Neeraj Rohmetra
JAMMU, Oct 26: The enforcement of Mode Code of Conduct (MCC) in the State, after the announcement of poll schedule yesterday wouldn’t hamper the on-going relief operations in the flood-affected areas of the State and Compendium of Instructions from the office of Election Commission of India (ECI) have also corroborated this fact.
Officials, who are privy to the electoral exercise in the State categorically told EXCELSIOR that the continuation of relief operations is not any special concession to the State and there are clear guidelines in this context in the red book for conducting polls.
As per the revised document comprising guidelines for Model Code of Conduct for guidance of Political parties and candidates prepared by Deputy Election Commissioner, Vinod Zutshi , the Commission doesn’t refuse approval for schemes undertaken for tackling unforeseen calamities like providing relief to people suffering from floods, other natural calamities.
“The Commission invariably takes a humanitarian view on the work that are necessitated due to man-made or natural calamities”, says the ECI document.
Further, the MCC guidelines which, pertain to the relief operations in the document says, “though there is no prohibition on the continuation of relief operations, prior approval of the Commission should be taken and all ostentatious functions should be strictly avoided”, adding, “no impression should be given or allowed to be created that such welfare measures or relief and rehabilitation works are being undertaken by the Government in office so as to influence the electors in favour of the party in power, which at the same time will adversely affect the prospects of other parties”.
“The exgratia payments and gratuitous relief in the aftermath of a disaster can be given directly to the persons affected at the current rates/scales of assistance presently in force, under intimation to the Commission. However, no change in the extant and prescribed scales of payments shall be made in the existing rates/scales without prior permission of the Commission”, says the documents.
“Besides, an area shall not be declared drought/flood affected or any such calamity affected without prior approval of the Commission. The extent of area already declared to be calamity-effected cannot be expanded without prior approval of the Commission. Similarly, any selective assistance to a group of persons from the PM’s or the CM’s Relief Fund will require prior approval of the Commission”, says the document.
About the conduct of Ministers involved in relief operations, the documents says, “No Minister, whether of Union or State, will summon any election related officer of the constituency or the State, for any official discussions during the period of elections commencing with the announcement of the elections”, adding “only exception will be when a Minister, in his capacity as in charge of the department concerned, or Chief Minister undertakes an official visit to a constituency, in connection with a natural calamity or any such emergency which requires personal presence of such Ministers or Chief Ministers for the specific purpose of supervising review of relief operations and such like purpose”.
As per the MCC guidelines, “the payment directly to the hospitals from CM’s/PM’s Relief Fund, in lieu of direct cash payment to individual patients (beneficiaries) will be permissible without reference to the Commission”. Emergent relief works and measures that are aimed to mitigate the hardships, directly and solely, of the persons affected in a disaster can be taken up under intimation to the Commission.
However, new works that may be necessitated by way of preventive measures to mitigate the likely effects of natural disasters like repair of embankments, water channels etc. can be taken up only with prior permission of the Commission.
“Any violation of these instructions will be viewed as gross infringement not only of the Model code of Conduct but also of the authority of the Commission to promulgate such directions as it considers necessary to ensure peaceful, fair and free poll reflective of the true choice of the people, and will be visited with grave consequences as considered appropriate by the Commission on the merits of the specific circumstances”, warns the document.
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