engineering
A
--v t" *
A
■ • 1I »
• 1 1 » T~> — _ l_
”~ (
submitted by the Comptroller of Auditor- Bangalore and Tumkur zilla panchayats,
Division
of the
Gulbarga
Zilla
Panchayat
i General of India for the year ending
the report said the Deputy Director of
topped the list with a shortage of material
| March 2001.
Public Instruction, Tumkur, renewed
worth Rs. 3.85 crore, followed by Bclgaum
|
The report, which has been submitted
recognition, retrospectively, from 1994 to
Division (Rs. 39.67 lakh), and Bijapur
c,
| to die Government, said the Deputy
Division. (Rs. 29.63 lakh). ‘
.
. ..
S_
2001 during September 2001. The audit
f Director of Public Instruction, Gulbarga,
revealed that the grounds oh which
Besides, shortage of medicines worth
’
S had drawn treasury cheques for Rs. 2.69 . recognition was withheld were still valid,
" ; 11.94
Rs.
11.94 lakh
lakh was
was nntirpd
noticed in
in Riianiir
Bijapur, dnrl
and ■
.1 crore between May 1995 and June 1999 in and die renewal of recognition and
a criminal complaint against the person
!
»> favour of suppliers by preferring
release of salary grant of Rs. 3.72 crore for in charge of the stores had been filed
! contingent bills supported by stock
the 13 schools, the report pointed out,
with the police,
certificates recorded by him on the bills
were contrary to rules. The DDPI,
The CAG report pointed out that there
for purported supplies such as steel
Bangalore (Urban) Zilla Panchayat,
had been inordinate delay in fixing
furniture, library books, equipment, .
sanctioned a grant of Rs. 91 lakh to four
responsibility for the shortage and
utensils, etc. However, the stock
. secondary schools in Anekal and Gubbi
recovering the cost thereof from the
certificates with the department were
blocks although their recognition had not officials
officiais responsible,
responsible.
.
false as the material was received long
been renewed since 1994-95. The release
--------’■
~ delay of five years in
For
example,
the
after die cheques were drawn, and
of the amount went against the
fixing responsibility' for the shortage of
payments were made 12 months after the provisions of die grant-in-aid code.
material in the engineering division in
cheques were drawn. Quoting an
The report said that advances to the
Chikkodi resulted in die non-recovery of
example, the report said that of die Rs.
tune of Rs. 36.07 lakh paid to officials of
the amount as the official concerned had
61.31 lakh withdrawn during May 2000,
the zilla panchayat and the Deputy
retired. ,
only Bs. 12.67 lakh had been disbursed
Director of Kliadi and Village Industries,
The State suffered an additional loss of
till January 2001.
Gulbarga, from 1992 to 2000, had *
Rs. 21.18 lakh on the case against the
Similarly, the District Social Welfare
remained unadjusted for a period ranging official. Although the Lokayukta closed
Officer had drawn from the treasury a
from one to eight years.
*the
u-----case, the rCAG
'f,r'recommended
--------------further
grant-in-aid of Rs. 15 lakh sanctioned for
A sum of Rs. 31.92 crore generated by
investigation into it.
...
construction of low-cost houses for the
five zilla panchayats from the sale of farm
The CAG report also referred to the
Scheduled Tribes and deposited it in a
produce, seedlings, and scrap material
violation of rules by five zilla panchayats
savings bank account. The Chief ,
between 1995 and 2000 had also been
which bought 31 new vehicles at a cost of
Executive Officer of the zilld panchayat
- irregularly credited to the ZP account’
Rs. 1.21 crore between 1995 and 2000
had authorised the withdrawal even
instead .of government account.
without approval of the standing
2
though die beneficiaries’ list had not
• A test check of the stores of zilla
committees. . l.’
.. .
By Our Special Correspondent
r
T:
i
I
co
i
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___________
_ ____
Council passes
four BoB
By Our Special Correspondent
ihZ.'j-v-'x. 4-raMf-i riinMiH
'I
l
. ..
.-j'TL,o.
Award for panchayats
By Our Staff Correspondent
grammes of the Ministry of Rural
' Development pertaining to rural water’''LrNEW DELHI, APRIL 3. The Ministry of Rural De- vesting and management, drinking'
er
Assistant
Director, of
and
Assist-3
ant Superintendent
Land
Re-1 velopment has instituted . National Pan- and sanitation, with special reference, to
4
coVdTas^Ass^a^
chsyati Raj Awards for best performance by Hariyali and Swajaldhara schemes. The
Bill akn nrmnMp f ,.
inSi district, intermediate and gram panchayats. panchayat should have completed at
st
the anneals/
°r oisposal or^ The annual awards will carry Rs 30 lakhs one water harvesting structure in its jurisbefore the
the Divisional Commis-j for five district panchayats, Rs. 20 lakhs for diction to be eligible for the award. >
before
na1 Commis-S jo panchayats at the intermediate level and
The implementation and success c
re
sioner on the date of com Rs. 10 lakhs for 50 gram panchayats. The Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana, icvemencement of the proposed: guidelines for the awards will be issued by nue mobilisation, tax collection, populalegislation.
I
tion control, education and health id
The Inland Fisheries Bill pro-1 the Ministry shortly.
The selection will be based on perform- family welfare are other areas that Wx.. oe
vides for conservation, develop-1
. . j.;
t ,.ment, and regulation of inland! ance and implementation of the pro- taken into account.
fisheries in the State. The Bill |
would also prevent extinction of
different types of rare species of'
game ' DECCAN HERALD
fish such as Mahaseer, game'
fish, live fish, etc., by prohibitperintendent for Settlement al
BANGALORE, march 31. Four Bills
approved by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly were todav
passed by the Legislative Coundiscussion
much
<"l cil without
...... ...........
—-*• discussion.
;j i
The Bills approved'1 were the
I Karnataka
Land
Revenue
(Amendment) Bill, 2002, theKarnataka Inland Fisheries
(Conservation
I _._r
Development
and Regulation) Bill,
^iii 1996,
iqqg the
tho
Scheduled Castes and Sched
uled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Karnataka Amend
ment Bill, 2002, and the
. . Karna
taka
; f'
• _• - Municipalities
(Amendment) Bill, 2002.
nn9 ‘
’-! „ ’
•
ing cfishing
during the
period
The Land Revenue (Amend June to September.
ment) Bill abolishes the posts of
The Karnataka Municipalities
divisional commissioners and- (Amendment) Bill 2002 proentrusts the Y
.A’.rPPe1’ yides for minimum representa- I
late. Tribunal .with-------the appellate
rr—don of persons ‘from the
Castes and the t
visional
Commissioner;
rede Scheduled Tribes in municipal
■:<
signate., the posts of Deputy councils and town panchayats. j 1
; Commissioner of Land
Records
_ -------—3
xuv ouucuuieu
The
Scheduled Castes and j'/
— Scheduled xnucs
• • as >°
Joint
Director,
Com-‘ -the
,rL?
irrflOri-EDeputy
!fIPUty Com
Tribbs (Preven-J P,
,■ missiorier for Settlement
-------- 1 35
ttion of Atrocities) Bill, 2002, au- j 5
Joint Director for Settlement, thorises the original jurisdiction j i
Superintendent of. Land Re
Re- of the courts to the Courts of <
cords as .Deputy
Director, ;Su- Sessions, for the.speedy trial/-'],?;
L/cpuiy L/uecior,
•jj ~perintendent for Settlement
. ——__-.t as disposal of the cases registered]^
DeputyJDirector, Assistant Su- in special courts. ; ' ?
1
H4
2083
I
i Iiiimrinuiai
PECCAN HERALD
'3 1 MAH 2003
f
2^
Vajpayee sees ‘positive sign’
on women’s reservation Bill ’I
It
Express News Service
is still relevant but BJP favours also hinted at a new law to restr- -t
resolving the issue, either by iict
‘x the ----’ ■ of MLAs who$
number
Raipur, April 6: Prime Minis court orders or dialogue. Since could be made ministers, partic- $
ter Atal Behari Vajpayee on Sun- the court has already given its ularly after enmasse defections b
day said there was a significant decision, we are trying for a dia- in State Assemblies.
'
change in the attitude of politi- ’ logue.” ;
In reply to a question on Iraq, L
cal parties on the controversial
On the possibilities of the Con- the Prime Minister said India, J
women’s reservation Bill.
gress opposing the proposed Bill along with other NAM countr- IBefore his return to Delhi on to ban defections, Vajpayee said ies, was trying to ensure that f
Sunday morning after his two- ’ the Congress had been the worst the United Nations plays an effe- K
day visit to Chhattisgarh, the victim of “the disease” in Uttar ctive role. He observed that UN
Prime Minister said the Bill Pradesh. “There was no reason authority was getting gradually k
'-S
would be passed soon, adding for the Congress to see BJP’s eroded
-------------------------------------------------------and this should not hapL
il
that the BJP’s stand on the Bill gains in the law. It will apply to pen.
PGn--------------------------------------- :'t
remained unchanged.
all,"he said.
'Though
w Vajpayee
,
ruled out re-;
“Women should get reservatUnder the proposed law, any viewing the decision on POTA,
ion, both in Parliament as well defector will automatically lose he said if some specific cases of
as State Assemblies. Now, there his membership of Parliament misuse were , brought to the U
- is also significant change in the and State Assemblies.
Centre’s notice the Government i
attitude of other political
At BJP’s Parivartan rally in was prepared to look into such 1
x
•;.... ./
parties towards the Bill. It’s a Bilaspur on Saturday, Vajpayee instances.
.
I
positive sign,” Prime Minister
said.
“Hopefully, before the Lok
::
Sabha meets next and the Bill is
Raipur: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Sunday
formally introduced, some cons
said the anti-defection law would be enforced oh all even
ensus will be reached at by polit
while denying that amendments were being brought into it
ical parties,” he hoped.
by the NDA Government at the Centre for its own benefit.
Answering reporters’ queries,'
“Congress is the worst sufferer in Uttar Pradesh due to defe
the Prime Minister said the BJP
ction hence it is not correct to say that,” Vajpayee said while
• i Prime Minister a.b. Vajpayee lights a lamp on the occasion of the was neither defensive nor did it
speaking to reporters at Mana airport here before leaving;
. think the Ram temple issue had
X BJP foundation day at the party headquarters In New Delhi on
for Delhi. “Tt will bp enforced on all,” Vajpayee added* PTI
become Irrelevant. "This issue ;
A Sunday. Delhi bjp president Madanlal Khurana looks on—PTl .
....jr— •
■
■
i
- *.
,
i
3
I
?! ...
■■
I
0
1XU OCUU AA OUlllV OyVVUlU VUOVO vx J J*
1
I
'Anti-defection law will be enforced'
‘
|
I
*Wbr~T"i >
-z:
DECCAN HERALD
AHI
/Applications invited
|
Gadag and Haveri District Consumer Forums have invited
f, applications for the posts of two-members (including one
»(female) and the post of one member respectively. The prescribed &
application model has been notified at Gadag, Haveri District
't
, Courts, office of the Deputy Commissioners and office of the
&
j Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officers. The filled-in applica- \
i tions with attestations have to be sent to the president, KarSr
,• nataka State Consumer Grievances Redressal Commission,
i Basava Bhavan, High Grounds, Bangalore-1, before April 17.
- * - fr-.ifia.-* 'zmw
M.
!
.i,
DECCAN HERALD
4 .9 ISAS AWJ
i
t
I
I
1
Panchayat bodies it© be strengthened^ [
:" ’"’H up’ He also released a cassette !
By Our Staff Reporter
--------- ,, APRIL
’L' . <
Cr ? ' V
on rainwater harvesting on the J
bangalore
April 5.
s. The
The KamaKamaMinister, S.M.
S.M. Krish
Krish- k
J <
°C^S10n:
J
'taka Chief Minister,
Mani Shankar Aiyar, MP, and $
na, today said the honorarium
Chairman, Political Training?*;
given to anganwadi workers
Wing of the AICC, commended •.
would be increased if tire finan
Karnataka
for being a pioneer in 1
cial position of the Government
conducdng the third round,ofj-I
improved, and reiterated that
i- >
elections to the panchayat raj \
the midday meal for students in
institutions. Many States, in- j'J
government schools would be
eluding Assam, had not shown’*
extended to all districts.
any interest in holding elections
Inaugurating the State-level
to panqhayat raj bodies. He said
conference of panchayat raj in
the district planning commit
stitutions and city corporations
tees should be allowed to func
here, Mr. Krishna exhorted the
tion effectively.
.
panchayat members, officeMr. Aiyar said that 29 sub- j
bearers, and presidents of mu~~ ’''
nicipalitics from the Congress
party, to publicise the achieve
< shou,d be transferred to the
ments of the Government such
I «
W.\
':
panchayat raj institutions,
’ as die allocation of Us. 290
i
a
ST
'
along with clear-cut functions,
crores to 5,600 village pan*
isO and finances. Making the panchayats by raising the grant to
chayat raj issue the focus of the
The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, releasing a cassette on rainwater harvesting on the
each of them to Rs. 5 lakhs from
lakhs._________
The Government
0CCQ^?2Ho^thn+^P/ez<™e.?LP!?f
insJit“J!0,n® and, city corporations In Bangalore on national political agenda to en
■
Rs. 3.5
•_______
___ __
sure the development of the
Saturday. Others (from left) are K.B. Koliwad, Minister of State for Rural Water Supply,
had raised it from Rs. 1 lakh to
Margaret
*
country would be main pro I
as
o ,
^rgareDt Alva,
A,.va’ MP,
^P’ Motamma,
™°tani™a’ Minister
Min|ster for
for Women
Women and
and Child
Child Development^^
Development,
Rs.. o.o
3.5 laxns
lakhs earner,
earlier. ne
He saio
said ne
he
gramme of the Congress party, I
had done this despite the finanB- Janardhana Poojary, KPCC President, Mani Shankar Aiyar, MP, and Mallikarjun Kharge,
he added. The Rural Developcial constraints due to the
Home Minister.
Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash
• drought.
ardship of Sonia Gandhi, want- the 90,000 members. He said
On. the criticism by Opposi- ter, M.Y. Ghorpade said the
^r' ^hnakWhT° gar*andad a ed.t0 sti'engthen the panchayat Ms. Gandhi would be invited to tion parties thatOtheLBudgetUfor “activity ' mappmg”'
Portrait^
address ihn
the convention.^He onno
JoOS-W^
^pa/ed'
res^nXlities
oFlhe
portrait of Babu
Babu Jagjivan
Jagnvan Ram
Ram raj
rai system
svstem at
at the
the grass-root
erass-rantlevIpv- pHdrncc
no 1 ihad^bSn
i i
.
. mine'X
.
.9.
address the convention. u«
He
on
his---birth
r.“ :::
*“1. tapniver®afy- ,said cL The Government planned to sought the opinion of the mem- with the approaching elections State Government, the zilla, tathat though there was initial op organise a convention of mem- bers on \whether
L_2._. the
2._ r
„.
panchayat
in mind, the Chief Minister said luk, and gram panchayats, ’and
position in some quarters to oers
bers ot
of panchayat
panchayat raj
raj bodies
bodies raj
raj institutions
institutions
ituHnnc needed
nneeded
D1^n^ more
for
an(j a
yearS) fjjg gjfy corporations was ready,
panchayat raj institutions, they and city corporations in No- powers
or
whether
they
were
powers or whether they
decision of his Govern- The panchayat raj members
it.' The vember
vember in one of the districts happy with the changes made every
had gradually accepted it.
ment was aimed at that. Only should study , it carefully, he
\Congress party, under the stew- which would be attended by all •in the
• Act.
•
now had the Opposition woken said.
| i
i
i
I
r f
i
1
'I
I
if
i
M'
(
DECCAN HERALD
IB
p.ASjAWi SLA S, ft ft JUlJlA ,g fl fl
J ’ - •-
i
I
i
I1
OR the last two months the
B-j premises
of
the
, J- Belthangady Agriculture
y Vyj department
aeparunem has
nas resonated
resunaieu with
wiut
f <■' the melodious voices of women
■J singing. Along with music and
4. songs, are their debates, group
H discussions, and seminars.
A peek into the room from
where all the noise has emanated
brings into view a handful of
hmen and women sitting on a
: 'carpet. Their clothes leave no
; ’ doubt that these people are from
! the surrounding villages. Mr
. Kumar Hegde, Botany professor
[of S D M College, Ujire, is
:: writing on the blackboard as the
? group watches. Along with Prof
- ?.Hegde, . director of
the
•A
.•Dharmasthala
Community
^Rehabilitation
Scheme .
Jaishankar Sharma, Mundaje
MMJvrnwIhr nnllncra 1 ar furor
. j|pre-university college lecturer
U'jali,
Jali, retired government
officers
and
_. 2’ ; Narayan:' Kamat
x
;|Panduranga. Sherioy,
;|Panduranga\
Sherioy. also take
F classes for these villagers.
E
“These classes are part of the
; work done by the Abdul Naseer
: Saheb Village • - ■ • Development
4 Organisation. <The villagers are
! educated about the role of the
J panchayat and the part they play
i] in its . functioning," says
Jaishankar Sharma.
These classes have been held
twice a month since December
* 2002. In all ten classes will be
■j ■ held in a year. These villagers
are really lucky to be given this
training because the programme
| has not been conducted in all the
villages. ixuu
Not ceven the elected
Villages.;,
' > in various vil
’fy representatives
in this
'p lages have been
beentrained
---------------a regard. The Abdul Naseer Saheb
Village development training is
’ 1!
iv, • A A
lii Vo
Tn
Wbeing’ held ';iri
.'.44 +0
taluks.
In
I iBelthangad'y taluk in about 6
i
■
-1
V - ft
11f ; w
■-i'd...
' ttra® /w
‘i'il
ft’
<&&& ■
■■
¥1
-
rJ
• 1
■"
’
The Abdul Naseer Saheb Village
Development Organisation training
programme aims at educating
villagers about panchayats.
P R PATTIKALLU takes a look at the
programme
panchayats about 40 members
are grouped and provided
training.
The training programme has
been divided into five stages.
Since many of the villagers who
attend the training are not lit
erate, training is given such that
they are able to follow what is
imparted. Teachers take care not
to insist on written explanations.
Hence the villagers are free to
__ lnn»«n^
expla
in what they have learnt
through the use" of pictures,
drama, songs and dance.
At the training programme,
the villagers learn what a pan
chayat is, what its role is, how it
functions, how the members are
elected, what role they play, why
u
DJECCAN HERALD
to 6 APH ZUUd
N
On the
roac
i
progress
I
■'Jk ■
a village meeting is conducted,
how to pass a no confidence
motion and how to reinstate a
leader.
Teachers ensure that the vil
lagers have understood what has
been taught by asking them
questions and making them ex
plain the process. They also
discuss issues related to edu
cation, health, agriculture, and
cleanliness. The villagers ex
plain problems and solutions
through symbol sketches,
There are plans to bring in
artistes to help train the vil
lagers in depicting various
issues through different art
forms.
At present the government
la----------
Above: A teacher explaining the role of panchayats;
Top left: Song and dance training
has released Rs 1340 per head for
the training...
After the training, the vil
lagers are more aware of their
rights and of the role they play
in the panchayat system. Says
Akku, “If this training had been
given to us when we were
elected; we could have made use. ■
VI our
v«x power ......
of
more construc- sures her, “If you manage to do
tively. But this training has been good, work in • your retnaining
given to us three years after our two years, you 11 be elected foi
election. Any way, we have two another
’
"term and then ,you
r'” ’ll
more years to go. Hopefully, we have sufficient , time to . im
can make a difference with the plement your programmes.”
new knowledge we have got."
Budgetary allocation for
hereased
By T.V. Sivanandan
’^gulbarga, APRIL 2. Compared to previous years,
|the budgetary allocation for panchayats for 2003|04 has increased in both the Plan and non-Plan
| sectors. This has reversed the trend of reduction
tin the allocation for these institutions in the past
|two years. Official sources told The Hindu here on
'^Wednesday that the 27 zilla panchayats, and the
| taluk and gram panchayats have been allocated
| Rs. 206.04 crore more than that of the previous
| year. During 2002-03, the allocation went down
Jby Rs. 300 crore compared to that of 2001-02.
J Sources said the allocation for 2003-04 was Rs.
|'4,733.72 crore. However, the increase in the allos cation under the Plan sector was only a marginal
| Rs. 61.07 crore. Allocation for the non-Plan sector
was Rs. 144.98 crore more than that of the previous year. The zilla panchayats have been provid3 ed with Rs. 703.18 crore under the Plan sector,
V and Rs. 1,161.24 crore under the non-Plan sector.
I'The taluk panchayats have been allocated Rs.
.|'370.15 crore and Rs. 2,270.21 crore, respectively,
i The gram panchayats get Rs. 228.94 crore under
| the Plan sector. No allocation has been made for
| them under the non-Plan sector.
| Sources said the under the allocation of the
[ Plan sector, Rs. 688.41 crore had been provided
| under the State sector and Rs. 613.86 crore under
the Central sector. An allocation of Rs. 285.25
j; crore had been made in the Plan sector for grants
to be provided to the taluk and gram panchayats
f followed by the allocation of Rs. 215.65 crore for
j rural employment programmes.
| The State Government has allocated Rs. 108.82
J crore for family welfare programmes and Rs.
9
■•r
176.27 crore for rural drinking water supply
schemes. For area development programmes and
road and bridge works, the Panchayat Raj institu-;
tions have been provided Rs. 80.81 crore and
29.03 crore, respectively. The Panchayat Raj in- J
stitutions in Belgaum continued to occupy the ’
prime position with the highest allocation of Rs.
88.06 crore in the Plan sector and Rs. 259.5 crore
in the non-Plan sector, followed by those of Gulbarga District with an allocation of Rs. 70.92 crore <
under the Plan sector and Rs. 217.5 crore under >
the non-Plan sector. Following is the district-wise j
allocation under the Plan and non-Plan sectors,
respectively: Bangalore Urban: Rs. 34.999 crore, ?
Rs.189.17 crore, Bangalore Rural: Rs. 55.73 crore, •
Rs. 138.98 crore, Chitradurga: Rs. 49.79 crore, Rs. ,
127 crore, Kolar: Rs. 63.38 crore, Rs. 180.36 crore,
Shimoga: Rs. 45.81 crore, Rs. 121.95 crore, Tumkur: Rs. 68.2 crore, Rs. 216.93 crore, Mysore: 52.96
crore, Rs. 153.6 crore, Chikmagalur: Rs. 43.44
crore, Rs. 105.25 crore, Dakshina Kannada: Rs.
42.05 crore, Rs. 107.17 crore, Hassan: Rs. 52.86
crore, Rs. 145.74 crore, Kodagu: Rs. 23.01 crore,
Rs. 46.44 crore, Mandya: Rs. 46.6 crore, Rs. 136.81
crore, Bijapur: Rs. 42.26 crore, Rs. 129.16 crore,
Dharwad: Rs. 28.87 crore, Rs. 92.52 crore, Uttara !
Kannada: Rs. 41.03 crore, Rs. 134.98 crore, Bellary: Rs. 46.41 crore, Rs. 112.96 crore, Bidar: Rs.
43.07 crore, Rs. 121.54 crore, Raichur: Rs. 42.96
crore, Rs. 76.2 crore, Davangere: Rs. 49.15 crore,
Rs. 128.93 crore, Chamarajanagar: Rs. 33.16
crore, Rs. 62.08 crore, Udupi: Rs. 30.89 crore, Rs. {S
79.36 crore, Bagalkot: Rs. 36.45 crore, Rs. 100.4 <
crore, Gadag: Rs. 23.37 crore, Rs. 73.54 crore, k
Haveri: Rs. 34.18 crore, Rs. 105.68 crore, and Kop- J
pal: Rs. 33.78 crore, Rs. 64.97 crore.
___ i
THE HINDU
APH jam
30
2? cjsf@c2s
S'
El 7DfA,mnl
ZP Council also
passes .
$ m
.Irov^rr^r
resolution seeking Lokayukta
report on functioning of
implementing agency
Express News Service
ingalore, March 18
TTn an unprecedented move, the Ban| galore Rural district zilla panchayJLat on Tuesday rejected the State
Government’s order entrusting the
Karnataka Land Army Corporation
■
'
■
. '
.
®G5der ©oa §dw©l sdasosc
(KLAC) with a NABARD-sponsored
However, the ZP members, cutting officials repeatedly reminding mem- initiate the project?
project for construction and renova- across party lines, held that the KLAC bers that the Council could not defy a
Members also charged that there •
tion of school buildings. The ZP Coun- ..xyas not fit to be the implementing . Government order and that the entire/ was a lack of transparency in selection '
cil
unanimously
a resolu
y. The corporation, they alleged, project would lapse if not undertaken - of schools to avail the scheme, the '
-i, also
--------1------ , passed
j------agenC
tion seeking a Lokayukta report on the
whims and fancies of officials often’■
functioning of the KLAC.
being the clinching factor.-‘They J
The
corporation,
ZP
members
alleged,
was
a
corrupt
and
inefficient
The Government, in its order, had
demanded that the entire list, already;
agency
which
had
cdme
to
have
a
reputation
for
sub-standard
works
awarded the work contract to KLAC
approved by the Government, be .
for execution of work in 18 districts of
revised to include schools of their '
the State, including Bangalore Rural, was a corrupt and inefficient agency immediately.
. choice.
;
The National Bank for Agriculture and which had come to have a reputation
In the first phase, the Government
Bowing to the members’demand, zil- jj
Rural Development had sponsored the for sub-standard works. "We will not has sanctioned Rs 24.15 lakh for reno- la panchayat president G. Raj anna *
scheme on condition that local bodies .. allow KLAC to carry out the work,” vation of 46 out of 138 selected schools -passed the resolution calling, on the z
would initiate work by Marcinend, was the general response.
in Bangalore Rural district. As things Lokayukta to give, a report on the |
failing which it would lapse.
The resolution was passed despite stand, the Council has barely 12 days to working of KLAC.
/ --
THE HINDI?
j y mu 70G3
.. !
--- ----—
Panchayat members meet
By Our Special Correspondent
BANGALORE, April 3. The KPCC will organise a convention of i
Congress members of municipalities and panchayat raj
:
bodies at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall here on Saturday.
The Chief Minister, S.M.Krishna, will inaugurate the
convention. The party MPs, Mani Shankar Iyer and;
Margaret Alva, will attend the meeting. The PCC President,
Janaradhana Poojary, will preside over the meeting.
---- r
r-<
T, ,,srv< ir vv
. »--.->-^.--7 r ucsM-rewc
1 he Hiaou'•i
Ahi Z0Q3
VI
\
f
.. _ __
..tw-ouj.. ...
pi J ■
jnv
Funding for panchayats — I
By George Mathew
ELEBRATING
ANNIVER- velopment. The Minister of Finance ments and working out training mod- have been abolished and their funcf
SARIES of political leaders and Company Affairs, the Deputy ules for elected PRI members and its tions handed over to the Zilla Parcnairman, canning
functionaries, working out a mecha- jshad The independent existence of
0.
. and honouring men and , Chairman, Planning Commission,
Minister of Social Justice and Em- nism for Unking Central assistance to DRDAs along with the Panchayati Ra
'^M^Jwomen for their contribu- the
-------------------------------------- .i.
tions to national development has powennent,
thee Minister
Minister of
of Tribal
Tribal AfAf- States which is linked to the progress institutions is highly desirable. 1
veu as
of on PRIs’ empowerment and other rel- would, therefore, suggest that where
become a popular pastime of our po- fairs as well
as the Chief Ministers nf
Bihar oujeuax,
Gujarat, xxaxxxcuuxv.*,
Karnataka, ---------------------evant issues are also things the com- DRDAs do not exist as a separate entibuicu,
litical class. The BJP-led Government AsSain,
Assam,
Neraia, wxauuva Fxitiech
..RlU. h- to look into. The first ty, you may take immediate steps for
at the Centre has dusted some old Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajas- mittee has
meeting of the committee is yet to reconstituting them
files and discovered new heroes to than are members. The Secretary,
4
*
5 -J----- *----- e —This decision of the Ministry came
honour. But it seems to have forgot Planning Commission, is the Con- take place and advocates of decenten the
the tenth
tenth anniversary
anniversary of
ot one
one of
ot vener and*the
and the Secretary,
Secretary, Department
Department traUsation
tralisation and
and Panchayati
Panchayati Raj
Raj are
are eaea- under flak from several quarters. For
ten
—i------- . is the Co-Con- qerly
instance, the Standing Committee oi 3
the path-breaking events in inde- of Rural> Development,
gerlyawaiting
awaitingthe
theoutcome.
outcome,
What the ^-vPm
Government
seems to be Parliament on Ministry of Rural De- j
pendent
panchayats becommPnt seem..
pendent India
India — panchayats
becom vener.
(
velopment said in its 2000-2001 re- f
ing Part IX of the Constitution. It was
____________ ■
;____________ port: “The Committee would Uke to g
on April 24, 1993, that the panchayats
What the Government seems to be giving to
I
got the constitutional recognition as
‘institutions of self-government’ after
the Panchayati Raj institutions with one hand, it. i— onions rural develop > (
a long and arduous journey. The his
toric significance of this event is be
takes away with the other. This has dealt a body-; Committee desires that, bearing in ?
ing ignored by the BJP leadership and
mind Article 243 G of the Constitu- |
blow to the local self-government system.
thereby the Union Government. Of
tion, the bureaucratic overload of !
course, the panchayat is a State sub
DRDAs be seriously reconsidered and I
ject but the signal that the Union is
The committee’s mandate includ- giving to the PRIs withjjneJJand, it an earnest effort made to merge the .
sending may prompt the States to
oy*
with
the
other.
This
has
function of DRDAs
tlic ether. Thie ..ee ------------. . as administrative
. c
,
a|
conclude that panchayats do not ed review of the actions taken by takes awa?
matter and that decentralisation and State Governments for the empower- dealt a body blow to the local self- arrangements existing before the in- j
ment of the PRIs as per the 73rd Con- government system. It all began to- sertion of Part IX in the Constitution
empowerment of the local self-gov
the Constitution,
need
■
Aet so
eo that wards the end of 1999. As the Union and
with the givingDRDAs
effect to
ParttoIXbe
of | •
ernment bodies can wait.
stitutional2 Amendment
^Act
id fZLJtion as effective insti- Rural Development Minister, the se- the Constitution, DRDAs need to be |
The Centre’s perception seems to they couldjuncw
of
self-government, nior BJP leader and party ideologue, democratised and rooted in the Panc. local
_
be that panchayats and municipal tutions
wuikuik out
uui. modalities
ntvdaUtics for strength- Sunderlal Patwa, wrote to all the chayati Raj system”.
|
ities found a place in the Constitution working
By then, Venkaiah Naidu had taken | j
ening the functional domain of the Chief Ministers detailing how he had
by a play of social and political forces. FRia duvugh
over-------------------------------as Minister for Rural DevelopPRIs through transfer of
of rcoourccc
resources taken steps to strengthen the Distinct ----So why worry too much about it? from the Centre and the State Gov- Rural Development Agencies under a ment
u. He
ne ignored
ignoreu the
uie suggestions
suggebuuna of
ui
What the Government has so far done emments and assessing the capacity new scheme — DRDA administra- the Standing Committee.
---------1----- Therefore,
-------- — | :
emments an<
is to take one step forward to satisfy of the PRIs to raise resources and de- tion. The DRDA, he said, would be the
Darlinmpntnrv
("'nmmittPft
for
Parliamentary Committee for ’
some panchayat enthusiasts, and velop an action plan in this regard.
principal organ at the district level to 2001-2002 reprimanded the Ministry
move two steps backwards to under
The Committee
is concerned |
The committee also had the man- oversee the implementation of van-thus:
■ “—
mine the institution. How else can date to look into the capability of the ous rural development programmes. to note the reply of the Government ’
one explain some of the decisions PRIs at different levels to absorb the Mr. Patwa, perhaps, did not under- in response to their recommendation *
taken by the Centre in the last few financial allocations made to them stand the spirit of the new Panchayati macje earlier to merge the function of |
years, especially after the BJP-led under different schemes, and develop Raj. The Constitution has already en^ledistrict panchayats. J C
Government came to power?
a framework to ensure fiscal disci- trusted the panchayats with powers
of addressing the issue and
On
-----December. - 21, 2002, on the
. , evepline and financial accountability at and authority at appropriate levels for
a categorical
reply, theex-.
of the tenth year of the passing of the different levels; as also to suggest the preparation of plans for economguidelines arereproduced ac-1
73rd constitutional amendment, the measures that need to be taken to en- ic development and social justice and cording
J? »to which DRDAs are expected •
National Development Council con- sure administrative control of the the implementation of schemes for fo coordinate effectively with the.
stituted a high-powered sub-commit- prjs over state Government func- economic development. A DRDA ad- Panchayati Raj institutions. In view of I
tee
for
the
financial
and tionaries dealing with subjects listed ministration above the democratical- this, the Committee reiterates their 1
administrative empowerment of the m the XI Schedule of the Constitu- ly-elected body at the district level
recommendations”. Even after this,
Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs). Al- tion, besides evolving a framework would make a mockery of democracy, there was no action at all.
I
though it took another three months for preparing and projecting local
Mr. Patwa did not take kindly to
It is a sad commentary on the Cen
for the Planning Commission, which plans that reflect the felt needs and those State Governments which dis
tral Government that it has strength
not acted
services the sub-committees, to issue aspirations of the people so that de- mantled theDRDAs and merged their ^^eFv*ove7±7vero*to
” |,
the order, it was a step forward.
veiopment process becomes a peo- talons
^7 ^nXuo^,demoSei
The empowered sub-committee is pie s movement.
ishads. He wrote, it nas pee
chaired by the Mini&ter of Rural DeAssessing the training require- ed that in some of the States, DRDAs mstitution .
i c
r
C
C
THE HINDU
(
APR 2003
32.
F I
■p Funding for panchayats
By George Mathew
i
|
f i
HE BUDGET allocations to niently forgot that the Prime Minis- out saying that ordinary people have Government and supported by civil
the Ministry of Rural Devel- ter,, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had greater faith in panchayat’s repre- society organisations. At another levopment are - next only to> categorically stated that the panpan sentatives than MPs for the simple el, India has the unique distinction of
TI._ . chayats are the
those made to D
Defence. The
t third tier of govern-, reason that MPs are mostly inacces- creating a constitutional forum for
I Ministry^impiemenis
in the
‘ t
‘ *programmes
a w
" - > ance
ance ir_
___ Indian federal system, sible. The panchayat representatives direct democracy — the J Gram Sabannually for poverty alleviation and , The proposal was discussed at a are closer to die people; there is face ha’ with special powers for oversee
ing
development of infrastructure, hab- meeting of State Secretaries, con- to-face
interaction and—they can
-------- --------------------w the local development, and
itats and land resources in the rural venedby the Ministry of Rural Devel- watch their day-to-day activities. All expenditure. The concept of social
_r
■„ and almost all the over the country, the panchayat elec
elec- audit’ has emerged from these innoareas to the tune of more than Rs. opment,
20,000 crores. The Members of Par Secretaries opposed the idea of MPs tions attract a very high percentage vative steps.
Not that all these instrumentalities
liament also want a hand in the util becoming chairpersons of DV&MC. . of voter turnout.
de-- are functioning well. Wouldn’t it be
The first Chief Minister to react
Entrusting MPs with rural area de
isation of these funds. Therefore the
MPs demand a “greater role in the strongly to the move was Digvijay velopment is something the country more appropriate to streamline the
existing structures to make them ef
implementation of rural developfective? For instance, die Constitu
3 ■ ment programmes".
tion Review Commission had taken
|
The Government has kept the MPs
Entrusting MPs with rural area
note of the inadequate provisions in
5 in good humour. There is a move to
law relating to audit of accounts of
development is something the country can
set up district vigilance and monitorpublic bodies resulting in delay, mis
j ing committees (DV&MCs) for rural
ill-afford...
They
are
votaries
of
centralisation.
use of funds, tardy implementation
development programmes with
of projects and over-all weakening of
Decentralisation is anathema to them.
Members of Parliament as Chairper
the system. It had recommended
sons. Perhaps the biggest blow to the
that necessary provisions be made
constitutional status and autonomy
I of the panchayats, the move was Singh of Madhya Pradesh. He said can ill-afford. Take the case of MPs’ for auditing panchayat accounts to
Jmade
— J — during
J- M
•A
- XX P of
Cl- Shanta
the
"tenure
that DV&MC was against the spirit of Local Area Development Scheme ensure that works related to audit are
*’ - distrust
J;-—— (MPLADS) started in 1993 Under completed within a year of the close
•: Kumar, another veteran BJP leader, federalism and betrayedJ the
1
1
TTlP If
Comp
of the AXinlrtrxr
Ministry on the tiHYinfldoc
bonafides ond
and tKlC
this nmOTHTTI
programme,
local MPs have ex- of the financial year. Also, the.
the.Comp5 who
has -------now- resigned.
*
--------------— in x1the
-- elusive rights over the allocation of troller and Auditor-General of India
On December 20,2002, Mr. Kumar ability
ofr ’local1 governments
( wrote to MPs,appointing them implementation of the rural develop- funds for projects, disregarding the should be empowered to conduct the
i chairpersons of DV&MCs and ex- ment schemes. Mr. Singh found it priorities
of the
panchayats. audit or lay down accounting staul plained the rationale thus: “There is ironical that the Ministry had come MPLADS, along with the MLALADS, dards for the panchayats. If only the
2 scope for improving the implcmen- forward with such an inappropriate gets funds worth about Rs.3,000 Ministry had implemented these rec_ -s— which
i-1 —1. would undermine
J
CrOrCS aQV**
0** seriously undermining
•tM/’lortYilnInrr ommendations
mnndnfinne and
nnd then
tKpn found
fniinH the
thft
the crores
year,
9 tation of rural development pro- action
grammes in terms of both spirit of the 73rd amendment to the the role' of panchayats. In recent■ syst<tern wanting, all the arguments to
j effectiveness and efficiency, which is Constitution. The most important years, while the demands for raising bring in MPs from above would have
the primary challenge we are ffacing
„ ‘point' raised
” by
’ ’ him relates to the the- the budget for MPLADS arej never made sense. But by bringing in MPs
ending,
the financial------------autonomy of from nowhere, the Government is
our democratic ------(
a today” and wherein "the Members of ory and practice -of---------------------o,---------------s Parliament will have a far greater role institutions. The terms of reference panchayats remains totally neglect- only trying to further undermine me
i to play”. The Government, he said, of the DV&MC are <co-terminus with ed. Year after year, people hear that Panchayat! Raj institutions.
many :impediments and
j belfeves that the MPs are in a posi- the functions and responsibilities of either the funds from MPLADS are
rDespite
‘—
\ tion to discharge the new role effec- the Zilla Parishad. Is it not inappro- not spent or if they are ‘spent’, there the Government’s efforts to underlively and therefore their nomination priate to assign a superior position to are serious questions in the minds of mine the panchayats, the balance
as chairpersons is expected to be ve- a nominated body over an elected the people about the way they are sheet of the three-tier structure is
body, the Zilla Parishad? Moreover, utilised. The Mayawati tapes reveal quite positive. Ten years is a short
ry effective.
The constitution of the committee MPs and MLAs are members of the another side of the story of MPs’ gen- period, to pass judgments. But rural
. . . The „...
. . , is
. u.ne jnterest jn rurai development. India is going through a silent revoluZilla „Parishad
needs mention here because it re Zilla Parishad.
over by
flects the Government thinking. The presided
r----, a xperson elected by The moral of the story beginning tion. A new leadership is emerging.
r
C
—.d—1— Patwa to Mayawati Excluded groups and marginalised
Member-Secretary is the District the people of the district. Bringing in from
Sundarlal
MPs ...
want to control sections of society are now demand
Collector and in the committee of an MP to oversee the
*’ rural« develop- seems to be that »«r»about 20, the chairman of the Zilla ment programmes of a district is a things from top. They are the votaries ing a share in the national cake. The
1__ a member along deliberate move to erode the consti- of centralisation. Decentralisation is ordinary men and women have now
Panchayat is also
become players in the system, which
with the officers-in-charge of line de- tutional authority of the Zilla Parish- anathema to them.
There are numerous elaborate is changing the very grammar of In
partments. On reading the text of the ad, according to Mr. Singh.
Minister’s letter and the guidelines
FEvidently, more than the Govern- mechanisms at the Central and State dian politics. On the tenth anniverlevels to ensure accountability and sary of panchayats .becoming the.
for the committees, one gets the im- ment, the people of this country
’s concerned^about the proper imple- efficient utilisation of public funds, third tier of governance in the federal
pression that in the Ministry
1"
scheme of things, the panchayats as mentation of the development There are time-tested institutional polity, may be they have something
institutions of self-government do schemes and utilisation of over mechanisms for audit. So are vigi to rejoice about.
(Concluded)
not exist at all. Mr. Kumar conve- Rs.20,000 crores a year. It goes with- lance committees sponsored by the
THE HINDU
2
1
53
k Ghorpade draws flak over
msahrte^ance of ZP roads
{
Certaii^i works
to be referred
to Lokayukta I
I
I
By Our Staff Reporter
I
Our SPecIal Correspondent
5. Several
bangalore, march 18. The Ban-1 BANGAL0RE’ march
i
I
galore Rural Zilla Panchayat on J members of the Legislative As
Tuesday resolved to refer some | sembly today criticised the Gov It
ernment
for
the
poor
works relatedltov repair,, renova- if
tion,#, and construction of « maintenance of zilla panchayat
schpols, carried out by the Land } (ZP) roads, and blamed the Ru1 i ral Development Minister, M.Y.
Army, to the Lokayukta. • .
However, the minisThe ZP President,: Rajanna,’ || Ghorpade.
ter gave them very little hope of
made this statement following
complaints by the ‘zilla: pan’ | any improvement in the near
Show-cause notice
chayat members that several. future.
,
Mr. Ghorpade admitted that
The Minister of State for Pri
works carried out by the Land
the condition of ZP roads left
mary and Secondary Education,
Army and Nirmita Kendra in the': | much
to be desired. He said that
B.K. Chandrashekar, informed
rural district were substandard
of the one lakh km. of roads, on___ kl?Araga Jnanendra (BJP) that the
in nature. Several members de
■ ly 23,000 km. had been asphaltHe favoured the formation of Principal of Tunga College at
manded that the zilla panchayat
i ed, and funds for maintenance a revolving fund to which the Tirthahalli had been asked to
not entrust the construction to
iwere inadequate.
Centre might contribute, to show cause why grants to the
either the Land Army or the Nir- .j.----------- n-----\ The minister, who was reply- solve the problem of poor main institution should not be stop
miti Kendra/
ing to supplementaries on a tenance. At one stage, the ped in view of the allegation of
Narasimiah, member, de
manded that the ZP write to the question tabled by Rajendra Speaker, M.V. Venkatappa, lent collection of fees and donations
Government on the issue and Varma (BJP), said the condition support to the members who by the college,
An inquiry had proved the al
refer the construction of school could be improved only when complained of poor mainte
uniform norms of maintenance nance of roads.
legation against the manage
buildings, repair, and renova
were applied to all roads. The
ment, and an explanation from
tion to the Lokayukta. He said
amount required for the proper Drinking water
the Principal to the notice is
the substandard work carried
maintenance of ZP roads was
The Minister of State for Ru- sued last month was awaited.
out by these agencies had been
j. Rs. 150
crore,
whereas
the
alloral
Water
Supply,
R.B.
Koliwad,
15G civic, wucxcaB uie oily- itu waiei ouppiy, n.o. Kouwau,
in
In reply to
io a question
quesuon by
uy Beloei;, debated, and wanted to know if
was WILAy
only 11Q.
Rs. 71
I X VXK/XV
crore, of replying to a question from A.B. lubbi, the minister said the salathe proceedings relating to the I I' cation VVUO
Rs. 48 crore had been re- Patil OD-U), explained the steps ry grants for the Jagadaniba
issue had been sent to the ■'which
l| leased. For every 1 km. of PWD taken to solve the problem of educational institution in BijaGovernment.
‘ '■ ■
was 3 km. of ZP drinking water in Sankeshwar, pur had been withheld because
' there
’
Mr. Rajanna said any sub |Proads,
and said Rs. 1.40 crore was
of irregularities involving Rs. 26
standard work carried out by pads, he added.
Mr. Ghorpade said he had available to meet the drinking crore. However, the Govern
’ the two agencies in Bangalore
jftaken up with the Cabinet the water requirement,
ment was taking steps to release
; Rural District would be referred
.'question of evolving a uniform
Mr. Koliwad said there was a the salary of teachers on hu
to the Lokayukta.
' policy for road maintenance. scheme for providing genera- manitarian grounds, he said,
Earlier, the meeting wit The Centre was
concerned tors to lift water if the gram pan- and added that action was benessed a heated discussion on
about maintenance of roads as chayats contributed 30 per cent ing taken against the officials
j the construction of new class! it was providing huge sums for of the funds required.
who
colluded
with ‘ the
’ rooms.
Several
members
However, no panchayat had management.
■ claimed that they had not been^ ■ new roads.
; consulted about the location of
classrooms.
:
They wanted to know the ra- •
r tionale in passing a resolution
on an issue that had not been
brought to the notice of the
» members.
|
Members complained that
« those.villages recommended by
j them for the construction of the
< new classrooms had not been
!. included in the list prepared by
i the Education Department.
i
The Deputy Director of Pub• lie Instruction, Doddasiddappa,
j said the list had been prepared
I as per the note sent by the
j Standing Committee on Educa4 tion.
■'
S-
I
I
THE HIND^T
0 a HAit Z(JU3
S«r;
come forward to avail of the'
scheme, he added. Denying that
• he had issued a statement that i
the condition requiring contri
bution from panchayats would
be withdrawn, Mr. Koliwad said
there appeared to be a feeling
that drinking water would be
given free. How was it possible
to provide all facilities for free?
he asked.
r_
Panchayats and population
By George Mathew
-JT T IS indeed shocking that the itation, including~ hospitals, .primary
especially in I
... • per cent of elected panchayat
-j -I seats ess
— and
— rprogrammes,
- - o—
R present Government and the health centres and dispensaries. As are reserved for women, representa- the areas related to population I
_r ------ 1*4------------------------------------------- a must j:.------------------------- _r *1--------------- -- -------. . ... ..
1
| policy-makers are not seized of multi-sectoral action plan is a must tive committees of the panchayats stabilisation.
the gravity of the situation ere- for population stabilisation, educa- (headed by
1
bv an elected woman panFor realising these concerns, first 2
I ated by the extraordinary growth of tion, especially women’s education, chayat member) should be formed and foremost the local government |
I India’s population. Even after India primary health and poverty eradica- to
tn nmmnto
Q mul- institutions
— --------- c.
—- | &
promote a□ ann,ior.coneit:v
gender-sensitive,
must* ihave°
fimetions,
II has become home to 16.7 per cent of tion have been brought under the ti-sectoral agenda for population functionaries, funds and freedom.
•! the world's nonulatinn
with
iust
7
4
panchayats.
population
just 2.4
mvuaj-aio.
stabilisation, that will think, plan The impression that from the Cen- §
per cent of world's land area (beEver since the amendments were and act locally, and support nation- tral to the State Governments, every- ?
—>, the critical role of the localj ally. These committees may identify one who matters is vying with one ?
tween 1991 and 2001, the increase made
was 18.1 crores, equivalent to the to- government institutions for popula-- area-specific unmet needs for repro- another to weaken the panchayats f
tal population of Canada, France ' ,
and municipalities in a subtle, and |
and Germany), one cannot see a often not-so-subtle way, must go. I
conscious effort on the Govern
Family welfare cannot be implemented through Second, the future strategy needs to ’
based on the mobilisation of the ,i
ment's part to tackle the problem
orders from above in a democratic system... Can be
masses for creating “little republics” i
facing the country. Instead, the at
in each village.
tention is being focussed on trivial
anyone help better than local
It is time to launch an aggressive •>
ities with the sole aim of winning the
self-government
institutions?
campaign for generating awareness £
next election.
on
the common people’s space in J
The Government and its policy- the governance system, particularly 3J
makers have no clue as to how to act tjon stabilisation has been under- ductive health services, and prepare
>
are
jo avert a major disaster waiting to iined
almost all the policy need-based, demand-driven, socio- Th camnaien must focus on decen ]
1
happen. The problem is not because documents of the Government. But demographic plans at the village lev-. ^ise7PeXnance diroueh the 3
of a dearth of ideas but the extreme have the political leaders or the offi- el, aimed at identifying and provid- r>anchavats to tackle the coreHssues
reluctance of the governments to cials
cjaig realised tire
the significance of ing responsive, people-centred and
rura/develooment with oarticu- 3
take action
these changes
changes even
even after
after 10
10 years?
years? integrated,
integrated, basic
basic reproductive
reproductive and
and iar emphasis on health an<? family |
.. to implement
, these these
ideas, making use of the available re- The answer is “no.”
cchild
u:m health-------n
—
>
-----j
—
care. Panchayats dem- welfare, along with income genera- j
sources. Even when action is taken
From the Sth Five-Year Plan on- • onstrating exemplary perform;iance tion and poverty alleviation by elim- i
m the name of famfiy welfare and wards, thinking and documentation iin
” ♦*the
’'* ----compulsory registration of
population stabilisation,
it is either focussed on achieving the goals of births, deaths, marriages, and preg- inating leakages and wastage, i
.
.*
half-hearted or devoid of any under family welfare only by decentralised nancies, universalising the small conserving resources and through i
asset-creating activities. The role of I
i——.nr*t- —
_2i.
------------ 2——f
_i?. - standing of ground realities.
planning andJ implementation.
The family
norm,
increasing safe deliver
The world’s two most populous Plan document stated that since the ies, bringing about reductions in in- the gram sabha in propagating fam- j
ily welfare measures must be anoth- |
countries adopted two diametrically socio-economic
demographic
—----------- —2and-------o—fant and maternal mortality,
mortality, and er area of concern.
opposite approaches for checking characteristics vary from area to ar- promoting compulsory education
The campaign should not be di- I
population growth. China went the ea, panchayats are the ideal units for up to age 14, will be nationally rec- rected at the generaT public (pTople
_...!
:*—■
--- 2._ 2the2_, fixing
r2 lthe
—o family
—o_.. planning target, ognised and honoured”.
authontanan
way, imposing
in the villages) only. Policy-makers,
one-child norm and achieved the Therefore, analysis, planning and
Coming to the latest policy docu- MLAs, MPs? leaders of political par
targets. But India opted for die two- administration of population stabil- ment, the 10th Plan document has ties, bureaucrats as well as opinion
child norm,
through
democratic
isation programmes
must be from also reiterated the importance of makers, the
media and intellectuals
i • i •
i
i. fr'
i
*
UiC lllCvLlCl di ivl 111 LL-lltJ v I LI ulo
means, which is much more difficult the panchayats. In 1994, the M. S. achieving population stabilisation should be brought into it. The teachand complicated, but has failed, as Swaminathan
Swaminathan expen
expert group
group categorcategor- by
byinvolving
involvingpanchayats
panchayatsin
in planning,
planning, ers and students in village schools,
ically said
said the
the present
monitoring and
and mid-course
mid-course correccorrec- women’s organisations and other
of now.
°f
now;
ically
present verticallyvertically- monitoring
17Family
' welfare
~'c
“ 5imple- structured
,
cannot* lbe
structured family
family welfare
welfare propro- tion
tion of
of the
the programme
programme at
at the
the local
local NGOs could be the vehicles for the
mented through orders from above grammes imustbe ‘ replaced by level. After the policy document was campaign.
( in a democratic system. As the fam- decentralised
?-------------------------’---ri------------------------ * -*should
—,J
democratic
planning
accepted, the Government
The Government can create poli ily is an integral part of the local through
and’ municipal
J *panchayats
.
\ have taken steps to implement it icies
and programme guidelines'but
______________
oJ2_2___'__t
community, can anyone help better ities because they provide a new w
’1’*1 vigour and detennination. But other
----players
u—.„ have to be identified
—*:c—>»in
—
with
tho
carl
ctatn
nF
offoirc
ic
tktofr
oil
fknrn
______________________________________________________
than Innai
0if.nn„omn,ont inctit...
------off-------rfor
---------the sad“state of affairs is that all these planning" and implementation. We 'IAT-j
local cself-government
institu- window
opportunity
promottions? In this direction, the first and ing decentralised action. But no ac plans remain on paper even in 2003. now have 595 districts. The best yvay
most critical intervention were the tion was taken.
The present situation boils down is to involve corporate houses, fdun73rd
'In »«««
1
u*
u dations,, companies
r 2__ and
J public
j /sra and
ana the
tne 74th
/4tn Constitutional
constitutional
2000, the *'
National Population
to two concerns: first, strengthening
‘ Amendments, making the pan- Policy (NPP-2000) recognised the the local government institutions, trusts and NGOs to take up a district
strategic role
role of
ofpanchayats
panchayats and
and mumu- investing
investing in c-f"i chayats
chayats "institutions
"institutions of
ofself
selfgoverngovern- strategic
’*;-ofc --u With tax incentives,
— the *busicapacity-building
each.
• ment” and giving them subjects nicipalities in decentralised health elected members, functionaries
I and1 ness houses can use their profes> such as family welfare, women and planning and implementation. The infrastructure. Second, investing in sionals
to
strengthen
the
| child development, health and sansan- policy document stated: “since 33 educating, awareness-building proc- panchayats.
j
THE
\9
c
3^
c
■f
‘' Panchayat develops Sonia writes to Vajpayee
workable water tariff
on Women’s Bill
§
I
programme, the village com- I
H
By Our Special Correspondent
I
munity had to raise 10 per cent of ,
. .•
•
the project cost, and residents of <
snew DELHI, APRIL 22. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, has if
NEW DELHI, April 18
Kinnigoli, which is near Man-. urged the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to ensure the pas- <
A tariff mechanism for water galore-Udipi national highway, .
sage of the “long-pending” Women’s Reservation Bill at the earli
supply developed by the Kin raised Rs 70,000.
/j est, and once again placed on record her party’s support for such a|
nigoli gram panchayat in DakKinnigoli panchayat has Jf legislation.
•
m
shina Kannada district has based the sustainability of water >
In a letter to Mr. Vajpayee, she reiterated her party’s support fo
caught the Centre’s eye.
supply on its perceived demand
Bill. Stating that representatives of a number of national ands
and s
Mr Kaushik Mukherjee, Kar for house connections. The pan- ' the
C
1 pH t. 1P
’.nnPTPRR sup-’
State-level urnmnn
women’’es nrn'inicfltionQ
organisations had sought
theCCongress
nataka’s Secretary for Rural De chayat decided to levy and
____ iL _
<4
port rfor
the passage «offill
the Bill, she wrote to him^on Monday:
“
velopment and Panchayat Raj, collect a one-time advance |l shall
be grateful ifyour Government will take early action .’
has submitted a study paper to charge of Rs 1,000 for each con- i
the Union Rural Development nection. However, the panchayat f
Ministry on the tariff mech was not satisfied and took a con
anism, “Guttakaadu,” evolved scious decision to levy a higher
by the panchayat for water rate on higher incremental con- j
•n.
supply under the Rajiv Gandhi sumption. A new tariff formula
Water Supply & Sanitation was devised for the Guttakaadu
Scheme.
scheme based on monthly con- \
“We found it revolutionary sumption. For instance a family
even by urban standards. In consuming 3 kilo litres would
many parts of urban Karnataka pay Rs 50. For 10 kilo litres also
long-term steps to be taken by i «
the monthly flat rate of billing the cost is Rs 50. However, a |C By Our Staff Correspondent
the Government to solve peo- 11
prevails,” he said.
family consuming 15 kilo litres 4AGARI BOMMANAHALU (BELLARY pie’s problems.
“The differential tariff puts a would pay'Rs 100 and a ffamily
\ ' )T->'), APRIL 20. The KPCC Presi
He pointed out that the Gov- | r
premium on water conservation consuming 30 kilo litres would dent, B.Janardhana Poojary, has
pay
Rs
35O.~
To
implemenkthe
hvoured Settin8 confidential emment had given priority to 11
and the metering gives the
drinking water schemes and set
system transparency The very tariff
— system, panchayats had to
greports (CRs) on the chief exec
sufficient funds.
|i
fact that the revenues accrue to put water flow meters on each of utive officers of zilla panchayats aside
But, supply of drinking water II
the panchayat on the litres de- its pipe connections to the
from
the
ZP
President.
t.
,
,,
1LO
vuiuieuLiuiis io uie 113
had been affected by shortage M
Mr. Poojary, who toured KuTl’ hr°ufS To keep a proper account
. of power.
f
; ensures that all wastage and of electric power consumed by rdligi and Hagari Bommanahalli
The KPCC would urge the I''
ttaluks in BeUary District to inj leaks are plugged scrupulously,”
the submersible pump, pan Ispect drought relief works, told Government to take steps to im
> the study says.
chayats had got a separate b presspersons here on Saturday prove power production and 2
?
The scheme comprises a electric meter.
supply to ease the drinking wa- I *
| that this was one of the suggestj borewell as the source for water,
Mr Mukherjee observed: “A I| ions he proposed to make to the ter problem.
; which feeds 5,000-litre overhead panchayat can replicate an es
Mr. Poojary, while supporting 4
| tank. There are nearly 100 pipe sential service only when such | Government.
the demand for amending Arti- ' *
I
It
was
necessary
to
sensitise
| connections
to
individual
cle 371 of the Constitution, said
1 houses. The total cost of the replication is self-sustaining and I officials to respond to the needs his party would take up the |
does not burden the panchayat of the people and to implement
matter in Parliament.
I*
j system has been estimated at Rs financially.”
welfare schemes so that their
If steps were taken to develop
1 7 lakh. Under the sector reforms
benefits reached the targeted
backward districts, the State |
I sections.
’ ........
JA Mau,' ,
naJBSSHSSS•I1—
1 Writing confidential reports would forge ahead in develop- '
ment, he said.
DECCAN HERALD
on senior officials by an elected
The KPCC chief foresaw early |
representative was also essen
elections to the Lok Sabha, and
tial, he' said.
said that his party was ready for ,
"Officials should tour the
(I
State, try to understand the it.
Mr. Poojary said his tour of
problems of the people, and re
the districts was intended not. ,
spond to them positively.
only to organise party workers? |
If this does not happen, the
for the impending elections, blit
-benefits of welfare schemes will
also to inspect the4irought relief
not reach the people,” he said. works and motivate the workers |
When his attention was
drawn to the fact that it was the to involve themselves in provid
ing relief to the people.
:»
Congress that withdrew the
Mr. Poojary did not think that 1
provision of the ZP President
a merger of the Janata Dal fac
writing the CRs on senior offi
tions would pose a threat to the .i|
cials, Mr. Poojary said: "Now I
prospects, a
want the system to be Congress's poll
“Even if they come together,
introduced.”
Replying to a question, Mr. they cannot defeat the Con- L
Poojary said that many works gress,” he said.
He appealed to partymen not
had been undertaken, but the
■ to air their grievances in public. I
people’s expectations were
high, especially when there was “They can approach me, , and •
the problems can be sorted
drought.
out,” he said.
L
, Therefore, it was the duty of
K.C.Kondaiah,' MLC, Siraj L
all (elected representatives and Sheikh, Kudligi MLA, Abdul Wa- O
officials) to work hard and pro hab, Vice-President of the g
vide relief to the people.
KPCC, and Kamalamma, Presi- L
The KPCC President said that
dent of Bellary District Mahila W
he would soon submit a report Congress,
accompanied Mr. I
which would list short-term and Poojary on his tour.
■ '’b- , I
From K S Narayanan
DH News Service
Fe®p;Tf ivaafe '&:
©Ihfefe t© assess
1
CEOs’
V AH( 2003
s2-1 APK 2^3
31
I
.
X. , . s
L:T"-r„-r.*r-TT>' r.•',
-
•
■
•'
.......
....
FOES JOIN HANDS TO STALL MOVE
Women’s Bin scuttled again
By Our Special Correspondent
rlSv DELHI, MAY 6. The Women’s
Reservation Bill was deferred yet
< n in the face of stiff resist
ance by some Opposition parties
anri a section of the ruling Nat al Democratic Alliance in the
Lok Sabha today. Opposition to
tv‘ Bill led to the House being
a^jurned for an hour-and-ahalf in the morning after which
t
Speaker, Manohar Joshi,
caned an all-party meeting
wherein the decision to defer the
E was taken in view of the ab
sence of unanimity.
Though the Bill was slated for
g .ussion and passing in the
post-lunch session, trouble start
ed as soon as the House assembi,j for the day with members
belonging to the Samajwadi Par
ty Tie RJD, the IUML and some
NDA allies such as the Samata
Party, the JD(U) and the Shiv Se
na raising objections. The SP and
RJD members trooped into the
well of the House demanding
withdrawal of the listed 85th
Constitution Amendment Bill
providing for 33 per cent reserva
tion for women in the Lok Sabha
and the State Assemblies.
The agitated members made it
clear that the Bill in its present
form — without provision for a
quota within a quota — would
“never be acceptable” to them.
Their demand was that it should
have reservation for women be
longing to the Scheduled Castes,
the Scheduled Tribes, the minor
ities and the OBCs.
To the Government’s embar
rassment, opposition to the Bill
came from a number of its allies.
Even the Opposition was divided
A charade: Shabana
By Our Staff Reporter
‘ EW DELHI, MAY 6. “It is just a
v-aarade. If the BJP, the Con
gress and the Left want it
ten the passage of the Bill
should have been ensured.
°ut just by sheer lung power
■ i
7^
BT
...
■
was deferred. Where is de
mocracy? The truth is that
the men don’t want such a
age change in structure. It
means that 180 men will lose
'heir seats in Parliament and
aey will fight tooth and nail
to save them,” said the Rajya
ibha member, Shabana
nzmi.
"The representation of
pr.
‘WwmrjTnwMirrTzriB~~ir? iivyj-s
women in the first Parlia
ment was four per cent. Al
most 55 years later it is just
eight per cent, not because
they are not able but because
they’ve been kept out,” she
added. Echoing similar senti
ments, the senior Samata
Party leader, Java Jaitly said:
“Men will not give up their
seats in Parliament easily.
They keep making up silly ex
cuses. In case they can’t
come to a consensus in Par
liament, they should come to
a consensus outside.”
Calling the move to defer
the Bill “unparliamentary”,
the president of Women’s Po
litical Watch, Veena Nayyar,
said: “The Speaker should
have been able to exercise his
judgment and got the Bill
passed. He didn’t need to ask
for an adjournment. Bills
have been passed in the past
and I hope that he would use
his discretion on Friday.
Enough is enough, we need
our space, we must be able to
participate in the political
process. This is imperialism
of a different kind.”
■ .i
DECCAN HERALD
MAT 2003
-.ti
c-*" .
with heated exchanges between
the SP and Congress members
over certain remarks made by
Shivraj Patil (Cong). This led to
several SP MPs accusing the
Congress of “joining hands with
the BJP". The developments in
the House and outside showed
strong resistance to the pro
posed legislation within all par- 7
ties. Though the Congress and *
the BJP are publicly committed *
f
to the legislation, the leader- T
ship’s enthusiasm was not
shared by their MPs. A number
of Congress and BJP members
congratulated the SP leader, MuMahalakshmi
layam Singh Yadav, for having
£
scuttled the Bill.
Opposition to the Bill also saw
YELLAPUR:
|--------------- £------------ i------------------------long-time
foes join hands. The I 1
Ms
Mahalakshmi
Krishnappa .
nrinnortoH
ir» tha T
CoK
I *
concerted action in the Lok Sab
ls the Chairperson of the 4
ha was the result of a lot of over j Idagundi Grama Panchayat in
, . .
_
—------ Aii Yellapur m
night planning outside the
taluk, Mahalakshmi
r* ’
__ ;
taluk.
is originally from
House. Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mu- ! Nera&gi village of Shiggavi taluk in H;
laven g
layam Singh Yadav, Prabhunath
district and belongs to the economic
economically
Singh and Sharad Yadav are re
weaker section.
ported to have worked out a joint [
sHer family wandered from place to!
strategy and calibrated their ef
?nec\
and
fmally
settled
in
Gullapur
in
>
forts in the House to prevent the
Bill from even being taken up for 1 t966. During summer she worked at the tile ;
j factory and in the rainy season she worked 1
consideration.
fhe estates. She ilever dreamt of being «'
In the House, Mulayam Singh IIl
Yadav said his party was not op- IIj ®e Chairperson of the Idagundi Grama 1
posed to reservation for women IH Panchayat. Mahalakshmi is now able to
but wanted the Bill, introduced *5 read and write Kannada. She motivates '■
in the House in 1999, to provide I11 several students to attend school.
;i
reservation to women belonging
■
mo ,y
Mahalakshmi also servesas President I
to f .............
f Uttara Kannada Zilla Navasaksharara t
and minorities and other back j Abhivradhi Sangha, Member of Taluk .<
ward classes. The Government's | Ashraya Samiti, Vice President of Shree imove to insert the clause of rota
tion of seats was fraught with { Chamundeshwari Mahila Mandal, Arabail, 8
dangerous consequences and I H^dent of Grama Shaikshanika Samiti 1
• of- the
•
J
the President of YeUapur j
would lead■ to a snapping
crucial ties between the electo j Taluk Mahila Arogya Salaha Samiti
rate and their representatives. I a S1he.1entered Politics as a member of J
He was supported by Raghu- I Arabail Grama Panchayat. She continues
vansh Prasad of the RJD. Opposi I to live in a small house and serves people 3
tion to the Bill also came from
with the meagre resources available to her. 3
Chandrakant Khaire (Shiv Sena), I
Beeranna Nayak Mogata !
i—■■ n
|Devendra Prasad Yadav (JD-U)
and Prabahunath Singh (Samata v
Party) who lamented that the
DECCAN HERALD
Government did not consider it
fit to consult the allies on the is
sue. Mr. Khaire said the issue of
support to the Bill should be left
to individual parties, while Mr.
Singh urged the Government not
to act in haste. He said a large
number of MPs from both the
BJP and the Congress were~opposed to it.
i
j
HA/ «
I
| WnenVquota
H ; bill to be
B taken up today
i
.
'iO®yl
pH News Service
J
NEW DELHI. May 5
The women’s bill that kicked off
d . political controversy during the c
r last five years will at last be pre- ;
in the Lok Sabha tomor- •»
,Vr sented
row by the Union government ?
«
with the main opposition Con
i®’
rj
gress and CPI-M extending sup
port to the bill, y,
The decision to take up the
I bill was taken at a 75-minute of
the Business Advisory Commitj tee , (BAG) presided over. by
i
Speaker Manohar. Joshi. , .
ml j ’ ■
Four hours haveheen allotted
•:
R^wbtos of women’s organisations coming out of the Prime ^ter’s residence in ; | for discussion on the bill, seek- B
I
d; r ing to ensure one-third reservaNew Delhi on Wednesday after lodging their protest agarnst non- tabling of the Women
’ tion of women in Lok Sabha and
Reservation Bill in Parliament. — Photo: V. Sudershan
. .ur
, 11 state assemblies. Parliamentary
■4 Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj i
told newspersons today the Con- j
IJ stitution Amendment and the I
passage for the Bill will be taken S
■i
up for consideration tomorrow.
I
The bill was introduced for fi
the third time in December 1999 hi
.
By Our Special Correspondent
sary two-third majority in the House. The Bill wasrl amidst highly unruly scenes m b.}
the Lok Sabha.
..
■ . By Our Special Correspondent
iaid
y
.
not even taken up for discussion, what kind 01 4 ft Earlier in the day BJP s<~,1 new■ DELHI,
DELHI may
may 7.’Agitated over the stalling of the message did such action send across for women, 4
Congress and .CPI-.M would sup7. Agitated over the stalling of the
Women’s^ Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha on they asked the Prime Munster When Mr ya,-.* ! port the bill in its original form.
T Tuesday, representatives of the several women payee suggested that women should agree to an J
“Congress President Sonia
Gandhi and CPI-M have in a let
ter to
to Prime
Beter
rruue Minister
iviunoi.^. Atal —
hari Vajpayee said they would i
«M-r
,su____
“pport£ewomen
—4. tKn nrAman'c’sreservation
rpqprvation
------- d them that another Parliament and nothing less, we toiaMi. vaj w
in' its original form,
” BJP
^XZU,oV;arT±m "
n^
3 I bill
P^entary'party
spokesman
1
i
hl
H
I]W
ft ■<
M’WI
II I
fl
I
1-
v
H
lbp
SSI
i
I
AGITATf D WOMEN STORM PM’S HOUSE
*
Bill hot dropped: Vajpayee
; next session ot parliament ana uiai n uau uml
< been dropped.. However, he suggested-that wom-
j I ■ V K Malhotra said.
II ■ Ms Gandhi had a brief meet-
Q <’ __ ,J___ —tko “nltomatHZp" nmUGSal Ol
‘
§
women's Bill this afternoon.
“betrayal of women”, senting 25 orgamsauons, as the women refused j L|
Members of the Samata Party. “ aHy^cf the M)A governlavee that their hopes to leave the premises despite je^atedjequests
passage for *e Bill following the all-party meet-
'
ing. Whatever happened in the House on TuesI day was nothing ’ less than "Parliamentary
■i terrorism”. “We wanted an apology from the MPs
J who had used derogatory language against wornen in Parliament yesterday and all such remarks
—j —
;
_
annointment. The drama unfolded at 10 ji.m.
a.m., »i| • mein,,
appointment.
Xn
‘about'250 women gathered near 7, Race. jl. .^^^S^bh^Ly^t was a
Course Road and began rr^rc^
marching towards the
the! ?|
bill
^serious matter” iri
and the
the J)ill
house.
should have been presented in
I 3KGI1 UN
utxv/ ^tvaaw^a*****! CHITIN tO“ | if
Taken by surprise, til ^Pol*e
wards them,
them of
arrest if they vio- 'j '4
q the Parliament after forging 4
.wards
them, warning
warningthere
otarrest
: j political consensus.
______
. i
W°The
eir ne«
ne« nto
ofacdon
TheS
pta S
action would
would be
be to
to mobilise
mobilise Pr^eMtasm^^
Prime Minster. The absence of women policemen i-
PBCCA.K HERALD
; that his “lack of conviction" had stopped him
Speaker, Manohar Joshr.^
j from seeing the Bih thnmgfr despite
A
■
DECCAN HERALD
^8
neces
K
'
iuf4?
s=f, MAY 2803
,
‘!t is now for the Speaker to try’
Bv Neena Vyas
Vvas
By
Pill
..zi1
Bill hnri
had lannn
been deferred.
..
0*11
. •
■
the Bill asking them to ensure majwadi Party
whom
-j
------- .1
Ms.
Apparently, at a ^meeting
i
of that the Bill was not passed.
fSwaraj’ named• repeatedly. Only
NEW DELHI, MAY 6. The Govern party leaders in Mr.
Joshi's
There were more than tell- when ao,
ment today sounded the death- chamber this afternoon after
asked whether the BJP
U161M
signs wt
of U1V
the M;«>-m<m-nonless-than-hon- had tried
S kneU of what would have been a Ms. Swaraj had made the Gov- tale
est stand taken by party leaders ---- to evolve a “consen
§ landmark legislation providing
sus” within tlie ruling National
ernment position clear, it was >?
' Swaraj,
"
Ms.
who had listed the Democratic Alliance parties riid-y
•j for reservation for women in
suggested that efforts to arrive L
--------pa55
.
Bill
for
consideration
and
passJ Parliament and the State As- . at a politic^ consensus or una- \ ing in today’s Lok Sabha agen- Ms. Swaraj said that she Hao1
$ sembfies and announced that it L™&sh™Id ,™w be left t0 ,the d< herself confirmed
nimity should now be left to the da, herself confirmed that she personally talked to three NDA
Fernandes, N1L.
had . abdicated any further re- Speaker, who then promised to had offered to have the voting leaders, George Sh^ad
r----------- — —
Viibll-J tu nave U1C VOUHg
y sponsibility towards evolving a can
, ’ ___ J Yacfav
call a meeting of the party lead- deferred after a discussion durdur ' ’
y political consensus on the
(who are all Ministers). “All
s^Jon. W^rMrloshi
Speater'S three were agreeable to a dis
fi issue.
5
“There is no question of atcussion (not to a vote).”
charged with the responsibility
^^P * ^e Bharati- ^ ^Ms- Swaraj added that the
I ttempting to pass this BilKinits
-____
nf hnildina a consensus, his ya Janata Party, V.K. Malhotra, NDA
agendai for governance
present form) in this Lok Sabha party Shiv Sena, is strongly op- ixrac
ale A iin
’»-» favour _r_j_r
__ * 1g
" °
was also
of deferrini
| Ciskasa^alhi^hinhaiyae posed
to rese™™/
mentioned women’s reserva
the vote even as he made an “al tion as the task before the Gov«m Parliamentary
Parhamentarv Affairs Minister,
Minister en, as are other-NDA
mt.. partners,
” that
Sushma Swaraj, said today even the Samata Party and the Janata ' ternative rproposal
*
---- the
— ernment, and therefore, it did
Ktfe:Ilgt.h„Of , .■■■■” ,*.**
Mps“ co
1116 lauu
tacit approval
approval < of all
as she confirmed that the Gov Dal (U). .
—H
v“Id
-* !\avP ujc
' .
7
ernment would no longer make
In the past two days, leaders creating double-member con- inside the Lok Sabha today it
»
X.
„
r
? HINDU
MAY ZOOi
. wom_
was more than apparent that ;
consensus on the contentious ties strongly opposed to reserv
seats. And at the BJP’s parlia- the NDA members were
„V1C annoyc issue.
ing 33 per cent of all Lok Sabha mentary party this, morning ed
that they had’not beeiTprop“I have made it .clear
that
----- —
t no
and State Assembly seats for eyen before the House had met erly
consulted
by
the
all-party^meeting will be called women had been actively plan
'—------- * or taken
’
•
into
con
f at the Prime Ministerial-level ning on how to prevent the MPs were warned not to bring rGovernment
this
s reservation), adoption o7 thisWleri5ation bv up the issue at all. “Do as you fidence on such an important
! on f
' (women’
'
are told to do by the chief, matter.
■
■■
n it has
^as now been left to
m the the Lok Sabha.
whip,” they were told.
They said so loudly. And the
} Speaker
Sabha),
ebz, u (of the Lok "7
---- :• ”'
And
3150 confirmed that
The6Government
keen on Government was left to defend
she said in the evening after the they had received numerous p utting
¥Uluau. was
U1
virtually
the entire itself by fading that it haTthl
Speaker,
Manohar
Joshi,
anle
nounced in the House that the ta
C_^.m Colle“8ues ' blame
fiasco
amp for
<-«r the z,^^
9 ononMuMu- support of the Opposition, the
Z13!111!:,.!?., P^65 pfficiaIJy .supporting’ layam Singh Yadav of the SaSl
- Congress and the Left.
-T,"hrfr t MTntiaYn tMi n'h a ■
I
DECCAN HERALD
e6 MAY 2603
•s
Safeha ft© taEj® up
Women’s Bill today
Bv
ByNeena
NeenaVvas
Vyas
quota of seatsi_toube reserved for
SC/ST women — has the full
support of the Bharatiya Janata
n
litical consensus on the “alter-s
r._L.~
wmcu
ue
native proposal” for which heg
had already, "been^-given
i given "bne
one 53
month’s time since the all-party's
n
..
. ; aLADMK and the _____
&_
meeting
on U1C
the 1OOUC
issue W1
on March/
DMR the Telugu Desaip Party 7, the Parliamentaryr Affairs^
and the Bahujan
h-”*”-- *z- • .
«
- J
jan
t-.
....
* ---- owell as a number of smaller today.
The
1 he bill is expected to witness parties.
- X— xl
As for the IVdOllLl
Rashtriya
IV <1 Jcllliim
Janata i]J
( wide fissures in the two main
i
i
----- 1
since the Women s Reserva- Dal
— there
was no rpnrpqpnta
/
’
”
______ -33
I
_
. . » ■
- -------O-----“
vucium
don
is LU
t0 UC
be.IdKCU
take? UL)
UP lumurtomor-' tive
of
the
party
in
the
BAC
to- I
theOpposition. From the ruling row after two other Constitution tive of the party in the BAC to- ?!
Lu,
MUl
uutaiue
me
nouse,
Mr.
'j
n
National Democratic Alliance Amendment bills related to deRaghuvansh Prasad Singh said 3
1S exPected limitation to make 2001 Census
to oppose and the Samata Party as the base and empower States the RJD wanted a backward ?j
appeared to be divided — one to levy service tax (to prepare caste quota within the women’s
quota, suggesting that without J
fnr tho
’z... _ ___:____ j
of its MPs opposed it in the for
the AZalna
Value Added TT^rerime)
this his party would oppose the
- Business Advisory Committee ‘there
u— is- a question mark
• on the
■
bill.
today, and the Janata Dal (Unit availability of time. But as of
—
15» i
Talking to reporters later,XvMs.
ed) has
posed
thealso
bill. consistently
------------- ’ oph,as ?warai ."aid' fte'dedsion "to
seen w.nv,!
bitter udiuw
battles uisiuc
inside me
the bring the bill now was taken ’J
■
.l r-t
.
c ln y16 Opposition camp, the House during the iiiU1
11th and
the
ailu
U1C when “
it Decam
becamee clear that no £
| Samajwadi Party made clear its
“ *'
th Lok Sabhas
when attempts unanimity was possible even on ’
3 preference for the “alternative Wprp
msdo tr\ infrMrh
_
1.
,
. ...
were made
to introduce it ..•11
will
maJSe 11 mandatnry be put' to) vote
tomorrow in die CPI (M) ^a llettefto^e PrSe
.! i
.
”•I?
_____________________
vote tomorrow in the
s for political
j■
. *parties
, . .to select
------ --a Lok Sabha and on May 8 in the Minister made it clear that it
R ore-defprminAri minimum ua
lacentage
"^Vw^decided
at the BAC
AThis was decided at the BAC
| for Lok Sabha and Assembly ■
seats. The Rashtriya Janata Dai ’ toTia^
°h I Lok.Sabhaafter
minutos^d^'t"
ameeting diluted as in the alternativeproposal),” she said.
.! was also opposed to reserva- nessed
strongopposition
oppositionfrom
from
...------ strong
The Congress President, So
1 tions for women unless a back several parties, including the
Gandhi, had also earlier
ward castes’ women’s Q'zti 5Dmata’ 1116 Shiv Sena and the nia
written to the Prime Minister
was created within the overall SP.
assuring him of her party’s full
| women’s quota.
While the Congress Party and support for the bill “which
it. nrp?pe
hando’othe biU in
CPI
——
UUlu mini me dream of Raiiv
z-urassured
full-ppuit
support w
would fulfil the dream of Rajiv
: of
of
Parties for fKz. biU
uai in its . Gandhi” who had initiated^ the
Of all Lok Sabha and Assembly present form, the SP president,
’
u uuuatea me
panchayati raj bill giving wom
J seats to be reserved for women Mulayam
'* ’
Singh Yadav, wanted en reservation in all local body
■' and 33 per cent of the SC/ST more time to put in place a poelections.
1
.™
■
:>»
i
i
»
.
...
.
:
3?
i
Lokayukta seeks details from ZPs
Express Newsservice
supplied ed. Meanwhile, deposing besuch drugs fore tlie Lokayukta, Deputy
Bangalore, April 29: Lok
and on beh- Director M.N. Rammurthy
ayukta Justice N. VenkataI
alf
of reiterated his earlier statechala, who unearthed irreg
which
ments blaming the then
ularities in the Drugs Cont
drug com Drugs Controller Anandararoller’s Office, has sought
information on pany . and jshekar and Assistant
information from Chief Exe
UrchaSe' the person Drugs ControUer H. Jayacutive Officers of Zilla Pan— '
to
whom ram for the supply of spuri
chayats in the State on I
the bill amount was paid, ous drugs in the market.
drugs purchased by local I
are required to be sent,”
Rammurthy said people
bodies.
f
Lokayukta stated in his let in the State had suffered
J The information has been necessity to get informat ters to the Chief Executive
due to the supply of spuri
sought as evidence recor ion on drugs purchase for Officers.
ous drugs.
ded in the drugs scam disc the years 2000-01, 2001-02
rne uuormation
““Though
around
The
information has to be
Though
around 829
losed that 60 per cent of and 2002-03.
______
Detaffs of the submitted before May
May 5.
5. drugs
drugs in
in the
the market
market were
drugs purchased by Bangal- drugs purchased during “As the information is urg- spurious, the department
ore Rural District Health Of each financial year, their
.22 __
_2__ you to ■ took not action to check it,”
ent, I’ would
require
ficers were “spurious, mis purchase orders, invoice, accord top priority to it and
‘he said, giving details
branded or sub-standard.”
authorisation letters of dist- send it at any rate before about people who suffered
“It has become an urgent ributors, agents who have May 5, 2003,” the letter stat- after taking the drugs.
'It has become
an urgent
DRUGS SCAM
f
I DIDN’T OFFER TO EXPEL MPs: SPEAKER
W®m@s0’s
may be
I
tabled to kws®®!1 session
I
By Our Staff Correspondent
•
the Bill in its present form that June 16.
seeks 33 per cent reservation for
Mr. Joshi said he had asked \
I new DELHI, may 9. Already under women
........ ......................
in the State Assemblies the political parties to give their I j
criticism for the failure to push and the Lok Sabha and also a 33 suggestions in writing before the L
'through the Women’s Reserva- per cent reservation for women meeting and an attempt would
•, tion Bill in the just-concluded belonging to .the Scheduled be made on that day to draft an II
!; session of Parliament, the Parlia- Castes and the Scheduled Tribes agreement.
? mentary Affairs Minister, Sush- within
____ ___
__ ^^,wx
the____
existing
SC/ST reEarlier, at a meeting with the
’
Swaraj, today claimed that served seats, Ms. Swararhowev- representatives of several wom
J the Congress and the CPI (M) er, said the Centre would pen the en’s organisations at his resi
ft”: tbe new BiUonly ^er dence, Mr. Joshi 'said women’s
^Speaker, Manohar Joshi’s offer to unanimity was arrived at at the groups would, be consulted be
pry
.pry to pass the Bill by expelling Speaker’s"
s all-party meeting".
meeting. Al- fore the Bill was placed in Parlia- *
■jMPs of the Samajwadi Party who though she was not specific, the ment once again.
a
clear uuh
hint was
perhaps a poI
. blocking
------------ ° ps^
*— passage. Mr.
xx.
vicai
was that
mai peinaps
He told the delegation that he
j
i
.... ,
... , reac_
Joshi today flatly denied making litical agreement could be
had moved a similar, proposal in §
Hanw
hed
on
the
j any such suggestion.
hed
“alternative the Maharashtra Assembly inb
Taking offence at Ms. Swaraj s proposal” to make it mandatory 1996 when he was the ChiefE
blaming them for the Govern- for political parties to select a Minister.
g
ment s failure, the Congress spo- specific percentage of women
Not too happy with the Shivw
kesperson, Jaipal Reddy, and the candidates.
Sena that has been opposing res- q
senior CPI (M) leader, Somnath
Mr. Chatterjee described the ervation for women, the delega-1
Chatterjee, said the Speaker had Government’s attitude towards tion members told ivu.
Mr. jumu
Joshi iu
to *
not made any such suggestion to the Bill as 'amazing’ and said it convince his party and his leader,
triem.
was
nlavinp'
a
duhimrc
hlamp
nf
the
noarl
fnr
i
t
was
»»ao playing
playing aa UUU1UUS
dubious Ulcllll
blame of the need for reservation fori
Ms. Swaraj said she did not see game by holding the Oppositio:
any possibility of the Bill being responsible "for0 the ^'non-pa^ women in the State Assemblies;
J passed in its present form. How- sage” of the Bill. “Why is the Gov- and
Mr.Parliament.
jostu told them that astf
Mr. Joshi told them that
ever, ifif aa consensus
or political
political emment talking of consensus Speaker he was not affiliated toi
ever,
consensus or
■.< unanimity was reached at the all- when there was no consensus on any political party and that per-8
by. .d16 the Prevention of Terrorism sonally he supported the Bill.
TSneaker
on„ June, 16 she would
- .
, u in- Act?" The CPI (M) requested the Ranjana Kumari, coordinator for
j troduce
a
"new
bill"
in
troduce a new bill in the very Speaker not to prorogue the the Joint Action Front for Wornj first week of the monsoon ses- House and, instead, call a special en, later told The Hindu that “we
•
j sion”, the Minister promised.
session in case the political par- made it clear that we would ac
Clearly ruling out the possibil- ties were unable to hammer out cept nothing less than 33 per
ity of arriving at a consensus oni their differences on the issue on cent reservation.”
_____________________ x-
*
"
—
DECCAN HERALD
M '■ ha/ 2003
4o
T-9-^.yyi-^T
^ rA f. ^vA-*^w.r<..-
,.
4 THE HINDU, Sunday, May 11, 200:
PERSPECTIVE EggS
< NCOURAGED by the
* success in extending
.
average life expectancy, the eminent scienB
i tist
Dr. / M.S.
m
Swaminathan.
has
| urged the country to now “add life
| to years". In “Towards a hunger
? free India” {The Hindu April 27,
if 2003) he endorses the shift of emWorking towards a hunger-free India needs the active cooperation of local bodies like the panchayat, says
phasis in the Tenth Plan from food
| security at household level to nutriL.C. JAIN, but the blatant flouting of constitutional norms is an impediment to their functioning.
■k tion security at individual level. He
‘>»'1
J also spells out the guiding prindi pies for converting this goal into ac
Hence the foremost mandatory framework in conformity with the
provisions of the constitution to
complishments. The foremost step
devolve appropriate powers so that’
he says is to form “an alliance of
elected local bodies and govern
be held every five years, and that the elected bodies could be made
them
to
bloom
as
“
institutions
of
.... that, in the preceding 40 years,
ment agencies” to prepare and im
the next election due will be held functional
---------- - in totality"
.. is lacking.
m
panchayats had self-government". The standing “before the expiry of the duration" The standing committee was conplement micro actionplans,
plcnc.healthy growth
. .-j of
found that,
regrettably, of a panchayat. '
---u.y. many weeds. committee
strained to note that most of the
*elO-ySr7^d
“oftaitemenu:
Further, “elected members of local been thwarted
by
Listed among
are yet
to fullyj and conscien-'f
bodies, particularly the one million Ectc~~ these were “absence ;
• and
- J -------—
What has been the fate of this States
- --------------by the Central
State Gov
mandatory provision? The standing tiously implement article 243G ot.
elected women members can be of regular elections, prolonged sup- tion
even where
empowered to spearhead the free- pression, inadequate representa- ernments was not only woeful but committee found that “there have the Constitution". So pvpn
’ L ' ''
sections (women,
dom from hunger movement, since tion of weaker cwtinnc
women, there was wilful violation of the been shocking violations with re- elections have been held, panConstitution.
scheduled
castes,
scheduled
’
i
an
empty
box.
they are more aware of the prob
gard to holding of timely and regu-* chayats remain
Prior to the constitutional
- - lar elections
•
—1 bodies
But
tne Dureow^*«-«-'j
But the bureaucracy has not re
lems of nutrition and drinking wa- tribes), insufficient devolution of amendment, the authorities did
to 1local
”. So
P ter. Decentralisation will enhance powers and lack of financial re not hold elections to local govern much so that a State Election Com mained idle. It has been working
sources
”
.
Thetf
’
arliament
agreed
to
accountability, reduce transaction
had to
file a writ •petition overtime to subvert the substance
ments for 15 to 18 years at a stretch. missioner
----------- ------—
£ costs and remove corruption in de- end this malaise once for all, and It made a mockery of panchayats. against his own State after failure of and autonomy of panchayats. It has
enshrined
certain
basic
and
essenThe Supreme created, what
. the standing comhis
persuasive
efforts.
5 livery systems."
” “r
_ "1 structures” in
Court ruled that “the concerned mittee calls^
parallel
S Dr. Swaminathan has chosen
the
very
subject
areas assigned to
T well his foot soldiers. But are they
states cannot be permitted to with- t..~
hold election of panchayats ... It panchayats by the Constitution in
7 alive and available for the job?
health, ’watershed
dep-
will be unfortunate if the states re- education,
‘J""
•rat®rc
s When Dr. Swaminathan was look£ ing at the abominable malnutrition
main insensitive to the Constitu velopment, forestry management
et
al.
These
parallel
structures
are ,
of our infants, a committee of Partional Mandate".
% liament was looking into the health
The apex Court also pronounced often sought to be protected by gl
Central/State
enactments
which
g>
■ « of the local government The 254that any legislative device of the
* page report of this standing comGovernment, which comes into di but whicfnvere requireTbyArticle Inadequate representation and suppression of weaker sections, especially
S mittee is an exhaustive review of
rect conflict with the mandatory
len, are
,uvi. vxx. 243 N to be overhauled and made women,
are endemic
endemic to
to local
local government
government bodies.
bodies.
| the growth of panchayats in the 10provisions of the constitution (in
0 year period since the enactment of
this instance, Article 243 E)
E) such
such compatible with the Constitutional j in an affront to the Constitution, 2007. But "concerted action” is a far
« the 73rd Amendment in April 1993.
device is ultra vires of the constitu Amendment, within one year. the Union Rural Development Min cry considering that Dr. Swamii- It concluded that our local governtion. The standing committee was There has been no compliance ei istry is spending hundreds of crores nathan’s foot soldiers — the three
j;
infont onH 1C HQ
with this mandate.
ment
is
still
an
infant
and
is
as
appalled that “whereas the State ther
million local government elected
me aevoiuuun
r
The
devolution ut
of financial re- annually to strengthen DRDAs ad- representatives including one mil
acutely malnourished as the 50 per
Governments are wilfully flouting
s. cent of our infant population..
the constitutional provisions, the sources to panchayats is indeed pe- =^nglh=m as "distinct ton. lion women — are frozen in their
I Again, though the nutrients are
Union Ministry
pleads
helpless
tracks. The
is. being•------i—j- -'-"'-^ayats
”.”.The standing com------— Constitution
----persuading
theitsState
Gov- Gove^enVsffi them
own'hands
panchayato
£ available in this case, entrenched
ness in persuading the State Gov
mittee reminds us that this Minis- slighted, if not slaughtered in daymind-boggling.
i interests are deliberately starving
TiiTients"!
-“oo—o District Devel. i try is responsible for seeing that the light. It is time the Prime Minister
ernments"!
Panchayats
can discharge their -t
opment
(DRDAs), which•
( the local governments despite the
r<uiLiidy<iLo uui
-------- Agencies
u
... .. _iresponsibilities
:u:i:.;«o only
„r,i„ are
om purely
niirgly administrative creatures,. ' mandate of the 73rd Amendment is awoke to the oath of office he took
constitutional
< “definite and unequivocal” direc-,
obeyed At a recent event in Delhi, in Rashtrapati Bhawan to uphold
£ tion of the constitution.
when they are endowed, as per Ar were set up before the panchayats the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vaj- the constitution. Or else, the inspu£ . In 1992, while arguing the case
ticle 243 G, with powers and au became constitutional bodies. De payee, hailed Dr. Swaminathan’s ing goal set for the country by Dr.
thority necessary to enable them to spite repeated strictures by the action plan and called for concert- Swaminathan is in danger, of de
^!< The writer is former Member,
function as institution of self-gov standing committee, the DRDAs ed action to achieve substantial generating into one of adding
been
Z h Planning Commission and former
ernment. The
inc suuiumg
------- not
--- —
- merged with elected freedom from hunger by August 15, years to years . O
£ emment.
standing VVUUIU..W
committee have
observes that even after 10 years, “a panchayats in most State.. Rather,
t Indian High Commissioner to South Women mustbe empowered to lead the ‘freedom from hunger’ movement.
c------------- ------------------ - Africa.
1
■
•1
Adding ‘life to years
iiai
if
I
14 killed m
|
.. . H Bengal panchayat |
I
poll violence
I ‘Govt, did not help push 1
1 through women’s Bill’ i
DH News Service
~~ W
..,,1 .KOLKATA, May 11 / 'V <'
, ffll
Ms. Karat said that "a handful of MPs hijacked I
In,an orgy of violence unparal- if
die entire Parliament”.
■
| leled in the electoral history of J
' mumbai, may 7. Political parties barring the Left
The issue was not of disruption of parties bulk .West Bengal, at least 14 people Hj
and die Congress came in for a scathing attack for the Government’s inability to carry forward its l were killed and more than 25 Ji
their "entirely negative role” vis-^-vis the Worn- own legislation. The unprecedented support givpeople sustained injuries, some |
! pn’s Reservation Bill in Parliament on Tuesday, en in writing by die major Opposition party made
of them critically, in . clashes 1
i
Brinda Karat and Subhashinl Ali of .the All-In-,1 for "a strong possibility” of. enacting the law but
with rival political parties, as i
' dia Democratic'Women’s Association, at a press the "Government did nothing to ensure it’X It was
‘ conference here said that a historic opportunity , "a betrayal of women and has a grave message for I the Marxist-ruled state went to
tire sixth edition of the three-tier | j
* of voting a new progressive law was lost. The BJP '' democracy”. .
■
‘
; ■
panchayat elections today, offi- i
’ and die Government emerged out of the episode • ■. The Lok.Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi, had
vmvmv’fn vnAAitrnrl rtnra coin
i I
1; "incompetent
and uupuivm.'
impotent” uy
by uwv
not QbVAuig,
seeking-a
publiclyy .uvmuwm
stated three
.
UICWilipClCUL UJJV1
u
p
viuuv. days earlier that there
_ was
------ - j
- ( cial reports received here said.
The
by ' >- opposition to the long-pending proposal of one<
one^r1
ml polls
11 recorded more than
J vote despite full support, conveyed in writing by
: the Congress and the Left parties; and there were third quota for women and that there was nok’ 65 per cent turnout. .
r’ "enougfTMPs
"enough MPs to give the required two-thirds ma- consensus. The Speaker thus “abandoned the
the'
While 5 party activists, in
■ jority required”.
.
■ ■
. neutrality of his office”, she alleged.
■
cluding 2 Congress and one CPM
r ., The Janata Dal (United), tire'Samajwadi Party ; Ms. Ali said the Government in the past had
«
Kmeq in Murshidabad
iviursnruauau uab
were killed
dis-? and die Rashtriya Janata Dal had lost their “cred- pushed through several laws despite their contro- | tr jct( south 24 Parganas district
ibility" by their opposition to the Bill. Its leaders . versial nature. But now it had a majority yet.it did
followed up with 4 deaths, North |
er-ntilr, die Rill
onrl H10
! used7"pretexts” tr-\
to"scutde
Bill and
the rlmroldevel- nnt
not r»ucH
push thrniioh
through thp
the Rill
Bill. >■ >
24 Parganas with 3'and Nadia M
I opment.showed that
diat the social welfare platforms ;-i ■; This showed that the BJP itself was inot comand Howrah districts recording J1
nartioc hart “a sectarian
corfarian natlirp
,. • niitted.toJhAJ^H
mittpri tn thA-R*Hx.
U of-these-narties-had/'a
nature””--. ..
y .■ <
r
1 each. However, police have so
far confirmed the killing of 9
THE HINDU people in 'clashes.-and bomb
I.
...
------- —----------- —-------blasts and the state election of
fice put the toll at 6 this evening.
Elsewhere in the,state, polls
were largely peaceful with spo- »
radio incidents of booth captur
p
&
V.,:.?.------- ;----------- -ing and intimidation of voters.
Denying major violence dur
ing
shortage.
ing the electoral exercise, state
PH News Service
A sum of Rs 11.95 lakh had
election commissioner Ajay Sin
BANGALORE, May 9
been set aside to set up a
ha, however, confirmed the
Bangalore Rural Zilla Panc- mobile health unit in the ZP
deaths of 6 people, including 2
ij hayaf today presented a Rs this year.
each from the Trinamool Con
194.7-crore budget for the year
Besides, all the hospitals -g
gress and the SUCI and at the
2003-04 with emphasis on dri- with 30 beds would be upgrad-..
same breadth claimed that the
fj nking water supply, upgrada- ed to 50-bed hospitals, the
polls “more or less passed off
tion of government hospitals budget proposed. It also pro
peacefully” However, polls had
B and construction of hostels.
r
poses to build 1,072 houses at a
to be postponed in 26 booths and
J’
Presenting the 'annual cost of Rs 2.68 crore. Eight new
repoll would be held tomorrow
budget here, Bangalore Rural hostels would be set up in as
in around 81 booths around the
Zilla Panchayat President B many taluks of the district at a
state in view of “some distur
Rajanna said that the alloca- COst of Rs 30 lakh. Besides, it
bances”, he said.
tion of funds had been has been decided to provide
Former chief minister Jyoti
increased by Rs 10 crore from scholarships to about 86,000
, Basu, while talking to a private
last year.
students.
I television channel, maintained
The ZPhad decided to ROADS AND BRIDGES: A total
that he had heard about the
implement ‘Swajaladhara,’1 a of Rs 4.3 crore has been ear
i killing of 14 people,' but was not
rural drinking water scheme marked for the development
r
of
| in a position to confirm it.
initiated by the Central gov- rurai roads and bridges. The
—
JUJIJLJU
_________
ernment in association with budget proposes to plant thou
DECCAN HERALD
i "'community participation in sands of roadside trees in a
r 228 villages of the Zilla stretch of 147 km under Prime
| Panchayat.
Minister’s Gramodaya Sadak
f• A total of --RsZ.Z
9.3------crore'—had
.~
yojana.
J been allocated for drinking
A rural e-programme will
u water supply and maintenance be
oe impie
implemented in Ramanagar
■’. in the district. Noting that• taluk atla cost of Rs 10 lakh.
water supply scenario was by Under this programme, solar
f_ and large satisfactory, Mr street lights, solar water
Rajanna said that steps would heaters and solar cookers will
be taken to provide more water be provided to the. villagers at
g to those villages which are fac-,
num
i’
Vrf/
By Mahesh Vljapurkar
j
Rs 195. cr budget presented
I
Stress on water supply,
health services
8
ZMJ
I
rz (W 2003
C
imRALb
0 Maz
Wr
A4 ax/
I
■
.
.
.
j
SaE^g e;r \E«QiE® ‘Women’s quota Bill j
Bill unfortunate 5
in monsoon session’ |
says Kaodu
DH News Service
amendment bill, it cannot be!
~
~
:—— passed simply by a voice vote,”:?
• NEW DELHI, May 9
■
she said
‘ ii!
Government today said it would
The Minister said the Speak
«!
t™? the women’s reservation er was ready to push through^
By Our Special Correspondent
thwart its passage. The will of
the majority MPs must prevail.
bill in the Monsoon session of. the BUl even without Consensus’S
HYDERABAD, MAY 6. The Telugu
Addressing a press conferParhament even as Left parties provided the political parties^
castigated the Centre for playing were in favour-of it. ..But the^
Desam Party president, N. ence here today, Mr. Naidu said
the role of a “bystander” on the Congress and the Left 'parties!
Chandrababu
Naidu,
has WOmen deserved their due
fl termed as ‘highly unfortunate’ share in social, economic and
issue and demanded convening ¥id they are not ready for it,’’tfl
the action of certain political political spheres of life as they j of a special session of Parlia- oL--;/
- .
£ parties in obstructing the pas- constituted 50 per cent of the
ment to get the bill adopted.
The Congress and the Left ’
t.
tka lArnmon’c PoCOHFa.
________ 1 - x •
— -J
1
i: sage of the Women’s Reserva- population 'and were intellecParliamentary Affan-s Minis- partiCSi .hotever, denied Ms 1
tinr-i Rill in thn I nV QnKhn
tknm
tion Bill in the Lok Sabha today, tually on par with
them.
ter Sushma Swaraj said if a con- Swaraj’s, allegation as “base-1
r
Recalling his party's support
By providing them at least 33
sensus could be evolved among le „
•. ft
I to the cause of 33 per cent reser- per cent reservation, the nation \ the political parties on the issue
Ms Swaraj
was |
i vation for women in the Lok would be giving them an oppor
the Government would bring it not true as both shivraj p u g
’’I Sabha and State Assemblies, the tunity to compete oh equal |m die Monsoon session.
anri Priv!<rani;,n nasnEn^ ?
J' TDP chief also expressed disap- terms.
. and Priyaranjan Dasmunshi |
| . Speaker Manohar Joshi has were in favour of voting,” Con-1
V proval of the practice of postTo a question, he said there 1 convened a meeting of political gress.spdkesperson Jaipal Red- J
» poning the passage of the bill
j under pressure from a section was nothing wrong with die parties on June 16 on the dy told reporters.
'
concept of reservations within women’s reservation bill and he
of the MPs.
CPI-M leader Somnath Chat
will try to evolve a consensus on terjee demanded that the House
X
Quite often, bills were passed reservations.
Mr. Naidu did not foresee a the issue,” she told newsper should not be prorogued and a
| in Parliament in spite of opposif tion by major political parties: mediatory role for himself in sons on the conclusion of the special session should be con
|
Mr. Naidu said the BjP, the ' bringing about a consensus Budget session of Parliament.
vened to get the bill passed.
? Congress, die Left and the TDP among political parties on the
“Since it is a constitution
t were supporting the bill and it bill but offered to do everything
| was not proper for die others to (to. ensure its passage.
. - -,
I
I
THE HINDU
‘ 1 0 MAY 2003
7 MAY 2003
U
[Talks on for passing Women’s Bill: PM li
I
no difference of opinion on the Rajya Sabha demanded that the
Mr. Basu said his party had '
Bill but political parties differed Government should consult never opposed, the Government •
' •
important ' icc„pc
issues such
f
x
j
on
on
importantissues
curb as
ac
$ NEW DELHI, APRIL 24. The Prime on the method and quantumlof and take it into confidence
Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee,
reservation for women. He the'?dialogue with Pakistan in Kashmir but it should be taken j
Vajpayt
talks with political
decision-would
a today said
said'talka
pelitic hoped
—some
------ -------------------be
, . the
. .- wake of Mr. Vajpayee ex- into confidence.
-----x_----------” th?
Though members do seek
j parties
were—on in —
andi outside taken bby
the political parties r.r.
on '■' fan'^ina
tending the
the ““band
hand nf
of fi-iond.
friend- ’
“If we are not success- ship” to Islamabad.
clarifications on sub motu 1
3 Parliament to find a solution to die Bill/
"12. "LT
t__j
r . we shall
-• ”come
------ --------------Senior Congress member, K. statements made by the Prime
j the standoff over the Women's ful,
before you
Reservation Bill.
with the reasons behind die fail- Natwar Singh, said the Prime Minister or Ministers in the
Minister should consult the Op-, House, they deviated from the
H “Talks are going on with po- ure."
poiuvo in and outside
a*1. litical parties
The senior Congress
mem- position at the time of formulat- convention, saying they would
Parliament. We hope that by die ber, Manmohan Singh, said his ing negotiations with Pakistan, not seek any clarification from
L " suj
r ipport He was speaking after the Prime the Prime Minister. Both, Mr.
send of the current session, party I._2
had extended full
Bill. “We are committed
Minister made a statement in Basu and Mr. Pachouri wanted
i something will come out. I am To
U the
J— Z12.
——
the House on his two-day visit the Chairman, Bhairon Singh
hopeful that our efforts will be to the passage of the Bill."
' met with success”, Mr. Vajpayee ' The Deputy , Chairperson, to Jammu and Kashmir be- Shekhawat, to ensure'that it was
said in the Rajya’Sabha/when Najma Heptullah, hoped the tween April 18 and 19 and was not made a precedent.
rr
_.J col
_ -
Mr. Vajpayee had made an I
several women members want- . Bill would be passed before the supported
by his rparty
league,cSuresh
u Pachouri and the identical statement in the Lok ]
ed to know the fate of the Bill, next Lok Sabha elections.
.............................
’
‘
Mr. Vajpayee said there was
. Earlier, the Opposition in the CPI
(M) leader,
Nilotpal
Basu.
Sabha yesterday.
n By Our Special Correspondent
$
I
J
the HINDU
2 5 MAY 2003
T
Tfr-T<*•»<*?*(•* I-r**r7**»-V7;;
14 killed in Bengal
panchayat poll violence
Rs. 1 lakh for Jabbar’s family
'i
By Our Special Correspondent
.'
m
t
u
i
?
f
£
s
t.
—ivr
r
I
I
r~-.
rt 8 MAY 2003
t
h
t
J
K
DBCCA.N HERALD
Giierpasi® fw activity
mapping by tecai bodies
„ □.
■
'
I
-j
i
1
BANGALORE, MAY 17. The Karnataka
5 Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC)
Thalarpur in Nadia district, he said.
* President, B. janardhana Poojary (in
At Murshidabad, two CPI(M) supporter^
‘■picture),ktoday condemned the murder
were
killed...when
they
clashed with
----- -----------------1 -------------- Con-?
gress activists, while the Congress support-1i of the Mangalore Taluk Panchayat
President, M.D. Jabbar, on Friday, and
er, Manirul Sheikh, was killed at Ranitala
when bombs were hurled at people waiting announced that the KPCC would give
:AJ?
Rs. 1 lakh as compensation to Jabbar’s
to cast their ballots in front of two booths.
family. In a press statement here today,
The State Electoral Officer, Ajay Sinha,
he said the KPCC would meet the
said an estimated 65 per cent of the electo- ! hospital expenditure of Ashok, who was
f
rate cast their votes.
..
.
injured during the incident. Expressing
f
peaceful
free; Buddhadeb
regret over the'attack on journalists after the murder, the
Sell Cl.
. .
KPCC chief said some journalists had alleged that Congress
Mr. Ghosh said two SUCI women activThe West Bengal Chief Minister, Budd- i workers were involved in the incident. In this connection,
ists were killed at Joynagar and two CPI(M) hadeb Bhattacharjee, claimed that today’s
the President of the District Congress Committee,- Blasius M.
workers at Canning in poll clashes in South panchayat elections were ‘‘free and basical- jP’Souza, and the KPCC Secretary, P.M. Ashok, had been
24 Parganas district. The father of the Tri- ly peaceful” despite 11 deaths in poll-relat- . -asked to conduct an inquiry and prepare a report on the .
namool Congress candidate for Khamarpa- ed clashes in three of the 17 districts. The I| 'issue, Mr. Poojary' said. After receiving the report, tire party |f j
ra panchayat Samiti, Haji Anwar Ali, was Chief Minister said that 65 per cent polling
h would take action, he added.
;
shot dead at his home in Madanpur in Ba- was reported till 5:00 p.m. and the percentrasat in North 24 Parganas, he said. • -•», age would increase as long queues were reIn Sibdaspur, also in North 24. Parganas, . ported from many places. The Trinamool
the CPI(M) supporter, Sheikh Salim, was Congress chairperson, Mamata Banerjee,
killed in a related clash. There was no poll- dubbed the violence-marred elections as
ing in the area till noon following the in- the ‘biggest farce’ in the name of democracident. Another CPI(M) activist was killed in cy . — PTI
Jalpaiguri district and a Congress worker at
Picture on Page 11 1^
KOLKATA, MAY 11. Fourteen persons, including seven CPI(M) activists, were killed in
clashes between rival political groups as
widespread violence and snatching of ballots marred panchayat polls in West Bengal
>£< today even as an estimated 65 per cent of
1 voters exercised their franchise.
Among those killed were two women activists of SUCI, besides two Congress activists and the father of a Trinamool Congress
Candidate,, the DIG of Police, N.C. Ghosh,
«
?
u
■PW**
ter for Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj, M.Y. Ghorpade,
has stressed the need for under
taking activity mapping at the
zilla, taluk, and gram panchayat
..
level as this will result in a eaclear
assigning of functions and respoAsibibties
of
the
local
soonsibilities of the
vj™ “d s s “ss.
The Government had prepared a note onfte^roadmap
yeaI
:
tion in Karnataka^ as per the directives of the Congress High
Comrnaml,
M?. Gho^ade
S
...
.-j-----.a
To a question on the
nnmonan/i hl
uomng of J
am3b?i;dh‘
J®
Qp level, the mmister said the
The Congress recently adopted Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act
resolutions and charters on the would be amended to ensure 9
that Jamabandhi was held in
fnaccordSm^wi^the73rdand August and September every
I
year.
Mr. Ghorpade said proper
Speaking to presspersons
The panchayat raj institu- control of the local govern
heretodayf the minister said the tions (PRIs) must be .able to ments would be possible only
through an independent audit
issue of activity mapping would bring about reforms such as e
,
be placed before the Cabinet af- hanced people s participation, system.
‘‘The audit of the accounts of
ter a discussion by the Cabinet citizen s,
elec'ted local bodies has gener- j
ally been "
so tardy ""
and haphaz^AfteTtiie Cabinet approval, improved financia!
ard as to have virtually ceased to I k
orders
on
it
would
be
issued,
he
ment
and
accountability,
the
orders on it would be issued, he
have practical effect in ensuring !
a«ed.
..
,
““otatinTout that the State ‘tuie
hetate^of
added.
niicgmy mi’pRIs/munidpaf
i
***v^*.—t—
Rationalisation
uonaiibciuvii mi
of OV..V...VO
schemes
ruuiuiig
,O Accountants-uenerai,
Armimtants-General, ' ,<4
___ s. TV
ities.
The
Accountants-General,
also essential to provide Budget had proposed to en- in consultation with the Comp- 3
WHS Saawv --------------- J to determine hance the grant from Rs. 1 lakb troller and Auditor-General of >* J
greater flexibility
local priorities and chant out to^5 lakhforeaehgr „
•ntplans suited to local needs. untied funds would help the ly identify and coiTe;d
Spelling out the role of each tier GPs vto
execute
works cies in this regard, the road ,
would help in the integration of
74^— to the Con-
I
I
n gggg
'■23 Art 2003
.. ■ gsa-c—“i^
’lore panchayat chief killed .1
..
J
PHPHNews
Socv;ce
. Fh
News
Service ,
HI
PH photo |
1 MANGALORE. May 16
j In a" sensational murder, a gang ■
1 of three men stabbed to death
j Mangalore Taluk Panchayat
i President M D Jabbar (42) in
■I broad daylight as he came out of
J his office in busy Hampanakatta
v:-'
‘ area, on his way to offer Friday
prayers in a mosque.
‘
The gruesome murder took
S'!
place at about 1:40 in the after
noon and the assailants sped
away in different directions after
stabbing Mr Jabbar with choppersC used for slaughtering ani- .
mals, according to onlookers.
lai
The victim’s young daughter
.
•• -Av 5% - 'yy'l
• who came out of the office be
TfoBtfr,.•
Tl'hind her father reportedly saw
tlie killers attacking Mr Jabbar
IGP (West) Dharmapal Negi inspecting the spot where Mangalore
and screamed.
Mr
Taluk Panchayat President M D Jabbar was murdered on Friday
- ---DRIVER
UNHARMED:
afternoon.'Inset: M D Jabbar
afternoon.
Jabbar’s jeep driver, Vijay, howted ufe tourder spot and ' crowded by his supporters, who
j ever, was not harmed by the
'Ub
reviewed the situation.
.
were reportedly resdess for quite
I &ang•
x
J . Shops and busmess establisha’lensmin
j ments in the area were closed controlling the angry crowd. SP
1 down as Mr Jabbar’s supporters Seemanth
Seenianili Kumar Singh is inves- manhandled
---- ---by^ aupportera oi
i began pelting stones damaging tigating the murder.
Mr Jabbar and the District Jour- g
J about 14 buses and some shops in SQUADS ALERTED: Police... ------------nalists’ Association has filed a
j protest against the murder.
squads have been despatched in case in this connection.
.
Buses stopped plying there different directions to nab the
’it Is
is learnt that farnhy-memfamily'memafter until evening. 1
.• k
iuers
vmo^
. .
bers of Mr Jabbar were also
■ The area is tense but under.
Theuiuluuaxj
U1C1C in his office at the time of
The
mortuary in Government there
control with heavy police deploy- Wenlock
Genlock Hospital, where Mr Jab- the murder.
||
| ment in the area.
bar’s body has been kept, is also Bangalorean shot at, page Ijjj B
B
Mangalore IGP Dharmapal
? n
; fl' u s
It j I
■
■
|®^S
so> ■
X lie UUliW 1XV4V* VA wO-- —------
1
A
TP president done to death
11
By Our Staff Correspondent
who there,
were waiting there,
^==5 assailants, whoassailants,
were waiting
attacked him. He was about to get into
his jeep. All the assailants had lethal
weapons. They are said to have come
there in an autorickshaw. After the
murder, they fled in three different
directions, according to eyewitnesses
who gave statements to the police.
People chased one of the assailants who
/
/
carried a sword, but they gave up when
he turned around and tried to attack
one of them near the main gate of the
wire
"y
panchayat building. Stones were thrown
at him. The other two escaped from the
rear side of the building.
According to panchayat officials, Mr.
Jabbar’s wife and daughter were in his
official chamber when the incident took
place. The Congress leaders, including
the Minister for Transport, B.
Ramanatha Rai, visited the mortuary.
The Inspector-General of Police
Following the attack on vehicles, the
(Western Range), D.P. Negi (right),
city and mofussil bus services were
inspecting the spot where M.D.
suspended.
Jabbar, taluk panchayat President,
OUO|:,v„v~-. They
} were
----- resumed only to
'
MANGALORE, MAY 16. M.D. Jabbar,
President of the Mangalore Taluk
Panchayat, was murdered by three
persons on the premises of the
panchayat office in the city on Friday
afternoon. Mr. Jabbar was declared
dead on being brought to the hospital.
He received fatal blows on his head,
neck, and shoulders, according to the
police. The district police have clamped
section 144 of the Cr.PC, in the city,
Faringipet, Mallur, and Vamanjoor for
three days. Following the murder, mobs
took to stone throwing in many areas.
Buses and other public vehicles were
damaged. Business establishments at
the city centre were closed down, and
two press photographers, Narayana
Balila and Wilfred D’Souza, were
roughed up by the mobs outside the
city mortuary.
Police have made tight security
was murdered in Mangalore on Friday.
be suspended again towards late
1 arrangements in the city, and the KSRP
I personnel have been deployed at
According to preliminary reports,
J V--F
'
.
'T'V.Tn r
O&C. »Mr.
go ; o^places. purees -ed that ;
P VaXltaKV
—--- X------had come out of the office to go
r of Police, D.P. Negi, told The Hindu that Jabbar
for
afternoon
prayers
when
the
ff ffie
the’police w<
were investigating the case,
Si
I
I'FIccanheralB'
MAY 2003
I
T
“W0* F in tiny Wales they can do it,
11 why not in India? The differ
ence is not just of size, but al
so
of
intent
and
determination.
The Welsh assembly has
| achieved what even progressive Swe$ den has failed to do:, parity between
3 the number of men and women electS ed to it. In the recently elected 60fl member Welsh Assembly, there are
u exactly 30 women and 30 men.
?
The formula that led to this extraor| dinary parity might not be replicable.
C r>..x :x :. —_______ _________
But it. is worth examining in the light
I: of the amazing spectacle in India of a
Bill on women’s representation in
„ i.------ . that refuses
— xto------pass.
I Parliament
The Welsh story is interesting and
instructive. Like India, Wales too has
‘ women who believe that efforts have
to be made to increase the represen
tation of women in tire political sys
tem. Until 1997, only four Welsh
women had ever been elected as
members of Parliament. Yet in six
years, there has been a dramatic
change.
The Welsh women in politics and
outside, who were campaigning for
greater representation were not en
tirely convinced by the system adopt
ed by the Labour Party in the 1997
elections. Here, through a system of
all-women short lists, 120 women
were elected to Parliament. The
Welsh women argued that this might
not betthe
’ most stable or sustainable
system. Instead, they came up with
the idea of “twinning". The party
pairs two constituencies and ensures
that one fields a woman and the other
a man. But the allocation of the con
stituencies between the male and fe
male candidates is left to the local
wing of the party. Needless to say,
what sounds like a reasonable idea
met with stiff resistance. Why should
men, who felt they had a God-given
right to fight tire elections, give away
this space to women? Clearly, Welsh
men are not very different from their
Indian counterparts. But in the end
the proposal was voted through by an
j tAUClllCiy
extremely narrow
llcuiuvv moi
margin
gm m
in the
ujv.
Welsh Labour Party's annual conference in 1997.
In 1999, in the first election since
j the formation of the Welsh Assembly,
] 42 per cent of Labour party members
j were women. Since then other parties
| have followed Labour’s example. In
I
3
i
J
0
THE OTHER HALF
kalpana sharma
, no wi
the latest elections, half the Liberal
Democrats and half the Plaid Cymru
members are women. And in the La
bour Party, which is in power, the majority of elected members are women
—19 women and 11 men. Not surprisingly, there are also more women
in
cahinet — five out of nine.
Commentators have said that this de
velopment is all the more extraordin
ary given the deeply patriarchal
nature of Welsh society where al
though many women have worked
behind die scenes in politics, they
have
-—not
------managed to break through
the party syst(tern.
Speaking to The Guardian newspa
per, Katherine Rake from the
Fawcett Society that has cam
paigned for greater represen
tation for women in politics,
had to this to say about the
Welsh experience: “You can
transform the political landscape if you’re committed to
introducing positive mea
sures. In Wales it has become
an accepted part of the political process. Because it was a
new system, they started with
a clean slate. They wanted it
to be modem and representa
tive, and part of that is getting
women on board. The key
here is the fact that the Welsh
Assembly was new, theiconse
of devolution in the
(quence
x
United Kingdom. It was there
fore easier to introduce such a mea
sure in that body. But the Welsh
Assembly also has only limited powsur
ers. Thus, some people have surmised, that such a measure can work
there because the stakes are not so
high. To have this replicated in West
minster would be a far more difficult
, task.
In India, too, bringing about such a
change in Parliament is proving vir
tually impossible. As in Wales, reser
vation at the panchayat level went
through because it was a new system
In the final analysis, there is no guarantee that an
increase in women’s representation in politics will
make a difference to the status of women.
put to the vote, these fissures will be- ’
come all the more evident.
It is also obvious that a bill promot- 8 <
ing power sharing cannot pass be
cause men do not want to share that
power. Regardless of what shape the
bill finally takes, I personally doubt if
it will get through unless the govern- g.
ment takes the risk of putting it to the
vote. It can, if it wants,
ram it through Parlia
ment given the cunent
combination of num
bers. But with a general
election looming on the
horizon,
the ruling
group will not risk divi- u
sion in its ranks. And
thus, even though the
Prime Minister has j
asked the agitated and *
agitating women to wait
until the monsoon — as |
if the rains will cool tem
pers and allow reason to u
return — this pitiful dra- |
ma will continue to be
restaged until the term t
S'"
of this Parliament ends.
And then a whole new
t
£
reservation, the women who get ball game will begin.
In the final analysis, whether worn- F
elected to the panchayats do not have
the easiest of times dealing with their en’s representation in politics inJ quotas,, or \some |
male counterparts.
creases through
The drama being enacted in Parlia other measure, there is no guarantee *
ment over the women’s reservation that this in itself will make a differbill has exposed all political parties. ence to the status of women in the |
Even though the ruling coalition has country. Everyone knows that. Yet, p
made several attempts to table the there is a greater chance of main-,
bill, they just do not have the convic streaming women’s concerns if there |
tion to push it through. Why is there are more women in positions of pow
such a desire for consensus on this er from where these concerns "can be .
J
one bill? Because the ruling group it addressed. •
Email: ksharma@thehindu.co.in ,
self is deeply divided and if the Bill is
being introduced and panchayats
have limited powers. Thus handing
over one-third of the seats to women
was not considered all that crucial.
But even in this system, if reservation
had not been introduced at tire outset
and only thought of later, one is cer
tain that there would have been re
sistance. Even today,
despite
I
h
Im
tarr!
Il 8 MAY 2003
(
(
f
raj cooM have d©oe more
L-N'. er
By M.Madan Mohan
returned to contest the Assembly elecbe radically different from the one with him in Implementing the report <
.
_
lions in 1989.
•
. .
brought by the previous non-Congress > the tajsk force.
| hubu, April 24. The decision of the
The first attempt he made to enter
regime.
Ultimately, when the Bill was intr<
| Minister for Rural Development and the Lok Sabha U1
einDer or
in XJOU
1980 ab
as aa IU
member
of
His only achievement as the minis- duced in the Assembly last year, ma!
h Panchayat Raj, M.Y.Ghorpade, to quit . the Congress (U) ended in a disaster.
ter concerned during the days of Mr.; important recommendations had be*
I, electoral politics at the end of the gov- He lost to Mr. R.Y.Ghorpade, who was
Mody as Chief Minister was that Kar- left oiit, including that of keeping tl
L ernmenfs term,, will mean the exit the
t‘- - Congress
C:..o
candidate. However, in
nataka was the first to pilot the Bill on legislators out of the panchayat bod ic
from the political
scene
of the State of the byelection
for
the” Raichur seat,
‘
----- ------------------------------------ "JJ
IVI LUU rkdlUllLU■ beat,
«
the panchayat raj framed in the light of .ensuring a five-year term for pre
). one ot the senior-most politicians who . which fell vacant following the death of
the 73rd and 74th constitutional dents, and going in for activity mai
A ’ valued principles in his public life.
B.V.Desai in November 1986, Mr.
Ml
amendments. But Mr. Ghorpade had ping (Which was essentially suggest <
i).< , Soon after his
hm return
Cu
return ., frem
from Cam±
y aa mmGhorpade
scraped uuuubu
through Uby
marthe mortification of seeing that the to bring about clarity in responsibilr
: bridge, Mr. Ghorpade entered the Leg- gin of 5,000 votes. But his hopes of
-• • *
u ei5tl??S
Pie Act were not
in the Actioning of the panchayat r
T islative Assembly through a byelection joining the ”
'
’
Union
Cabinet
were not
4>.L-'
held. Mr. Moily developed cold feet af- institutions.
N in 1959.
■■ ■
realised.
>ILV • ter seeing the results of the elections to
Th6 Government deferred th
h
He has won seven Assembly elecMr. Ghorpade has been a member of
■'■-H Vj gram panchayats and allowed Mr. amendment Bill, and it required a p< i
tions and represented Raichur in the the Congress governments in 1972,
Ghorpade to-quit rather than go in for talk from Mani Shankar Aiyar, Coi
•4 Lok Sabha when Rajiv Gandhi was the 1989, and 1999. But his best period was
elechons to the two other tiers.
' gress leader, to make many party legi <
, i Prime Minister. The sole defeat was on under D.Devaraj Urs between 1972
Mr Ghorpade sought and got the lators and ministers give up thei
his home turf when, as ia candidate
"L. .. of and 1978. He is
- wv^u
credited mm
with giving
portfolio of Panchayat Raj and Rural reservations against the measures.
the Congress (U), he lost to his brother, shape to the socio-economic concepts
Development
when S.M.Krishna
Perhaps, age has caught up with M.
R.Y.Ghnrnadp.
in thp
nL Sabha
Qahha elec- of Urs. It ...„„
u__ :__ *.this
li_ utime
.
.<
• ,
A'
R.Y.Ghorpade, in
the TLok
was during
that• the
formed the Government in 1989. But Ghorpade which resulted in a close tai
H tion in 1980.
ccncept of district planning was intro
the reforms have been slovy. Mr. Ghor- not being kept on spending the alloca
*■
He was drawn to public life follow- duced in Karnataka, which, however,
pade was hardly able to inject dyna- tions received from the Union Govern
ing the interest taken by Tekur Sub- fliLd
failed
tailed to
:—click
LJ; as an instrument of dede
mism into the working of the ment. Karnataka’s inability to utilis
q ramanyam, senior Congressman, who centralised planning.
M.Y.Ghorpade
panchayat raj bodies, which over the the funds under rural developmen
was the MP for Bellary. Mr. Ghorpade
l
Mr. Ghorpade has always been a voU uaS
has always
a ways been
been an
an excepiion
excepiion to
to me
the tary of the panchayat raj system like Sab had more trust in people's repre- years wilted under the stranglehold of continued.
the bureaucracy.
For all his commitment to the pan
y .run-of-millpoliticians, who have made Abdul Nazir Sab in the .wuiiaMioiuim
Ramakrishna
beliefU1in
rl
m<?rer°f ‘^ avocation than an Hegde Government in 1983* who^had sentatives, Mr. Ghorpade hadOCV1CI
The Government was unable to un-. chayat raj system, Mr. Ghorpade wa
the officialdom and made no secret of do) many of the structural changes hardly able to deliver.
J instrument of public service.
the distinction of having got the first his intention to run the system with the brought in
He will, perhaps, go down in histon
by the previous regime,
U
He won four elections to the As- real panchayat raj enactment passed cooperation of the bureaucracy.
which were detrimental to the concept as afninister who, despite his commit
y .sembly in a row, and was elected un- under which elections were held in
Mr^Ghorpade’s thinking was reflect-’ of the democratic decentralisation.
M r. ment to the cause, was hardly able t<
----------------3 opposed in 1967. He opted out of the 1987. But the commitment of the two
ed in the new Karnataka Panchayat Raj Ghorpadiie was not very successful in shape them into dynamic instruments
instrument |g contest in 1978,1983, and 1985. But he differed in their approach. While Nazir Act,
Act. cnartpH
in
1
TAtbir'k
—
enacted in 1993, which proved to carrying the Government and party_ of decentralisation.
■■■
—
A
X
*
................................................................... •
•
O
■-<:^SB6r ZA'
I*
Women’s bill
1
\ I ‘Rs 1 lakh for
I ©Suspected^CPM activists on Friday killed a gram panchayat I slain panchayat
| member of the Forward Bioc, partner in the ruling Left Front in
| Birbhum district and destroyed at least 20 houses of Trinamool ‘ f chiefs kin’
S’
"if'
|Gram panchayat member killed
/I
Sir, It is most disappointing andd I
. unfortunate that the Women’s
Reservation Bill has been
stalled in Parliament again as
in previous years. Some politi
cal parties, which swear by up
lift of women, actually are
against reservation for women
when it comes to actual implementation.They have created a ;
. ruckus in Parliament.
Let the Bill be passed
I'
smoothly and the minimum
reservation percentage as stat
ed in the Bill be ensured. Other
things like reservation for dif
ferent categories should be left ||
to the discretion of the state
governments. The Bill cannot
be deferred indefinitely
A SRIKANTAIAH
Bangalore
J Congress and the BJP supporters in West Midnapore district in ':
1 ^nT fmUm| P°st;Panchayat poll violence in West Bengal, reports I i Bangalore, May 18: Kamf‘ ataka Pradesh Congress 3
'1PTI from Kolkata quoting police sources
| Committee president B.
J* Janardhan Poojary has ann- c
T). ounced a compensation of J
j(- Rs 1 lakh for the family of *
DECCAN HERALD
Mangalore taluk panchayat 1
; president M.D. Jabbar, who •’
THE HINDU
was hacked , to death near
the Town Hall three days
ago.
!
i
Poojary also announced
» that the party would bear
4!| any expenses involved in
j the treatment of those who
?| sustained injuries when 4
1
5 Jabbar was attacked.
•
The police on Saturday
t claimed to have achieved a
ibnajor break+hroun^ by id^
I
jWtify. the .Hers j:NS
ks AHA 2003
i
1
V J
..Li-'
■*»
B
—
1 SI 8 MAY 2Q03
•
.
&1 1 lvl^
DECCAN HERALD
-Ji]
I
CPM sweeps pa'nchayat polls
Jbwt loses imss appeal
Ci
I
' _____
From Prasanta Paul
PH News Service
where it met with a^tttf resistaS-fr^1^
th^m^little back unT^th0 complaints'l
1 KOLKATA May 21
| The sixth Panchayat Polls in West Bengal which
G witnessed an unprecedented bloodbath with the
d death toll exceeding 30 on the polling day and
J thereafter, has ensured crown remains in tact to
| whom it had belonged —the CPM-led Front that
' Yet, uneasy8lies thf cro^thl^wearsTfor
i Bengal has for STePmst
_d
poll
violence.
j
blotwitlfsYanding Chief Minister Buddhadev
■
llat.t“.harya,s?aimthatvictinis included several supporters from his own party, results have
KSd£ssoco^tentiycompirta ^^zmepiace’madeamock^
True, the chief minister credited the state
1
NEWS ANALYSIS
and police administration for containing the vii
10™“L,?“L.U,e Opposition legation of
Mamata Banerjee-led'm^aPaJ
^rges^.ale te^ror
intimidati^prior to the'
uu^-oer pons ana am
a vertical SpUrt
spurt in *
thee num’ ' mZi"?'* waslitl:rally crushed by the mighty
tot
X"S”X"i-'”r±a?.=
s'sisss.’ssx. „m.,
?“*.o®0' T 58'°?0
£'m^Xh.
could do all rantfags t
her counterparts in the CP^^v^though on?**'
the opportunity The polls were also' preceded^ni^111' l^^llJ,',JU
I tends to agree with the allegation of terrorism
terrorism,
attacks^ontwo
RSP ministers by the CPM goons g
her wishy-weashy charges smack of ill-planout of the Front, there was little effort by the £
from various central government-run pro- Trinamool
leadership to visit those} areas and a
I
•ttssss
'Trm n»v\/xzxl
bng out charges of corruption from the rooftop
j would not help. Besides meticulous planning
j the Opposition parties ought to have closed
5 ranks at various levels and undertake campaigns in the interiors to boost the morale of
ij party supporters. Secondly, with the CPM faili| mg to entering into seat adjustments in about
L 6,000 seats with LF partners, the field was wide
g open for the Trinamool or others to cash in on
1_ •..
j
- •
•.
•*
W
But the only lesson the Opposition learnt h
this time was that the Marxists were not invin- r
cible.The Left Front's victory rath was given a 5
rude*jolt in Murshidabad and Maida districts f
and the former witnessed the largest killings - I
seventeen - in less than 36 hours, a record of f
sorts in rural polls. For the first time in 25 §
years, Congress snatched the Murshidabad Zil- b
la Parishad board from the CPM and the Marx- S
ists were robbed of majority in Maida.
■
|
DECCAN HERALD
>22 MAY 2003
l
The Swarna |
Jayariti Gram <
Swarojagar
Yojana has made
many rural women
financially
ft
independent.
SMASH I KU MAR B
h MALALI details the
h
;■=
scheme
I$
I
i
I
V!
,ij
V V Earlier we had to
:.go to Puttur, Mangalore or Goa
. | in search of work. But after buyji ing a cow with the help of a bank
iloan, we are able to stay here
/ with our families and educate
■jour children,” say the members
'•jof Yallamma Devi Self Help
■ i Group of Ranabur in Gadag disi trict.
Mr Bhimappa Mundaragi
'iwho earns his living making
-! sculptures says, “Though I have
(lost both my legs, I manage to
1 earn more than fifty rupees a
'J day” Bhimappa who lost his legs
in a train accident is a benefici\ ary of the Swarna Jayanti Gram
A
w
I
Swarojagar Yojana.
The government has intro
duced various schemes such as
IRDP, DWCRA (Development of
Woman and Child in Rural
Areas), Ganga Kalyan, Million
Well
Scheme,
TRYSEM
(Training for Rural Youth for
Self Employment) to help eradi
cate poverty and provide oppor
tunities to earn a living. But few
of these schemes have been suc
cessful. However, adopting the
best from all these schemes the
'i
J
u
J
I
Above: Physically-challenged members of the Maruti
Self-help group at work; Top: Lambani women with cows
bought from a bank loan
DECCAN HERALD
2 3 MAV 2003
government introduced the
Swarna
Jayanti
Gram
Swarojagar Yojana, popularly
known as SGSY
Organising villagers through
self help groups, providing
training, helping them get loans
from the bank, providing basic
infrastructure and technical
guidance, and marketing pro
duced goods are the objectives of
the SGSY.
Though the scheme takes into
consideration both individuals
and groups, preference is'given
to group activity. The govern
ment gives thirty per cent (upto a
maximum of Rs 7500) of the
funds for individuals in the gen
eral category, and 50 per cent (up
to a maximum of Rs 10,000) for
SC and ST candidates. For group
activities, the subsidy is fifty per
cent (up to a maximum of Rs 1.25
lakh) for both general category
and SC/STs.
Depending on the resources,
skill, and marketing facilities
available, different activities
such dairying, poultry farming,
silk rearing, and setting up
readymade garment units, hand
icraft units, and food processing
units will be taken up under the
scheme.
The success of SGSY scheme
in Shirahatti taluk of Gadag dis
trict is remarkable. Beneficiaries
of SGSY. are engaged, in
3
Lambani embroidery work, 4
dairying, preparing household '
kitchen articles from stone and
making idols of different gods, 1
and sheep rearing. Twenty-seven {
self help groups comprising 278 ’
members and 110 individuals
benefitted from the scheme in
Shirahatti taluk alone. The total
subsidy utilised in the last finan- j:
cial year was Rs 41 lakh against (
the total project cost of Rs 1.36 V
crore. About 25 per cent of the I
loan taken from the Yallamma L
Devi group was debited in four |
months, says bank manager Mr |
Kariyannavar. The scheme f
helped create awareness about *
small savings in rural areas and t
provided employment for J
women, says taluk panchayat [
executive officer Mr Ravi ;
Basarihalli.
’’
r
Though the scheme provides J
ample opportunities for employ- ?•
ment, new activities with more 5
market have to be explored. ?
Since most of the people are j
engaged in dairying, the rate of ’
milk has come down and milk
federations are delaying pay
ments. The government intends
to eradicate poverty within three
years. With basic education,
proper training ’and strict vigi
lance, the government could suc
ceed in this endeavour.
■■
S
■<PH News Service
isation of local bodies, is hoping
complished at a lower level
to begin ‘activity mapping’ of all
should be entrusted to that level
■■ The State government is likely to
‘f
and will be taken to the next
formances.
A
cabinet
sub-com
bring in an amendment to the
level only when the level as
j
mittee is examining the ‘activity
Panchayat Raj Act to make it
signed the work cannot accom
mapping’ recommendations sub plish it. This will help demarcate
.] mandatory to provide annual
mitted by a working group, after
grant of Rs 5 lakh each to gram
activities clearly to different
panchayats in the State on a per which it will be sent to the State
tiers of the panchayat raj
Cabinet
for
approval.
manent basis and also constitute
system. Activity mapping is ex
Mr Ghorpade said the draft
gram sabhas and ward sabhas to
pected to be issued within one
roadmap was formulated during
. increase people’s participation
month, Mr Ghorpade added.
a convention of chiefs of all pan
in democracy
A recommendation has also
chayat bodies, including zilla
At a press conference here
been made to revise and ratio
panchayats,
taluk
panchayats
today, Minister for Rural Develnalise multiple schemes in pan
and gram panchayats, in Ban
j opment and Panchayat Raj M Y
chayat raj bodies to reduce heads
1 Ghorpade said the State gov galore early this month.
of accounts so that other im
“Decentralisation
started
ernment has raised the annual
portant schemes may be taken
almost ten years ago and the
up.
grant of Rs one lakh to Rs five
Congress
party
has
prepared
a
lakh in its budget for the year
The road map also proposes to
charter to take it forward. The
2003-04. “But this should not be a
constitute gram sabhas and
road
map
was
planned
for
imple
one-time grant. We want to
ward sabhas through an
menting
in Congress-ruled
. ensure that this continues even
amendment to the Panchayat Raj
states through a directive from
when the Congress is not in
Act. Ward sabhas will be ward
the party chief. We have about a
1 power. So we are considering
wise citizen groupings that could
year
before
completing
our
term
bringing in an amendment to
consider and propose their own ■I
in office and if we are able to im
make this grant of Rs five lakh
priorities
for
development
plement
the
road
map
success
mandatory” he added.
works, in order to make people’s
fully,
we
will
have
achieved
Giving highlights of the draft
participation more meaningful
something,” he said.
road map’ evolved to strengthen
and intense and encourage dis
"the-'Panchayat Raj^5^1^ he - Aoiivity-mapping will also
advantaged groups such as
said the State government, in its
hLi Jnt° cons1lde^tlon
PrinSC/STs, BCs and women to join? j
usn.
......
;;.
g
a..
__ fi.
■'
BANGALORE, April 23
i.
j .....
Mfir 2S33
I
!
by focal] bodies
By Our Special Correspondent
The Government had pre
--------r
pared a note on the “road
map
BANGALORE, April 23. The Minis- to carry fonvard decentraiisater tor Rural Development and tion
tier. in
ir. Kamatalm
"per
-cr the didl
Karnataka” as
Panchayat Raj, M.Y Ghorpade, rectives of the Congress High
has stressed the need for under- Command, Mr. Ghorpade said.
taking activity mapping at the The Congress recently adopted
zilla, taluk, and gram panchayat resolutions and charters on the
level as this will result in a clear decentralisation of local bodies
assigning of functions and re- in accordance with the 73rd and
sponsibilities of the local 74th amendments to the Conbodies.
stitution, he said.
Speaking to presspersons
The panchayat raj instituhere today, the minister said the tions (PRIs) must be able to
issue of activity mapping would bring about reforms such as eni be placed before the Cabinet af- hanced people’s participation,
ter a discussion by the Cabinet citizen’s orientation, respon■..subcommittee.
siveness, service delivery, and
‘’After the Cabinet approval, improved financial rmanage,
orders on it would
be issued,'
he ment and accountability, the
7-------------\
adcjed.
added.
minister said.
\
t
''■* Rauopalisation
Rationalisation of
of schemes
schemes
Pointing out that the State
‘
Was
was -aiso
-aEo essenu
essential to, provide
Budget
had XX
proposed1 to en~
DECCA'N/HEPvAlSD grerat«r flexibility to determine hance the grant from Rs. 1 lakh
l-.
.Inral
local priorities
out to Rs. 5 lakh for each gram pan-nrinrifipc aand chalk out
plarYc
nc
plans ciiitpd
suited tn
to Inr-nl
local needs,
chayat, Mr. Ghorpade said the
A 4
M q/ ?(l
bpeinng
SpeBing out me
the roie
role or
of eacn
each tier untied tunds
funds would help the
V J : would help in the integration of GPs
to - execute
to.
works
gram and taluk panchayat plans independently,
independently.
/ - many as 5,600
------- —
into the district plan, he said.
As
GPs' in the
1
lx
State had executed develop- *.
ment works worth Rs. 600 crore Iin the last financial year,
•
•
To a question
on the
func
uululi5 of ‘jcuuau<muui
uie
tioning
Jamabandhi’ ai
at die
GP level, the minister said the
Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act
would be amended to ensure
_________ was held in
that Jamabandhi
August and September every
year.
Mr. Ghorpade said proper
control of the local govern
ments would be possible only
through an independent audit
system.
“The audit of the accounts of
elected local bodies has generally been so tardy and haphazard as to have virtually ceased to
have
have practical
practical effect
effect in
in ensuring
ensuring
the integrity of PRIs/municipal•
—
i____ _________________
_
vjvixvxcu,
ities.
The Accountants-General,
in consultation with the CompL^lkx
1 Auditor-General u*
trailer —
and
of
India.maybeadvisedtourgently identify and correct deficien' ~
5
cies in this regard,” the ‘road
'4
imap'' of" the
’ State Government !• 1
pointed out.
'i
i
i
■r
“State'govTlik^Fto amend
li
PaL-idbif !jai Raji Act
1
DECCAN HERALD
i? < MfW 2003
-t a lower level ,
isation of local bodies, is hoping complished at
should
be
entrusted
to that level
to begin ‘activity mapping’ of all
and will be taken to the next
panchayats
to
monitor
their
per
BANGALORE, April 23
level only when the level as- ;
The State government is likely to formances. A cabinet sub-com- .
the work cannot- accom
bring in an amendment to the mittee Is examining the'activity signed
plish it. This will help demarcate Panchayat
Raj
Act
to
make
it
mapping
’
recommendations
sub
..i rancnayai i\aj
lv
activities clearly to different >
mandatory to provide annual mitted by a working group, after . tiers of the panchayat raj .
1 grant of Rs 5 lakh each to gram which it will be sent to the State
system. Activity mapping is ex- j \
panchayats in fee State on a per Cabinet for approval.
pected to be issued within one |
Mr
Ghorpade
said
the
draft
manent basis and also constitute
month, Mr Ghorpade added.
1j
gram sabhas and ward sabhas to roadmap was formulated during
A recommendation has also
increase people’s participation a convention of chiefs of all pan been made to revise and ratio•V
chayat bodies, including zilla
in democracy
nalise multiple schemes in pan- •
At a press conference here panchayats, taluk panchayats chayat raj bodies to reduce heads ,
I today, Minister for Rural Devel- and gram panchayats, m banof accounts so that other im- ,
opment and Panchayat Raj M Y galore early this month.
started portant schemes may be taken ;
“Decentralisation
Ghorpade
said
the
State
gov=!
ernment has raised the annual almost ten years ago and the up-The road map also proposes, toi.;
____ __ _party has _prepared^la
grant of Rs
one lakh to Rs five Congress
Rs one
The constitute gram sabhas and i
? lakh’in its budget for the year charter
------to" take
/ it
’ forward. m
sabhas through an
' 2003-04. “But this should not be a rOad map was planned for imple- ward
amendment to the Panchayat Raj ;
menting
in
Congress-ruled
one-time grant. We want to
Ward sabhas will be ward- lj
<?tatps
through
froma Act.
--------------( ensure that this continues even le
party
chief. aWedirective
have about
wise citizen groupings tat couW „
f. when the Congress is not in —jr__w
’ -------- consider
power. So we are considering yearEbefore
completing
our termand propose them own
priorities for development J
H bringing in an amendment to in office and if we are able to im■ road’ mapj success works, in order to make people’s
make this grant of Rs five lakh plement the
participation more meaningful *
will
have achieved
mandatory,” he added.
fully, we \,1
” hr/:
and intense and encourage dis- r
Giving highlights of the draft something,” he said.
advantaged groups such as L
Activity
mapping
will
also
:j ‘road map’ evolved to strengthen
SC/STs, BCs and women to join
’
take
into
consideration
the
prin
’’ the Panchayat Raj system, he i
ciple of subsidiarity, which hands in the betterment of their..
3
said
the
State
government,
in
its
,
» move^towards tatherdecentral- means that whatever
PH News Service
31
al
_______
_ ____ _
1
■
5
r
h
srr
1UUV
| '<©rrap,ta®8i, delay m disposal
.
& sics d'talmate SiP
\
DBCCAN HERALD
□rk.
J
ties,
who
alleged
that was hindering their work.
•e many ■
He said there were
corruption was rampant in govtumkur
in K.XXXXXXV.XXV
ernment -----------------offices-------in----the
district.• clerks in ~government offices,
■'
lUlVIAUn,, may
I’lHI 25. 1Corruption
U11U|JUU11 XXX
------ ----------------i government offices and the de- The leader of the Opposition in who had not been transferred
P
.
.
..
,
r- r'l
1 .
Xl_ __________ 1______ *. FA
.
frtr 1 O
lay
the jjZkxxxwx.-.j
panchayat,
Krishna V.
Kufor 10 years. TflPV
They WPFP
werej rPSDOT)responIciy in
111 the
U1C disposal
UldLIUDOJ of files by
XXXW
—, D. ---------------------•
.
____ i mar,
____ along
_i_________________________
O->1 sible
ciklo for
fnr corruption,
rnmintinn. red
tph tanism,
$ officials dominated the general
with the Janata Dal
tapism,
(S) members,
members, Chikkavenkataiah
Chikkavenkataiah and
and indiscipline.
indiscipline. He
He directed
< body meeting of the Tumkur (S)
; Zilla Panchayat here
here on and
and Gopala
Gopala Krishna,
Krishna, said
said the
the the officials to make a list of
i Saturday.
Bescom
Bescom engineers
engineers were
were dede- such clerks and take steps to
It was the first meeting after manding
manding money
money toto replace
replace dede- transfer
transfer them.
them.
mpaiah was
transformers.
The
G.S. Basavaraju, Tumkur MP,
-- Jampaiah
was elected
elected President
President funct
panchayat vn
on April 26. Congress members, P.R. Sudha- said 35 per cent of the transfer-'
01 the
UlC pcuiciiayai
words in
'■ Hes minced no words
in warnwam- karlal, Sunandamma, Sukumar, mers in the district had become
of elecI inga thp
the nffiriak
officials against nedectneglect- and Ramesh, supported them,
them. defunct.
----------The
--- allocation
—-of
tricity to fee district was cut by ;
? ing the people’s problems and ■'Y.H.
rTT Hutchaiah
i’ ~c fee
*1-'- Congress
n
! told them: ‘‘You must mend said corruption was rampant at 30 per cent. He had informed
! your ways before people take all levels of administration. The ^Mana^g^pkcetor of^fee )
that •
XT el- .| the law into their own hands.” meeting witnessed pandemoni- ’KPTCL, K.N.Shrivastav,
i The panchayat would write to um when all fee members sup- there was no coordination be- ,
Mr.
Hutchaiah’s tween the engineers of KPTCL • the Government about the ported
and Bescom, he added.
j "rampant corruption” in the contention.
He said that he would dis- .
Mr.
Sudhakarlal
and
Rudresh
j district.
Mr. Jampaiah directed the of fee Congress said the offi cuss the. matter with the Chief ;
Bescom Executive Engineer, cials would not even clear im Minister, S.M.Krishna, on Tues- ,
Lakshman,
to take action portant files and keep them day and urge him to allocate
:!
t’
’ h to the district •
against the “corrupt” employ pending for several months. more electricity
ees in the company and report TL-_3
There was no mechanism to so that a three-phased supply 1
to fee panchayat. He author’ - ensure speedy disposal of files could be maintained in rural ar
eas at least for six hours a day.
;
- 1 offices. Mr.
ised gram panchayat
presidents in ogovernment
The panchayat resolved to I
government offices Hutchaiah alleged feat the offito inspect
i
in
areas dlld
and llldl
markXX UL
absent cials of the Department of Edu- urge the Government^ to open
ill their
LI 1U11 dicdo
‘goshalas’ at the gram pan
. in attendance registers if em- cation were lethargic.
1
Mr. Jampaiah snubbed Mr. chayat level in the district.
i ployees did not turn up for duty
The members said not even a
I on time. He directed the Chief Lakshman and Eshwaraiah,
Deputy
Executive Officer, D.K.Rangas- L_
r..^ Director of Public In single “goshala” had been
: wamy, to change fee pattern of struction, when they tried to opened in the district despite
the shortage of fodder.
recording proceedings of fee give explanations.
Venkataravanappa, Congress
He said while flthe executives
. meeting in such a way feat it
would bind fee officials to fur of KPTCL claimed that there MLA, M.D. Lakshminarayana,
nish proper replies to questions was no dearth of material to en- BJP MLA, and S. Channabasaergise drinking water projects, vaiah, and H.S.Shivashankar,
i asked byj the members.
, °
°
■______
T____ _
T-X..1 11
1^0
Janata
Dal
(United) NAT
MLCs,
atil
Mr. Jampaiah was respon- the local Bescom engineers
t „
By Our Staff Correspondent
•
. 1
1 •
•
1® 6 MAY 2003
*
u
.11- <•
i
r
II------
J
nlmrtnna nF material
fpnflPn the mPPtmp’.
S’
-A 7* J
3^- ti©
GdJOJ
Peres challenges male politicians |
|to state stand on Women’s Bill |
•?
I
Indefinite stir
by GP workers
from tomorrow
DH News Service
onement of the Women’s Re- process and should be acti-1
servation
Bill
had
become
a
vely
involved
in
the
formug
BANGALORE,
May 31
fident of the National Commh «■
11 ission for Women Philom- regular feature in Parliam- lation of laws which benefit 3 & Karnataka State Gram Panchayat Workers’ Association will
$ena Peres has asked male ent, she said that each year’ them, which ■ would ensure
launch an
iauiikzj.1
an iiiucixiiiuc
indefinite agiiaiivu
agitation xn
in
^politicians to state in clear the Bill would be held over that laws are more fruitful, y 1
"
t| j Bangalore from June 2, demandterms whether they were in till the last day, scenes she said.
regularisation of their servPraising former Prime |ing
<
terested in reserving 33 per would be created in Parlia
cent seats for women in the ment and again the Bill • Minister Rajiv Gandhi for | j- <Y ices and hike in salaries.
Addressing a press confer
legislature. Peres was spea would be postponed to the his efforts in promoting wo- i
!
king at a discussion organi next session. If political men, Peres said he had intr- 4 ?! ence here today, Association
2;
General
Secretary
V
P
Kulkarni
sed by the Prajna Counsell parties were sincere about oduced the system of 33 per 3
cent reservation for
for women
women 4| ?i■j said around 35,000 workers who 5
ing Centre here on Satur passing the Bill, they would rpnt
work as sweepers,
peons and
,
----x-x.
X,
-----------------xx__
in
i
ocal
administration
like S
t
local
have
looked
into
the
matter
day.
' pump
operators in
GPs
were rere- F
village
panchayats.
This
y
;
Pump
operators
m
GPs
were
- Lamenting that the postp- more seriously, she clai
helped women in villages to <
ceivmg minimal salary. A pump |
med.
, F
.
j • • x x r - . operator
suicide
rec^Uy as committed
he had not
received
“Atrocities against wom have a say m admuustratCINEMA
. salary for 11 months, he claimed, sj
en are. on the increase but ive matters leading to more
there are no laws that bene efficiency. Commission for 7 . I
KSGPWA had appealed to the |
PLAZA Digital DTS Sound
i Daily 4 Shows at 12.30, fit women. Even if there Women has drafted a bill
government to increase our |
6.30 & 9.45 p.m. Man- are, they are not implemen which had to be enacted ? ■, j salary in 2001 itself, but our de- |
1:• 3.30,
kind's Greatest threat is the ted properly,” she said.
into a law. This bill is
mands had not been fulfilled, he f.
' earth itself the .only wayout
Peres said women should aimed at giving more rights
added.
fe
is in! "THE CORE".
be part of the law-making to women •ENS
The association has also de- h
5
manded facilities like PF
1 ~
AM’"'
1leave
o
JOS
.
^Mangalore, May 25: Presi-
il $
I *
J
8
Seminar on
Govt, schemes
<2 6 may 2003
3 to be taluk panchayat|
chief for 45 days each 1
L
By Our Staff Reporter
| bangalore, may 23. The Vocational Training!
j Institute of Makhija Rotary, Indiranagar,|
y will conduct a seminar on Union and Stated
1 government schemes for vocational train-1
| ing, self-help groups, women empower(j ment and Stree Shakti schemes.
The seminar to be held at the MRI-VTI|
! Hall in Bhattarahalli on Old Madras Road|
! here on Saturday will include sessions on I
j Centrally-sponsored Ambedkar Schemes,^
; SJSRY and those specially launched for the |£
1 uplift of SC/ST, poor and the underprivi- (
*: leged segments of society, according to a *
■ release.
’
The Krishnarajapuram City Municipal 6
< Council Commissioner, B.Rajanna, and &
.] several top government officials dealing J
tj with the schemes will make presentations |
’I at the seminar.
ij The different schemes are aimed at train- |
4 ing over 3,000 students.
f'
7 r. MAY 2083
Express News Service
" ."Ji
v
Davanagere, May 25: Despite fear of defections in the*
Congress camp during election for the post of taluk pan-1
chayat president of Harihar, party candidate H.G.Para-:
meshwarappa was elected unopposed on Saturday. But
■i he will hold the post for only 45 days. A whip was;
issued to all Congress councillors as there was a possibility of three of the ten councillors supporting the Janata ’
Dal at the start of election in the morning.
However, a decision was taken by the councillors to
give three members the post of president for a period of
45 days each.
According to sources, councillors KGangadharappa,
Riyaz Khan and Sakamma, along with Parameshwarappa had filed their nomination papers. The observers i
met the
me three
uuee copiCCUIUS
aspirants cuiu
and ucuiucui
decided that
uiiau jParameshwara-'
. cuaincoii»»aia- ’
X Hltl
ppa should be in charge for 45 days, then make way for j
Riva?, Khan
tehan and Sakamma for 45 days
davs each.
Pach.
Riyaz
■:
Dr Y.Nagappa, MLA, observers D.Basavaraj and Thip- ■J
•• pesh held talks with Congress councillors and the agree
ment was reached.
■■5
The six Dal councillors who had the support of three
* dissident Congress councillors had planned to elect
Riyaz as president, but in the last minute, Parameshwa;5 rappa was elected unopposed.
*
Assistant commissioner Dr. Betsurmutt conducted
the elections • ENS
I
1
1 6 MAY 2003
Ct
cs
<=•(
c:
’
'
’
°\
<A V //
-
:P;
"ir "'©rfrsv: te s":ag«-clsariira fa©© ,b©@ g
e
J
By Our Special Correspondent
GULBARGA, MAY 24. The workers
! of more than 5,640 gram panJ chayats (GPs) in the State will
begin an "indefinite dharna” in
* Bangalore from'June 2 in pro
test against the delay in conced
ing their demands for wage
revision, extension of retire
v ment benefits and promotional
opportunities, and separate ser
vice rules.
Addressing a press confer
ence here today, the President
of the Karnataka State GP Noukarara Sangha, Maruti Manpade,
and the district unit Secretary of
the sangha, Mansur Patil, said
that the Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj Minister, M.Y.
j Ghorpade, had failed to impleR ment the assurance given to GP
•I
workers in June ,2001 that the ^though GP workers
----- 3 were part of
issues raised, by them would be government service, service and
resolved in three months.
salary benefits enjoyed by gov
He said the members of the ernment employees in other de
sangha had held a series of dis partments and local bodies
cussions with Mr. Ghorpade in were not L_._.
beingo extended to
June 2001, and explained to him them. The "equal pay for equal
the plight of GP workers, who work" concept, propounded by
were F'"
’-----:J ----------. several
being
paid
a meagre•’sala- the Supreme Court in
ry. Moreover, the salary was not ,judgments,, was not beine ex
paid regularly.
tended to them.
The minister, who gave a paMr. Manpade said a sweeper
tient hearing to the plea of the and a peon working in GPs were
workers, said the Government being paid Rs. 800 a month, and
was sympathetic to the prob- the sangha wanted the Governlems faced,by them, and a solu- ment to increase it to Rs. 2,400:
tion
be found
in-jthree
---- would
.—
---- v.xxk
PumpP operators,____
who________
were now
months. “Even after two years, 'being paid Rs. 1,000 a month,
this assurance remains unful should be given Rs. 3,000. The
filled, and over 35,000 GP work sangha had demanded a reviers iare forced to work like sion of the salary of bill collec
slayes,” he added.
tors working in GPs from Rs.
Mr. Manpade said that al- 1,200 to Rs. 3,600, he added.
4
fu
H
fit’
He said the representatives ofc
the sangha had held 21 rounds^
of discussions with the Secreta-L J
ry of the Rural Development^.;
and Panchayat Raj Department^
in continuation of the discus-!^'
sions held with the minister. Af-tr
ter exhausting all avenues, GP^
workers were left with no other
alternative but to launch an indefinite agitation against Government’s “attitude", he added.
Mr. Manpade said GP workers were denied Provident
Fund, Gratuity, and other retirement benefits such as pension,-w
and the sangha had been press- L;
ing the Government to extend jQ
these facilities to them. They®1'
were also not governed under
the service rules which covered
other government and local
body employeqs.
DECCAN HERALD
Hay
1. G U -J
, ■iiiij.iiiL.ii.ninrT-nrw
v
“R
bill will confer rights ©si women: AIDWA chief
’c-(
'r-.;
J BANGALORE, MAY 26. The All India
.[ Democratic Women’s Associ| ation (AIDWA) President, Subhashini Ali, on Monday said the
i Women’s
Reservation
Bill
5 would confer constitutional
rights on women, which were
■ being denied to them now.
i However, she cautioned that
■ the alternatives suggested for
1 the Bill, would only end up sti. fling it.
i
Delivering a talk on "Wom
en’s Reservation Bill — Politics
without morality” organised by
the State unit of AIDWA here,
Ms. Ali felt strengthening de
mocracy was the only solution
to strengthening of justice. This,
she said, could be achieved if
there was a commitment to get
the Women’s Reservation Bill
passed.
“The real issue is hidden
while various reasons why the
Bill should not be passed are
emphasised on,” she said.
UMW «IN,rlll| I nil,1 Mi
4
dr.‘ •. •*'
i
. * J, :
■ ’/fa
Sr*A '
y
•
k
Jk-
fa
A 's
The General Secretary, AIDWA, Brlnda Karat (left), the
President, AIDWA, Subhashini All, and a Supreme Court
advocate, Kirti Singh (right), discussing a point
at a talk session in Bangalore on Monday.
— Photo: V.Sreenivasa Murthy.
Speaking on “Food Security
—: Impact on Women”, the AID
WA General Secretary, Brinda
Karat, said a basic aspect to the
right to survive was the right to
,i
food security. She listed prosti
tution, sexual harassment and
trafficking as different instances
where food insecurity affected
women adversely.
Ms. Karat criticised the lack's;
of minimum wage laws in rural
areas.
' 1
A Supreme Court advocate,^'
Kirti Singh, speaking on “Pend- w
ing Women's Rights Bills”, listed legislation for domestic O
violence and sexual harassment;^
as<-those that were pending.* '
“Laws concerning women have'!0*'
never been a priority for the.';c<
Government. A lot of pressure
needs to be done to motivate*^
the Government to act towards
addressing needs of women,”
she said.
fw'
The objective of the AIDWA?
talks, according to an activist,?^'
Sathya, is “to address the people^
about current ineffective gov-£ J
emment policies with respect to|
food, health, and reservation for!
women."
A Guild of Women Achievers'
trustee, Chaya Srivatsa, AIDWA
members, and those of Jagruti ijet
Adhayana, were present.
ex
CTIL-r.- ry-iy - -
DECCAN HERALD
2 7 HAY 2003
S3
ct
■C<
II
C'J
‘GP secretaries posts to be filled up’
PH News Service
MYSORE, May 27
Chief Minister S M Krishna toi day said that a government order
3 J would be issued soon asking the
j ' officials of the city corporations
•j . and city municipal councils to is
sue caste certificates to the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
J Tribes in the urban centres.
Talking to reporters after
■•7
•£
holding a review meeting at the
J zilla panchayat office, here today,
Mr Krishna, while responding to
a request from MLA A S Guruswamy (Chamundeshwari) sa
id, “We will ask the city corpora
tion officials to issue caste certificates to SC/STs in the urban
■ centres where their number is
1
I
■
high.”
At the meeting, Mr Guruswamy brought to the notice of
£he_chief minister that it had be-
’I : ? _
|
I
come difficult tor the tahsildar lives said.
here to issue caste certificates to
Earlier,
Santhemarahalli
the SCs/STs since their number MLA A R Krishnamurthy urged
is over seven lakh and urged him Chief Minister SM Krishna to
to ensure that such certificates implement the Kabini second I
were also issued from other au stage project as it would irrigate
thorities.
thousands of acres of land in
GP SECRETARIES: Mr Krishna eight assembly constituencies of
also announced that the vacant Mysore and Chamarajnagar dis
posts of secretaries in several tricts.
gram panchayats would be filled
“Karnataka is not utilising its i
soon and directed the revenue share of Kabini water. If the ;
secretary to submit a report on State utilises its share of water, ’
b
the number of vacancies in the drought could be prevented in '
GPs.
Mysore and Chamarajnagar dis
The chief minister was told at tricts as the Kabini project would
the meeting that the secretary irrigate land and also help in ,
posts are vacant in eight gram supplying drinking water,” he in-' j,
panchayats in Mysore district. formed.
The grants sanctioned to the
Ministers H Vishwanath, M J
gram panchayats have not been . Mahadev, M Shivanna, Rani
audited properly and revenue Satish, Suma Vasanth, elected |
generation would become diffi representatives and senior offi- |
cult if there are no secretaries in cials from various departments j
attended the meeting.
I
I
■
Notice to 10 TP 5
*
■
j
8 MAY 20.53
By Our Staff Correspondent
Though money was released
to build houses for those dis- •!
i tumkur, may 23. The executive placed because of Naxalite ac-1
' officers of 10 taluk panchayats tivity in Pavagada taluk, work
' in Tumkur District have been had not been started.
i put on notice for furnishing
Construction of houses for ’
i false information to the Govern- the poor among the backward
1
j ment. G.Parmeshwar, Minister
classes was also inordinately
I for Higher Education and dis delayed.
trict in-charge, who reviewed
He asked the Deputy Com
the progress of works here re missioner,
Mallikarjuna'
cently, was annoyed over re B.Dyaberi, to delegate powers
ports of poor performance.
to assistant commissioners to
identify the houseless poor, a!al- p
CanHERa^1V lot houses t0 them, and register v
Gandhi Rural Housing Corpora- title deeds in their favour
'
N-Shlv^shai,am’ visited
The assistant commissioners, ■
t. ! dnf 1 and a.SSeSSed 016 sta’ he said- should bear the responrespon- tus ot the implementation of sibility of ensuring quality in *
| various housing schemes. Mr. construction of houses.
‘ Shivashailam directed the Chief
Mr. Shivashailam underlined (
• Executive Officer of the Tumkur the urgency to tackle drinking
Zilla Panchayat, D.K.Rangaswa- water problem in the district
my, to issue notices to the exec and said priority should be giv
utive officers of 10 taluk en to drought relief works.
panchayats for furnishing false «
information to the minister.
He told Mr. Rangaswamy to J
take action against the erring
officers after obtaining an ex
DECCAN HERALD
planation from them. He found
irregularities in the construetion of 195 houses for the poor
! in Madhugiri taluk and ordered „*
that the release of Rs. 10 lakh to- f
wards die work be held back. I’
.
He said records were not sat- | j
1 isfactory in Tumkur and A
;| C.N.Halli taluks also.
5
I
DECCAN HERALD
i
^4 MAV 2803
a:
''
*1
-------- •------------ •.
!
-
*1
*1
VVomieii'S quota bill will oe passed: josh!
NEW DELHI, May 11 (PTI)
With the ball now in his court,
5 Speaker Manohar Joshi exuded
confidence about passage of the
A controversial Women’s Reserva
tion Bill, in this form or a modified one, in the 13th Lok Sabha it[I- self. “I am confident the bill will
■’J be passed in this Lok Sabha.
'!■' With efforts we will come to
41 some conclusion on the bill,” Mr
Joshi, who has convened an allparty meeting on June 16 to
/k evolve consensus on the legislation, told a group of journalists
- today.
' However, he skirted questions
about the passage of the bill in
its present form, seeking to en*8 sure one-thir^ reservation for
[i
I
-J-n.;
women in Lok Sabha and state terjee has already responded to
Assemblies.
the Speaker's suggestion to par
“I am fully confident of a solu ties to send in their proposals
tion.... The bill has to be passed ahead of the meeting. He has
in this form or some modified said the party favoured passage
form acceptable to all,” he said.
of the bill in its present form.
Mr Joshi said there were sev
On the Shiv Sena's view on the
eral proposals from various par bill, Mr Joshi said his party was
ties, including endorsement of not against reservation but
the Election Commission's sug favoured the EC suggestion. Mr
gestion to ensure that parties Joshi said that when he was Ma
give tickets to 33 per cent of harashtra Chief Minister, the
women, double-member con ■Assembly had passed a resolu
stituency, bringing down the per tion urging the Centre to pass the
centage of reservation to 20 per women's reservation bill way
cent and allowing a sub-quota for back in 1996. Asked how he ex
women from backward classes pected a consensus on a measure
and minority communities for on which parties were complete
evolving a consensus.
ly divided, the Speaker admitted
CPI-M leader Somnath Chat- the bill had taken a" long time".
. . ■
- - --■
...,, 7
On the postponement of the ’
consideration of the bill on May ■
6 amidst unruly scenes in tlie i
House, he said "members could ■
have gone to any extent that ‘
day...?'
Seeking to downplay the con
troversy over the suggestion for >
marshalling out noisy members,
he said it was a casual proposal '
made by someone quoting rules
but not seriously discussed. Mr
Joshi, who completed one year in
office on Friday, said he had '
achieved "80 per cent success" in !
his job as Speaker while he at- il
tributed the 20 per cent failure to ;]
adjournments and members en- .-j
tering well "which has to be <1
stopped totally".
J
7
.. ..
---------------------
■
j Paacaayats take care of water needs in Mangalore
ervice
3ij Express
xpress News
ews S
service
outskirts
Manpalnrp
outskirts of
of Mangalore
4
A
have been facing water sho
$ Mangalore, May 28: It is a rtage for over a month, for
I sight the coastal belt of Kar- the first time in many
K nataka is not accustomed years.' Residents complain
to. Empty buckets and pots that water supplied'in Kote
< lined in long queues. But kar and Kallapu is so salty
$ now the harsh reality has that it is unfit for drinking.
f sunk in.1
Thanks tcr^ the efforts of
\ Several villages on the the admihistration, the situ-
•2 9 MAY M3
atinn ic nnHor
ation is under control. ttimi
Ullal
panchayat has hired private suppliers on a contract
basis to cater to the water
needs^villages including
Chembugudde, Sevanthigudde, Kerebail ward, Kallapu and Kotekar. Nearly 36
trucks provide drinking wa
ter to residents, and each
—1—
x_ x_._ ....
1truck .makes
upto ten trips
daily.
According to Ullal Panch
ayat standing committee
chairman Dinesh Rai, it
costs Rs 1,650 a day to hire
one truck.
Water is taken from Jhe,
famous Ullal Durgah. The
panchayat has been supply-
....
ing water since the last
week of March.
The situation is expected
to be better next year. A
well to be dug afthe cost of
Rs 3 lakh by the panchayat
will take care of the water
requirements of the reside
nts of Chembugudde vil
lage, says Rai. Work on the
same will start soon, hi
adds.
..._v Rs 1 lakh hai
Already
been sanctioned to Perman
nur ward, for work on the
water pipeline.
An ADB project worth Rs
20 lakh is in the offing tc
provide water to residents
of these villages.
TA IN' j' P
|
A
£ THE NATIONAL S(^ST Commission’s observa-
^6 !i.,:
tion that funding should be withdrawn for panh chayats to which elections have not been held
LUUj should serve as a wake-up call for the Tamil
Nadu Government to complete the polls which
J arp long overdue. Imposition of such a penalty
may not be the answer in view of the hardships
it would inflict on the already cash-strapped
j panchayats. But there is no mistaking the exV tremely serious view taken by the SC/ ST Commission of the systematic subversion of the
;> process of electing village panchayats once ev
ery five years. Polls
for the reserved
panchayats
x
wvi pcuiuiiayaio
ot Pappapatti, Keenpatti and Nattarmangalam
villages in Madurai district and Kottakatchiendal in Virudhunagar district have not been held
as the caste Hindus did not want Dalits to rep- resent them in local bodies. After successfully
? stalling the 2001 elections in these villages,
• caste Hindu groups have continued to thwart
• every subsequent attempt by the State Election
Commission to complete the poll process. The
murder of the president of the Melavalavu reserved panchayat and six others in 1997 cast an
\ ugly shadow on elections to local bodies in Tamil Nadu. While the perpetrators of the killings
have been convicted and are now serving a life
sentence, the Dalits in other reserved panchayats often do not file nominations for fear of
reprisal and those who dare the upper castes
are subject to intimidation and threats. While
the specific nature of the resistance at the grass
roots level is serious enough, many State Governments themselves have been guilty of
postponing elections to the third tier in vio
lation of Constitutional provisions and have
even appealed to the courts to achieve their
objective. Therefore, it is essential that the SC/
ST Commission as well as the State Election
Commission recognise this larger scenario
while attempting to restore to the Panchayati
Raj institutions their rightful place in the Con
stitutional scheme.
While on the one hand, elections to reserved
’.ocal bodies are being systematically sabotaged,
2
I *....
.2 4 MmZ
'
. i
i
i
i
. $
quently. A case in point is the decision by the 1
Centre in 1999 to vest the District Rural Devel- 1
opment Agency with control over development i
activities at the district level, disregarding the |
requirement to integrate their functions with h
the Zilla Parishads as per the 73rd and 74th
amendments and the Parliamentary Standing
Committee’s suggestion to the
‘ same effect. In
fact, the Constitution’s XI Schedule identifies 29 ’
areas including primary education, health, minor irrigation and control of local resources, !
which the States must devolve to the panchavat
institutions. The more recent move by the Cen- «
tral Rural Development Ministry to, constitute |
District Vigilance and Monitoring’Committees
(DV&MCs) to oversee rural development, with
Members of
Parliament as
as chairpersons
chairpersons could
Members
of Parliament
could
likewise
undermine
the
Constitutional
likewise undermine the Constitutional status
status of
of ;
the Zilla Parishads. It is noteworthy that the Zilla '!
Parishad, an elected body, is now overseen by a i
. . . mechanism
.
.
wholly nominated
as the DV&MC. f
It is ironic that the rationale for setting up addi- ,
tional bodies is explained in terms of the need to J
improve the efficiency of PRIs when
i excessive
political interference is often cited by members '/
in
in the
the higher
higher echelons
echelons of
of the
the administration
administration as
die root cause of their inefficiency.
Even a decade after they were accorded Con- stitutional status, the traditional political insti- i
tutions of Panchayati Raj are yet to establish
their identity/ as full fledged organs of devolu
tion and decentralisation. This state of affairs is
indeed a sad commentary on the nation’s col
lective political will and commitment to uphold
the principles laid down in the Constitution.
Still worse, it reflects poorly on the journey to
wards greater decentralisation of powers and
responsibilities at a juncture when States are
clamouring for a more equal and rational real- i
location of resources from the Centre. It is time
the States recognised that what they demand !'
vis-a-vis the Centre is precisely what they must i
honour in relation to the PRIst
A model ’
j”
for people
I
By Our Special
Correspondent
THE HINDU
on flic other hand, their autonomy as independ- j
ent administrative units is also undermined fre- I
.y-W
i I
honour. It is her proficiency
in using IT for tackling the
problems faced by villagers
bangalore, may 23. While it is which brought her the
the practice to invite the
honour. Ms. Norti Bai
Chief Minister or a
became literate thanks to
By Our Special Correspondent
prominent citizen to
the literacy movement.
inaugurate a meet or an
Later, she was introduced •, mumbai, may 22. The Maharashtra Govemevent, a simple village
to the use of computers and | ment has decided to strengthen the posiwoman had the honour of
received a seven-month
.4 tion of women heads of the panchayat
inaugurating a conference.
training in it. It took her a
bodies in the State — now a three-fourth’s
Norti ^ai (55), from
month to understand the
*j majority would be needed to remove them
Tilonia in Rajasthan, had
keyboard. The movement in i- instead of the present two-third’s support,
been invited to inaugurate
Rajasthan for giving the
The Government will promulgate an or
I.
’
’State
''
’ . right
’J
the two-day conference on
people
of"the
the
’ dinance to amend the relevant law, said the
‘Media, information
to information came as a
■ Chief Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, here
technology, and grassroots
boost to her. She told the
; today after the weekly meeting of the State
development’. The Press
inaugural session that she
ij Cabinet.
Institute of India, New
was using IT to map the
£ . This would strengthen the position of the »
Delhi, has organised the
water resources in the
women chairpersons in the district counconference to mark the 40th villages around Tilonia.
cils, taluka panchayat samitis and sarpan- .,
__
____
&
___
J
year of its founding and the
She is a standing example
chas of gram panchayats, he said.
fourth anniversaiy of
of what modern technology
grassroots reporting, and it
can do to change the lives
‘
chose Ms. Norti Bai for the
of ordinary citizens.
1 More clout for women i
in Maharashtra
■
"z
—4
tee himdv
'•
<7''"
1
.
.......................................... '
'
•”
PM promises to
get Women’s
1
Bill passed
■
"
f NEW DELHI, May 7 (PTI)
A day after the controversial
Women’s Reservation Bill was
stalled in the Lok Sabha, a
women’s delegation that met
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vaj!
payee claimed he had assured
| them that the Bill would be
j passed before the end of the
g term of the 13th Lok Sablia.
-;
<
“The outcome of our meeting
| , with the Prime Minister was
|! that the government would try
get the BiU Passed within
Sar th013th
Sabha”, the women,
who were part of the Joint Ac3 ' tion Front, said quoting Mi’ Vaj
All India Democratic Women’s Association President Subhasini
: payee.
Ali and General Secretary of the Association Brinda Karat at 'i.
They said the delegation was
a press conference in Bangalore on Monday
“taken aback” by the statement
of Parliamentary Affairs Minis- !
d
ter Sushma Swaraj that it may
4 not be possible to take up the Bill
J in the current Parliament ses| sion.
m.
.
;
4<
UNI
adds:
Meanwhile,
an
all
?
I
party meeting will be held on
June 16 to arrive at a consensus
on the Bill which was deferred
amidst uproar in the Lok Sabha
yesterday. In a meeting held with
State legislatures and the Par
representatives of various par
DH News Service
liament have a meagre number; ties here this evening, Lok Sab
i•. BANGALORE, May 26
of women thus not giving repre-' ha Speaker Manohar Joshi said
Former MP and President of All seritation to a large chunk of the
the leaders of the parties should
• India Democratic Women’s Asso- population.
■ give their views in writing on
■ ciation (AIDWA) Subhasini Ali
She accused Prime. Minister',. the matter to the Lok Sabha Sec
. today alleged that the political Atal Behari Vajpayee of ‘betray-1 retariat to facilitate a meaning
parties were conspiring to keep ing women and Parliamentary] ful discussion in the House.
J women away from the 2004 gen- democracy by backtracking com- 'jy,
?4J>n _
:cvrx-jC<f-afcTSSuscgW*
' eral elections by not passing the pletely on the Women’s Reserva-1
s
'
1
V Women’s Reservation Bill. “There |
•/ tion Bill early.
have been debates j
“The main reaabout sub-reser-«
p:;.
■J son for the politiz.
vation in the 331
cal parties to keep postponing per cent reservation for women. J
•. the passage of Women’s Reserva- But, it is time for all of us to J
j tion Bill in the Parliament is to leave behind all the objections
. keep women away from contest- and move on. You can’t hope to}'
ing the next general elections,” strengthen democracy by keep-J:
Ms Ali said, while delivering a ing out 50 per cent of the popula- J
lecture on “Women’s Reserva tion,” she noted.
tion Bill- Politics without morali
Mrs Kirti Singh, a Supreme^
ty” organised here today by the Court advocate, delivered a lec-J
(AIDWA).
ture on “Pending Women’s <
Women form 50 per cent of Rights bills”. She said that lawsJ
1 the population which means pertaining to sexual assaults and*j
x they rightfully deserve 50 per domestic violence on women |
cent representation in the state have many loopholes. On thei
'i legislatures and the Parliament. same occasion, Brinda Karat de-i
£ But some politicians do not want livered a lecture on “Food.inse-1.
that to happen, she said.
curity- Impact on Women”.
■ *
'f
8j
11
3;
8,
JI
I
Sg|| : I
l
f
i
6C®m§’pniracy io ■ j
keep womens away1
from 2004 polls’
I
s
19
«»
1
esw
2 rw
5*7
T
j
ParicWat
6-
■
By George Mathew
come. It is well acknowledged thaty,
;.]-Tr r. “FEST BENGAL has been olence in local elections has in har panchayat elections of 1978 held West Bengal has made exceptional*
'4 > /% / the role model for grass- creased. In Madhya Pradesh, the first without official party participation,
J % j % / roots democracy, decen- State to hold elections (1994), 17 per the casualties were about 750. Dur progress in rural development afterc
V V tralisation and local sons died in poll-related violence. In ing tire 2001 elections to the pan the new panchayats were launched.
25 years ago.
' governance since 1978. So much so the same year, the toll in Tripura was chayat in Bihar held on party lines, it
The recent India Today survey oty.
• that when the Janata Party came to eight and during the 1997 Orissa was feared that the casualties would States shows that Bengal has gained.1
power in Karnataka in the early panchayat elections, 12 persons be 10 times that of 1978. But the un one point each in prosperity, agricul-X
■ 1980s, a team of legislators went to died. In Tamil Nadu, though there official estimate put the figure at 136. ture, health, infrastructure, invest-;;
The West Bengal elections present
West Bengal to study the working of were no casualties during the 1996
merit scenario and consumer,
the panchayats before drafting their elections, there were incidents of kill the picture of the opposition parties markets over the last survey (1991), &
* path-breaking Panchayat Bill of 1983. ing in the post-election months trying to overthrow through demo but in two areas the State has gone j
West Bengal blazed a historic trail for
down — law and order and educa-7
■ j the entire nation by institutionalising
tion. Election-related violence and'*;
’ democracy at the base of India’s In the absence of a strong tradition ofchecks and country bomb-making are manifes-F;
'1 democratic edifice, thereby creating
. tations of this general deterioration.^.
balances and organised people's power, the
/ tire necessary environment for Rajiv
In 1993, after the panchayat elec-<
Gandhi to move the 64th Constitutremendous possibilities for developmen t of
tions, this writer met the then Chief
tion Amendment Bill in Parliament
Jyoti Basu, along with a •J
our villages are being sabotaged by the elected • Minister,
1 on May 15, 1989.
Chinese delegation which had come $
But today, after 25 years, West
leaders for personal aggrandisement.
to study the elections. Mr. Basu ad. Bengal is in the news for the intensity
mitted that the progress in the field
of violence in the elections to the ve
of education was unsatisfactory and
ry institution which had occupied a
that the State would make all efforts-:
pride of place in the nation as a (Madurai, Melavalavu). The figures cratic and violent means the party to catch up through the panchayats. g
whole. The recent elections sur for some other States are: Uttar Pra which has been ruling tire State for so But after 10 years, West Bengal is still |
passed all State records in violence, desh (2000) 20; Andhra Pradesh long and the party at the receiving lagging behind.
$
killings, coercion, intimidation and (2001) 14 and Jammu and Kashmir end and its allies retaliating using the
The most notable achievement of
same means. In the process, peaceful
(2001) 14.
I terror tactics.
CPI (M) Government is that cli- 7
There is a view that the involve democratic tools have become the the
■ The notification for the election
entelism and patronage, based on re- L
I was issued on April 3, 2003, and the ment of political parties in the pan casualty.
ligion, caste, communal or feudal
1 elections were held on May 11. Ac- chayat elections is the root cause of . . It must be recognised that in interests, have almost disappeared
creased
violence
in
local
elections
is
~
v
________
violence.
West
Bengal
was
the
first
i cording to reports {Ananda Bazar
from West Bengal. They are now £
Patrika), 47 persons lost their lives State to hold elections to the pan- because of the proximity of the peo along party lines in the State. It may £
'■Patrika),
ple
to
the
candidates,
their
conflict
’
''0
chayat
with
the
official
participation
’ till May 9 and thereafter another 29
be seen as a higher level of social de■ were killed. Of 76 victims, 31 were of political parties in June 1978. Al ing interests and the parties or their velopment but if it leads to violent g
candidates
representing
one
or
the
though
there
was
opposition
to
the
CPI (M) workers, 19 were from tire
tensions and conflicts, then steps are
I Congress, eight from the Trinamool involvement of the political parties, other of the traditional rival interest needed to stem the rot.
Congress, eight from the BJP and 10 the CPI (M) and its allies preferred, group. With the strengthening of the
A
Bengali
villager cannot imagine
3
-----o
_
panchayats in the last 10 years and
I from other parties. The CPI (M) was and perhaps rightly so, the official their having enormous potential for his/her
r/hnr Ufo
xArittiru
it
thp
nanrhavats.
life without the panchayats. !]li
------recognition of parties in the pan ti._l. L- 1 „
! singled out for attack.
The recent panchayat elections re-, .1
j However, a matter of greater con- chayat elections because it would govemance and development, with corded one of the highest percent- .j
large IVOUUIVVQ
resources UL
at their
command,, ----------LXivx* -------------------------v
4
■ cern is tire number of uncontested put an end to the age-old tradition of laiftV
the elected members and presidents ages of polling — 80 — because the •!.
f seats reaching nearly llper cent at rural coteries reaping the benefits for
....................
’- -have3 a ggreat
1"63* stake in it. For 1
have become the main
stakeholders, r--r
people
the three levels. About 6,300 seats narrow, sectarian and caste interests.
In the prevailing political culture the same reason, elections are fought /
Also, the direct involvement of po
"‘ went uncontested and most of them
bitterly and aggressively. But there is
' went to the CPI (M) and its allies. In litical parties in the panchayats could and in the absence of a strong tradi-. a price. About 10 years ago, one
i Hooghly district alone, it was over 40 make the local level leadership more tion of checks and balances and or could see that in the West Bengal til
people’s
power,
the
5 per cent in gram panchayats, 42 per disciplined and responsible. In fact, ganised
tremendous possibilities for devel lages, while local leaders from differ
’cent in village samithis and 25 per the 1978, 1983 and 1988 panchayat
ent ideological backgrounds fought
{cent in Zilla Panchayats. Whatever elections in West Bengal were rela opment of our villages are being sab elections bitterly, they overcame
otaged
by
the
elected
leaders
in
tively
peaceful.
(But
in
the
1993
elec
i the explanation, poll violence has
their divide when it came to fighting
4 taken the shine out of the much- tions, 42 persons lost their lives). many a case for personal aggrandise for the development of their village.
ment
or
for
the
party
’
s
short-term
Moreover,
in
about
13
States
where
■ awaited panchayat elections in a
Is this something gone forever? The
/(State which could be considered the parties have been actively participa advantage. This situation attracts a recent panchayat elections provide te
sizeable
number
of
lumpen
elements
ting in these elections since 1994
;icradle of grassroots democracy.
an extraordinary opportunity for the
j After the 73rd Constitution there has been no serious instance of to contest the elections and largescale
'
^
ol^cg4^^e^t^le^u
r.
.Amendment became law in 1993, vi- violence. At the
I
the hiisd^
5&
NGOs: Crisis of
credibility
public money is being prudent
ly spent by charities. This is iii
stark contrast to what exists iij
very few of the charitable the government where thfi ■
outfits allow public scru Comptroller and Auditor GenJ
tiny of their accounts
eral’s office investigate;
whether the physical achieve
By Bind S Thomas
ments match the funds spent
The Kelkar Committee recoin
recent action of the mended the creation of a Na
Supreme Court has put tional Charities Board to assis
the spotlight on the vex- the government in regulating
charities as is the case with the
atious issue of the accountabil- c'
ity of Non-Governmental Or National Charities Commis
(
ganisations (NGOs). On May 2, sion in the UK. •
2003 the apex court admitted a
Transparency, or rather the
public interest litigation seek lack of it, has long been a prob
ing the evolution of a mecha lem with the NGO sector. One
nism to monitor the function telling example of this is hov
ing of NGOs working for the few NGOs bother to make theiin
.welfare of AIDS patients. The annual accounts available foiS
•Delhi-based NGO Common public scrutiny. According tc
j Cause which moved the PIL in- Murray Culshaw who publish
'formed the court that NGOs oc
----es tho
the KTnn
NGO directory ‘Banga
...
§ were receiving millions of dol- lore Cares’ of the over 70(
lars to fight AIDS and raised NGOs in Bangalore his organi
apprehensions about large- sation is aware of "perhaps” 5(
scale misuse of these funds. It publish their annual statemen
| was alleged that only some 30- of accounts.
? 40 per cent of grants received
from abroad were being used to Improving transparency
j benefit AIDS patients.
The Credibility Alliance, ai
NGOs have long been a part informal network of organisa
of Indian life championing a tions that has been formed t®
slew of social issues and deliv “enhance credibility and good
ering a wide variety of servic governance" within the sectoif
es. The Central Social Welfare has been debating at various
Board has been providing fi- specially convened regional
nancial support to voluntary workshops the issue of goocS
agencies for four decades. In governance. But as is usualljfi
1986 a new government agency, the case with NGO meetings^ DECCAN HERALD
the Council for Advancement consensus takes a long timdj
of People’s Action and Rural coming, if it comes at all. Ondj
Technology (CAPART) was es of the recommendations beinaj
tablished to promote NGOs discussed is that the. “annual
even as the State stepped up report be disseminated/comb
funding of their activities. municated to key stakeholder^!
Huge funds
. began
----------. flowing
o ...
in and available------on request
,—teverjfi
during the 1990s when NGO in- "Year, within 8 months of thdf
■ volvement was made mandate- end of the organisation’s finan«
ry by various international . cial year.” Another proposal beft
bodies including UN agencies ing
in8 debated in NGO circles is tert
t(
as pre-condition for govern- • have an accreditation systenw
ments receiving funds for so for NGOs where they will bJ
rated on different parameters
cio-economic programmes.
Few figures are available for and those that make the gradei
how much money Indian NGOs will be formally accredited)!
raise within the country. But This will enable the public tofj
foreign funding for their activi have greater faith in NGOs. li
ties has risen sharply from Rs
However, NGO efforts at sellfl
1412 crore in 1991-92 to Rs 4535 regulation have always beenK
crore in 2000-01, growing at a long on rhetoric and short onfc
compounded annual rate of 14 action. These efforts gain mo-fc
per cent every year. This mir mentum when the governmental
rors the overall sharp increase threatens to come out withK
in spending on community some regulatory measures tog*
services in the country.
improve transparency and ac-«
countability in the sector andH
Financial regulation
wane the moment the threat re-b
There is very little financial cedes. Two years ago, former fi-L
regulation of NGOs as matters nance minister Yashwant Sin-5
stand..The Foreign Contribu ha had proposed that all NGOsp
tions Regulation Act (FCRA), which get more than Rs 10w
under which organisations lakhs a year should publish n
■ »
uiui
thatL receive
Vbtxvu 1U1
foreign
UJLgU lUllUb
fundslluve
have UiVU
their avbuuliio
accounts 111
in UlU
the local E
P
to report annually to the Home newspaper. The amountt wasH
’
IVTinictrxr
tho
cnuvrino
<n->z4
zxf
lafpr
roxricaH
tr\
T?o
z-<nz>
Ministry the sources and use of later revised to Rs one z.crore, g
the money, is focussed on en but lobbying by various inter- u
Money has been flowing
into the NGO sector, but
£
4 2 JUN 2003
o
suring internal security. It is
'
•
>
>
not concerned with wastage or
misuse of funds, but with use
of these funds for political,
communal or other such activities. Similarly, annual submissions to the registrar of societies or to charity commissioners in some States like Maharashtra and Gujarat are for all
practical purposes mere formalities, with little scrutiny if
ests led to the proposal being B
dropped.
Perhaps the Supreme Court |
can now help take the issue for-1
ward. Meanwhile, as the web- '
site of AccountAid, a Delhi
based agency that assists NGOs 1
with accounting, states in a
pithy one line comment in its
section on NGO accountability:
“Sorry. This one is tricky. Still
working on it.”
5?
're>
|.;-AAid-day. meals to . | on women’s 1
I be handed over
Ito women’s groups
s'
**
reservation |
t0
By Our Staff Reporter
bill today
I bangalore, JUNE 2. Can a non—fl governmental ,
organisation
PH News Service
—j (NGO) launch an "integrated
NEW DELHI, June 15
' i’Tqommunity-resource
______ ,
manageI In a fresh bid to evolve consent ment" project for, the poor even
, PH News Service
even
J sus on the controversial,
<
_____ though
' the
‘ latter
“ does
'' ’ not
- -----j women’s-----------reservation
bill "Lol
ion bdl
LokT have panebay^ raj?
BANGALORE. June 17
Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi? i That was the Q116511011 Posed
Even as efforts are on by the
§ has convened an all-party meetA' by the former Planning Com- •
( State Government to bring chilg' ing on the issue here tomorrow, f mission Member and High
/ dren, particularly school dropy
The meeting is likely to takff iCommissioner to South Africa,
outs, back to its schools, it now
3 up the
x, Election Commission
u ’^j^L-C.'Jain,
at the inauguration of.
S
a
w plans to hand over maintenance
i a workshop on Monday.
■ PH News Service
3 suggestion that every politicals h
p of the mid-day meal scheme in
workshop was organised
■2 party should give tickets to 33j byThe
schools to Stree Shakti groups.
BANGALORE, June 17
Oxfam India to launch its
b per cent of women.
2
Government sources said that
Drought has affected the
-programme for integrated man
3 OTHER PROPOSALS: It wouldf agement of water resources "to
•
the decision was taken at a re
once thriving Stree Shakti
i a^S° discuss other proposals?1 improve the lives of the margin- . ;
fl view meeting of the Stree Shakwomen’s empowerment
a including double member con-1
con-/ alised poor”.
j thi scheme conducted here today.
groups in the State.
stituency, bringing down' the! • It went, the organisers said, ;
J .1 The decision comes in the wake
At least 1,500 such
percentage of reservation to 20 .: beyond the 73rd Amendment to
i of several Stree Shakti groups in
groups have become non
per cent and allowing a sub- •'itha
’[the Cnnstitiitinri
gave i
'ithe
Constitution fthat
(that pave
j the State, each comprising 15-20
functional in Bagalkote,
quota for women from backward " I Constitutional status to pan- |
women; evincing interest in takRaichur, Mysore, Davanclasses and minority communi- chayat raj institutions).
x ing upjthe work of maintaining
gere, Koppal, Bijapur and
ties.
Mr. Jain said for that to hap- .
■j and monitoring the mid-day
Belgaum districts, as
pen, in late Raiiv
Rajiv Gandhi's
Gandhi’s'1,
The Lok Speaker however, pen.
< 1 meal scheme in government
women are busy fending
entire bureaucracy
‘
has said that it might take more
mereL
... 'words,
schools.
----- - “the
—-----------for their own families or
_ L must be wound up to end the
than one meeting to evolve a__conAlready, the government has
entire families have mi
sensus on the bill, which was
was^,£ rei8n of power brokers”. It.
grated to other areas in
J handed over the responsibility of
stalled in the Lok Sabha for the * would not be possible till the.;
1 mid-day meals in all its schools
search of employment.
amidst
unruly
L Centre and the States ensured
fourth time i
in Sandur in Bellary district to
State government
scenes in the last
Lwt Budget ses-1 that panchayat raj was imple- ..
$ Stree
uucc Shakti
oiiuKu groups.
groups, The
me governgovsources said steps were
mented in the letter and the i
sion.
i ment, which
has perhaps
---- AXVXW iZVilMapO
renow being initiated to revi
STIFF
C
---------------- 'iO
,v [’ spirit of the Constitution.
OPPOSITION:
Even
.• alised that women make for bettalise them. And hopefully,
“When the Constitution was. t
though major parties Congress, r adopted
v Jer managers,
inaiiagcio, now
UUW hopes
Iiupes to
io exthe rain gods will comply
on April 26, 1950, the .
too.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Left h Constituent ’ Assembly was 1
, tend this to any Stree Shakti
*
j
parties
were
in
favour
of
the
bill
jj
womeh’s emnownrinonf
arnim
in
empowerment group
’ unanimous that rule had to be
any district of the State, which is of support from nationalised » it could not be passed in the ? ’ based on self-governance, and
|
House.
pi
willing to take up the work.
banks and hoped such banks will
that village panchayats were
The reason was because of W !. ‘units of governments’.
Similarly, the government 1change their opinion about these f
’
I
stiff opposition from Rashtriya S f But, Article 40 of the 73rd
will give licences for running women’s groups.
,i| fair price depots (public distribu
The groups, which wore or | Janata Dal and Samajwadi f , Amendment to the Constitution
Party members.
tion system) only to Stree Shakti Iganised to empower women in
made panchayats 'institutions’
The Rashtriya Janata Dal'and C of self- government," Mr. lain
grOUpS.
1rural
V.X XU aicao
areas ui
of uie
the oiuie
State tby the
LOANS: The SC/ST Developof~ Women
____ c Department
J
------ 1 and I Samajwadi Party had demanded u said.
Moreover, in 2003, a Standing
ment Corporation and the Bac- Child Development, have been j that the provision of reservation 5
.■ kward Classes Commission have very
v _________
progressive ...
in Dakshina j for the backward and minority | 11 Committee of Parliament study
women should be included in I found that in 1993-2003, consti
agreed
to provide
loans
to Stree . Kannada,
Udupi and Uttara KanShakti groups
from
tMs'ye^k
BadiSS
tutionally mandated elections 1
the legislation.
i>
were not held in panchayats.
is learnt. The repayment of ch
_r L
__ L literacy.
11^
els of
female
Sources 'i
'
"Th'e report says that the States i
j, loans from these groups has said, officials at the meeting felt
j and die Centre have not obeyed ■•T.D
'■ been a satisfactory 40 nor
other
per nant
cent.
other orniinc
groups too can achieve
' the Constitution,” Jie said.
Overall, the scheme has gen- greater success if their literacy
J Therefore, NGOs now had to ;
erated'savings of up to Rs 133.34 . levels go up.
ensure that villagers were aware '
crore and women members have ,
Sources said the government
-i
of their right to panchayat raj, as
■availed., of . internal Ioans to- is now working to increase the
that was one way of ensuring tailing up to Rs 132.02 crore, it is number of these groups from the
food security, equity, and dilut- ,
learnt.
present 75,000 in 175 taluks to one
ing caste. Besides, if “you want
About 35,000 such self-help lakh by the end of this year and
Si
to change villagers’ lives, ask ,
groups have gained eligibility to has planned to conduct taluk and
! them how that change must ■
seek loans from banks. However, district-level conventions to i
happen”, he added.1)
sources said the review meeting muster more support and help
expressed concern over the lack mutual exchange of views.
■
awuig saw
BErarcsvorOT vi wns
ary, «.'■ z, rsrt TT-n-i ‘
THE HINDXJT
Drought affects
Stree Shakti
groups
» ■ UUyUllCl U1V I vliVl XkllXVllVAH
*
/ —• •
♦Pt
•• ♦'/A
5
■
I
a6 JUN zoo?-
1
DECCAN HERALD
^8 JUN
JUN 2003
WOMEN'S
WOMEN'S BILL
mu. // FOUR
FOUR ALTERNATIVE
ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTTONS^^^^
SUGGESTIONS
/F
I
Support if percentage of
quota is reduced: Mulayam
r
•J
By Our Staff Correspondent
didates to compensate for the shortfall.
mi I.imp ir tro c
v
fu i i
The SPeaker received four alternative sugNEW DELHI, JUNE 16. The Speaker of the Lok gestions at the meeting. They are: (a) to pass
h
Sabha, Manohar Joshi, has said that though the Bill in its present form, (b) reduce the per-4 ( the meeting of political parties convened by centage from 33 per cent to 15 or 20 per cent
•(1 him today failed to reach a consensus on the as proposed
proposed by
by the
the SP,
SP, (c)
(c) leave
leave the
the decision
decision of
of
reservation bill, some progress had •*'***'*•****'-*•*
’ , _women’ssReservation
reservation i,to
as rccom~
recomis
'-/ the political
Umuiuui parties cxS
Pi. been made. “It seems we have progressed but mended by
u.. the Election Commission and (d)
there is difficulty in arriving at a consensus. All increase the number of seats in the elected1
parties have said they were not against reser- bodies by one-third to accommodate women.
vation for women but were opposed to the The Samajwadi Party indicated some change
change
method of reservation, he said later. Howev- in its rigid stance — it agreed to support
the
.
4 er, things took time to materialise in a democ- Bill if the percentage of reservation was rere
racj, and as the Speaker it was his duty to see duced from 33 per cent to 15 or 20 per cent.
11 that unanimity was achieved, he added.
vj
.
“We do not want reservation___
for women
________at
m' i S°urces ^aid ] the Speaker had suggested the cost of men. If we go on giving reservation,
that the political partiAmake^r^S
.3 women compulsory at the party level in the cent seats,” its leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav,
coming elections as suggested by the Election told reporters. He said his stand was now be■ Commission and if the number of women af- ing supported by the JD (U), the Shiv Sena,
.■J ter the elections was less than 33 per cent, some members of the Samata Party — all NDA
, ’ ’ they would be asked to nominate women can- allies — and the National Conference. The
3
'*
nfw
xxxxu MW
|
1
11 >>UO 111O UUIJ
H
■
(Congress said it could VUIWluvt
.
consider 111V
increasing
the
number of seatstVa^ccommodate
That there would be no consensus was
clear as soon as Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav left
the meeting midway to attend another”function.
tion. The
The RLD
RLD wants reservation for the
Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and
Qfhgr Backward Classes and the minor.ities within the overall reservation for women.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Sushma
Swaraj, who was present at the press conference, said the Government was ready to place
and support the Bill in the Lok Sabha only
after a consensus was arrived at among the
political parties.
!
"We will
table?o4but
the Bill
in af4
the t^e
present,
atnended
or new
only
pX
ical parties agree to support it,” she said*add
ing that the atmosphere needed to be
conducive for the passage of this important
Bill and it could not be discussed amid din
and pandemonium.
•i L----------------- ---------------------------------------- :-----------------------■
ac&ists eewrt arrest
:
1 By Our Staff Correspondent
parties — both from the Opposi- ward by the Speaker, though the seats,” he said, adding that the
;!, new DELHI, JUNE 16. Activists of tion and from the ruling alliance Government would place the concept of rotation was against
. .
— and put the Bill to vote in the Bill in the Lok Sabha for discus- the basic spirit of the Gonstitu4 Scvciai
wviucuas uigaiubduuns
SeVeIa j women
organisations coming session ot
of Parliament, sion
sion only
only if
if there
there was
was unanimiunanimi tion that stressed the relation
j courted arrest outside the Par- The
called upty. "We
will place
the in
Bill
its between
the voter
andrepthe rep—women
-----------’sogroups
—i--------------ty« “We
will place
the Bill
itsin between
the voter
and the
he women
ters to
liament House here today ___
pro- on
on tthe
women vo
voters
to "think
"think present, amended or new form resentative.Hispartycouldsup------------------------------------------------------------------ >i .
r
•
._
£
i
r.
.i
•
><
.
.
J
j testing the failure of the political twice” before voting for the par- only after there is a consensus,” port the Bill if the percentage 1of. ! parties to support the Women’s ties which had opposed the Bill, the Parliamentary
Affairs
Minis- reservation for women was re-” ’
.
.
511 Reservation Bill.
Tl
41
‘
‘
-- report- duced from 33 per cent to 20 or
The activists Lbelonged to Allter,"Sushma
Swaraj,
told
Over 300 activists were taken India
J; Democratic Women’’s As*
ers after the meeting. The BJP 15 per cent.
i» into custody when the all-party sociation,
the Joint Women’s representative at the meeting,
Strongly condemning the
WUU1C
•! lUCCUllg
meeting Uli
on women
’s Bill was Programme, the Young Wom- Vijay Kumar Malhotra, said his Government's "attitude”, the
■■ Ij going
sent aa memorangoing on.
on. They
They sent
memoran- en's Christian Association of In- party was ready
} to accept the CPI u
(M) Parliamentary Party
:. dum to the Lok SaLL«
Fvc<ku*, dia, CWDS, JAC, MDS, the Bill
Sabha 3
Speaker,
r>.n in its presentxrform or accept■ leader,, Somnath Chatterjee,
■ j Manohar Joshi, who chaired the Muslim
Women’s
Forum, the
’ suggestion
.
of the Election said the Government had the
".meeting, appealing to him to NFIW, Guild of Service and JMS. Commission to let the political adequate numbers to pass the
1 support their cause.
Meanwhile, there were strong parties nominate women candi- Bill if it so desired. However, it
“The Bill has been pending reactions from various political dates or even increase the numnum was shying away from doing so
m since 1996. This is in spite of the parties to the all-party meet ber
ber of
of seats
seats to
to accommodate
accommodate because it was not sure of the
J fact that there is an existing con- with the Congress sticking to its women. The Samajwadi Party support of its own allies. The Ted sensus in support of the Bill that stand of passing the Bill in its leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, lugu Desam Party leader, K. Yerin terms of numbers of votes is present form and the Bharatiya said he was opposed to the Bill ran Naidu, said his party had no
i sufficient for the adoption of a . Janata Party-led National Dem- in its present form as it was “un- objection to a quota within1 res'
T constitutional
amendment,” ocratic Alliance announcing constitutional”. "We cannot ervation
ervation but
but oppose
oppose the
the EElec
.r the memorandum said.
that there would be no problem have reservation for women at tion
tion Commission
Commission suggestio
suggestion as
< The onus was on the NDA in garnering support for the Bill the cost of men. After reserva- itit was
was not
not "workable
"workable””.. "We
"We only
•Government to utilise the two- on whatever proposal accept- tion for women, men are left have to create reservation far
TGovernment
■4 inirnc
cnnrmrt
crixrom
Kw
caworol
__
_______
tKirds support given by several able to all parties was put for- with only 22 per cent of the women under the law,” he said.
1
1
J
I
I
I
i
i
I
I
1
(
d
c
r
c
c
t
t
€
I
4
DECCAN HERALD
<7 JON
| Consensus eludes all-party i
I meet on women’s Bill
■(--------- -f--------------- - ----------y
PH News Service
NEW DELHI, June 16
| The all-party meeting convened
j* by Lok
Sabha
Speaker
jj Manohar Joshi today to evolve
a consensus on the women’s
j: reservation Bill, failed miserably to achieve its purpose,
4 with the parties opposing the
J Bill sticking to their earlier de-' mand of changing the present
i; format.
Party
/ However, Samajwadi
. _______
,
iHpr IVTuloworv.
leader
Mulayam Singh Yadav,
‘\ who had earlier demanded subquota for women from backf,i ward and minority communiy
ties, saidthe
thatlegislation
his party would
Support
; quota was slashed to 15 per cent
x. from the present 33 per cent and
if the provision for rotation of
“We cannot have reservation
for women at the cost of men,”
Mr Yadav said after the threehour meeting. “The present Bill
is unconstitutional and has a
dangerous trend. We also op
pose rotation of constituencies
as it can spoil the relationship
between the leader and his vot
ers,” he said.
He claimed support from the
RJD and BJP allies like Janata
Dal (United), the Samata Party
and
and the
the Qhiw
Shiv Sena.
Among the suggestions that
came up for discussion at the
meeting were the Election Will
Com-mission’s proposal saying that
it should be made mandatory
on the parties to put up 33 per
cent of women candidates in
elections and also the double
member constituency
But implementation of the
proposal on double-member
constituency would necessitate
creation of 180 additional seats
in the Lok Sabha, which might
not be feasible.
Briefing reporters after tlie
meeting, Mr Joshi said he
would have another round of
I
talks with leaders of major po
litical parties and might hold
¥¥iV1Jl the
UiC riune
consultations with
Prime
Minister and the Leader of Cm J
___
position to evolve a consensus
on the issue before the Mon
soon session of Parliament.
Union Parliamentary Af
fairs Minister^Sushma Swaraj
said that the Government
open to supporting an amended
or an altogether new Bill if una
nimity was not possible on the 11
legislation in its present form.
i
j
DECCAN HERTO5
Centre accused of suppressing vital info j
i_____
PH News Service
BANGALORE, June 18
■s Mr Subrata Bose, nephew of Ne’■ taji Subhas Chandra Bose, today
accused the Centre of scuttling
: the work of the Justice Mukher? jee Commission that has been in- quiring into the death of the
: great freedom fighter Netaji Sub;! has.
J
Speaking at the sixth national
seminar on the life and works of
J Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, or■i ganised by the Karnataka unit of
the Netaji Probe and Research
Foundation here, he alleged that
^the government had been mis-
leading the public by setting up
the Commission to give an im
pression that they too wanted to
know about the mysterious dis
appearance of Netaji, but actual
ly had been withholding infor
mation vital to the investigations
of the Commission.
Apparently, he said, the gov
ernment had been less than will
ing to reveal the crucial informa
tion for fear that it would affect
its relations with ‘friendly neigh
bouring countries.’
Such behaviour on part of the
government contradicted its ear
lier statement that it (Centre)
w°uld make public all the docu-
■PECCAreHERALD..... . ■ '
Ii
kind of economic order brou : j,
in by the BJP and Congress!
would perpetuate the countr-’s^
ments in their possession re under-developed state and ti^c^
garding Netaji missing, he said.
Netaji’s socialist ideas was’ the?
Mr Bose went on to add that only way out for India to pull 8
even the government of United self out of the crisis that it has?
Kingdom had refused to give the been plagued by since Indepe^-|
Commission documents related dence.
3
to the issue and said that it would
Mrs Lakshmi Parvathy, Chairmake public those evidences person of the Andhra'Prade |
only after 2020.
Netaji Probe and Research Foun- J
Other speakers on the occa dation and wife of late N T Ram- Jsion included Prof Ashok Kumar Rao, Mr R J Desai, retired di„ ?
Mukhopadhyay, who in his pres trict judge, MP Debabrata Bisentation on the ‘Reconstruction was and Mr Naren Dey, a min: Iof the Indian polity in the light of ter from West Bengal were also [j
Netaji’s ideas’ said that the new present.
6Z
Dalit women panchayat chiefs stand tall
I With businesslike approach to issues, they are realising dreams of a modern Indian woman
L
M
c
jE—N™sSeRv,cE
chair during ted like chattels by the bur- inistration and the Commis- they were not aware of the
Thty re8 .“cy. Now. U call sioner concerned.” jaid list
list o™™
of beneficiaries under
under
council meetings. They re- .
Pappa,
an
articulate
young
the
free
rice scheme for bet Madurai, June 18: It is mained silent most of the the shots. IC PapPa; ^residtried f low poverty line families.
woman. ‘“Those
***— who -’ hard to believe that they, time, while the men held ent' of' the’ Athankaraipatti
..................
to
cover
up
the
deal
even
off They wanted the Governm
Panchayat
in
Sedapatti
Pan
•are the same women - the floor. But no more.
ered
me
a
pail
of
the ent to entrust panchayat
Clad in fashionable sar- chayat Union, said the Govi nieen,
meek, icuvcxil
reticent,, hesitant
presidents with die respons
v and diffident, seeking shel- ees and armed with a busin- ernment had pleased Rs 2.6 amount as commission. But ibility of deciding the bene
I
have
told
them
firmly
that
lakh
to
the
panchayat
for
^ter behind their menfolk, esslike approach to issues
flood relief work. She was the money was meant for ficiaries under the scheme.
■ when they were sworn in as apart from mobile phones tloo
They also wanted the dis-,
informed that
that this and will be spent for the
• presidents of panchayats in that ring incessantly, they nott informed
welfare of the people.” She trict coUectors and Minis< October 2001. The Dalit wo- are realising the dreams of money had been received,
of recovering
But when she learnt that confident
is c-—
—----- « ter for Adi Dravida Welfare |
presidents bard Subramania Bharathy
linen panchayat
1...
the
funds.
1to meet them at regular int■3 have come of age and of a modern
’
’Indian woman, some politicians and officiM.
Kala,
President
of
Nooervals. y
j proved that they are “more These> panchayat chiefs, als were trying to misappro- thalapuram Panchayat in
These
ml
-— women have shed ;
priate
the
funds,
she
made
who
were
in
Madurai
on
'.J equal” than their male cou- '*1**
x in Dindigul their inhibitions today due
inqufries"
and
brought
the
Nflakkottai^PU
•i nterparts, even from the Monday, shared their expe
„..{jof the matter to the notice of the district
” ' i‘“1’, said
“'J the male mem- . to the training provided by
riences at a meeting
1 higher castes.
bers used to dictate terms the DWPPA, Madurai
Panchayat
District
Collector,
who
ordDalit
Women
J
Gone are the days when
earlier. .The tables have based Women’s Developm
’ Association ered an inquiry.
clothed in shabby sarees, Presidents
been turned and "now I ent Resource Centre and
“
I
was
not
satisfied
and
the newly-elected women’ (DWPPA).
Federation of Dalit WomTime was when the pane-- went to Chennai and met crack the whip,” she said.
panchayat presidents felt resaid .en’s Association.
■!
presidents
s
to Local AdmMany
luctant even to
1 sit in the hayat presidents were trea- the Secretary
„
r.-r.>
<' . . ___
___
nromdenfs
r
O1U.C111O 1S1L X V
AXXiXU
A
X--------------
VVVAW
ii i in m
O JtJN 2003
— •• ■
iHike in salaries for GP staff
I The State Government has announced a hike in salaries of em- I
I Xees working in gram panchayats functioning under the
| purview of the Department of Rural Development & Panchayat
r Ra The salary for bill collectors, clerks, accountants and typists is
I in Se range of Rs 1,200 to Rs C50Clandit is Rs 1OM to Rs , » or
§ valveman and pump operators while it is Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200
M attenders and sweepers, according to a notification.
1 ees.
j <
i-uTniiM—m >
a
!
i
<I
J
.;j
'li’ci© oj ©;i©©fed
©a iasBiiag
,. scouite
scoints9 moveEiieffli
iwvemeBi: stressed
DH News Service
Ai ——————————
BANGALORE, June 19
J Governor T N Chaturvedi today
j laid emphasis on the role of the
,3 elected bodies in the growth of
1 the Bharat Scouts and Guides
movement.
,....
The Scouts and Guides, one
gn t /
I M’ S
of the biggest voluntary youth
J movements, is a vital link beJ tween the community and its
'is?/9
;-i elected representatives, the Gov■sSjVfe
©h .. ■
■
>1 ernor noted.
K
~ ©’
•y|
He said that elected bodies
right from the grassroots to the
legislatures and parliament
©
must see to its growth - by way of
both financial and administraGovernor T N Chaturvedi presenting the 'Silver Elephant'
tive aid.
Award to Chief Minister S M Krishna at the awards function
organised by the Bharat Scouts and Guides, Karnataka, at Raj
Mr Chaturvedi was speaking
Bhavan in Bangalore on Thursday.
at the awards presentation ceremony of the Bharat Scouts and
Bharat Scouts and Guides, Kar- and Guides movement would go
; Guides, Karnataka, here.
Chief Minister S M Krishna, nataka received the Silver Ele- on to become ‘an integral part of
who is also President of the phant award hoped that Scouts our education system.’
ss
J" vf
x-
DECC/xN HESAj]
against NDA constituents
By Our Special Correspondent
3
NEW DELHI, JUNE 17. The Lok Jan5 shakti Party today accused the
eti ti i nn te
»>-> «-»
"j,' M
NDAA cnn
constituents
— C? oSamata
•i! Party, Janata Dal (United) and
<i ?h*v.?ena..“.of indulging in
“double-talk” by opposing the
Women’s Reservation Bill now
after agreeing to it in the
i Cabinet.
The party chief and former
!•; Union Minister, Ram Vilas PasU wan, told presspersons here
ip that the Bill was introduced in
the Lok Sabha after the Cabinet
| cleared the same. “The Samata
Party, the JD(U) and the Shiv
Sena, which have representaJ4j tives
lives in the Cabinet, had unanii- mnildv
it II /-io
mously acrro<3r1
agreed tn
to it.
do nr>t
not
g think they had done so against
| the party’s direction, for them
T
!>■ O ««I—
m
1— ‘__ - x
‘t'SS HINDU
now to oppose the Bill in the
Speaker’s meeting is nothing
but “double-talk.”
Mr. Paswan said during the
meeting there was little to distinguish between the stand of
the Government and the BJP
and charged the party’s inten
tion was doubtful.
Going by indications at the
Speaker’s meeting„ on
_ Monday,
he said, barring opposition to it
fromi a handful of people, the
Bill enjoys wide support. He
said: “if the Bill comes up for
voting the BJP’s intention would
be out.”Opposing the U.S. request for sending troops, the
Lok Janshakti said the move
would be against the resolution
adopted by Parliament. Mr.
Paswan said the people of Iraq
were resisting the presence of
i?
I
Be it community service or '•
health camps or environment /
concerns the role of these disu. f
plined and motivated volunteers L
was commendable, the ch; ’■
minister noted.
f
Some 2.2 lakh youth in th^f
State are associated with tl. ,
movement presently.
The Bharat Scouts ar ' '
Guides of Karnataka has set n- b
self a target of taking the numbers to four' lakh by
- the
-3 yei ’
2006.
The awardees today wer^ $
comprised 540 Cubs and 545 Bu_ 1
buls (boys and girls aged be-1
tween 5 and 10) - the Chathurtf I
Charan and the Heerak Panku |
awards respectively; 1517 Scouts S
and 1260 Guides (boys and gii H
aged between 10 and 17) - the Ra- 8
jya Puraskars; and 22 Rover- |
and 7 Rangers (men and women d
aged between 16 and 25) - the |
Nipun awards.
Ss Paswaifs cteng©|
■2 0 JUN SB I
I
:
the U.S. troops there.
Meanwhile, the CPI (ML) to
day demanded that the Vaj-;‘
payee Government reject thei
U.S. request for troops. “The^
talk-of U.N. cover is a smoke- ,.
screen to camouflage the real issue. No amount of U.N. cover;
will alter the fundamental char- j
acter of the role of the Indian
troops in occupied Iraq. Indian?
troops will only be used to assist'
the Anglo-American forces whoe
are creating havoc in Iraq and,
being resisted by the Iraqis” J
the party general secretary, Di-;
pankar Bhattacharya, said.
He said the question of U.N?
U.N.'
cover should not be allowed to‘
“divert and dilute” the funda- j
mental and principled opposi-^
opposi-'
tion of the Indian people to the;
war and its aftermath.
_
___ J
-SE
If 8 JUN 2003
^4*
1
] I I I I-
I DECCAN
If
_______ o--------
HERALD
Established 1948
Elusive consensus
‘4
M
fi
It is now clear that the women’s reservation bill
will not be passed in its present form
nother attempt at evolving consensus on the Women's
Reservation Bill has failed with political parties like
.the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal re! fusing to accept the Bill in its present form. A little over a ,
?
month ago, parties opposed to the Bill, some of them part of <
c?
•j the ruling coalition, had prevented the tabling of the Bill in * p
------?. who lost his house due to the construction of the ring
Ramaiah
c?
the House by resorting to unruly behaviour. It is around six
road in Davangere is seen with his family members in front of
s<
years
since
the
Women's
Reservation
Bill
was
first
introduced
|
his
makeshift
hut.
A
in Parliament. Each time, political parties have successfully |
prevented it from being tabled in the House. As culpable as j
io\
V those parties that oppose the Bill is the Government, which |
despite its stated support to 33 per cent reservation for
women, has not done enough to ensure that the Bill is Passed.
It has the requisite support for the Bill's passage} -— the ConCon |
J gress and the Left parties are supporting the Bill in its pres- *»
when his house at Yellamma NaDH News Service
ent form. Yet, it is reluctant to push the Bill, clearly indicating .
gar was demolished two year.'
that it lacks the political will. The message from the all-party J DAVANGERE, June 18
ago. The government, which
meeting convened early this week clearly signals that getting j For the 86-year-old Pandit Rama promised to give compensation;
■’ the Bill passed in its present form is unlikely. What can
— be j iah, who lost his house to the did not keep its word.
construction of the ring road in
With no one ready to help him
hoped for is passage of the Bill in a diluted form.
the. City, woes seem to abound.
A few alternative proposals, some of which have been put . With his son’s death, who al get the compensation, Mr Rama
. forward in the past, were discussed at the all-party meet. One , legedly suffered a heart attack af iah is going through a difficult
period. He is now at S M Krishna
of these is a proposal suggested by the Election Commission ter hearing the news that his Nagar in a makeshift house and
that makes it compulsory for a political party to put up • house was demolished by Corpo pays Rs 2,000 as annual tax to the
j women candidates for 33 per cent of the seats it contests ; ration authorities for the con Corporation that demolished his c
There is a danger that parties would allow women to contest | struction of the ring road, Rama- house.
■ from seats they are unlikely to win. The SP has suggested that | iah’s plight has only worsened.
This is not an isolated case
’ the reservation of seats for women be reduced from the pro- He now lives literally on the here. This is the sad story of
- posed 33 per cent to 15 or 20 per cent. Another suggestion is j| street with his wife, daughter-in- many who have lost their houses
that the number of seats m me eiecieu uuuieb uc i
| 1VU ndUHaifcU1 caxniUL lieax, nejL. to the ring road project in the
Textile City. Many of the dis
third to accommodate the 33 per cent seats for women.
j
can gee prOperiy
wife
placed have already died owing
t
_ 1___ 1
ninn+o fnn T>11V- 'I _
_
_
procedure
asajj....
j |s UA4V
on]y
bk/Areac
p winner
I'lot Ollly S complicated
VV/JE***
WT w-— —
- but also it defeats the pur
t JV jg
—ZVAUZUAJJA
WA4-JLJ
NzVAVA
VVAAAAAX^A
to poverty. And for those who are
-■ pose, as the proportion of women in comparison to men m for
family now. Though not alive, hope springs eternal as
’ elected bodies would remain small. The alternative proposals flt enough to go out and work, they await compensation.
■ • are certainly not good enough. Women's groups and progres- she has no other option considerThough many appeals have
! sive political parties would need to decide whether theypng the plight of the family She been made to ministers and the
DC nothing has materialised till
■ whether they should reject thef that her family gets the basic ne- now.
•J towards some reform
re
or
54 /''AC'Ol rl AO
I cessities.
Funds which were sanctioned
crumbs in toto. | v — (
} Her grandchildren have been to be distributed towards com
[admitted to school with one pensation is being spent for oth
iMMMB3araA*«xBc'. tsc^Tcr^i
■■^fCTdying in IV standard and an er purposes, alleges Ring Road
other in IH standard.’
Displaced People Association j
He suffered the first blow President G Mallikarjunappa.
E&iig read project
efejres bis fcoHse
3
4 Ea;«i**•«i
______ g
<E?N.0U 1^03
- J Gr.e £.< a Mr
•Il .
j
w -t *
1
.
DECCAN HERALD
9 JUN 2003
^5
c<
e<
?
. ,to hs. • ■ 1 raSfes
j! i~—G "
,.‘l
"’s
By Our Special Correspondent
tfTHlRUVANANTHAPURAM, JUNE 3. The All-India Democratic Women’s |
^Association (AIDWA) and various other women’s organisations plan
^to hold rallies all over the country on June 16 to press for early
^enactment of the Women’s Reservation Bill.
j The AIDWA general secretary, Brinda Karat, and president, Sub’ hashini Ali, told reporters here today that the rally was being held to j
.^coincide with the meeting convened by the Lok Sabha Speaker om J
i;the day to evolve a consensus on the Bill. “The meeting is not meant ,
^to evolve a consensus, but to weaken the consensus,’’ Ms. Karat' !
‘jsaid.The AIDWA leaders came down heavily on the Vajpayee Gov-'
<ernment for its reluctance to go ahead with the Bill and wondered
$how the Speaker, whose party was opposed to the Bill, be expected
I'ito do justice in the matter. The BJP, the Congress and the CPI (M)
xthad given their concurrence with the provisions of the Bill in writing,
’jlf the Bill could not still be taken up and passed, it showed that there1
ajwas a deliberate attempt to scuttle it. The failure to pass the Bill:
^amounted to complete abnegation of his powers by the Prime Min
ister, Ms. Ali said.
I Ms. Karat and Ms. Ali, in Kerala to attend the State-level workshop [■
Ijbeing organised by the AIDWA, said there was deep concern among ’
Jnvomen’s organisations about the way political polarisation in Kerala [
Hwas hurting women's interests. The increasing casteist and commu- il
jnal mobilisation in the State was threatening to destroy all the f
^achievements that women had made over the last several decades. «
^Violence in Marad in Kozhikode was most reprehensible. But the 0
Mfact was that it was being used for mobilisation of people on com- |
gmunal lines. Women were the worst affected by such polarisation I
..
AL -x.
2003
sfesaatare
I
inate’ women to make up the
numbers. This is an undemo- -u
NEW DELHI, JUNE 19. Disappoint- cratic proposal that will lead to 8
ed with the failure by the politi- the political patronage and ma
cal parties to arrive at a nipulation. “It will further marconsensus on women’s reserva- ginalise women since they will
'. tion at the recent all-party
—*-■ -not- ’be directly
’•
elected reprev cmeeting- convened by the* Lok sentatives of the people and
*
QnDnl'Dr lAT/wv*
Sabha Speaker, women’s orga- hence the proposal should be “
Ill now launch
U _
j nisations will
a sig- rejected| outright M a Statement
j nature campaign to garner issued here said today.
support for their cause. WomDescribing the alternative tc
j en’s groups will approach the reduce the percentage of the J
* Members of Parliament of all quota as a dilution and diver- £
’’ parties to get their support for sion from the demand for the
the bill’s smooth passage in one-third of seats, the state- £
' Parliament.
ment said that it actually proDemanding that the bill in its posedi a reduction in the
present form be put to vote in percentage of quota in the par- Id
Parliament in the coming ses- ty list and not on the percent- •’!
sion itself, the women’s groups age of seats to be reserved. The
said that the Bill had not moved xproposal
182---seats *3
is a 1!
x
- to
-- add
----- ------an iinch
' further
r ’
■
j
__________________________
since,
contrary
non-starter
and Parliament has *
to the impression sought to be already adopted a resolution
--- <
created, none of the proposals that rules out a fresh delimita- |>
[V
made at the meeting provide a tion of seats until after the next ‘
! realistic alternative to the pre elections. What this proposal, p
sent bill.
ttherefore,
’
"
, _____
___________
__
meant_ was
a continI1..
The proposal to shift the uation of status quo for the
ground of reservation from next six years, the statement l-J
: seats to party lists is no alterna- said. ’
*
tive as it cannot guarantee a
Women’s organisations have .
< minimum number of women in also expressed their protest | <
-J the decision making bodies. It over the Parliamentary Affairs
; has also been proposed that if Minister’s statement that the £
j there was a shortfall in the Government would not bring 4
/j number of: women <actually the Bill for voting until there
this
system was an agreement among all ■
_ elected
'
’ through
’
’
"yrtiL.i
j then political parties can ‘nom- the political parties.
«
By Our Staff Correspondent
“ " —...
I- 0 -Wl- 2003
warn ana Oestitution staUc i-^lary villas
'y Shama SJi
imhed
Sunder
•A
,
mining activity in Haraginadoni.
I
The village
under
J Bellary, June 24: Close c..
LL.
on the benefits of development.
Bellarv
I ok also falls ™
d the trltlon or allment- Others say it
LokSonda
Sabha
constituency
• ..eels of a suspected starvationa" This.yillage, which comes under Bellary
which sent
gSiHo pX7
h™
dUe to m health
which sent Sonia Gandhi to Parlia
J death in Haraginadoni1MW,..™
”
ment. But association with these
' lore aged person died.on Tuesday
« - this time due to fluorosis.
Mareppa, also from the Dalit com
| Shivarama Reddy, the President
munity, puts the spotlight on the
'If the Food-for-Workprogramme, started
g of the Bellagalu Gram Panchayat
fluoride-contaminated borew
in the village from Monday, continues for at three
Binder which Haraginadoni falls,
ells in the village, of which only
| Jd this paper that if the Food-forone works. Water tankers from Bell
least 15 days the residents would survive'
Work programme, started in the vilary rarely visit tHe village. The last
lpqqtf^mHMOnlay’ con*inues for at ’ncy, is represented by none other , .
,,,
time one came over was after Hnnleast
l u Jj.15 days the residents would than Allum Veerabhadrappa who big names could hardly prevent the nurappa’s death but there wasn’t
recent death of ’ ^Honnurappa,
"’uwive.
• •
onnyrapPa> a*’ enough water to go around’for ever- ’
was on Monday inducted into the alnTn
raged Dalit resident, whose entire ybody.
'■
I Death deprivation, drought and
Sly
family of five had to subsist
disease stalk this village with a pop- various members of- which have
y
------ 1 on
The ash from mining has-turned '
.••I., -S of 4>3®3' lai'ge-scale unscien- represented
represented this
this constituency
constituency no ganji (gruel).
the village soil red and continuous '
kicked off a debate in offic- dumping of mine powder
Stific mining has degraded its envir- ]less than six tunes - is engaged in laiThat
circles
________
_
L _1_3 over whether, he kicked
.....
pS^ath and destitution...
I| ned
on agricultural
lands have turthem barren. Mining also
So every day around 100 able- I
bodied
men from the village
| effectively precludes rain-water make a round
to Bellary to
| harvesting, a desperately-need- work as casualtrip
labour. Work is I
I ed measure in these dry parts.
M shopThere are widespread reports I
3 One of these, the Tiffain Batte- of cattle deaths as there is an
y ries Mining Company, owes em- acute scarcity-of fodder. This
3 ployees
worth Pc and
Qhihlabour
. K arrears
T’’— has forced many10 sell cattle to
ted on
on Provident Fund i
,SJaughter y‘ouses at a fraction of 1
ted
4
— ---- 2 payme- the normal price.
i
nts to the tune of Rs 8 lakh.
According to Reddy, not a sin- !
Add to this the mechanisation gle development project has I
g of mining and there is no work been taken up in the last 12 j
$ for casual labour, especially years. Last year Rs 4 lakh was
W farmers in distress. The village spent on paper for work stretch- j
has been reeling under drought ing over nine days. There is no '
§ since 1980 and of the 3,000 acres tar road to the village. From Bel- !
g of cultivable land half is dry. lary, which is only 20 km away, j
K -Farmers had drilled 120 borewe- it takes 90 minutes to get to Har- I
k Ils around the village for irrigat- aginadoni. The rice handed out j
g ion. More than 90 have gone by the local fair price shop is I
riot fit for hurnan consumption, j
I
* '**■
. *
.....
-■J-.
--•J
th The New Indian Express
^7
I J'JN W
’ll
schedule of elections to local y
bodies, the conference resolved
that it was the constitutional
i.! BANGALORE, June 25
power as well as responsibility of y..
e^TSHE All India State Election
» Use of Electronic Voting Machines
SECs to fix the election schedule Jj'
pm
| Commissioners’ Conferin elections to local bodies.
and any consultation with theuj
; ; A ence today resolved to is□ Ceiling on election expenditure in
State Government could only be A
j sue orders to implement the decilocal bodies.
to subserve this constitutional (; I
2 sion of the Supreme Court res State govts to be urged to give
obligation, he said.
? garding the citizen’s right to
sufficient funds
Mr Rao said that there was no
il know
j____ _the
____antecedents
'
J‘
s Delegation of financial powers to
of candineed for constitutional amend-g
\ dates contesting elections to loState ECs for preparation of
ments for implementing the recelectoral rolls and holding
J. cal bodies.
ommendations made at the con- n
elections to local bodies.
‘The apex court judgement reference. He also said the confer- 4
■l garding right to information
ence resolved to recommend that •! J.
’ about antecedents of the contest- with the __
____ _ voting
___ o ma- in future the electoral rolls of£“
electronic
ing candidates including
chines of the Election Commis- Election Commission of India j ■
ulars of education,
sion of India. It was also decided should be prepared incorporat- j •
criminal background applied to to recommend imposing a ceil ing the ward numbers and street £
the local bodies in spirit and all ing on election
expenditure
if numbers so that- • it can** be1 useful
£;
(
•
- 1 St *
SECs would issue orders to im they have not been already
im in the preparation of electoral d
plement the decision’, Andhra plemented by amending the rolls of local bodies.
L
Pradesh State Election CommisHe further said efforts should J
State Acts.
v sioner KMadhava Rao told remade to make production
of y ;He said the SECs expressed be
------.
\ porters here today.
deep concern over the inade: identity cards'as approved by the •
•
Briefing mediapersons re- quate funds made available to Election Commission of India, f.
’ garding the recommendations of SECs. The conference decided to compulsory
ipulsory for voters to exercise *
the one-day All India State Elec urge the state governments to re their franchise.
tion Commissioners’ (SECs)
Another
irecommendation ■
lease adequate funds to SECs on
--------------- serv- ^ t
Conference here, he said one of
was
providing
reasonable
the important recommendations a timely basis with full powers of ice conditions for all the State 1
sanction and delegation of rq-ap,, of the conference was the necesElection Commissioners. Thet;,.
sity of taking immediate action propriation. The SECs wer^ se SECs should have the same I
verely
handicapped
in
preparing
to amend the state laws permit
tenure and conditions of service
ting the use of Electronic Voting electoral rolls and holding elec like pay, pension, allowances and
Machines in elections to local tions on time due to inadequate facilities as the Chief Election’.’
-y
bodies. Mr Rao said efforts budget allocation, untimely re Commissioner and Election
should'be mad? to purchase elec lease and lack of delegatioh of
tronic voting' machines with powers, he said.
W.th regard to fixing the Continued on page 9, col 8
" \ state funds and supplement theg.
PH News Service_______
I
RECOMMENDATIONS
ij
Poll reforms
|
|| Continued from Page 1________ H ,
^Commission of India members B
g except that the status of the 0
'J State Election Commissioner M
should be equated to that of the n
^High Court judge. Karnataka «
State Election Commissioner C
/ Chikkanna, who was also pres- u
<’ ent, said it was decided to set up
s a forum of the SECs. He also said
; j the next conference would be
*5 held in AP after six months.
RESOLUTION: The All India
State Election Commissioners’
* Conference today unanimously J
the I
^■resolved
to
urge
Delimitation Commission to i
• immediately convene a meeting
Election >
of
all
State
j Commissioners (SECs) to dis- j
cuss guidelines, procedures and 3
modalities for delimitation of h
assembly and parliamentary -j!
> constituencies, Karnataka State
Election Commissioner C ?
Chikkanna said. ‘We will write
| to the Delimitation Commission j
g to convene a meeting immedi- 1
A ately’, he added. '
DECCAN HERALD
25 JtiN 2003
’■!
^3
Fiscal Responsibility Bill
A costly mirage
£ The new bill to contain the Today>; we must squarely con
fronta and overcome the critical
g spiralling debt burden
front
challenge posed by a weakening
raises a pertinent point:
fiscal situation. A long history
Can the fiscal managers
of high fiscal deficits has left us
live upto it?
with a legacy of a huge public
s By L C Jain
xpectations have risen
that the passage of the fis
cal responsibility bill, in
b spite of its many deficiencies,
would lead to better economic
U- management. However, it has
* been rightly emphasised that
It ‘discipline is the key’. But the
agonising question is: In whose
h hands lies the key?
A law can deliver its fruits
f only to the extent of the qommitment of the human agency
charged with the duty to imple’j ment it. In this case, the key is
: held only by one single person t '■
the Finance
Minister. Alas, the
record of our Finance Minisj* ters in this instance, over the
years, has been abysmally bad.
;f The fiscal deficit has been
mounting yearly, in spite of suc< cessive Finance Ministers
telling Parliament that the situation is alarming. Sample these
statements of our Finance Ministers in the last 40 years:
<
Morarji Desai in 1962-63:
Recognition of the urgency of
.■ economic development, and the
? realisation that such develop
ment is not possible unless
•i some restraint is kept on consumption and we submit cur
- selves to a high degree of fiscal
and monetary’ discipline.
V P Singh in 1985-86: The
5 budget is now under severe
pressure to meet the growing
burden of expenditure on account of interest payments, der* fence, subsidies and assistance
* to States. This is not a partisan
issue... and I believe that a frank
T debate is essential for the long
* term economic health of our
f? nation.
Manmohan Singh in 1991-92:
J The crisis of the fiscal system is
i?” a cause for serious concern.
£ Without decisive action now, the
| situation will move beyond the
g possibility of corrective action,
g
Yashwant Sinha in 2000-2001:
0
*
-
I
- II
N K P Salve, had foreseen as ear a burden which was too heavy tJ
ly as in 1988-89, the developing for their slender revenues.
crisis and served a stern warn
Former Karnataka Chief
ing to the Central and State Gov Secretary G V K Rao had an an- kj
ernments to mend their ways. It ecdote to explain the nature of f;
said the reversal of steadily de the duress to which the State g
debt...
teriorating fiscal situation re Government was subjected. He
These wise words notwith quired that the Central Govern said a bridge on a national high- I
standing, the bill of interest ment had “to set an example”. way was guarded by GRP at one
payments has been growing for The Commission said, “Our ap end and the State police at the
ever and correspondingly the proach has been influenced also other. When the two guards met
gross fiscal deficit. In 1983-84, by the steadily deteriorating fis at the middle, the GRP man an- y
gross fiscal deficit was Rs 13,000 cal scenario in the country; the nounced with a glee that his pay *
crore. In 1990-91, it rose to Rs incurring of revenue deficits on had been raised under the Pay *
44,000 crore. Thereafter it start a large scale year after year im Commission award. The State >
ed to shoot through the ceiling. plies an infraction of one of the policeman was crestfallen and r
In 1998-99, it exceeded Rs. fundamental principles
of wondered why should he defend j3
113,000 crore and the latest 2003- sound public finance in any his end of the bridge?
04 budget has lodged it at over economy, particularly in a de
The Ninth Finance Commis- £
Rs 153,000 crore.
veloping economy” It contin sion had also advised the Cen- v
ued: “Another related disquiet tral Government that in future High interest payments
ing feature of recent public fi it should hold prior consulta- Look also at the phenomenal nances in India is the rapidly tions with the States before tak- k ■
escalation in interest payments growing public debt; and in the ing a decision on the report of
in the same 20 year period. They
j
process if the social objectives the Pay Commissions. But come ?
have risen from about Rs 5,000 have been served at all, the cost the Fifth Pay Commission and f
crore to over Rs 117,000 crore. has been highly disproportion the Centre treated the advice of [
What should alarm us is that by ate.” It concluded: “It is obvious the Commission with contempt. [
2000-01, interest payment ac that with this order of revenue It did not consult the states this f
counted for an all time high of deficit in the Central Budget, time and the whopping jump in £
91 per cent of gross fiscal the entire system of budgeting the Central employees' salary £
deficit. Interest payments are and financial management of and the consequent record t.
rising both in absolute terms as the Central Government would breaking increase . in revenue
well as a proportion of the rev face a crisis situation during expenditure enhanced borrow- jj
enue receipts. In the same 20- the Eighth Plan period. The ings to meet the burden. The re- T
year period they have risen Centre should set an example to suit was a huge increase in infrom about 21 per cent of rev the States; it should improve on terest payments and gross fiscal i
enue receipts to over 48 pei' its own past performance.”
deficit at the central level, f.
cent.Is there a doubt that our
which proved disastrous for the
Pay
panel
burden
budget makers have defied their
financial health of the states.
own wisdom and words?
It is pertinent to remind our
If the fiscal managers are so h
What should make our pain selves of the reasons cited by grossly irresponsible, how can
even more unbearable is that a the Finance Commission for we believe that an enactment by
constitutional body, the (Ninth) pointing its finger at the Cen Parliament will inject responsi
Finance Commission headed by tral Government. It showed that bility in their character?
________ There
______ iK
it was the decision of the Cen iis--------i:izn i_. in the
LZ1bill
HJl
no provision
that '3
tral Government to implement the Finance Bill must certify
the recommendations of the that its provisions are in accor
Fourth Pay Commission, with dance- with the fiscal responsi- |
out proper care for the financial bility law (just as companies are
consequences, which pushed required by law to attach certifi
the Central finances neck-deep cates to similar effect to the bal
in water. Further, this was done ance sheet).
by the Centre without consulta
Nor is there a provision that
■X...
tion with the State govern if the actual fiscal deficit in the
ments. The Commission point previous year exceeded the pre
ed out that once the Centre took scribed limit, the entire cabinet
a unilateral decision to imple will stand dismissed and its
ment the recommendations of members disqualified for public
the Fourth Pay Commission, office for ten years. Even that
the States were left with no op may not be a sufficient safe
tion except to follow suit and guard — but it will give the leaf
raise the salaries of their staff - of a law some spine.
JECCAN HEKALB4 / JUN Ml
I
I
nctepi Map
!' Ceiaire proposes.?
I state ciiisposes
A
A
|
71 °o
Last week, at the meeting of
the Empowered Sub-Committee
of National Development Coun
>, NEW DELHI, June 29
cil, Union Rural Development
• The Centre’s move to usher in Minister
Kashiram
faced
' second generation reforms to em- protests from Madhya Pradesh
. power Panchayati Raj Institu- Chief Minister Digvijay Singh
> tions (PRIs) with financial and and Punjab Chief Minister
..administrative powers has met Amarinder Singh during a dis
with stiff opposition from a few cussion focussing on ways to
Congress-ruled states like Mad make concrete PRI second gener
hya Pradesh, Punjab and Chhat ation reforms.
tisgarh.
Their aggressive posture be
This stand is against the posi- . came rock solid when they found !!
tion postulated by leader of the unequivocal support from Gu- I,
Opposition and Congress presi jarat's Rural Development Minis- j ;
dent Sonia Gandhi at the All In ter Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.' I
dia Panchayat Adhyaksha Sam- The Centre’s proposal was also [
• i melan in April 2002. Ms Gandhi shot down by Chhattisgarh Pan-'
! | favoured strong and viable em- chayat and Social Welfare Minis- ■ ■
•powerment of grassroot local
ter Amitesh Shukla
; ■ self-government units.
However, Karnataka, which is
In an exclusive interview to also a Congress-ruled state,'
’ i Deccan Herald, Minister of State wants PRIs to be empowered and •
, for Rural Development An- Rural Development Minister M Y (
• nasahib M K Patil said, “A few Ghorpade reacted very positively
j Congress-ruled states have op- on the need to empower panchay- j
posed the idea of giving panchay- ats, Mr Patil said.
ats more powers.”
The Centre’s move is being
;;
Prime Minister Atal Behari viewed as an effort to curtail the
i j Vajpayee, however, is determined financial power of states. In.s
; to empower PRIs for better utili- many Centrally sponsored.
■ sation of funds and effective im- schemes, funds are received by’]
, piementation of rural develop- the state treasury To ensure the '
. ment schemes, he said.
people’s participation and effec- ■
“We will effect a change to the tive implementation, the Centre ■
73rd Constitutional Amendment has been changing guidelines to
!i
to empower panchayats with directly allocate funds to pan
: more financial and administra- chayats.
(;
'■ tive powers,” Mr Patil said. If
The states have been asked to
states refuse to implement the submit their recommendations i
changes, the minister said, the and objections to the committee}
supremacy of Central laws over within a week. A decision is ex- •:
state laws will be enforced and pected on July 19 when the com- J
i such states will face legal pro- mittee is scheduled to meet:
i
ceedings as well.
• again.
i:
From K S Narayanan
DH News Service
DECCAN HERALD
0 JUfi
7®
Nine' pendi
o
IO
taken up for discussion
A
DH News Service
1
■V’
i’'
II
conduct the house from 10:30 am(
- -------0 Congress -135
!,< BANGALORE, July 5
to 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 6:30 pmJ£
pm
a BJP-35
But a final decision was yet to be’t
11 In its 23-day session commencing
□ JD(U)-19
taken, he said.
from July 9, the State Legislative
s JD(S)-4
On the first day of tlie session!
■ Assembly will take up nine pend0 AIADMK- 1
(July 9), the House would maker?
ing bills for discussion and conobituary references to 10 person-B:
;< sideration for approval apart
tl Unattached members - 8
alities including former minister 3; j from seeking to replace five ordio Independents -19
j • nances with bills.
8 R Kashappanavar who died re- T
cently.
a Nominated members -1
;; The amendments seeking reREPLIES ONLY TO QUESTION-;!
a Speaker -1
placement with bills include
ERS: Meanwhile, the Legislative 1
< Karnataka Sales Tax (Amends Vacant - 2
Assembly has also decided to1']
\ ment Ordinance), Karnataka Ir2 Total -225
provide written replies to onlyq
■ ■ rigation Ordinance and Karnatathose members who have listed 1.
' ka Municipalities Ordinance.
/ The bills to be taken up for con- ference here today, Assembly
eir Q1165110115 on the list during u
■
-----sideration for approval include Secretary
T -Rajanna
said re the question hour instead of the - I
; Karnataka State Backward ports of 15 subject committees present practice of supplying &i
p: Classes Bill 2002, Karnataka would also be tabled before tlie reply copies to all the members, j
The Legislative Council has
Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill house during the session.
2002 and Karnataka Panchayat
During this session, three already decided to follow this /
T
Raj (Amendment) Bill 2003. In ad- members from the House would practice.
The Parliament and several ;
.•! dition to this, a private member’s be nominated to the Senate of
U.- bill - Karnataka Co-operative As- Rajiv Gandhi University of other states are following such *
sociations’ (Amendment)
Bill Health Sciences (RGUHS) and procedures, Mr Rajanna pointed J
_____
Jj 2002 - is also pending before the__ members would be elected to var- out. Efforts would be made to
House.
prevent the prolonging of ques- •:
House.
jous standing committees. tion hour beyond the scheduled i
4 Disclosing this at a press con
con-
There was also a suggestion to
period, he said.
DECCAN HERALD' ! [Women’s BaSS signature campaagn
)UL
■ 9 © Women activists on Thursday reiterated their demand to put
the Women’s Reservation Bill to vote in the forthcoming Mon
soon session of Parliament. They also said they would begin a
signature campaign among the MPs in support of the bill, DHNS
i reports from New Delhi. In a joint statement they said it was
high time the Bill was put to vote in the Monsoon session as six
years had been wasted in name of consensus.
H
!
f
Opposition to Women’s Bill I
unfounded: Krishna
f
BANGALORE, June 29 (DHNS)
I
Chief Minister S M Krishna said some “vested interests” were con- i
to stop the passage of Women’s Bill in the Parliament.
{
'i spiring
, Speaking after inaugurating the third National convention of the l
r Women s Wing of the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation here, Mr 7
Krishna said opposition to the Women’s Bill was unfounded. The peo-1
pie involved must act sensibly and pass the Bill at the earliest, he .{
i’
urged. Panchayat Raj has a lot of provisions for the empowerment of
I;' women but they have to be implemented properly, he said.
Noted economist Devaki Jain expressed concern over the fall oftrade unionism in the country. “With the exception of banks and LIC, j
trade unions have been dismantled in most sectors due to globalisa-d
tion. The trade unions from across the sectors will have to come to- 3
gether to save trade unionism,” she said.
jj
i
PECCAN H£.RALP
d o juw
*71
-J
F ‘Syndicate’ defrauds ZPs of Rs. 29.32 ©r.
I
from the Treasury, and ZP’s Deputy Secretary (Devel- controls and checks at various cords for drawal, and failed
deposited ‘it Tn'different
opmentf were~ diVe'ctor's, was ‘ levels against misuse of ZP prepare monthly accounts.
2 „ 1.. 21.T
t
') were directors, was
review j
Kumcri as
22 a2 funds were overburdened, and
The CEO failed to review,
r Of this, she did not account for used by Shanta Kumari
BANGALORE, JULY_ —
1. The
Comp_
•
'J FrollerTnd Auditor General of Rs. 18.08 crore in the zilla pan- “frontt or[•ganisation” for initially the fraud and misappropriation monthly and annual accounts,
which
facilitated
continued
was 1perpetrated
a synsubsequently
diverting
uiw*u»ig
ano
t-------- j
—t--------- . through
.
' r
• ,
»
accounts.
d
’
India (Zilla Panchayats) has un- chayat auuuina.
misappropriated
funds
misappropriating
ZP
funds.
The
dicated
operation
involving
ofwidespread
misappropna
1
She i
.. .
<• earthed a major fraud and misB accounts
accounts by
by drawing
drawing bank, which has been criticised ficials at various levels. The of funds. The chartered acappropriation of Rs. 29.32 crore from SB
• - •
•
” p - £-—countants failed to detect the
** by a syndicate of officials led by huge funds through self- by the CAG severely, facilitated modus operand! of the fraud,: fraud for a long time. The ( 3
of
P<’ . ■---------- c.............................. .
ui uiu uiu.uuvuvx.u ... —__ ____________—_____ J
‘ not
only
indiscriminately
or pay orders in favour of ficti
^.Accounts Department in
issued
accounts by issuing two sets of sign grant-in-aid bills prepared opened SB accounts in various
tious
She
i
----kivrofficer*
Questa
favour
oTzP
offidaTs
passbooks,'o'ne'to
sit&e
’
ma:
1^6
for
drawing
funds
and
kept
money ui
ICt VVXU1 tvww ^***v.A
-- ----£persons.
-----------------.
J
tby°*e
.1
«
AX
r
.
J---------- knnbo
orxrl banks
1/nnf
rrtnnoxr
lir
. p
— - •
one to
officers (CEOs) of zilla cheques in favour of ZP officials ±
passbooks,
fp^chaT(|
U±"er°L““: f™m5eTr.easU.7.f“Stateand ^!dlyn,°.UtS=±
j,. panchayais.
and thefi
their relatives. Cheques for nip"'"*
counts, but also transferred I
The officer in question is huge amounts in favour of indi- and another containing the de- Central sector schemes.
The CAO drew huge funds huge funds from account to - I
^M-G. Shanta Kumari, who viduals and firms who had not tails of all transactions,
*
■
■
■’
’
’ up tfunds
—-’s re
sanctioned for the schemes other,
andJ mixed
worked as the Chief Accounts rendered any service or made Special audit
lated to several schemes.
from
the
Treasury
on
grant-into ZPs were also
S Officer (CAO)
------- in both Uttara supplies
..
She invested the funds 1 s
The Department of Rural De- aid bills, sometimes with the
Vil™pMch"yaBaXnrNovrem- '^The'cAG has alleged that the velopment and Panchayat• ”
Raj' countersignati
----- '—ture of the CEO. made available in fixed and
^zilla panchayats from Novemjib71995toDe^
k„,ioaa
j PAH
CAO HiH
did nnt
not maintain cash- and the Finance Department The District Treasury
treasury Officer
umcer term deposits without the Govirregularlv pre- ernment’s sanction. The
3
also saw to it that money from
; was transfened to
*ed huge irregular drawal of the personal SB account o le
2000.
func|s.
CEO. The CAG has said the uifi-,
She unauthorisedly opened months and reconcile bank bal- ment.
The CAO suppressed infer- cials were the beneficiaries of
ance
with
cashbooks,
wherever
However,
the
Government
savings bank (SB) accounts in
_„._
O_2_2drawals
___ J. misappropriation,
’
indie ig
mation on the
irregular
did not 1reply
,* -■', till September
several, banks disregarding in- maintained.
*• i
•.
t
t mCllt
’___'----- frourl
n CX that fraud was a syndicatea opitioning
them1AFQC
in the
Varada Grameena Bank, Kar- 2002 to the charges made by it by not
'1___ JlJ
rNAnlMfnratlAH
structibns.ZIns^ead of allotting
Augusi 2001. W
ZP record. She did^not maintain eration. .
August 2001.
funds to the implementing au- war, where the CEO of the Utta- in Scrutinv
revealed that the key cashbooks and other related re(To be conchy d)
S
Ithorities, she drew Rs. 29.32 ra Kannada ZP CEO and the
By T.S. Ranganna
-- 5" SZoVof
cXS;
ac- I
aSE
x.?' ‘ ”"b"SS'IE"15*"""
2 a- ss.*
STStSSran
------
JUN 2003
Statute change to
empower pimdiayatsi
d
PH News Service
n NEW DELHI. June 26
H The Centre will bring an amend! ment to the 73rd Constitutional
j Amendment to empower the Pan•F chavati Raj Institutions further
| "cialandadministrative
Rana said.
I
The eleven subjects, Gentry
wants states to transfer to paw
chayats are primary and second-,
ary education, minor forest pro-j
duce, veterinary dispensary,
dispensary rural
rurar
dispensary, rural housing, unnK,
^mdudan^nd^
I 1 Soon after the inaugural meet- programmes including water|
■I ing of Empowered Sub-Commit- shed management and soil con-H
J tee of National Development servation, fair and village haatsJ
Council, Union Rural Develop- PDS and maintenance of commuj
ment Minister Kashiram Rana nity assets.
J
V. 1^.3
In order to strengthen the*
j told Deccan Herald,, “We
have
asked
asked the
the states,
states, the
the subjects monitoring of panchayatiraj in-|
I which they want to transfer to stitution (PRI), the Centre wiW
I Panchayats immediately.”
bring out an assessment of PRls4
The states are expected to sub- in states. “States like Kai nataka.J
l
mit their report before next round Kerala, West Bengal and Madhya^
Pradesh are above average m
inh
of discussion on July 19, when the ~
committee is scheduled to meet their performance. But several^!
ij again. Before the amendment is states are yet to open their ac^
h
j introduced in the Parliament, the count.”
The meeting was attended bw
j issue will be discussed at the all Union Social Justice Ministers
party meeting to be convened dur
ing the course of monsoon ses Satyanarain Jatiya, Punjab Chie^
Minister Captain Amrmde^
sion of Parliament.
Even though the states wel Singh and Madhya Pradesh ChieM
comed the transfer of subjects to Minister Digvijay Singh. Kar^
panchayats, they have strong ob nataka was represented by its^
jection over transferring subjects Rural Development M Y Ghor-j
f
like secondary education, Mr pade.
■
I___
t.
DECCAN HERALD
JdW 2003
72.
DSS stages dharna *in front t
of Kolar ZP off>c®
By Our Correspondent
KOLAR, JUNE 24. The Kolar Dis-
TaVria Organising Secretary' tj
. ...
V 4, e • 1 ! Zakria,
the hostels run by the Social jIoi
of the
the SF1
SEI district
district unit,
unit, criticised
cnticisea g
Welfare Department.
tthe
|ie Government for hiking the r1
Naganala Mumyappa said l(fare
fare and
d the Govemm
ent 1
and u
urged
Government
the DSS would launch an inten- l wjthdraw the hike immedi- J
sified agitation if its demands lately.
|
were not fulfilled immediately. I He warned that his organisa
He also urged the State Govern- tion would launch an intensi
ment to take away the Social fied agitation if the Government
Welfare and Backward Class pid-not withdraw the hike.
Department from the zilla pan~mn"wfliwv.V'<V'
-**?'1*
chayat’s control. .
Adoni Syed Stuecm,
Saleem, CEO ui
of
Adoui
the zilla panchayat, assured the
agitators that their demands
would be considered sympathetically. He also promised to
forward their memorandum to
the Government.
|
trict unit of the Dalit Sangarsha
u Samithi (DSS), on Tuesday
? staged a dharna in front of the
J' Kolar Zilla Panchayat office demanding that uniforms, books,
and stationery be provided to all
dalit students at the beginning
of the academic year and all apji plicants be offered seats in all
? the hostels run by the Social
Welfare Department.
The agitators, who started a
S procession from the Nachiketha
H Nilaya, passed through the
a main streets shouting slogans in
support of their demands be SFFs stages “rasta roko” [■
fore staging the dliarna in front
The district unit of the Stuof the ZP office.
Addressing the agitators near dent Federation of India, on u
the ZP office^N. Shivanna, State Tuesday staged a "rasta roko" [■
Convenor of the DSS, criticised near the Government Boys’ Col- r
the State Government for not lege here in protest against the |
J fulfilling the just demands of hike in bus pass fare.
I
“I the dalits. He said the State
The agitators, who were de- 1
' Government should provide manding the withdrawal of the
special status to Kolar District hike in the bus pass fare, burnt |
and set aside separate funds for an effigy of the Minister for §
al-round development of dalits Transport, B. Ramanath Rai. V. |
in the district.
Geetha, President of the Kolar «
He also urged the State Gov- District SFI, criticised the State S
Government for hiking the bus I
I?; ernment to set up more hostels
and provide accommodation to pass fare.
j
all the applicants in these hos- .. She said since the State was j
t tels.
facing a severe drought, the hike S
p
He urged the authorities to i in the fare should be withdrawn 1
I
I
§§
s
I
THE HINDU
^5 Jun 2003
asks govt to supersede pauebayat
i
Ms Sarojini is the only women
l.„L
voxmember belonging to the SC cate- dent, whose term expired in De
that panchayat.
In a path-breaking judgment the gory
Mein<?arniini
it
ri
cember 2002, to continue in the years of Independence, the upKarnataka High CouThas di- vic^nrSdent
’’erC WaS
Ms Sarojini had served as the 5°
post,aS
as tthere
was n0
no mention
mention “
in Per castes do not want to be ruled
vice-president of the panchayat the law to" overcome such diffireeled the State Government to during her first term as the nnst
t0 °Vercome such
by Dalits-1 have come across cerher first
as the post
appoint a woman member be- during
was reserved
forterm
SCW^mTn
Her culties. th „• h
,
taln “stances where presidents
was
reserved
for
SC-Women.
Her
longing to the Scheduled Caste as ternS h DeraX
a High
®
But the
Court struck and vice-presidents belonging to
2002.
xv^nthe administrator of a gram oan- term expired inDDecember
Tb 2.°
02r down
downthe
theVision
decisionof
ofthe
thereturnreturn- SC/STs are removed from the
For the second
thepos
posts
of “
ing
officer ~and
and* directed
directed "the
chayat in Kodam distSX
nlX!
5c0‘ld term,the
‘s "f
8 officer
the post by passing no-confidence
president and ^vice-president
i
'
’’
perseding the elected bodv
vice-president
deputy commissioner of Kodagu motions against them”.
it
.......................
.
were
SC-Women
Mr Justice Chandrashekara
orc reserved
rese™’d ffor
°r SC
‘Women and
ar‘d dlstrIct
pan"Keeping in view the mandate
district to supersede the psr.
iahZssedaeord^onapetiton SrUb^T
f\pectlveIy
chayat and
P^e appoint
appoint of the Constitution and the obOBC categories3 re
]respectively
’ ’
chayat
and “
in its
its place
f^d S teH L S^M a X
Ms
throughfile
thelottery
lotterysystem.
system.
Ms Sarojini
Sarojinias
as the
theadministrator
administrator jectofthelegislationjtwasnecberof Lie Halagunda °rama nan
.10"’ Ms tdl
This being the poslt
position,
till the
the expiry
expiry of
of the
the present
present essary for the High Court to exerchayat
HalagUn'ia 8rama pan’ Sarojini sshould
hould have
have got
got elected
elected term
term of
of the
the office
office of
of the
the presipresi cise its discretionary power unpost
unanimously
had aa dent of the gram panchayat.
h
She had comolained that she to the P
°Sr ™
animopsly had
der Article 226 and direct the
I was deprived
to
to eat ™
a h of the panchayat
P™chaya pro
pro-
Mr Justice
Justice Chandrashekaramember
Mr
Chandrashekara- State Government to appoint the
Sed to file post o the nresf n posed
a fher name to the
P°St
fUr‘further
her Saicisaid
thatthat this direcPetitioner as the administrator.”
post. Butlah iah
’ dolt f II “ PU
1 tLP ? none dld
did 11131
that and
and hence
hence she
she tlon
tionshould
shouldbe
bean
aneye-opener
eye-openertoto the judge said adding that “it auor 1 f hie pan(?ayf 33 the oth- could
could not
not get
get elected
elected to
to the
the post
post members
members of
of the
thepanchayat
panchayat and peaJs the elected members beH her n^eto the S which was though the V
°r will PrOmP
le8islature ^"8 ‘o the upper class do not
post was reSerVed
reserved ffor
prompt‘ the State
State legislature
Ilcl name IO me post, WHICH was
SC-wnnwn
__ ________ i..
t
SC-Women m+ocTorTr
category.
to take necessary steps and legis- want a Dalit lady to be the presi-;
w reserved for SC-Woman category.
Following this, the retuning late law to overcome lacunae.
dent”
bangaloTZ?6™25
“"StTss
ftnwiwPffRn-r mii'ij'jiiitiiiijirwmrvt.'.-j *.;
JUL 2003
7?
s
I 1
1
Put your nominations where your words are
J
|
I
Sa catalyst for exchanging and state assemblies, it envisages rota- i
political niceties it is brilliant.
tion of constituencies. This would sev- 1
With one election after another er the critical bond between elected (
J dogging up the calendar, political par- representative and constituent fore- *
| ties are perpetually in campaign mode. seen in the Constitution. Noble aims of ? p* . ’.7 . f .
| There is hardly any issue of national ensuring a healthier gender balance in J
-• J U
J import on which they can conduct a the highest law-making bodies cannot
| civil discussion. The temptation to be sincerely achieved through facile, £
j score easy points is evidently far too and destructive, legal provisions. .
r
j 'Strong. How wonderful then that there
Yet, the meet attended by represen- i
f is a draft bill' in Parliament which can tatives of the BJP, Congress, CPI(M) !
be dusted up when bonhomie is and Samajwadi Party was a charade. ■
. desired. The Women’s Reservation Bill They may demur, but politicians of all !
!■ can be debated over endless cups of
hues have consistently struck a hypotea, only to be tossed aside with critical stand on women’s representa- ~
solemn promises to work towards a tion. The merit of that objective is duly ■
political consensus.
lauded, but abundant objections are :
On Tuesday MPs were at it again, registered: Religion and caste-based
conferring on how to usher in more sub-quotas, chances of city women •
women into legislatures. Thankfully, usurping a concession for their rural !
they seemed to come around to our sisters, spectres of a biwi-bahu raj. To !
long-held suggestion that the bill in its those obfuscatory worries, now we i
current form should be shredded. On
-- heard equally obfuscatory suggestions: .
the eve oi Pai liament ,s monsoon se$double-member constituencies and
,[ sion, we can only hopepolitical parties decreased percentage of seats/tickets'
translate this informal understanding to be allotted to women. Who are our
•1 mto official policy. The bill is its cur- politicians kidding! If they are truly
■i rent form is so deeply flawed that it committed to gender equality, let them
§ would wreck the very foundations of put their?nominations where their
«. parliamentary
democracy.
For words are. Let them voluntarily field
| instance,
its ptuouil
pursuit VI
of oo
33 pel
per cent
cent more women candidates. Lofty goals
71 . --•in
“•«■ AUO
\ reservation for women in Parliament should not require legal compulsions.
...... —— ;
■
i
I
3
■
■
___________________
________ , _
I Court appoints
SC member
GP chief
DH News Service
----------------------------------—
p BANGALORE, July 11
'• !■
‘ A division bench of the Karnata
ka High Court today permitted a
~ woman member, belonging to j
■scheduled caste, to function as !i
1 the President of Halagunda Gra- '
ji ma Panchayat in Kodagu district
while setting aside the order of
' the single judge who had ap
pointed her as the administrator.
’! The bench comprising Chief
J Justice N K Jain and Justice H
G Ramesh also set aside the order of the single judge who had
■- directed the State to supersede
’ the Grama panchayat. A single
. judge had given the judgement
; on a petition filed by H L Saroji- L
j ni, a member of Halagunda Gra- ;
.. ma Panchayat, complaining that 1
- he was deprived of her right to jget elected**to the post of the
. President of the Panchayat as
: other members refused to propose her name to the post, which
i- was reserved for SC-Woman cat-r egory.
i.
Sarojini is the only women
* member belonging to the SC cat% egory in the Panchayat.
............................... ......
.
■ ■
I
Parties to hold
talks on
Women’s bill
NEW DELHI, July 14 (DHNS)
• A meeting of four major politi- :
’ cal parties — the Congress, 1
:i CPM, Samajwadi Party and BJP j
■J — has been convened by the Lok ‘
.? Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi, |
; here tomorrow in a bid to evolve ;
• a consensus on the women’s |
5 reservation bill in the monsoon
• session of the Parliament, com- :
j mencing on July 21. According
' to Lok Sabha sources, Mr Joshi '
will meet Shivraj Patil of the •
•J Congress, Somnath Chatterjee of [
-i CPM, Mulayam Singh Yadav of j
/ the Samajwadi Party and V K :
5 Malhotra of BJP.
The Samajwadi leader said f
his party might.support the Bill ■
if the quota was reduced to 15 |
per cent and provision of rota- .
tion of constituencies was done j
away with. He also claimed that j.
RJD and BJP’s allies like JD-U, '
Samata and Shiv Sena were also ;
with him on this issue.
j
Being a Constitution Amend- j
ment Bill, it requires 50 per cent I
of the House to be present and |
. for voting and two-third majority for its passage.
'*
# ... ..................... Ml
i
DECCAN HERALD
i i JUL
peccan HER^jf
sea
ra, a-
f
.A' la
fl
v../'
^-■7-
ARKU Thakore is An NGO in Gujarat’s
? J around 22 years old
and she is eight Surendranagar district has been
14
H months pregnant. instrumental in making women
J&JaAny other woman
i her condition would be eager- aware of their rights and the
J fy waiting for the baby while
I being pampered by the elders at means to get them
| home. So is Harku, but she has
There are many Harkus, who place saying that he did not want
■j set an even more uphill task for
have
bad experiences, from their three-year-old daughter.
j] herself — to get justice in a male these had
panchayats.
When Ganesh, Gita, who approached Swati, is
a dominated society.
Harku
’
s
husband,
disowned the hopeful of getting justice. “I do
I Harku could be your woman
yet
to
be
born
child
alleging it not have faith in the gnyati pan
! next door, but in fact she symbol- was not his, the casebywent
to the chayat,” she says, claiming that
j] ises the winds of change blowing gnyati panchayat. The panchayat
the problem with her husband
over Surendranagar district of
was that he had an affair with
Gujarat, a district where caste made her sign divorce papers by her sister-in-law.
keeping
her
in
the
dark.
She
was
hierarchy is given importance
In sharp contrast to the gnyati
and gnyati panchayats (caste asked to pay Rs 15,000 as fine to panchayats’where the views of
the
gnyati
panchayat
for
divorc
panchayats) make decisions on
ing her husband. Not accepting the complainant are not even
! disputes.
taking in front of the ‘panchs’
It is a; small yet important the gnyati panchayat’s decision, (those deciding the case), in
she
then
approached
Swati
and
beginning and as the message of
Swati’s legal guidance centre
case is now in the court.
.Swati — Society for Women’s theSays
these women speak free of any
Poonam
Kathuria,
Action and Training Initiative— founder of Swati, “Harku is a fear or inhibition. “Nyay sauna
a non-government orgahisation,
____ such
....... mate, shanty sada mate”(Justice
of women opposing
is spreading, more and more symbol
panchayats’ ^Poonam describes for all, peace permanently) reads
i women are preferring to the efforts as a small_______
beginning a banner in the organisation’s
approach courts through organiand
says
that
it
still
has
a long office in Patadi taluka. Sudha
■ sations like the Mahila Vikas
way
to
go.
Swati
operates
100 Jhala, an illiterate woman, and
| • Sangh rather than take their dis- villages of Surendranagarin and
Hafisa Diwan from Dasada, who
[1 putes, be it marital, property
is a class VI pass, and a couple of
legal
guidance
is
given
through
| related or any other, to gnyati
others give a patient hearing to
centres
in
Patadi,
Lakhtar
and
| panchayats. The organisation
women in distress. They have
Dhangadhra
talukas.
| was set up in 1993 with the aim of
been trained in a crash course of
Gita
Vankar,
hailing
from
| empowering women through Zhenabadfhas a problem differ legal aid, says Falguni, in-charge
| capacity and:--leadership build- ent from that of Harku. Her hus of Swati’s operations in Patadi.
1 ing, catalyzing self-help and band sent her to her parents There are more than 6,000
| resource building.
, . . .
.
...
TTn- •nr r
1
I
|
tel
"TW® ■"H
g
l
DECCAN HERALD
■
Iw
o
■
=
<5
a
o
\ c
\
Harku Thakore with her father.
women beneficiaries of the MVS
.
and
several issues like social
security and fight against vio
lence too are taken up. Activities
like water conservation and
small savings are also carried
out.
“Women do not hesitate and
here t heir view is taken into con
sideration,” Hafisa says. But it
wasn’ t easy for the counsellors
thems elves"to take up such a job.
“Back home even family mem
__ ________
bers
v/ondered what we were up
to Lat er they started supporting
us. Even the ‘panchs’ first raised
their (eyebrows but now nobody
dares question us,” she says^
However, in a particular case one
of the counselors was threatened
with dire consequences but she
did not change her decision to
get justice for the client, a social
worker with the organisation
says.
It’s a change that is gradually
becoming visible. In the area
where women still hide their
faces behind the veil when their
fathers-in-law are around, there
are several others who are oppos
ing violence against them. “Our
target is zero per cent violence.
Women have told us that 20 per
cent of violence results due to
alcoholism among men folV
. ■ ' ’
y-p
Poonam says. With the help •
the counselors cases of wi
beating have also gone to tl
police.
Valbai Malek of Manwad hi
become aware about her right
She had only come tp'deposit h
small savings but as the cou
selors listen to complainani
she too shows interest in the pi
ceedings. Yes, there are mo
Harkus and Gitas waiting
fight for their rights.
JNapdini O
in Surehdranac
I
Farmers suicide due to crop losses
'
B’lore Rural ZP to compensate family members
■
\
DH News Service
BANGALORE, July 15
•- The Bangalore Rural Zilla
Panchayat has decided to provide compensation to family
members of farmers, who
< have committed suicide due
j to crop losses, in the district.
S Panchayat President N Ra■5t janna announced this at the
'‘general body meeting of the
panchayat here today. The
3 members expressed concern
over the increasing number of
farmers’ suicides and de
manded compensation for
their families.
Mr Rajanna agreed to
sanction their demand. How
ever, he observed that the
panchayat could provide a
compensation of only Rs
5,000 to 10,000 per family as
per the relevent provisions.
Hence, he would discuss
the issue with the authorities
concerned, he said indicating
......................... z-;,..■„
this, Mr Rajanna said he
that he would find the ways
would meet Women and Ct ..
and means of increasing the
Welfare Minister Motamma
compensation amount.
and request her to implement
Meanwhile, the members
the suggestion.
suggested that the panchayat
When the members took
should take initiative to sup
exception to absence of so***'' ;
ply 100 grams of milk per
child per day in the anganwa- officials at the meeting, Cl^^f
Executive Officer C Sodi centres of the district.
mashekhar warned that
This would not only im
I
show cause notices would
prove the health of children
issued to the officials who ab
but also help provide some
stain themselves from the
support to milk producers,
. meeting.
they argued. Responding to
1
1
-
1 r1 Women’s'bill: BJP
claims
Z
zr -a
' D
:
1 consensus CPM demurs
b JUL 2C3
jcanher
eccan
9
that women should be given
5 NEW DELHI, July 15 (DHNS)
reservation and that it should
3 The women’s reservation bill
be achieved through consen
' is all set to create a new consus,” he said. The bill seeks to
I troversy with the BJP claimprovide 33 per cent reserva
j ing that a “near consensus”
tion to women in Parliament
i has been reached at the alland state assemblies.
party meeting convened by
The Speaker said that a
- the Lok Sabha Speaker here
draft would be prepared on
:• today and CPM denying any
the agreed proposals and
I such agreement.
would be sent to the Prime
| “There has been near conMinister for consideration.
; sensus on increasing the
Besides Mr Malhotra the
•. number of seats,” BJP Chief
other leaders present in Hie
■ Whip V K Malhotra told
meeting were Mr Shivraj
’ newspersons after the 90Patil (Congress), Mr Somnath
j minute meeting.
Chatterjee (CPM) and Mr MuI Mr Malhotra said that the
layam Singh Yadav (SP).
< BJP national executive at
Mr Mulayam Singh stuck
: Raipur later this week would
to his earlier position of
- deliberate on the agreed pro
posals so that the government slashing the quota from 33
per cent to 20 per cent. He
could bring forward the bill
also demanded that it should
; in the Monsoon session itself.
be left to political parties to
Though there was no offi
give tickets to a certain num
cial confirmation of the pro
ber of women in the election.
posals discussed in the meet
Stating that CPM was
ing with leaders from BJP,
CPM, Congress and Samajwa- against the slashing of quota,
Mr Chatterjee said, “There
. di Party, Speaker Manohar
was
occasion for me to
< Joshi said the participants
waa no
nw --------------------- ac■ also agreed on the proposal of cept the proposal except to
double-member constituenstate that as and when they
cies.
are presented
in proper
v. __
_ - form,
“There has been unanimity the same will be considered
.•3_____ —
3
w-r
n t- /TlTJKTC^
~-rp n. y._- >T~W- g
the hind^
on merits.”
i ..
Congress leader Shivraj
Patil also said that his party
was unwilling to make the
reservation less than 33 per ’
cent.
Meanwhile, women’s or
ganizations expressed their
protest at the “persistent re- -J
fusal of the government to >
put the bfil to vote in Parliament”.
In a joint statement,
women activists including
Brinda Karat, Ranjana Kumari, Syeda Hamid
mail,
Hamm ana
and oaua
Saba
Farooqui said the proposal to ;
increase the number of seats ’
by 180 and to make them dou
ble-member constituencies
was unacceptable. “Since the
Lok Sabha has already passed
a resolution to freeze the
j
present number of seats and
to postpone delimitation till j
after the next elections, it
will mean that women will
have to wait for another six
years,” they said. ,
They reiterated their earli
er demand for vote on the
reservation bill in the forth •icoming monsoon session of
Parliament.
I
jo
3 NEW DELHI, JULY 15. The claim was
| made today by the Bharatiya Ja| nata Party spokesman, V.K. Malj • hotra, that a “near-consensus”
■ ' had been reached at a meeting
j . today on increasing the number
| ofseatsintheLokSabhaandthe
■ 4
j State Assemblies — by way of
bnvinprinuhlp-mpmhpr
rnnctit.
having double-member constituencies
uencies—
—to provide 33 nprrAnt
per cent
. reservation for women.
)
j
c
n
n
j
no occasion for me to accept the
proposal except to state that as
and when they are presented in
- f ■
proper form, the same will be
considered on merits.” Mr.
Chatterjee and the Deputy Lead
er of the Congress in the Lok
Sabha, Shivraj Patil, made it
i
1 clear that they were against dilu
/
tion of 33 per cent reservation
for women. Both the CPI (M) arid
the Congress appeared to keep
the door open for the new pro
posals, saying that when they
I.
There was no official word on
came up formally they would re
the exact proposals discussed at
act. Mr. Chatterjee said the Bill
> die meeting of political parties
had beenpendingforalongtime
1' convened by the Lok Sabha
and the credibility of Parliament hfi
| Speaker, Manohar Joshi, to disas an institution had been seri- [1 >
* cuss the controversial Women’s
ously called into question beReservation Bill eluding a con-_-..Tne CRI.(M).leader,Somnath Chatterjee (right),
cause of the “unreasoned delay
! sensus for long.
and the Samajwadi Party supremo, Mulayam Singh Yadav,
and procrastination” on the part
Leaders of the BJP, the Con
at the meeting convened by the Lok Sabha Speaker,
of the ruling party.
gress, the CPI(M) and die Samaj
Manohar Joshi, on the Women’s Reservation Bill,
The Samajwadi Party leader,
| wadi
waui rm
ty auenueu
uie meet]
Party
attended the
meeting
in New Delhi on Tuesday. — PTI
Mulayam Singh Yadav — who
[ to find a way to end the impa;
, isse
ahead of the monsoon session of on the proposal of double and that it should be achieved along with the Rashtriya Janata
Dal — had opposed the Wom
Parliament next week.
member constituencies, he said through-consensus, he said.
en’s Bill said today that his party
The Speaker did not specify this was one of the points on
But the CPI(M) leader, Som- could consider the double
I the proposals discussed. How- which there was consensus,
Jever, to a pointed question There was unanimity that wom- nath Chatterjee, denied there membership proposal since it I
was any agreement. “I wish to did not decrease the number of •
j( whether there was agreementt en should be given reservation categorically say that there was seats
for men. “We have also !
agreed to reserve 20 per cent I
seats for women if the Election j
J
Commission’s formula of allow- •
ing political parties to give reset- |
vation to women was accepted |
I
by all.” He also said that if the |
By Our Staff Correspondent
give reservation to women as promised in its
Election Commission proposal £
with 20 per cent was accepted, 6
election manifesto. “The Samajwadi Party can
NEW DELHI, JULY 15. Women’s groups have op bring in any number of amendments to the Bill
his party would not insist on res- ; ■
posed the reservation of seats in Parliament if it is allowed to come up for a debate,” she
ervation for -women from the j
and the State Assemblies based on “double said asking the SP chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav,
Other Backward Classes and the
member constituencies” that emerged as a to move a resolution in the House to allow 20
1
minority communities.
likely proposal at today’s meeting on the per cent seats for women.
Later, the Lok Sabha Secretar
Women’s Reservation Bill, initiated by the Lok
The women’s groups have rejected the pro
iat, in a press release, said that
Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi.
posal on two grounds. First, the Lok Sabha has
“different proposals” were con
Describing it as “abdication” of the BJP’s passed a resolution to freeze the present num
sidered at the meeting which in
responsibility to put the Bill to vote in Parlia ber of seats and to postpone delimitation until
cluded the passing of the Bill in
ment, Brinda Karat of the All-India Demo the next elections and, second, instead of re
its present form, the Election
cratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) said the dressing the present system of gender injustice
Commission’s proposal requir
Centre was “just buying time” to conceal its and discrimination, the proposal further mar
ing all parties to put up the mini- '
opposition to the Bill.
ginalises women and reduces them to “add
mum agreed percentage of
The Joint Action Front for Women coordi- ons”. The organisations that have criticised the
women candidates in elections, ;
, nator, Ranjana Kumari, said the BJP had tried proposal include the Guild of Service, the Mus
to having double-member con
>! to “scuttle” the Women’s Bill because the lolim Women’s Front, the Young Women’s Chris
stituencies and increasing the
j gistics of the “double-member constituentian
Association,
the
Joint
Women’s
strength of the House.
■ cies” concept would never work and it would Programme, and the Mahila Dakshata Samiti.
“All leaders endeavoured to
; J be a huge burden on the national exchequer
Meanwhile, these groups will organise a rally
reach a common ground. Mr.
( to maintain two elected representatives from in the Capital on July 25 to mobilise support for
Malhotra was requested to con- I
one
„ constituency.
. .
, their cause. They have written to all Members
vey
to the Government to pre- I
Rejecting the concept, she said the BJP had of Parliament to send “letters of commitment”
pare the draft of a Bill which I
clearly backed out from its commitment to to
Rill.
to them
them as
as a
a token
token of
of sunnort
support for
for the
the Bill.
could, as far as possible, be ac- '
■
i
I
J
1•
i
Centre buying time
DECCAH HERALD
J 0 jJl
77
f
8
Women s Bill: Manila Congress
• • - . <o* ,..
ssste FresKferafs iLnwc
/■
fi'
By Our Staff Correspondent
l^ew Delhi, JULY 22. The All India
^Mahila Congress (A1MC) today
^sought the President’s intervenJtion in getting the Women’s
5 Reservation Bill passed in the
^current session of Parliament.
3; A delegation of the A1MC met
Athe President, A.P.J. Abdul Kar lam, and handed him a roll of 22
jlakh signatures collected from
jlacross the country in support of
■jthe Bill that seeks 33 per cent
d reservation for women in Par£liament and Assemblies.
' The delegation comprised
•.the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila
J Dixit, the AICC general secreta«<ry, Ambika Soni, Margaret Alva,
MP, and former Union Minis■hers, Mohsina Kidwai and Sush’ijila Tiriya.
In their appeal, the AIMC said
•. the historic Bill, which is actualr ly “part two” of the 33 per cent
.' reservation for women in local
• •■ self governments pioneered by
/• Rajiv Gandhi, has been pending
for the past six years, despite the
•, corpmitment of every political
party to ratify it in their manijl festos.
h The Congress is the only po^lidcal
party
which
has reserved
------ ,----—
-----------------------
TOE HINDU
g3 JUL 20113
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Leaders of the All India Mahila Congress coming out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi '
on Tuesday after handing over a memorandum to the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, seeking i
33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament. — Photo: S. Arneja j
33 per cent for women within vide the women on the basis of Vajpayee Government, which
the party.' It is also committed to castes and creed. However, hastily passed the controversial
the passage of the Bill in its pre- their hindrance is not even wor- Prevention of Terrorists Act
sent form.
thy of mention as the Bill can be (POTA) without consensus on
Some political parties are oppassed without their support, the Bill, but on this issue wants 4
posed to the Bill in its present “The Mahila Congress fails to general consensus before it is |
form and-want
to dilute-------and di-_ comprehend the stance of®h<’ tabled in .rhe I nk Sahha.
--------------------------
!j Women told to fight for quota d
By Our Staff Correspondent
J
.
-'
, JULY 26. “All women’s organisations and selfchitradurga
? help groups should fight for reservation for women in
\ elected bodies, including legislatures and Parliament,” the
'i Minister for Women and Child Development, Motamma,
J has said. Speaking after inaugurating a district-level
;■! convention of self-help groups (SHG) of Swashakti, a World
* Bank-aided scheme, here today, she called upon the
' women to bring pressure on the Union Government to
.j introduce reservation for them. Ms. Motamma promised to
t provide marketing support for products manufactured by
i women's organisations in the State. The minister said the
• State Government was constructing a complex in Bangalore
’ at the cost of Rs. 2 crore, and the Chief Minister, S.M.
’■ Krishna, would lay the foundation stone for the same. She
said a special incentive had been given to the SHGs set up
, under the Stree Shakti scheme, which would be extended
■ to SHGs constituted under the Swashakti scheme also.
Shashikumar, MP, inaugurated the exhibition-cum-sale of
. goods produced by the SHGs. Sowbhagya Basavarajan,
■ President of the zilla panchayat, Kamalamma, Chairperson
U of the Karnataka Women Development Board (KWDB),
;s Narayana Swamy, Chief Executive Officer of the zilla
ij panchayat, and C.K. Raju, Managing Director of the KWDB,
were present. Around 3,000 women belonging to various
SHGs participated in the convention.
’WIWKK
THE HISDIT
gp JUL ZUIH
L
;
J
—
|.
IN
PER SPECTI VE
Airwaves for
panchayats
F Dalit woman I ,SC upholds
‘stripped,
| Haryana law
assaulted’
on two-child
By Our Staff Correspondent g
norm
,
;
security. The terrorists anyhow, TUMKURt july 20. A dalit woman f
ij Given the vastness and
,
do not need wireless or radio li|
lif,was stripped and assaulted al* | NEW DELHI, July 30 (DUNS)
cultural heterogeneity of cences to exchange their infer*, iegedly by three upper caste j toSorSmatcouldbea
In a majMi *
o-----I the country there is a
mation! Whenever there is talk pCrSons in the presence of hei I precursor to an effective family
the
in the country, die
greater need for commu- of right to information the govf; husband at Kasapura in Mad- , planning
raises this argument‘4 hugiri taluk of Tumkur District [. Supreme Court today rejected
'![ nity ownership of media ernment
the plea of some Muslim pan
of national security
(• on Tuesday.
tj
Given the vastness and vJj
culjj According to reports reac- flJ chayat members from Haryana
s
this;- hing here, Puttamma, wife ol H1 that their adherence to the twotural heterogeneity of thisvwvxxavxj with
..xvx* so
w many Lxxx
country
lan-lj3 Ramappa, has alleged in het r’ child norms under the State PanfTp|he decision of the Min- guages and dialects there is ai; letter to the Superintendent ol ,■ chayati Raj (Amendment) Act
* j | istry of Broadcasting to greater need for community? Police, copies of which were: re ! 1994 was violative of their fundai JL allow educational insti- ownership of the media. De-, leased to the Press on Sunday, J mental right to freedom to prac
j tutions like . universities, IITs spite all talk of e-governance that she and her husband were tice and profess religion.
■h and schools to launch their and net transaction oral cul- uviurnmg
(returning heme from work on ' Upholding the Haryana legis- L
«', own radio and broadcast edu- ture is still predominant in the i 'Tuesday when Govindappa, his nation barring village panchayat*
and
' cational programmes is a good rural areas. Despite ten years; |son,
---- Suresh,
- ,
. their associ- members from becoming the .
j step in delicensing and deregu- of 73rd and 74th constitutional^ ate’ Raghave" ’ came in a sarpanch or up-sarpanch if he k
and attacked them.
or she had more than two chil- F
’< lation of the all powerful All-In- anieiiuniems
amendments ouu
500 ana
and uuu
odd zUif tractor
“Govindappa
gXXppa
and Suresh al■' dia Radio. But this is just a cos- la/distnct panchayats and-J*
stripped her and, dren, a three-judge bench com-,
metic gesture in broadbasing thousands of village panchay-H JbbeJd her> They allegedly as- . prising Mr Justice R C Lahoti,
y. powerful media like the radio. ats and nagarpahkas do no|
not^
Rnmanna with a pi.
; ’ Radio played a great role in the have theirr own “voice"
votce; in
m plan->.|!
plan-^l
Jus^dXiolate Articles 14
early days of green revolution. ning and management of their jlV .R‘agbavendra
allegedly
(right to equality), 21 (right to
■. In Tamil Nadu the farmers, af- development programmes.
r sprayed chilli powder on Put- life and liberty) and 25 (freedom :
l ter constantly listening to the Crfe'CaZ rOle
11 tanpXnma has alleged that of religion) of the Constitution.
>•'. Krishi Programme where highDismissing more than 200 pe-]
i yielding varieties of paddy/
If gram sabhas are made toL , the sub-inspector of Midigeshi,
: \ were explained, called such va-1
4 rieties Radio Paddy! In Maha;ib rashtra the farmers were al- SdfM.Hund»
P°h“
chddm—!
|l’ most worshipping the radio as
J the Goddess of Listening!
development schemes floated
it is said that Ramappa and |and said once
hv them
This was so when the FM by hundreds of departments at Puttamma had land dispute , tion has been
pcCane the
technology was still not there, thecentreandthestatesdonot with Govindappa-s fam.^
Representatives of yar
f Over the years many experi- converge on the village house- 5
the | child in adoption to other relaJfc ,
■; ments in community radio holds at the same time and wj- dalit orgai^sat*°"s V1S1 ed
e
[j were launched in the country place. The Karnataka Panchay- 11 village on Sunday^
; and their lessons have been at Act 1993 has devolved every
1; useful. Namma Dhawani conceivable yojana to the vil
THE HINOT
DECCAN HERALD
launched by MYRADA in Kolar lage panchayats and the gram
covering 22 villages by narrow- sabha has to become a lynchpin
i1 casting has been popular of village governance. Vil
among the villagers. This has lagers are not often interested
| enabled 200 households in in attending gram sabha meet
; Boodikote village to listen to ings because they are not at
• the programme on their TV tractive enough for them and
sets and it is expected that the these meetings do not solve
;; entire village will have cable their livelihood problems.
audio. In Jharkand the Nation
Radio has played and is still
al al Foundation of India has as- playing a critical role in the
l| ' sisted Alternative for India De- lives of the villagers. If the
r velopment (AID) to take up panchayats have their own FM -j
community radio covering to broadcast the livelihood >•
- 1,622 villages with 837,500 lis problems of the villagers and J
teners who are all tribals. In what panchayats in the district
Daltonganj this community ra and taluks have done to solve
dio programme called Chala them, perhaps the villagers
Ho Gaon Mein has been a hit in would be able to participate in ’•
the last two and half years. The the governance of the panchay- 4
AID volunteers who make pro- . ats more effectively. In our ob- j
grammes for this community session to digitise every infor- I
radio have identified core is mation that the villager wants ''
sues related to adult literacy, we have killed the "voice" of
education of the girl child etc the villagers. It is not just TV or •
to air. Tribal men like black- internet or telephones or the *
; smiths who work at homes reg- radio, but a right mix and right i
. ularly listen to this and women choice at the right time that is
; listen in groups. Men also-car- needed for for the citizens. >•
; ry the FM in their fields.
Bloomberg Radio in the US has '
the highest listening ratio. «
• Development thrust
Why? It serves the needs of the J
y
In Nepal FM Radio Sagan- listener.
h natha and Swargadwari are
Radio will remain the best
II owned and operated by NGOs.
friend of the rural and the ur
fl Metro FM is owned by munici- ban poor in the country Kar
By Manu N Kulkarni
JUL ffiQB
5 1 JUL 2003
7?
P
palities
jl
pokhara by village develop- live policies to strengthen pan- I!
ment committees. Nepal has chayats, should now float the N
demonstrated the viability and experiment on community ra- JI
sustainability of community dio for the panchayats and W
radio. In India unfortunately Metro Radio for the Nagarpa- ft
the AIR bureaucracy and the likas. There is the need to have
babus in the Ministry of Infor a proactive policy on airwaves
mation and Broadcasting feel for our constitutionally em
threatened to delicense and powered bodies like the pan
deregulate AIR. The reasons for chayats and nagarpahkas r
ot giving 1^4
FM licences
freely
is
_x
i
r i„th
at they can emerge as unitr
? so-called threat to national self-government.
'!
and
Radio
Madan-
nataka, known for its innova- ':j
T
BJP writes to Speaker on women’s bill
By Necna Vyas
- 5
there never was any agreement eight to 10 per cent women
diciary,” he said.
on the proposal of “double- would get elected without
"Whatever has to be done in
new DELHI, JULY 25. The Bharati- member constituencies” at the
reservations.
the case has to be done by the,
ya Janata Party chief whip, V.K. Speaker’s meeting, Mr. MalhoHe admitted that at the courts, and comments like “we’
Malhotra, has written to the Lok t._
116lcaa Speaker's meeting the CPI (M)
tra insisted that .1^
the C„
Congress
will not keep quiet till they (the!
.
i »»
Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi, llcicl
had talk'Prl
talked nhnnt
about ““inrrpQcinn
increasing had only promisedj to “study
”
pcVincy Him
___
«
...»
- P
hlm t0-.-O-gCt Uie
EhT ,uuxuuci
nuniber
ofr dCdld
seats
in the
Lok any new proposal and then give BJP leaders) are punished” is an;
,
---------^eaCli.°J]S
VI
ill
U1C l^OK
attempt to influence theji
of other parties on the BJP’s Sabha”. •
its reaction, but since then
suggestion relating to creating
He read out from the record some of the party’as members, courts,” he said.
181 “double-member” constitu ot the proceedings of that meet- especially
<-.11.. in its -women
»_
•
’s wing,
______ _ _______!
encies to help increase wom- ing and quoted former Speaker, have rejected the idea of womI en s representation in the Lok Shivraj Patil, who had attended <eri members
_____
__
_______
■3
as' "add-ons"
the
meeting
on behalf
1
;
"wt u
?
e meetin
g °n
of the through the "double member”
We have said that the BJP Congress,, as having cndo^vd
endorsed route.
passed a resolution on women’s the suggestion that the number
The CPI (M), it seems, would By Our Special Correspondent i
reservation at its national exec- of constituencies be increased
| utive committee meeting in Rai- to
increase
women’s prefer the bill as it stands in
troduced in the Lok Sabha.
L pur earlier this month on the representation.
NEW DELHI, JULY 25. The Prime J;
A.P.J;| •
basis of discussions held at a
Mr. Malhotra was critical of Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee,
Mr. Malhotra said that if the
| meeting called by
Joshi
be- SUg^w.xw.j
iggestion umuc
made in
in me
the ujr
BJP’as 1116 comments made by the Op- called on the President, / "
r Mr.
i - '
------ .’---tore the start of this session,” Raipur resolution was carried position leaders in the debate Abdul Kalam, at the Rashtrapati
vVumcu*Li
'
’
’
------ --.o to ? .
Bhavan
here
this
evening
Mr. Malhotra told reporters out, the number uf
of women
in on the alleged role of the CBI in r
here today.
the Lok Sabha and the State As- 1116 Bjabri Masjid demolition greet him on his completion of a '
The party has conveyed to semblies would go beyond 33 caseyear in office.
L mm
him mat
that it
it would
would like
like to
to pass
pass aa per cent.
anti
"The comments by the OppoMr. Vajpayee spent about an
1
on
the
issue
in
this
very
ses
K bill
sesThere would be one-third or sition leaders that punishment fi°ur
President during L
p sion on the basis of a political 33 jper cent "double-member must be meted out to the guilty which
time
Mr. Ka- j
■ L
*'
’he ’briefed
’
|J consensus.
constituencies
ctitucncics”” each
each in the (that is, the Deputy
■ -Prime
•
Min- lam on a wide range of events of t
Although now the
t’ Congress
" u
others)„ both national and international
open general category and one ister, L.K. Advani/and
,
and the CPI (M) have saidj that reserved. -for women, and1 nearly ..amounts to’influencing, the’Ju- importance^.
,
•
Elected
President
of Sira TP
ilj By Our Staff Correspondent
gfrUMKUR, JULY 26. L. BalakrishKnappa of Madalur, an inde$pendent, was elected President
of the Sira Taluk Panchayat in
jiTumkur District on Saturday.
i| The Congress, which has 14
& members in the 23-strong panfflchayat, lost die elections owing
to the lack of unity among its
;j members.
§] The party candidate, Dase
4 Gowda, was defeated.
It may be recalled that G.N.
Murthy and B.N. Jayamma hadj
to resign from the president and;
the vice-president’s posts, re-|,
spectively, on July 11 following?
a no-confidence motion movedy
by 17 members.
K. Narasappa from the Con- i
gress was elected Vice-Presi
dent.
Anandarama |
Madhyastha, tahasildhar, con-1
ducted the election.
I
the HINDr
JUL 2635
------ o------------- Vz
f
PM greets
President
Motamma stresses on edn.
j
|r
I THE HINDU
By Our Correspondent •
i6 JUL M
CHIKMAGALUR, MARCH 9. Around 35,000 private self-help
groups will be merged with ‘Stree Shakti, the Minister for
Women and Child
Development, Motamma (in
picture), has said. There are
”V7„ :
'
nearly 80,000 Stree Shakti
self-help groups in the State
with savings of Rs. 119 crore.
Addressing a programme
here on Sunday in
connection with the
International Women’s Day,
she reiterated that women
needed opportunities and
encouragement, not
sympathy. Observing that
education would bring
independence and respect,
Ms. Motamma called upon
women“not to allow
I sentiment to come in the
;• way of taking action against their husbands for harassment,
f She said her department had been imparting job-oriented
training to women to make them economically strong. The
T minister warned government employees that they would
T lose their jobs and face imprisonment if they committed
! bigamy. She urged women to get inspiration from the
T achievements of persons like Kalpana Chawla and Kiran
i Bedi. D.B.Chandre Gowda, Minister for Law and
fl Parliamentary Affairs, who inaugurated the p
m regretted the delay in the passage of the Women s *
I Reservation Bill. He said he had discussed with the Chief
I Justice of the Karnataka High Court the issue of setting up a
$ family court. Philomena Peres, Chairperson, State Women s
Commission, said equality should start from home with
■
fi
-S men sharing the household chores with women. C.R.Sageer
g Ahmed, Minister for Housing, presided over the function.
DECCAN HERALD
Q mti 2003
I
T
f
□Kite” fewm
Kojsjfcrg t
By C. Gourldasan Nair
|tHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 20. Kerala’s
nitiative for decentralised planning
„ is
‘
I faced with the threat of subversion with
> the Government trying to starve the
hree-tier local bodies of funds even as
questions are being raised from the margins of the Left about its origins and
)bjectives.
In what is seen as the latest in a series
of anti-decentralisation measures by the
2ongress-led United Democratic Front
(UDF) Government, the local bodies
have been asked to return to the exchepier money allotted to them in the 200203 annual Plan, but could not be spent
till June 30 this year. The extension in
ieadline for spending the funds was itself necessitated by the delay in releasing
.the funds to the local bodies, but that
as not deterred the Government from
penalising the local bodies.
The Government is supposed to re?ase the funds allocated for the local
oodies in four instalments. However,
during 2002-03, it released only three in:alments.
The second instalment reached the local bodies in February and the third in
pril, well after the financial year closed,
Even then, it was a tough task for the
local bodies to get the cheques cashed
ecause the *treasury
—------ Afunctioned
—*•’—u under
tight restrictions for the whole of last
vear and for three weeks this June.
The end result was that most local
r bodies were unable to utilise the funds,
’t is estimated that the local bodies
.ould lose roughly Rs. 500 crores out of
the Rs. 1,342 crores earmarked for them
:n the 2002-03 budget on account of the
Government decision.
view, tabled in the Assembly in March their view, has gripped the State CPI(M).'
Last year too, tire Government had this year, 5,52,599 acres of additional
It is not just the Plan campaign that
withheld the fourth instalment, thereby land were brought under cultivation, has come under attack. An institution
effectively curtailing the ability of the lo- 75,148 tillers/tractors supplied, 48,735 like the Centre for Development Studies ?
cal bodies to deliver on tlieir promises to kilometres of new roads
’ ’laid,
' 1,28,875 (CDS), which had played a critical role in *
uratpr tans
ochiovpmrintc
irj '• in
i_ ...i
taps inctallprl
installed taVina
taking Voralo
Kerala’’cs unique
achievements
the people
who now jp]ay a far greater weys ^g, 97,893 water
role in planning than was the case earli and 5,70,582 houses, 4,383 new bridges, human development to the attention of.1
er. Although the first quarter of the 2003- 5,71,145
s 71 145 toilets,
tnilptc 1,80,680
1 rd Ann square
cnnarp metre
mptrp the international community, has also
04 financial year is over, tire panchayat area of school buildings, 1,40,671 square come under attack. So has the Kerala
bodies are struggling with spill over work metrej area of hospital buildings and Sastra Sahitya Parishat (KSSP), a popular
taken up in anticipation of getting the 2,49,155 square
x
r _..
r
metres of new office- science movement with deep
experience
'(
experience
funds released by the Government. With space constructed under the aegis of the in local level development initiatives^
the Government deciding to reclaim the local governments during the Ninth Plan
’
The scholar-turned
politician, T.-M<
funds, the local bodies would be hard period (1997-2002).
Thomas Isaac, who had played a key role
■
»
*.■
*1 Plan
T»'i j'
put to pay for the spill over work.
The planners also broke new ground in designing and implementing
the
The Government order requiring the by introducing a Women Component campaign, has been the main t"
target
—* of,
~e
local bodies to return the unspent por- Plan and local governments have gradilu- attack.
tion of their Plan allocation has a seem- ally matured in their planning for gen
The CDS and KSSP have come in the I
ingly innocent offer that in case any local der-sensitive schemes, earmarking 10 firing line because of Dr. Isaac’s close body needs funds for specific projects, per cent of the Plan outlay foi
" )r women. association with them. Thirteen aca-'
requests for the same would be consid- Kudumbashree, a major initiative in demies, led by Prof. Noam Chomsky,!
ered on a case-by-case basis. This, it is poverty eradication through women’s Robin Jeffrey and Jean Dreze, have come ■
pointed out, would cut at the root of the empowerment initiatives, micro finance out in defence of Dr. Isaac and the CDS
objective formula evolved over the last projects and micro enterprise promo- and expressed the fear that the accusaseveral yearsi for
ofc funds to tion an
.. devolution
„
^ convergent community action, tions that have been made against the
and
the 1,215 local self-government institu- has grown with democratic decentralisa- campaign and those who have studied it =
tions in the State. The formula-based de- tion in Kerala and now has a small sav- would undermine legitimate research;
volution of funds had ensured that funds ings collection totalling roughly Rs. 100 endeavours and stifle open debate.
]'
flowed to every nook and corner of the crores, a major share of which has been
Ir. 2a jcir.t
Id.
In
joint signed statement IL,.,
they said:^
State facilitating heavy public invest- disbursed as loan among members. Over “At a time when democratic discourse is
ment and creation of much-needed
’ .1 two lakh women are involved in this‘si- threatened
t‘
by political leaders in the!
infrastructure.
lent revolution’ — their activities form IWest and in India who readily
v stoke the!
The Government’s own assessment part of the anti-poverty sub-plans of flampc
flames nfrhamnnkm
of chauvinism and rnmmtinnlicnq
communalism 1
shows that the physical achievements of panchayats and municipalities for which and warn against fantastic foreign'
the local governments during the Ninth one-third of the developmentresources
----------- threats to serve their narrow .agendas,
Plan in providing the minimum needs of the local government are earmarked, and when democratic institutions and?
infrastructure both to households and
Kerala’s decentralisation experiment rights of nations to chose their own path!;
communities, particularly in areas such has come in for attack from the flanks of of development are being underminedi
as housing, sanitation, water supply, the Left even as it is struggling to get by neo-liberalisation, we need more, not!
health care, education and connectivity institutionalised. Critics, some of them less, international exchange of ideas be-fi
were quite impressive.
within the party, see it as a sure sign of t
L.,__ who
,.L_support
r.t
L
—.
tween those
democratic,]
According to the 2002 Economic Re- social democratic deviation which, in just and inclusive alternatives...'
., ■
the HINDU.
•*2 i JUL 20U3
,
• ,
,
,
'
.
■
.
__ _______ _
,
■
--—ff. -Uy
TP members
shouW dedare assets' I ,
By Our Special Correspondent
ed by the State Election Com-;
mission or the Government.
BANGALORE, JULY 17. The Joint Failure to declare the assets or ’
Select Committee of the Karna- false declaration would entail^,'
taka Legislature, which went in-, loss of membership.
to the Karnataka Panchayat Raj
In its 64-page report in Kan-'
; Amendment Bill of 2002, has 'nada, the committee has also
: recommended that members of said that in the event both the]
.the zilla and taluk panchayats posts of president and vice-;:
' should be made to declare their president of a taluk or zilla pan-’
| assets to the designated author- chayat becoming vacant, the cnairman of
ui the
uiu standing
aicuiumg comwm-.]
5 ity every year.
’ chairman
mittee vn
on Social Justice should ’
j The 21-member committee, uuucc
headed by the Minister for Ru- officiate as president.
t ral’ ~
Development
has further
’
~r.t and Pan‘The
The committee h?
g chayat Raj, M.Y.Ghorpade, said that it should be mandatomandate-,.
submitted its report to the Leg- ry for members of gram, taluk, 1
.
«
t
rar
1
_
_
_
__
«
J
ntrnfr
i islative' A*ssembfy on Wednes- dllll
arid /-ma
zilla panchayats
declare 1|<
paiivuujuto to
tvj riPPlArP
ucciuiktheir
election
expenses.
Failure j
i day.
The Minister for Law and to do so should result in their i
!
Parliamentary
Affairs, expulsion.
It has also recommended'
D.B.Chandre Gowda, was a
that the gram panchayats
member of the committee.
It has recommended that the should have the power to place j.
; members should declare tlieir under suspension tlieir erring "
_ ■ assets to the authority suggest employees.
u-Li'’ .L ■
THE HINDU
H 8 JUL 2003
L\■.
~
nr
f \; \ \
’
ATTACK ON PANCHAYATl' RAJ
A LITTLE OVER a decade after the 73rd and is also being undermined by attacks on wclf-^ |
g 74th Amendments to the Constitution were en- known institutions that were involved in the I
| acted, the dream of panchayati raj is turning
process. The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad has ,
sour. While in a few States —West Bengal and for decades organised movements for the pop- I
| Madhya Pradesh are notable examples — elec- ularisation of science, literacy and local empo- 3
| tions have been held on schedule and funds werment. But it now has to face the accusation |
| have been transferred to the panchayats, in of being part of a CIA-inspired plot to weaken j
I most the commitment to decentralisation has Kerala. Another institution, the Centre for De-1
B not lasted for more than a few years. Now at- velopment Studies, which achieved national i
tempts are being made to destroy the decen- and international recognition for its research f
| tialisation process even where it was initiated that brought the “Kerala Model” of human de-1
| on a major scale. The ongoing attack from vari- velopment to the notice of the world, stands S
I ous sides on the People’s Plan Campaign of accused of being part of die same foreign plot; 0
I Kerala illustrates panchayati raj’s struggle for the so-called evidence is a research project on F|
|| survival. The criticism of the Kerala experiment local level development funded by the Nether-1
P could have been dismissed as absurd but for its 1lands Government. In addition, a number of civ-11
viciousness. The People’s Campaign is now be- il society organisations have been smeared with S
ing described, in paranoid style, as a plot of the ;allegations of destabilising local society with qj
y Central Intelligence Agency to destabilise Ker- itheir grassroot activities. It is unfortunate that $
ala society. Considering that it was the Left ithe political discourse in Kerala has degenerat-1
Democratic Front Government, of which the ied to the extent such arguments are being taken ;;
CPI(M) was the main coalition partner, that seriously.
launched the People’s Campaign in 1996, this is
There were and are problems with the Peofarcical criticism.
pie’s Campaign in Kerala. Poor project selec-1
Yet there are enough political forces in Kerala tion, improper choice of beneficiaries, and^j
opposed to devolutipn of powers to local bodies under-utilisation of funds were not uncommon p
that are ready to use any stick to beat pan- practices. But considering the scale of the trans- p
chayati raj with.. The ruling United Democratic formation in governance that was being at-$
Front has always been less than enthusiastic tempted, these shortcomings were no more S
about its support for the People’s Campaign than part of a learning process. They must not |
and is now less than forthcoming in its defence be exploited to do panchayati raj in. Perhaps the 3
of decentralisation against the bizarre allega ' biggest irony is that earlier this month, even as a |
tions. On another front, government rules have relentless attack was launched on the People’s |
been drawn up to stifle activities taken up by Campaign, decentralisation in the State re-|
the panchayats. For example, funds for 2002-03 ceived international notice in the 2003 Human^
were partially released only in the last week of Development Report of the United Nations De-|
the fiscal year and now the local bodies have velopment Programme. The Kerala experiment®
been told to return any funds that remained was praised for its involvement of citizens and|
imutilised in end June. The People’s Campaign for its contribution to equity.
3 JUL zri
I
Guvt cannbflpipomtDps^
officers as ZP officials:' PEL i / AUG ZOn
ECCAN HEIb
PH News Service
eluded subjects like political con
cepts, economic principles, five’
The Karnataka High Court today
year plans, public administraj
ordered issue of notice to the belong to the Indian Forest Ser non
and management. On the
vice
(IFS).
State government on a public in
other hand, IPS probationers un-1
According
to
the
petitioner,
terest litigation questioning the
derwent training at Forest Re
Governments order appointing w? g2yernment cannot appoint search Institute and College,
IFS officers as Chief Executive IhS officers as CEOs of ZPs. He Dehra Dun and had to pass a fi- g
Officers (CEOs) of ZiUa Panchay- argued that as per Section 196 (1) nal exam with the syUabus re-1
3tS.
of the Karnataka Panchayat Rai
------iaiug Act> 1993’ “the Government shall stricted to only forest manage-!
^uArdlTVision
benc--h comprising
As IFS officers are notg
( ,hlpf T11r*/-» KT TT
. •
_
°
Chief Justice N K Jain
and- JusapP°mt an officer not below the nient/
trained for development activi-l
tice H G Ramesh passed the or- ran , of 1116 dePuty commission- ties
like IAS officers, they are not I
der on a petition filed by P N nr 0\_a district as CE0 of ZiUa eligible for the post of CEOs of 1
Nanja Reddy of Bangalore.
Panchayat.”
^Ps, the petitioner argued.
The petitioner saicTthe
said the Gov
Gov-
Resides, IFS officers do not PLAYGROUND: A few residents |
ernment, through a notification pos.sess the qualification pre- of Tumkur have challenged the E
~“”ed on May 19, 2003,
2003. had ap- s^ribed by the Act to be appointissued
F ed
Pomted Mr M Nagaraj Hampole
®d- asf- rm
CE0, 1116 Petitioner; said permission given by the deputy |
commissioner of the district to a 0
as CEO of Davangere zilla pan- pointmS out that only IAS offi- Private
individual to'prganise a !
chayat (ZP), Mr KM
K M Murthy as
CerS
b
?
appointed.
as
fun fair at Governmjerit junior II
CEO, Chamarajnagar Zilla Pan^hepetitionersaidafterselec- coUege playground.- Petitioners ||
chayat.MrPLBudhihalasCEO i °? ?°
every Probationer Shri Thirtha ai’&l others said the i
Kodagu ZP and Mr HGShiv- ’du tp. undergo training at Lal 'licence granted on July 18 by the |
ananda Murthy as CEO, Dakshi- Babadur Shastri National Acad- DC was violative of law. They |
na
na Kannada ZP. These officers
PC.^dmihistration and pass
ajinal examination which in- sought a direction to cancel the S
licence.
4i
BANGALORE, Aug 1
t
X*
TT
n
CU1U OVCKJ
si.
»
r
1
uvbi
a.J'O.J.lX.A
|7/Popfqu^ity’seeSs givenJ...
J to Tumkur farmers: ZP |
—------------- -— ------- -——~r^7TQ_T3z?x’>^®rre'
the HINDU, Sunday, July 27, 2003
Tumkur July 27: There was furor Over the supply of poor |
lUproarious
Uproarious scenes at l I
J Tumkur ZP meet I• SKSftSSXSX8 HINDU
JOt »
quality seeds to farmers in the district at the zilla pancha-
1 By Our Staff Correspondent
monM »■ ^^Xpolod
ten-I
and demanded action against the officials responsible for |
.j
•
i__ hnnep
Hp.r.idfcd
to rec-g
when
the house
decided
to rec-|
'Vumkur, JULY 26. The 18 th gener ommend action against hum
al body meeting of the Tumkur
Sundandamma,
an0!hcai
£illa Panchayat, which was held member, exhibited substandardL
there today, witnessed uproari seeds purchased by a farmerV
ous scenes over the officials giv from Nanjundeswara Agency.n sought an explanation
from the officials of the Seeds Corp d
__
ing “evasive replies” to the
unembers’ queries,
f The zilla panchayat Presi Seeds Corporation (K
f ceed DPT-5204 supplied to farmers was grown at the Cent. -jq
dent, Jampaiah, directed the oi[e
vH
HutdSah
said
officials
’
;
ral
Seeds
Farm
in
Javagere
911cI
it
was
certified
by
an
autoAficials to attend to the problems
m Smdhanur.
Sindnanur.
•. j
|of people. He warned that ac- conniving wtth private firms to|. nomousj organisation based in
ition would be initiated against
found dupe farmers should be PUIjj'3; '''Mter examining the sample of seeds which the zilla pan- «
-the officials if they were f---shed. Mr. Jampaiah directed the,]
guilty of deficient service.
officials concerned to get the i
F Dodda Obalaiah, a zilla pan- firm closed. But the nicmbers.J
£chayat1 member, wanted
to who were not satisfied by me 1 Seeds Corporation
on drawing
know ver
i fine from Thimmana- ruling, demandedT ** ^01$: supplied
J^pai^h,
the seeds.
zffia panchayat president, said
jssue was 1
;nb Station was delayed by eminent awai
1
.
jampaiah, zilla 1
serious and directed Agriculture Department officials to .4
conduct an inquiry into it by gathering information from . J
• Bescom to complete the work in
1 ‘Committee on Agriculture,^ the district. Shops which were selling poor quality seeds to y
.•
15 days in its last meeting.
g G
Gowda, alleged that | farmers should be seized immediately, he said.
members lost their cool when GX G^
neglected the^ TgXulture standing committee chairman, Gangego-. ■
the Executive Engineer of Be
Samaparka
rka Kendras.
Kenui as. Vv wda a member from Gubbi, said none of the farmers inter . < >
scorn, Ramakrishna replied Raft a
e
;,----Shivaramaiah,?*
'n centres were active except that in Madhugin
from his seat. When he was SI RPamachandraiah
• v endorsed^.
In Gubbi and Nittur, the centres were closed most of the .
summoned to the dais, he sai
and urged the Govern-1 time and the concerned officials bad failed to guide farm‘ the ZP could not fix the tun
. t„T,e action against thel
limit for works to be taken up by officials of
Department ofl
__ _
ttKS:.=i:
^XbenXb^S; seTtoS
j ______ 4,,?,+
alleged that the Bescom official
^ay^^
informationj the guilty.
: were also flouting a gH’d^e
the release of grants only i
; sued by the Cabinet Su^ MLAg Tq
Mr. Jam,'juncture, the members
1 Management
Aat
word
defcnct
J transformers be replaceu in
I h0UrS' in—e me officii
W
inniurvInto
intn hand
it and initiate
initiateaction
actionagainst
against ji
sgSSgSSf
Xbsidy on Ie2s. to farmers of all the ten t^uks
vice-president and chi-:prior consent of the* ~4 MaUilTmjmiaiah, zilla panchayat
,
-------------zilla panchayat member of the| ef executive officer
officer (incharge)
(incharge),. Govindaraju
Govindaraju were^re^
were^en^
^ divert Central funds: Naidu
Every panchayat was given Rs. 5,000
By Our Staff Reporter
and was allowed to spend 15 per cent of
Lsakhapatnam, JULY 25. Village panchayats the funds received for other purposes on
health and sanitation. “There is no dearth
L-ould divert Central Government funds to of funds but the panchayats can t
S fight the fever stalking the State if the
demand funds for everything. They have
S situation warranted, the Andhra Pradesh
also to mobilise funds.
artinn
Schief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu,
The Chief Minister said stringent actio
Ssaid here today.
would be taken against sarPa"ches a" [
S “This is a medical emergency.
I Panchayats need not hesitate to spend
lieven Central funds meant for ot
g purposes. We will get it ratified by the
| Centre later,” Mr. Naidu said at a press
p conference.
.
I] Everywhere in the country people were
By Our Staff Reporter
f suffering from fever and malaria but
particular should keep.a close watch on F
sanitation. District Collectors would step
in if the fever persisted even after
preventive measures were taken, to find 3
the root cause of the problem, he said.
|
Mr. Naidu did not agree with the
argument that doctors were not keen on
6 - - in
■ the
’ agency
-------- area
working
area because
becau of . ■;
of amenities. “Basic facilities> are
«
there'but
there but we want luxuries and always
al
j
want a posting in a big city,” he said. , .
swssxxz—°r». h. ■«, -»-
qi
Girl’s death in hospital triggersi row16 JUL
ning high temperature for the last. two,
S Andhra Pradesh was way ahead in
controlling their spread, thanks to the
I drive taken up every year. There haa
! been deaths this year also but the
j ■ skuarion had‘improved, Mr Naidu said.
Japanese encephalitis surfaces eve^
HYDERABAD, JULY 25. A ninth class student,
Manasa, died today at a private hospital in
^gX^SaXrd^eofmed
pa»u
3 was also new and unlike m
in me
the past,
hi children were dying within hours after
S being afflicted with the disease, leaving
|' no time to provide treatment, he said.
■1
The Government was spending us.
n 1 500 crores on health and sanitation, t
i was ready to spend 50 per cent of the
| funds under any head on health and
S sanitation.
S hours in the area. However, sensing to do
I
1
k X_
M /» t n i 1
icines by the hospital staff.
•^SusLr^n^mentofgrossneg^
nasa to take four tablets of the same yanety,,
at one
BSJfesasxxs.,
u; - ssssssr—• “-f
“Smyeanold Manasa of Gowhguda
was studying in Hanuman Vyayamshala
Xol in Sultanbazar. She had been run-
daughter asked why she
—She vomi
10.30 a.m.
It
S3
5
|^*“»:'
J'
. .......
. ‘<wwHMisa»aifw
Panchayat chief criticises Govt stance
EJ
By Our Staff Reporter
| palakkad, AUG. 1. The Perumatty grama '
§ panchayat president, A. Krishnan, has
r said that he does not expect justice from
I the State Government on the issue of
| cancellation of licence of the Coca-Cola
J plant at Plachimada after the "pro-Coca§ Cola” statement by the Local
J Administration Minister, Cherkalam
Abdulla, on Thursday.
?! Addressing a press conference here
h today, Mr. Krishnan said the licence was
H cancelled on April 7 "for violating various
statutory rules as well as for overL exploitation of groundwater and creating
k pollution” affecting the local people,
ri He said the Minister had stated that
p the Government had powers to take a
p decision on the appeal of the company
« challenging the cancellation of its licence
.. by the panchayat. While taking a
k decision, the Government should have to
consider the interest of the people of the
State as a whole, not that of Chittur or
Palakkad alone, the Minister was reported
}]! to have said.
0 The panchayat president said the
L’ Kerala High Court had directed the Local
Administration Secretary to take a
| decision on the cancellation of the
1 licence before July 16. But he had not yet
J taken a decision. The Court directed the
[.Secretary to hear the appeal of the
^company yi the absence bf a tribunal.
THE EII1DS
AUG 2003
Thus, he’was directed to discharge a
Mr. Knshnanakutty alleged that in die
judicial function. But the statement of the
project
report, the company had shown
Minister came at a time when the
only one borewell but in fact it dug six of
Secretary was considering the matter and
the final hearing was posted for August 8. them He alleged that 260 borewells that
were functioning in the area went dry
‘This could influence the decision of the
because the groundwater table had gone
Secretary working under the Minister,” he down.
b
said.
Mr. Krishnan.said the panchayat
council meeting held on Thursday had
written to the District Collector to take
action against the company functioning
unauthorisedly’. The panchayat had also
written to the departments of Revenue
By Our Staff Reporter
and Health to take action against it for
"violating” the Kerala Land Utilisation Act
kochi, AUG. 1. A Division Bench of the Kerala
and the statutory provisions of the Health High
Court today directed the State Gov
Department.
ernment to take a decision as to what action
He said the panchayat had also asked
it proposed to initiate against the four For
the KSEB to stop the ongoing work of
est Department personnel who were
drawing the electric line to the company
charged with facilitating the illegal felling of
since it had no licence. It had also
valuable trees in the Pancharakolli forest in
written to the Director of the Kerala
Wayanad district, after expediting the onAgricultural University to conduct a
going proceeding against them. The Bench i
detailed study of the ‘toxic sludge’ given
j. L/Gupta*
comprising the Chief Justice, J.
L. Gupta, ;
by the company to farmers as fertilizer,
and Justice M. Ramachandran, directed the 0
he added.
Government to take a decision within two
. The former MLA of Chittur and
weeks after getting replies to the charge
secretary general of the Janata Dal(S), K.
sheet already given to the Forest officers.
Krishnankutty, who also addressed the
The officers against whom the proceedings
press conference, said the company had
were initiated were Shamshul Huda, M.
violated various statutory provisions. It
Murali, former Palakkad Flying Squad DFO a
had not provided to the panchayat the
and former North Wayanad DFO respec- S
periodical test results of groundwater and lively, and Sugunan and Balan, former for- g
sludge to determine pollution.
est rangers.
..............
Pancharakolli case: HC
directive to Govt.
•
t
4-^.
•
...
- -evr
SC upholds Haryaoa^panchayaf
law ©0 two-child norm
-J
By J. Venkatesan
; new DELHI, JULY 30. The Supreme
■ Court today upheld a Haryana
i Government law prohibiting a
' person from contesting or
holding the post of ‘sarpanch’
or ‘panch’ in the panchayat
institutions in the State if he/
she had more than two
children.
A three-judge Bench,
comprising Justice R.C. Lahoti,
r Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice
j Arun Kumar, observed that
! “disqualification on the right
to contest an election for
having more than two living
children does not contravene
any fundamental right nor
does it cross the limits of
•TI______
reasonability.
,_____
Rather,___
it is a
disqualification conceptually
devised in the national
interest”.
The Bench was dismissing a
batch of over 200 petitions
challenging the constitutional
validity of a provision in the
Haryana Panchayati Raj Act,
1994, which imposed the
restriction in contesting the
elections for sarpanch and
panch. Under this provision, if
a person begets a third child
while holding the office, he
has to vacate the same.
The Bench said that India
was second only to China in
the list of 10 most populous
*and every wife in the case of
nations. The torrential
permitted bigamy or polygamy
increase of population was
would be irfeligidus or
one of the major hindrances
offeiasiye to the dictates of the
in the pace of India’s socio
refigjoh”. - . ‘
economic progress. The
The Bench said t]ie right to
problem of population
explosion was a national and a contest an election for any
office.in panchayatwas
(
global issue and provided the
neither fundamentatTior a
justification for priority in
comnfoh law right. "So, the
policy-oriented legislations
statutory provision casting
wherever needed.
disqualification for, or holding
On the contention that the
an elective office, is not
provision was against the
violative of Article 25.”
Muslim personal law, which
It made it clear that the
permitted marrying four
disqualification was not wiped
women, the Bench said the
out simply because the person*'
“personal law nowhere
sought to be disqualified had |
mandates or dictates it as a
given in adoption one or more
duty to perform four
of his children over and above 1
marriages”.
the two children he had given
Further, the freedom under
birth to.
Article 25 of the Constitution
Referring to a hypothetical
(freedom to profess and
situation of giving birth to
practise one’s religion) “is
twins after the first child, the
subject of public order,
Bench said that “exceptions do
morality and health. The
not make the rule nor render
Articles itself permits
the rule irrelevant and validity
legislation in the interest of
of the law cannot be tested by
social welfare and reforms,
which are part of public order, abnormal situations”.
The impugned provision
national morality and
was neither arbitrary nor
collective health of the
unreasonable nor
nation’s people”.
discriminatory and it was not
The judges said that “no
religious scripture or authority violative of Article 14 (equality
^before law). “It is futile to
has been brought to our
assume or urge that the
notice which provides that
provision violates right to life ’
marrying less than four
and liberty guaranteed under |
women or abstaining from
Article 21,” the Bench said.
j
procreating a child from each
: THE HIHD<
/ AUG 2003
1
'A-f • ’• -— — —
..
..
..........
Con tinned from page 1
rm
■kii
fell ■ aS
ahvays so. Till a few years ago, the
two-glass system was practised in her
too.
! tqa^hop
• "But tire older generation which be
■ mA
lieved in that is all gone,” she says. Yet,
there were other factors, too. "We
came and asked that it stop," says Saiulu, a dalit here. Pressure from the
community did its bit. Commerce,
too, chipped in. Bhagyamma's teashj op is patronised mainly by the upper
f
■ castes. Saranamma’s customers are
mostly dalits.
The diversion in the debate gives
Karumannah a chance to slip out. "I
have an important phone call waiting
' for me,” he says. Flow he got to know
i.
of it w'hile sitting with us is a mysteryc
; "He was getting w'orried that he had
’ admitted to too much,” say die others,
laughing as he vanishes. “Don’t forget
he’s got a case to fight.”
J
And while Karumannah goes to f
• court, his children don’t go to school. C
J
cE
'jL.
So is it the law that’s an ass? Or Karu...
the
wedding
was
conducted
by
a
traditional
dalit
woman
priest,
or
dasari
mannah? Or both?
Many children in this backward (extreme right).
district cannot go to school even
though their parents would like them centives for those not falling in line. In too. .All aimed at foisting the two-child
to. Poverty and migration ruin their a perceptive piece in Frontline maga norm with scant regard for possible
chances. Karumannah’s young ones zine late last year, Prof. Mohan Rao of consequences. An outcome can be .
are different. They are the sarpanch’s the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) seen in Kondapur today. ‘1
.
Others, too, had foreseen absurd r
children. They have access and could suggested that bizarre outcomes were
outcomes. Some as early as six years <
well be sitting in die classrooms built into these policies.
He pointed out that they were tied ago — perhaps just before Karuman- !.
where ,they belong. Only their father
* — andBie law he’s dodging — stand to just about everything. "Educational nah stopped sending his children to
concessions, subsidies and promo school. As early as 1997, the All India !
in their way.
It’s a situation Andhra Pradesh, tions in, as well as recruitment to, gov Democratic Women's Association ‘
among other States, has been asking ernment jobs are to be restricted to (AIDWA) saw the way the law was
for. A.P. went further than most in those who accept the small family working. In one case that AIDWA .
putting forth the two-child norm. It norm.” Rao listed a number of other found that in Haryana, the elected
set out a mind-boggling list of disin- such ideas of the A.P. Government, panchayat member was a woman ;
with two daughters. Her husband
wanted a male heir. "She was faced .
with this choice: Either resign, or be
thrown out of the house if she refused
to agree to a third child which could
be a son.” In another case in the same
State, a panchayat member had a
ll
third child after getting elected. He '
was disqualified. He challenged this,
as AIDWA pointed out, by saying "that
, .j' ■
the child was not his and that his wife
was having an illicit relationship.”
The law in any case, had little to do
^vith panchayats. It was aimed more
at coercive population control. The '
protests against this even reached the
National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC-hln 2002, it sent notices to five
State governments on their popula
tion policies — to which these laws
are Linked. Yet, they’ are still in force.
While we canAiebate a law' that w'as
a bad idea in .the first place, three
young children — perfectly capable of
going to school are not doing so. And
...
this, in a district which is at the bot-*'
,,
....
tom of the heap in education and lit
eracy in .Andhra Pradesh. O
. ■;.
v .. and a second dalit wedding in Vepur village^... outside another temple.
'i
Bi •W
1
1
%
1
''
mJ
DECCAN HERALD
O AUG ZQ03
•
-• j-_______ ^.s...
5 Kondapur, Mahbubnagar district
(ANDHRA PRADESH)
E’S a sarpatteh who
not merely
gs.. ------------------ failed
-.
..J to send his
J
ri
h Children to school.
:
Li He’s actively pre-ZJta. rented diem from
J fi°(ng anywhere near a place by dial
’4r' nnnip
k.^nini'inn-'i' savs he’s ....
name. Karumannah
tutor:
jng them at home. He’s fighting a case
■ 5 in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh,
■ j no doubt curious, over his eligibility to
; j hold office. 11c refers to judgments of
I*
1110 Bajasdian High Court to explain
.
his stand. Never mind that he knows
In the 1990s, a number
. r, little about the content of those.
• J
It’s all connected. And you can
of States amended
,
blame it all — or most of it — on the
.much criticised law introduced in the
panchayat laws. One
.990s. The law dial several Slates
i. brought in at die panchayat level. The
could
no longer run for
one tliat says you cannot run for office
;• if you have more than two cliildrcn.
office
if
one had more
p W'omcn’s organisations attacked die
T ^aw at (hat time as being anti-women.
than two children. Human
Z They pointed out that in our families,
a woman does not have a say in how
rights groups and
’ many cliildren she will have. She
could be forced to have as many chilwomen’s organisations
0 dren as it takes to produce a male heir.
• She would then be ineligible to con
protested against the
test panchayat polls for no fault of
1 .hers
move at the time, warning
- | M. Karumannah shows that it
that it would have bizarre
2 could also devastate the Jives of
; school-going children. It could deny
consequences. Now, this
them any kind of a future. In order to
evade die law, he stopped sending his
has come true in
, children to school. “Because dicn
:, there would be a record of dieir being
Kondapur
village of
* diere, he says. He did not want to risk
•having it on record dial diere were
~ Mahbubnagar district. ■
e of diem. So, Karumannah just
.
diem — two sons and a daughHere, a sarpanch seeking
.— out of school. Since he had nur
tured the ambition of occupying
to evade this law, has
: office from the mid-1990s, when die
law came into effect, the damage had
kept his three children out
' j been done. Hie children, aged' 11, 8
of school a long time,
□nd 7 years never had a chance. Their
father, however, did. Those acdons
says P. SAINATH.
ensured diat he was elected sarpanch
“of Kondapur village in Dhanvada
’ mandal.
k
■ The children are kept out of sight
Hard reality ... the dalit wedding tn Kondapur village, MatibubnagaT,Thai was h^utside a temple.
"
‘ while we talk to Karumannah. It ap. pears they could be a bit older than he should it matter if I have three and not
High Court of Andhra Pradesh and
; says they are. He admits to bavin"
sarpanch has not firmly deeded on
•• pulled off his lit de scam.
° two children?" He argues that since continues to function in die mean his line of defence. "Kaiumannah! he has got Iiis share of it worked out.
die locals knew tliis anyway and still
Even if it is at die cost of his children.
time as sarpanch. He talks of a judg,clI grow up without a
Must the vluni
cliildrcn
1 • ’ ”7“
for him, die manersiiouid iiave ment of die Rajasdian High Court day
1 le being die sarpanch, (he example it
I me,” he asks 1with hard logic,
in school
"why ended there.
'
’ while
'
your case winds sets is serious.
winch he believes favours him. He its way through years in conn?"
It didn’t. His rivals dragged him tu doesn’t have (he details of it though.
—
Karumannah is a dalit and this is a
t P. Sainath is an award winning
“Not at all,” he answers ccheerfully,
1
an election tribunal that held his xicreserved scat. Yet. some in his comHis activism on his home front is■i^.uriler lv,1° lool:s al development
By the time it really conies up
in
tory as being void. He denies none of less vigorous. The children arc still not
up in munity of Madigas accuse him of be
court, my term as sarpanch will be
this. But he has taken his case to the
going to school. Maybe because the over.” rhat’s two years from now. so ing dependent on and controlled by
(he Rcddys of the village. A charge he
• | IT ‘ThaV
j JI
DECCAN HERALD
AUG W
Panchayati raj runs not:
aifiglislite
iral'tK.- rw
fcWAsWsftf
■ wit
--------- f 1 ’
tCZfi_____ „
.'
t \\ •‘p/V A
!
I
denies. One suggestion is that the
Rcddys advised him on the novel poll
strategy (hat has landed him in the
courts. Kanimann.ili is not well off.
"My family of seven lives off two acres
of (degraded forest) land," he sajs.
While wg are speaking to him. adalit wedding is on in the same colony.
Il s an interec’
spectacle on two
counts. One. it’s being held just out
side the locked gates of the temple.
1 wo. it is being conducted by a wom
an priest, a traditional dalit dasari,
Venkatamma. Being dalit. the wed
ding party is not allowed to enter the
temple and "pollute" it. Now (his Hanuman temple is in a Scheduled Caste
colony and the upper castes wouldn’t
dream of conducting their own wed
dings within that shrine. However,
they will not allow tlic dalits to do so
either. (Karumannah knows tliis is
happening but is not galvanised into
action by it.) Even after the marriage
ceremony, the dalits have to make
their olfeiing from outside the gnll
gates. Hie brahmin poojari has van
ished. I le is not missed much, except
(hat he has the keys. The priestess
conducts the show with practised
ease. (Still, nibbing in (he hold of caste
within the dalits themselves, she
wants it known that she is a .Mala Da
sari. .-Vs against being a Madiga, which
is the main dalit conununity here.)
"nicy will never let us inside that
temple.’’ says Venkappa, father of the
bitdegroom. "We don’t even ask any
more. says Balappa, an uncle of the
bride. "We once did have a temple cu
tty movement, a couple of years ago."
says young Chennaiah, a guest. "And
we did get into (he temple, llien came
(lie backlash. Even the Dasari’s son
was beaten up. And tliey brought five
brahmins here to do ayagna or havan
to clean up’ the temple because we
had entered the premises. So now you
know why die weddings are held this
way. Later, a similar scene was enact
ed at Vepur tillage where we stayed
the night. But Kanunannah has too
much on his mind to even dream of
intervening. The notorious "twoglass’ system still goes on in some
teashops of his village, ih.it doesn’t
grab his attention, either. Bhapamma and her husband, Balakishta
Gouri, run a shop where they serve
dalits tea in plastic cups and everyone
else in glasses. "You want to drink it,
you drink it. Otherwise go.” Bhagx ani
ma told us pointedly. She bcg;ui by
half-heartedly denying the practice.
Now she’s quite aggressive about it.
Where we arc talking to Kanmiannah, (hough, the "hoiel" run by Saranamnia, also a non-dalit, is quite
different. "We are from Karnataka. We
use one glass for all castes," she tells
us. And quite clearly, practises it. too.
She is a Lingayyat. "Everybody’s mon
cy L' the same ’
ey is the same." She admits it wasn’t
Continued on pnge 2 ~
PR Bill gets
!
CX’
CT'
fegfefefew’S LJEl'i
TZP CEOs: HC •
notice to Govt
By Our Correspondent
BANGALORE, AUG. 1. The Chief
chayat members. He said dis- I Justice, N.K.Jain, and Justice"
trict-level planning boards p H.G.Ramesh constituting a Di
bangalore, AUG. 7. The Karnata should be constituted in the in- j vision Bench of the Karnataka
ka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) terests of rural development. High Court today ordered issue
H Bill 2002, which was
However, even the State Plan- of notice to the State Governearlier referred to a Joint Se ning Board had ceased to func-1| ment in a public interest writ ;
lect Committee before it was tion over the past four years, h; petition filed by P.N.Nanja Red- •
passed in the Legislative As- Initially, there was no Chairman r dy, advocate, here.
sembly, was passed by the Leg- lor the board while there
The petitioner prayed for;
islative Council today with members and now while there j quashing the notification issued
was
a
Chairman
there
were
no
|
support from the Opposition.
by the State Government ap-’l
The Bill was placed for consid members. The Panchayat’ Raj | pointing four officers of the In- ?
erauon
me Department here had not fully | dian Forest Service as chief
eration 01
of me
the nuuse
House uy
by the
Minister for Rural Development utilised the Central funds since | executive officers of zilla.
1 and
Panchayat
Raj, it could not provide the match-1 panchayats.
M.Y.Ghorpade.
ing grants and all these lapses «Mr. Reddy submitted that the
Speaking on the Bill, Basav- were due to lack of adequate < Government issued a notifica-,
araj Bommai of the AIPJD said planning.
tion on May 19th, 2003, ap
Mr. Bommai said the State j pointing M.Nagaraja Hampole
the planning for the panchayat
raj institutions should be done Government should aim at im- as Chief Executive Officer of Daat the grassroots level and not proving the literacy level of the vangere ZP, K.M.Murthy as CEOimposed from the State head gram panchayat and the taluk i of
Chamarajanagar
ZP,
panchayat members since most P.L.Gudhihal as CEO of Kodagu
quarters. It was unfortunate
i
"
'
i
were
not
conversant
t
that most of the development of them
ZP, and A.G.Shivananda as CEO
schemes were tailor made and with even the methodology' of'; . Dakshina Kannada ZP Accord
as per the directions of the administration. They should be.. ing to the petitioner under the
World Bank. Many of the better equipped at the time they;; provisions of the Karnataka
• schemes thus did not fulfil the assumed charge. The others Panchayat Raj Act, a ZP CEO has
.. ,
aspirations of the people and al- who spokej on the Bill included ; to be of the rank of a Deputy 2 ilxi IdlxJDU-.
Alkod
Hanumanthappa, | Commissioner. Mr. Reddy con^J /
so
Alkod
;;
‘'-3
impinged on the rights of the M.C.Nanaiah,
andj tended that the appointment
V (3 /.Qf]')
gram panchayat and taluk pan- M.P.Nadagouda.
the officers, who were not eligi-1,
' J
ble to hold the post, was liable!
to be quashed. The judges or-1
dered issue of notice to the Gov- j
ernment and adjourned further
J hearing, on the oetition.
petition.
'•
By Our Special Correspondent
.AUG
’ r-
j).
W
S»*-
A. - “ .. -
•**y --
j Assembly’s nod to Bill on t *
y
women’s varsity
By Our Special Correspondent
pointed vice-chancellor of the from the Indian Institute of
university.
Management, Bangalore, the!
bangalore, AUG. 4. The LegislaHowever, in its statement on Tata Institute of Social Science,’
I live Assembly, on Monday, objects and reasons, the Bill Mumbai, the National Law;
adopted the Karnataka State merely says that it is being in- School of India University, Ban-'
tt
-:-- a-------------1----- * d;iiBill, troduced in furtherance of the
Universities
Amendment
galore, and Jawaharlal Nehru i
2003, providing for the setting announcement made by the University, New Delhi, to devel-1
up of a separate university for Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, ‘ op the university,
The Minister also assured the I
women in Bijapur.
while presenting the Budget for
The Minister for Higher Edu- 2003-04 that a university for members that there should be ]
, cation, G. Parameshwar, who women will be established in no doubt that a woman would •
piloted the Bill, told the House Bijapur to provide higher edu- be appointed vice-chancellor,
. that to avoid controversies, the cation for women in northern Some of the members had ob- i
jected to the words "as far as;
Government
had
decided Karnataka.
Dr. Parameshwar said there possible’’ in the Bill.
against naming the university
The lone voice of opposition
after any individual. He noted were already six universities in
■ that there was lack of consensus the country exclusively for to the setting up of a separate
among the members on naming women — SNDT University, university for women was of
Mumbai, Padmavathi Universi- Araga Jnanendra of the BJP. The
• the university after a personalj--------- '
ity. While some wanted it to be ty, Tirupathi, Mother Teresa member questioned the deci
named after Akkamahadevi, . University, Kodaikanal, Vaish- sion as the Government had reothers wanted it to be named nqdevi Technological Universi- fused to accept the suggestion
Jammu,
Banasthanli for providing free education to
• after Rani Chennamma of ty,
I Kittur.
University, Rajasthan, and Avi- girls studying in private aided
The university will have juris- nashalingam University, Coim- colleges.
t
He wondered how the Gov ■i
diction over colleges for women batore. The university to come
and other educational institu- up at Bijapur would offer cours- ernment could raise Rs. 5 crore
tions admitting women in the es in architecture and interior for the university,
districts of Bagalkot, Belgaum, designing, journalism and1 comMr. Jnanendra also quesBellary, Bidar, Bijapur, Dhar- rmunication,
——computer
---- ---------applica*'
tioned the need for segregating (
— natural
—sciences,
—.•------ social
—women jn education and
wad, Gadag, Gulbarga, Haveri, *:
tions,
Koppal, Raichur, and Uttara sciences, performing arts, lan- dubbed the decision to set up
Kannada. In Section Five, the guages, fashion technology, and the university as an attempt to
Bill says that “as far as possi- hotel management. The Gov- garner the votes of women in :
the elections.
ble,” _a woman
ap- ------ 12would-rbe
- ernment
was seeking guidance
j
-r
amc’
r—
g--*
s
Uitterences . b
in NDA,
R Opposition over
’s Bill :
s Efl By Ourwomen
Special Correspondent
!’i NEW DELHI, AUG. 19. The sharp ;
‘I political differences within the
0 •[; Opposition and in the ranks of
V the National Democratic Allirt'ance on the women’s reserva- ,
<5^ t*011 >SSLie were on full display
during the debate on the OppoL sition’s no-confidence motion,J
O * against the Government in the j
I. Lok Sabha today. The issue!
M ’ ft came up when the Parliamen-■!
tary Affairs Minister, Sushmalj
SW Swaraj, sought to answer the .1
.
t •( "charge” made by the Leader of J
i ; the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, a
on Monday that the Govern- S
! ment had failed to keep die J
$ promise made in its manifesto j
>..■ on giving women political reser- u
$ vation. There was virtually a de-1
bate on the issue today within jl
j the larger debate on the no- j
I confidence motion exposing 1
<1 the differences over it on both 1
H sides of the political divide.
J Ms. Swaraj pleaded not guilty 1
\ while conveying the Govern:; ment’s willingness to pass the I
•1 Bill in any form provided there s
. was political consensus. That ;
was the signal for Somnath I
’ Chatterjee (CPI'-M) who imme- 5
. diately challenged her. When it |
e came to the Prevention of Ter-1
’ rorism Act (POTA), the Govern- k
/ ment used the joint session:
1 route to overcome the opposiVtion to it in the Rajya Sabha, but
on the women’s reservation Bill,
j it has suddenly found virtue in
s “political consensus", Mr. Chatj terjee said. “There is total divi■ sion within the BJP on this
J issue. Your NDA will split 1
apart,” he said forcefully, chai- •
b lenging Ms. Swaraj to bring the
•t Bill.
u1
"
But not before the issue had
: exposed the simmering resenti ment in the Samajwadi Party,
whose leader, Mulayam Singh
' Yadav, virtually warned the.
■ Congress not to press the issue I
too hard.
A RJD member also objected
to Ms. Swaraj’s remark on Mon- i
■' day that "Mulayam and Laloo”’
were stalling the Bill. The mem■ ber said the RJD was not op] posed to women’s reservation
’ but wanted to ensure represen- ■;
! tation for backward caste worn•i en. Mr. Yadav pleaded that he
i was not opposed to women’s ’
1 reservation and charged that ;
, there was near consensus on I
i the Election Commission pro- ■
• posal “but the Congress Party'
did not agree.”
,
i
If the Opposition unity
i seemed to be in tatters, the NDAji
i was not unscathed. Devendra 3
• Prasad Yadav (JD-U) was up on ?
j his feet shouting, adding to the j
1; din.
'?
' Finally, the Congress deputy’/
leader, Shivraj Patil, said the
Government should not shift its
own responsibility to get the t
I legislation passed to the Oppo1 sition.
■I And since no one was arguing
' that reservations for women in 1
panchavats was wrong, why
should it not bi' doiii- for the \s-
pancb
collet ag ■
nj
the tax jet ,
devci ,
■ was '
then
t vvas r /
sugg--• hoi., nd gr n
panchayat vhich anted
implement the SAS c< 1 so. Th rex me from the I
would not go to the
PH News Service
__ • panchayats in Dakshina
V
Government, and the r.i
t Kannada can, of their own
panchayat would have fiT,
tepar^iueeting convened’ j;
nnp=P™,
;, ~
accord, implement
property
control over the proceeds
on Saturday to explore the
me possipusbi- -■
ion
the funds collected
he added. Earlier, Mr n
jbility
own Welfare and
ibility of an early panchayat elec- J fQr
launched the website of G
jtron in Jharkhand turned out to ^development) the Minister
Dakshina Kannada Zil’a
Panchayat, and said t
she a damp squib with the State I |Dr Transport and Minister
j government failing to announce Jn charge of the district, B.
district was on the nation
IT map. From the weh^ite
t any concrete date for elections. | Ramanath Rai, has said.
farmers could get the
I After the meeting, Chief Min- t Addressing presspersons
s ister ArjunMunda informed the -J after tjie Rajiv Gandhi Water information about
i media persons that the govern- | Mission review meeting here government schemes ^r
farming, minor irriga. a,
(ment has taken note of the sug- >' today, he reiterated that the
animal husbandry, village
| gestions given by representa- implementation of the SAS
improvement, and cmn
I tives of various parties and try J for property tax was the
improvement.
j to hammer out a solution. He ; * decision of the gram.
I said that the date of the elec-"
j tions would be given to the High |
court since it has asked tlie goy-. ii
DECCAN HERALD
ernment to announce a date inI I
the interests of the society.
?
The chief minister said that
t lie was anxious to hold the panpchayat elections at the earliest h
date in order to provide demo- j;
| cratic rights at the grassroot lev- jl
p jharkl^iid IPanchayats
&• panchayat
■■■
introduce
polls,’ fI can
SAS, says Rai
' meet turns a I By Our Staff Correspondent
• :£
< damp sqiiW —
- 1 MANGALORE, AUG 16. Gram
r
i
gel.
IThe opposition parties on the ■.
Mother hand have lashed out p
f against the govermnent for fail- >
I ing to announce a date for the Cj
| elections.
In a joint letter, the opposition
parties have pointed out that in *
the all party meet in May 2001,
the government had promised to r
‘' hold thp
the elections in June 2001,
I but since then 27 months have !(•
j passed and no announcement
•' has been made as yet.
j • Mr Mahendra Singh (CPI; ML) legislator said that the gov| ernment is trying its best to stall
! the elections as much as possi’ ble, since the government is very f
; certain that the results will defi, nitely go against them. This may,
' in a way affect their chances in
■ the next Lok Sabha and assem- 1
• bly elections.
«
Another issue which has agiI tated the opposition ranks is the
state government’s decision re| garding the posts of chairperI sons for all posts in the three-tier
1 panchayat system.
Mr Singh said that as per the
i Sth schedule it has been categor- •
| ically mentioned that those be- '.
• longing to the schedule tribes >
1 would hold all posts of chairper- -
DECCAN HERALD
2 4 AUG' 2003
6
Z’vdS
X THE HINDU, Saturday, August 23, 2003
■4^.------ --------------------------------- —--------------------- ----- ----------------------------------------------
net
MONSOON SESSION ENOS / IT WAS EVENTFUL, SAYS SUSHMA
ft womens toil
13 By Our Special Correspondent
3|yjEW DELHI, AUG. 22. At the end of
y^the monsoon session of Parliaj^ment today, the Lok Sabha
^Speaker, Manohar Joshi, was
'left wishing MPs would observe
better discipline, while the Par
liamentary Affairs Minister,
,Sushma Swaraj, felt that despite
the disruptions the Government
;was able to get 13 Bills passed
■by the two Houses of Parlia'ment. And above all, the session
-was certainly “eventful.”
Ms. Swaraj said that the ses.........
,‘sion was “unique” ........
in that
for
the first time in five
f’ years the
^Opposition movedla no-confi
dence motion, and the Government had met the challenge
'successfully. “At the start of the
session, no one, not even the
'^Congress knew that it would
^end with a no-confidence mojtion... somehow events led-up
■>to it,” she said at a press conferi ence here.
>1 The Speaker, who also ad
dressed the press separately,
^Ipn Ufftif;.! u. » »■■ ■ inawnw WURWW ’***■
x
f
stated categorically that the
Government had not yet sent
____women’s reserva-ri
him the draft
tion bill for circulation to political parties. The issue came up
’ ’his
‘
when it was pointed out that
" ’ a political
’"I con
efforts to find
sensus had not yet ,''been
oor> suc
cessful. He denied that the
Government was “dragging
him” into this controversy. He
expressed1 unhappiness that
MPs across the political chess
board were not more disciplined and that disruptions had
position and pave the way for a H
smooth session. But that did not H
happen. She expressed unhappiness that the session enwed ’]
with a continuing “boycott” by y]
the Opposition parties in the p
Rajya Sabha.
At the same time, she appre®
ciated that the Opposition had ] ]
1":
not created obstacles in the way»’
of completing the most impor-1
tant business of the Govern- p
ment — 13 Bills, including .•
Constitutional
amendments,
had been adopted, which would
not have been possible without yj
become all too frequent
Ms. Swaraj
claimedJ that the the cooperation of the Opposi- L
J'
°
tion parties. She rejected the J
1Opposition
must now regret
having brought the no-confi- criticism that an important leg- ’ •
dence motion. She claimed that islation had been passed with- ]>
the National Democratic Alli out discussion. “That is not
ance not only displayed its unity correct. Discussions had taken]?
and numerical strength but also place.”
»
And, finally, when it was
won the political argument.
out‘ that despite the
“The no-confidence motion pointed
j
was a political loss to the Oppo- hype about the Lok Pal Bill, the
Government had1 not tried to get‘
sition,” she said.
C
The Minister claimed that the it adopted this session, she said
Government had done its best it would be done in the winter:]
to meet the demands of the Op- session.
ii
:V;
T
Wfafai» iwi^drwnwW
GPs may
issue khatas
| SC womanj
p takes over |
|j as GP chief!
j By Our Special Correspondent J
I bangalore, AUG. 1. The Minister ,
1 for Rural Development and j
—3| Panchayat Raj, M.Y.Ghorpade,
DH News Service
-Ml told the Legislative Council tof day that the Revenue Depart- ■■
’ MADIKERI (Kodagu), July 26
0
n
, 1 rl
1 r^l 4" /V U
ment would be asked to i
•; 1J Scheduled
Caste candidate
H
delegate the responsibility of is- J
■> < L Sarojini assumed charge as
khatas
to
gram j
„J Halugund gram panchayat !; suing
.; panchayats.
'
«
t? (GP) president as per the
j
Replying to K.B.Munivenkata
‘ High Court verdict on the
f Reddy, the minister agreed that
. same, here.
V| there were complaints by the
As the president’s post was , public on the Revenue Depart- '
• reserved for a woman belong- ] ment issuing khatas. Since there ,
mg to the SC category,
. Ms
a1 was a legal aspect to the word
, Sarojiru, being the lone can- j* khata _ as k had t0 do v/ith the .
didate for the post, had to be , Revenue Department — the •'
} ’ appointed.
| Government had issued a circu
However, the other mem
lar on June 6,2003, empowering
bers of the panchayat rethe Revenue Department to is
fused to suggest her name for sue khatas.
the post, causing a crisis. The
He assured members that the j'
process of delegating the work
problem was resolved with
to the gram panchayats would
the High Court verdict, di
. commence soon.
recting that Ms Sarojini to
take charge as president of
ST on drugs
the gram panchayat. Virajpet
The Minister for Health, Ka- ,
Taluk Panchayat CEO and
; godu Thimmappa, said he
4 electoral officer Malleswamy ' would discuss with the Chief
•j
declared Ms Sarojini as the
Minister the issue of withdraw
GP president.
ing sales tax on life-saving
Ms
Sarojini
was
the
vice5
drugs.
Earlier, V.S.Acharya pointed «
president during the first
•1
out that 15 per cent sales tax on
term of the GP. The term
drugs to treat snakebite and ra
ended by December.
bies had to be withdrawn as
The post of the president
these drugs were, as such/.
was reserved for a woman be
^stjy
longing to the Scheduled
Caste during the second
THE
■
I
i
i
i
term.
g
■f
Ms Sarojini had to appbal
to the High Court as none of
• ?
the members suggested her
name for the president’s post.
“This is a victory for truth
and justice. This has brought
me great joy.
This is not merely a per' sonal victory, but a victory
t for the entire Dalit conununi- $
r! ty,” Ms Sarojini told Deccan
/ By Our Staff Correspondent
s, Herald, after assuming
r
juuy 26
ZP to. probe
csrropf ®bi charges ;
r an
DH PHOTO
?CvW
$ ■-
j
WxZ'
j of corruption and irregularities wished, he alleged.
1 regarding the transfer of teachSudhakarlal and Puttaiah, •;
x ers in Tumkur District would be members, said a committee of-ji
i investigated, the President of ZP members should be formed *
fl the Tumkur Zilla Panchayat, to conduct the inquiry. Officials.
I; Jampaiah, announced at the would not be able to do justice ,
j ZP’s 18th general body meeting to it. Y.H. Hutchaiah, member, ’
’ j here on Saturday.
however, wanted to know ifj
i: He said committees compris- there were specific instances of|
»-ing ZP members would be corruption and irregularities.|
/formed at the 10 taluks in the The ZP President told Mr.i
• ' district. Led by him, the com- Hutchaiah that newspapers had ,
■ ' mittees would conduct a public
reported on a number of in-
■ inquiry into the allegations at stances of corruption.
q
; the education offices in taluks.
"They published stories on a |
’ Earlier in the meeting, Rudresh, huge list of irregularities," he j
' member, said the last meeting said and asked the member if he J
J had decided that the two DDPIs read the papers. Mr. Jampaiah M
< who had admitted to the allega- said the investigations would J
c tions should also investigate begin immediately. The probe |
H L Sarojini, who assumed
'[ Jiem. <•;”
at the Tumkur Education Office!
charge as president of the
Halugund gram panchayat on ' ./But, Officials had intentional- would be held soon after the^
i-*^ omitted that part of the deci- . . meeting.
'
Saturday.
PECCAN HERALD ’
4
sion in the proceedings because]
they were in the habit of record - *
•I 1 JUL 2003
^0
fHC ____ _
r Officer told to \
EiQ Panchayat Raj Acn<leclare GP poll result'
■
. .'y-
iu? — -*&'£r.r "ar..yr?«■ •?r.TP‘rwrait,wB«r
•*
;• BANGALORE, Aug 28 (DHNS)
By Our Staff Reporter
her, the returning officer issued
a notification on March 12,
BANGALORE, SEPT. 2. The High
plete, his election to the ZP be- Court on Tuesday directed the 2003, to hold the election to the
post of President, and appealed I!
comes void and has to be struck authorities concerned to de to the court to quash it.
down, the High Court held. clare the result of the election
The court quashed the noti- If
“Such a conclusion was in- '(held on December 10, 2002 to fication stating that the officer /
of
President
of
a
escapable considering the fact • j the post
a,
■ -• gram had erred in issuing a new noticomPetent ’authority is not
f ” J" ,Biiapur dis' fication, and directed him to de- .
defined in the Act”, the High ■ .trict within a month.
clare the result of the December Justice Chandrashekharaiah
Court observed stating that the
______ 2002 election within a month. »
Legislature ought to have been ? Pass®d the order on a petition
In another case, Mr. Justice X
more circumspect in avoiding by Jainabi’ member of Madhab- Chandrashekharaiah directed
such an anomalous situation *bavi 9P’ challenging a notifica- the Deputy Commissioner of
which can vitiate the process of j-!!on Issyedfor .the election to Kodagu to appoint
woman neappoint aa woman
beelection.
J
p?s‘ °hfpP^^.ent °f,t,he G.P’ longi''g to the Scheduled Caste
ADMITTED: The High Court i g w gt
flection held earh- as administrator of a gram
today admitted a petition seek I
Jamabi contended that panchayat.
g
panchayat.
OBCs which wauld be valid for ^Vibe
ing Rs 1.5Siai'e
crore
r compensation
compens‘ltloh '.deni
deni 'and
and Viee-h'osid0ni
°.ffof
Prethe
,s''
During the nomination to the
education and employment pur- f™"
from1 the State
®‘at® Government
®ove™Ten(t and /cP
8, GP were h«W
held on December 10, post of President of the 81™
one proposed
poses only. And such certificates ^epohee officers for foistmg a 2002. As the post of President panchayat, no er.z
• issued by the Tahasildars do not
Drugs and |lwas ^served for Other Back- the name of the woman though
she was the lone candidate be
• hold good for contesting elec- Psychotropic Substances Act 'i !Zd|A„aSte (women), she was lunging
io me
longing
to
the bcnenuied
Scheduled Castes
Castes
against
two
businessmen.
Jtions to the local bodies, the
- p
CT?ndeL H1owever- for which the seat was reserved,
Kumarordered
orderedissue
issui
Jpudge said. With this observauJusticeinNnumar
the officer did not declare the
•A Division
•
Bench of the High
tion, the future of all elected bod- ot ,notlce to
Government and (result due to an altercation. She
Court later directed the author
police
officers
on
a
petition
filed
said that when she urged the re- ities concerned to appoint the
^ies - zilla, taluk and grama panchayats - hangs in balance as this by M/s Gold Coins Hotels and Re 1 turning officer to declare the re- candidate as President of the
./observation is applicable to all sorts Limited (formerly known as |sult, he told her to file an
■ ’’those candidates who got elected Ghaa-Che Hotels Limited) repre- | election petition. According5 to gram panchayat on a writ pet_
ition by the Government.
-to
oor‘fo/’ by
K'r its Chairman B T t
to various local bodies by propro” sented
ducing the caste certificates is Dayananda Reddy its founder di- I
the hindk
rector Chetan P Tayal and his 1
sued by the Tahasildars.
The High Court made these brother, Mahesh Kumar Tayal, j
!.
observations while dealing with executive director.
Petitioners alleged that the '
a petition filed by Mr G P Srinivas, an elected member of Da- then jurisdictional Assistant ■
vangere
vangere zilla
zilla panchayat,
panchayat, whose
whose Co™lssioner of Police C Mohan
election was set aside by the ano “is staff had raided the hotel,
Election Tribunal on the ground Sltuated on Residency Road here,
that he did not belong to Na■ SePtember 2001 and had f
madari caste as claimed by the olainied ^at they have seized 4
n0titinr»a»'
Charas and counterfeit curren- •
petitioner.
Dismissing Srinivas’s peti cies from the hotel. The police had ;
tion, Justice Reddy observed: also arrested Chetan Tayala in ?
“Presentation of a caste certifi this connection. The petitioners ?
cate issued by the Tahasildar, contended that the police had im- :
and fake
currenwho is not authorised by the PR planted
. . Charas
,
-----------Act, along with the assent to the 5leS1m 1116 hoteL A Clty 001111 had
■
• papers of the candh discharged them from all the '
nomination
dates would not render the nomi- charges upholding their contantion that the P°Uce had foisted
j---------nationopapers complete”.
•
As the nomination papers of
, case at 1116 mstence of theirri- if
the petitioner itself was incom- vals Wlth the sole intention of j
grabbmg their property
ShJ
__
. 3 he Karnataka High Court court
; has pointed out a serious lacuna
j in the Karnataka Panchayat Raj
; Act observing that “the Act does
' not prescribe the authority that
1 who is competent to issue caste
_______ _ to the vanuiuaitb
i certificates
candidates iu
for
’ contesting the elections to thVlo’• under
’ reserved catej< cal ’bodies
gories”.
Justice A V Srinivasa Reddy
■ held tliat the Tahasildars, under
! Karnataka SC/ST and OBC
I (Reservation and Appointment)
A Act, 1990, were authorised to is-
| .N THE HIGH COURT
SEP ?003
-TOTS3S?
DECC/XN HERALD
i*.
2033
91
-r
rHEN does police brutal
ity
become plain
torture? This might
seem a purely academic
question in India, a
country that is yet to rat|ify the 17-year-old UN Convention against
|Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and De
ft grading Treatment; though it signed it in
a 1997. Torture is not specifically defined in
K the Indian Constitution or prohibited in the
country’s penal laws. However, the Nation•J) al Human Rights Commission, several eminent persons of the judiciary and human
$ rights academics and activists have consistently called for the ratification of the UN
Convention — so far, in vain.
[ Eminent jurists have bemoaned that it is
I;', of no use writing into the constitution that
■f humanism and compassion are fundament tai duties while the State remains indiffer; ent to the prevalence of torture. The net
'.result of the Government’s diffidence to
give human rights a genuine try has meant
'
that police stations, lock-up rooms and jails
have often been running as torture chambers.
Such an instance in Tamil Nadu has now
k* been brought to the attention of the State
- Human Rights Commission, the All India
’ Democratic women's Association (AIDWA)
and some other NGOs. A gruesome murder
' of a woman, her daughter and grandchild
took place at Vittukkatti, a village in Thiru■ varur district, Tamil Nadu, in May this year,
as a result
i
of which the police detained six
young men and two women for a number
of days, ostensibly for interrogation.
The men and women narrated to AIDWA
■ the torture they were subjected to, while in
; custody. The male suspects deposed that
they were detained for six days in a police
station in a remote area — named by the
victims as torture chamber — and subject
ed to not merely the known brutalities of
the "interrogating officers” like severe beat
ings with lathis, but to also obscenities of
the vilest nature.
The men stated they were stripped naked
on day one and remained so till they were
let off. The routine questioning took the
form of any of the following, depending on
the officer’s dark moods: making the men
pretend to sit and rise from a low chair and
to sit on their heels as long as it look them
to faint; being made to run without a pause,
reviving a person who had fainted through
. a resounding slap on cheek that left at least
one of the detainees deaf and showering
lathi blows on their groins.
/ For the khaki-clad, the interrogation, ap' patently, had to be without a dull moment.
“ When one of the men, gaining conscious! ness, feebly asked for water, he was told to
• open his mouth only to find hot urine pour
'. all over his face; all of them met with the
same treatment. Another response was to
bring a mug of water, soak the policeman’s
to —fflW.nia ■ IL».111 H. 1Hin
.T,
aIso thc dehumanisation of the men in unit
form and total unconcern for the humary
brings to the fore the primitive . rights of persons belonging to depressed
sections in society.
As a report of Amnesty on Indian condi-J
state of investigative methods,
tions, January 2001, noted: "In many areas'
but also the dehumanisation
of India beatings are not reported as
torture or ill-treatment because they are so
of policemen and unconcern for much a part of the arrest and detention^
process. ...Corruption and extortion, lack oij
the human rights of those
investigative expertise, a confession-ori-.
ented approach to interrogation, demands;
belonging to depressed
for instant punishment in the context of a;
crippled criminal justice system, the belief’
sections in society. MYTHILY that
punitive action will not be takenl
against torturers and discriminatory atti-;
SIVARAMAN comments.
tudes are all reasons why torture and ill---------------------------- Q|---------------------------treatment by law enforcement officials'^
abound. Discriminatory attitudes amongst'
booted feet in it and then pour it down their law enforcement officials continue to mean i
parched throats.
..
.. most socially
... and. economically^
- that
the
The detainees were loathe to describe vulnerable members of society are panic-1
to
torture
andj
certain other atrocities involving sexual ularly vulnerable
perversities like forced oral sex, while the ill-treatment.”
$
uniformed men cracked jokes and laughed
The responsibility for what happened at'
uproariously. The young men said they Vittukkatti rests not with just a section of?
were spared only two forms of torture — the uniformed forces, but on the real power-,
electric shock and suspension from the structure in society, including the middle
ceiling.
classes.
The two women were brought to the poAs the Police Reforms Committee points’
lice station at night, in flagrant violation of out in its report to the government in Octo
rules. One of them, a young woman, whose b?r
ber 2000: "AIcrgc
largesccticr.
section cf
ofpeople
peoplestzone
strong-;
husband had gone to Kerala looking for ly believe that the police cannot deliver and’
work, was brought with her baby. The in cannot be effective if it does not use strong-'terrogation here took the form of charging arm methods against the criminals and an-j
the woman with loose behaviour, especially ti-social elements of society. And these
with one of the men already detained.
people include India’s political class, the
This was supposedly the evidence for her bureaucracy, and large sections of the upcomplicity in the murder. And this was per and..................
‘ own per-;
middle class... ‘In their
mentioned to the woman’s in-laws, to ception, the policemen feel that they are
alienate them from her so she would be doing a job. They resort to torture for ‘pro-rl
—----------------------------------- The
defenceless.
husband,----------who came
back fessional objectives’ — to extract informa-J
after hearing of the arrests, refused to have tion or confession in order to solve a case.’\j
anything to do with his wife for a time, be
As Amnesty International points out in a '■
lieving the police canard.
report, this is not only unlawful, but alsqj
In the lock-up, the two women were fundamentally flawed — the use of torture;asked to stand with their arms around a only serves to perpetuate lawlessness rath-/j
pillar — with the baby dangling precarious er than combating it.
ly from the mother’s hip — while they were
We must campaign for the Indian Gov
beaten. The other older woman detained ernment ratifying the Convention Against
was
threatened-----that—
her -----teen Torture and to have torture defined as an J
— constantly
----------- j -------------aged daughter would also be brought in for offence in the Indian Constitution and stat-*
interrogation.
utes.
The torture ended only when the real
Not that this in itself would end torture!
murderer was identified and the stolen as the latter is embedded deeply in centu-j
goods were seized from elsewhere. Even so, ries-old ciassist, casteist and patriarchal so-’3
these men were forced to stay at the police cio-economic and cultural structures. But j
station for two more days.
to render the State apparatus transparent is ,
There is also a caste angle to the Vittuk a civilisational task that stares us in the.,
katti episode. All the she men interrogated face.
are Dalits. When asked to identify their
We owe it to the victims of Vittukkatti
caste, the men had given the sub-caste who have had the extraordinary courage to]
names. They were beaten up, they said, and come out with it all at great personal risk to.
were forced to say the singular form of the themselves. This should not be in vain. ®.;
words to humiliate them.
This incident brings to the fore not mereThe writer is a well known activist andt
ly the all-too primitive state of police in- Working President of the All India Demof
vestigative methods in this day and age, but cratic Women's Association, Tamil Nadu. I."
The Vittukkatti incident not only
1. ...
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There is now no escaping the fact that
the negative sex ratio in States and dis
off as members of their own biradiri tricts with higher literacy and economic
( nmunity). Though the families do levels is not an anachronism, but die
not admit to it, neighbours assert that reality. It rubbishes dur pet dieory that
tb-se women are treated no better than education is the panacea for all social
L .ded workers. Communities here, evils, particularly those against women.
which consider a man is ready for marAccording to Banister, in China, low
r: -e as soon as he has touched 18, are education levels were not found to be a
; saving men of above 30 still searching determinant factor for anti-girl atti
for wives.
tudes. Neither was poverty.
’aving fewer women does not mean
It is now clear from die declining sex
the premium on them increases. The ratio among the zero to six age group, as
market theory of demand and supply found in the 2001 census, that econom
c s not quite work in the man-women ic and social development has not re
context in biased cultures.
duced but could actually be worsening
On tire contrary, women are being and-daughter discrimination in India.
s jected to more violence than before
In fact, the dramatic changes in dowand families are being forced to keep ry practice — in the nature of dowries
them cloistered inside their homes, say given and demanded as well as in its
s al workers in Haryana.
dramatic rise, has been responsible for
In countries like India, where the so the leaping phenomenon of female
cial status of women is low, their dimin- foeticide. Also being seen lately is a
ii ig numbers will lower their status marked process of effeminisation
further. Polyandry and the Draupadi among women.
syndrome would again become a modIn Orissa for example — one of the
e; day reality.
few States to offer a 30 per cent reserva
The sex composition is an important tion for women in engineering and
in^’cator and a measure of the equity medical colleges, parents are spending
b zeen males and females prevailing lakhs of rupees to take not merit but
in a particular society at that point of payment seats — not with a career in
ti’“'\ Changes in the sex ratio reflect the view but to brighten the marriage prou..„erlying changes (for better or for spects of their daughters. Dowry mainworse as regards women) in the socio-.., tains its high seat, now the added
e lomic and cultural patterns of a - condition is that brides must also be
people, -r u
”5
good students, preferably from the sci-
ence stream. With the sea change that
our society has undergone, the root of
the dowry problem too has shifted. The
growing acpnomic vulnerability has intensified the son preference as a tool to
benefit economically.
The dynamics of the new dowry — so
called because of the "demand” ele
ment dominating it — was initially cen
tred on the economic vulnerability of
one class as against the newfound riches■ of the
other.
v.v wxvx.
Now, of course, dowry has spread to
all1 classes — rich and poor, including
those
ose societies where not long ago,
brides,
ides, not grooms, commanded a
price. The other reason for dowry con
tinues: a woman’s right to inherit her
share of paternal property remains elu-
I
F
sive and hence dowry remains the main [
vehicle to security. Not to mention the ,
rnew
— —
JJ--- called
” 1 consumer W
age —
goddess
goods, which is silently feeding mass L
greed,
greed.
D
”* diere are ways to rein in die ma- L
But
laise. In reality, an outright ban has not p
worked.
"
A combination of individual ideals as i
displayed by
young U11UV&
brides who
re- ,
Vtiopicij-via
UJ two yuuug
WUU iC*
belled against the
system
recently and , $
------*
socio-legal Ultaomto
measures WUIU
could WU1K.
work. lb
Is 11
it rt\
cuwu-ivgai
possible for us to imagine this futuristic * t?
scenario: sons and daughters have the I r
same opportunities for education and w
job? The daughter does not lose her in- pi
heritance rights. She receives her full
share at the same time as her brother J’
and not at her marriage. Both are equally responsible for their aging parents.
In short, inheritance laws should be
; J J the same for both sons and daughters.
,’<51 Second, implement and expand social
security systems for die elderly in rural
and urban areas too so that parents do
not have to depend on sons. Publicity,
propaganda and consciousness-raising
that values the contribudon of women
at par with men, highlighting their hu
man rights, is underway, yes, but needs
to be done on a war-footing. NGOs need
to get into the protest-dowry mode in
large numbers.
Society needs to internalise >what
feminist Simone de Beauvoir asserted
long ago that women are not born they
are made.
5
Only then perhaps would the twochild norm stabilise the population and |
not skew it. ©
3
I
’...
M
. j id
fc
re
iw
Shadow of things to come ...
•-<*5 A
i
v
THE HINDU
AUG 2003
R3
.4
-
11
■
P'HE HINDU
AUG /?003
■ 'Br i
I
'
■ 1
I
f
-
.
.
' 1 '
I"' - 9i-
l -HF '
,
> / ''iF’j L '
- 'F j.Q]
Men without
women
JI
bl
•I
•' "W A T1TH die Govern'l w
B ment planning
il W / W / t° introduce a
■I
sa b M s two-child norm
W’
'
W1/
ser*ous dis-
The recent imposition of
the two-child norm as
eligibility criterion for
panchayat members may
lead to a skewed sex
ratio, argues
MANIPADMA JENA,
comparing this to
China’s one-child norm.
W
w
incentives at
tached for violators, it would do
India good to look at what China’s
one-child norm did to its demo
graphic profile.
The two countries, which be
tween them are home to a sizeable
chunk of the world population,
have one other thing too in com
mon: their traditional bias against
women. However shameful India’s
treatment of the girl children may
be, China, after its stringent onechild norm, has a worse record: it
has the world’s most imbalanced societies where there would, in due
course, emerge a large surplus of
gender ratio.
China’s census in 2000 shows men. Studying the unintended fal
il1 there are 20 per cent more boys lout of family planning policies in
than girls in the group zero to four. developing countries, she says that
balance is even more extraor- when the State limits the number of
’’II The
dinary in seven provinces of China, children and where sex selection
; ] which have 28 to 36 per cent more tests are easy to access, the sex ratio
l] boys than girls in this age group. will turn negative in course of time.
J' Against the previous record of 100- In 2000, China's sex ratio was 944
?' 107 boys, the sex ratio has presently and India’s in 2001 was 933 (com
H fallen to 107-120 boys per 100 girls. pared with 1,029 in the U.S.).
The reason for this abnormal deThis serious imbalance has wors
ened during the last two decades, mographic phenomenon is appari.. j.-.u Banister,
_ j---ently simple enough, according to
Judith
a demography
J ; says
specialist working in China.
' la.
Hudson. When couples were free to
J One of
,.r .ithe
------:
-------------major causes of1 the have hgjf a dozen children there
2. low count of girls in China, she says was a natural mix of boys and girls.
:in
-----,t-------------------u:u-----a study,
is the one-child
norm, When they were restricted by the
combined with the bias against State or by economic compulsions
girls. This results in unchecked to one or two, they made sure they
abortion of the female foetuses and produced only sons. In China, sex
the death of girls from health and selection lest centres are available
nutrition neglect. Isn’t this a famil- easily and without taboo, as in the
. Punjab —
andi Haryana.
iar story in India?
Let’s look al what experts say are
The consequences of the "mis
sing girl syndrome" have not jyet the.social repercussions when there
been felt, in its entire enormity in are not enough women for the
India or in cultures in East and larger number of men. Societies
South Asia where a strong anti-girl with a large number of men tend to
experience more crime, unrest and
bias exists.
But Vali-rie Hudson, professoral violence, as predicted by • urity
Bri
,ig University. ’' :, ,d experts a year ago in The
nist
Cfj
u.roetir.r.nro ’
(limp 79 90091
Ii
!
i
Very soon they said, China will j
have an estimated 30 million "un-4
happy, unmarried" men; but their y
unhappiness would be of a different j
kind titan that of unhappy married !
men. These unhappy, unmarried ';l
men could be kindling a political j
revolution at home. Deep, large-i|
scale unrest could well have an im-G
pact outside, they warned — the ]
Chinese government may decide to
use these surplus men — these men’
without women for military activ-'
ism.
‘
Nearer home, the recent marriage.
practice adopted by the Gujjar com- >[
munity of Rajasthan could well:,
spread into the larger context, ifk
States like Punjab, which has 793
girl children in the zero to six agejl
group, to 1,000 male children, ■
Chandigarh (845/1,000), Haryana 1
(820/1,000), Gujarat (878/1,000), J
Maharashtra (917/1,000) and Orissa■
(950/1,000), fail to check the free fall n
of the female to male population. Il
Not many parents of girls in the 'J
Gujjar community are willing to jj
give their daughters in marriage to 1
Gujjar males owing to various rea- i
sons.
[g
The practice adopted by the Gujjar males to counter the unavailability of women is to have the most
eligible brother bring home a bride w
who could be from a different com- fl
munity. Eventually the woman isF
shared by up to four brothers. She
keeps house for all of them and
bears their children too.
For two decades, the Haryanvis
aborted female foetuses or poison
ed and starved female infants or de
liberately neglected tlieir health to
let them die.
Today, their youth cannot marry
due to a scarcity of brides. The sit
uation is so grim, news reports say,
that families are resorting to buying
girls from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar
and West Bengal ; ; I .ssing them
thehibw,
1
Two-cnild norm
”' s!ii;Th whose interest?
j
Population control requires investments in health, education and employment and not counter-productive
punitive measures like the recent attempt to bar people with more than two children from contesting
panchayat elections, writes MOHAN RAO.
a
Th 71-^-'^3
N the Sunday Magazine section of The
Hindu recently Only 27,2003), journalist P.
Sainaih told the story of a Dalit sarpanch,
father of three children, in Kondapur vil
lage in Andhra Pradesh. The A.P. State
population policy mandates the disqualjj ification of those widi more than two children
ij from contesting panchayati raj elections. He was
j fighting die case for his disqualification in die A.P.
' * High Court, but more poignantly, all his children
' were being kept away from school, because die
' ■ A.P. State Population Policy also recommends —
i: among die mind-boggling number of disincenlives—diat government facilities for education be
; widihcld for die tiiird child onwards. Echoing
r- Dickens, Mr. Sainath wondered if the law is an ass.
;; Ironically just a few days later, on July 31, news• | papers announced that a three-judge Bench of die
; Supreme Court upheld a Haryana Government
law prohibiting a person from contesting or hold
ing die post of sarpanch or panch if he or she had
more than two children. The bench observed dial
"disqualification on die right to contest an election
for having more than two children does not con
travene any fundamental right, nor does it cross
(he limits of reasonability. Rather, it is a disqual
ification conceptually devised in die national
interest”.
> When the "population bomb" predicted by
1 neo-Maldiusian doomsday Cold Warrior
demographers failed to materialise, when it
> was understood that one reason for die fail'! ure of family planning programmes globally was die constraints on women’s
agency, the international population con, trol movement — with the western
k feminist movement provid1 ing the leadership — initiJ ated• what
•
•has ■been
described as a “para
digm shift''. One
central aspect of the
shift is (jiat family
planning services
are to be broadened
in order to attend to
women
’s — and in
r
deed men’s — re
productive needs
riglits and not as
I and
a function of control
of a non-existent
"population explosion”.
Indeed a 1986 review sponsored
by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences issued a
cautiously worded statement, to the dismay of (he
community of doomsday demographers, noting
dial population growtii has bodi positive and neg
ative impacts and that die actual net impact can
be determined based on existing evidence.
! notReflecting
both this understanding, and com
mitments made al die ICPD in 1994 in Cairo, in
February 2000, die Government of India adopted
the National Population Policy 2000 (NPP). This
i policy is certainly not without problems. It has
I population stabilisation ratiier (han (he health and
well being of the people as a goal, it is not in
tegrated widi health or indeed widi the myriad
other sectors that contour population dynamics.
Yet one undoubtedly positive feature of the NPP is
that it resolutely affirms die "commitment of the
Government towards voluntary and informed
choice and consent of citizens while availing of
reproductive health care services, and continua
tion of the target-free approach in administering
family planning services". Committing itself to re
spect for human rights and the freedom and digni
ty of women, diese were translated into a
non-target oriented family welfare programme,
which righdy abjured incentives and disincentives.
Several State governments on die other hand,
some al die behest of an American consultancy
firm Futures Group, whose function it has been to
recreate fears of die population explosion, an
nounced population policies, which, in veiy signif
icant ways, violate die letter and die spirit of die
NPP.
Andhra Pradesh, dial Mr. Sainath’s article te
<
i
I
W* MIMI
UIUJIVIUIVU
*» *vz
ferred to, lists an astonishing series of incentives
and disincentives. At die community level, per
formance in ROH and rales of couple protection
will determine die construction of school build
ings, public works and funding for rural devel
opment programmes. Performance in RCH is also
to be made die criterion for full coverage under
programmes like TRYSEM, DWCRA, Weaker Sec
tion Housing Scheme, and Low Cost Sanitation
Scheme. Allotment of surplus agricultural land,
housing sites, as well as benefits under IRDP, SC
Action Plan, and BC Action Plan are to be given in
preference to acceptors of terminal methods of
contraception. Educational concessions, subsidies
and promotions as well as government jobs are to
be restricted to those who accept die small family
norm. In what can only be described as a macabre
metaphor of die lottery dial is die life of die poor
in the country, an award of Rs. 10,000 each is to be
given to tiiree couples to be selected from every
district on die basis of a lucky dip. The eligible
include three couples per district widi two prl chil
dren adopting permanent mediods of family plan
ning, three couples per district widi one child
adopting permanent methods of family planning
and dirce couples per district widi two or less chil
dren adopting vasectomy.
The population policies of Uttar Pradesh, Rajas
than, and Madhya Pradesh also carry many of
these features. All of diem debar women with
more than two children from contesting elections
to die Panchayati Raj Insdtudons. The Uttar Pra
desh population policy also disqualifies persons
married before die legal age of marriage from gov
ernment jobs, as if children are responsible for
child marriages. Furdier, 10 per cent of financial
assistance of panchayats is to be based on family
planning perfonnance. Indeed, fearfully recalling
the Emergency — which cast a bludgeon blow to
die credibility of the programme — die assess
ment of die performance of medical officers and
other hcaldi workers is linked to performance in
die RCII programme.
A number of health groups and women's groups
in die country have repeatedly protested diese
draconian features of State population policies, in
deed even compelling States like Maharashtra and
Gujarat to reconsider theirs. Their objecdon is
based on compelling grassroots experience dial
pointed out dial these disincentives and incendves are and-women, anli-adivasi, and-Dalit, anti
child and and-poor in general. They also are pro
foundly violative of human and democradc rights.
The National Family Healtii Survey (NFHS) for
1998-99 shows that die Total Fertility Rate (TER) is
3.15 for Scheduled Castes, 3.06 for Scheduled
Tribes, 2.66 among Otiier Backward Castes and
3.47 among illiterate women as a whole.
It is, in contrast, 1.99 among better off women
and thus likely to be educated beyond standard 10.
Imposition of die two-child norm, and die disin
centives proposed, would mean dial significant
The writer teaches ar the Centre ofSocial Medicine sections among these already deprived populaand Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru
dons would bear die brunt of die State's withdrawUniversity, New Delhi.
al of ameliorative measures, as pitiably inadequate
as they are. With (he recent Supreme Court judge
ment, significant sections of these populations will
be debarred from dieir right to contest elections.
In die States where diese laws have been im
posed, as in I laryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajastiian, scores of cases have been documented where
women have been deserted, or forced to undergo
sex selective abortions. Cliildren have also been
abandoned or given up for adoption. In general,
such a norm provides an impetus for an increase in
sex-selective abortions, worsening an already ter
rible cliild sex ratio in die country.
As the NPP acknowledges, diere Is an imperative
need for health and safe contraceptive services. To
propose punitive measures in this context is clearly
absurd. Reflecting deprivation, the dalits, adivasis
and OBCs bear a significantly higher proportion of
die mortality load in the country.
The NFHS for 1998-99, notes that the Infant Mor
tality Rate (IMR) among the SCs, STs and OBCs is
83, 84 and 76 respectively, compared to 62 for Oth
ers. Similarly the Under Five Mortality Rate is 119
among the S.Cs, 126 among die S.Ts 103 among the
OBCs compared to 82 among the Otiiers. Clearly, to
impose two-child norms under such circumstances
Is to widen inequalities among our people.
A number of healtii groups and women's groups
//'//
I
V
II & S
approached (he NHRC last year with a memoran
dum that die two-child norm was discriminatory,
anti-democratic and violative of commitments
made by die Government in several international
covenants. The NHRC, in response, issued orders to
die concerned State governments, and. at a Nation
al Colloquium on January 9 and 10, 2003 attended
by representatives of diese State Governments, is
sued a declaration. This declaration, while appre
ciating die perspective of the NPP, "notes with
concern that population policies framed by some
State Governments rcllect in certain respects a co
ercive approach through use of incentives and dis
incentives, which in some cases are violative of
human rights. Tins is not consistent widi the spirit
of the National Population Policy. The violation of
human rights affects in particular die marginalised
and vulnerable sections of society, including
women."
The declaration also noted: “Further dial die
propagation of a two-child norm anil coercion or
manipulation of individual fertility decision
dirough die use of incentives and disincentives vio
late the principle of voluntary infonned choice and
die human rights of the people, particularly die
rights of die child."
It needs to be recalled diat diere is a significant
demographic transition occurring in die country; to
hasten this requires investments in healtii, educa
tion, food and employment and not counter-pro
ductive punitive measures.
It also needs to be recalled that, given the age
structure of die population, diere is an inbuilt mo
mentum which coercive measures can do nolliing
about.
Above all, die function of justice is to enhance
freedoms and opportunities and not curtail them in
die interest of ill-defined national objectives. ®
35
1 - DECCAN HERALD
TREE Shakti is the State
»
government's women's pro4 U’gramme strictly focused on
f empowerment through financial
♦ support. The support may be th.* rough different projects directly
* or through banks. The aim is to
? create in women awareness re#. garding the status and position
» they are entitled to in society and
t make them financially, socially
> and politically fit and capable,
f The target is to make rural women self-dependent by organisSTREE
i' ing 20 lakli women into one lakh
: self-help groups.
SHAKTI
<
Self-help groups are formed
through Anganawadi workers in
s rural areas with about 15 to 20
The ambitious
women in each group. The memprogramme aims
» bers are like-minded individuals
’ from the lower strata of society
at the empower
' with similar social and financial
A - backgrounds. While forming thment of rural
i
ese groups, preference is given to
women and mak
> landless women, agricultural lab«, ourers, SC/ST families, those
ing them finan
{ ;with drunkards, drug addicts or
cially and social
v disabled persons in the family.
• *’ The main feature of these grly capable.
»! ”oups are regular savings, lending
money on principles of self-help.
/' initiating common fund and find- Stree Shakti has made a definite impact in the rural areas and looks like a movement in itself. Many of these groups have protested against the sale of arrack and liquor and some have even succeeded in closing down these shops in their areas.
•, ing redressal to their problems
• 1 ‘through unanimous decisions thearning Rs 20 profit everyday. Con
The departments like Animal hus
volve them in financial activities, at
“: ereby achieving development. It
ELGAUM has achieved consequently, my husband's attitude
is left to the decision of the whole group tempts are made to coordinate their.ac- bandry, Sheep Development Corpora
E-C siderable success in the area
changed drastically,” she added.
it. to decide the rate of interest to be levied tivities.with the government's self-em tion and Khadi and Village Industries
H .Jy of empowerment of women
After much pressurising Stree
ployment scheme - Swarna Jayanthi Commission have given technical sup
5 ,- on the loan given to the members.
economically through Stree Shakti
Shakti members were able to force
port in terms of supply of Giriraja ch
Anganawadi workers help the group Swayam Udyoga Yojana.
programme launched by the Women
mandal panchayat authorities to
S' to manage its activities during the first
Activities helpful for women in de icks, sheep etc.
and Child Welfare Department.
take up road asphalting work.
As on date, there are 79,462 Stree
six months, after which they take on a velopmental departments like agricul
Recently a massive “Stree
“We won a hard battle. Men did
Shakti
groups
in
Karnataka
involving
a
ture,
horticulture,
sericulture,
industry
<j supervisory role. After tlie first six mo
Samavesh" was organised under the
not support our cause. Even threats to take
“If health is poor, they cannot earn,” Mr
.' nths the groups have to take measures to and rural development are made avail total of 11.83 lakh women. The groups
aegis of Women and Child Welfare Minister
holding
bank
accounts
number
72,886.
up
the
matter
with ministers did not move
Oblappa
said.
initiate internal loans in a small scale able. Importance is given to progra
Motamma, which indicated the successful
The total savings of these groups sta
SHG members have expressed satisfaction some of them," Savitri said.
;. and open savings account compulsorily mmes on health and nutrition.
implementation the scheme in Belgaum dis
nds
at
Rs
131.05
crore.
About
15,899
of
The
SHGs
also
tasted triumph when it
over
the
outcome
of
Stree
Shakti
scheme,
Stree Shakti has made a definite im
5 in a bank.
trict, where huge number of SHGs partici
pressurised the authorities concerned to
which had infused confidence in fighting
The group which maintains savings pact in the rural areas and looks like a these groups have availed of bank lo
pated.
ans.
The
loans
totals
to
the
tune
of
Rs
start
a
school
in
the
village. Bolanuna of
;ovarious
social
evils
in
a
male
dominated
s<
- for at least six months, is given a revolv- movement in itself. Many of these
Department Deputy Director K H Oblappa
Gokak said.
‘ ing fund of Rs 5,000 by the government. groups have protested against the sale 53.31 crore.
said the progress achieved was unbelievable. ciety.
Rukmavva
Shigunti
from Raibag, said: “It
To
encourage
Stree
Shakti
groups
Sharing
the
experiences
under
the
:j Loan activities are started by using the of arrack and liquor and some have
So far. around 7,1 OG SHGs had been formed
was a herculean task for us to ban liqour
purview of the scheme. Savitri Kulkarni
’ members' savings and the revolving even succeeded in closing down these which show exceptional performance
in the district with 1.13 lakh members, in
consumption
in
the
village.
However, we suc
in
terms
of
savings,
the
State
govern
from
Chikkodi
said:
“
I
have
been
satisfied
shops in their areas.
\ fund.
cluding 14,835 belonging to SCs and STs and
ceeded in this.
with the work taken up by us. To a great ex
District level Stree Shakti Coordina ment has been giving additional incen
* ' Stree Shakti is a programme taken
8,552 to minorities.
“
The
fallout
was
a
costly
affair for Ruk
tives.
tent we had been successful in changing the
i in joint collaboration with the various tion Committees are set up under the
He said 881 SHGs had opened bank ac
mavva. One night she was beaten up by her
According to the steps initiated by
departments. As such, depending on chairmanship of die District Collector.
counts and the members had availed loans to men's attititude."
husband
who
was
drunk.
I
took
up the mat
the
government,
groups
which
save
“My husband was a drunkard and used to
the success of these groups they are The committee meets on a regular basis
the tunc of Rs 2.85 crore for taking up selfter with the women's group. They met and
beat me up every night. After getting ac
given opportunities to make use of Die and reviews the progress achieved by more than Rs 75,000 get an incentive of
employment schemes. A few lakhs had been
decided
to
fine
my
husband.
He
was
made to
Rs
15.000
and
those
saving
more
than
Rs
quainted with Stree Shakti. I decided to wage
development sen ices available in vari these groups in terms of savings, inter
spent on training members along with about
pay Rs 5.000 as damages," Rukmavva point
a battle against men consuming liqour. With
ous departments. Literacy programme nal lendings and credit linkages with one lakh get an incentive of Rs 20,000.
1,000 anganwadi workers.
The
groups
who
have
bagged
these
in
ed
out.
the
help
of
the
group.
I
was
able
to
ban
liqour
k for illiterate members in these groups . banks.
Economic independence of women had
Qamrulnisa from Hukkeri said: “We got
in the village," Savitri said.
The Department of Woman and centives number 85 in the former
Ji . are made available through the '
changed the entire rural scenario. Women
“The SHG helped raise a loan of Rs 25,000 an order for 10,000 jola rotis from Hubli and
Child Development is getting assis bracket and 30 in the latter.
■» <' ; Directorate of Mass Education.
had become health conscious, and under
sent
the order in few hours.”
________
_ egroups
.
------Started in October 2000, the Stree Sh
and
with
it
1
bought
machinery.
Now
I
am
*■: ,
Opportunity for higher education is _tance
to these
through the SC
stood its importance for their emancipation.
S • provide through the Indira Gandhi Na- and ST Development Corporation to SC . akti programme has till date incurred
and ST women in these
, an.e,xpcnditure of Rs 5.016.75 lakh^^
y ^GonalOpeR-Uniyegity
^ional Open-Unhe^ity'. ,big
t.hcsp groups..
-j.Doqi
3*1
!
^Stl^ wf7 1
Belgaum shows
the way
I;
I
. i
I
Non-passage of Women’s
Reservation Bill criticised
stitutionalisation of discrimina- that only political empowertion”, the former Member of ment could bring about ai so
new DELHI, sept. 29. From term- Parliament, Jayanti Natarajan, cietal action, and reservation of
THE HINDU . ing non-passage of the Worn- said women were asking for women was one way of achiev
P m QoO
en's Reservation Bill as “defeat reservation on the basis of ing this.
“We keep women as cultural
P
/C'JC?-: °f democracy", to the privilege equal status enjoyed by them
emblems. They are required in
£| women in independent India under the Constitution.
“There was no talk of dual the field of art and culture but
ti enjoy through
’ the
’ right
' t to vote
>unterparts in membership or increasing the unwanted in political, social
p while their counterp;
many other countries strug number of seats when Dalits and economic structures,” he
gled, speakers at a national were given reservation. Impor- 53,^
fj consultation on “Gender and tantly, the experience of wom
Striking a different note, so
Governance” today expressed en in Panchayats has been ciologist, Sarojini Ganju Tha
varied opinions on the status of excellent, though with some kur, admitted that while there
in governance, though aberration,” she said, adding were gaps between policies and
g women
all agreed that there were gaps that it proved women were implementation, women had
administrators
and been empowered by the sheer
between the policies and im good
should not be discriminated power of right to voting.
plementation
which
needed
to
?•
against on the basis of sex.
The number of women in
I be plugged.
greatest achievements civil services is also a positive
3 Organised by the World Bank forThe
women in the post-inde
and the United Nations Devel
indicator when compared with
i opment Programme, the con pendence era have been reser- the ICS where there were no
— yation
in
the
local
focussed
on
1 sultation
women, she pointed out.
promoting gender equality and self-governments and the sucAccording to her, the key
strengthening decentralisation, cess of the self-help groups that
Describing reluctance in pass- I have a saving of .up to Rs. challenges were to bridge the
the Women’s Reserva^;pn • -12,000 to Rs. 13,000 crores in gap between planning and im
<-\ina
plementation
and • better
j
----- 'jisu—-‘"’I the banks.
Si George Mathew, Director of monitoring.
§ By Our Staff Correspondent
‘
.......... ...................................................................
’
h
I
di1
j towt resdy for probe tZZ
into
land acquisition- Minister
i
By Our Staff Reporter
' TV
J BANGALORE, sept. 24. The Minis-
U ■■
«•
<
jter for Industries, R.V. Deshpande, on Wednesday said that
SFP ?0n3 Lthe ®overnment was prepared
IcJ'JO to order an inquiry into the alle:-7;gations made by the Janata Dal
Secretary General, C. Narayana Swamy, and the former
priate forum if they were not
satisfied with the compensa
tion. There was no restriction
on farmers dealing directly with
information technology companies, but’the
- — - companies pre
ferred to buy land through the
KIADB.
He said that the procedure !
was transparent. The accusa’
i
instance of irregularity in 5
which have acquired land in the the ac
acquisition procedure fol- j
compa!iinfOrmatiOn techno10^ lowedThe Government had i
nothing to hide, he said.
In a rejoinder, Mr. Desh
Mr. Deshpande said the alle- :
pande said that the land had
gations were politically motiva
been acquired under law. The ted
and had been made out of •
Advisory Committee under the frustration. This only spoke of ■
Chairmanship of the Deputy the intolerance to the progress ’
Commissioner fixed the value of achieved in the industrial secthe land to which farmers had
tor. He said that the KIADB and ;
consented. Aggrieved farmers,
^^^iXtransparen7
ZI
jL-•.X-.A'r'..: A-X'
r.- •« >r
Wi— arF rff ’wmT^
11GPs to receive grants through finance dept: CM. JkPM PHOTO
PMOTH
KPN
cation and training programin
has been initiated in fulfillment
of the chief minister’s budget'
J' MYSORE. Oct 6
speech announcement in 2002-0;
f Chief Minister S M Krishna tonamely that all GP members will
’ day said that the annual governbe given training.
> ment grant of Rs 5 lakh to the
Stage 1 was a pilot pn
i gram panchayats would be regramme, conducted between No
4 leased directly to the GPs
vember 2002 and July 2003 to
). through the finance department.
reach out to 18,027 GP membei
.1
Mr Krishna announced this
from 1,310 GPs in 44 taluks of the
J after inaugurating the satelliteState. This training took place in
J based communication and trainfour phases of two days duratic
j ing programme for gram paneach. The positive response oi
■A chayat members and taking part
the GP members to the pilot pro-,
in
an
interaction
with
the
mem
irbers of Sugganahalli gram™
gramme provided the impuk
panand impetus for ANSIRD to takt
chayat in Ramnagar taluk, in the
up more challenging and ambi
i! premises of Abdul Nazir Sab Intious task of Stage 2.
stitute for Rural Development
Stage 2 will cover 62,000 gra
| (ANSIRD) here.
panchayat members from the retaii
.•
The chief minister sat under a
J maining 4341 GPs in 131 taluks of
! tree in the ANSIRD premises and
the State.This large-scale traini
.. .7-'■Sil
‘j discussed the problems of the
and communication has become
J nembers along with Minister of
<
•I possible because of the SATCOM
> State for Rural Drinking Water
■B - B . " Bba V
centre operationalised in A
•j Koliwad, Co-operation Minister
SIRD with technical support from
'! H Vishwanath and others.
ISRO. Satellite link is provided an
minister an Chief Minister S M Krishna interacting with the gram panchayat members of
i
The chief ministe:
extended C band transponder
nounced that the
annual_ grants gar taluk, after inaugurating the stage 2 of Satellite-based Communication and Training Prograrnme for INSAT-3B. The ANSIRD has an
2______
would be released directly to the
on Monday.
Monday.
panchayat
members
at
Abdul
Nazir
Sab
Institute
for
Rural
Development
in
Mysore
on
earth station and a studio which
gram
GPs from November 1,2003.
is connected with all the tai
decline
of
ground
water,
and
de
The announcement came fol- tion from the Rural Development and directed him to ensure that
4
panchayats, DIETS, DTIs and «
manded
that
the
Mines
and
Geol
- lowing a request from a GP mem- Secretary, Mr C R Raghunandan, the grants were released directly
few engineering colleges as well, j
ogy
Department
should
get
the
js ber at the face-to-face pro- who was present, on the difficul- to the GPs from November 1.
The training and communi
clearance
from
the
GPs
before
Mr
Krishna
further
said,
“
We
gramme. The member brought to ty in releasing grants directly to
tion programme designed for Gr
'j*i the notice of Mr Krishna that the the
■ GPs. The secretary clarified’ should not bind the GPs with oth permitting sand removal.
The chief minister spoke to members in an intensive consul
government grants were released that though all the GPs have er departments. Let the GPs
tative process, which incltK
through the treasury, which has bank accounts, the effort to re learn the process of managing Mines and Geology Minister K H workshops under the aegis of Ra
1
created problems in the financial lease grants directly to the GPs the finances. When the govern Muniyappa over phone and di jiv Gandhi Foundation, interac
management. "The treasury au- has been delayed due to some ment handles Rs 24,000 crore rected him that “no-objection” tions with the minister and ’’ <
thorities were also deducting the "technical difficulties” in the fi- budget, the GPs could manage Rs certificate from the GPs was subject committee of the RD a.— ;
must before giving permission
5 lakh grant on their own.”
power bills of the respective GPs nance department.
PR department and consulta-J
At the interaction, the mem for sand removal in the GP limits tions with the elected represer' \
from the grants released' to
'
At this, Mr Krishna called Fi
them,” the member alleged.
xnance Department
uepai ui
Commission- bers noted that sand mining in and its subsequent auction.
I
The satellite-based communi- tives in the field.
Mr Krishna sought^clarifica-^
pas on his mobile phone the GP limits had resulted in the
DH News Service
DECCAN HERAiary
/Qjj
..................
.
I II
Mobilise funds through taxes, GPs told
By Our Staff Correspondent tivating
food-for-work Government had increased the ?!yil,On 5-erkS
P°St’
members. The first phase of the f
schemes, etc. Mr. Krishna was annual grant to Rs. 5 lakh from
the possibil' " B.”"-—-J training
programme, which J
•5 Mysore, oct. 6. Living up to his accompanied in the studio by Rs. 1 lakh. He asked the mem- Krishna discussed
, image as a hi-tech Chief Minis the Minister of State for Rural bers’ to mobilise additional ity ot appointing first division was conducted between No- ?.<
clerks
to
the
post.
ter, S.M. Krishna today held a Water Supply, K.B. Koliwad, the funds through collection of
vember 2002 and July 2003, reEarlier, Mr. Krishna had an ached out to 18,307 members [$
. videoconference with gram Secretary (Rural Development), *taxes.
interaction
with
gram
v' panchayat membe
c---- pan- from 1,310 gram panchayats in j#!
members in remote Raghunandan, the Minister for
.
When„a caller from OIUK<U1
Shikariparts of the State.
”u^nt members from Sugga- 44 taluks. The second phase ’f,
Cooperation, H. Vishwanath, pur taluk complained about the C.—
......
.
kuiicu
lags,
am ioiuk
“
*
n
J?
am
anagaram
taluk wuj
will cover
cover oz.uuu
62,000 members
members
4 Inaugurating the second and rhp
the Additional
AddiHnnoi Director of inability of gram panchayats to
under a banyan tree on the AAVZAAA
from 4,341 510141
gram panchayats
in 3J . ,
lid y<l lb Hl
:
?e_ satePite-based ANSSIRD, H.S. Ashokanand.
------------- "* pay- electricity< bills incurred
on
----------ANSSIRD premises. He also
|
\ communication and training
The satellite-based Dro« Mr. watched a street play “Bethala 131 taluks. The programme will
proipplying
drinking
water,
.j jrogramme for gram pc.~
continue through 22 transmis‘ chayat members at Abdul Nazir
1 of March
aUdl“
Bna'’d<>la"a Kala ,atha Be^ebas.
r Sab State Institute of RuralI De.
De' velopment (ANSSIRD) here, _WMe an esbmated 10,000 for
satellite-based training 4
which the Government
proThe satellite-based commucommu----------------------pro
and communication has be- i? i
t,Mr. Krishna fielded questions gram panchayats spread1 across
vided 30 per cent subsidy.
across
nication and training pro
pro- come possible because of the Lf
J from gram panchayat members 74 taluks could see and
hear
Mr. Krishna ruled out any gramme for gram panchayat SATCOM Centre made oper- IP
* from
m as
as far
^ar as
as Jamakhandi
Jamakhandi in
in the Chief Minister on television
,nLeS’erS_’_t?_e second P1?356. °f ati0I?al at ANSIRD with
------ techtech . <
& 1
.,.. Bagalkot district, Shikaripur in sets installed at more
than
more than electricity bills as the KPTCL which was inaugurated by Mf. nical support -----from
ISRO.
The
Shimoga
district,
and
Hungund
3,000
centres
in
the
districts,
was itself running on
J
m^Bijapur
district
among
othe
’
r
X^memberTcoild
po^que"
’
Krishna
today,
s^eks
to
create*
—
-----------2
a
satellite link has been provided
. • in Bijapur district among other the members could pose ques- from the Government. When a
"groundswell for democratic on the extended 'C band trans- ft!
-: ■"'
u
1- tions
Ptr
ThZ S
’ ’ v.■
tions to
to Mr.
Mr. Krishna
Krishna over the gram panchayat member from decentralisation”.
ponder
of INSAT-3B.
■■ The problems
brought
to the telephone.
Jamakhandi
reouested
tho
Jamakhandi requested
'■notice
of the
Minier
RpsnnnHina tn a noiUr
requested
the
The training programme is
Jnotice 'of
the Chief
Chief"Minister
The ANSSIRD has an earth I
Responding to a caller who Chief Minister to appoint se- centred round viewing 15 films.
station
and to
a studio, which is I
.' ranged from drinking water sought enhancement in the fi- nior officers as gram panchayat The . films, developed in
connect^
? scarcity, electricity tariff, de- nancial allocation to gram pan- j
secretanes
against
the
present
shop
mode,
reflect
the
expertchjiyats,
DIET,
DTIs, and a few
'J plorable condition of roads, ac- chayats, Mr. Krishna said the 1practice of appointing second ences of the gram panchayat eri/neering’fcoUeges.
ew |[!|
’
a
4
T
Gram panchayats to get grants directly i
'iCRAM PANCHAYATS: lhe;l
- * • ■ also approved handingjl
•' Cabinet
, jver government grant of
of Rs
Rs 5$
5V By Our Staff Correspondent
1 lakh each directly to gram pan‘ '.hayats through cheques insteadj[MYSORE, OCT. 6. The Chief
JMinister, S.M. Krishna, on
treasury.
j of
01 through
^todedsions
of thelMonday said that gram
The other decisions of
' ,Cabinet
/• i •
m the State
- Qarniniqtra-^paHchayats
administracabinet include
mc^ rnn
etructing aJwould receive their annual
j tive approval for constructing
t Qf Rs 5 lakhs each
tank at Indi taluk in Bijapm at a
frQm November L
cost
ist of Rs 5.19 croie,
crore; to sanction
sanction7 The 5 g59
1.63 acres of land in Belgaum onhayats are now getting
'1 30-year lease to Ramakrishna ^e.r annuai grants through
Ashram; develop Sandur by-.;tbe State Treasury.
' pass road in Bellary by spend-decision came at an
4 ing Rs 18.5 crore on build oper-:interaction the chief
ate transfer basis^to extend the Minister had with gram
I ax exemption given for fodder [panchayat members who are
urchase till March 31,2004 and training at the Abdul Nazir
■< n-sing the Centre to grant Rs 80 iSab state Institute of Rural
i to 100 crore additional funds as ^Development here
‘ nPr the recommendations of the; Mr. Krishna and some of
11 th finance commission on de-|his ministerial colleagues sat
4
‘ r rnnac
roon a mat under a banyan
on the in5*11116’5
1 x-i s:. lllielUu*
j premises to gain first-hand
| knowledge of the problems
Haced by gram panchayat
~
I 2009 ? members.
e
5 When gram panchayat^
•J members from Suganahalli
members expressed concern
in Ramanagaram taluk
brought to the notice of the over the indiscriminate sand
mining by contractors with
Chief Minister the delay in
permission from the
getting their grants through
Department of Mines of
the Treasury, Mr. Krishna
Geology, Mr. Krishna
spoke to the Finance
conferred with the Minister
Commissioner, D.K. Das,
over mobile phone and then for Mines and Geology,
Muniyappa, who was in
announced the decision.
Kolar, over phone.
The grants would be
With a view to involving
remitted in a bank, and the
the gram panchayats
gram panchayats could
concerned in sand mining,
make use of the funds for
Mr. Krishna said the gram
development works.
panchayats would be given
The Chief Minister said
power to issue no-objection
the Government handled
. certificates to contractors.
about Rs. 24,000 crores
Only if such a certificate
annually. “Let them learn
was issued by a gram
how to manage Rs. 5 lakhs
panchayat, would the
a year,” Mr. Krishna
Department of Mines and
remarked.
Geology give permission to
An estimated Rs. 300
contractors.
crores is released annually
Another issue that came
as grants , to the gram
up was the rotation in
panchayats.
reservation of gram
Mr. Krishna said checks
panchayat constituencies to
would be in place to
Dalits and women every
prevent any irregularity in
term.
the use of grants.
"When reservation of
When the gram panchayat
seats for Assembly and Lok
Sabha constituencies remain
unchanged for several terms,
steps should be taken to
continue reservation of gram
panchayat constituencies for f
at least three or four
terms,’’, the gram panchayat
members said.
The Chief Minister, who
agreed to this, said a
decision to continue with
reservation of gram
panchayat constituencies for
more than one term
required Cabinet approval
and it would be discussed |
in the next Cabinet meeting. |
The Minister for
>|
Cooperation, H. Vishwanath, |
the Minister for
&
Horticulture, M. Shivanna,
the Minister of State for
Rural Development, K.B.
Koliwad, the Minister of.
State for Kannada and
Culture, Rani Satish, and the^
Secretary, Department of
Kurai veveiopiiiciii,
i.n.
1 , |
Rural
Development, T.R.
Raghunandan, were present.
1
Deccan Herald, Tuesday, October 7, 2003
±7 Qf Y
s5
~ $H OCT
OCT 7803
»03
f
State sanctions
Rs 25 cr to
I
empower women
I
KSWDC marketing assistance s'cheme
lenders. We hope to reach;
out to at least 100 women -i
BANGALORE, Oct 6
per taluk,” said Mr Raju. <
In a move to empower
The Corporation has' '
women from economically identified 120 activities for *
weaker section the State the loan.
government
has
sanc
In yet another move to J
tioned Rs 2.5 crore for the support marketing assis- T
second phase of the mar tance to upcoming women '
keting assistance scheme entrepreneurs, the Karof the Karnataka State nataka State Women’s De-k'
Women’s Development Cor velopment Corporation is'
poration (KSWDC), cover constructing a permanent J;
ing all the 175 taluks.
commercial complex with;
Under the scheme Rs one 200 shops near the observa
lakh has been allotted per tion home in Koramangala. *>'
taluk, informed Managing
The shops will be offered
Director, Karnataka State free of cost to the entrepreWomen’s Development Cor neurs.
poration R K Raju here to Karnataka State Women’s
day.
Development Corporation is '
Talking to reporters he organising
State
level <
said interest-free loan will women entrepreneurs’ exhi-1?
be disbursed by the Child bition at Hudson Church 'j
Development Programme community hall from Octo
Officers to women in petty ber 9 to 14 between 9 am and ,J
business, on a daily basis.
9 pm.
;i
“The loan, ranging from
“We are providing them ?
JRs 500 to Rs 1,000, will be with free stalls, board and j
J given to the woman in the lodging. They only have to
^morning and she is expectpay a nominal registration :
• ed to return the principle fee of Rs 100,” said Mr Raju. I
amount by next day. The
The exhibition will be in-1
idea is to free them from augurated on October 9 at i
< the clutches of money
PH News Service
ffiOBBL
■
I
.5
<>)«!
-s
I
D
NLY last month
when the members of
Mahila Jagruthi ’ some 70 in number ,
were travelling to
Ajmer to attend the launch of an
all-India Committee Against Vio
lence on Women (CAVOW) in a
third class compartment, the tick' et collector accosted them. He had
. a query’ to make: “How do yoitt
families allow you to be like this.
Go where you want and be how you
want? Isn’t there anyone to keep a
check on you? In our households,
our daughters and bahus never
roam around like this... How
• many times have they listened to
this refrain from men and women
C^ERie^OT. j
In a seminar conducted by the:
in 1999 against communalism,
comniunaiisiu, I»,
they had speakers from far and
activist-schola ! j
wide including actjvist-schola.
Irfan
and Ram Punyani. t ■
Irfan Engineer
1
.With funds coming only from well- I
wishers, Mahila Jagruthi do
find sustenance a major challenge. ■ f!
__ ♦’’Uic fViaxr nr\W Fl IP A fiTtiall
*
Despite
this, they now run a small
hostel for students called Sama]
h
These children are mostly from
various centres in the State, ;
belonging to families associat > ■
with the group in one way or the 1 ;
other. Started in 2001, Samane not | |
only shoulders the responsibi’
of educating these students
;
also instilling a social and political h'
awareness in them. Songs, dances, y j
plays - all form part of their le; ■ j I
ing process at Samane. As funds I
are a major problem, the Mahila^;
Jagruthi is now planning to foi a j ■
I trust to ensure the smooth func-!
tioning of the hostel.
t
Of late, one of the greatest < t-1
paigns of -Mahila Jagruthi nas •
I been against'acid attack cases. •
I Together with Pedestrian Piel is jt
they are documenting their tmdings regarding the recent spate of.
For the last five years, Mahila acid attacks ------------------on women acros^ e
Champions of the masses
They’ve borne the
brickbats and
I the bouquets but the
reason that drives
1
the members of
, Mahila Jagruthi is
I
commitment to
i
i! ineir
their uauou
cause aim
and an
! incredible resilience
|
of purpose
XWf
sBSSS
shocking.
.
t
What is most reassuring < at t
Mahila Jagruthi is the single- •
minded commitment of its mem,,
bers, and the eagernqss
thwhich they enthuse and rnvyive
the younger generation, especially^
college students. “The idea
to'
not just to catch them youn6 out
derive new strength from them
and grow more deeper,” cor ide
organisation and we consciously the senior members.
maintain a distance from all politi
Maithreyi M R
cal parties,” the members declare.
provoking magazine by a popular
Kannada monthly. Though spread
across several parts of Karnataka
like Belgaum, Chikmagalur, KGB,
dated with other similar organisa-
i" contest held in Bangalore.
what they think is right■ . ^ng ty
members spent 18 days in dwellers in Shimoga and
Bangalore, of plantation workers
j up to the cause of equitable justice
. .
----- *—
jaif then'.’And the very next year, in Chikmagalur, of students in
| in the society.
they stood up against indecent rep
? The group's involvement with resentation of women. With the government SC/ST hostels, and to
! social causes began way back in police watching them in amuse- campaign against Kudremukh
1992 when a few women joined the
and wonder, they raided the- .
? ‘Save the Tunga campaign’ in ment aiin Shimoga and Bangalore
C EcC< UX
atres
L* -------- - ,
I Shimoga. Having stuck together screening
pornography filmo.
for two years, they decided to form Fighting against atrocities on
*» a team. Thus was born Mahila women in various sectors like garJagruthi. It was initially conceptu ment factories, colleges and slums t .
alised as a cultural troupe. The have formed an essential part of
group, which simultaneously grew their activities.
in Bangalore and Shimoga, comThough women’s issues form
'■ prised young college girls, and their major concern, members of
working women like lecturers and Mahila Jagruthi havebonde^id^ •
| bank employees. In 1996, they asso-
b vC i 20G3
1^ ■
'^>7
T
1 Order on quofaZ|
Kolar ZP chief
for Hassan,
hits out at GE®
Bagalkot ZP
By Our Correspondent
nardhana Poojary, report-,
chiefs
edly “advised” them to
■
B
.
■
■ ■_____
I?
KOLAR, OCT. 16. All is not bury their differences and
PH News Service
well in Kolar district. While work for the success of the
the differences between party candidate. That Mr. ■. BANGALORE, Oct 26
the two Muniyappas came Venkatamuniyappa lost i The State Government, in an |
to the fore in the election the election is history now. : order issued on Thursday,
of the President of Kolar
But the rift between the
has made reservation for the
. District Cooperative Milk two leaders persists. V.
third term posts of presiUnion Ltd. (KOMUL), the Shivareddy, who resigned • dents and vice-presidents of
President of the Kolar Zilla from post of President of ; Hassan and Bagalkot zilla
Panchayat openly came KOMUL only last week,
panchayats.
out against the Chief Exec- again contested the elecFor Hassan zilla panchayutive Officer of the ZP at a tions against the wishes of
at the post of president has
press conference here on Mr. V. Muniyapa and won
been reserved for General
Wednesday.
the elections defeating V.
category (Women) and the
The differences between Gudiyappa, who* was the
post of vice-president has
V. Muniyappa, Minister for official candidate. It is re
been reserved for Backward,.
Geology and Mines, and ported that Shivareddy
Class-A.
K.H. Muniyappa, MP, sur- has the backing of R.L. JaFor Bagalkot zilla pan- j
faced some four months lappa, MP, and Mr. K.H.
j chayat the President’s post ’’
ago over the choice of the Muniyappa.
Meanwhile,
venue for the visit of the
f*
l':, the
' ZP Pres- ’I has been Backward Class-B uand
has
_ T1 arayanaswamy,
, cum
, ,the vice-president’s —
— i
AICC President, Sonia ident,
B. Narayanaswamy,
;! mix
came out openly against I been reserved for general
Gandhi.
“x------With the announcement die ZP CEO, Adoni Syed r category.
According to sources the
of the Vemgal byelection, Saleem. At the press conboth the leaders tried to ference, Mr. Narayanappa ■ reservations of posts for
outdo each other. While alleged that the CEO was | presidents and vice-presiMr. K.H. Muniyappa chose responsible for the irregu- f dents of other 25 districts is
'IT
1
_______ 2 - .
K 4 » ’I T
I f-Vl
XX T" ’
1 * . - .1
tK - I
.
Venkatamuniyappa,
Mr. V. 1 larities in the /"Jdistrict.
Mr. ? ye^ t0 tbe finalised.
;
’ •) Narayanaswamy said he •j
2—1...
.2-..
. "
Muniyappa,
who ’is also
Sources said that
in view
the district in-charge Min- had ordered the setting up j of
oi the political pressure j.:
. J "■
r>QfGopa~ committee
of a committee
to look intotot look into • Chief Minister S M Krishna Z
ister, wanted
K.B.
” w 1 misapproprij has delegated the task of ;
lakrishna as the Congress the alleged
i
ation of funds by officials ’i j making reservation to the ’4
candidate.
various
i
With Mr. Venkatamuni under
' i presidents and vice-presi- I
, grammes, but the CEO ' : dents of the remaining 25
yappa o
gettingo the xparty
ticket, Mr. V. Muniyappa had opposed the forma
! zilla panchayats to Home
chose to distance himself tion of such a committee
Mallikarjuna
• from the campaign. But saying
it
was
not : Minister
I Kharge, sources have conji the
die KPCC President, B. Ja- necessary.
: firmed.
s APPOINTED: Mr Bandappa
Kashampura has been
j appointed as the Chairman
. of Karnataka Backward
Class
Development t
' Corporation.
Ms Muktharunissa Begum
■ has been appointed as *
Chairman of Jawahar Bal
toscc.’
THB HIBOT s t
Ti-TF. HI
minp'fir
Tj|D y 7/ 66.
OCT ?003
■i .w.
■ J'.7 .
•
—•—~--7—'wyjpj
TFil"—w
1
I Hodi defers cooveiiiiig of "gram samas |
r
ByManasDaSguPta
Modi specifically chose, the
cause he^ant
Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, was forced
to defer
defer the
die convei
convening
■• to
w of gram sabhas by
davs. The ‘gram sabhas’ will
will ----now be
four days.
held from October 31, the birth anniversary
of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Ever since Mr. Modi unfolded his plan at
an informal Cabinet meeting for a series of
cleanliness campfegtivals and spedonation
pd
childrPn
cial .program
inVolvement of alThis^ woy!l
, not fan? the idea of holding meetings duri ing me tesuvai.
I The Government employees were un-
■ ....................... Ml;
riod.
reason, sources
iu Mr.?
M
oVThe
sImmain
J^^
partyciose
would
be?!J
Modi said, is that the ruling party would beM
GANDHINAGAR, oct. 25.Pacing stiff opposition
, 'gram sabhas’ when the entire State would
i! be
in the6 BeridesOTen
‘Deepavali mood
’ would not
be
possible
ffieZagers
would
Mr. Modi has other reasons also to plan! ■
“ h°,d
He and his Ministers would be touringq
Rajasthan and other States going to the 4
polls in December and therefore wouldH
have
time to attend the ‘gram sabhas’.?’
k Andno after
the elections, the officials -’
'neeoavali followed by the Vikram Sam- would get busy preparing to celebrate-celebrate^
vat new vear is the biggest annual festival ‘Utran’ (festival of kite-flying) with the non-5
vat new year, is me oigge
Gniaratis
for
a
week
from
resident Gujaratis for a week from January!
January ,
=,
.. „ ».
sasi-j--:
ed to attend tiie gram bhas^ m th
^nTeeism
festive
Ibsenteeism'..’ Th^eople
The people enter
enter die
the ‘■festive
,ode’from about a week prior to Deepavamu.
c0 ■
for at least
'
taken t0 patan in north Gujarat to cel-,
ebrate the Independence Day, and a similar
Pla™e™
month, the officers were organising a "Vtbrant Gujarat” show to attract fore.gn investments.
.
But the Congress-controlled Gujarat
above the age of 70 serving life-terms in happy. They still will ha\e to plan tor me■ Panchayat Parishad has added a new di
different jails in the State, he had not been 'gram sJhas' ^ec™sc^™U'd mCan gear‘
mension to the controversy.
i(
According to the Parishad, only the sar“Th^Stat6 GovernmemZnted a special ” Particularly, outstation employees said
panch” had the right to convene ‘gram sab- .
lOMnv parole for HR women and 23 male they would
'CaVe
d b
has’ and not the Chief Minister.
a week
alter.
Despke
the deferment by four days, the
’ ■’ - ----- —«
U8209 P°H
I® I
r
— '•
‘No misappropriation of
funds in B’lore urban ZP
PH News Service
o
o
BANGALORE, Oct 25
A special meeting of the Banga
lore Urban Zilla Panchayat on
Thursday reversed its earlier
. resolution, which sought to initi
•- ate disciplinary action against a
former chief engineer on the
charge of withdrawing funds for
development works without a
valid sanction and under the pre; text of urgency.
j
At the meeting attended
i among others by District In5 charge and Social Welfare Minis- J ter A Krishnappa, the members
,< noted that though.it is true that
j the amount was in excess .of
; what was sanctioned, it is also
: true that the same was utilised
, for the much needed development works in the Zilla Panchay•; at limits.
Durins heated exchanges
►
*/■-
b
Reservations
for ZP posts in
seven districts
• BANGALORE, Oct 28 (DHNS)
- The reservation for the post of i
Presidents and Vice-presidents '
of Zilla Panchayats in seven
more districts has been an- *
j nounced.
3
It is as follows: Mysore- PresiI dent (General), Vice-president (General
: woman); Dakshina Kannada- President >■“
(SC); Vice-president (General Woman);
DavanagerePresident
(General F’
woman), Vice-president (ST); Koppal- * 5
President
(General), Vice-president
; £•
*
TXV<2-^J1CO1UC11L i
(BC-A); Kolar- President (ST), Vice-pres- 5
ident (BC-A); Bellary- President (BC-A), 5 >
Vice-president (SC- Woman); and ' *■'
ChamarajnagarPresident
(BC-A ?
nbc-pmiucui^ou/.
Woman). Vice-president
(SC).
I m
With this the number of Zilla i t
i Panchayats for which the seat! j
1 reservation matrix is
f nounced has gone up to 13^
nJ
f
DfiCCAK MERADI7
H OCT /f’;p
*—
4X A
*■* —' A
*
,
•
— 1 •• —• •»-—
Pplls to Z;; 'A- ■
■on seats on Dec 1
-
-
cooled only by the intervention
of Mr Krishnappa,'the ZP mem ' NEW DELHI, Oct 27 (DHNS)
Bidar dist), Gulbarga (Gulbarg
bers charged that ZP CEO S Put- The Election Commission today dist), Uttara Kannada (UK dist), e
taswamy is creating confusion announced polling to 25 seats of Raichur (Raichur and Koppal I
over the issue. The previous Legislative Council of Karnata dists), Bellary (Bellary dist ar
meeting (August 23) had only dis ka from local authorities con Harpanahalli taluk of Davan-1
cussed the issue though it was stituencies. The polling will be gere dist), Chitradurga (Chi-’
not on the agenda; no where in held on December 1.
tradurga and Davangere dists e;
the discussions was disciplinary
According to an EC press re- eluding Channagiri, Honnali |
action sought against the offi | lease, which also announced and Hai-panahalli taluks), Sir
cial, the members said, alleging ' elections to council seats in Ma- moga (Shimoga dist and Chaix ..
that the CEO had misrepresent- j ! harashtra and UP, the last date nagiri and Honnali taluks), |;
(Chikmagah
ed the proceedings to settle per- j ' for filing nominations would be Chikmagalur
sonal scores with the official con November 14. Scrutiny of nomi dist), Hassan (Hassan dist;, h
nations will be done on Novem Tumkur (Tumkur dist), Mandya|;
cerned.
Development works were ini ber 15 and last date for withdraw (Mandya dist), Kolar (Kolar dist
al of nominations Nov 17. Count Bangalore (Bangalore dist), j
tiated with the consent of the
ing will take place on Dec 3. The Kodagu (Kodagu dist) (all one[
members in tlieir respective ar
electoral college for the elections seat each) and Bijapur (Bijap'
eas. The government too has re
will consist of members of gram and Bagalkot dists), Mysore i|
sponded to the proposal on the
panchayats,’ taluk panchayats, , (Mysore dist), Dakshina Kannaadditional Rs 3.30 core incurred ]
da (DK and Udupi dists), B Q
ZPs and municipalities.
by these works. There has been
The elections will be held gaum (Belgaum dist) and Dhar-|
‘no misappropriation of funds’ | from the following local authori- wad (Dharwad, Haveri and|
they said.
ties constituencies: Bidar (area:
Aic+ricts) (two^eats eac
1
PH News Service
-
v"
ZP decides not to take
adias agahstt
|g
\
By OuTspecial Correspondent
and the Opposition expressed satisfac3
tion over the execution of development
BANGALORE, OCT. 25. Reversing its earlier works in all the taluks.
—Earlier, lack of quorum delayed the
decision, the Bangalore Urban ZZL
Zilla T
Pan
chayat on Thursday passed a resolution start of the meeting by more than 90 min
to drop disciplinary action against an utes. It was only the arrival of the two
Ministers that prevented the meeting
°fEspecial meeting of the panchayat, from being adjourned.
.
The Kmnataka
which was attended by the Minister for
Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act,
was recently, amended, stipulates
f Social Welfare, A. Krishnappa, and the which
\------ ---------v
for Textiles
■ Minister
Minister for
Textiles and Sericulture, that at least 50 per cent of the total members
of
the
House
should
be
present
to
H.M. Revanna, unanimously decided to
----------- - —
^ersriedSs^o^cdon against takeupfce agenda..
of
. the then ZP Executive Engineer, Chikkathem, 17 are elected representatives and
execution of works, action against the of- ing under the jurisdiction of the ZP.
i
:• ficial was not required.
Enraged over the delay in the start.of r
The ZP had passed a resolution at the the meeting, members from both sides
previous meeting on taking disciplinary blamed the ZP President and the Chief .
action against Mr. Chikkarayappa. The Executive Officer, S Puttaswamy, for |
case was that the Executive Engineer had keeping them in the dark about the new j
executed works that had been passed by rules and regulations.notifiedI by the Goy- g
the State Government but not approved emment on September 3, 2003. Prior to ■
amendment
of presence
the Act, the
( by the ZP. The official had got additional the-----th a Art the
I presence f
works worth Rs. 3.47 crore executed in of one-third of the total members was
enough to start the meeting.
i
the four taluks of the district.
Mr. Vishwanath (BJP), Mr. Mariyappa^
Mr. Vishwanath and Mr. Mariyappa altegeu that
uiai uic
------- ----------’ leged
the ZP President,
Ratna
G. Red- (JD-S), and Ravikumar of the Confess
____ 1 got
~ the resolution
itinn naccod
£>CrQ1T*)Qf
’
dy,_ 1had
passed
against
urged the CEO to begin the meeting stat
y’ Chikkarayappa
----------; Mr.
at the meeting
to set- jng that MPs and MLAs generally did notj
ti tie
personal
semes.
attend ZP meetings. It was then that the
tie personal scores.
‘
Members belonging to the Congress Ministers arrived.
\___________
. _
,,
.inrr-r—■
THE HINDU
i i miw—i-
12 ■.
. J
?U03
fa
<1 y s
1™
" £
______ Panchciyai raj in Kdrhatcikd^ll
~
Needto revive old spirit
f
IJ
tion was further accentuated ?
budgets of panchayats is being to institutions, and 10 pc is re when an old agency the bureau- >
quired
to
be
spent
on
transfer
1 on to them has itself
passed
been ni
questioned by
oy very
very compe
comye- payments to persons. Another cracy, the District. Development 4
noon
been
questioned
Board, was imposed in the state
I revive and nurture the vi- tel
^
J|
o
le
A
forn
i
er
chief
tent people. A former Chief SecSec 16 pc is meant to be spent on spe- on Zilla Parishads, the apex of
Lx
it of
Cf KarnataIt?."
"retary
4 brant
spirit
retary Of
of Karnataka,
Karnataka, Mi'
Mi' Satish
Satish cified schemes. This leaves only
panchayat pyramid.
’
raj system Chandran, estimates that only 3pc to be spent according to the theBut
; ka
1 ’'s panchayat
.-----the biggest obstacle con- <
3 __________ ■_____________ five per cent of the state s budget preferences of tlie panchayats.”
The report adds that Zilla tinues to be the opposition of i
is left to be spent by panchayati
h By Pran Chopra
Parishads
and Taluk Panchay MLAS and MPs who see pan- j
institutions on schemes of their
9
ats,
the
two
higher
tiers of the chayats as poachers on their tra- »
~
J
A remark made by a Kar- choice. Panchayats are also be- —,
constricted by“ a /plethora
of three-tier panchayat system in difional powers. They were able i
Z\ nataka minister in pri- ing -----------,
the state, “do not have independ to defeat an attempt made as far <
I \ vAte. shows how much “centrally sponsored schemes
ent revenue sources”, and while back as 1963, and another at- .
which
come
down
from
New
i panchayats can mean in politics
the lowest tier, the Gram Pan- tempt very recently, to keep ]
Delhi,
which
are
drawn
on
uni
f by being much closer to the
------- MLAs and MPs out of the panchayat, xx«
hasa some “independent
j grassroots than legislatures can form templates cut in distant tax powers” but the revenue “in chayat system. In the present cn ) be. He said the only time an MLA capitals, and end up further absolute terms ... is negligible””. cumstances they can continue
f will do anything for panchayats weakening panchayat raj.
A little later it comments that to defeat them. Added to that is a >
i in his constituency “is very soon Local schemes
“the entire fiscal de-centralisa- large overlap between what leg- '
: after his election”, probably
tion process has ensured that islators can do with the power of
The
rationale
of
panchayat
• meaning while he still remem------- .
patronage given to them through >
bers what panchayats did for his raj is that funds intended foi its the panchayats are disbursing their discretionary funds, and ■
agents of the higher level gov
domain
should
be
spent
on
election.
what panchayats are supposed to
ernments and little more.”
“After tliat he becomes too schemes which are local in na
do according to the 73rd amend- .
Both
Mr
Satish
Chandran
> confident to bother about how ture, and are conceived and de- and another former Chief Secre- ment.
' he got there and does not yield sired by the intended beneficiarMr B K Bhattacharya be- Bribes for support
-J
■: anything.” His remark is both a ies in the light of the local cir- tary,
lieve that the funds allotted for
j* diagnosis of the malady which cumstances. But Mr Satish Cha- centrally sponsored schemes wo
• Can these circumstances be ’
affects panchayats, and a pres- ndran explains that a panchayat
? Not any time soon, j
’ •
has to provide matching funds uld be more beneficially and cost changed
cription for the medicine which
But probably sooner in Kar-*
effectively
spent
if
left
to
the
dis
can end the malady the day the for every “centrally sponsored cretion of panchayats although nataka than elsewhere. That is J
decides he wants to be scheme” it accepts. That only broad parameters suitable for because the 1980s have left their
r.' patient
eats further into funds, already
cured.
the concerned area and activity mark on the political culture of ;
If panchayats choose to live very meagre, which the pan could be prescribed according to the state which, .if nourished, •;
chayat
might
have
for
local
sch
i up to what their closeness to the
broader needs. Others add that can again make Karnataka a..
i people can make them, then emes shaped by local prefer the reason why this obvious fact nursery. Demands are growing ,•
ences
and
locally
felt
needs.
His
me icaovxx
' *77“
’ their decision to support or op
ignored by New Delftijs Uiat that District Boards and the dis- .•
pose an NILA and an MP of area views have now been backed by is
sponsored schemes give New cretionary funds for legislators ;
' can make a critical difference to a very competent organisation, Delhi a handle on states which should go, and they have considthe
National
Institute
of
Public
the result. If this happened ofotherwise would become even erable sympathy among admin- ’♦
: ten enough legislators would Finance and Policy. It has just re more “independent minded.”
istrators as well as among senleased
a
nearly
200-page
report
■ listen to panchayats in their
But the subordination of ior politicians, of whom one re- }
entitled
“
Rural
Fiscal
Decentral
constituencies not only at the
panchayats to the routine admi cently described the discre- >
• time of elections but at other isation in Karnataka State” nistration has been further ac tionary funds as “bribes for sup- J
which reveals a great deal.
, times as well.
port” for saving a Prime Minis- '.
After a detailed analysis of centuated by a number of fac ter.
But the minister’s remark
H
tors. First, the goal of self-gov
projects
entrusted
to
panchay■ also implies an admission that
The electorate has evinced
ernance has been subordinated
ucuicncvydLo
xawv
______
ats
the
report
says,
“
This
impanchayats do not yet have the
support for panchayats with its ‘
• role which it was thought they plies that panchayats are prima to all that passes for “develop high turnout in panchayat elec-1
ment”. Second, the goals of de
rily
agencies
to
implement
sch
would get from the 73rd amend
velopment are set by govern tions. It has shown political mament to the Constitution, or had emes initiated by central and ments which are more sensitive turity by electing more women •
’ begun to have in the 1980s, state governments, whereas an to legislatures than to panchay and lower caste candidates than i
which saw the heyday of pan- important hallmark of decen- ats. Third, the executive author- • theft prescribed quota,
•; vnayau,
ui Karnataka.
tralisatton is the autonomy for
chayats in
”But the strongest support for j
'
Another minister unwitting- local governments to determine ity for these goals has tradition- reviving
the nursery role of r ,
ally
been
the
routine
district
ad
the
priorities,
design
the
pro• ly confessed his realisation of
Karnataka lies in the fact that}*
ministration.
Fourth,
because
■' how far Karnataka
has fallen grammes and schemes, and im-----------the 73rd amendment has only il there are nearly 85,000 elected J
’3
'• behind what was expected of it plement them.”
members of panchayats now,*;
What happens mstead, it lustratively indicated the func which can make them influen- r.
following the 73rd amendment.
tions
of
panchayats
instead
of
He claimed that “65pc of the says, is that “ri^dly ^^e^ allotting them specifically to tial stake-holders in governance $
budget meant for panchayats for hemes” chosen by distant gov
panchayats, it has only ended and a powerful factor in decid- 7
their expenditure on the items ernments are transferred to up confirming the traditional ing the electoral fate of MLAsl*
panchayats
with
the
“
stipula
listed for them in the amend'
ij
J
practice under which the dis and MPs.
’ ment is being passed on to th tion that the schemes should be trict bureaucracy has always
The state government was.
J
continued and salaries of the
em.”
J
had authority over most of busy in recent months in makWhile saying this he must personnel should be a priority these “development” functions. ing a detailed map of all the^
have been fully aware that the item.” After-Analysing a num The result has been more con functions of the routine admin- ?
.
amount of money being passed ber of such schemes it says “ Of spicuous in states like Karnata istration as well as of the differon to panchayats is not a meas- the total outlay, 58 pc is ear ka which are more “develop ent levels of panchayats, to be
’ ure of their share in the respon- marked for salaries, 11 pc is sim ment” oriented. The subordina- able to decide more rationally J
sibilities and power of self-gov- ply transferred as grants in aid
which function should be per *
£
S
ernance. No more than the monformed by whom and at which >
/•
ey passed on to a government
level. It also brought forward a V
i' servant for doing the jobs he has
bill which would more closely .^
" been asked to do is a measure of
integrate the three levels of^
J his share of the responsibility
panchayats with each other, and a
/ in deciding what jobs should be
also make it more binding for?
' ■* ; done, when, by whom, and in
candidates in panchayat elec-,
< place of what other jobs that
< tions to declare their assets and f
could be done with that money.
observe restrictions on elec- >
[1____
____
The true
measure
lies in who
toral expenses. Obviously the*
£ has determined the tasks, by
embers of an old fire are still j
V what criteria, and whether the
J burning. But something is need-5 '| Q J
9
...1 1. .
V supposed beneficiaries have had
ed
to build na firn
fire AHt
out Clf
of tbPDl
them^3 ’
i
? Recent developments
IJ4 show
to
---- 1 that- it is possible
.
ii
<
&
____
*
•
i
ii.
•
2
xvz.
PIT*-
_
U1U UC UU11C W1L11
i*1
1 --- ------- —
Xl— mX
ava AC
Oil HitAO
r
H
- (os
Panchayat raj in Karnataka — I_______
3
Nursery or graveyard?
| The panchayat raj in Kar3 nataka of the eighties
? promised much but fizzled out because of failure to educate the masses
?j1 ____________
By Pran Chopra__________
3
■<
r-<
C.)
O
l-U
Q
co
r-
he state of Karnataka oc
cupies a special place in
the chequered history of
panchayat raj in India. At times,
j? it has looked like the best nurs$ ery in the country for the institustions of panchayat raj, and at
other times their graveyard. Iro^nically these contradictory appii,earances are only two sides of
gthe same coin. Karnataka looked
Nike a nursery once because it
^had so much potential for adding
■ [[panchayat raj as a grassroots
tjthird tier of India's two-tier fed■’eral polity That would have tak' ^en Indian democracy so much
^closer to the people. But when
^Karnataka faltered in that, the
^question arose where else would
^panchayat raj succeed if it failed
: Mn Karnataka.
All states of the Indian feder
ation, as much as the Union cen^tre, feel that a democratic and
[■itre,
^decentralised federalism should
’•■succeed. Only then every piece
t'in the mosaic which makes up
Lthe country and each state can
; find its rightful place in a demo
cratic frame. Self-governing pa^nchayats are an essential part of
■'that. Why they are not succeed. Hing in the country as a whole is
la theme which was discussed on
{this page before, on September
>J13 this year.
c But Karnataka has
nas a special
: r'place
place in that theme. Karnataka,
£0 named in 1973, was created in
•J956, by merging parts of the
'former presidencies of Bombay
'and Madras, parts of Hydera
bad , and the centrally adminis' tfered Coorg region with the staQe Mysore. Rudimentary devi
ces for decentralised local government go a long way back in
s Ihifferent parts of what became
iKarnataka, back to 1902 in the
{Mysore part, to 1920 in the Madifas Presidency part, to 1928 in
iihe Bombay Presidency part,
‘1941 in the Hyderabad part.
Their lineage is thus longer
[than in many other parts of the
•country. But all these devices got
itheir powers, such as they were,
ipnly by the grace of some ceniral authority which could take
them back whenever it wanted
$nd gave them in the first place
• &nly for reducing its own admin
istrative, supervisory and regu
latory burdens. Self-governance
■ ^t the grassroots was no part of
^ieir role as it is in the true con
cept of panchayat raj.
But Karnataka also became a
• pace-setter more recently in the
novcmont towards genuine panihayat raj. In so doing the people
of Karnataka once again showed
eieir steady preference for order-
ly, gradual, peaceful evolution in put in place in the midst of oth
the art of governance even tho er major events.
ugh there are many aspects of
The Congress was roundly
the state which could have point defeated in 1977 parliamentary
ed the other way.
elections, and in state assembly
The state consists of territo elections in 1978. Janata party
ries and populations which governments were formed in
have widely varying histories, Delhi and in many of the states.
religions, languages, cultures But in Karnataka not only was a
and political experience, some new government formed but a
with Muslim and some with Ch new regime also came into be
ristian minorities, some with ing, more democratic and more
different languages from the in favour of genuine and wide
rest, all with their castes which spread decentralisation of polit
are odds with each other, some ical power.
high, some low, some dominated
The dominance of the upper
by the.Lingayats, others by the to middle castes, which were al
latter's traditional political ri lies of the Congress, was ended
vals, the Vokkaligas, some in by Janata allies, a coalition of
coastal homelands and some in middle to lower castes. They
the hinterland, some plagued by formed the government in 1983,
droughts, others living in major and one of the first things they
river basins, all at different lev did was to pass a law which
els of development and well-be would transform panchayat raj
ing, and in many regions pres from being only a Gandhian in
sed by immigrants in compet strument of social reform to be
ing for jobs and other means of coming an electoral instrument
survival.
for the political empowerment
of the deprived. The law also be
Cause of tension
came the first experiment in the
All these features can be country in adding to what was
come cause of tension. But the till then a two-tier Union-states
people of Karnataka, as equable federal system a third tier in the
i~
’.i:—
in their temper asisisth?
the?climate
form of an intra-state federal re
of.. the
state, have uniquely
lationship, between the state
.............
'
’ suc
—
-j-j -------all.
n The government and the state's panceeded
in skirting them
state has been more at peace chayats.
with itself and with its neigh
But the Congress returned to
bours than the neighbours with power in Delhi in 1984 and put
one another.
many obstacles in the way of
Therefore a great deal was 1983 act. Progress continued in
expected when, in a typically Karnataka because of enthusi
gradual fashion to begin with astic support by the public, wit
but with many far-reaching pos nessed in the elections in 1985
sibilities within reach, the new and '87. But factionalism in the
state took its first steps on the party ended Janata rule, the
road to panchayat raj by imple- Congress returned to power in
menting the Balwant Rai Mehta 1989, and the 1983 law was over
committee report soon after it taken by the Congress spon
was published, in 1956. It could sored 73rd and 74th amendme
not go far because with the nts which, as noted earlier, took
death of Pandit Nehru and Lal much of the steam out of the JaBahadur Shastri.
nata-sponsored panchayat raj.
The political drive behind
The Congress, which was in
power at the Centre and in Kar this re-fashioning of governan
nataka, not only lost interest in ce in Karnataka in the midtlie panchayat movement but 1980s came from four sources.
set itself firmly on the road to The pioneering zeal of the new
centralisation of power and its Chief Minister, Mr Ramakrishconcentration in the hands of na Hegde; the administrative
one person or a coterie around and organising competence of
her. Even so, as the fortunes of his cabinet colleague, Nazir
the Congress declined, Karnata Sab; intense discussions within
ka soon became one the most a newly emerged post-Congress
important states in which a hi political class which helped to
gher form of decentralisation frame the letter of the law; the
and rural self-governance was spirit of the times, which added
8" ■
y:\
• C-'
'
/
more substance to the letter of j
the law; and the thorough updat J
ing and overhauling of the pan
chayat raj concept which was !
carried out by the Ashoka Me
hta committee appointed by the "
Janata government in Delhi.
*
Due to the nature of Kar- '
nataka politics it was assumed
that clear and honest intentions 1
would be enough to complete
the intended transformation of I,
the federal and pinchayat raj ■!
systems of governance without ,
backing up the effort with mass
rallies and fiery demonstrati- i
ons which had become the fashion in large parts of the country, j
But with the gift of hindsight ;
this can be seen to have been a !
mistake when contrasted with
the trajectory of the communist
agenda of panchayat raj in West
Bengal and to a lesser extent in I
Kerala.
’ i
Agitational tactics
r'
tj
But apart from its aversion to •!
the agitational tactics of the co- .
mmunists, the Janata party also. j
committed a conceptual error. ’
For the success of the brand
new idea of self-governance at
the grassroots level through • 4
panchayat raj, it was necessary
that the people should be made •;
aware of their new rights and j
opportunities and mentally prepared for rising to them. So dif- •;
ferent were the reinvented pan- ;
chayat raj institutions intended
to be from those that had existed
for decades in different parts of J
Karnataka that they called for •t
new, extensive and massive cam
paigns for motivating and edu
cating the people about preserv
ing and using them. That essen
tial link was not provided, and a
price had to be paid at the next, •!
round of elections.
When the Congress returned
to power at the centre under the ‘j
high voltage leadership of Mrs f
Indira Gandhi, it set about sin- j
gle-mindedly to dismantle all
state governments and parties
which had displaced her party ti
cUKl
U.bc of lllltJllbciy
and 11L1
her use
intensely Cell"
cen- tj
tralised and personalised power.
Her onslaught was defeated in
West Bengal, where the Com- J?
munists had built an impreg- H
nable fort held by a cadre-based *1
> party and supported by a public J
which had been fired up.
;!
It was partly defeated in Ker- ?•
ala, where the communists had ij
succeeded only partly in uproot-.
th0 Congress and the Congress had adopted at least a di- j
luted panchayat system. Kamataka was left to try it again, starting from scratch. When it did, 1
two aspects came to light quite. J
First, how little of the 1983 stru- J
cture was now left. Second, how
difficult it was for the new gov- S
eminent to destroy it in full, so
that when the rebuilding began,
many pieces of the old struc
............ ture could fit in.
(To be concluded)
I
!
I
rtbC
UR s
,
Panchayat Raj - at grassroot level
$
']
in the system. It has created a now required to explain the ra
small body called the ward sab tional of every decision of the
has, with ward sabha created gram panchayat and on the fol
for each of the wards of the lowup action taken on each of
gram panchayat. There will be the decisions taken.
It is now empowered to sugonly one gram sabha for the
entire panchayat area, which is gest the location of street lights,
bound by the opinions ex street or community water
pressed by the ward sabhas, taps, public wells, public san
which in turn exercises control itation units, irrigation facili
ties and other public amenity
over the gram panchayat.
The ward sabha as a smaller schemes, identify the deficienbody, is expected to provide for cies in water supply street light
remedial
better participation of the peo- and
—suggest
--------pie in the process of planning measures.
The gram sabha in the
for their development. As a
consequence of changed structure will be a
new amendment, body comprising of minimum
the over 5600 of ten members from each
gram panchayats Ward Sabha. It has been given
in the area, which now the mandatory powers, to
on an average consider and approve the an
•’'S
had one or two nual plan prepared by the gram
gram sabhas un panchayat, generate proposals
der them, de and determine priority of
pending on the schemes and development
number of villag- programmes to be implementk
'
'
■ ’1
esit had under it, ed in the panchayat area by the
will how have zilla or the taluk panchayat af
seven to nine ter considering the recommen
■ 3
times of the ward dations and suggestions of the
sabhas depend ward sabhas and gram pan
ing on the num chayat. The list drawn up by
ber of wards the sabha on the eligible per
coming
under sons for the beneficiary orient
each of the pan ed scheme is binding on the
*
gram panchayats, the taluk
chayat area.
The ward sab panchayats and the zilla
has have been panchayats.
The gram sabhas among
given powers to
. f------generate propos others is empowered to con
iiLA..
als and determine serve and maintain public
such
gomalas,
the priority of properties
Congress government now in back to the ministry and got schemes and development tanks, tank beds, ground water,
~—'"z zgrounds
—J" . The zgram
—1
■ power, it has opened one more back his favourite portfolio, programmes to be implement- grazing
in its ordinary
1 new chapter, ten years after the was saddled with the task of at ed in the area and forward the sabhas shall >•«
, party government then in of- tending to the lacunae in the same to be placed before the meeting discuss the budgetary
1 fice (1989-94) ushered in a pan act, which had come in the way Gram sabha for inclusion in the provisions , the details of plan
chayat raj law, in tune with the of reaching the power to the gram panchayat development outlay and subject wise allocation of funds and also details of
plan.
73rd Constitutional amend people.
The ward sabha is now em the estimate and cost of the
It has been able achieve this,
ment.
It was the Moily government when it introduced an impor powered to identify the most materials of the works executed
which took the step, the first tant amending bill in the third eligible persons from the for or proposed to be executed by
beneficiary
oriented the gram panchayat. It is to
one to be taken by any of the year in its office and got it the
state governments in power passed in the fourth year, when schemes and prepare a list of consider the annual statement
. then, and Mr. M Y Ghorpade, the bill as amended by the joint eligible beneficiary for forward of accounts, last audit notes,
the same to gram panchayat and replies, the panchayat jathe then Minister for Rural De select committee was passed.
The focal point of attention for inclusion in its develop mabandi report, action taken
velopment and Panchayat Raj
therefore . Its view shall be
, had the privilege of successful in the has been the gram sab ment plan.
It has been authorised to
ly piloting the bill. But the suc has, a body of the eligible vot
cess was shortlived, with Moily ers which exercises control verify the eligi
government developing a cold over the gram panchayat, to bility of person
feet in the light of feed back ob denote the primacy of the peo getting various
tained from the elections held ples control over planning for kinds of wel
i to the panchayats on a non development and execute the fare assistance
from govern
plans.
; party basis, to go ahead with
In the previous system, the ment such as
' the election for the other two
I tiers. Mr. Ghorpade threatened arrangement was to have one pensions <—
I to resign if the elections were gram sabha for each of the vil subsidies.
It is now en
notnot held. Mr. Moily allowed lages forming part of the gram
his senior minister to quit rath- panchayat. But the experience, titled to get in
er than take the risk of holding as has been revealed in study formation
made by the Working Group from the offi
elections.
The ball then was tossed to constituted by the State Gov cers of the pan
the court of the Janata Dal re ernment, hardly worked be chayat as to
gime, which reigned for the cause of the unwieldy nature of services they
and
next five years (1994-1999) with the arrangement, the lower at render
pro
Mr. Devegowda and late J H Pa tendance which resulted in the works
tel as the Chief Minister. The cotery of.the officials and other posed to be
afriropriating taken for the
Dal government was saddled functionaries
■
t|in in”-' ‘rnentatinii of the the Dowers "iveii to t!i(> people. next cix meetTF y-arnataka which has
been regarded as a
P’oneer in th6 exPeri'
JL^kinent in democratic
decentralisation, has taken an
other important step in tune
with the status it has acquired.
Through a legislation which
Karnataka has just enacted, the
Congress government has tak
en a major step in empowering
panchayat raj system at the
grass root level, twenty years
after it enacted the first legisla
tion in the true spirit of demo
cratic decentralisation. For the
■
the previous enactment on the
subject, which had been an
nulled. But went ahead with it,
despite
Mr.
Ramakrishna
Hegde, the author of the first
law along with late Abdul Nazir
Sab crying hoarse. Mr. Prakash,
who was then considered his
acolyte who was the concerned
Minister chose to ignore the
mentor rattier than restoring
the spirit of decentralisation.
The ball under circumstanc
es, came back to the Congress,
when it bounced back to power
in 1999. Mr. Ghorpade who got
■
'and ^1
O
y? v
■
communicated to gram pan-^
chayat, which would give due'
consideration. The gram sab
has may constitute sub consti
tute consisting of not less than
ten members for effective im-,
piementation of decisions on
gram sabhas to cite a few of the
powers given.
For first time, the statutory
powers have been given to the
two bodies, and given them the
functions and responsibilities
which hitherto were exercised
by other functionaries and the
officialdom.
Whatever has notnot been
given through legislation, is be
ing sought to be given through
administrative action, accord
ing to government sources. For
example activity mapping is
going on to identify what work
should be done at which of the
three tiers of the panchayat raj
and efforts are made to give
’’untied” funds to the PRIs in
stead of the present practice of
giving funds tied with particu
lar schemes, which have been
causing lot of confusion.
What helped Mr. Krishna
and Mr. Ghorpade to push
through the measure, has been
unquestioned
commitment
openly expressed to the system
by the Congress High Com
mand in general and Mrs Sonia
Gandhi in particular. A con
clave was also held in Banga
lore addressed among others
by Mr.Mani Shankar Iyer, an
ideologue of the party on pan
chayat raj system where the
tentions of the -------government
‘
were made clear. And hardly
any opposition was either ex
pressed or could be discernible
-when the legislation went
through the formalities of being passed by the assembly.
When the implementation begins perhaps most of the legis
lators may realise what has
been taken away from their
purview and given to the pan
chayat bodies.
Madan Mohan, Hubli
>05
> call
very interesting and at
times intriguing process
is going on in the field of
: | politics in India. It's an attempt
1 to usher in social justice and
• equality by providing greater poJ litical representation to the un
der-privileged groups. The argu
ment is that through such politii cal empowerment far reaching
changes can be implemented in
' the society.
An example is the 33 per cent
reservation for women in the
gram panchayat system. This
provision is in keeping with the
politically correct stand of em
powering women so that gender
inequalities can also be reduced.
While the argument itself is very
sound, there seem to have been a
number of distortions, creeping
in the implementation part.
The fundamental question is
whether a political step through
representation alone can be ef
fective against strongly en
trenched male dominant cus
toms, practices and beliefs. One
of the consequences of this
anomaly is the fact that while the
33 per cent reservation has been
implemented in Karnataka state
it does not seem to have as yet
brought in the paradigm shift
one had hoped for.
In fact, there are grounds to
have a closer look at the func
tioning of the women represen■ tatives in the present decen
tralised system to see if their
presence has made a significant
I impact on the decisions taken at
: the gram panchayat on the devel
opmental and other plans ap. proved by these bodies or in the
overall functioning of the pan
chayat system itself.
The grumblings from certain
quarters that the elected women
representatives have only been
’decorative' allowing themselves
to be manipulated by their male
relatives in the political field
need to be seen as more than
frustrated criticism. Husbands,
brothers, in-laws seem to be put
ting them on the panchayat bod
ies only as marionettes resulting
in-tho nnomaly-that there are the
required number of women but
there's hardly any feminisation
of politics.
On the other hand, such criti
cism should also be tempered by
the fact that the political empow
erment of illiterate rural women
mostly from Dalit and backward
communities would have been
unimaginable in the context of
our male dominated traditional
society. As many commentators
point out their very presence in
tlie local bodies itself is a revolu
tion. It will go a long way in cor
recting the male dominance. At
least goes the argument the
women are now in the 'world' of
politics and away from 'home'.
There are also instances very
powerfully recorded by P
Sainath and others of women
who have used their political em
powerment to make a brave as
sault on caste and male domi
nance.
One of the criticism is the
participation of women repre
sentatives at the meetings of the
gram panchayat are minimal
with many of them maintaining
silence. This has added wind to
nasty male comments that even
when they are empowered they
remain dumb. The truth is that
very little systematic attempt
has been made to educate them
in the basics of the panchayat
raj and in the mechanisms of
holding meetings, passing reso
lutions etc. While all this is a
fairly tall order even for men ru
ral women cannot be expected to
overnight become savvy enough
to handle this bureaucratic sys-
snots
Commendable
act
j Women panchayat members 6
are in dire need of proper
training which will enable
them to understand the
nature of their work, their
duties and the extent of'
power they can wield. The
zilla panchayat has to
undertake this task and the
government grants are
more than sufficient. Most i
of these government-spon- I
sored training programmes
are notoriously non-creative
since they fall back on
speeches from 'seasoned'
politicians.
However, the training pi*ogrammes imparted by insti- '.
tutions like the Kuvempu
University have tried to fill
up this gap by organising -I
training programmes and ■
workshops to the new mem- 1
bers.
In fact, the Abdul Nazir Sab
Chair, Kuvempu University,
has organised six work
shops during the past three
years for gram panchayat
members. Of these, five
have been exclusively for
women with one being
devoted exclusively for Dalit
Woman empowered
voices.
women members. Every
In a rare instance of a small
year, 3 seminars have been
At workshops organised for vidual and communitarian expe gram panchayat in Bhadravathi
organised
for the benefit of
Dalit women representatives of rience.
taluk where the village commu
the gram panchayat mem
the panchayat raj by the Nazir
Rural women members have nity decided to have only women
bers. The workshops and
Sab Chair, Kuvempu University fought relentless battles against representatives on the body
seminars have been spread
this aspect came into sharp fo liquor, illiteracy, gutka and now there were very visible and mea
out in all the four districts of
cus. Apart from understanding online lotteries. If these genuine ningful changes brought about
the philosophy of decentralisa social issues are targeted by the by the women members. Perhaps
Kuvempu University
tion it is also necessary for panchayat raj system, then sure this suggests that if they are al
Shimoga, Chitradurga, Davwomen to understand the proce ly women would make a stronger lowed to act according to their
anagere and Chikmagalur.
dures, and so on. The organisers participation.
Director Dr J S Sadananda
wisdom women representatives
were stunned when women rep
Unfortunately, the overall po will certainly make an impact on
points out that the credit of
resentatives told that like all Dal litical system of the country has the present day politics.
starting the biodiversity
its they were also prevented in already reduced the gram panIt should also be remembered
register should go to the
their own villages from using the
?! that the P°st independence peri
Chair since the Chair had
public well or entering into tem other political bodies where the od has seen two mutually contra
adopted
a resolution for 1
ples. This speaks volumes for the bodies become arena for stre ig- dictory processes. One. the at
maintaining bio diversity
caste hierarchy, which nullifies thening caste and class hierar tempt to empower weaker sec
registers in all gram panall radical political attempts at chies and not for implementing a tions through constitutional and
chayats during a seminar in
social justice. While introducing truly decentralised socio-pol.ti- political measures and the other
1999.
the gram panchayat system the cal system.
is the consolidation of the castThis resolution was later
government should also take up
The other evil is the manner eist and male dominant forces
taken up by environmental
the responsibility of training in which tiie original spirit of < e- which are violently suppressing
ists like Madhav Gadgil and
and educating the women mem centralisation has been progres- this promise of power. Perhaps,
the government then passed
bers so- that* their -participation. sivcly diluted by the government the functioning of our gram pan-an act making it mandatory
becomes meaningful. 1
and the political parties, which chayat system reveals both these
Dr J S Sadananda, director of staunchly refuse to share power processes at work.
for all gram panchayats to
the Nazir Sab Chair, has an inter with tlie panchayat raj institu
maintain bio-diversity reg
Instead of cynically rejecting
esting dimension to add to this tions.
isters.
the present system itself as not
issue. He argues that when all
Therefore, the second act achieving its objectives, it would
the male members at the meet (1993) and similar amendments be better if the NGOs and such
VMJ
ings are indulging in manipulat have made space for gross inter socially committed organisaing the meeting itself and the re ference by the MLAs, ministers, tions help the women members
lated procedures for selfish pur bureaucrats curtailing the au in fully making use of their polit
University can continue to train
poses of misusing funds or tonomy of the panchayat raj. In ical power.
women representatives on a
catching contracts, isn't it saner fact, it looks as though this con
In fact in rural areas where large scale, even offering short
on the part of women represen spiracy has made the gram pan the Stree Shakti and self help
tatives not to participate and chayat system itself weak and groups are strong, the women intensive courses we will have
thereby not becoming party to lacking in autonomy. This re representatives have been able to more of pro-active women mem
corrupt practices. He also points fusal to share power and empow draw their strength from their bers. The other issue is the feminisation of politics. In the sense, ■
out that women members are er the weaker sections is also the advice and support.
the thrust should be on women i
pro-active when it comes to prob force, which tries to keep women
If institutions like Kuvempu representatives holding up an i
lems which fall within their indi- members mere numbers and not
ideology, which believes in the
’feminine values' in politics. The-;
se values also happen to be those,
SHeswed by power
which can nurture and strength
en rural societies.
AN instance of how a politi
The accent should not be on
cal revolution can be made
number of women but on doing
using the panchayat system
feminine politics. All the wrong
is the all women panchayat,
headed grand projects of techno
which was unanimously
logical progress such as building
elected in Maidolalu village
huge dams, starting hydel proj
near Holehonnur in Bhadraects,
destroying forests, displac
vathi taluk for one term.
ing people - all these have made
The all women panchayat,
women the first victims. Even,
the very first of
’ts^ind
jn F
the green revolution turned out
India, addressed itself
to the
to be so much violence on wo
communities’ needs vigoro
men.
usly. Constructing roads, st
Therefore, it is women alone
arting a community library,
who can see through and oppose
improving water supply we
anti-human plans of develop
re all given top priority and
An all-women panchayat team that made
ment and progress. They alone
everybody agreed that it wawaves in Bhadravathi taluk
understand how in a decen
s a model panchayat
tralised way rural communities
But the women also tried to
can
survive.
j
introduce prohibition, thus angering the strong liquor lobby. The lobby made sure that there wouldn't
It is for this reason that in the 1
be another all-women panchayat.
panchayat system women must 9
be allowed to function as women/
•
■
3
■
Rural women
members of the
gram panchayat
have fought
relentless battles
against liquor,
illiteracy, gutka
and now online
lotteries. If allowed
to act as per their
wisdom, these
women will surely
make an impact on
the present day
politics, avows
VIDYAMARIA
JOSEPH
...J
s
ZP chief elected amid high drama
>
X^taff
Correspondent
il' '-j By Our
WStaff Correspondent
After
™^ced
chayatmemberelthlpanchayat
After being
being c0
convinced
that it tion
process, a group of IBpan- post, lost patiencl when Mr.
chayat members (the panchayat post, lost patience when Mn
would lose control over the chayatmemoe
p
Mr Nyamegouda
Nyam ouda
CUj’uei5't ’led
cd
b
” Mr.
and Mr.
■-t kdminishation, to - y-- members),
by
Mr. Ashok-------------------------------metMr' ’Ashok yat the boarded
a vehicle
belonging to
Is3 BAGALKOT, Nov. 3. Amid high dra- panchayat administration,^the has ^members),
Pradesh Congress Malgana— — ^Malgana. The workers stop.1
‘ ma of political manoeuvring, Karnataka
Committee, in a turnaround ex- old Inspection IBung
y
tQ get ,
Nagaratna Appasaheb Nada
ercise, withdrew the expulsion
^^^rds” whde at the two leaders. Police resort- .
gouda from Gudur segment,
the outgoing panchayat Pres mg
ucridatnrq and the ed to a mild lathicharge to dis- ,
Hungund taluk, was elected un of
idem, Shivakumar Malgana. It deal.ng ™th e8^s
™ “rse the irate workers. The '
opposed President of the Bagal- was only after the Chief Minis- party s
bers criticised leaders were escorted to safety.
i kot Zilla Panchayat on Monday.
e- Krishna,relented.
intervened panchayat,
district in.
Five members, including Mr.
segmentTBV^m™warXo Sr M^Maigana
charge Minister, R.B. Thimma- Malgana, filed their nomination L
segment in Badami was also
-.-j the „„„
face saving formula vyas pur, Ld the MLAs of the district papers for the post of the pan- ,
elected. unopposed
pan
worked out according to which for their interference in the pan- chayat president while seve
i chayat Vice-President.
’s expul- chayat administration. Even as members filed nomination paManhandling of an observer not only Mr. Malganauncondiunconm cnayar
a
of the Karnataka Pradesh Conthe'party
leaders continued
continued pers
pers for
tc the post of the pan- |
vice-president.
nominate his successor to the with the meeting, a laige num- chayatt
However, all except two with- |
local Congress
Congress lea
lead- berofsu£PO^eJs^^if eren
^6^ nomination papers.
mittee chief, Siddu Nyamegou- post. The local
da, a mild lathicharge by police ers, especially
j the legislators
—
The election officer, K.S. Prab- J
gathered
outside
the
Inspection
against whom the rebel pan1VC.
hakar, announced the election |
Bungalow, became restive.
The party workers, esfjpecially of Ms. Nadagouda and Mr. Chawere kept out of the exercise.
of Susheel Ku- lavadi.
=
fc^SXn^s^
as suss
I „
—
Bagalkot ZP cSiief exipeiiled
PH News Service
BANGALORE, Nov 1
The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee has
expelled incumbent Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Pres
ident Shivakumar Malagana from the Congress
party for six years for his alleged anti-party activi
ties and for obstructing ZP members from exercis
ing their franchise.
According to a press release from KPCC General
Secretary Prakash K Rathod, Mr Malagana had ab
ducted some Congress Bagalkot zilla panchayat
members to prevent theni from exercising their
4
TH.e HiNxyy
franchise during the election to the post of Zilla
Panchyat president scheduled on November 3.
Mr Malagana has been expelled from the party ;
on the recommendation of the district incharge •
minister, MLAs and the district Congress Commit-;
tee President, the release said.
i
VISIT: All India Congress Commitee General ;
Secretary incharge of Karnataka Vylar Ravi will <
arrive in Bangalore on a two-day visit on
November 2.
t
Mr Ravi will meet party workers and office bear- I
ers during his visit, a press release said.
|
HERALD
1
T
\cn
I
ffumilated’ woman TMCcEeT ends
DH News Service
BANGALORE, Nov 5
In a shocking incident, the 27year-old woman President of
Anekal Town Municipal Council
(TMC) in Bangalore Urban dis
trict today committed suicide af
ter she was humiliated in a
■ Council meeting by some mem
bers.
Manjula Adikeshava of the
j BJP, the first woman president of
the Anekal TMC, ended her life
; by hanging at her residence in
Anekal this afternoon leaving be
hind a suicide note, in which she
held four members of the TMC,
Vice-President D Venkatesh and
Anekal MLA A Narayanaswamy
responsible for her death.
It all started with a slip of the
tongue during the Council meet
ing this morning at 11:20. In her
welcome speech in Kannada,
Manjula addressed the nominated members of the TMC as “Naa■ makavasthe sadasyaru” (which
' means name-sake members) instead of “Naamakaranagonda
I Jsadasyaru”.
she tried convincing the irate
members saying it was just a slip
of the tongue, they were in no
mood to listen to her.
What worsened the problem
was that even her own party
members started shouting slo
L gans against her. Soon, the mem
bers walked out of the Council
a-’
protesting.
Later, three members of the
BJP — Ravi, Rajappa and C
Babu;
Congress
member
Shankar Kumar and TMC Vice
President D Venkatesh (Indepen
■
dent) barged into her chamber
and allegedly addressed her in a
filthy language.
Disgraced by this, she broke
down. Some fellow members con
soled her and sent her home in
an autorickshaw. Unable to over
come the ignominy, she wrote a
suicide note and took the ex
treme step. The suicide came to
________
light only after Manjula’s hus
Anekal TMC President Manjula
band Adikeshava returned
Adikeshava: Give the
home. In the suicide note, she
tormentors such a punishment
has stated that the humiliation
that they would never ever
caused by TMC members Ravi,
humiliate a woman like this.
(c Babu, Shankar Ku-
This triggered pandemonium
in the Council with the Opposi
tion members demanding an
apology from Manjula. Though
■■
•
.
=,=='I JtMC chief ends life ;
•
Continued from Page 1
mar, Vice-president D Venkatesh •
and
Anekal
MLA
A■
Narayanaswamy (BJP) had up
set her.
Further, she has appealed to ;
the deputy commissioner . of
Bangalore urban district to give '
“such a punishment to them that ,
they would never ever in their
lives humiliate a woman like
this”. She added: “They have hu- j
miliated tlie first citizen of the :
town and hence they should be ;
given such a punishment which :
they will not forget throughout
them life.”
BACKGROUND: The infighting
in the taluk’s BJP is said to be
one of the main causes for
today’s incident. Sources say s
that
Anekal
MLA
A J
Narayanaswamy was not on ’
good terms with Manjula and >
there was a constant tussle j
between the two. A majority of
the BJP members in the TMC t
were rallying behind the MLA |
and were against Manjula, it is |
said.
I
Continued on page 9, col 8
_________________________ ____
■
■■■________ ______________ _
-
■
I Manjula, on several occa- '
‘ sions in the past, had com| plained about “excessive inter• ference” by Mr Narayanaswamy.
( When the conflict with the MLA
• and his supporters reached a
flash point about two weeks ago,
. Manjula had threatened to re
sign from the post.
TENSION IN ANEKAL: With the
news about her death spreading,
tension gripped Anekal town.
: While shops and commercial
establishments downed shut
ters, bus services were can
celled. Schools and colleges were
DECCAN HERALD
|oi
4
T
OH
Five more farmers commit suicide
Q
j
- .
rr?
P\
LU
C/)
O
CJ
u
Q
m
Cxi
I
Basave Gowda, who left Rajanashiriyur two
Mr. Poojary handed over Rs. 15,000 to the
days ago, was found in Mayagondanahalli family of Shivapp;
Shivappa on behalf of his party
davs
in Halebeed hobli on Thursday. He is al- and another Rs. 3,800 collected from party
BANGALORE, sept. 25. Five more farmers —
have ended his life by hanging workers.
S^SSn^trictandtwoinKoppal
CorIespondent
Our C!
p district — have allegedly committed suiMudda Basave Gowda reportedly jump- reports:
1 cide, while one farmer died of heart attack
The name of the farmer who died of heart
'■ after he received a recovery notice from a ed into a well at Hulikaallu village.
attack after receiving the recovery notice
Our Raichur Staff Correspondent reports:
8 bank in Chitradurga district.
Shivappa Balangouda (24) of Halahalli from the bank at Chikka Yagati in Hpsajl
According to reports reaching here, the
•”z~3 in Koppal taluk ended his life by durga taluk on Thursday was given as *
i victims from Hassan district have been village
Channabasappa
(40).
Thimmaiah'’(457 orWaUn consuming poison on Thursday
chnnnahasai
p identified as L
—
,
It is said that Channabasappa had raised
villageinuoru.
ronceda
In another incident, Madarsa Gudnesab
np village
in Gorur Police
limits, Basave Gowda
f (75) of Rajanashiriyur in Halebeed hobli of of Kaneramadavu village in Gangavathi ta Rs. 12,000 for agricultural operations from
i^^p^tnet
cSnsumed-poison
!•g k /
. ?
.~ J
i_
htb
dictrirt rnn.qumen
noison the the bank. He suffered losses because of fail
L D Cl HI LdlUNj C111V1
w*>*»v***
- ------------ure of rain.
j Basave Gowda (55) of Hulikal village in Ar- same day.
He is said to have collapsed after comMeanwhile,
the
President
of
the
KPCC,
B.
L VnlcniH t'llillc
1»----plaining of chest pain on seeing the notice, w
’ > was passing
i
| ‘ Thimmaiah was the Vice-President of Janardhana jPoojary, wlw
— uo
throughTlie district, visited Halahallii: ...-n
village
H e died while being taken to hospital, |
I Karie Gram Panchayat. He is said to have
sources said.
,
. on
being
told
about
the
farmer
’
s
death.
sou
I consumed poison on Tuesday. The body of
By Our Special Correspondent
.
.
.
■
.
T-l
..J....
nnAthor Rc
IT..
DECCAN HERALD
r A.P.. to empowerloea!]
I TVi
•.
' 2003 !
Mies
By W. Chandrakanth
may be the provocation for the move now,P
Jayaprakash Narayan, convenor, Lok Sattajl
h Hyderabad, nov.6. The Chandrababu Naidu
which recently collected one crore signa
u Government has come forward to empower
em
PF the local bodies “fully” as_ laid down in the
U1V tures in favour of the move, said after th<’
with the sub^committee. (i
Constitution. The exercise, though belated, consultations
Election to market committees and ex-.
?
!Lad r? .“,etter-and-spirit” devolution of
tension of rotation member’s service to twA
P the 29 subjects to the local1 governments.
governments.
terms are the other important ones. Andhra. I
L, The Cabinet, meeting on November 8, is Pradesh constituted local governments '<
’l' expected
formal decision S«.
expected tn
to talfP
take aa formal
in *U.-_
this through
through
rpanrd
...
P. a legislative Act in 1959 itself and'i
P regard.
till mid-sixties the local governments funcA
•
The Government’s favourable response tioned vibrantly with all the three tiersr'.
came at
i the
' end
' ~ of a meeting the Lok
Lok SAttA
Satta ftmctiordng
ConsSution^f
X'
flinrtinninrr ^peri
____ r- «• ) 4,
I and the federation for empowerment of lo- tnct development boards dealt a severe'
............................................
__j -comblow to the powers of the local bodies later.1
mittee
set
ournose
up up
for for
the the
purpose
hereheon
Despite the abolition of the DDCs in 1970,'<
Thursday.
the control of the bureaucracy over local
The broad features of the Government’s governments only increased.
!n
response are: creation of,an ombudsman
The abolition of Panchayat Samithis in ii
with powers, including investigative and 1986 and creation of 1,104 mandals in 1986’ '
punitive authority on the lines of a quasijudicial system, creaiio’n ofTo'cd s“el?.gZ "0“^ S Ew?
'0Cal "
--------- ------------- ---
.
i
uxv JL/V/JX OC1LLO.
----- —
9“
,
X
A
’ vx iixxxviXlO XLIXIU”
•
, tsra".Ste
'~J ’
'•'•^--****»*<MW*x
wx
K_4_1S“’1 ’ »
•1
H;
I
j, a£ SHKS S£
™ ^?MbUkg!1l 3110031100 Wth powers to
i!
<5dtheE-ng t0
“apart from the reluctance to transfer sub
recommendatl°ns of has attempted, it has not transferred either
FHEHINDQ^
I
()
■ ■
''
:t
I Laws tail ».o 3icp“’‘'omen
I £
t‘ I
l
crimes registered under the creased from 630 in 1999 to
323—
in------2000 and 271 in 2001.
---—(Section 376), ---kidnapping' and abduction Although the number of dow?BANO, NOV. 2.The rape of rights to women, counter so- (Sec. 363/373), homicide for ry deaths came down from
"a Swiss diplomat and the mo- cial discrimination, and p
dowry and dowry deaths (Sec 217 in 1999 to 213 in 2000,
Gestation oPf another woman in vent violence agamst ^em. 302/304 B), torture (Sec. 498 they increased to 220 in zuui.
- Delhi recently have once Yet, crimes against worn n A) molestation (Sec. 354), and Cases of sexual harassment
sexual harassment (Sec. 509). decreased from 147 in 1999 to
^again focused attention on contmue.
Bangalore accounted for 27 75 in 2000 but went up to 81 in
|CrS“nXwtaTh"n‘>J’‘>ok
of the 281 cases of rape re- 2001.
ported
in Karnataka
inof2000.
However, many non-gov5crimehCd RecordsC bureau figure r
u|’ to ^n^OOO
SMy-eight
o"f 323 cases
kid;
1,35,771
in Sixty
f Crime *"" Records
Bureau figure went upj to
1,35,771 in
_eight of 323 cases of kid- ernmcnt organisations and
S(NCHB) and “"Crime
tn 2000.
2000. na
------ ™.
I(NCRB)
Crime in Kama- 1999, and 1,41,373 in
2uuu.
ing 5.
and molestation, 55 women’s groups say the hgiata 2001” a report prepared Uttar Pradesh
4nta-2obl
reported the of 2J3 dowry deaths, 250 of ures provided by tlie police
1
‘Iby
ihv the
‘he State Crime
of < crimes ! ^33 cases of cruelty against are not accurate, and claim
Crime1 Records highest number ot
^r,
io
■Rnrp-m rernm
(SCRB)z rnnint
point
to an in-_ against women (18,J20)
118.320) in Women by their husbands and t|iat many incidents, particui Duivuu
*
usbands’ relatives, and 219 larl cases of domestic vio“^crease
rrease in
almost all
MadfiVa h
husbands
in almost
all types
types of
of 2000, followed by Madhya
iXes aeainst women
Pradesh (17,902), Andhra Pra- of 1568 cases of molestation
g0 unreported or are
r crimes against women.
not registered. They allege
■1 The handbook and the
that cases of dowry deaths
£port, 1
and dowry harassment are
i, the issue
■omen in
in tnaia
India conu
continue 10th with 6,841 cases reported
jsay women
cases from the city. accounted for hushed up or wrong reports
tfer due to illiteracy, on- in 2000 as against 5 943 cases
Bangalore accounted for are filed.
Itosin
1999, and
and 6,002
6,002 cases
in 1999,
cases in
in 20.96 ‘’per cent of crimes
However, police claim that
tpressive practices a
nnainst women reported in Karnataka is one of the few
4tOfm-ehtr Thef pofinTo^mhat 2001.
As'
many
as
16,787
cases
of
th
e
State,
Mysore
8.38
per
As many as 16,787 cases of
W rights. They point out mat
,
were
Gulbarga 5.86 per cent, States where almost all cases
are registered. They say that
.there is a cons an all
the crime J;ainst women were
4 78 per
t.
in cities in 2000. and Belgaum 4.78 p<
the conviction rate in cases of
Vex ra to, and that he infant
g t
accounlcd
tor
AcC
ordingto
“
CrimeinKaraccounted for
A--- -'--o
rape is 21.03 per cent, kidnap
>, mortality among girl childr , 1,255
g of the cases, Chennai
Chennai nataka
nataka””,, the
the number
of
cases
number of cases
and tlie dropout rate of worn- l,2oo ot the ‘
of
dccreasjcd from 301 in ping and abduction 3.64 per
cases, and
and . 1999 to 281 in 2000 but went cent, dowry death 10.66 per
: uons^e0^ The Seracy ^s/Mumbai 888 cases,
up to 293 in 2001. Kidnapping cent, and sexual harassment
Delhi
es
JL/Cllll 2,122 cases.■
» J
■
„..
A ------- -----------1 • - -------------------1_
. rate among women continues
--------
-
SEE
sss
|
- ----------------------
VYUlUvn
? to be low.
THE HINDU
!
I
i
f
>;
o
for-the general category. This j
time, he wanted to contest for
bagalkot, NOV. 2. Despite the ex- the
.— post
r- on the economic crite- „
pulsion of tlie President of the rion. However, the Congress reBy Our Staff Correspondent
ity of its members are reported- affected his support base
among the zilla panchayat !
17 Ejections1 to'the posts of ZP members. The party
-‘-r’s calcula- |•
President and Vice-President tion Mr. Malgana s supporters |
are scheduled for Monday. The would desert him after his exDost of President is reserved for pulsiom appears to have gone j
Backward Class 'B', and that of wrong, headers• in^ln8
C
Vice-President for the general newly appointed DCC 1 resr .
c^egoX The Congress has 20 dent. Siddu Nyamagouda and
Sers in the 26 member ZP the Minister in charge of the .
body. The All-India Progressive district, R.B. Jhimmapur, are
Janata Dal (AIPJD) and Janata camping at~ the district head- [j
Janata
Dal (S) have three members quarters. Sources in the party f
said the leadership wanted to r
each
—
The insistence of Mr. Maiga- project Sushilkumar Belagali f
from
Savalagi constituency in I
na to continue for another term
caused the crisis in the Con Jamkhandi taluk for the post of 2.
^“the'previous election,) ZP President. The legislators I
gress.
— unanimous
rwas1..the
the
choice were also reportedly supporting I
he was
unanimous choice
Elections to 1,078 seats
in local bodies today
DH News Service
,j BANGALORE, Nov 8
.1 Elections to about 1,078 seats in
tlie local bodies- gram panchay■I ats, taluk panchayats, zilla pan'j chayats, and town municipal
3 councils- across some 25 dis- tricts in the State will be held toi morrow from 7 am to 5 pm.
xx Commissioner
State Election
^anna^today^sajd
>
Congress in disarray
on the eve of -ZP poll ?
THE HINDU
I.
arrangements are in place to en spective district centres, the 1
sure free and fair polls. The elec same evening.
luiatc aic
uxx«v presen
No nominations were re
torate
are icuuuuvu
reminded that
lation of electoral identity card ceiyed for some 139 other' local!
or other authentic documents body
’ ’ seats,
' where polls were also J
|
like ration card at their respec due.
About 99 per cent of these.|
tive polling booths is a must, and
those without it will not be per seats are gram panchayat seats. J
iicu to
iu cast
uwi their
uivxi. ballot.
Elections to them will be held af- J
mitted
“^Counting of votes will be held ter verifying the reasons for the |
on November —
10. The results are non-reception of nominations,
nominations, J
at^the.j-ft^^SEC^saii
n
lCECCA?< imRABD
JL P
t
-
■ 'u
2
13
:1
JtLheedJionis
irecoro i9O7J
bers of the second elected body ceived sufficient financial assis
resigned months ahead of the tance from the government. This
completion of their term in 2001, made it possible to keep all the 22
I DAVANGERE, Nov 8
on the grounds that there is streets of the town. clean and
With no elected body to its name scarcity of funds to take up de tidy", he contended.
for two years now, and refusing velopmental works and hence,
But now the gram panchayat
j to participate in the local^ body * demanded town panchayt status. is to manage with only four
“ round of elections for the fourth
The tale of Nyamathi is one of sweepers. Civic amenities have
; successive time, the Nyamathi a slide. The town was a taluk deteriorated. Heaps of garbage
gram panchayat in Davanagere headquarter during the British around the town is a common
will be setting a record of its own regime. In 1916, it became a mi sight. Roads and drainages are in
even as elections for 1,073 seats nor municipality with the tabs il- pitiable condition. There are
in a host of local bodies in the dar as the president. After Inde hardly nine borewells in the
, State are held tomorrow.
pendence, it became a municipal town and the people get water
Their demand to upgrade the ity with elected representative as once in a week. The authorities
status of Nyamathi from gram the president;
have not been able to improve
; panchayat to town panchayat re
Based on the population, the water supply due to poor revenue
ceiving no response from the elected bodies in Nyamathi, earnings.
government, the 10,000 strong along with Kumsi and Hosanagar
The absence of elected’body is
’ population of this town chose to towns were converted from mu palpably felt by the people in the
push their case by refusing to file nicipality to Parivartita Mandal town who have to make do with
u any nominations when the elec- Panchayats (PMP), in 1985, which the poor standard of civic ameni
i tion process was set in motion.
is considered as ’demotion’. ties. . The revenue realization in
The last date for filing of nom- These three towns were part of 2002-03 was just Rs 5.36 lakh
■■ inations - October 27 - being Shimoga district before die for against the target of Rs 10 lakh.
many days past, the State Elec mation of Davangere district.
Why this town has not been
tion Commission has now sought
Dr K Panchaksharappa, who able to get the status of TP? With
• a report from the Davangere resigned as member of the Nya the populationbeing the base for
Deputy Commissioner on the mathi gram panchayat demand according the status, Nyamathi
. i reasons for this negative develop- ing TP status, said, ’’when Nya has been on the loser’s side.
i ment.
According to the 1991 census,
mathi was a municipality, there
Between 1993 and-2001, two were 18 sweepers, two scav the town has a population of
i elected bodies have held the of- engers, a chief officer, health offi 9,633, falling short of just 376 to
1 fice in Nyamati after it became cer, and two bill collectors. Be- get the status of town panchayat.
the gram panchayat. The menu sides, the town municipality reBut, during the last decade,
-4
From Girish N Kerodi
DH News Service
Congress in the h-—k lead in byelection
results
.•
By Our Staff Reporter
I BANGALORE, NOV. io. The Conjress was able to maintain a
lead in the byelections held to
fhe local bodies in the State on
_,unday by bagging 13 seats in ■
| urban local bodies and 12 seats ■■
’nn taluk
taluk nanrhavatc
panchayats.
An official press release from
the State Election Commission
rated that the counting of votes
was completed on Monday. The
Unata Dal (Secular) bagged
i, nree seats in urban local bod ..
ies, one seat in a zilla pan'hayat, and five seats in the
taluk panchayats. The score of i’
the Bharatiya Janata Party was
hree, one, and four, respective
ly.
In the gram panchayat seg
ment, elections were held for
939 of the 1,078 vacant seats,
.’ominations were not filed for
139 seats.
Of the 939 elected candilates, 176 belonged to Sched
uled Castes, 96 to Scheduled
Tribes, 249 to Backward Class A,
j4 to Backward Class B, and 334
to the general category, the re?ase added.
More than 60 per cent of the
voters turned out for the byelecons for the vacant posts in zilla
panchayats (ZPs), taluk pannhayats (TPs), gram panchayats
,GPs), and other local bodies
held on Sunday.
According to a State Election
Commission press release, the
polling percentage was 60.49 for
r Ps, 69.19 for TPs, 71.86 for GPs,
and 69.26 for other local bodies.
I
h
the town's population has in
creased and it has definitely
crossed the required 10,000 mark.
However, the same has not been
taken into consideration by the
government, according to Mr R
Melagiriyappa, former president
of the town municipality.
|
He said that the people have n
taken up their demand with Minister of State for Municipal Ad- f
ministration Kumar Bangarap- J
pa. As the census report of 2001 ■
is yet to be notified, the govern- '
ment is going by the census re-'
port of 1991 for classification of
local bodies.
Mr Melagiriyappa also said the
government was contemplating
bringing a couple of villages un
der the jurisdiction of Nyamati
towrn so that its population criteri
on for town panchayat status is
met. The people are also approach
ing the State Election Commission
to discuss the issue. When contact
ed by Deccan Herald, State Elec
tion Commissioner CGhikkanna w
said he was not aware of the rea
son as to why none had filed nomi-;
nations. "We are yet to get a report
from the Deputy Commissioner.
However, it is left to the govern-1
ment to meet the demand.of the
people", he added. .
«
29
cases
reported in State
JS2CC.
i!•
i
LD
•L'1-
By Sahana Charan
cases there. There was inadequate coverage during the polio ■
bangalore! NOV. io. The State immunisation campaign, and
has seen a resurgence of polio around 30 per cent of children
in the past few months with 29 had not been covered in those jj
cases being reported till Octo- districts. The coverage was ade- J
ber-end. This is despite the quate in the southern parts of
pulse polio immunisation cam- the State which has not report- '.
paign being carried out all over ed any case.
the country.
Responding to the re-emer- ,
According
theMlState
Health
gence of polio,
the Government J
....................... O —to
------------pwilU,
111C kJUVCllUllCIll
I
Department officials, polio has launched a special immuni- G
cases have been reported in the sation round in 12 districts from !
northem districts of the State, November 9 to 11.
with Bellary having the highest
2.7 lakh children are J
Around 27
number
of 18 cases. Koppal and ?•proposed. . to be covered under ■
^..ll_________ ,
Gulbarga districts have reported the special round on these three three cases each and Raichur days* R.K. Kumaraswamy,
. > Refive. The State did not report a productive
j
' ’
and Child Health'
single polio case in 2001 and p
—~Project
• -Director, told
j; The
(RCH)
2002 owing to the effective im- Hindu.
munisation drive. Before that, a _
case was reported in Raichur in p
November 2000.
Reservoir levels
However, around nine cases I
(on November 10)
of polio were reported till the I
i
beginning of August. This puts Reservoir
Max
Today’s Inflow
lever
the State in the third place in
level
Cm
cusecs)
the country, in terms of high in
cidence of polio, after Uttar Pra KRS
124.80 ft.
9322 ft 3,428
desh and Andhra Pradesh. Uttar
2284 ft 2269.781 1,766
Pradesh has reported 64 cases Kabini
till October, while Andhra Pra Harangi
2,8591 2,838.551
67
desh has around 30 cases.
Unganamakki 1.8191 1,793.631 2430
According to the Health De* partment officials, lack of rou Supa
1,851 1 1,765.15 1
301
tine immunisation during the
Mani
1,9501 1,921.131
214 national immunisation days in
Karnataka districts led to
I North
. ___________
Mettur
1201
48.42 ft 3,746 ;
L
Jn.^rease.in ,the^
'' i'r Hl
»-
-•.riwy.
lh
1
1ES retainsKelgaumiTP presiaent’§*^St
Assistant Commissioner ‘ ■
K.P.Honakeri was the chief .
election officer.
u'* ^Express N ews Service
IJBelgaum, Nov 10: The
■
..
•_o
-• 7-
2
- Bri?
1 Maharastra
Ekikaran
Isamiti (MES) has retained
TP CHIEFS HUSBAND i
f the post of president of BelBEATEN UP
| gaum taluk panchayat,
Belgaum: Angry over bre- -i
} while tlie Congress has
aking the mutual ‘agreenv p
| snatched the vice-presidenf between them, a lady I
1 ent’s post in the elections
member of the Belgaum '
j held here on Monday.
taluk panchayat beat up the J
I Ganga Ashok Patil of
husband, of another mem- j
i MES, representing Sulaga
her, over the election to .the 'i
constituency defeated Deepresidents post held on i
. nubai Pakhare of Janata
j
Dal, representing Mucha- Ganga Ashok Patil and Malleshi Yelleshi Ramchannavar. Monday.
; According to sources, Jay\ ndi constituency.
Deenubai who filed her the 33-member Belgaum TP as
a sbhre
rnee Pawase,
Pawase. Maharasl
Maharastra
'> Ganga Patil garnered 16
i- .. ________
AAunAil
PftnorPW
<->___ :.z
zm
Congress has
has 11.
11, Ekhikaran Saroiti
'
(MBS)
. votes in the 33-member cou- nomination papers did not council.
Janata Dal 7 and the rest member beat up > Ashok .
even
attend
the
election.
J ncil.
Malleshi Yelleshi Ramac- are BJP and independents.
Patil, husband of newly
Only 21 members cast
In order to retain the pres- elected president
_ Ganga at , :
______ Deenubai hannavar of the Congress •
their franchise.
p^ises of t]ie Deputy
did not get any votes as her who is representing Sam- ident’s post, MES had tied
0mmjssj0ner on Monday
Commissioner
party members, including bra constituency was elec up with the Congress, on c
condition that the Congress’ afternoon#•ENS
ENS
_■
herself boycotted the elect- ted unopposed,
should not ccMtrtCt
nnct
----inn
.A/TPQ
115 members in
-y- - ’
'
:
W
Address the issues ? a
i The suicide of Anekal TMC president shows the >
Render problems in the country’s power structure '
he manner in which members of the Anekal Town Mu-.
nicipal Council (TMC) in Bangalore Rural District in- ■:
suited a woman colleague, driving her to commit sui- ]
cide, is shocking. The victim, Manjula Adhikeshava, was the
President of the TMC. She was the first woman to hold this i
post in the Anekal TMC. The reports suggest that in her H
ppeech at the council meeting she had, by a slip of tongue, re-j
ferred to nominated members as namesake members. That ap- ‘j
parently angered the TMC members, who then started abus- 1
ing her. Upset by the public humiliation, the TMC president j
hanged herself. She left behind a note in which she has nar- 1
rated the events that prompted her to end her life. She has also I
named the colleagues who caused her the humiliation. The in- |
cident must be thoroughly investigated and stern action taken 4
against the guilty.
This is the fate of a supposedly politically empowered t
woman, the first citizen of Anekal. One can imagine what i
women without political power or from the socially and eco- ;
nomically marginalised sections might be suffering in this j
country. Men from across the political spectrum got together i
to humiliate Manjula. Even her party members did not stand
• by her. This shows the intensity of resentment and the extent' ?
of opposition that exists in this country to women being in
positions of power. The few women who are in positions of •*
power are not the ones who actually wield the power. Besides, 1
the - orking environment is so hostile to women that the few >
who make it to the top are unable to function. This is espe- Y
cialy the case with Dalit and Adivasi women who suffer discrimination and harassment on account of their gender and
their caste. A Dalit woman member of a gram panchayat in C
Kodagu district was prevented by upper caste individuals I
from becoming panchayat president for which she was eligible in terms of reservation norms. It was only on the inter- t
vention of the High Court that she was able to do so. Several t
women opt out of the system; some like the Anekal TMC pres- U
• ident end their lives.
4
Many will dismiss the suicide as the ‘ typical emotional $
response of a woman’. That would amount to ignoring the j
many social and political factors that culminated in the vic- 3
L tim taking this extreme step. The issues must not be swept I
| under the carpet. They must be dealt with now if other £
t women with similar experiences should be protected from a I
j similar fate.
* DECCAN HERALD
L 7 UT
| TMC chiefs suicide:
j Accused yet to be traced !
| BANGALORE, Nov 10 (DHNS)
| Bangalore Rural District Police are yet to trace
the six accused, including Anekal MLA, who are 1
J wanted in connection with the suicide of Anekal
J Town Municipal Council (TMC) president. How- ;
J ever, all the accused have applied for anticipatory j
< bail in the district sessions court
- On November 5, ManjulaAdikeshava of BJP com- I
I mitted suicide by hanging at her residence after she
was allegedly humiliated in the Council meeting. In a i
[note, she had held TMC Members - Ravi, Rajappa J
j and C Babu (all belonging to BJP) and Shankar Ku] mar (Congress) - Vice President D Venkatesh and .
I Anekal MLA. A Narayanaswamy responsible for
1 her death. The accused then fled the town.
v When asked about the progress in investiga- j
1 tions, Mr Prashanth Kumar Thakur, Superinten- •
; dent of Police, Bangalore Rural District, said, “the I
x accused are learnt to have been camping in Ban- I
* galore. They are yet to be traced.”He said that j
j they had written a letter to the Speaker seeking =
] permission for the arrest of Legislator N j
| Narayanaswamy.
pcCf
V X.- *-
4
- -
1 HO'-
Il
Congress wins top posts in two'ZPr'l
"• By Our'Special
T VI Correspondent Congress
(
accounts for 14 mem- sensus a few minutes before the
The Congress leaders, N.R. k
filing of nominations.
Jagadhish and Chinnayellappa h
((S) 1 member.
The Minister in charge of Bi- Reddy, have been appointed the
TMIF Hicfnct 17 Q
•«»-<' fAf
japur
district, B.S. Patil Coronirr
Sasanur, . party's observers
for the elec- H
Bijapur
ZP
*
and Mr. Ashok told pressper- tions to the top two posts of the l-JR
Our Bijapur Staff Corre sons that two other members of Tumkur Taluk Panchayat, ac- L
jspondent reports:
the party would assume office cording to a release from S.P. [4
a..:I n„.. ’
’ ■. Anitha Anil
Pandre and
Ken- as President and Vice-President Muddahanume Gowda, Presi<
chappa
Biradar, both members of the zilla panchayat after 10 dent, Tumkur District Congress
<of the Congress, were on months
Committee (TDCC), here today.^
IWednesday elected unopposed
The elections to the top two*'
<as President and Vice-President BJP bags TP seat
posts of all the 10 taluk pan
<of Bijapur Zilla Panchayat, re
Our Tumkur Staff Corre chayats in the district are to be
sspectively.
spondent reports:
held later this week.
Except one BJP member, all
The BJP candidate, Kumaras,other
i
members of the 32-mem- wamy, won the Ammasandra
ber
1
panchayat are from the seat in Turuvekere Taluk Pan
chayat in Tumkur district. The
(Congress.
The post of President was re- scat fell vacant due to tire resigMax
Today's
Inflow , ;
sserved for a woman candidate nation of Nagaraj, President of Reservoir
level
level
(in
1
levtS
1from the BC 'B' category. Al the panchayat, who opted to
cusecs)
1though Ms. Pandre was the only join government service as a
KRS
124.80 ft
92.77 ft 2.292
•woman elected to the pan- primary' school teacher.
The election was held on
ichayat from the category, three
Kab^.i
2284 ft 22€3.37ft
817
other
candidates staked their Sunday. Mr. Kumaraswamy de
<
Harangi
2,859 ft 2S36.01 ft
54
<claim by submitting income feated Mahalingaiah of the
Congress by 761 votes.
icertificates.
LinganamakW 1,819 ft 1,793.83 ft
2.303
The Karnataka Pradesh Con
By winning the Ammasandra
1,851ft 1,765.43 ft
289
|gress Committee (KPCC) sent seat, the BJP is in an advanta S-cpa
;an observer for the election, geous position to bag the top
Mani
1,950 ft 1.921.44 It
214
P.M. Ashok, General Secretary. two posts of tire taluk pan
Mr. Ashok, who arrived here on J chayat, elections for which will
lAettur
120 ft
48.96 ft 6,889
Tuesday, brought about a con- be held later this week.
■■’S'
Ibers, the BJP three, and the JD
’
: dharwad, Nov. 12. Basavannepj'pa.Tippanna Gudadiri and Ak,kawa Lalappa Lamani, both
';Congress members, were today
^unanimously elected President
iand Vice-President, respective•Spy, of the Dharwad Zilla Pan■ chayat here today.
.j The election of. Vice-Presi1 dent was a formality since only
■Jone candidate was available
!' from the group for which the
:post was reserved (a woman
• candidate from a Scheduled
: Caste).
The election of President,
■ which was reserved for the OBC
(A) category, saw a proxy battle
r for political supremacy between
H.K. Patil, Minister for Water
- Resources, on one side, and
D.K. Shivakumar, Minister for
. Urban Development, and K.N.
; Gaddi, Minister of State for Fori ests, on the other.
1
The Patil group checkmated
■.[ the efforts of the other group to
; get Shantawa Gonal, a relative
! of Shivalli, Kundgol MLA, elect, ed as President. In the 18-member zilla panchayat, the
'i:
.i
2
— rr-rrv'i"
iBangalore Rural *J
ZP to take up
afforestation
By Our Staff Reporter
THE
4
it
!BANGALORE,
T H NOV. 12. The Banga
i.
i
lore Rural Zilla Panchayat will'?
take up a massive afforestation 4
programme to plant one crore
saplings.
'
The outgoing President of the
panchayat, B. Rajanna, told
presspersons here on Wednes- ■
day that tire afforestation
scheme would be implemented
in three years.
Expressing satisfaction with <
•the work done during his ten
ure, he said several develop
mental programmes had been
.taken up. He claimed that other
, zilla panchayats looked up to
the Bangalore Rural Zilla Pan
chayat, which had achieved ‘‘ex
cellent” progress in different ■
■spheres.
'
Mr. Rajanna said the zilla ;
panchayat had managed to tide ,
over water scarcity by drilling »
’• borewells. In areas where wells ’.
did not yield water, tankers
• were used. In 2003-04, Rs. 3.68 «•
■* crore was spent on drinking wa*' ter projects, and 515 mini water
■ supply schemes were taken up.
’j Besides, 350 hand pumps were
j installed-Asked about the irregI ularities in the civic body, Mr.
' Rajanna said they pertained to
the zilla parishat which was in
i existence in 1990. Inquiries into
.i irregularities pertaining to de‘ velopmental works worth Rs.
j 3.5 crore were going on, he
S' Dharwad ZP chiei9
deputy elected
'J
lar) one. Although, Mr Gudadari. I
Mr Sotemmanavar, Mr C N |
Shyagoti, Ms Shantawa Gonal
*bnARWAD, Nov 12
iMr Basavanthappa Thippanna and Ms Gowramma Kundagol•'■Gudadari of the Congress Party submitted their nomations for.
'"has been unanimously elected president’s post, all except Mr
"president of Dharwad Zilla Pan- Gudadari withdrew their nomi
?:.'•chayat
chayat in the elections held here nations. This helped in uani-d
.
r------------- <
today. Ms Akkawa Lamani, an mous elections of Mr Gudadari. .-I
outgoing president, got re-elect- However, there was no competi- i
’i ed as vice-president unopposed., tion for vice-president’s post J
Z— P--t
‘ Deputycommissioner Kapil since the
post. was resewed for J
Mohan who was also the election SC (women) and Ms Akkawa;
eligi-j.
< officer announced unanimous Lamani has been the only eligi? elections of Mr Gudadari and Ms ble member in the zilla panchax -»
1
Lamani. While Mr Gudadari rep- at belonged to that categoryMr Gudadari’s election be-j
! resents Garag constituency in
Dharwad taluk, Ms Lamani rep came' easy after two groups oL
resents Galagi constitency in the Congress party’ reached an J.
agreement. Accordingly, Mr.
Kalghatgi taluk.
Guddadari will be president forlj
4
Out of the total 18 members,
only 10 months and thereafter’
uj the Congress has 14 members,
another person will be elected,
j
DhTNews Service
■t— v—
L
\
AID
113
.1
■
t ■ i
/ J J-J
_ ___ f
tfrw
.in...,-':.* '•1
4-
n ■Prajayatna to showcase impact oi its eitons
;-
•-VW*- —•
•
-
-
. .
Dl-i Nows Sorvico
—•
^..
-’
—
V BANGAhOHE. Oct 31
. Prajayatna, a citizens' movement that
.! seeks to facilitate a systematic change in
i the existing. educational
model through
...
{ the
tno process of
ui community
cumiiiiuni.Y ownership
chip >•will
| showcase the impact of its eflorts during
ii.
_
nf
o
npnpnnHfwMl
111
I the last three years at a presentation in
i Bangalore next week.
An initiative of Movement of Alternaj lives and Youth Awareness (MAYA), a de1 velopment organisation working towards
j the eradication of child labour, Prajayatna
'! has been primarily focussing on facilitat* ing a systematic change in the existing ed! ucation model primarily through building
j institutional mechanism of accountabilii ty and transparency at every level.
I
According to Mr Kcshav Malagi from
; Maya, Prajayatna is currently working in
1 six districts ■ Chitradurga, Mysore. Bellary, Bijapur, Bangalore Urban and Banga
lore Rural - has detailed information of
' 12,000 government schools in these district,
The information is extensively used
' fbr both field level processes and intorac■, tion with educational administration.
.
•
.
.
-
.
O'
Hhiaa®i
A-11 •f-
fc
'
■st’>
Iwl
By Our Correspondent
j
Reservation tor <1
ZP posts
j
PH News Service'I
, . . •/ •j
;
.'h
Wins top
n Congress
p®sis m Raich os',
u chamarajanagar, Nov. 9. The election to fill the posts of
5
1 (’resident and Vice-President of the Chamarajanagar Zilla
j
5 Panchayat will be held on Monday. It is learnt that there are -j
'at least two contenders for the post of President of the
I
panchayat in the Congress — B. Lakshmamma and Bharathi <
Nagaraj. The Minister in charge of the district and Minister >
' for Sugar, M. Mahadev, and the Minister of State for Agro•■processing, Raju Gowda, the Kollegal MIA, G.N. Nanjunda
■| Swarny, and zilla panchayat members held a meeting here
-. today and decided to leave the selection of candidates to
;
• the party High Command. The Uppara community leaders s
' in the district have urged the district unit of the Congress to
i nominate Ms. Nagaraj. The Nayaka community leaders
|
. favour the nomination of Ms.
'• BANGALORE. Oct 29 (DUNS)
A
1 The reservation matrix for the..
I post of Presidents and Vice-pres- p,
idents of Zilla Panchayats in ten I*
more districts was announced
■ today.
,
I;
The list is tus follows: Utlara Kanna‘ da- President (Scheduled Caste). Vice- y
president (BCA Woman); Udupi- Presi‘ jlentISC Woman). Vice-president (Gen
eral); Tumkur- President (General
’•woman). Vice-president (BCA); ShimoRa- President (General). Vice-president
(BC-B Woman); Raichur- President (General),
Vice-president (BCA);
- .Mandya- President (BCA), Vice-prcsi- .
’ dent (General): Kodaiiu- Pi esident (BCA .
■ Woman), Vice-president (SC); Clukma- ;
• galur- President (BCA). ’Vice president •
(General); ‘ Bijapur- President (BC-B j
: Woman). 'Vice-president • (General); ,
j Bidar- President (BCA). Vice-president
(General).
Till date, reservation matrix
for 23 Zilla Panchayats has been
j announced.
--
The Shikshana Grama Sabha
(SGS) launched by Prajayatna has
proved to be simple and powerful
means for mobilising communities
to initiate reforms at the local level ha
through community participation,
Malagi said.
As many as 1,500 SGS facilitated
by Prajayatna during the last three
years has seen visible improve
ment at the school level.
Each SGS comprise
parents,
teachers, women and youth
groups, gram panchayat members,
children and other interested community members.
Another initiative of Prajayat
na is towards decentralisation of
educational governance at the
gram panchayat level.
A joint meeting of the gram
panchayat members, constituent
school committees and representa
tives of education department at Shikshana Gram Sabha being conducted by Prajayatna in Thorepalya village, Bangalore
the gram panchayat level is held on district.
a regular basis to chalk out develop
ment strategies. The results of these
tation at 2:30 pm on November 4 at JSS Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore Phone: ((»0) -6639857.
initiatives will be showcased at a presen- . ghivaratheershwara Centre, 1st Main. 8th
Ichamarajanagar'poll
Ij
.
' Kodagu ZPs
i By Our Staff Correspondent
Gouda and Ms. Sushilamma •
’
j 11
for 1110 Posts
President and
'raichur, nov. 13. Doddabassap- Vice-President,
respectively.
'4)3 Gouda and Sushilamma of G.N. Nayak, Deputy Commisithe Congress were elected Pres- sioner, announced the results of
^ident and Vice-President, re- ‘the
u“ election. Narayanaswamy,
.■spectively, of the Raichur Zilla Chief Executive Officer of the
zilla, panchayat,
and P. Harisck•Panchayat today.
.
of IPolice,
' The Congress has 22 scats in aran, Superintendent ot
olice.
Addressing
.‘•the 29-member zilla panchayat. were
----- rpresent. '''
... press- ,1
\r>c
Mr
Gnndii
said
that
’ However, the party leaders had persons, Mr. Gouda said that he
he j'
rould give priority to coir.plet-'J
coir.pleti difficulty selecting the candi- would
r---------- *------idates as the posts were reserved ing projects, and construction
_4
ona
’trines in
in gram
gram panchayats
panchayats ss
'for the general category. How- of
latrines
ever, the leaders, including A. would be speeded up.
•Venkatesh Naik, MP and DCC
Our Madikeri Staff Corre- ;
President, Raja Amareshwara spondent reports: Chitra Ra•Naik, Minister in charge of the mesh of the Congress was *
'district, and N.S. Bose Raju, elected President of the Kodagu
•iManvi MIA and Chairman of Zilla Panchayat for the third and j
I the Hyderabad Karnataka De- last term, and the outgoing j
‘jvelopment Board, decided to President, Papu Sannayya, *
Vice-President
on*!!..
'J field Mr. Gouda from Hirekotin- elected
vi^-Droc.ripnt
nn
I kal, and Ms. Sushilamma from Thursday. The post of President •
I Kalmala. The election process was reserved for a woman from <
• began around 11 a.m. at Craft BCM ‘A’ category, and that of<
for a member <
1,‘ Hall here. Only two nomina- Vice-President
v.vu-.
. tlwse o( Mr.^ from ^.Scheduled Caste.r^i'W***
vrcc.'.'
)
■J 3
pij.
1
rTappapam: constitutional
J
TU S' \V
By Mani Shankar Aiyar
r
,
.
*11
: re- fc(such as chairperson). However, in ■
0 WORDS are’ too strong
to three-tier
ruralit.
panchayats (village,
would not/-.nt
getn alorrro
largeminihnr
numberrtfofro«
**
,__ J____
J ihrt tkrnn Inxrnle nf
CPHfC IH
A [ area
the 73rd and 74th amendments encondemn
the. outrage
outrage
in union, district)
and the three levels cnrvnH
of served
seats inDnTTCnHVAt
a panchayat
condemn tne
m
-------- ---------------Pappapatti. It is for tlie Ta- . the nagarpalikas (town panchayats, where the proportion of Dalits is acted by Parliament, reservation and h
mit^Nadu Government to municipalities, corporations).
small, whereas, in the arbitrary sys- rotations were introduced for posts. •
proceed against the offending parties different?Article 243 D (ifsays expli- State legislation, such anomalies will lett to me wisaoin ui uic oiauu legis
under the Central Act relating to the
latures,
proviso
—
• subject
- “ to the
- ’ °f-'
. that !
«< prevention of atrocities against the citly, in regard to the panchayats at occur.
’ .
Moreover, with regard to rotating the _________
number,”7
of ,reserved
posts
.
all
three
levels,
that
"seats
shall
be
'J Scheduled Castes. At the same time,
chairperson "shall bear, as nearly as
that
the
system of
res- reserved for SC-ST in every pan- such reserved seats, Article 243 D (1), --- :ui„
t- it is important
mat
me
ut icsto the ;
*
—
~
.
•
i.it
|
—1_
.
z*.
t»rxv nF eoofr cr\
cited above, goes on to say that “such possible, thesame proportion
A------------,i---------chayat
and
the
number
of
seats
so
i
at ■
ervation for Dalits in elected local
j as may, seats may be allotted by rotation to total number of such panchayats
V “
'•
•
’ *
T-*
* - mz — J TV A
reserved
shall
bear,
as
nearly
bodies envisaged in Parts IX and IXA be, the same proportion to "the total different constituencies in a pan- 'each
the SC-ST
population
’
cr
QT
r
‘
^
nn
at
’
?of the Constitution (the 73rd and
“in the State bears to the total pop- ,
X 74th amendments) not be discreditulation of the State.” (Article 243D
7} ed. For Pappapatti is largely the conThe need now is to base reservation for the
(4)) Clearly, it would make sense to •
* sequence of the absence of any real
effect reservation for posts in areas of j
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes of
powers to village panchayats. So little
SC-ST concentration, as is the prac- ’
ij constructive work gets done and
seats and posts in Panchayati Raj institutions on tice for SC-ST reservation in the Lok
? there is, therefore, fertile ground left
Sabha and the Assembly constituen
the pattern indicated in the Constitution.
for cable
caste UUL1111VL
conflict to
the ivy*.
real
. 1O1
LU overtake UIV
cies, as also spread rotations over
purpbses of Panchayati Raj; but it is
several elections to give SC-ST chair
* also partly the consequence of the
direct chayat. Thus, reserved seatsj are not persons the opportunity of learning
-■ failure of the Tamil Nadu legislation number of seats to be filled byof
on the job and consolidating their
as the population cf the to
-- be rotated
‘ between panchayats but
..
on Panchayati Raj to accurately re- election
- • ’ >-j - -------within the same panchayat. In this prospects of re-election even after
‘3
BxEEsS
s-i
manner, t..~ --------- -- ----- the Constitution in respect of reser .
t area „ (emphasis seats in any given panchayat (village,
vation for the Scheduled Castes and that panchayat
added)
To abstract from the legalese, union or district) will remain the
the Scheduled Tribes.
J-------------same and in proportion to the SC-ST
tlris means
that if my*
thereparUameAtaVy
is no ST pop population
r pMng^^'icc^^^d^'clect^ns1 ^e —
- ^In
in that
---- panchayat
area,panchayat area,
ulation — as i
■ same8procedure as is adopted for SC- constituency
constituency —
— there would be no thus precluding thepossibility of SCST serats being reserved where there
ST reservation in elections to the reservation for the STs, either mitialPiauwv
I State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha. ly or by rotation, in any panchayat at is no or relatively little SC/ST pop
disproportionately
ulation
or
----------- j effect- In regard to State Assemblies and any level anywhere in the constitu■ ’
’'
< Parliament, the proportion of the ency. But if, as is in fact the case, ing reservation and thus stoking
kf
social
tensions.
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled there is a large SC population, then,
In Rajiv Gandhi’s schema (the 64th
■' Tribes in the population of the State depending upon how predominant it
1 as a whole is taken as the basis for is in a particular panchayat area, the and 65tli amendments) there was no
provision for reservation of posts in
reserving the same proportion of number of reserved SC seats would
i
an local bodies; in accordance with the
; seats in the legislature, bejt in the ^Pr°P~^ pwportoTo^SCs Supreme Court
’s directives^ att the
* States or at the Centre. The same
time,
reservation
was confined to
h procedure has been adopted for SC- on its voters’list. Therefore, in terms
and did not extend to posts
^^eservation,,^ .elections. to the of the constitutional provisions, we seats i
Tragically, reservation and rota
tion of posts in Panchayati Raj has
become something of a political foot
ball. Further complications have
been caused by arbitrary or, at any
rate, lottery-like decisions on which
posts to reserve for SC-ST women
(and women’s reservation in generJ).
’v is to base SC-ST
al). Thz
The need r/'
now
reservation
for seats and posts on the
------r
^i„..i indicated in the Constitution
pattern
and
--J then determine in an objective,
fair, transparent and generally ac
ceptable manner
manner the method of receptable
contc and nnstfi.
serving and rotating seats
posts,
This might best begone
be done by a statu
statu-tory body, not the State Government.
.... IT'
a
y
■
<
‘
•
■
"
....
rv. >. «* <•* t.--
s
«s>
THE HlMDa
•-Vj /-'Id
o
115
zn.
_ 'TZFcHeT.| CongressrcanaiflateO
Cong expels
elected to ZP posts |
10 others for
defying party whip
—-—wTwmvi-yiwaa
P
President of the Bellary District r
Congress
Committee,
were .
vungivoo
.. .................
»
»-*-* r~\ y\ rr tVn o
1
nnd D C ’Ramesh
were ».today <-«among
the leadersnrCSdlt*
present.
land D.C. uamcsii
UmAch tnW nrpssoeK“"'fe“sAs « has expelled H Zilla Panchayat members in- ■.elected ui
-------- - N0V
oAMrAinRF
NOV.. n.
11. K.
N- Ramesh
naniebn
DH News Service
teS»7op“pSrity’to the devel-
e-i: E ” WS&- SXWCSK Xi;
8^The Bangalore Rural District opment of the district. Apart
The Commissioner
g
. __Tan
dReand
Re- from taking steps to complete fl
H ty for a period of six years, for violating party whip m the Zilla Ui Deputy
{turning
Officer,
B.P.
Kaniram,
"^ffisdoTingVhis to media persons here today,'I<PCC °^erver
jk
i xi__ r\t tnP
^1. -he^en
! and Minister A Krishnappa said the party had given a dear m- fa^a^rdffigfoapress
^candidates, according to a press
■ structions to its members during the elections. Yet thej had act- 1 release here.
ed as though they had not understood, and made unholy al- ( Mr. K. Ramesh said he would for the development of Bellary
',
liance with rebels. They (expelled members) had betrayed the , give priority to solve basic prob- district.
■ lems confronting the people,
Karwar
ZP
J
h Pa Th’e^expelled members are- President Soubhagya Basavara j The Ministers, D.K. ShivakuOur Karwar Correspondent 1
jan. new Vice-President H Nagaraj, former vice-presidents, R Imar, H.M. Revanna, and the
t! Rangaswami, K Papaiah, Veena, K S Saraswati, Geetabai, for 1 j MLA, C.M. Lingappa, congratu writes:
Ramakrishna Moolimam and ;
mer standing-committee chairman V Maranaik, JaJ?Px^as^’ lated the newly elected Presi- Gayatri Gowda of the Congress f
: Lolamma and Lakshmidevi. Answering a query on whether the ’ident and Vice-President, the were today elected unopposed i
■ Congress faced setback because of losing four local body elec- I release added.
as President and Vice-Presi
' tions including ZP polls, in the recent times the Minister said Bellary ZP
dent, respectively, of the Uttara
; the party, which has a 117-year history, had seen such ups and
• ■ ‘ Our Bellary Staff Correspond- Kannada Zilla Panchayat. The i
Rakesh ;■.
an.
.
J -XcDeputy Commissioner, nauan
- a owns and was not bothered at all.
TION BY PARTY: When it was brought to the notice of.the
of the ent writes.
Sudharani of Singh, who was the election of- J
Basavarajan, District Congress Committee < G.
elected ficer, conducted the elections. 1
Minister that S K sband
1-----------of
.
rebel
candidate,
Soubhagya i the Congres
esidgnt and
The Minister for Large- and J
> member and husband
of
rebel
candidate,
won against the official candidate, also had ^cOe^residentl respectively, of Medium-scale Industries, R.V. J
i Basavarajan, who won against the official canoiaaie, .usu
panchayat. Deshpande^who is the^i^’j
d participated in thej victory
victory procession
procession after
after the
the election
el®ctlon’ and V
Zilla Panchayat.
the Bellary
I asked what action would be taken against him,■’ the
Minister, Jessed
expressed?;
™ minister
— They
wilSin office for the last in-charg^Mut.ster,
his
happiness
over
unanimous
. assured that action will be taken on him too.
nutrirt 20 months of the five-year term
choice of the candidates for the
Par ty observers Bimba Raikar, Shashikumar ^ttur’U1_s,trlSJ ; of the elected body.
posts. The Minister told press-;
- Congress President G S Manjunath, MLAs G H Tippa Reddy, Nj
■
•
..
Y Gopalakrishna, G H Ashwatha Reddy, District General Secre-,
tarv R K Naidu, former MLA A V Umapati and Zilla Panchayat • _.„a
____________
d,.. oryr.I-p™ia.=> other members of the party who
a Scheduled
(woman) Xn Se
L' members were present.
1 for
ca^dw
” Caste
UmeTrepTe!
opinion
ofAe
U
1. _____
tlno r>artv
|
was
sought,
all
of
J
Bommanahalli
members
tt sents Hagari
was s^”0
a
—*nd Mr. Moolimani
and Ms. Sudhara- them' $uPP9gJL
DECCAN H.ERAL |f constituency
ni represents Hatcholli in S.r- and Ms. &»dn.
Hanumant 'itotbagi was the
L guppa taluk.
-- ----DH News Service ■
J Though two more members party observer,
The outgoing President,*
i were eligible for the posts, they
BANGALORE. Nov 9
< did not file their nominations. Shashikala Path and the Vice-;
' There was brisk polling for the «j
Rama
Moger,:
* S.N. Jayaram, Deputy Commis- President,
! by-elections to various grama T
thanked the members for theiri
sioner,
who
is
also
the
in-charge
panchayats, taluk panchayats,
Chief Executive Officer, con- cooperation during their ten-t
• | zilla panchayats and urban local
**
ducted the election proceed- ure. The President and the Vice- J,.
.1 bodies in the 27 districts of the
President elect thanked the A;
H
ings.
,
;tate. The by-elections in the '(
L K.C. Kondaiah, M. Shankar members and said they would
I;
State today were peaceful. Ac0 Reddy, Chairman of the Kama- strive hard to bring a goodfc
.name .to ^rill^nchaya^^
cording to the State Election
■ Commission zilla panchayats h
• recorded an overall percentage
THEHIND^
1
of 60.49 in the state.
Taluk panchayats registered an
overall percentage of 69.19 per
. cent, grama panchayats record
ed 71.86 per cent and urban local
bodies 69.26 per cent.
In Chikmagalur district, tight
security arrangements were
made to prevent any untoward ;
incident. The voting which be- :
gan in the morning on a slow «
note picked up after the noon. ■ M*
The elections were held in Chik- .<
magalur, Koppa, Moodigere, ''
‘‘ Kadur and Tarikere taluks.
In Chitradurga no untoward *
incident was reported in the bya
elections held for the Hosadurga
taluk and various gram pan- L
chayats . The Municipal Council; |
SKSte
By-elections pass
off peacefully
' I 2^1
;■
/1j33'
?!
Continued on Page 11
x-
PBCC..1:I’£-ALD
s 'i ?!'!■'/ 2003
I
JIM. JML —----
r_
Council polls {today
•I
DECC/.-K he ALPS
r
,
..
r. ? n.
Z '•
■ ' ; to
’;: i ''i
PH News Service
BANGALORE, Nov 30
The staSe is 311 set for 1116 Leg-
islative Council elections tomorrow which will decide the fate of
94 candidates in tire fray for a
j-'i berth in the Upper House of the
State Legislature.
As many as 25 seats in 20 disto tricts ate going for the polls in
L, which representatives of various
•1( local bodies such as gram panr.i chayats, taluk panchayats, zilla
, panchayats and others will be ex
Ji ercising their franchise.
'<
The Congress has fielded 23
•; candidates, JD-S 18, BJP 11 and
, the All India Progressive Janata
Ji Dal 18. Tumkur has the highest
number (9) of contestants in the
fray. There is a direct contest in
; Chikmagalur, Hassan and Bel; lary districts. Belgaum has the
' highest number of voters (7,079)
and Kodagu has the least num,4 ber of voters (1,260). The voting
*\| will start at 8 am and end at 4 pm
r at scores of polling stations
J; across the State.
wvwuv.
PARTIES GEAR UP: With just a Minister of State for Energy
few hours left for the polls, the Basavaraj H Patil, former minis
ruling Congress and the ters
M M Hindasgeri
and
Opposition parties are making Veerkumar Patil. Chief Minister
last ditch efforts to garner the S M Krishna’s brother is contestsupport of as many voters as . ing from Mandya.
possible.
Some of the other prominent
Though the parties have al figures contesting the elections
ready started counting their are Basavaraj Bommai (AIPJD)
chicken based on the number of and former minister Shivananda
local body representatives affili Koujalagi (AIPJD), sitting MLC
ated to their parties, the deciding B G Patil.(JD-S), former minister
factor will be Gram Panchayat D Nagarajaiah (JD-S), sitting
(GP) members, who form the MLC Shanthaveerappa Gowda
biggest chunk of voters (over 75 (BJP). Rebellion is dogging most
per cent in most constituencies). of the political parties. Congress
What is having the candidates sit is facing rebel candidates in at
with their fingers crossed is the least four constituencies includ
fact that GP members are not of ing Tumkur, where, sitting MLC
ficially attached to political par K N Rajanna
is
contesting
ties. All the parties have a lot at against the official candidate V S
stake in these polls, for the sim Ugrappa.
ple reason that this will be an in
The elections for the Legisla
dication of things to come in the tive Council are being held to re
general elections next year.
place 25 MLCs whose term ends
Some of the big names con on January 5. The party-wise
testing the elections from Con- break-up of the candidates retirgress are Minister of State for . ing in January are as follows:
Civil Aviation and
’ Infrastruc Congress-13, JD(S)- 5, AIPJD- 4,
ture
Development TJohn
and BJPi.uxc vcvciupmcm
i uuim uiiu
BJP- 2 and Janata Dal-1.
1
j
;
J Prisma's Brower among 23 CoBig, candidates
J By Our Special Correspondent
{ BANGALORE, NOV. 13. S.M. Shan-
jkar, younger brother of the
7 Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna,
two Ministers of State — Basav.. araj Patil Humnabad and T.
John — and the KPCC leaders,
H. Hanumanthappa and V.S.
rr^
Ugrappa, are prominentx among
the 23 candidates 5^elected
’
' 'byj
the Congress party to contest
..the December 1 biennial elections to the Legislative Council
from the local authorities
C0,n.^1.t1ue?cyu
there are 25 seats to be
•. filled in the 75-member Uppi
Upper
■; House, the Congress is contesting
only
23
of
them.
The
ing only 23 ot them. The list
list of
of
, candidates was cleared by the
. AICC President, Sonia Gandhi,
who consulted the Chief Minis, ter, the KPCC President, B. Janardhana Poojary, and the AICC
. General Secretary, Vayalar Ravi.
, The Congress has dropped four
of its retiring MLCs — K.N. Ra‘ janna (Tumkur), C. Ramesh
(Chamarajanagar),
Basavaraj,
.
1r1 1 1 (ROI —
^Itagi, and Niranjan Naidu
(Bel-
lary). There was 1hectic lobbying of State,
Sidhu ..
Nyamagouda, spectively. Friday is the last date
for the Congress
ticket and
and who
who fiss the
the President
President of
of the
the^Ba
~ ess ticket
Ba-' for the filing of nomination paabout 350 applications had galkot District Congress Com- pers. The party candidate from
...U„ :
U11!}66: an?
Shivanagouda Hassan, Mr. Anand, is the son of
Mr. Shankar, who is a new Rudragouda
(Bijapur); the for- the former Chairman of the
r»..j
comer to electoral politics, is mer Law Minister, p
1- Legislative Council, S. Sivappa.
Blasius
contesting from his home dis- D’Souza, and the formerr ML.*.,
MLA, Eleven out of the 23 Congress
trict of Mandya. Mr. Hanuman- Pratapchandra Shetty, (Dakshi- candidates are newcomers. By
thappa, who is a senior na IKannada); Amatappa M. and large, the party has opted
„ .,
. PCC,--------(Gulbarga);
S.M.
Vice-President
of. the
was a Kandkur
(Gulbarga); //-..ii
S.M. fQr veterans on]y recently, it
member of the Rajya Sabha for Anand (Hassan); the former got Mr. Basavaraj Patil Humnathree terms. Only
~ ’ recently he Minister, Naseer Ahmed from bad’s son elected to the Legisla- .4
was reappointed Vice-Chair- Kolar; K.B. Munivenkata Reddy; tiie Assembfy^‘Vbyd^tion
man of the State Planning sitting MLC from Bangalore Ur- from
from Humnabad.
Humnabad. Mr.
Mr. HindasgHindasgBoard.
ban district; N. Manjunath (My- eri and Mr. Veerakumar Patil
Mr. Ugrappa, who is a former sore); H.R. Srinath (Raichur); had been dropped from the
Janata Dal MLC, is the spokes- Azeez Ahmed (Shimoga); S. Ravi S.M. Krishna Ministry. Mr. John,
man of the KPCC and also one (Bangalore Rural district); and who had been made to resign
. the general' secretaries. He Subhalatha Vasanth Asnotikar was
of
was re-inducted.
re-inducted. Mr.
Mr. Naseer
Naseer
was
‘
YllHZET
was an°active
an active and
and ]prominent
(Uttara Kannada). Ms.
Asnoti- Ahmed, was a Minister in the
MLC. The
The others
ether: being
hem- fielded
fielded kee
a
MLC.
kar ieis the wife of the V
Vasanth
Bangarappa Ministry.
by the Congress are the former Asnotikar, former MLA, , who
It might not be difficult for i MP, D.M. Putte Gowda (Chik- was murdered. M..
Mr. John, 1V11
Mr.. the Congress to get most of its
magalur); the Chairman of Basavaraj
Patil Humnabad,
«
rr
. •M
• -e candidates elected, as the party
KPTCL and former Minister, Munivenkata Reddy, Mr. Veera_______ c________________________ " ■’
controls a majority of the ’local !
Veerakumar Patil, and Mahan- kumar
kumarPatil,
Patil,and
andMr.
Mr.Hindasgeri
Hindasgeri bodies, includingJ municipal
tesh K.M. Kavatagimath (Bel- have been renominated.
iities.
'
TZ._
The Congress is still in a
gaum);; the former Labour
The Ministers, T. John (Civil minority in the Upper House
,
AM.
r
Minister,
AM.
Hindasgeri Aviation) and Basavaraj Patil and the Government is yet to fill 4
(Dharwad);
K.S.L. Swamy
(Bel- Humnabad
------------------------.vamy (Bel’ three
’
...
Humnabad (Power),
(Power), will
will acon- the
vacancies
in the nomiI T*’ rA • ♦
/-» r- I
lary);
the former
Union Minister test from Kodagu and Bidar,, re- nated seats.
I
i-xJ t
7■
------- =— ar
v. *. ;Trrc
—..--j*____ r-
w
J J f .'b ?
'-0Q3
in
-■L- .. -
i
PH News Service
sembly twice and in the last elections, he had polled just four£
U ^'wo wanna^e chief ministers,
thousand votes less than the'.1
Poll Outcome 199
9 two deputy chief ministers and
winner — Swami Prasad Lodhi, k
3 the state Assembly Speaker are
the elder brother of Ms Bharati. I;
MADHYA
U locked in prestigious, multi-corMr Lodhi made way for his
PRADESH
3 nered contests in different consister’s maiden effort to enter tlie £
stituencies in Madhya Pradesh.
Assembly and shifted to another
fl The prestige of "two former
seat. Though the Samajwadi
chief ministers is at stake in two
Party, responding to the appeal of';
tj other constituencies with them
, the CPI, withdrew its candidate,
4 kin contesting the seats.
the Congress refused to do so. ’ ■ ’
'j The two most talked-about
Both tlie deputy chief min- 7
\ constituencies in the state are
isters of the state — Jamuna }
.'j Raghogarh in Guna district and
Devi and Subhash Yadav — are ’
■j Bada Malhera in Chhattarpur,
facing tough battles in Kukshi
,j from where Digvijay Singh and
(Dhar district) and Kasrawad r’»
; Uma Bharati respectively are
(Khargone district).
4 trying to enter the Assembly
I
I Conq: 172
Indore II: BJP
Ms Devi is facing Pratap’’;,
Indore III. Cong
j Raghogarh is the home town
Singh Baghel, a former Con-1 i
E3J BJP: 119
Indore IV: BJP
of Singh and the constituency
Indore V: Cong
gressman who has defected to >
QHHD BSP: 11
Jhas been returning either
the BJP. As Congress candidates,
CHHATTISGARH*
EZ3 Others: 18
1 Digvijay or his brother Laxman
both Mr Baghel and Ms Devi
4 consistently since 1977, barring
have won the seat thrice each. 11
* Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh'}:
1985 when a nominee of the
In Kasrawad, the other £
on Nov. 1, 2000, constituting 90 Assembly segments
• Singhs had won the seat.
Deputy Chief Minister Subhash
ELECTORAL HISTORY
In an attempt to pin down
Yadav is facing a formidable uSeats
eats i/ ,
Turnout
t Digvijay Singh, the BJP has
Lead'ng p3rty won
won Vote % Runner Up ^won
challenge
in
Rameshwar t
Vote %
%
1998 Congress
: fielded one of its most high172 40.59 -----------Patidar, who has defeated him
BJP
119 39.28 ’60.22
- profile MP from the state and
1993 Congress
thrice in Lok Sabha elections ■
....................................... BJP
117 3~8-82 60-66
j;party national general secretary
1990 B3.P .-------- 22O
J1_ Congress 56
from Khargone Parliamentary J‘
220__39
39.14
33.38
54.19
NShivraj Singh.
constituency
1185 Congress 250 __48.87~ BJP'
__58 32.45 49.85
,$1 The BSP, SP and other minor
Mr Yadav, as incharge of the p
1_98q Congress 246
246 47.52
60
47.52 BJP ’
30.34- 49.03
! jplayers have withdraw from the
water resources department, has [
IL77 dNP_ __ 230
230 47,28
Congress 84
47.28
35.88
51.97
‘ fray, leaving the field open for the
earned tlie ire of the Narmada I
l?7....................
i P2ngr?s?..__220_47.93
BJS_ '" 48
.....
=__ 220' 47.93 ’BUS
28.64 55.26
ijtwo Singhs to fight it out.
Bachao Andolan, which is a f
1
967 Congress
7 40.6
40.60~
BJS ~7Q
1967
Congress’ 16
167
0
BJS
28.28
SSTg
^Digvijay has already described
force to reckon with in the area, f
1962
Congress 14
142
38
544
jS
4~4^
____ Congress
2
38.5
jShivraj as Bali ka bakra (scape
The state Assembly Speaker f
1957 Congress
232 49.83 ±sp—~ir-T3.T7 37:17■goat) and considering the fact
Sriniwas Tiwari too is facing L
1951
194 49,07 .KMPP
~8
5.22" ^:iT
jthat Digvijay Singh had polled 85
trouble, though not from his elecJNP Janata Party, BJS Bharatiya Jan Sangh; JS Jan Sangh
per cent of the votes in 1998 electoral rivals. Tlie Election Com- k
PSP. Praia Socialist Party; KMPP- Kisap Mazdoor Praja Party
KBK
Pollgraphics
Itions, the comparison does not
mission has mounted an un- 1
.fseem entirely out of place.
precedented surveillance in his F
she would
, , have been in deeper’ candidate
Kapoor
Chand constituency Mangawan in Rewa &
jTOUGH FIGHT: Ms Uma Bharati,
w,
a
te
rS
L
ad
CPI
’
S
efforts
t0
P
er
‘
Dhuwara
borne
fruit.
’
district after
district
after a'as” --------many as 30,000 |
;on the other hand, is definitely suade other parties to withdraw
Mr Dhuwara has represented tered
bogusinvoters
were found
Jnot as comfortably placed. And from the contest in favour of its
the
electoral
rolls.regis"
I
this constituency in the As- x
v BHOPAL, Nov 18
MADHYA PRADESH
Assembly Seats: 320
J Gwalior: BJP
Panagarh: Cong:
Lashkar East Cong Jabalpur Cantt; BJP
Lashkar West: BJP Jabalpur East: BJP;
Jabalpur Central: BJP
Jabalpur West: BJP
InHnra HI-
rrZCCAK HERALD1
-1
''
j' i /
• —
- . vU
MLA’s arrest: Speaker’s
.•i
nod not needed
•m1
ixniNXjrtjjUrUi,,
BANGALORE, 1NOV
Nov IB
18 (DUNS)
(DHNS)
J Legislative Assembly Speaker M V Venkatappa has stated that
his permission is not needed to arrest MLA A Narayanaswamy
f in connection with Manjula’s suicide.
In a press release issued today, Mr R Rajshekar, personal sec
retary of the Speaker said, “Speaker has clarified that in Manju
la’s case, my permission to arrest Narayanaswamy is not re
quired and it is necessary only if police have to arrest an MLA
from the Assembly hall or from any other place specified by him.”
I
I
j
t
Manjula’s husband
fears for his safety
Anekal MLA Narayanaswamy t
responsible for her death. Police ft
.BANGALORE, Nov 18
have booked a case of “abetment /j
l*T am receiving threatening calls
to commit suicide" (Sec 306 of i
land I am scared about my safe- IPC). However, all the accused
jty”, said Mr Adikeshava, hus are absconding.
band of Anekal Town Municipal
. Addressing a press meet on
^Council Chief Manjula Adike- Monday along with the office- , ;
: fehava who committed suicide on bearers of Samanvaya, a federa- ) V
! November 5.
tion of women’s organisations, .
< Manjula had committed sui- he said that he albng with his son I )
| side by hanging at her residence were
staying with a friend after j 4
•J -dfter she was reportedly humili the death of his wife. Samanvaya $
ated in the Council meeting. In a expressed dissatisfaction over
Suicide notn. she had held TMC
PH News Service
/•I
ll€
AsseKiffiioiy passes
Safes Tas B® TOES
UP member aisquaimea
|
By Our Special Correspondent
|
IsHlMOGA, AUG. 6. D. Lakshman, Chairman of the Standing |
^Committee on Education and Health of the Shimoga Zilla |
jPanchayat, has been disqualified from tlie panchayat. In ai l
ordinance. When the bill was yiorder tJhe State Eiection Commissioner, C. Chikkanna, has
PH News Service
passed by voice vote, the BJP itaecla’ ed that the seat held by Mr. Lakshman, who was
BANGALORE, Aug 6
members staged a walkout.
Elected to the panchayat as a Congress candidate from the|l
1 Amidst walkout by the OpposiEarlier, Leader of the Opposi- *Megaravalli constituency in Tirthahalli taluk, has become J
! tion BJP members, the Legisla- tion Jagadish Shettar said the |vacant. He passed the order on a complaint by K.
V
■’i tive Assembly today passed the revised sales tax would severely Scurumurthy, a voter from the constituency, that Mr.
i
j Karnataka Sales Tax Bill 2003 affect trade in the state. As a fall 4 Lakshman, as a contractor, collected two bills from the
ft
i providing for revision of sales out of the increased rates, sever- .4panchayat after his election. According to the complaint, a
itax on certain commodities to al traders had diverted business
Lakshman, who was elected to the panchayat on June
4 raise additional income to make to neighbotu'ing states. He point- ag, 2000, had given an affidavit on May 16, 2000 while filing s
|
j up for the loss of income due to ed out that while Tamil Nadu 'Jhis nomination, declaring that he had given up the
and Andhra Pradesh had fixed 4 b contractor’s work. But, he reportedly got his bills amoun in|
• postponement of implementa1 tion of Value Added Tax system. per cent sales tax on ready made f|to Rs. 2 lakh settled by the panchii^iSe_^--r ->,-d..l ^,.P^i^^i'
I The bill, which seeks to re- garments, the prevailing rate in
• place an ordinance which has alKarnataka was 9.5 per cent.
•‘
THE EINW
■■■ ready been promulgated, pro- PANCHAYAT RAJ BILL: Meanwh- >
•; vides for one to two per cent hike ile, the House also passed the J
in sales tax on some commodi Karnataka Panchayat Raj Bill proties. It also provides for slapping viding more responsibilities to
one per cent additional tax on Panchayat ward Sabha (wardcertain commodities to be col level meeting of voters) and
grama sabha. These sabhas would j
.
lected from traders.
Law Minister D B Chandre select the beneficiaries for various jih ______ PH News Service---------; Gowda, who moved the bill on be- programmes besides prioritising ji bangalore, Nov 17
j half of Chief Minister SMKr- various development works.
Ninety-four candidates includ
: ishna2 who also holds finance
The bill referred to joint legis-; ing four rebel candidates of the
^portfolio,-said these measures lature committee, also provides 5 ruling Congress have remained
■ were only interim in nature and for disqualification of members
in the fray for the Legislative
; would be discontinued after the • of village, Taluk and Zilla pan- ? Council elections to be held on
' implementation of VAT.
chayats for three years if they * December 1. Nearly half of the H
However, the Opposition me- fail to submit details regarding i 160-odd candidates withdrew
0 mbers took exception to hiking election expenditures. Accord- their nominations on the last p
j taxes through an ordinance. ing to it, these members should * day for withdrawing nomina^They argued that the govern- also disclose any pecuniary in- 3
tions today.
ment could have called a special terest they have in any issue J
Though the Congress, which
legislature session to discuss the coming up for consideration atk ’ has been dogged by rebellion,
issue instead of promulgating an panchayat meetings.
[ has. succeeded in persuading
-.’f ‘T--------1 several of its rebel candidates to
I withdraw their nominations, ■
four have remained in the con- <
test. Reacting quickly, the Con- J
gress has expelled all the
2.. four
2
from the party for six years, h
; They are sitting MLC K N Ra? janna (Tumkur), Zilla Panchayat
J member
Arun
Machaiah
• (Kodagu), Jayaram Shetty (Dak' shina Kannada) and Haveri dis- :
. trict Congress spokesman A A ;
’ Patan (Dharwad). Ten rebel can- j
■ didates including Sunitha Veer- i
I appa Gowda (Mysore) have withdrawn their nominations.
*•ft
, REJECTED: The candidature of Ji
.......... 1 MLC polls: T
Cong expels |
four rebels ’
5
■
■
■ Continued on_Page 9 Col 7
r
j
Council poll
Continued from Page 1
Bellary Anil H Lad, has been re- 4
jected as he did not meet the age ■
? criterion. The minimum age to ’■
• contest the Legislative Council
polls is 30 and Mr Anil still has
■. 22 days to turn 30.
The break up of candidates in
i the fray is as follows: Congress 'd
23, JD(S) 19, All India Progres- <
' sive Janata Dal 19 and BJP 11.
The number of candidates
that have remained in fray in 1
various districts are as follows:
Bangalore Urban 4, Bahga- -I
lore Rural 3, Bidar 5, Gulbarga 4, r
Bijapur 7, Belgaum 7, Uttara *
' Kannada 4, Dharwad 6, Raichur £
; 3, Chitradurga 5, Shimoga’ 6,
• Dakshina Kannada 5, Mandya 5,
Kolar 3, Kodagu 4 , Tumkur 9, J
1 Chikmagalur 4 and Mysore 8.
H
5
i
*_■*. .ul s
a....
a
^3
B ' lore "rural 'ZF cKief, Congress wins jj
top post in
)
deputy e^tecled
a Tumkur ZP
ity, they added.
|
*
The Bangalore Rural ZP has a H By Our Staff Correspondent J
^BANGALORE, Nov 11
total strength of 38 out of which 0
■j Mr K Ramesh and Mr D C Congress has 23, Janata Dal 10 pUMKOR, \ov. 14. S.R. Shantala'
• Ramesh of the Congress have and AIPJD 5 members respecMukthar Hussain, bothbeen unanimously elected as the lively. Also the presence of two ^Congress members, were today
^elected
President and Vice-(
?President and Vice-President of MLAs, two MLCs who have vot
{the Bangalore Rural Zilla Pan- ing rights and two MPs would en- (President of the Tumkur Zilla
?chayat.
chayat.
sure an easy win of the Congress i'Panchayat. Earlier, in ,a series of
1 r
Elections._____
were: to”be■ held-to- --candidates
iswlft Polltlcal developments,!
-----. Since only Mr K
pthe Congress was forced to field'
- - -• yday for the'posts.
DELEGATION: The newly elected
Shantala, wife of the party./
:!Ramesh of Kootagallu, Ramna- President plans to take a delega-|^Ms.
MLCi K
DH News Service
.
C-UIVOOUIC UU111 111<- lanci 3 SUp-rj
, .
apprise hl!p j porters. Ms. Shantala is from a?
about the water problem prevail-Scheduled Tribe) and
J
mg in the district for over twojof
president of the pan-1
years. He promised to work forichayat was reserved for a worn-]
the development of the districts an member from, the generaj
without any bias and sought the^category.
4.
cooperation of all the members,
Outgoing President B Rajanna ,
spoke of his regret of not being '
able to
auic
uv work
wuin avuuiumg
according to
lv CApcL
expec-j^
’i
tations because of the Centre’s^ -y
■ ">'
Decentralization Policy and sub-'
sequent preference of Grani
Panchayats
over
Zillal
Panchayats in certain areas.
f
Congratulating the new Presif
dent and Vice-President, they
members assured full cooperat
tion. Zilla Panchayat CEO C So?
mashekhar also spoke on the ocp
casion. The incumbents’ tenure
is for a period of 20 months.
|
J they were declared elected by the
^Returning Officer and Deputy
) Commissioner B P Kaniram.
Members representing Dodd^aballapur, Magadi, Devanahalli,
! Chennapatna, Kanakapura and
J Nelamangala Taluks have held
’ the top two posts so far. District
I in-Charge Minister D K ShivakuJ mar, Minister H M Revanna and
) Ramnagar MLA and Karnataka
| Water Board Chairman C M Lin•i gappa decided to have K Ramesh
J elected to give Ramnagar Taluk
4 representation, sources told Decj can Herald. Even the election of
J D C Ramesh, belonging to MinisT-ter D K Shivakumar’s constituency, was pre-decided, toj day’s election was a mere formal-
the hind^
1
hl
;''! ^G3
| Cong plan bacldKreslii ZP poIFJ
From G Nagaraj
DH News Service
4 -----------------------------------------------‘HASSAN. Nov 18
In its efforts to prove that former
’ Prime Minister H D Devegowda’s
| strength was going down in the
district, the Congress had to wit
ness a face down, when rebel
^candidates bagged the posts of
•president and vice president of
5 Zilla Panchayat by seeking the
i support of Janata Dal (Secular).
i
In its efforts to pull down the
< strength of Mr Gowda, the Con’ gress failed to take into confi■ dence its own ZP members. For; mer president and JD(S) mem; ber of Hassan ZP H M Krish• naprasad was included into the
: Congress, in the presence of the
< chief minister in Bangalore. By
; doing so, the Congress was try,j ing to prove that the JD(S) was
I facing a downfall.
The Congress allowed JD(S)
I candidate to join the party when
the elections for the ZP was fast
approaching. This matter was
deccai:
Hassan District Congress Com
mittee.
Without consulting the Dis
trict Congress or the local lead
ers, Krishnaprasad was included
into the party: As he joined in
Bangalore, the issue hogged the
limelight.
Unhappy over the latest devel
opments, JD(S) leaders decided
to use this opportunity to teach a
lesson to the Congress in the dis
trict. The JD(S) extended its sup
port to the rebel candidates by
getting them elected unanimous
ly to the posts of president and
vice president of the zilla panchayat.
The rebel candidates were
kept in hiding and presented on
the day of the elections. Devegowda’s son and former MP H D
Kumaraswamy had taken the re
sponsibility of safeguarding the
interests of the JD(S) members
-as well as the rebel candidates
■■
F'l;i
during the elections.
The Congress had secured a safe position in Hassan ZP. Of '
the 37 seats, 21 members belong i
to the Congress. Instead of keep- •
ing its members intact, it tried to
include another member from -j
the Opposition party. Apart from <j
this, encouraging MLC B V K
Karigoudar from the JD(S) in all
its party functions also led to dis- ■
contentment among the Congress members.
The members are of the opin- *
ion that the kind of interest ex- 6
pressed towards these two members belonging to the Opposition,
was not displayed to the honest '
workers of the party.
Despite four years^of completion of the Congress govern-)
ment, none of the party workers .
have been given the post of c
chairman of a board or corporation.
’
The Congress had some of the
strongest leaders but due to lack-b
of unity, it had completely failed p»
to secure a post for its workers at n
the State level.
>
u©
£
T
A
X
writes
B
22 candidates
jjBy Our Special Correspondent
former Deputy Chairman of the
Legislative Council, David Si
fiBANGALORE, Nov. 14. The Janata meon, or Shankaranna Onnakal
JDal (Secular), headed by the (Gulbarga); Anil Lad Sandur
^former Prime Minister and MP, (Bellary); Chidananda (Mysore);
jH.D. Deve Gowda, has selected
the former Minister, M.S. Patil
J22 candidates for 20 seats to (Raichur); P.T. Nayak (Uttara
!he Dece™b7 1 bien- Kannada);
Kannada); Jagannath
Jagannath K.
K. (Banga(Bangajnial elections to the Legislative lore Urban district); Range
^Council from the local author- Gowda or E. Krishnappa (BanJities constituency. Elections will galore Rural district); the MLC,
• be h®ld f°r 25 seats of the 75- Satish Jarakihola (Belgaum); (
' The eTrn?<!iPher H°?se- .
Baburao Guttagi (Bidar); Tippe; IheJD(S) has selected three rudraiah
A
rudraiah (Chikmagalur):
(Chikmagalur); R
*B.A.
JI former ministers and one MLC. Dandin (Dharwad); Patel Shiv
jThe party candidates are: K.R. aram (Hassan); S.P. MahadeMPrabhavathi (Mandya); the for- vappa (Kodagu); K.V. Nagaraj
(jmer Minister, H. Ekanthaiah (Kolar); and S.T. Krishne Gowda
k (Chitradurga); B.B. Patil (Bija- (Shimoga), according to a press
jpur); P. Eshwar Bhat (Dakshina release issued by the Secretary^Kannda); the former Minister, General of the JD(S), C.
|D. Nagarajaiah (Tumkur); the Narayanaswamy.
'
■
■
.
"■
I
I
11 nominations
....mjt jr.jB
•Cgffli'HLaieg fray i
fe>r CoiMciji podite
4
PH News Service
(Cong), H Ekanthaiah (JD-S), B T
Channabasappa (A1PJD).
.^BANGALORE, Nov 18
Haven: A M Hindasgeri (Cong), A A
following is the list of candi- Pathan (Cong rebel). Basavaraj Bom.Jdates of major political parties mai (AIPJD).
igwho are in the fray for the Leg Kolar: Nazeer Ahmed (Cong), K Muni- *
islative Council elections (from rathnam Naidu (AIPJD) and K V Na- n
yocal bodies) to be held on De- garaju (JD-S).
Kodagu: T John (Cong), S G Medappa
"icember 1:
(BJP), Arun Machaiah (Cong rebel).
^Bangalore Urban: K B Munivenkata
Shimoga: S P Sheshadri (JD-S), Mir
jReddy (Cong), Subramani (AIPJD),
A.Z^ Ahmed (Cong), Trishulpani
----- r--------Patel z
j’Narayana Reddy (BJP) and Jagannath
(AIPJD),
Shantaveerappa Gowda (BJP).
$(JD-S).
Raichur:
H
R
Srinath
(Cong)
and
MS
(;Bangalore Rural: S Ravi (Cong), M
Patil (JD-S).
'iNarayanaswamy (AIPJD) and Range
Bellary-: KSL Swamy (Cong) and K
.;Gowda (JD-S).
Pampana Gowda (AIPJD).
^Mysore (2 seats): N Manjunath
Mandya: S M Shankar (Cong) and K R 5
;.(Cong), B Chidananda (JD-S), ChowdaPrabhavathi Jayaram (JD-S).
■ j
jiah (BJP), M Vrushabendrappa
Hassan: S M Anand (Cong) and Patel • j
• (AIPJD), Y Mahesh (JD-S rebel).
Shivarom /(JD-S).
111 Cx
Shivaram
iTumkur: V S Ugrappa (Cong), D NaBidar: Basavaraj H Patil (Cong),
\garahaiah (JD-S), G N Naganna
Kalyan Rao Patil (AIPJD), Raghunath
■ i(AlPJD), Nakshminarasimha Raju
Rao Malkapure (BJP) and Babu Rao
:> (BJP), K N Rajanna (Cong-rebel).
Guttigi (JD-S).
'.Belgaum (2 seats): Veerkumar Patil
Uttara Kannada: Shubhalatha As' jand Mahantesh Kavatagimath (both
notikar (Cong). Krishna Bhat (BJP),
L Cong). Murigeppa Sambannavar (BJP),
Harish Lakshmana Shetty (AIPJD) and
. jSatish Jarkiholi (JD-S), Shivananda
P T Naik (JD-S).
''Koujalagi (AIPJD).
x
Dakshina Kannada (2 seats): Blasius £'
, Bijapur (2 seats): Panchappa KalburD'souza and K Prathap Chandra Shetty j
' gi (AIPJD); Siddu Nyamagowda and R
(Cong). Monappa Bhandari (BJP), Esh;S Patil (both Cong); B G Patil Halsangi
wara Bhat (JD-S), Jayaram Shetty
if(JD-S); Siddalingappanavar B
(Cong
rebel).
g
.'Bhimmappa (BJP).
Dharwad
(2 seats): A M Hindasgeri J
iChikmagalur: D M Puttegowda
(Cong), Basavaraj Bommai (AIPJD),
|
ft (Cong) and S Thipperudrappa (JD-S).
Manjunath Abbigeri (BJP). B N
j|Chitradurga: H Hanumanthappa
Dandin (JD-S).
'>
1
. ------- I
i
1
j By Our Special Correspondent
The President of the BJP State '
H.N. Ananth Kumar, said i
’nAiaGAiL(!?E'
Tbe BJP bas recent,y that the party would 1
,: fielded 11 candidates in the elec- field more . than five candidates J
..3 Hon foy seats in the Legislative this time, and indicated the good j
Council from the local author- performance of the party in the 1
J ities constituency, scheduled for recent local body elections, par- '
ticularly gram panchayats, was ! The party fielded five candi- the reason for this.
' dates in the last elections and
The other candidates chosen
J won two seats. H.S. Shantavee- by die party are Raghunathrao
rappa Gowda and A. Vinaya- Malkapi
jure (Bidar), Basavaraj
j chandra, BJP MLCs, are retirin'
retiring.1' Siddalingappanavar (Bijapur), ■
I While Mr. Gowda has been cho- Murageppa Tippanna Samban- ;
j sen again. to contest from Shimo------nanavar (Belgaum), Manjunatha j
, ga district, Monappa Bhandari, Abbigere (Dharwad), RamakrishPresident of the DzJ-hmDakshina Kan
Kan- na Reddy (Chitradurga), Medapnada unit of the j \, wil!
2* con- pa
(Kodagu),
Chowdiah j
- test from the district
the seat (Mysore), Lakshminarasima Raju ,1
met for
far the
j vacated by Mr- VinaYa- (Tumkur), and K. Narayana RajuU
rhanrtra
pangalore Urban district).
|
.
i
-
1
■’ “■''x------ W««8fe«K«A33£S..............
ueccan Herald, Wednesday, November 19, 2003 1
"
deccak herald
chandfeF. HINDr^ -■
I Hearing into TMC
IS
|i chief’sdeath today
I BANGALORE, Nov 19 (DHNS)
An open public hearing into
the circumstances surround
ing the suicide by Anekal
a Town Municipal Council Pres■ ident Manjula Adikeshava
will be held by the State
Women’s Commission at the
Anekal court premises at 2
' pm tomorrow (November 20).
Citizens who have some; thing to say on the matter, in. eluding on the political clil; mate and political activities in
• the area can depose before the
I Commission.
ii
From the info the Commis3 sion has been able to gather
thus far, it is observed that peopie in the area have been suf-
fering the highhandedness of
the
accused
MLA
Narayanaswamy (BJP) for
long, Commission’s Chairper
son Philomena Peres said here
today. Speaking to pressper
sons, Ms Peres regretted that
the arrest of the accused had
not come through yet.
The Commission, she said,
has appealed to the Speaker to
dismiss the accused MLA. An
appeal is also made to the
Election Commission, politi
cal parties and the chief min
ister to eiisure that the ac
cused is treated on the lines, of
those with criminal back
ground and be debarred from
juhc
.
political
life.
DGP directed |
to arrest
AnekalMLA !
BANGALORE, Nov 19 (DHNS)
Home ‘ Minister Mallikarjun [
Kharge today said he had directed I
the Director General of Police to i
arrest Anekal MLA A Narayana- -i
swamy and five others for their al- |
leged involvement in the death of
Anekal Town Council President
Manjula Adikeshava.
■ Ms Manjula had committed
suicide by hanging at her resi
dence after she was reportedly,
humiliated in the Council meet
ing and had held Mr Narayanaswamy and five others respon
sible for her death in her suicide
note.Mr Kharge said he had
sought a reply from the police on
the reason behind the delay in
arresting the accused who are
'^arsAi'iE^ap-
....... ~D
n ? W 2003
|2J
ZP CEOs told to J
file cases against |
‘erring staff’
By Our Staff Reporter
T Vi
cers (CEOs) of all the zilla pa
chayats to file criminal cases
against employees found
have indulged in embezzleme.
of funds or misuse of property,
if the charges against them
■■
i /A-
NOV. 19. The Rur5’1
it and Pancha}
ry, V.P. Baligar, has
In a press release, he said the
Government had informatr
from reliable sources that u...
investigating officers, heads of
the departments concerned,
zilla panchayat CEOs were <
liberately delaying investigation
by conniving with the erring
, employees. The Governmc
One of the two Zilla Panchayat members who were injured in the melee during the election of Zilla Pan-!.! he said, had observed that thei*
chayat President and Vice-President being taken to hospital in Hassan on Monday.
' erring officials could transFnrh
their assets or properties, wh * >
• could lead to difficulties in reco-j
vering money or property from g
Hassan ZP elections
f them.
_____
Rebels win amid protests
i______ PH News Service______
, HASSAN, Nov 17
' Rebel Congress candidate G T In' dira was elected president and T
D Khanderao the vice-president
■of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat
• amidst protests and violence.
Two women ZP members including Ms Vanamala and Ms
Bhagya Ramachandra were inn jured in the commotion that pre■ vailed. The Congress lost even after having won 21 out of 37 mem^bers in Hassan district.
'■ After the results were dedared at 5.40 pm, the Congress
members gathered in front of the
^polling venue. In the mad rush
ijthat prevailed, two women mem-
DECC.-x.
Sers were injured and had to be
admitted to the hospital.
As the candidate himself was
unwell and absent, the Congress
members urged repeatedly that
their candidate must be allowed
to contest for the election. The
election was delayed for three
hours and forty five minutes.
The members of the Congress
party tried to stop the election as
both candidates G T Indira and T
D Khanderao were earlier in the
Congress Party but had joined
JD (S) later.
The rebel candidates walked
in at 1.45 pm with JD (S) men.
The Congressmen then urged the
rebel candidates to contest for
the party, but they refused. The
■r-MD
Congress
candidate
Bhagya'; 1
/ ;
Ramchandra had taken ill and;:
was admitted to the hospital. The i!
meeting had to be postponed for
30 minutes. When the Deputy ''
Commissioner refused the plea'*
by Congress to postpone the J
meeting further, they tried to as-.:
sault the rebel candidates. And
in the commotion that followed •
Ms Ramachandra fell down.The:
polling continued amid tight se- •
curity, in which Mr Khanderao got 20 votes while the opposite ;
candidate got no vote at all.
Section 144 was imposed 2
which prevented any unpleasant :
event. District Superintendent of ’’
Police Pandurang H Rane was^
present.
■i
..............
•-’I
J 2.3.
'TH sjit] a
' ’ *J
• *,yy* -
Confusion over panctesS
By M.Madan Mohan
I
J
*
*
I
y
Government has adopted most planning, preservation of biodi- chayats, and taluk panchayats 3
of the recommendations made versity, preparing credit plan are to assist gram panchayats in a
HUBLI, dec. 7. Wliat are the func- by the Working Group on DeDe and ensuring timely supply of the execution of projects and J
tions and responsibilities of centralisation. The only classifi- credit, provide for storage faci- procure and supply building jg
panchayat bodies in the State? cation made by the Working lity, establish soil testing cen- material.
The Department of Rural Devel- Group that does not figure in tres, and maintain a link
In rural drinking water supopment and Panchayat Raj has the notification pertains to land between research and training ply projects, while the zilla pan i
issued orders notifying the improvement, land ceiling, land organisations.
chayats formulate the plans,
functions of the panchayat bod- consolidation, and updating
The work not allotted to the technically appraise them:
ies, putting an end to the confu- and maintenance of land re- zilla and gram panchayats, award contracts for major
sion on the issue. Called activity cords.
come under the purview of ta- works outside the taluk and
mapping, the concept was first
The delineation of functions luk panchayats. *
ggram r
panchayats, and monitor
mooted
by
the
Task
Force,
conrevolved
round
the
zilla
panIn Minor
Minor Irrigation
Irrigation and
and WaWa- theprogrammes.thegrampanthe programmes, the gram pan
> j i' .i, it ■
»<• •
; ------ —- ---------------- t
In
stituted by the Union Ministry chayats
formulating
The
-------------------K
. , ?to identify
.
..
J.-^-ts
die tershed xx
Management, the gram chayats,b are required
of Rural Development to go into schemes, the taluk panchayats panchayats have to identify lo- beneficiaries, construct wells,
the devolution
of powers
and coordinating the ...
implementacations and execute the pro- tanks and so on and maintain
p____ x?_____
_ r xi
«
....
*
functions of the panchayat raj tion between the zilla and gram jects,, construct purification the schemes, collect water
institutions, in its report sub panchayats and the gram pan- tanks, and check dams, enforce charges, and appoint operators
mitted in August 2001.
implementing the inter-well distance, identify the wherever necessary.
, chayats
Later, the Working Group on scheme.
beneficiaries under various proIn poverty alleviation pro
Decentralisation, comprising
The taluk panchayat gets the. grammes while the zilla pan gramme, the major responsibState Government officials, en responsibility of implementa- chayats
formulate
plans,
fiity is again on the shoulders of
j’
dorsed the concept, with some tion Only in cases of work in- assicmc
assigns fhpm
them, 'anH
and rnnrrlimta
coordinate gram panchayats and this in
modifications, in its report in volving more than one gram' among the various departments cludes identification of benefi
March 2002. The Government panchayat. In the farm sector, and funding while taluk pan- ciaries under ,Jawahar Gram
took time to introduce an for example, the gram pan chayats implement the inter- Samridhdhi Yojana (JGSY), Sa
amendment Bill to the Pan- chayat has been entrusted with gram panchayat projects.
magra Awas Yojana, and Rural
chayat Raj Act making far-reac- estimating crop yield, maintain
In rural housing, including Sanitation Programme, besides
hing changes in the concept.
ing data base, report on losses Indira Awas Yojana, one of the utilising the funds,
The notification is expected from natural calamities, super- key programmes of relevance
In wage employment pro
to make the panchayat bodies vise relief operations and distri- are to identify beneficiaries, ac- gramme, the gram panchayat
---------------- , re_
more meaningful. For activity bution of material, iidentify
’
quire land for housing layouts, ...:n
will identify the i_i
labourers
mapping, the activities of the persons for taking up crop in- assist in allotment and distribu- quiring work, formulate
> ■ prothree-tier set-up has been di- surance, and assist in other tion of houses and sites, consti- jects,
constitute
work
vided into 26 clusters covering myriad functions. The zilla pan- tute beneficiaries function, committees, ensure employ
crucial sectors such as housing chayat had been entrusted with execute construction work, and ment to all in the village and
and education for delineation of preparing comprehensive crop supervise the same. The zilla distribute projects and works as
the functions of zilla, taluk, and plans, compiling and maintain- .panchayat
to deter' . is required
.
'
- per norms and monitor and sugram panchayats. In its notifi ing data on cropping pattern, mine design and unit cost for pervise the quality of works and
cation on activity mapping, the land use, and inputs used for the guidance
of
gram man-days generated.
”
i pan-
I
I
J
I
£
'T’U,.
___________________________ x.
i
1
THE HIMDU
S 0 n .V gaa
T
b
I
Amendment likely on transfer '
of powers to local bodies
Expressing the Centre’s an
guish that there was slow pro
Hyderabad, dec. 6. The Centre gress in the transfer of 29
would make another Constitu- Apowers to the local bodies, ex
tional amendment in the next cept in Karnataka and Goa, Mr.
session of Parliament making it Rana said it was the firm resolve
mandatory for all State Govern- of the Government to see that
ments to transfer at least 11 of the institutions got a minimum
the 29 powers conferred on the of 11 powers compulsorily with
ilocal
—
bodies by the 73rd Amend “funds and functionaries.” The
Government was particularly
ment of the Constitution.
The amendment bill was unhappy that there was hardly
planned to be moved in the on any progress in the work, de
going winter session of Parlia spite a plea made by the Prime
ment, but could not be done Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
.. .
due to limited working days, the at a convention of the Chief
Union Minister for Rural Devel- Ministers and Rural Developopment, Kashiram Rana, told ment Ministers from States two
’ .
years ago..
reporters here on Saturday.
)
By Our Staff Reporter
H A,
-■■J
1
■
: ■■ 2003
IZ3
ZP .to act Yagainst
Octl°" a<a,nsl
I B. lore
. ,
,
■ three engmeers
Imissing teachers, doctors
DH News Service
; BANGALORE, Dec 16:
The general meeting of Banga
lore Urban Zilla panchayat mem
bers today brought to light sever' al administrative lapses includ' ing teacher-less Government
’ schools, Primary Health Centres
’ without doctors and projects be
ing kept in cold storage.
According to Gangadhar, a
i Congress member, no teacher
1 has attended; school for several
■• days in a Government Primary
• school at Berahalli in Bangalore
■j South taluk. Students have been
! left in the lurch without lessons,
• he added.
> The House was informed that
as many as 62 doctors in 31 PHCs
• in the district are missing as
' they were no longer available
in their respective headquar
ters. Besides, the functioning of
(many PHCs were affected due to
•lack of doctors as the Covern. ment has ignored filling up of va
cancies.
BJP member Vishwanath al, leged that doctors never pay
; heed to their pleas to stay in the
t hospital and that they don’t
mind suspension orders as they
' lei Sai
®
get 75 per cent of their salary 1Q-
sought
By Our Staff Reporter
without work. The Government ■4
should take stringent action to
BANGALORE, DEC. 13. The Lokaypunish such doctors, he demand
ukta has recommended to the
ed.
Government to initiate a depart- 11
Though the State Govern . mental inquiry against three en- 1
ment has released Rs 21 lakh for Kgineers of the Tumkur Zilla I
construction of ‘check dams’ un !■*Panchayat Engineering Division
der the Water’ Shed Development I) and recover Rs. 84,217 from
them on a complaint of poor
Project in April 2003, the project
quality of construction of a 'com
is yet to take off.
Over and above, spill over s' munity centre at Kundaranahalli
works worth lakhs of rupees ’ village.
from the previous year were also j < The Lokayukta, Justice N. Ven'• katachala, submitted a report to
pending with the ZP, officials
t the Government after inquiring
said.
J into a complaint from Sagaralli
Minister for Social Welfare A
Revanna, agriculturist from GubKrishnappa, who is also the Ban S bi taluk, who alleged that Rs. 4
galore Urban district in-charge 1 JaVL
tho nrniprt
lakh canrtinnpd
sanctioned fnr
for the
project ’■
minister, who chaired the meet ' under the MP Local Area Devel- , ‘
ing, admitted that administra- > opment Fund was misused by.j
tive machinery had collapsed in
the public servants concerned.
the district.
J The complainant named the ;
Mr Krishnappa directed Ban- ? »; Tumkur MP, G.S. Basavaraju, the
galore Urban
gcuuie
uiuan ZP uepuiy
Deputy oeuieSecre- J f Tumkur
auuikui Deputy
ju/cpuiy vuuuiu»iunci,
Commissioner,
tary P Kumar to immediately ; ' and the "Affix Society”, Heggere
..xx« were found
xwxxxx '' u% (which was occupying the comsuspend doctors who
missing in their respective head-’
munitY centre), as respondents. 1
On February 13, 2003, the Lo- '
quarters.
s.
ordered
the closure of |
“Every thing has to be set . kayukta
, „
right within 10 days and action- 1 3 'he
n • .respondents
,
(iompn
denied thp
the allpantinn
allegation ann
and thp
the
taken reports of all departments
....
.
” Mr^rkh^ • technical
win8 of the .Lokayukta
’
should be submitted,’ MrKrisnr. ; reported that the building was |
nappa said.
newly constructed. However, he
- reopened the case on a fresh pet• ition from the complainant, and
called for a spot inspection in the
■ latter’s presence.
The technical wing noticed
that the centre had been built on
a mud-and-mortar foundation I
.. that already existed. It said the 1
engineering wing of the zilla .
, panchayat at Gubbi had alleged- i
ly recorded false entries regard' ing the measurements of the i
building and misused funds to a
’ tune of Rs. 84,217. Nagendraiah,
Executive Engineer, K. Para. meshwaraiah, Assistant Execu
tive Engineer, Gubbi, and
Umeshaiah, Junior Engineer,
• Gubbi, were held responsible for
^he^ misuse.
TirE
t 7
2
Sms !
<
i \
y-
‘ vx
jj.By Our Special Correspondent
:♦ JEWARGI (GULBARGA DT.), DEC. 14.
The Home Minister, M. Malli’ikarjun Kharge, said here on
Sunday that the Stree Shakti
■«' programme launched two years
i ago by the All-India Congress
.'Committee President, Sonia
’■ Gandhi, in Raichur had become
. a model for the country.
}
Inaugurating a convention of
Stree Shakti and self-help
j groups of Jewargi taluk at the
J. Government
PreUniversity
Pre-University
!ff College Grounds, Mr. Kharge
! t said the programme had
■ changed the rural economy by
'' financially empowering de. prived women.
'>
He said many States had
■ evinced keen interest in the
• programme. Some of them had
, sent delegations to study the
success of the programme be• fore replicating it. At present,
1 more than 12 lakh rural women,
'■ who were members of 1.25 lakh
. Stree Shakti and self-help
’ groups, had benefited from the
• self-employment and other
programmes taken up by these
• groups to improve the economic conditions of their families,
The success of the programme
proved that women were not inferior to men, but they were better in managing finances. The
programme inculcated the
thrift habit among women. In a
year, these groups earned an interest of over Rs. 1.2 crore on
their savings. Another striking
feature was that the repayment
of loans taken by them from
banks and other financial orga-
Women participating in a convention of Stree Shakti groups at Jewargi in
Gulbarga district on Sunday.
nisations had been good. Only a
negligible percentage of the
groups had defaulted on
repayment.
Mr. Kharge said unlike in other programmes, the loans taken
by the Stree Shakti groups were
not mis-utilised. Terming the
programme a major achievement of the State Government,
the Minister said it had provid
ed Rs. 5,000 to each of_the
groups as ‘seed money. They
..12/banks
.d andd_d.were linked with
other financial institutions, ending
their dependency on moneylenders and men.
__ rprog]
-.gramme
He said another
r
p;-h .5
j - i.
that had left a lasting impres
sion was the mid-day meal
scheme. At present, over 52 lakh
schoolchildren came under it.
After the programme was
launched, attendance in gov
ernment schools had increased
manifold and the dropout rate
had come down sharply.
He said the foundation for
the Stree Shakti programme
was laid in 1994, when he was
holding the Cooperation portfolio, by implementing a similar
programme to help women’s
groups in Jewargi and Yadgir taluks
Inks in the district. He asked the
members of Stree Shakti groups
r
to take up dairying to improve
their finances as well as milk >;
production.
b
The Minister for Public
Works, Dharam Singh, who H
thanked Mr. Kharge for flying to ,
Gulbarga to participate in the .
function, said the implementa
tion of the programme exhibit- .
ed the commitment of the ■
Government in making women ,
self-sufficient. Iqbal Ahmed Sa- i
radgi, MP, presided over the |
function. More than 10,000
members of Stree Shakti groups (
in the taluk participated. The '
Ministers distributed the loans
sanctioned to the groups.
J
K K XtvZ n’. V
t
;;£• j
3 • -•
J':-; ^03
THE
r*T*T^~7.T.-
^Defections help JD-S win'Hassan^ZP chief spost|'
/(Express News Service. .
- - 7? ” r g
Congress members started abusing ugh voting for both posts was over oj$
the members who had crossed the time.
, q
Hassan, Nov 17: High drama was wit floor and when some members went
Since five Congress members hail1?
nessed during tire elections of the pan- to assault G.T.Indira, the presidential defected to the JD-S, the election had'p
chayat president and vicebeen getting wide publi-£
president. Eventually, rebel
city. The JD-S has kept):
JD-S
members
were
brought
in
a
candidates won despite repeall their members, incl-;jj
■ ated protests from the Cong
motorcade from B'lore five minutes uding five rebels in a se-‘j;
ress members.
eluded place. TheyiJbefore the scheduled time >
; G.T.Indira and T.D.Khanwere brought in with*'
Jderao, rebel candidates,
tight security just fivei;.
' ‘were elected president and vice-presi- candidate, Vanamala, a Congress
C
minutes before the scheduled time, un-j ‘
* dent respectively with 20 votes. Their member sustained injuries and
id fell
f_d. un- der the supervision of H.D.Kumaras-'
. ■ opponents, the ruling Congress candi- conscious. She was rushed to hospital... wamy in a high tech bus from Bangal-.^
i’ dates, who protested and started shouBhagya Ramachandra the Congress ore.
- 0
ting against the defection did not vote. candidate also fell unconscious when
A motorcade of more than 50 cars',
(“The returning officer who adjourned she was stopped by the police. Under
and other vehicles followed the busg
the process thrice, finally announced these circumstances, the returning off- from Bangalore to Hassan"
^e re^ults^
iper^postponed the proceedings, tho- ing trouble, from Congress member
|L5
^Minister crificises panchayat members, officials
By Our Staff Reporter
.' bangalore, dec. 16. The Minis'•ter for Social Welfare, A. Krishsnappa, said here
her'? on Tuesday
Tnpday
hhat the Bangalore Urban Zilla
Jpanchayat had collapsed as a
Fjdemocratic institution as its
('members (16 of the 17 arc from
' the Congress) had failed in
'highlighting the problems of
*♦!»»» nn/xmla
*the
people, nrhila
while tVio
the nffirf>rc
officers
. lacked a sense of protocol in
$ assisting the elected body.
; The Minister, who was par'^ticipating in the panchayat
f meeting, said the officers were
----not
-- —
«««»-.
t, lethargic 2nd
and were
cooperHating Tn implementing the wel•.ij fare*" measures
nimnJ
at
aimed
at
■ improving the living condition
• of the poor.
" He said the members lacked
'' understanding of the proce' dures and the ways to activate
• the council by their questions
on matters of development.
"No meaningful work is goin go n here,” headded. VijayaC*.~
parunent, members said there come to the meeting," the Minlakshmi of the Congress many of them of dire conse- partment,
were I~
120“ vacant posts of teach- ister asked.
complained that the works she quences such as suspension.
He told the in-charge Chiet|
He said some officers were ers, which Mr. Hoblidar dishad sent to the council secre
Executive Officer to write to tbn\:
tary had not been included in behaving like dictators and re puted.
uic aagenda. zi
o funds without the
-- ap»
The officer said surplus Deputy Commissioner to ta
the
A few other mem- leasing
bers also made similar charges proval of the council. He told teachers would be deputed to up the lapse with the depart-®
mnntc concerned.
rnnrompd On
On learni
lparni”r'~;1
against
the secretary,
facing staff shortage ments
against the
secretarv. UmaUma- the
the deputy
deputy secretary,
secretary, who
who was
was schools
f-1
■
• Min- officiating as the in-charge and hence the posts had not that officers from Kamata.
nand• Rai,• prompting
the
ister to * ask ‘ the deputy
deputy Chief
Power Transmission Corpora-,,
Chief Executive
Executive Officer,
Officer, to
to get
get been
been filled.
filled.
secretarv to keep him under reports of each district-level of
of-
When the members accused tion Ltd. and the Bangalo-1
that
the District
District Social
Social Welfare
Welfare OffiOffi- Metropolitan
MetropolitanTransport
TransportCorp
Corp I
______ fleer with undertakings ficer
that with undertakings tl
—t the
suspension.
He_
w
as also
given the option they would rectify their mis- cer,cer,T. Srinivasiah,
------ — ■ that the .ration, and the lead bank man- (
J4p
IVaQ
nl
■ members,
■
amount under the 18 per cent gers were also not attend!’ $
takes within 10
10 days.
days.
of apologising to the
Gangadhar of the Congress scheme had not been spent, the meetings of the panchay.
which
would
--- ----------ogo
. on record. The
official,
apologised, was
was said that a school at beera- the Minister , asked him to the minister instructed thatofficial, who
who apologised,
this be brought to the notice
warned not
to repeat
repeat Iris
Iris sandra in Uttarahalli hobli did mend his ways.
not to
The officers were taken to the officers concerned.
mistakes.
not have teachers for the past
mistakes.
iui not
iivi supplying uniforms
Angry over the absence of a
task for
Tfle Minister, who normally three months.
number of doctors at the p fl
’ \ meetings
~ ’ 3
He was supported by the BJP <uid
and constructing
constructing sufficient
t
attends the monthly
• classrooms, about which the mary health centres, the Mim»of tbp
the nnnrhavat
panchayat, pnlivpnpd
enlivened the member Vishwanath.
ter ordered their suspension.
’
’
’ the
’
Enraged by this, Mr. Krish- members complained.
House when he
donned
A woman officer, who was The members told Mr. Krir’ |
role of an ombudsman and nappa sought explanation from
grilled the officers from the de- the Deputy Director of Public deputing for the District Health nappa that 13 per cent of u.J ----- in ‘the
u- district in 31 .
partments of Public Works, ’Instruction, Annaih
*
:1* Hoblidar, Officer feigned ignorance, as doctors
Health, Social Welfare, Educa on how the children were get she was asked to come here centres were absent.
A few of them were de
, . only
, to be
tion, and the administration on ting mid-day meals. He or only on jMonday,
. □ i__.
by *u
the3 Minister,
Minister. postgraduate courses. K.B. Mudered that an enquiry be held reprimanded
development works.
Reddy,
MT-j
“If you do not have the in- nivenkata
They could not offer proper to go into the lapse.
■’y‘Q-U ■•'•ParticiPat^i’^^4
replies. Mr. foishnapoa wamed r
,1u-i
jBv'tw.r—..
THE
tl
r“L6cal bodies need human M
' .* V;-'
resoaff'g®: (aEhorpacEe
>
held at the district level to iden- fold in the past 30 years. The
tify
percentage
U1Y children
UlUlLAlCiX with
VVAUAX high IQ from
I'
—Q ” of rural population
*
*
,
w_ :./•___ of
_r—
kolniAr the
thp • poverty
nnvprty line
line had
had
MYSORE, dec. 26. The Minister all sections
society. TUo
The col
se- below
come
down
from
55
per
cent
in
for Rural Development and lected children should be im- — ----- — rent in
Panchayat Raj, M.Y. Ghorpade, parted special education at
- 1961 to 17 per cent, or 60 lakh
’ families, now.
today said that while powers district level, he said.
About
had been given to local bodies,
Defending the decision to re, — the
— . rural housingthere was a need to transfer hu- lease Rs. 5 lakh to each gram scheme, he said that when the
scheme was
proposed in the
- the
man resource and financial as- : panchayat directly by the Govby
ernment, Mr. Ghorpade said it 1970s, it was frowned upon
.
sistance to them.
He was inaugurating a con was part of the employment the Centre and described
ference on “Rural Karnata generation scheme. Along with “populist”. It envisaged build
ka-2020”, organised by the funds, 50 tonnes of foodgrains ing 25,000 “janata” houses for
Suttur Math as part of the had been released to gram pan- the poor. The scheme had be1044th jayantli?°celebrations oi chayats for distribution under come popular now wi*goyem• the employment
scheme.
ments building lakhs of houses,
Adi Jagadguru "•
Shivarathri
BagaThe programme, he said, he said.
wadpada.
,
!
Mr. Ghorpade said that would help reduce poverty and
though decentralisation of pow- unemployment. Three lakh Aid from World Bank
i 1thougn aecemrans
p
tonnJ
foodgrains and Rs.
Mr. Ghorpade announced
ers had taken place, it was nec
essary to provide resources to 300 crore'had been released to that the State Government had
gram panchayats to generate decided to avail of Rs. 800 crore
local bodies.
-200 people assistance from the World Bank
This would help reduce pov employment• 1 for. £• ririfi
rol rvr> the TTlAQt
iff] Cfc Wrirtl
most backward
of 200 days
in to develop
magcD. Direct MvinwM*over
3 |period
------.
erty in villages.
democra
gram panchayat area, he taluks. The committee on rei
” ’ only through
GE1* each
cy was possible
aridprf
gional imbalances, he said, had
:!
Uiu
—
----3
the gAUAAI
gram sabhas,
and —
it was
.11
• 1
. • r* J nn
Each ♦•oliil/"
taluk
Mr. Ghorpade. said the re- identified
1—
— 39
-- taluks:
—necessary to revive and sustain
,j
--------- - Pan- lease of foodgrains and funds to would bj^anted
panchayat raj institutions.
The winner of the Right Live
1 1 chayat raj bodies should not be gram panchayats had helped
|’ made tools of development provide employment to over II lihood Award, H. Sudarshan,
alone, bu^ should also be in- iakh people.
.
and the economist and former
voWeEnlnlspeEof govern- EV-mEtatistics, he said the Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore
r
Giving statistics, Lc----- —
.
allocation
University, D.M. Nanjundappa,
ance, he added.
1budgetary
©
j --. for rural
,
He suggested that a test be development had increased 50 were present.
By Our Staff Correspondent
i
■
I
■
i '
i1
4<
Zilla Panchayat chief
the HINDU
.
told to quit
By Our Staff Correspondent
} TUMKUR, dec. 23. Thirty-two
! Congress members of the TurnJ kur Zilla Panchayat on Tuesday
1 demanded the resignation of
S.R. Shantala, President of the
! panchayat, and five other members of the panchayat who had
t been expelled from the party.
‘
Rudresh, who addressed
jresspersons on behalf of the 32
’ nembers, said the party had
■ bund that Ms. Shantala and the
a 7 DEC
B
' •< I
five other members indulged in
anti-party activity. As they had
been expelled from the party,
they could not continue as
members of the panchayat, he
tueu.
added.
Explaining the absence of the u
mpmhers at the panchayat
oanchavat’s
321 members
o
general body meeting held1 re
re-
cently,
cenuy,
lvii. Rudresh
nuuicau oaiu
said that
uiai mu
on
centlv. Mr.
that
day, they, met the Chief vj Q
t
KAinictor £ M Krishna, in BanMinister, S.M. Knshna, in Ban- & ’’
galore for a discussion on the
Tee Ei’Er-j
develonment nf the district
....
jKufnar^wamy angry with
■govt over Kootagal GP polls
■4
Citing postponement of the ,day of election,
IUJ
______ Long Govt not holding elec
chayats.------- x
Chakrapani, working president,; ;>
election
to
the
post
of
president
of
tions to panchayats, says JD(S)
Kootagal gram panchayat in Ra- State Yuva Janata Dal (S) said. •
leader and accuses state of
managaram taluk on Saturday, he When the election officer was J\
stopping party functions
Sd"ffia
Utffi?~
« questioned about his —
absence,
alleged that
the Ramanugarairi
------ - -the ,,
no was
Kinsaid that
that he
was kidBangalore, dhns: Taking the MLA C M Lingappa had a role in • official enizt
Congress government and Chief
foeTlecticm despite a napped and held hostage by some S
Minister SM Krishna to task for
the panchayat.
unidentified persons.
G
postponing elections to grama
Addressing a press meet here,
Mr Kumaraswamy charged ■,
panchayats and taluk panchayats,
Kumaraswamy said elections the government with unnecessar- 1
where the opposition P^^^esKanakapura taluk panchayat
5
peciaUy the Janata Dal (Secular)
few other places too has been an idol installation programme in j
Hosur village
in Ramanagaram
'■
election for the
in Ramanagaram
S
were ™
on fhb
the vprop
verge Of
of coming to
power, JD (S) leader HDKu- post of president of .Kootagal today.
•
li
Warning the Government of j
maraswamy on Sunday charged gram panchayat was scheduled
the ruling party with trying to on December 27 between 10 am serious consequences if itcontin- 5
prevent other parties from com and 12 noon. But despite quorum, ued to prevent the JD (S) from J
--------—AQDOClrl IIV
IlOlUlllg pi.
UgicuiunvO
.
ing to power.
the election was postponed at the holding
programmes
in
Kanakapura
constituency, he
The
ruling
party
is
using
coer- —r*
instance of Mr Lingappa, he alcive tactics to prevent JD (S) and
The election gouia not be threatened to prevent S M Krish
other parties from coming to powas
0{ricer> p^. na from addr-essing public meet
er in several grama and taluk panfailed to turn up on
ings in Maddur.
i<^_7
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