Drop, drop of water, rains and floods

 On the indian sub continent, droughts and floods are common. If the monsoon fails in one region, the floods are threatening the other region. Local and provincial administrations are forced to bear the brunt of these from time to time. No doubt planning is done , preparations are made at times but the severity of these calamities/ disasters is so high their efforts are found wanting in coverage and content.

Initially in the beginning of this year it was predicted that we would face less than normal rain fall. Though it started little late the overall situation seems to be improving in many places and the reservoirs are getting filled up beyond expectations in states like Chhattisgarh and Tamil Badu. It is also true that there are patches in several parts of india where water scarcity continues for the third consecutive year resulting in shortage of drinking water and in increase of fallow and barren lands.

Indian planning is there for more than six decades but the citizens are unable to get drinking water throughout the year. Excess water flows into the seas whenever there are copious rains. We keep sitting and wondering what to do unfortunately. Our rulers and administrators have no determination to achieve the total and wholesome provision of water supply to Indian homes without any hassles.

We are unable to store and preserve the rain water not only to save the humans and plants for the present but get the underground water sources recharged for a year or two at a stretch.
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Perverted procedure in Justice delivery!

"Hari Bhoomi", a daily (Dated July 27,2014) carried the news that about 41 years of struggle in the courts is still unable to deliver justice in the case of a dismissed bus conductor in Delhi Transport Corporation. The latter is adamant in not complying with the court's direction in reinstating the man to his post. The crime committed by him was that he collected only ten paise from a woman passenger, that is, five paise less than the actual fare on August 1,1973 -- detected by a supervisor and hence suspended & dismissed by DTC. Even after the High Court's decision in his favour in 2007, the DTC has filed a revision petition the very next year against that judgement which is still pending. Who is to deliver fast justice to this citizen in this world of misplaced priorities and careless peers in our midst?

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One lakh ration cards in circulation with no genuine identity

District Raipur, Chhattisgarh State. Daily Dainik Bhaskar reports (Thursday, July 24, 2014) that there are more than one lakh ration cards with no proper addresses or persons for  verification on the spot during the last one month. 

In other words there is a possibility of large scale bungling and siphoning of stocks indulged in by vested interests in collusion with petty politicians and departmental staff thoughout the district. The opposition party is up in arms in the state assembly during the monsoon session in questioning this development in the state.

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habitual for admonition

It is unfortunate that the judiciary has to intervene, during the last two decades or so, in the omissions and commissions of the executives from the top to bottom very often. It not only eats into the time of judiciary in its routine work and delays the disposal of its original work in civil and criminal cases but also makes a sad commentary on the efficiency and integrity of the permanent executives in the performance of their actual duty.

I remember to have seen  an intervention by the Indore Bench of M.P. High Court directing the Ujjain district administration to take up the work of cleaning the Shipra River in a given period under the supervision of the Divisional Commissioner of Ujjain Division. The file concerning this subject came to me, the undersigned, the moment I took over as the commissioner in October, 2000. I was really shocked and also felt ashamed of the role of my tribe, the Indian Administrative Service, for having failed in their basic duty and the necessity of getting a direction for performing that duty from the high court on the basis of a P.I.L (Public Interest Litigation).

Of late every public inconvenience is unresolved and unattended with the result the public is forced to approach the courts for justice and problem-solving. The number is increasing day by day. If the trend continues, we may have to reduce the strength of the bureaucratic set up and increase the number of judges both in High Courts and the Supreme Court.