One of my colleagues died in a road acccident last week. This is not the first known person i knew died in a road accident. Such incidents make one ponder on the ephemeral nature of life. India has one of the highest rates on road accident related deaths. As a country we have become insensitive to these deaths. We feel sad, ignore and move on to live another day. The state i come from Andhra Pradesh has the dubious distinction of topping the charts in the country. India as a whole i guess is number two in the world rankings.
Who is responsible the citizen or the state ? Yes as citizens we lack basic road driving etiquette in India, we are not considerate to pedsetrians,chidren and the old. Every one is in a hurry to reach their destinations. So the citizen is surely at fault. But does the state have a role ? I think it has an even important role in laying the law and regulating and providing the necessary infrastructure. Every state including the central government have failed miserably in getting their act together with respect to road safety.
Talking about law India has laws for everything so no problems with that, but what about regulation. Polieman standing at street corners and cutting traffic tickets is not regulation. The aspect of road safety needs to be addressed in a wholistic way. 1) Infrastucture (Roads and grade separtors, lane markings, functioning street lights and traffic lights) 2) Licensing regulations 3) Continuous education to drivers 4) Related Infrastructure ( Foot over bridges for perdestrians etc) and enough Manpower to monitor this very important function.
I guess the government knows about the above requirements i discussed above, infact they have experts in traffic engineering so they know better on what needs ot be done. What gets the goose is what are all these Ministers of Roads and Buildings, Bureucrats and Engineers doing about roads and safety of citizens using the roads.
I am sure that when a Roads and buidings minister goes to work every day he must be seeing main roads with out lane markings, potholes, broken road separators, no zebra crossings, dysfunctional traffic lights etc what does he do once he is in office. Does he ignore the plight of the poor citizen or what do these guys do actually?
We citizens we are under the strangle hold of governments inaction and will continue to suffer for all its faliabilities.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Huge Incompetence
Lack of regulation and transparency has been a bane for India's growth for long, this is true in a lot of areas in our nation's functioning.
Look at the way we execute our National highway and state highway projects. We see roads being laid alomost every year and back under repair within a few months. What do the contracts specify interms of quality, longevity of these roads ? Is the issue in terms of quality standards or collusion between contrators and public works officials.The later is definitely the reason. Do these engineers signoff the quality of execution of these roads then why are they not being held accountable ? Are the quality standards poor then why not adopt higher standards. If the rates offered by the govt for laying these roads are not competitive they need to be relooked at too.
Road works are a big money spinning machine for corrupt Govt engineers, they keep issuing tenders and keep the money engone running. I am not sure if the National Highway Authority is doing anything on this front. Shame on us we cant even lay proper roads. Solution is review of quality standards, transparent online tendering system and strong regulatory body to check quality standards.
Coming to the nest topic - blame the monsoon for every thing. While it is true that we are by far dependent on monsoon for our drinking water and agricultural needs it is also time to take a step back and evaluate how we are managing our water resources. Our Planning commission by now must have come with volumes on how we should manage our water resources and projects that need to be taken up to conserve water.
The problem is not so much with the volume of water but how we use it to meet our agricultural needs. Vast areas in our rice and sugarcane belts across the country are flooded with water every year which is a sheer waste of the natural resource. There might be challenges in implementation of programs like drip irrigation and other technologies but did we try enough, for success stories look at Isreal they have done it. Again lack of political will and strong regulatory body is the reason. Look at the way state governments look askance when thousands of us drive borewells and damage the environment, poor regulation is again the reason.
It is the responsibility of the Government to provide basic necessaties to its citizens and unfortunately our governments both at state and central fail to do this. Wake up India.
Look at the way we execute our National highway and state highway projects. We see roads being laid alomost every year and back under repair within a few months. What do the contracts specify interms of quality, longevity of these roads ? Is the issue in terms of quality standards or collusion between contrators and public works officials.The later is definitely the reason. Do these engineers signoff the quality of execution of these roads then why are they not being held accountable ? Are the quality standards poor then why not adopt higher standards. If the rates offered by the govt for laying these roads are not competitive they need to be relooked at too.
Road works are a big money spinning machine for corrupt Govt engineers, they keep issuing tenders and keep the money engone running. I am not sure if the National Highway Authority is doing anything on this front. Shame on us we cant even lay proper roads. Solution is review of quality standards, transparent online tendering system and strong regulatory body to check quality standards.
Coming to the nest topic - blame the monsoon for every thing. While it is true that we are by far dependent on monsoon for our drinking water and agricultural needs it is also time to take a step back and evaluate how we are managing our water resources. Our Planning commission by now must have come with volumes on how we should manage our water resources and projects that need to be taken up to conserve water.
The problem is not so much with the volume of water but how we use it to meet our agricultural needs. Vast areas in our rice and sugarcane belts across the country are flooded with water every year which is a sheer waste of the natural resource. There might be challenges in implementation of programs like drip irrigation and other technologies but did we try enough, for success stories look at Isreal they have done it. Again lack of political will and strong regulatory body is the reason. Look at the way state governments look askance when thousands of us drive borewells and damage the environment, poor regulation is again the reason.
It is the responsibility of the Government to provide basic necessaties to its citizens and unfortunately our governments both at state and central fail to do this. Wake up India.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Play by the rules
The hue and cry about Continental folks frisking President Kalam is overdone. That too coming from our MP's is laughable. They cannot expect every other country and agency to behave like themselves 'i.e' riding roughshod over all rules and regulations.
Full marks to our former dear president for having taken the incident in his stride. A true professsional he is.
We Indians always suffer from a false sense of hurt and waste time accusing others of wrong doing. Yes Continental would not dare to do this for a Margaret Thatcher or Vladmir Putin or a former Chinese president. The reason is obvious guys these are rich and powerful countries. We will be treated like second class folks in the International arena as long as we are poor and underdeveloped. Power respects power,hence let us focus our energies on taking the country on a faster developement path. 60 years after Independence we cannot even build proper highways,take care of basic needs of our citizens etc etc this is all due to the lopsided policies developed by the wise men in the parliament.
Let India play by the rules, same rules for every one, that is the day we will be marching faster towards a developed and equitable society.
Full marks to our former dear president for having taken the incident in his stride. A true professsional he is.
We Indians always suffer from a false sense of hurt and waste time accusing others of wrong doing. Yes Continental would not dare to do this for a Margaret Thatcher or Vladmir Putin or a former Chinese president. The reason is obvious guys these are rich and powerful countries. We will be treated like second class folks in the International arena as long as we are poor and underdeveloped. Power respects power,hence let us focus our energies on taking the country on a faster developement path. 60 years after Independence we cannot even build proper highways,take care of basic needs of our citizens etc etc this is all due to the lopsided policies developed by the wise men in the parliament.
Let India play by the rules, same rules for every one, that is the day we will be marching faster towards a developed and equitable society.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Statues etal
Statue Frenzy -
Here’s a suggestion for Mayawati which will ensure a place for her in the annals of history. Instead of spending time and effort installing lifeless statues why not spend all the money and more of it in building a "National Museum of Dalit History". Such an effort will be helpful in educating the world on the history of Indian dalits. This can serve both as a museum, education and research center.
The rigor she is showing in ensuring erection of these statues should be channeled in the right direction. UP has one of the worst track records in primary education and infant immortality in the country. If she can put the same rigor and ensure every child goes to school the impact on dalit empowerment would be larger.
Anyways the statue mania is by and large a problem in this country with statues being erected for all and sundry. Most of these obstruct traffic and add to the urban mess in the country. I guess there should be a nationwide ban on statue erection.
Water, Power –
The yearly monsoon drama and blaming monsoon for lack of water and power looks stupid.
We are a huge country blessed with natural resources both coal, water and others. Why could not we set up mega power plants over the past 60 years, lack of privatization in the sector, poor planning and a phlegmatic bureaucracy are the reasons why we are always in a catch up mode.
A country which aspires to a super power cannot give 24 x7 power (forget about water) to its capitals’ denizens. That is the reason we are not considered serious contenders to super power title, china is.
Need of the hour is implementing river catchment protection, water conservation, ground water protection legislations in spirit. I guess there must be plethora of policies around these by now both at the center and state levels. Most of these environmental bodies are populated by bureaucrats with no energy for implementation of these policies and are swayed in their decision making by their political bosses.
River pollution is another area which lacks required focus. Again take the example of the Yamuna in the capital. Successive governments are failing to take into cognizance the need for de-polluting the river, clearing the catchment of encroachments and beautifying it. Same is the situation with all the cities in the country which are on the banks of rivers. They are an ugly sight for the beautiful names they have.
There are a plethora of problems on the water and power situation in the country and its time for governments to act.
Here’s a suggestion for Mayawati which will ensure a place for her in the annals of history. Instead of spending time and effort installing lifeless statues why not spend all the money and more of it in building a "National Museum of Dalit History". Such an effort will be helpful in educating the world on the history of Indian dalits. This can serve both as a museum, education and research center.
The rigor she is showing in ensuring erection of these statues should be channeled in the right direction. UP has one of the worst track records in primary education and infant immortality in the country. If she can put the same rigor and ensure every child goes to school the impact on dalit empowerment would be larger.
Anyways the statue mania is by and large a problem in this country with statues being erected for all and sundry. Most of these obstruct traffic and add to the urban mess in the country. I guess there should be a nationwide ban on statue erection.
Water, Power –
The yearly monsoon drama and blaming monsoon for lack of water and power looks stupid.
We are a huge country blessed with natural resources both coal, water and others. Why could not we set up mega power plants over the past 60 years, lack of privatization in the sector, poor planning and a phlegmatic bureaucracy are the reasons why we are always in a catch up mode.
A country which aspires to a super power cannot give 24 x7 power (forget about water) to its capitals’ denizens. That is the reason we are not considered serious contenders to super power title, china is.
Need of the hour is implementing river catchment protection, water conservation, ground water protection legislations in spirit. I guess there must be plethora of policies around these by now both at the center and state levels. Most of these environmental bodies are populated by bureaucrats with no energy for implementation of these policies and are swayed in their decision making by their political bosses.
River pollution is another area which lacks required focus. Again take the example of the Yamuna in the capital. Successive governments are failing to take into cognizance the need for de-polluting the river, clearing the catchment of encroachments and beautifying it. Same is the situation with all the cities in the country which are on the banks of rivers. They are an ugly sight for the beautiful names they have.
There are a plethora of problems on the water and power situation in the country and its time for governments to act.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
This week's roundup
Kapil Sibal’s boastful pronouncement that he would do away with board exams is needless distraction to the real issue plaguing our education system "Quality of Education".
Mr. Minister needs to pay visit to a typical govt run school to understand the ground level conditions. Most of the state run schools operate in dilapidated buildings with little or no infrastructure.
Not to say that attempts are not being made to improve the conditions in schools. Sarva Siksha Abhiyan is a step in the right direction. However as with all the large and visionary schemes in India I think this too is failing due to lack of planning, control and monitoring.
I visited a school which is a beneficiary of the funds in a remote village in Khammam Dt in AP. The school is running in a ruined structure, classes are held under trees and there I see a packed TV set lying unused. Guess what the school does not get power at all during the day? In another school outskirts of Hyderabad they have a new computer with dust gathering, reason the school has no power connection.
There is no point in announcing grandiose plans when the foundation itself is weak. Let’s get the basics in primary education right first. 1) Curriculum design 2) Infrastructure 3) Teachers 4) Delivery methods and not the least getting the child to school.
Time is also ripe to think about voucher model of allowing parents to choose private schools. Of course this is new to India and a clear policy need to be laid out on who the beneficiaries should be.
The fundamental problem of delivery of quality education to our children is a larger issue and needs to be addressed taking into consideration the geographical and cultural diversity of this country. One size does not fit all at least in this case.
To conclude –
This week the AP Olympic association governing committee names were announced and it came to light that there is not even a single olympian in the governing body. It consists of politicos from the Congress and TDP. When will this joke end in this country?
Shopian is a shame. There should be a thorough investigation and guilty punished.
Mr. Minister needs to pay visit to a typical govt run school to understand the ground level conditions. Most of the state run schools operate in dilapidated buildings with little or no infrastructure.
Not to say that attempts are not being made to improve the conditions in schools. Sarva Siksha Abhiyan is a step in the right direction. However as with all the large and visionary schemes in India I think this too is failing due to lack of planning, control and monitoring.
I visited a school which is a beneficiary of the funds in a remote village in Khammam Dt in AP. The school is running in a ruined structure, classes are held under trees and there I see a packed TV set lying unused. Guess what the school does not get power at all during the day? In another school outskirts of Hyderabad they have a new computer with dust gathering, reason the school has no power connection.
There is no point in announcing grandiose plans when the foundation itself is weak. Let’s get the basics in primary education right first. 1) Curriculum design 2) Infrastructure 3) Teachers 4) Delivery methods and not the least getting the child to school.
Time is also ripe to think about voucher model of allowing parents to choose private schools. Of course this is new to India and a clear policy need to be laid out on who the beneficiaries should be.
The fundamental problem of delivery of quality education to our children is a larger issue and needs to be addressed taking into consideration the geographical and cultural diversity of this country. One size does not fit all at least in this case.
To conclude –
This week the AP Olympic association governing committee names were announced and it came to light that there is not even a single olympian in the governing body. It consists of politicos from the Congress and TDP. When will this joke end in this country?
Shopian is a shame. There should be a thorough investigation and guilty punished.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Implementation and Monitoring of National schemes
Central and State governments are planning and rolling large out social and Infrastructure related programs that aim to benefit the rural and urban poor. However its time to take an unbiased view of the success and outcomes of these programs.
Let’s take NREG, it is a well meaning initiative that aims to guarantee 200 days or so work. I have seen its implementation in my village and have doubts on the effectiveness of the outcome. Men and women are being put to dig harvest canals in hot sun. The collective output is a couple of feet width and length of canal clearance. Once the water is released into the canals for the harvest the effort would be annulled. Can there be better thinking on the implementation, can such effort be used for canal lining so that the product stays longer and is useful. I guess we can gain 10 times more productivity by using machinery to dig canal than using axes and pickles.
There might me cases of success of NREG as reported in the media but such schemes should be clear on the guidelines and what types of activities can be carried out as part of the scheme.
Take the case of White ration cards in Andhra Pradesh. The number of ineligible families owning the White card is mind blowing. Very poor execution and monitoring of these schemes is one of the reasons that the real beneficiaries are being left behind.
Farm loan waiver is one another case which was implemented in a haphazard manner. It always seems to be the case where the real ones for whom it is planned is left out during the implementation.
Delivery mechanisms of the central and state social welfare schemes need to be reviewed. Planning out ways to deliver the benefits directly to the recipient without intermediate layers is one way. Laws should be enacted to penalize and make it a criminal offence to benefit from such programs if one is not the intended beneficiary. Else Central and state governments will be rolling out schemes which are useful for electoral purposes but not for the real purpose of their initiation “benefiting the poor “.
Let’s take NREG, it is a well meaning initiative that aims to guarantee 200 days or so work. I have seen its implementation in my village and have doubts on the effectiveness of the outcome. Men and women are being put to dig harvest canals in hot sun. The collective output is a couple of feet width and length of canal clearance. Once the water is released into the canals for the harvest the effort would be annulled. Can there be better thinking on the implementation, can such effort be used for canal lining so that the product stays longer and is useful. I guess we can gain 10 times more productivity by using machinery to dig canal than using axes and pickles.
There might me cases of success of NREG as reported in the media but such schemes should be clear on the guidelines and what types of activities can be carried out as part of the scheme.
Take the case of White ration cards in Andhra Pradesh. The number of ineligible families owning the White card is mind blowing. Very poor execution and monitoring of these schemes is one of the reasons that the real beneficiaries are being left behind.
Farm loan waiver is one another case which was implemented in a haphazard manner. It always seems to be the case where the real ones for whom it is planned is left out during the implementation.
Delivery mechanisms of the central and state social welfare schemes need to be reviewed. Planning out ways to deliver the benefits directly to the recipient without intermediate layers is one way. Laws should be enacted to penalize and make it a criminal offence to benefit from such programs if one is not the intended beneficiary. Else Central and state governments will be rolling out schemes which are useful for electoral purposes but not for the real purpose of their initiation “benefiting the poor “.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Women at the helm
Meria kumar's elevation to the helm of speaker is a welcome move and in the right direction. She richly deserves the honor for having served the the nation in various capacities over the years. Though she had the advantage of being Babu Jagjivan Ram's daughter she did not flaunt and use it to her advantage like many of the scions of political families. I hope her humble and calm demeanor would help in creating a right impact on the parliamentary proceedings.
Though much is being made out of her Dalit background i think it is largley symbolic. Coming from a priveleged family i am not sure she was subject to the same discrimination and suffereings that the other dalit women face on a day to day basis. Having said that symbolism helps and i am sure she would inspire many more women from poorer backgrounds to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty and discrimination.
The issue is in India we do things symbolic and they remain that, consider that we had Indira Gandhi as the prime minister for 15 long years, i am note sure if she had done enough to legislate laws to empower women. In that sense Meira kumar's elevation itself may not have a significant impact unless she tries to use her influence to push laws which protect women's rights. The women's reservation bill would be a step in the right direction.
Coming specifically to the Dalit women the problems are humongous. Education is the most important assest that can assist this class to assert themselves and put them on the ladder of economic progression. There are other socio-economic issues that needs immedaite focus by ruling parties both the centre and state.
Coming back to the central point of women's welfare i think it is time to have a ministry to for women's welfare in the central and state levels to give priority and focus to the aspects of 1) Literacy 2) Health care 3) Employment etc. These are some of the steps that need to be taken to improve the well being of women of this country who constitute close 45% of the population, else such tokenism of elevating them to higher offices will remain token.
Though much is being made out of her Dalit background i think it is largley symbolic. Coming from a priveleged family i am not sure she was subject to the same discrimination and suffereings that the other dalit women face on a day to day basis. Having said that symbolism helps and i am sure she would inspire many more women from poorer backgrounds to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty and discrimination.
The issue is in India we do things symbolic and they remain that, consider that we had Indira Gandhi as the prime minister for 15 long years, i am note sure if she had done enough to legislate laws to empower women. In that sense Meira kumar's elevation itself may not have a significant impact unless she tries to use her influence to push laws which protect women's rights. The women's reservation bill would be a step in the right direction.
Coming specifically to the Dalit women the problems are humongous. Education is the most important assest that can assist this class to assert themselves and put them on the ladder of economic progression. There are other socio-economic issues that needs immedaite focus by ruling parties both the centre and state.
Coming back to the central point of women's welfare i think it is time to have a ministry to for women's welfare in the central and state levels to give priority and focus to the aspects of 1) Literacy 2) Health care 3) Employment etc. These are some of the steps that need to be taken to improve the well being of women of this country who constitute close 45% of the population, else such tokenism of elevating them to higher offices will remain token.
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