India probably has the most voluminous Constitution on the planet, the spirit of which lawmakers keep merrily failing to figure out only because a majority of them are ineligible and have entered the legislature by guile. The miniscule minority of brainy ones loses the power of speech or their neurons fail as if brain jammers have been placed in the lawmaking temple by the thugs in the gang. They make good laws without ensuring the Executive framing appropriate rules that administrators could use for smooth delivery of services. Not surprisingly, they make bizarre laws which the Supreme Court strikes down from time to time to keep the people safe and secure.
The Supreme Court lately has wanted to know why the RBI has not made public the names of 57 debtors who have defaulted on repaying Rs 85,000 crore after learning that big ‘billionaire debtors’ are being protected by the Central Bank of India. The court was firm that the names be disclosed and put in the public domain accessible through Right to Information applications. The RBI counsel said the names of defaulters cannot be made public under the statutory law, adding that some ‘grand burrowers’ are good citizens who have not defaulted on purpose. The counsel further said, rather brazenly, that the RBI as regulator was working in the interest of the banking sector. No person of substance cries foul that such a move cannot be made in a democratic republic where the interest of the ordinary citizen is to be treated on a much higher priority than a commercial entity. So, CJI Thakur reacted strongly, "You must work in the interest of the country first, not just in the interest of banks only."
*It is public knowledge that most States have made laws to ban rampant plastic use. But appropriate rules have never been framed. So, the administrators find it extremely difficult to swoop on the violators and fix them. Even lord Jagannath at Puri suffers from terribly ‘toxic plastic litter’ quite in the temple premises. The sacred Mahaprasad (dry food items offered to the deities) is packaged in unacceptable plastic bags that are considered health hazard even for the street people. But no specific rules that indicate penalty are in place. Tobacco products like gutkha banned by law is sold in the open market, though cautiously, to avoid being seen easily. So, even on complaint, authorities including police do not rush to nab the offenders exemplarily.
•The worst nuisance is noise pollution which causes huge damage to the human bodies and mind. Acts and rules have been made to prevent the menace and punish the offenders. The ‘night noise level’ issues are to be resolved with utmost care as people may lose sleep and fall sick. law has come in place and good rules have been framed for remedy. Under the Noise Pollution Control and Regulation Rules under the Environment Protection Act of 1986, the State Governments are required to categorise areas into industrial, commercial, residential and silence zones for implementation of different noise standards as prescribed in the Rules:
· loudspeakers may be used only with the permission of the relevant authority. loudspeakers or public address systems or amplifiers cannot be used in the night time except in closed areas.
· No horns to be used in silence zones or during night time in residential areas except in case of emergency.
· Sound emitting firecrackers cannot be used in silence zone or at night time.
· Sound emitting construction materials cannot be used during night time in residential areas and silence zones.
Remedies and consequences:
n Any person violating the Rules shall be liable for penalty under the Act. Section 15 of the Act provides that any person contravening the provisions of the Act or the Rules thereunder shall, in respect of each such failure or contravention, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees or with both; and in case the failure or contravention continues, with additional fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after the conviction for the first such failure or contravention.
n Rule 7 of the Rules provides that a person may, if noise level exceeds the ambient noise standards by 10 decibels or more for any particular zone may make a complaint to the prescribed authorities as specified by the State Government, including a District Magistrate, Police Commissioner or any other officer not below the rank of a District Superintendent. Most unfortunately, despite even weeping appeals by affected people, the authorities at the most offer lip service only and nothing more because the hapless victims do not know they can book callous officials for dereliction of duty.
*When the State Government chose the Central Division RDC to inquire into the SUM Hospital fire disaster, many conscious people got worried. This former teacher, who got into the IAS fold, is likely to keep groping until people forget there ever was any smoke in the SUM campus, let alone loss of invaluable lives.
The SUM fire incident is likely to keep occurring at hundreds of clinical establishments across Odisha. The wrath display by the Fire God will be staged again and again as long as tolerating violation of safety and such other mandatory norms remains a commonly-accepted phenomenon. Authorities don’t give a dam, and the ordinary public doesn’t know the ground rules of preventing the offence and awarding punishment.
In February of 2015, the Director of Medical Education & Training, Odisha had routinely intimated the CDMOs and the Rourkela CMO about the mandatory prevention measures to be taken in all hospitals and clinical establishments:
Fire Safety Clearance Certificate from the Directorate General, Fire Services is a must for a new registration or renewal specifically when the buildings
— are higher than nine meters;
— buildings have three or more floors including underground, basement, stilt and mezzanine floors
— have 30 or more beds;
— have one or more critical or intensive care units.
— further required mandatorily are Approved Building Plans by the Development Authority or Regional Improvement Trust or Special Planning Authority or Municipal Corporation or Municipality or NAC or such other authority competent to approve plans.
If the clinical establishments do not come under these categories, they shall have to be self-regulators providing only a ‘Fire Safety Self-Declaration’ in the form of an affidavit to the licensing Authority of Hospitals/Clinical Establishments saying they have provided all fire prevention/ safety measures as prescribed in the National Building Code of India, 2005 including the following, namely:
— Minimum two 4.5-kg capacity carbon dioxide extinguisher for every 1,000 square feet floor area to be easily available within a radius of 30 feet.
— Management must ensure all staff members are trained in handling the devices properly and keeping them in fitness.
Photocopies of the Fire Safety Clearance Certificate issued by the Fire — Prevention Wing of Directorate General or the Fire Safety Self-Declaration note shall be framed and displayed at all conspicuous places in the corridors and lobbies on all floors of the buildings for public information.
The DMET is only a monitoring and recommending body. It does not issue or grant licence as is popularly perceived. The MCI is similarly authorised only to monitor and recommend grant of licence to the Government, apart from which no other entity has the authority to do so. The DMET, established in 1975, is expected only to improve the “Education” in the field of Medical Science and impart training to medical personnel in the State which involves undergraduate, postgraduate students, dental and training of paramedical and nursing personnel (both in degree and diploma) and other related health programmes by monitoring the institutions as the supervising Head of the Department.
Similarly, medical colleges shall be set up only on a plot of land earmarked for that purpose as indicated by Development Authorities in the respective regions.
People are getting smarter because of the smart devices. The authorities better beware! Erring hospitals be identified soon and offenders be brought to book.
Hopefully, the Diwali celebrations will be fairly free of noise and toxic smoke. And maybe, the Chinese aggression in fireworks war would be thwarted effectively!
(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)