Child marriage stopped in Ramnad District of Tamil Nadu.

A 15-year-old child bride was rescued and saved from marriage to a 35 rear-old maternal uncle at Thalakavur in the district on November 14, 2013 (Children’s Day), thanks to the efforts of R.Sakunthala, Chairperson Child Welfare Committee and K.Balamurugan, District Childline Coordinator. The CWC also rescued a 14 year-old girl who eloped with a `17 year-old boy and when the leaders of gypsy community were arranging their marriage. I am very glad to know this development especially because I had a personal experience of preventing some 450 child marriages with the active support of UNICEF in the North-Western part of Madhya Pradesh as the Commissioner of Women and Child during 1992-93. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mafia within coal ministry

Former coal secretary P.C.Parakh, now booked by CBI in the coal gate scam, was locked in a bitter feud with his minister Shibu Soren in 2005, during which the IAS officer stated that the coal mafia was actually working within the coal ministry. Both the minister and the secretary had written letters to the prime minister indicating the tension and conflict between them over allocation and auction of blocks as well as postings in Coal India Ltd. This is a normal condition prevalent in almost all ministries where the minister and the secretary have difference of opinion on matters of importance in the office. It is difficult for an impartial officer to work with a politician with different motives. It requires lot of guts and conscience on the part of P.M in Delhi and C.Ms in state capitals to protect and enable the civil servants deliver results in government work without fear or favour. Let us hope for the better in the days to come. +++++++++++++++++++++

Pitiable life

Timmapuram Village, Villupuram District. Husband: P.Kuppusamy (75 year-old) a farmhand Wife: K.Patchaiammal (70 year-old) Both husband and wife though living together were not in talking terms for more than a decade while their five sons and one daughter got married and settled in different places. They used to quarrel frequently over petty issues. According the husband the wife had stopped serving him food and giving money received from their sons. She started ignoring him after he stopped working about a decade ago due to advancing age. On the Navaratri day, when she again ignored him and performed the puja, he became furious and slit her throat with a knife in the night leading to her death instantly. Lessons to others: A precious human life was severed and lost due to the misunderstanding between the old couple for nothing. Life is to be lived and enjoyed happily under the given circumstances. Legal separation or a proper sharing of maintenance by the children could have ensured a peaceful life for the both. (T.O.I October 16, 2013) ++++++++++++++++++++

Keeping politicians at bay

Under the above caption Pinky Anand, a senior Advocate writes as follows: The bureaucracy can never be immune to political interference as long as bureaucrats are willing to twist and bend before politicians to get the postings of their choice. The Supreme Court has replaced the increasingly erratic and unresponsive executive power with the role of the judiciary. If civil servants begin to believe that even years after retiring they can be criminally prosecuted for a mistake made in good faith or for a bonafide decision taken on the basis of the data that was available, there will be serious repercussions on the morale of the serving officers. The three to five years of security of tenure in key assignments enjoyed by conferred IAS officers is absolute - an almost sure-shot recipe for dishonesty and lack of integrity. The danger of a country that is ruled by the judiciary is bested only by that which is ruled by the bureaucracy - voters cannot end their tenure in office every five years! (Hindu November 26, 2013) I fully agree with his observations. ++++++++++++++++++++

A question of accountability

"While it is apparent that due process has been subverted to the advantage of a few by the political executive, it is equally true that there has been some politicisation of the civil service. Even in U.K the joint-decision making process is in place which makes the minister in charge solely responsible for the actions. The vertical hierarchy of notes and orders prevalent in India shifts responsibility in a manner that makes accountability difficult -- it is time to change." (S. Narayan Hindu, November 15, 2013) +++++++++++++ Unfortunate that IAS has become a bamboo frame though it is expected to be a steel frame. It is very difficult to change the morale and awaken the conscience of this service to serve as models of excellence in the community and the country. If hundred IAS and IPS officers can vow to work according to their conscience and constitution of India, things would change and India would develop within a decade. Otherwise these all India service are in no way better than state civil services for these political heads. ==================================

Interesting Debate.

"CBI does not want to be outside govt. purview" The CBI seeks only operational autonomy. It wants its Director to enjoy the status of a Secretary to the govt. and take approvals and orders directly from the minister and not from Secretary to D.O.P.T. Police too trying to be another babu in the present system!

Mobility on the roads

After reviewing various policies across the world, the report of UN-HABiTAT with a special focus on planning for sustainable urban mobility has rightly concluded that unless transport projects and urban planning are integrated, congestion on roads , inefficient use of infrastructure in sprawling cities would persist in India. The working group on urban transport for the XII Five Year Plan has cautioned that in another two decades the average journey speed of vehicles on the major city roads would come down drastically from 8 to 6 km an hour. (Hindu editorial November 30, 2013)