Union budget "fails to inspire" farmers, climate victims, Ganga rejuvenation, Himalayas

By Our Representative
Senior environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar, in a new analysis, has taken strong exception to the Narendra Modi government bringing down allocation for the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change is down 15% to Rs 1681.6 crores in 2015-16, compared with the amount budgeted for the current fiscal year.
Thakkar, who is with the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has said the drastic cut has happened despite finance minister Arun Jaitley saying in his budget speech: “Environmental degradation hurts the poor more than others.”
Things have gone to such an extent, according to Thakkar, that during an interaction with senior officials of the Central Pollution Control Board, one of the officers told Leo Saldanha, a top environmental expert, that “the budget for the entire CPCB was equal to the cost of a Delhi Metro pillar: Rs. 50 crores.”
Saldanha has been quoted as saying, “ He wasn’t exactly right. Perhaps it’s the cost of two Metro pillars. But we get the point.”
Thakkar has further said, the allocation for Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has been drastically pushed down to Rs 4,232.43 crore, comprising of Rs 3,607 crore planned and Rs 625 crore non-plan budget. This is against Rs 13,237 crore planned and Rs 600 crore non-planned budget for 2014-15, a total reduction of Rs 9630 crore.
Comments the environmentalist, “Part of this reduction is supposed to be taken care of by the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations for greater devolution to states, but it is not clear how it can substitute the schemes like the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme or the National Projects Scheme that were granting funds to specific projects.”
Further pointing out that the farmers, too, have got a raw deal in budget, Thakkar said, the finance minister reiterated the NDA government's “commitment to farmers” and yet “the budget does not have a lot to show that commitment. The Agriculture Ministry’s budget has been reduced by 14.34% compared to the revised estimates. Further, the allocation for the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries is reduced by Rs 683 crore.”
As for the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, a “new programme” of the Modi government under Ministry of Agriculture, aimed at ensuring access to water to every farm (har khet ko pani), the environmentalist says, it has been allocated Rs 5,300 crore, including allocation for watershed programme and Rs 1,800 crore for the micro irrigation.
“As against that, the allocation for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana has seen a huge cut from Rs 9,954 crore Budget allocation in 2014-15 to Rs 4,500 crore in 2015-16”, he adds.
Coming to the plan to “rejuvenate Ganga”, the environmentalist believes, “We have yet to see any credible action on this front. The budget allocates Rs 2,100 crore to Namami Gange (Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission) for 2015-16, slightly up from Rs 2037 crore allocated in the 2014-15 budget.”
But he comments, “The trouble is the government has no road map for rejuvenating Ganga, except some business as usual urban and industrial effluent control proposals.”
In fact, Thakkar says, “Such proposals have been going on for 30 years without any impact and the new proposals are likely to meet the same fate since they signify no break from the past. The money for this scheme is coming from clean energy cess, but it is not clear if this is the best use of that money. The clean energy cess fund should not be used for such business as usual projects, but for some significantly people-centered efforts that help those who suffer the impacts of climate change.”
“It is clear that the budget 2015-16 is not inspiring confidence that any action keeping the long term interests of farmers, water resources, rivers, Himalayas, climate victims or environment is on the horizon”, he concludes.

Comments

'Enough evidence' in Indian tradition to support legal basis for same-sex marriage

By Iyce Malhotra, Joseph Mathai, Sandeep Chachra* The ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage provides space for much-needed conversations on issues that have hitherto remained “invisible” or engaged with patriarchal locker room humour. We must recognize that people with diverse sexualities and complex gender identities have faced discrimination, stigma and decades of oppression. Their issues have mainly remained buried in dominant social discourse, and many view them with deep insecurities.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Victim of communal violence, Christians in Manipur want Church leadership to speak up

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ* The first eleven days of May 2023 have, in many ways, been a defining period of Indian history! Plenty has happened in a rapid-fire stream of events. Ironically, each one of them are indicators of how crimes and the criminalisation of society has become the ‘new norm’; these include, the May Day rallies with a focus on the four labour codes which are patently against the rights of workers; the U S Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its Annual Report on 1 May stating that conditions for religious freedom in India “continued to worsen in 2022”; the continued protest by the Indian women wrestlers at Jantar Mantar for the expulsion of the chief of the Indian Wrestlers Federation on very serious allegations; the Elections in Karnataka on 10 May (with communalism and corruption as the mainstay); the release of the fake, derogative and insensitive film ‘The Kerala Story’; the release of World Free Press Index on 3 May which places India

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Delhi HC rules in favour of retired Air Force officer 'overcharged' for Covid treatment

By Rosamma Thomas* In a decision of May 22, 2023, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of petitioner Group Captain Suresh Khanna who was under treatment at CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, between April 28 and May 5, 2021, for a period of eight days, for Covid-19 pneumonia. The petitioner had to pay Rs 3,55,286 as treatment costs, but the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) only reimbursed him for Rs 1,83,748, on the basis of government-approved rates.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam* The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Polygamy in India "down" in 45 yrs: Muslims' from 5.7 to 2.55%, Hindus' 5.8 to 1.77%, "common" in SCs, STs

By Rajiv Shah Amidst All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) justifying polygamy, saying it “meets social and moral needs and the provision for it stems from concern and sympathy for women”, facts suggest the the practice is down from 5.7 per cent of Muslim families in 1961 to 2.55 per cent in 2006.

India joining US sponsored trade pillar to hurt Indian farmers, 'promote' GM seeds, food

Counterview Desk As many as 32 civil society organisations (CSOs), in a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and India joining the trade pillar, have said that its provisions will allow the US to ensure a more favourable regulatory regime “for enhancing its exports of genetically modified (GM) seeds and GM food”, underlining, it will “significantly hurt the livelihoods of Indian farmers.”

Modi govt 'wholly untrustworthy' on Covid data, censored criticism on pandemic: Lancet

By Rajiv Shah* One of the world’s most prestigious health journals, brought out from England, has sharply criticised the Narendra Modi government for being “wholly untrustworthy on Covid-19 health data”, stating, the “official government figures place deaths at more than 530 000, while WHO excess death estimates for 2020 and 2021 are near 4·7 million.”

Search This Blog