There are three or four issues leading to anxieties and worries. The march of dengue, malaria and malnutrition in Odisha is at an alarming pace. The so-called development is obviously not “inclusive” in character. Inadequacies in converting policies into realities result in such sociological maladies.
Spread of dengue is galloping and nutrition-linked programmes are not implemented, resulting in high mortality rate. Malaria is still a fatal enemy snatching away many a valuable life. At the grassroots level, there is decline and degeneration.
The living conditions in villages are not congenial and are quite often burdensome. Surroundings are becoming unhealthy. There is a steady decline in the level of healthcare. Hundreds have died on account of dengue and many more will die unless remedial measures are carried out at the grassroots level.
Industrial belt to rural area, none have been spared from the dengue onslaught. We are back to the age of mosquito curtains. To think of it, mosquito curtains are the safest as a protective measure. But the factors that lead to dengue need to be eradicated.
Waste and garbage management and maintenance of sanitarily improved atmosphere are to be brought into existence to change things for the better. The health of the State cannot be very bright when the health of the citizens is dangerously infected.
So many health missions have been announced and brandished, but there has been decay at the grassroots level. In many areas, the degree of unhealthiness has increased over the last few years with the neglect of the village-level administration. Health is the biggest wealth. Surely, it is a matter of concern that we do not make our State progressively unhealthy and finally breed a sick society.
Many analysts and thinkers believe that a Third World War will be over “water”. We are crying hoarse today for reasons that were known to us at least eight years ago.
As early as 2008, the Coordination Committee of Paschim Odisha Kurshak Sangathan, an umbrella body of a large number farmers’ organisations, had, through a memorandum, brought to the notice of the Chief Ministers of Odisha that Chhattisgarh has built three big and 30 medium dams over the Mahanadi and its tributaries upstream of the Hirakud Dam.
It was also known that Chhattisgarh had planned to construct seven more big dams and eight medium dams. Apprehensions had been expressed at that time over the adverse effect of these constructions on the quality and quantity of water that would be available to Odisha.
There was no move by anyone to intervene and ensure that the legitimate share of water that Odisha is entitled to is available to it on the basis of distributive justice. Over the last few days, everyone has woken up to agitate against the construction of dams and barrages in Chhattisgarh. An inter-State water dispute appears to be imminent.
Available indicators point towards an element of apathy and slumber on the part of Odisha. Inadequate research and lack of diligent study have added to the worsening situation. Probably nothing would have erupted if the Central Water Commission had not asked the Chhattisgarh Government to take a “no-objection” certificate from Odisha for yet another barrage on Orpa, a tributary of Mahanadi. This rivulet already has six barrages.
Six years ago, these activities started and have been permitted to become a fait accompli. The wheels of politics have their own reach. The ruling party has made political capital out of the apathy and has commenced its confrontational actions. Some reliable regulatory authority has to be there to apportion the water.
Being sufficiently endowed with the natural resource of water, Odisha has not realised the value of that limited resource. Water has been the subject matter of inter-State disputes and international disputes. The resource is steadily depleting, and we are also polluting the existing available resource causing serious damage to the environment.
The corporate lobby has also an important role to play on the chessboard of politics. Each investment on the river is linked to MoUs with same corporate entities which in turn will be exploiting the prime resource, very often nonrenewable. But the apathy and lack of due diligence in the case of Mahanadi water is a matter of great concern.
*NGOs subjected to harassment: Agitation against corruption of NGOs in 2011 made the Union Government enact a law relating to lokpal. Strangely enough, no lokpal has been appointed rendering the statute nonfunctional and ineffective. The lokpal Act, without justification, engulfs into its jurisdiction affairs of NGOs.
The Government notification issued in June defines a “public servant” to include any official of an NGO which has received grant of one crore of rupees from Government or Rs10 lakh from any foreign organisation. All office-bearers of such NGO must file complete return of assets by the end of July 2016 or face prosecution for having used corrupt money for accumulation of assets. A law meant to be sub-serving anti-corruption measures has been manipulated to be a tormentor of NGOs, their office-bearers and even the spouses and dependent children of the office-bearers.
The disclosure of assets is not only to be made by the office-bearer relating to what is owned by him but also of any asset owned by the spouse or dependent children. Failure to file a return also leads to prosecution for having used “corrupt means” to accumulate the assets. The logic of this rigour is beyond comprehension. The existing laws have provisions for adequate returns.
If there are any black sheep, they can be identified and suitably dealt with. But without reason or relevance to make private persons to be “deemed” to be public servants in an overstretched manner and further rip away the last vestiges for the rights to privacy and dignity do not indicate a happy trend.
The intent of such a statutory provision is not based on fairness and any reasonable classification. NGOs being a major factor in the Anna Hazare movement have been ironically subjected to obvious harassment. It is undemocratic to have such a statutory provision which is unjustly intrusive without any social purpose being sub-served.
It has been alleged that this is a case where India has overtaken China in violation of civil rights. In the days of gender equality, making wives and dependents answerable for their assets because the husband is suspected to be corrupt, is not a reasonable situation. Exercise of State power has to be based on cogent reasons that ought to be welfare-oriented and socially-purposive.
The object of such an unusual provision is to twist the tails of NGOs for having been vocal in the Anna Hazare movement against corruption leading to the enactment of the lokpal Act. If the Government does not delete such obnoxious provisions, genuine NGOs and genuine office-bearers will have to knock at the doors of the judiciary, the last ray of hope for such persons.
These illustrative instances of “concerns” are helplessly watched over the last three years without any lokpal being appointed. Our tolerance threshold is quite high. However, that may not be true of the youth power forming the majority of our society.
It is their future that we are playing with, and if we are harming our cause and their cause, history shall not forgive us. It is time the youth power moved towards some remedial measures in this context and the elders have to provide the requisite guidance. Surely, all these concern all of us all!
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former President of Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha.
(jayantdas@hotmail.com)