Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Towards accountability

Tongues galore

Cooperative Movement
Week Nov 15 - Nov 21
Women empowerment through cooperative

By R D Gupta

Support Iraq in
India's interest

By Eduardo Faleiro

One crore houses for
labour class

By Subhashis Mittra

As the national economy under goes change and consolidation in response to the new international economic order, the Government is making special efforts to soften the impact of transition, ......more

EDITORIAL

Towards accountability

Probably, the most welcome thing about the new Government is its resolve to ensure the accountability of the Government and its promise to introduce a bill to the effect in the coming session of the State assembly. Equally welcome is the announcement that the bill shall have the office of the Chief Minister within its purview. For, this is the office from which maximum power is wielded and at which most of the fingers are pointed, with or without reason. And then there is the question of all things beginning from home. To be fair so far the Chief Minister has tried to be fair and open. His decision to have himself included in the bill substantiates that impression. For, corruption is easily the greatest evil menacing this State. To say that corruption is a national or a universal phenomenon is an attempt to play down the evil, which is causing the greatest imbalances and injustices in administration and governance. Nothing that even remotely seeks to justify or rationalize corruption can be seen as being anything good. It is evil, standing by evil to make the society devilish.

Though many people would hold that the proportions corruption has assumed here are truly vicious, there can be no denial that the evil is widespread. It is almost on its way to becoming a routine affair. It is no exaggerations that the ‘extra-income’ is one criterion for assessing the financial position of persons. It is equally true that corruption is making life hard for even those who rake in the monies brought by the corrupt practices. As it is, the evil of corruption has much to do with the emphasis the modern life places on the material acquisitions. Consumerism may not be the gateway to corruption, yet it is the primrose path that can be trudged best with the shoes of corruption. A greater spur for corruption is the leniency in accounting. The vigilances are lax, accountability is lax and a lax society is only too happy to accord high honors to the people flush with funds, without a care as to how those funds have been found. The police and the inspecting teams may not find any ‘proof’ of the allegations of corruption but the society knows all about its members, how their wealth is acquired, whence the monies are siphoned off and all but chooses to remain mum.

The societies and families even exhort their members to make a little hay of their own in the shining sun. That may not be where this corruption was born, but it certainly lives in that slackness of the society. While the laws are geared up, the society has to make its own preferences clear. And, if the general vibes are any guide, it does want corruption out of the society. So the people must be ready to banish the evil from their midst. Meanwhile, the laws must be tightened. It would not be enough to have a law, a comprehensive law on the point. It should be an effective law. Many a time, the comprehensive laws end up providing too many loopholes for the crafty to escape through. Probably a simple and direct law would be more effective than a clause-studded document that needs legal experts to be read through. As important as the law is the mechanism and the time frame. Most of the intents and purposes of our laws are lost through the court delays. Unless there is quick cognizance and disposal, the law becomes a tool for the corrupt instead of being an implement to round them up, perchance, to cudgel them!

Tongues galore

It was an unprecedented situation in the State assembly when the members refused to take oath in the ‘usual’ languages but insisted that on taking their oaths in their mother tongues. Ironic as it may seem none of the languages, which are usually employed in the affairs of the State, have substantial number of speakers in the State. And, that includes the ‘official language’ of the State, Urdu! Probably, Urdu has the least number of speakers in the State though many people can read it. But those people can read English with equal, if not greater ease. And, lots more can read and deal in Hindi here. One does not know how one can characterize that particular status of the official language in the State. Is it a brotherhood in an alien tongue or a brotherly affection for it? Whatever, it certainly is not a service to the oft invoked 'identity’ and ‘character’ of this State or any of its regions. That was illustrated when, after the JKNPP member’s insistence on taking the oath in his in Dogri, some members from Kashmir insisted on a similar ‘revenge’ (?) asking to be sworn in Kashmiri. Right. But, who is this official tongue speaking for? Is it the monkey eating away their loaf because the cats would not settle on their slices?

Meanwhile there should not have been any objection to the members taking their oaths in the tongues of their choice. For it is all a symbolic demonstration and there cannot be anything wrong in symbolic demonstrations. In any case the members would be speaking the tongues others would understand when it comes to transacting business. And they must, for none can speak to oneself alone. It is also curious that while people ask for all types of adherence to the symbols and signs when dealing with sarkari things, they do nothing of the sort in the commerce of life. Dogras, Kashmiris, Ladakhis all send their children, at great cost, to English medium schools to learn English. Many of these children afterwards cannot speak their mother tongues well especially since the parents make it a point to speak English when talking to these children. They make great show of their own command over the tongue when they go seeing the ‘madams’ in those schools. And, in the market place in Jammu, a Kashmiri is as eager to speak in Dogri to the shopkeeper, as is the later to answer in Kashmiri. Strange, this tale of tongues!

Cooperative Movement Week Nov 15 - Nov 21
Women empowerment through cooperative

By R D Gupta

Cooperative movement which was started with the Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904 means self service through cooperation. Cooperatives have played an important role in ameliorating the socio-economic conditions of the weaker sections in general and women in particular, by providing them will full of part time job opportunities and thereby, raising their standard of living.

Women's ability to find innovative solution could be used to benefit cooperatives and influence their development. Empowering women to participate in decision making is essential to increase both to cooperative efficiency and its sustainable development. Women in reality have proved very good leaders in collaborating, integrating listening and motivating various matters /affairs.

It has been found that cooperatives run by women members are much better than those performed by the men. Produce cooperatives where women work together in a common workshed outside their homes, have been observed to have more benefits because they challenge the norm forms of female seclusion and unequal household division of labour. There are a number of schemes, wherein an involvement of a large number of women has been made in cooperatives, particularly in industries employing greater number of women. Hence, empowerment of women through cooperatives can be a viable proposition of strengthening women's ability to make their destiny. However, empowerment process requires change of structure of subordination through radical changes in law, property and other institution, which reinforce and perpetuate male domination. By this act, the women become able to control the things in economic and social aspects of their life which they encounter daily.

Development through Cooperative Societies

These days a number of cooperative societies have been established for the service of the people especially women in different States of India. The spectacular rise in the milk production and its various products achieved through AMUL, Gujarat is an ideal example what a group of motivated farmers including farm women are realising through cooperation and collective endeavour. Similarly many women after acquiring necessary trainings under Bio-Village Society Assam established during 1992, are now making use of the locally available fruits and vegetables for preparing squash, preserves and pickles on large scale.

Women's Pashmina Production Cooperative Societies in Kashmir are the glaring examples to the Pashmina Industry which has provided an effective incentive for the women having low income. Similary, the Consumers Cooperative Societies in Kashmir like. Miskeen Bagh Wholesale Women's Cooperative Society, Soura Women Consumers' Cooperative Society and many others have not found beneficial only to the women but also to the general public in distribution of essential commodities and good quality consumable articles in the families. In Ranbir Singh Pura block of Jammu district, women of the New J&K Women Welfare Society after attaining training in mushroom and dhingri cultivation from Krishi Vigyan Kendra Jammu have now set up their own income generating mushroom production units.

The Women's Urban Cooperative Banks are very well functioning in the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. In addition to dealing with credit business, these banks are helping the unemployed women and youths in establishing their business on individual or cooperative basis. Such banks one each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions of J&K State, have also been launched since 2000. These days, women are too the members of Agriculture Credit Cooperatives through fewer in numbers. It is point to mention that the women of Miskeen Bagh Credit Cooperative Society in Kashmir dealing with various agricultural inputs, are performing their work very efficiently, effectively and nicely.

Self Help Groups

In modern agriculture different programmes like Integrated Pest Management, Watershed Development Programme, Organic Farming Integrated Nutrient Management can not be more effective unless these are adopted in a large area by a group of farmers. There is a greater scope for success when an activity is undertaken by a group on cooperative or collective basis. The Non Governmental Organisations and the Krishi Vigyan Kendras of the country have also attempted to introduce improved agricultural technology not only by training the farmers on individual basis but by organising the training programmes on group basis for technology adoption to achieve higher production. This can be done through Self Help Group.

"Self Help Group is a voluntary association of 10-20 members with common interest, formed democratically without any political or religious affiliations to mobilise savings to manage credit, encouraging group members to take loan for appropriate productive income generating activities and to solve family financial problems with low rate of interest." Its main objective is to reduce drudgeries and to solve socio-economic problem of rural women.

The SHGs helped by NGOs have successfully developed a system of revolving credit for the benefit of group of members based on their own savings. Mysore Rural Development Agency initiated credit management groups in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and found that per capita saving by women groups was more than those of men, the number of fines imposed per capita was lesser among women group as compared with men groups, and women groups showed better rate of recovery of loan.

The SHGs development by "Be Sahara" in various Village of Hiranagar Tehsil (Kathua district, Jammu region) indicated women groups were much better as compared to those of men in returning loan and performing rural activities like cultivation of crops and fruits.

Support Iraq in India's interest

By Eduardo Faleiro

Iraq is being threatened with war once again. It is claimed that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction that it is a threat to its neighbours and that it has links with terrorist outfits such as Al Qaida. These allegations are not based on facts. The United Nations Inspections regime destroyed the Iraqi military machine and the United Nations sanctions deprived that country of money even to feed its population.

The International Atomic Energy Agency in its most recent report has categorically stated that Iraq has no more a nuclear weapons programme. Last month President Putin declared that Russia has not seen any evidence of Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction.

Several United Nations weapons inspectors who monitored every major Iraqi industrial activity during the period 1991 -98 have categorically stated that Iraq does not posses weapons of mass destruction and that it has no more the capacity to produce such weapons. Among the inspectors was Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer.

According to Ritter the weapons as well as the factories producing them were identified and destroyed across the country and Iraq no longer has the necessary infrastructure or access to technology. Iraq is willing to allow the return of the United Nations weapons Inspectors and give them unrestricted access to all its facilities so that no doubt whatsoever remains in this regard.

The Iraqi Government is an authoritarian regime and a one-Party rule, that of the Baath Party. Similar forms of Government are quite common in that region and in many other parts of the world. Obviously, it is for the people of each country to chart their own future and decide on the form of Government which they find most suitable without outside intervention. The core ideology of the Baath Party is secularism, socialism and pan-Arab nationalism. Religious extremism and fundamentalist organisations are dealt with ruthlessly and no distinction is made between those sympathetic to the majority or minority communities.

The Baath Party has an unblemished secular record and the possibility of any cooperation between the Iraqi regime and the Al Qaida did never arise. Indeed the Wall Street Journal in its issue of October 10, 2001 reported Suleiman Abu Gheith, a spokesman for Osama bin Laden as saying that Saddam Hussein is a "false God" who should be "punished".

In Iraq there is opportunity to worship freely and there are several thriving churches, a rather unusual sight in that region. In Baghdad I visited the Gurudwara Baba Nanak which commemorates the stay of Guru Nanak Dev in that city around 1515 AD. Within the compound of the Gurudwara lies the mausoleum of his devotee, Fakir Bahlol.

The Government of Iraq did not recognise the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Indeed, Just like India, Iraq granted recognition to the government-in-exile of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani as the legitimate Government of Afghanistan. Iraq today poses no threat to any country. At the Beirut Summit of the Arab League last March the Arab nations unanimously endorsed a Resolution opposing any attack on that country.

In a statement released at the end of the Summit, Arab leaders welcomed Iraq’s assurances of respect for Kuwait’s independence, sovereignty and security so as to avoid what happened in 1990. The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister stated that his country was fully satisfied with the agreement arrived at with Iraq at the Summit.

The Arab leaders unanimously called for lifting the UN sanctions and for ending the ordeal of the Iraqi people. They strongly rejected any potential US strike against Iraq as "a threat to the national security of all the Arab countries".

Iraq went through two crippling wars over the last two decades. The Iran-Iraq conflict lasted from 1980 to 1988. The war had disastrous results for both countries stalling economic development, disrupting oil exports and killing an estimated one million lives. Faced with the task of rebuilding infrastructure destroyed in the war, Iraq approached the only available source, the United States of America and the heavy borrowings made Iraq a client state of the U.S.

The version prevalent in the Middle-East and in many other quarters is that in 1990 Saddam Hussein complained to the State Department about Kuwait’s removal of Iraqi underground oil by drilling across the border. This had continued for years but now Iraq needed the money that this oil would provide to pay its debts. Saddam Hussein considered a war against Kuwait but needed Washington" s permission.

April Glaspie, the American Ambassador to Iraq implied such a permission by telling Saddam Hussein that the United States was not concerned with disputes among Middle-East countries and would not interfere. Believing this to be a green signal, Iraq sent its troops into Kuwait. The rest is history.

The United States and Britain prodded a reluctant Security Council into declaring a war which President Bush announced would usher the New World Order. The real motive for the war was what has always been at the core of the policies in the Middle-East, the oil resources of that region.

Iraq was promoting pan-Arab nationalism and attempting to form an Arab alliance similar to the European Union. All the oil producing countries of that region would share and work together and have a common Army. This was a matter of global concern more so to the industrialised countries. Independent oil producing States working together could impose their own terms and control OPEC. Iraq was also a socialist State. Socialism challenges market economics, the main pillar of the New World Order.

The Gulf War of 1990 resulted in the imposition of crippling sanctions against Iraq which continue to this date. The sanctions were somewhat softened by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreed upon by the Government of Iraq and the United Nations in 1996. The MOU became known as "Oil for Food Programme".

It ameliorated the situation somehow but is far from an adequate substitute for normal economic activity. The Government of Iraq continues to provide heavily subsidised food, medical care and housing. The quantities are, however, limited, in view of the scarce resources available, and can only meet partly the requirements of the people.

This I witnessed myself when I visited Baghdad in October and met a wide cross section of people there. One of the innumerable reminders of the tragedy of Iraq in the aftermath of the Gulf war is the destruction of the Amariyah bomb shelter, where about 400 civilians, mostly women, children and elderly people were killed by attacking war planes.

Another sight is the Baghdad Children Hospital where more children then ever are dying of leukaemia, the result of depleted uranium used for the first time in armour - piercing ammunitions of the Coalition Forces. There has been a manifold increase in cancer and premature births in that country from 4.5% to 32% according to an UNICEF report.

President Saddam Hussein has consistently supported India on all issues of international concern since 1974 when he met Indira Gandhi in New Delhi. Government of Iraq has extended firm support to India on the Kashmir issue and opposes the use of religion as a criterion for determining Nation-states.

A war against Iraq will seriously jeopardise India’s strategic interests. It will strengthen the terrorist cause and open the doors to international anarchy. Government of India should coordinate with the Non-Aligned Movement, The European Union and the Arab League to prevent this eventuality. India should also urge the Security Council to end economic sanctions against Iraq so as to restore the health, well being and dignity of the Iraqi people.

(Syndicate Features)

One crore houses for labour class

By Subhashis Mittra

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) sees itself in the forefront of such an endeavour. To provide a boost to the Housing Sector and help the Government achieve its goal of providing ‘Housing For All’, the EPFO is currently working out a feasible scheme in this direction.

EPFO recognises that an important element for growth and strategic repositioning is to increase the confidence and comfort level of its subscribers and hence the provision of shelter to them under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Shramik Awas Yojana' would round off the concept of Social Security. To fulfil the objective, EPFO is considering a Housing Scheme for EPF members to help them acquire low cost houses.

State Governments are likely to actively participate in the scheme, feel both Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma and Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar.

"Negotiations are underway with State Governments so as to provide land for housing at reasonable rates," they said after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced construction of one crore dwelling units by the two Union Ministries to meet the needs of labour class.

The Housing Scheme shall be open to EPF members only. There are 2.6 crore subscribers to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and most of them work in small-scale sector or seasonal establishments.

Most working people find it difficult to mobilise resources required to own a house. They end up living largely in rented houses. Rental for housing absorbs substantial part of income of the working people, at least 20 per cent at the minimum and going up to even 50 per cent.

According to the Central Provident Fund Commissioner Ajay Singh, a member shall have to fulfil certain conditions to avail of the benefit. For example, the conditions include a minimum years of service, a minimum balance in an individual’s PF account and that the member may not have availed any housing advances earlier.

The Equated Monthly Instalment (EMI) shall be worked out with individual members depending on Provident Fund accumulations and future receipts. In case of death, the payment of the house loan shall be guaranteed by a suitable insurance cover, Singh explained.

According to official sources, negotiations are under way with state-owned construction major — Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) to work out modalities to go ahead in the scheme. HUDCO would act as intermediary between Housing Boards, Local Development Authorities and the EPFO.

Having taken up the matter in the right earnest, the Labour Minister has written to all State Governments for making available land at a concessional rate so that houses were made available at a reasonable price to the EPF subscribers. "The response of the State Governments has been encouraging," Verma said.

According to the Urban Development Minister, 10,000 dwelling units in Deli would be made available under the Economically weaker Section (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) categories.

This was mainly because a large majority of members having a service of 10 to 15 years do not have more than Rs.40,000 in their PF accounts. For them, acquisition of houses on ownership basis would be impossible unless financial support is given to them.

EPFO does implement at present a scheme of permitting withdrawals of subscriptions for acquisition of houses. The quantum of withdrawals is limited to 36 months, salary and thus, those who avail of this facility have to find supplemental resources on their own from banks or Housing Finance Institutions (HFIs).

EPFO has gone into the question of provision of housing facilties to subscribers repeatedly over the years. For one reason or the other, a sustained programme of housing has not come under implementation so far.

In this background, a Committee was constituted in September 2002 by the Chairman of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the EPFO to go into the question of establishing a viable housing scheme for the benefit of worker members.

The Committee has given a report recommending implementation of a housing scheme with certain features. They include networking with housing agencies, coordination. With states, especially in the matter of land allotment, provision of funds for members with minimum of five years of service and with reference to balances of contribution and facilitation of concessional interest for housing finance.

In formulating its recommendations, the Committee has reviewed the various financing schemes that are implemented by commercial banks as well as special housing finance institutions.

It may be mentioned here that the CBT of EPF at its 158th meeting in October approved in principle the concept of setting up a housing scheme for worker members. They have also constituted a Committee representing both employees and employers to work out the details and modalities of such a scheme.

In his letter to the States, the Labour Minister said the EPFO was the largest Provident Fund in the world and the largest Social Security Organisation in the country.

Stating that the Organisation delivers schemes of old age income security, he said there were three essential ingredients of old age income protection - a monthly retirement income, access to health care and a house by way of shelter.

"While the workforce employed in various businesses, industries, educational and other institutions constituting the membership of the EPFO/ESI have access to health care through ESI scheme and old age income security through EPF schemes, they do not have the critical protection of access to minimum housing for retirement security," Verma said in his letter of October 24.

He said that in order to put the scheme an the ground, the active partnership, support and collaboration of the State Governments is critical. For making land available at subsidised rates, States can contribute and become a co-sponsor of the proposed scheme.

According to Verma negotiations are underway with State Governments so as to procure land for housing at reasonable rates.

PTI Feature