Issue 34

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Dark or fair, we don’t care

Volume 15 Issue 34

THE

An IIJNM Publication

-Page 4

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016

State’s skin bank welcomes its first donor -Page 3

DAILY OBSERVER

Police called in after CAG slams govt Oindrila Sarkar The state government has been mauled in an audit report which cites mismanagement, fraud and corruption amounting to at least Rs143 crores .

Several departments have been sent notices that fraud investigations have begun and one department, upon receiving the audit from the Comptroller & Auditor General, (CAG) called in police.

The performance audit on the economic sector of Karnataka’s state government

by CAG for the year 201315 reveals mismanagement and waste of public money amounting to Rs.143.34 crores.

In one glaring example, almost 8crores had to be paid in compensation when a new college was built on the wrong parcel of land. Despite a police notice from the legal land owners and advice from their own legal department, the building work continued.

Huge lapses in manag-

ing resources and failure in observance of fiscal norms have been reported. The top three departments in the economic sector reported to have wasted the maximum amount of money are - Revenue Dept. & Commerce & Industries Dept. (Rs.79.29 crores), Water resources Dept., minor irrigation (Rs.28.35 crores), Public works, ports & Inland water transport Dept.(Rs.23.77

crores).

A Gems & Jewellery training institute was set up under the Commerce and Industries Dept. only to be discontinued after an expenditure of Rs.2.01 crores.

There were no takers for the jewellery training programmes being offered. The report states that the ‘project was ill-conceived and without planning’.

Land compensation had

No ‘charity’ as state power chief hikes rates Parvathi Benu The state body governing electricity supply will hike rates by 9per cent as of Friday, it was announced today.

The chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), anticipating a backlash from consumers who face daily power cuts, said, “We cannot do charity”.

The increase of nine per cent over the existing tariff will be implemented from 2016.With the new charges, consumers will have to pay 15 to 50 paise more per unit depending on their usage.

Also there is a 6.56per cent increase for electricity charges in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

The commission said that

the increase in electricity tariff was due to the coal cess by the government of India and the breakdown of Sharavathy Hydro Power Station, which resulted in buying power at a higher cost. The other reason was the increase in the cost of operation of transmission and distribution utilities.

For domestic consumers in the urban and rural areas, tariffs for monthly consumption up to 30 units is increased by 30 paise per unit and for consumption between 31 and 100 units, the increase is of 40 paise per unit. For monthly consumption above 100 units, the increase is 50 paise per unit.

Talking about the hike, MK Shankaralinge Gowda, Chairman, KERC said, “We cannot do charity. The consumers do not want the price of any commodity to increase. At the end, profit is

what matters.”

He said that increasing power supply is the only way to solve Bangalore’s power crisis. “Karnataka state has the capacity to generate 5,000 MW of electricity per day,’ he said.

Gowda said that the commission will introduce cross metering for solar power on 20th April and new tariff rates will be announced.

He also said that the commission is not very happy with the performances of the ESCOMs in the state.

Pankaj Kumar Pandey, MD, BESCOM refused to comment on the increase in the tariff and about the commission’s dissatisfaction with the company. “Even BESCOM has to cope with the increase in charges. Customers will always have complaints,” he said.

to be paid twice for the same piece of land owing to the failure of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) which was supposed to verify the status of the land. It resulted in the erroneous payment of Rs.1.84 crore. The land in Bannikuppe village had been acquired and compensation paid between 1980-88. Despite this the KIADB paid Rs.1.84 crore for the government land which resulted in the double payment.

The Department of Forest, Ecology & Environment has been making excess payments to contractors. Incorrect rates were adopted for excavation of hard rock by blasting to make elephant proof trenches which resulted in excess payments of Rs.1.72 crores to contractors.

A lot of money has been wasted on public works due to improper identification of sites. The construction of residential quarters in a site disallowed by statute resulted in the project being abandoned midway which resulted in an expenditure of Rs.7.71 crore.

Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) transferred

the land even though it had already been classified as a ‘playground’ whose diversion or transfer is illegal.

So, the High Court ordered work to stop. The failure to redesign Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) works to use a higher grade steel in seven bridge works resulted in an overspend of Rs.5.38 crores. The Report states that design parameters should have been adhered to in the estimate stage which would have helped avoid this expenditure.

The non-commissioning of automatic traffic counter cum weighing machines even after eight years from the commencement of the project led to an unfruitful expenditure of Rs.4.60 crore.

The project took so long to get off the ground that the machines were out of warranty and so old they had to be sent for repair. They have yet to be deployed.

A spokesman for the state government declined to comment on the report, adding that they were still assessing its findings.

Officials in the Finance ministry refused to comment.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016

Has President’s rule been abused in India?

Central govt misuses power to exploit Maqsood Maniyar

No need to panic Tanay Sukumar

The recent events in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have once again brought into focus Article 356 of the Indian constitution.

The provision allows the union government to dismiss state governments by either keeping the state assembly in animated suspension or dissolving them and ordering re-elections.

This can be done if there is a ‘breakdown of constitutional machinery’ in the state in question, which interestingly is not defined by the constitution.

However, it is taken as state government losing its majority, lawlessness and even threat from armed insurgency.

The central government then exercises power by asking the governor (whom they appointed) to suggest to the president to impose article 356 in the state.

If the criteria are met, then the president approves the recommendation.

The contradiction is that the article is hugely undemocratic yet constitutional, with its roots in the British era Section 93 of the Government of India act, 1935. It unfairly gives the central government power to exploit. It requires

changes.

Dr Ambedkar thought that it would mostly remain a dead letter but it has hardly been the case.

Nehru dismissed the world’s first ever democratically elected communist government under EMS Namboodripad in 1959. Indira Gandhi imposed President’s Rule

Recent instances of President’s rule imposed in two states have raised concerns about the possible misuse of Article 356 by the union government.

However, each case must be analysed on its own merit, instead of painting each invocation of the provision as “misuse”.

There have been several governments before Modi’s, and precedents have been set long ago, for which the Modi government alone cannot take the blame.

In Arunachal Pradesh, chief minister Nabam Tuki’s Congress government lost majority after 21 of his MLAs revolted.

With the anti-defection law in place to protect MLAs moving from one party to the other, the government was in disarray.

Moreover, the state assembly had spent over six months without meeting, a violation of Article 174.

Before the Congress cries foul play over the alleged misuse, it would be useful to revisit their internal party dynamics which

saw a critical border state run into constitutional crisis.

In Uttarkhand last week, matters reached an extent where chief minister Harish Rawat was alleged to have been horse trading to get rebel MLAs back.

The obvious instability of both these elected governments presents enough evidence for the need of central rule.

The constitution does not define “breakdown of constitutional machinery”, and it is up to the central government to interpret it by its whims..

In this situation, the invocation of Article 356 also has important constitutional safeguards which should protect us from feeling panicked.

The judiciary and the President play the final role in allowing central rule, and the union cabinet only proposes the plan.

In 1997, for example, President KR Narayanan refused to take the cabinet’s recommendation for central rule in Uttar Pradesh.

The rise of more and more re-

It is moral bankruptcy on part of the centre to use the governor and its party members to destabilize state governments. It is also unethical to use lawlessness as an excuse.

Why can’t the centre help the state in maintaining law?

39 times from 1966 to 1977.

Janata Party returned the favour by dismissing nine congress

state governments.

Two measures were undertaken in order to right these wrongs – the Sarkaria Commission (released in 1988) and the court case ‘S.R. Bommsi vs Union of India, 1989’. The Sarkaria commission was set up by Indira Gandhi in 1983 under intense pressure from non congress leaders.

The commission led by Ranjit Singh Sarkaria examined the balance of power between centre and states and made recommendations.

Some of the recommendations were - the governor ought not to be from the state and should be disconnected from local politics, the governor should be appointed by a panel selected by the state legislature in which the chief minister would have a strong say.

Most of the suggestions have been ignored by governments in Delhi.

In the ‘S.R. Bommai vs Union of India case’ the Supreme Court recognized that the Janata Dal government in Karnataka was dismissed dubiously.

Here are some of the suggestions the apex court made – the state government should be allowed to prove its majority in the

assembly, centre should initially just warn the state and give them a week’s time to respond and that intervention of the courts also should be accepted.

More recently, in Arunachal Pradesh, BJP appointed Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa cited slaughtering a bovine in front of the Raj Bhavan as a breakdown of the law and order situation and enstated president’s rule in the congress ruled north eastern state.

Since then BJP MLAs have helped rebel congress MLAs form a new government.

In Uttarakhand, BJP dismissed the Harish Rawat led congress government a day before they were going to prove their majority in the assembly. In both cases, congress has moved the court.

It is moral bankruptcy on part of the centre to use the governor and its party members to destabilize state governments.

It is also unethical to use lawlessness as an excuse.

Why can’t the centre help the state in maintaining law and order rather than attempting a coup? The time has come for us to question the very nature of this provision.

gional party governments in various states has made those safeguards even stronger.

To conclude that the Modi government is trying to impose President’s rule all over India is

an exaggerated worry. It is meant to create panic in an already tense political environment that seems to continually tag the NDA government as authoritarian.

The truth is that the country has over 30 states and union territories, and nearly all have stable governments — with all but eight chief ministers from BJP. Federalism has been threatened only when the union government has perceived a breakdown of constitutional machinery.

Moreover, it must be understood that precedents for constitutional provisions have been set and reset throughout the history of independent India.

As many as seven instances of Article 356 were seen during the first UPA regime of 2004 to 2009.

It is true that misuse of Article 356 is possible in today’s era of political games, but taking the distrust to a level where the whole of India starts fearing it is uncalled for.

In this situation, the invocation of Article 356 also has important constitutional safeguards which should protect us from feeling panicked.

The judiciary and the President play the final role in allowing central rule, and the union cabinet only proposes the plan.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016 3

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State’s skin bank welcomes its first donor Aparajita Khandelwal The state’s first skin bank opened today after a six month delay.

Sangeeta Lala, a 54-year-old from Hosur Road, became the first person in Karnataka to pledge her skin to help others after her death.

“I feel great being the first skin donor in Karnataka. My dad was instrumental in bringing up the National Burns Centre. Since, I’ve grown up with it I’ve always had this dream of donating my skin and I feel fortunate to be in Karnataka and to be the first one to pledge to donate my skin.

“We all need to create awareness about skin donation. We don’t need any of our organs after we die so if we can be of some use to society, it should be our privilege.”

The skin bank has been set up by the Department of Plastic Surgery and Rotary Bangalore Midtown. It is funded by Ashirvad Pipes Pvt Ltd as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

Rotary Bangalore Midtown estimated the budget at Rs39,96,000.

Pawan Poddar, MD Ashirvad Pipes, said, “We partnered with BMRCI’s Victoria Hospital and Rotary Bangalore Midtown with the objective of providing cost effective and quality burn care treatment to all burn victims from all sections of the society.

People in general are not aware about skin donations and the fact that many lives can be saved if skin is donated. “

Over 1000 people in Victoria Hospital die every year due to burns. Mahbodhi Burns Center at Victoria Hospital is the second largest in India after National Burns Center Mumbai.

“In the near future the Mahabodhi Burns Center will become the largest in India with the addition of the skin bank.

The Centre is under renovation.

There are almost 50-60 burns patients every day and 60-70 per cent of the burns victims succumb to their injuries,” said Satish Manandi, president of Rotary Bangalore Midtown.

“The skin bank will support and help the needy and underprivileged,” He added.

Dr. Ramesh, Head of Department of plastic surgery at Victoria Hospital, said treatment wi be “totally free or with minimal charges.”

The reason for the delay was said to be because of arrangements for equipment and wards.

“We’ve been looking forward for a long time to establish this program. There is a lot of scope to help people with such programs,” said KP Nagesh, District Governor. Dr Rtr Gunashankar Vuppalatti, who has worked in McIndoe Surgical Centre in UK, said that there is a“gap in the standards on how we treat burns” in India and abroad.

“Today skin burns are being managed without skin being available for dressing which is the standard international protocol of treating burns.

With this skin bank, we can save people with up to 80 per cent burns.

At the moment only people

Dr. Sharanaparakash Rudrappa Patil, Minister of Medical Education with 30 to 40 per cent of burns are being saved. So, we are making a difference to more than 50 per cent of the people who would otherwise die.

“The current statistics peg that over 1000 people die of burn injuries in this hospital alone. So, you can imagine the condition in the rest of the state. This skin bank will change the way burns are treated, we should be able to save 500-600 people yearly” “The skin bank itself is a collection centre and processing as well as storage. The hospital administration and the department of plastic surgery had to organize awareness camps regularly to bring in donors. I have worked in one of the best burns unit in the world in UK where people up to 94 per cent burns have survived.

But here we are not able to do the same. The skin bank is up and running and in this week we should be able to harvest the first donation. “ The skin required for the burn victims within BMRCI will be issued through an indenting process. The burns patients being treated in other hospitals can request the facility providing a letter from a qualified plastic surgeon.

The skin for donation has to be harvested within six hours of death either at hospital or home.

The donor can be anyone above 18 years of age but should not have any skin disease and should not be positive for HIV and Hepatitis C. “The harvested skin can be used for the next five years. But, there is so much demand that we

don’t see the skin being saved up to five years,” said Manandi.

He cited concerns about the donors in the city stating that people are well aware about organ donation but have no idea about skin donation. Awareness is necessary for the proper utilization of the skin bank.

“Several other hospitals and burns wards will be benefited by this. St John’s hospital has asked us to support them. We can save a lot of lives through this skin bank, “added Manandi.

Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, minister of medical education, who was present for the inauguration affirmed the government’s support and said, “We will direct different government and private hospitals in the city to spread awareness about skin donation.”

ACB an ‘Aid-Corruption’ Bureau, claims AAP Irien Joseph The formation of a new Anti Corruption Bureau is removingthe right to complain against corrupt officials and politicians, claims the Aam Aadmi Party.

Party leaders Vijay Sharma,

Ravi Krishna and Mohan Dasari staged an indefinite hunger strike at Ananda Rao Circle today. Volunteers of the party also shaved their heads in an effort to have their demands met.

The institution of Lokayukta was formed under Karnataaka Lokayukta Act, 1984 to independently investigate corruption and complaints against state offi-

Prithvi Reddy, State Convenor, Aam Aadmi Party

cials.

Lokayukta head Bhaskar Rao resigned from his post in December 2015 over allegations of corruption. The CCB took over the case for investigation in June 2015.

The new Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) was formed on March 14 by the state government. It is a new investigating body to replace the Lokayukta.

It would report investigations directly to the Chief Minister, raising questions over its impartiality.

Around 700 pending cases had been transferred to ACB from Lokayukta.

Prithvi Reddy, state convenor of AAP, said, “It is against logic a body will inves-

tigate themselves. Lokayukta was a matter of pride. If we are serious about anti-corruption, people will protest against the setting up of ACB. “ACB is a sham. We don’t believe ACB is going to investigate CM Siddaramaiah or any top ministers.”

Bangalore South Lok Sabha convenor Vinod James said, “We cannot accept the weakening of Lokayukta which conducted raids against 711 officials and influential politicians.

“The people require permission to file complaint with the ACB and begin investigations. It cannot expect complaints against CM, Minister, and other MLAs of ruling party. Also, public grievances are not addressed.

“We protest against this by volunteers shaving their heads.”

Another volunteer said, “Lokayukta is dying a slow death and we are mourning its death by shaving our heads.”

H S Doreswamy, a 97-year-old freedom fighter, shaved his beard in support of the cause.

Vinod added, “If the Siddaramaiah government is not wrong, why do they fear?”

Prithvi added,” The father of the nation taught us the greatest sacrifice you can do is giving pain to yourself by fasting, so we are inflicting pain upon ourselves as a form of protest.”

The High Court has questioned the government’s creation of the ACB while the Lokayukta is in existence.

Vinod said, “Our demand is to strengthen Lokayukta by giving it strong police force. We want a strong leader to head the Lokayukta.”

Sanchit Sawhney, state joint secretary and state working committee member, Karnataka, said, “Formation of ACB is weakening the powers of Lokayukta. They are not filling the vacancies in the Lokayukta police wing.

“K.V. Gagandeep, IPS officer, who was heading ACB, is on leave for six weeks as the CM wants his relative to lead the ACB.”

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016

Warzone journalist fights with his pen Sanskriti Talwar Bhumkaal Smachar, a weekly newspaper in Chhattisgarh, is named after the Bhumkal rebellion that took place in the year 1910, a movement based in the struggle of the tribal people of Bastar to protect and preserve their tradition, culture and customs.

The journalist who runs it, Bhumkal Samachar, has not been able to publish for the past three months.

“We journalists have been travelling in Bastar. It seems to be a warzone now.

“Right now, Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act of 2005 (CSPSA) also called as Jan Suraksha Adhiyam has been imposed in the state.”

The CSPSA act states that any person whose action encourages the disobedience of the established law will be considered unlawful.

There is a pressure on journal-

ists from the state administration - especially from the police - on what to write in their reports and what not to.

He said, “Last year in August Kalluri , the inspector general of Bastar district, called me to his chamber telling me he needs to speak to me and there he showed two of my videos shot with naxalites. On the basis of it he threatened to impose Jan Suraksha Adhiyam. Accusing me of having links with naxals he shared these videos with many local journalists and asked them to make me understand.

“None of the media organisations in Raipur are willing to be associated with me.

“I haven’t able to publish my own weekly newspaper for the past three months.”

The journalists in Chhattisgarh are stuck in between the state administration and the Maoists.

“According to what we have experienced for the past ten years, government is more harm to us than naxalites.

“The biggest example is of Salwa Judum under which the state

Kamal Shukla, independent journalist armed tribal youths to fight the Maoists which gave rise to the naxal movement.

After it was banned by the Supreme Court those same people involved with Salwa Judum formed other groups named as Smajik Ekta Manch, Mahila Ekta Manch and Naxal Peedit Sangharsh Sameeti.

“Workers from Samjik Ekta Manch have been making efforts to make me leave Bastar by intimidating me constantly.”

Salwa Judum which means

peace march in the Gondi language of tribal, was declared illegal by Supreme Court.

“Again the situations have turned in the similar manner what happened at the time of Salwa Judum.

“There is anger among tribals, and the Maoists are trying to use their anger. In a way, there are igniting it further. Secondly, In the name of setting up industries, the homes of tribals will be rooted up again.

“The majority of the area in Bastar is determined to give way to corporate houses for mining.

“For this they are required to get permission from the Gram Panchayat but then instead of following the law, they are working according to their own will. CRPF have been deployed who have set up their camps in and around the area where industries are to be established.

“They think journalists are a barrier in their activities, that is, forcibly displacing villagers from their land, hitting them and thus they go against us when we report on it. As reporters we are

supposed to tell both sides of the story.

“Today, we are going to visit Madam Village located in Bastar district. Yesterday, we got to know that about five to six people have been kidnapped two weeks before.

“Yes, the sense of fear is there among the journalists, I know reporters who had been reporting in the district for past 20-25 years who now have stopped going there.

“We think about our family while reporting such issues, but can’t stop doing our job.

Earlier, Soni Sori, an AAP leader in south of Bastar district raised her voice against the arrest of a villager by CRPF and district police claiming him to be a naxalite. When the truth came out about his innocence, they gave Rs.10,000 to his family as compensation and asked them to keep quiet over the matter.

“A lot of time I thought of leaving this place but then thinking about the people, the circumstances in which they have been living here, I felt they need me.”

‘Dark or fair, we don’t care’ Reema Mukherjee Long before a group of girls from the University of Texas started a viral social media campaign against colour discrimination, a Bangalore man launched an attack on promoting fair skin to dark skinned nations.

His campaign, “Fair&Ugly” launched with an open letter to the Chairman of Unilever, makers of fair skin promoting products like Fair & Lovely.

Sandeep Anirudhan accused the company of “racism in bottles and tubes throughout the third world.” His petition got 232 signatures. The University of Texas students have created a global, viral phenomenon with people from across the world loving the skin they’re in, and telling us why on social media sites.

Sandeep said: “My petition didn’t have as many followers because people don’t give a damn in India. They’re more worried about other things.”

He compared the Unilever advertisements made in the developed and third world countries.

“What the companies do here is they come on television, intrude my space and tell me “Listen, your skin colour is bad” or “you’re inferior” or “you’ll not get a job be-

cause you’re dark”, they’re violating my space and I cannot be ok with it.”

Sandeep accused Michael Treshow, Chaiman of Unilever, of carrying out “vile and unethical activities in the third world cocoon.” He said, “They’re only involved in the money of it, if they were involved in the ethics of it or their image or their brand, they wouldn’t do it in the first place.”

Today, the “unfairandlovely” campaign that mocks the same cream, Fair&Lovely, has reached many people throughout the world.

It has become a social media rage with thousands of men and women coming out to talk about their skin colour.

Aadya Prasad, 24, a Delhi-based student, said, “This campaign is embracing darker skin tones and I’m positive such campaigns will bring in a transformation.”

Mentioning one of her recent experiences, she said, “I had recently returned from a solo trip and was sun-tanned. My friends started telling me how I had tanned very badly and that I needed to take the anti-tan facial to look fairer,” “Most dark-skinned women have to fight the American standard of beauty to feel accepted or good about themselves,” said Tiffany Sloan, 41, an African-American.

Alifia Hamid and Nilavani Jeyasunderam, Instagramers in unfair and lovely She added, “In the African-American culture, beauty and complexion are tightly connected.

For example, a woman might hear ‘you’re pretty for a darkskinned girl’ or ‘you shouldn’t wear bright colors because they don’t look good on you.’ In the past, light-skinned African Americans/blacks were given better opportunities in education and employment.”

She also mentioned, “However, there are new dark-skinned actresses, singers and models boldly coming into view every day that are changing the perception of beauty in America and talking openly about their battles with discrimination based on colour,” Mousami Malik, a mother of two daughters, talking about matrimonial ads in papers and on websites, said, “I am

finding it difficult to find a groom for my daughter, because all the matrimonial ads demand fair and slim girls, when my daughter is neither.”

Gouri Kapur, a make-up artist in Bangalore, who has been in the profession for sixteen years, said, “A bride always wants to look fair. I think it is all society driven when people say that fair is beautiful. As a make-up artist I believe that dark skin is a beautiful colour in terms of make-up,” Talking about the message the fairness cream ads send, Sandeep Anirudhan said, “What these companies do is they come on television, they intrude in my space and then they tell me ‘Listen, your skin colour is bad’ or ‘you’re inferior’ or ‘you’ll not get a job because you’re dark’, they’re violating my space and I cannot be ok with it.”

Ishita Mukhopadhyay, Director of Women’s Studies Research Centre, University of Calcutta, said, “I feel women have started coming out and they’re now happy in their skin. But we have to raise such campaigns even more.

“There are overwhelming campaigns for fairness, such as the corporate campaigns for fairness creams,” The Advertisement Standard Council of India in 2014 had introduced a new guideline stating that no advertisement should discriminate on the basis of skin colour and should not reinforce negative stereotyping. ASCI, in its reports mention that advertisements should not portray darker people as being disadvantaged over the fairer section.

On being asked about the ASCI’s guideline regarding fairness ads, Ishita Mukhopadhaya said, “Where is the monitoring? Where is the action taken on part of these acts? After 2014, we find politically correct statements, now, instead of stopping advertisement of these products.”

The Bangalore-based entrepreneur had started a Facebook page called “FUgly - ‘Fair & Ugly’ Racist Hall of Shame” that has received 639 likes since 2013.

In his reply, Anirudhan said, “There is something grotesquely wrong with the way our society works.”

Team Observer Editor: Oindrila Sarkar | News Editor: Regina Gurung | Chief Sub-Editor: Tanay Sukumar Sub-Editors: Raina Paul, Laxmi Narayani | Picture Editor: Payal Gangishetty | Layout Designer: Reema Mukherjee