A dissection of Lokpal Bill (Government version)

In this post, my attempt is to show you, why and how weak the Government version of the Lokpal Bill is. This list is not exhaustive, however I hope to cover at least the very important clauses (THIRTEEN of them in no particular order), which would expose the double standards and lack of sincerity of our Government in tabling this bill. This post is also meant for those who would want to see the facts, before they believe it (have taken excerpts from the Bill, quoting the Section numbers); I hope I will save you the time, you would require otherwise.

At the end of the post, I hope you realize that, in its present shape, the Bill will serve no purpose. I hope all of you will scorn the fact that it just wont be able to stand the rotten scoundrels out there (which we are blessed with so many); and if you agree to this, do extend your support to this fight against corruption. This is perhaps our last and only chance!

Points to note:

1. I speak for no political party.
2. I am not a lawyer; and I cant say that I can understand any legal document perfectly. Nope! However, I have put in a genuine attempt, in the last two days, to go through all the relevant documents (links to which are available at the end of the post), and I can now say that I have a good understanding of these Bills.
3. It is my first time that I am going through such a piece of document; however, I found this particular Bill very interesting. Lots of loopholes and manholes and potholes and what not; the plot is so good; it is much more than what we see in movies! You wont believe that someone can go this low...

Point ONE:
Government Lokpal Bill (21st June, 2011 04:00 PM)
Chapter II: ESTABLISHMENT OF LOKPAL
Topic: Not specified
Section 3.(2)
The Lokpal shall consist of -
(a) a Chairperson; and
(b) ten Members, out of whom at least four shall be Judicial Members

Section 3.(3)
A person shall be eligible to be appointed, -
(a) as the Chairperson or a Member if he is a person of impeccable integrity, outstanding ability and standing having special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than twenty-five years in, public affairs, administrative law and policy, academics, commerce and industry, law, finance or management;

In a totally unrelated development; the Government is planning to have the following ad in all leading dailies: "WANTED: Alive but dead; six rubber stamps for the vacancies of Lokpal members. Job Description below:" And as you guessed it right, that was the end of the ad as well - without any job description!!!

Point TWO:
Government Lokpal Bill (21st June, 2011 04:00 PM)
Chapter II: ESTABLISHMENT OF LOKPAL
Topic: Appointment of Chairperson and other Members and Selection Committee
Section 4.(1)
The Chairperson and Members shall be appointed by the President after obtaining the recommendations of a Selection Committee consisting of -
(a) the Prime Minister - Chairperson;
(b) the Speaker of the House of the People - member;
(c) the Leader of the House other than the House in which the Prime Minister is a Member of Parliament - member;
(d) the Minister in-charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Government of Inida - member;
(e) the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People - member;
(f) the Leader of the Opposition in the Council of States - member;

The list has four more members; anyway of the ten members, six are politicians! What an idea sirji! The politicans realize "United we stand; divided we fall!" Six of ten would ensure the majority for them during the selection process

Point THREE:
Government Lokpal Bill (21st June, 2011 04:00 PM)
Chapter VII: PROCEDURE IN RESPECT OF INQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION

Topic: Action on inquiry in relation to public servants not being ministers or Members of Parliament

Section 27.(1)
Where after the conclusion of the inquiry or investigation, the findings of Lokpal disclose the commission of an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by a public servant referred to in clause (c) or (d) of sub-section (1) of section 17, the Lokpal may -
(b) recommend to the competent authority the initiation of disciplinary proceedings under the rules of disciplinary proceedings applicable to such public servant;

So who is the "competent authority" in this case?

Government Lokpal Bill (21st June, 2011 04:00 PM)
Chapter I: PRELIMINARY

Topic: Not Specified

Section 2.(1).(c)
"competent authority", in relation to -
(iii) an officer in the Ministry or Department of the Central Government means the Minister in charge of the Ministry or Department under which such officer is serving

The "competent authority" in this case is the concerned Minister. Continuing Point THREE; let us see what the Bill proposes for the recommendation from Lokpal.

Government Lokpal Bill (21st June, 2011 04:00 PM)
Chapter VII: PROCEDURE IN RESPECT OF INQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION

Topic: Action on inquiry in relation to public servants not being ministers or Members of Parliament

Section 27.(2)
The competent authority shall, within a period of thirty days of the receipt of recommendation under clause (b) of sub-section (1), initiate disciplinary proceedings against the delinquent public servant accused of committing offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and forward its comments on the report, including the action taken or proposed to be taken thereon, to the Lokpal ordinarily within six months of initiation of such disciplinary proceedings.

So what Point THREE says is that Lokpal can just send its recommendations; but it is up to the concerned Minister to decide the final action. The day is not long when we would see the Minister give the officer a pat on his back, for his impeccable track record of not having missed any opportunity to get bribe from the ordinary citizen!

Point FOUR:
Government Lokpal Bill (21st June, 2011 04:00 PM)
Chapter VII: PROCEDURE IN RESPECT OF INQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION
Topic: Action on inquiry in relation to public servants being ministers or Members of Parliament
Section 28.(1).(1)
Where after the conclusion of the inquiry or investigation, the findings of Lokpal disclose the commission of an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 by a public servant referred to in clause (a) or (b) of sub-section (1) of section 17, the Lokpal may -
(b) recommend to the competent authority the initiation of disciplinary proceedings under the rules of disciplinary proceedings applicable to such public servant;

So who is the "competent authority" in this case? 

Government Lokpal Bill (21st June, 2011 04:00 PM)
Chapter I: PRELIMINARY

Topic: Not Specified

Section 2.(1).(c)
"competent authority", in relation to -
(i) a member of the Council of Ministers, means the Prime Minister;
(ii) a member of the Parliament other than a Minister means the Council of States in the case of a member of that Council and the House of the People in the case of a member of that House;

The "competent authority" in this context is either the PM or the Council of States or the House of the People. Coming back to Point FOUR; let us see what the Bill proposes for the recommendation from Lokpal.

Government Lokpal Bill (21st June, 2011 04:00 PM)
Chapter VII: PROCEDURE IN RESPECT OF INQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION

Topic: Action on inquiry in relation to public servants being ministers or Members of Parliament

Section 28.(3)
The competent authority shall examine the report forwarded to it under sub-section (1) and communicate to the Lokpal, within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the report, the action taken or proposed to be taken on the basis of the report.

So what Point FOUR says is that Lokpal can just send its recommendations; but it is up to PM or the Council of States or the House of the People (as the case might be) shall decide the final action. I guess that would be some sort of performance appraisal, where they would be given feedback for their case history and also new targets for the next reporting period!

Loaded garbage trucks parked in city during the day! One possible solution...

Today, I had to stop at Jagathi junction to get some groceries. The moment I got out of the car, I could smell it! Though I had read about this in the newspaper, never imagined it could be this worse! It stinks and it is so bad that you feel like running for your life gasping for a drop of fresh air...

The corporation is waiting for more airtight garbage trucks, which might bring relief to some extent. These trucks were earlier parked in our Putherikandam Maidan at East Fort; fortunately, we had not faced much of this earlier. Now, because of the ongoing beautification work at the maidanom, the trucks had to be moved out. You can read this here.

Anyway, even having more airtight trucks will not solve the problem. As long as we have loaded garbage trucks parked in the city, we are going to face more of this.

Was wondering if having airtight (underground) parking lots for these trucks could help! If at all, we have to park these loaded trucks somewhere in the city during the day, it should be in such airtight parking lots. This might alleviate the issue to a certain extent; and, of course, during the nights, when these trucks move on to the garbage treatment plant at Vilappilsala, we could use odor neutralizing chemicals and other such techniques to treat the odor that remains in the airtight parking lots...

Not at all sure whether this would work or whether this is economically feasible (but personally I don't think having an underground air tight parking lot is that big an investment). Can someone take this up with the concerned?

Mismanaged projects & a rotten system! One possible way forward...

This post has turned out to be a long one; request all to read till the very end. Starting with the NH issue, we move on to the root cause of such issues (which all of us actually knows deep inside) and we then move on to a possible way forward for us. Do try to read till end, and let me know your thoughts...

I stand with the people who are being affected because of the road widening. I do not think, any solution to the problem with the people being displaced becoming losers (in any way), is the right way forward. None of us, including those out there who are fighting tooth & nail for wider roads, would want the people who are being affected to be thrown out to the streets or to be at the mercy of the government. No, lets not call that development!

But then, does that necessarily mean that we ought to stick to smaller roads? I do not agree...

We want better infrastructure, we want planned, organic & sustainable development! We are a young country, youth being a significant percentage of the population! We want more & more job opportunities to be created here; and this has to happen before our so called human capital becomes a human liability for ourselves! If wider roads would mean more opportunities for the youth in any way, then we ought to have it!

Now from another perspective. Every day, we see more & more vehicles on the road. Dozens of people die every day in the highways & hundreds suffer major accidents; if wider, well planned roads could make that figure come down by at least 50%, wouldn't that alone be a reason for us to have wider roads in our state.

Doing nothing now is living a slow death! Unless we take the "right" decision right now, its just a matter of years, before we see our state choking to death.

"Shashi Tharoor interacting with techies in Technopark" - How it went today!

Saw this post on TechnoparkToday; had spread the word today morning. Was not at all planning to attend this one; but then a few of our friends wanted to attend this one. Am now wondering, whether it was the letter from VK that had prompted us attend this session (the very same letter, which is the previous post; request all to spend two minutes to go through the letter and to spread the word). Let me also take this opportunity to thank Dr. Tharoor for having come up with the idea and for organizing such a discussion. Thank you Sir!

So at around 5:50 PM, we all started from our office to Al-Saj auditorium.

On reaching the venue, I was at first disappointed to see that it had the banner "Youth Congress Campaign". We had wished it to be more of a discussion forum about "youth joining politics" led by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, without much focus on any particular political party. However, a welcome note by Dr. Tharoor was of comfort to us, as he did mention that the session would be an interactive discussion. Towards the end, we were convinced that Youth Congress was serious of having the youth getting in politics to shape the future of our country!

To start with... Opposition Leader Shri. Oommen Chandy, Trivandrum MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor, AICC Secretary Jitendra Singh, MLA Wahid, DCC President V. S. Sivakumar were the prominent figures around. It started with a welcome speech by Shri Wahid; followed by Dr. Tharoor, Shri Oommen Chandy & Shri Jitendra, all speaking of youth and politics and Youth Congress. The message was clear: it is important that youth join politics to shape the future of the nation & that Youth Congress was the best option for the youth to have their say in Indian politics.

Am cutting short the introductions; moving on to discussions. You can skip the first two questions straightaway; we have interesting ones down the line...

Letter from Sri. V. K. Mathews, Chairman & CEO of IBS Group of Companies on "NH widening" issue

This mail was sent to all the employees of IBS; it says:

SUB: Safe and efficient road system for the future of Kerala

Dear All,

This is a long mail, and it has nothing to do with IBS' business.  I am writing this note to seek your assistance on an important matter for our state. Take your own time and read at your own pace, but please do read it and do what you can to help.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has approved the expansion of about 700 KMs of highways in Kerala, at an estimated investment of up to 10,000 Crores, over a 30 months period. However, the Kerala Government and the Opposition together has represented to the Prime Minister that the expansion should be limited to 30 meters (as against the NHAI standard of 60 Meters), quoting the impact of land acquisition on the people on the sides of the highways. Obviously, this has put the entire project at risk as NHAI will not and cannot consider it under the current highways scheme, and we could lose this approved funding and the essential expansion project. The immediate impact will be the Trivandrum-Kochi stretch of NH-47.

According to authentic statistics, Kerala has the highest vehicle density of 1:6 in the country (one vehicle for every 6 people, which is over 4 times the national average), which is comparable to USA (1:5), and the lowest level of highway system among other states. The annual traffic growth is the highest in Kerala, which will make the roads ever more congested in the coming years.  Every day, Kerala witnesses 11 deaths and 120 grievous injuries due to road accidents, resulting in total or partial disabilities!  The number families, more so belonging to the lower strata of the society, getting totally devastated every year is alarmingly high in Kerala. The productivity loss and increased fuel costs on the Trivandrum-Kochi stretch of NH-47 itself, due to congestion and lower average speed,  is estimated to be about 2,700 Crores per year. 

It happens only here.. Height of misgovernance!!! :(

http://www.mathrubhumi.com/localnews/malayalam/news/kerala/districts/thiruvananthapuram/316292/2010-05-19/2/0/1/0

Hard to believe that we let such things happen here... :( Corporation & Water Authority - they find it impossible to work in tandem! Digging a road within two days of tarring it!

The concerned authorities should be taught a lesson for wasting the taxpayer's money. But who will take this up? Anyone interested???

Accidents in NH 47: 7 die in 1 month in "Kazhakuttom - Attingal" stretch alone!

http://www.mathrubhumi.com/localnews/malayalam/news/kerala/districts/thiruvananthapuram/317400/2010-05-20/2/0/1/0

Even this is not enough for our great visionaries, who are still fighting with Central Govt. for a 30 m highway instead of a 45 or 60 m highway!!! #sad #frustrated

Yesterday, was stuck in the traffic for about 20 minutes or so at Chacka junction! Meanwhile, with the sirens on and an escort of about 2 or 3 police jeeps, a State car flew by; no way was it affected by the jam. So, they are right! They dont need a 45 m or 60 m wide road! Why bother!

Its not just with the highways; everything seems to be in a mess here! :(

In another note; these days, I see more and more people openly sharing their frustrations and anger with the system! Good in a way; we have more people realizing how we are being betrayed. But, if this is how it is going to be, one day all these frustrations & anger is definitely going to burst out! Know not when or how it would be; but that would definitely not be good. Wish our great leaders & visionaries change themselves, before the public takes it out at them!

Paratha festival in Trivandrum: Hotel Uday Samudra (May 17th to 24th)

http://www.trivandrumbuzz.com/paratha-festival-uday-samudra-trivandru/

User Development Fee at Trivandrum Internation Airport!!!

Started hearing protests, here and there, against introducing the user development fee (UDF) at Trivandrum International Airport. (#1, #2, #3, #4) Hope these protests do not die off without seeing any light... Pity the government which didnt even bother to raise any concern while the UDF was mooted about! My strong support for the protesters!

Was just wondering who all were mainly affected by this.
Party 1 >> Of course, the people...
Party 2 >> The airport which is going to see lesser traffic in the coming days, unless the issues is sorted out by reducing significantly or cancelling the UDF.

Of course, we have a lot more stake holders such as the tourism industry & those who are employed in this industry, even the airport taxi drivers and so on... It just occurred to me there is one more stake holder, whose name was not mentioned anywhere...

The IT companies in and around Trivandrum, mainly the ones in Technopark! These companies see significant number of foreign trips being made by their employees every year...

Now, dont tell me that these companies cross charge the flight expense to their customers. It might be so for most of the trips; but still, the extra money that the customer would have to incur, could have been used by the IT provider for something else! Besides, we still have lots of business trips, where the company itself has to incur the entire travel cost! So, in either case, introduction of UDF is going to hurt the business of the tech group of companies!

So, cant we gather the support of the tech group of companies for rolling back the UDF? Can we have these companies as well register their protests with the concerned authorities?

Trivandrum International Airport - Terminal 3

Terminal 3 at Trivandrum International Airport; its stunning!!! Eagerly waiting for my next trip...

Thanks to Ajay, Vivek for making these pics available.

Tandoori feast in Trivandrum: Hotel Pankaj (May 6th to 16th)

http://www.trivandrumbuzz.com/tandoori-feast-itrivandru/

Today's experience - NH 47 drive

Its just around 20 km from Neyyatinkara to Trivandrum (via NH 47); today, it took me more than a hour and a half by car. Awesome speed, I must say; I really enjoyed the drive in the widest highway of our country! :(

We have got great wonderful visionaries as our leaders! Thank God. They are never convinced of the need for larger & wider highways. #frustrated! #goingmad! Great people, I must say!

http://www.keralatips.org/2010/04/20/national-highway-nh-47-disaster-in-kerala/
http://www.scorpiogenius.com/2010/04/kerala-nh-development-back-to-bullock.html
http://tvmrising.blogspot.com/2010/05/yourspeak-on-highway-widening-issue.html

Hundreds die every year in highway accidents here in Kerala; but why hasnt anything changed? The ones who are really responsible for this state of affairs - what would open their eyes? #angry! #whysucharottensystem? #sad! #howtohelpimprove?

The toll, if levied, would still be less than the money I had spent on the petrol I had wasted today (during the traffic and for changing gears at a dozen times every minute) :(  Wonder how much KSRTC would be losing every year running on such high ways! Would not business sprout in every district of the state if you can reach an airport or a sea port within hours? Is it that nobody understands that we need better highways for development!

Dreaming of a day when it would take only just 6 or 8 hours to drive from Trivandrum to Kasargod... Such connectivity would obviously make the entire state well connected, and open up the entire state for doing all sorts of business anywhere in the state without really having to worry whether you have an airport or a sea port nearby. No worries, its is there very near to your business!

People displacement & relocation is a challenge, I understand. But the solution is not to have smaller highways; the solution must take care of people concerns but not at the cost of future development. Would it not be possible for Government to get the land from people, take up space for highways & build multi storeyed apartments for the same people in the remaining space? There can also be floors earmarked for commercial purposes, which the Government can sell or lease to private business organisations. This money can as well be used for funding the apartments! #wonderwhynot! #wishwehadgreatleaders! There should be some way out; but please not this! 30m highways! Please do not!!!

Gudnite!