Delhi HC Strikes Down Provisions In Law That Criminalizes Begging

It has to be said right at the outset that in a remarkable and laudable judgment with far reaching consequences, the Delhi High Court in Harsh Mander & Anr v UOI & Ors in W.P.(C) 10498/2009 & CM Appl. 1837/2010 on August 8, 2018 decriminalised begging, striking down as “unconstitutional” the provisions which made it an offence. How can any law on earth punish a poor and hapless person who due to some reason is unable to earn as for instance those who lose their hands and legs and are not literate and are compelled to resort to begging due to no other option being left before them? This precisely is the reason why Delhi High Court too struck the right chord and struck down the provisions in a law that criminalises begging! I have really just no words and am falling short of words to express my utmost and unadulterated appreciation for this landmark judgment which must be read by all those who are literate and it must be emulated by all courts in all parts of the world and not just in India alone!
                                             To be sure, the Delhi High Court Bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar who delivered this landmark judgment begins at the very beginning by first and foremost quoting from an article in The Guardian which says that, “…A society that sees legislating inequality and homelessness into invisibility has unquestionably lost its way…” Going forward, the Bench clearly held that, “The inevitable sequitur to our decision would be that all prosecutions, under the Act against persons alleged to have committed the offence of begging, would be liable to be struck down.” Very rightly said! There can be no denying it!
                          It must be revealed here that this landmark judgment came on a petition filed by activists including Harsh Mander, who was represented by senior Supreme Court advocate Colin Gonsalves. It said the provisions of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act which treats begging as an offence cannot sustain constitutional scrutiny.
                                        Interestingly enough, while there is no central law on begging and destitution, several States have either adopted the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 or have modeled their laws on it. The Act prescribes a punishment of detention for not more than three years if a person who was detained in a certified institution, is found begging and is convicted for the first time. All offences under the Act, except those under Section 11, are to be tried summarily. Section 11 which gives the opportunity of being heard to the accused, imposes a punishment of a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years imprisonment on those who cause others to beg or use them for begging.  
                                        It must be brought out here that the Act was made applicable to Delhi in 1960. The Delhi High Court was hearing two PILs – filed by social activists Harsh Mander and Karnika Sawhney – challenging the constitutionality and validity of all Sections, except Section 11 of the Act. They had alleged a violation of Articles 14, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India by the impugned provisions. They had pointed out that the definition of “begging” under the Act violated Article 14, as it does not make any distinction between persons who solicit or receive money for authorized purposes and those who are singing, dancing or engaged in similar activities.
                                     In addition, they had further alleged that the Act was being arbitrarily applied. They submitted that, “While the Act unjustly restricts the movement of beggars, the application of the Act also limits the movement of a large number of no-beggars. Interviews with lawyers providing legal aid have revealed that 74% of persons arrested were from the informal labour sector such as those employed in small hotels, markets and construction, and 45% were homeless. It was observed that beggars were unaware of the reasons of arrest and were taken to the Beggars Court at the pretext of doing some work like cleaning.”    
                                         As things stood, the Bench agreed with the petitioners contentions and noted inter alia that the law does not in fact make any distinction between types of begging i.e. voluntary or involuntary. It further noted that the State was using homelessness and begging synonymously and termed this arbitrary. Besides, the Court considered the “futility” of lodging and detaining beggars in beggars home as a wastage of public funds, and highlighted the inadequacy of the impugned provisions, observing, “”If we want to eradicate begging, artificial means to make beggars invisible will not suffice. A move to criminalize them will make them invisible without addressing the root cause of the problem. The root cause is poverty, which has many structural reasons: no access to education, social protection, discrimination based on caste and ethnicity, landlessness, physical and mental challenges and isolation.”
                                      Suffice it to say, the Bench said the inevitable consequence of this verdict would be that the prosecutions under the Act against those who are alleged to have committed the offence of begging, would be liable to be struck down. It held that, “The power to do so would, however, appropriately vest in the courts seized of such prosecutions, and we, therefore, limit ourselves to observing that the fate of such prosecutions, if any, would have to abide by the present judgment, and our observations and findings contained herein.”
                                 Needless to say, in her last judgment as the Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Gita Mittal who has been approved as the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court minced absolutely no words in stating clearly and categorically that, “People in this stratum do not have access to basic necessities such as food, shelter and health, and in addition criminalizing them denies them the basic fundamental right to communicate and seek to deal with their plight.” Absolutely right! No person in his right senses will ever disagree with what Justice Gita Mittal has said!     
                                          Be it noted, Delhi Prevention of Begging Rules 1960 formulated under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act 1959, makes begging an offence. Under this offence, beggars were often picked up and produced before the courts from where they were sent to beggar homes. The 23-page landmark judgment came on two pleas, challenging various sections of the Bombay Begging Act which was adopted by the Union Territory of Delhi in 1960. Para 1 of this landmark judgment begins by pointing out that, “These writ petitions challenge the constitutionality and validity of all sections, except Section 11 of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 (hereafter referred to as the ‘Act’) as extended to the Union Territory of Delhi (now the NCT of Delhi) vide G.S.R. No. 638 dated 2nd June, 1960, published in the Gazette of India, pt. 11, Section 3(i), dated 11th June, 1960 on the ground that it violates the Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India.”
                                      Truth be told, the Bench of Delhi High Court said that they are spared the necessity of striking down the entire Act and dealt with 25 Sections which either treat begging as an offence committed by the beggar or deal with ancillary issues such as powers of officers to deal with the said offence among others. It held that, “These provisions either treat begging as an offence committed by the beggar, or deal with ancillary issues such as powers of officers to deal with the said offence, the nature of enquiry to be conducted therein, punishments and penalties to be awarded for the offence, the institutions to which such “offenders” could be committed and procedures following the awarding of sentence for committing the said offence.” It further went on to say that, “These provisions, in our view, cannot sustain constitutional scrutiny and deserve, therefore, to be struck down.”  
                                        Simply put, while striking down the legal provision criminalizing begging in the capital, the Bench of Delhi High Court observed that, “Begging is their last resort to subsistence; they have no other means to survive.” It also observed that, “People beg on the streets not because they wish to, but because they need to.” It also slammed the government for its failure to ensure the bare essentials of the right to life to all its citizens, even in Delhi, the national capital.
                                         As it turned out, the Delhi High Court Bench added that the state is at liberty to bring in an alternative legislation to curb any rackets of forced begging, after undertaking an empirical examination on the sociological and economic aspects of the matter. It also sent out a loud and clear message to the State by holding that, “If the State wishes to criminalise specific types of forced beggary, it has to first think out a clear factual basis and impact thereof to pass a well thought legislation after due application of mind and being mindful of the rights provided under the Constitution of India.”
                                     It must be reiterated that the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 functions as the derivative figure for all state anti-begging laws. Several beggars have been thrown into jail in the capital under the law. Such laws must be struck down and in Delhi this is exactly what the Delhi High Court has opted to do!
                                 Truly speaking, the Delhi High Court very clearly and convincingly held that, “Begging is a symptom of a disease, of the fact that the person has fallen through the socially created net. The government has the mandate to provide social security for everyone, to ensure that all citizens have basic facilities, and the presence of beggars is evidence that the state has not managed to provide these to all its citizens.” It also said that, “We find reports of starvations deaths in the newspapers and ensuring education to the 6 to 14 year old remains a challenge.” Madhur Verma who is Delhi Police spokesperson while hailing this landmark judgment rightly said that, “It’s a welcome move as begging is more of a social menace. It requires a more inclusive approach. Arresting someone for begging was hardly ever a solution.”
                                  Until now, the police was empowered to arrest beggars. This was used to arrest many poor and hapless beggars which only further served to rub salt on their wounds! But this landmark judgment will certainly now act as the most potential deterrent in protecting beggars from being arbitrarily arrested and thrown behind bars just for begging! It has most certainly come as a real beacon of hope for these poor hapless beggars who feel their voice is unrepresented among the higher echelons of ruling class!  
                                    It cannot be lost on us that para 31 of this landmark judgment pulls back no punches in conveying it clearly and categorically that, “Criminalizing begging is a wrong approach to deal with the underlying causes of the problem. It ignores the reality that people who beg are the poorest of the poor and marginalized in society. Criminalizing begging violates the most fundamental rights of some of the most vulnerable people in our society.” Para 33 further observes that, “The State simply cannot fail to do its duty to provide a decent life to its citizens and add insult to injury by arresting, detaining and, if necessary, imprisoning such persons, who beg, in search for essentials of bare survival, which is even below sustenance. A person who is compelled to beg cannot be faulted for such actions in these circumstances. Any legislation, penalizing the people, therefore, is in the teeth of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”
                       Conclusions
                                    In essence, para 40 of this landmark judgment says that, “When, in the backdrop of the above discussion, we examine holistically, the provisions of the Act, we find that, while most of the provisions contained therein directly deal with begging, treating it as an offence, or other provisions ancillary thereto, there are certain provisions which do not treat beggary per se as an offence and which therefore, may not be hit by the vice of unconstitutionality.” Para 41 further stipulates that, “We are, therefore, spared the necessity of striking down the entire Act, wholesale. The provisions which treat beggary/begging as an offence, committed by the beggar, or are ancillary thereto, would be Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29.”
                                        Moving ahead, para 42 observes that, “These provisions either treat begging as an offence committed by the beggar, or deal with ancillary issues such as powers of officers to deal with the said offence, the nature of enquiry to be conducted therein, punishments and penalties to be awarded for the offence, the institutions to which such “offenders” could be committed and procedures following the awarding of sentence for committing the said offence. These provisions, in our view, cannot sustain constitutional scrutiny and deserve, therefore, to be struck down.” The next para 43 further says that, “The remaining provisions of the Act, which do not directly or indirectly criminalize begging, or relate to the “offence” of begging, such as Section 11 (which deals with penalty for employing or causing persons to solicit or receive alms, or using such persons as exhibits), Section 30 (which deals with seizure and disposal of animals exposed or exhibited for obtaining or extorting alms), and other provisions which deal with the nature of offences under the Act, appeals, the power to frame rules and removal of difficulties, would not be required to be struck down and are, therefore, maintained.”    
                                   Result
                                  Finally and most importantly, we now deal with what the Delhi High Court gave in its result. In para 44, it held that, “In the result, we declare Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, as extended to Delhi, as unconstitutional and strike down the said provisions.” In para 45, it held that, “The inevitable sequitur to our decision would be that all prosecutions, under the Act against persons alleged to have committed the offence of begging, would be liable to be struck down. The power to do so would, however, appropriately vest in the Courts seized of such prosecutions, and we, therefore, limit ourselves to observing that the fate of such prosecutions, if any, would have to abide by the present judgment, and our observations and findings contained therein.” In para 46, it also held that, “The state is always at liberty to bring in alternative legislation to curb any racket of forced begging after undertaking an empirical examination on the sociological and economic aspects of the matter.” Last but not the least, para 47 winds up by noting that, “Before parting with the case, we are reminded of the words of Krishna Iyer, J in the pronouncement reported at AIR 1981 SC 674 Gopalanachari v State of Kerala when he said that, “…If men can be whisked away by the police and imprisoned for long months and the court can keep the cases pending without thought to the fact that an old man is lying in cellular confinement without hope of his case being disposed of, Article 21, read with Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution, remain symbolic and scriptural rather than a shield against unjust deprivation. Law is not a mascot but a defender of the faith. Surely, if law behaves lawlessly, social justice becomes a judicial hoax.”
                                            In the ultimate analysis, it is a landmark judgment which will ensure that beggars don’t land up in jail just because of begging. It is one of the finest judgment which must be read by every literate person! It will certainly not tantamount to an exaggeration from any angle to say that it is worthy of being emulated by all courts from top to bottom!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi HC Quashes Govt Notification Revising Minimum Wage

It has to be stated before anything else that in a landmark judgment which is being considered as a huge blow to the AAP Government in Delhi, the Delhi High Court in its landmark judgment titled Federation of Okhla Industrial Association (Regd) v Lt Governor of Delhi and anr in W.P.(C) 8125/2016 & CM No. 3362/2016 reserved on 22 May and delivered finally on 4 August, 2018, quashed its much-touted March 2017 order revising the minimum wages for all classes of workmen in scheduled employment, opining clearly and categorically that the same was ultra vires Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The Bench of Delhi High Court comprising Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar further opined that the impugned notification suffered from “non-application of mind”, was not based on any material and violated principles of natural justice. So it was but natural that it had to be quashed!   
                                Truth be told, the Bench also declared  explicitly that the constitution of the Minimum Wages Advisory Committee for all scheduled employments by the Government as ultra vires Sections 5(1) and 9 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, opining that the formation of this Committee was “completely flawed”. It should not have been set up at the first place! This Delhi High Court’s latest landmark judgment was issued primarily as a culmination of the petitions that were filed by employers – associations of traders, petrol dealers and restaurants – who had challenged the two notifications – one that was issued in September 2016 reconstituting the Minimum Wages Advisory Committee for all scheduled employments, and another issued in March 2017, revising the minimum rates of wages for all classes of workmen/employees in all scheduled employments.  
                                     Be it noted, para 2 of this landmark judgment states that, “An attempt to constitute a Minimum Wage Advisory Committee by an order dated 12th April, 2016, had already disrupted the course of wage revision once. Alas, even though the revision is sorely needed, the hurried attempt again, inter alia failing to comport with binding the statutory requirements, without relevant material and contravening principles of Natural Justice has unfortunately disrupted this course, yet again.” There can be no denying it!
                                      Going forward, para 3 further goes on to say that, “This batch of writ petitions, lays a challenge to the constitutionality of the Notification bearing no. F-13(16)/MW/1/2008/Lab/1859 dated 15th September, 2016 issued by the Lt. Governor of Delhi in exercise of powers conferred by Section 5(1) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (hereafter referred to as ‘the Act’). By this notification, the respondents re-constituted the Minimum Wages Advisory Committee for all scheduled employments.” Para 4 further reveals that, “These petitions also challenge the constitutional validity of the Notification bearing no. F. Addl.LC/Lab/MW/2016 dated 3rd of March 2017 published in the Official Gazette on 4th March, 2017, again issued by the respondents, in exercise of power conferred by Section 5(2) of the enactment. By this Notification, minimum rates of wages for all classes of workmen/employees in all scheduled employments stand revised w.e.f. the date of the notification in the official gazette. The challenge rests, inter alia, on the plea of the petitioners that both these notifications are ultra vires the provisions of the enactment itself and that the respondents also violated the principles in issuance of the notifications.”
            Hurried Actions Of The Government
                                     It cannot be lost on us that this landmark judgment authored by Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Gita Mittal begins by first and foremost quoting Lewis Caroll from Alice in Wonderland that, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get” to assert emphatically that the quote “appropriately manifests the manner in which the hurried actions of the respondents would set back the entire workforce of the city.” It then goes on to note that while an attempt to revise wages was in fact “sorely needed”, the hurried attempt, without adherence to binding statutory requirements, without relevant material and in violation of principles of natural justice, disrupted the entire exercise.”  
            Crux of the Judgment
                                It would be in the fitness of things to now shell out the crux of this entire landmark judgment which will make the whole picture very clear as to what it implies. In other words, it can be safely said that it is the summary of the conclusions that Delhi High Court Bench held bare so explicitly. The key points as laid down in the concluding part of this landmark judgment are as follows: –
1.  The High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India can interfere with a notification fixing minimum wages only on “the most substantial grounds”.   
2.  The purport and object of the Act in fixing the minimum wage rate is clearly to prevent exploitation of labour. The hardship caused to individual employers or their inability to meet the burden of minimum wages or its upward revision, has no relevance.
3.  The object, intendment and provisions of the Minimum wages Act, 1948 are clear and unambiguous, and therefore, the applicability of the beneficent rule of interpretation is completely unnecessary.
4.   Minimum wages have to be more than wages at the subsistence level, have to take into consideration all relevant factors and prescriptions made after due application of mind and must take into consideration the norms and component as approved by the Supreme Court in the Reptakos judgment.
5.  The Supreme Court has rejected challenges to the constitutionality of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for the reason that the legislation has ensured the mechanism provided under Section 5, 7 and 9 of the enactment. This places the requirement of compliance with the provisions thereunder on an extremely high pedestal and they had to be strictly adhered to by the respondents.
6.  The appropriate government is required to take into account the report and advice rendered by the Committee/Advisory Board and to apply independent mind and take a balanced decision so far as fixation or revision of minimum wages is concerned. The Government is not bound by the recommendations of the Committee. It is open to the Government to accept (wholly or in part) or to reject the advice of the Board or report of the Committee.
7.  While there is no absolute prohibition on an employee of the Government being nominated as an independent member of the Committee under Section 5 of the Minimum Wages Act, an objection to such nomination has to be decided on the facts and circumstances of the case. It is only when minimum wages are under consideration for an industry in which the State may be vitally interested as an employer, that it may not be proper to nominate an official to the Committee treating him to be an independent member.
8. A defect in composition of the Committee under Section 5 would not per se vitiate either its advice or the decision taken thereon. A defect in the composition of the Committee would vitiate its advice, or the ultimate decision of the Government fixing the minimum wages, only if such illegality or defect has worked to the prejudice to a party, for example where the interest of a particular group of employer or employees has not been represented or has not been taken into consideration.
9. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is not an employer engaged in scheduled employment in Delhi and it could not have been appointed on the Committee under Section 5 as a representative of the employer.
10. Though the eligibility of the officers of the Labour Department or the Director of Economics & Statistics as members of the Committee cannot be faulted, however they failed to conduct themselves dispassionately and did not apply their independent minds. The respondent has appointed the very officials as independent persons on a Committee, which had already taken a view in the matter and made recommendations as members of a Committee in the year 2016, therefore, when appointed for the second time, they were clearly close-minded and proceeded in the matter in a predetermined manner.
11. The respondents have denied the statutorily mandated representation to the actual employers in scheduled employments in Delhi which tantamount to non-compliance of Section 9 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and failure on the part of the respondents to constitute a Committee required by law to be constituted.
12. It is essential that under Section 5(1) of the MW Act, a Committee “properly constituted” is “genuinely invited” with an open (‘receptive’) mind to tender advice to the appropriate Government.
13. It has to be held that employers in the scheduled employments as well as employees with divergent views stand ousted from the consideration and their interests certainly compromised to their prejudice. This prejudice to the employers and employees would constitute a ‘most’ substantial ground (Ref : (2008) 5 SCC 428 (para 14), Manipal Academy of Higher Education vs. Provident Fund Commissioner) justifying interference by this court in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226.
14. Clearly the Government of NCT of Delhi was aware of the requirement of law and consciously failed to comport to the same.
15. It is not open to a representative to insist on an oral hearing before the Committee appointed under Section 5 or the Advisory Board under Section 7 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
16. The fixation of minimum wages in Delhi cannot be faulted simply because they are higher than the rates of minimum wages fixed in surrounding States and Towns.
17. The Committee in making its recommendations, as well as the respondents in issuing the singular notification for uniform minimum wages for all scheduled employments, have completely ignored vital and critical aspects having material bearing on the issue.
18. Any change in the prescribed rates of minimum wages, is bound to impact both the industry and the workmen. The respondents were bound to meaningfully comply with the principles of natural justice especially, the principles of fair play and due process. The representatives of the employers, had a legitimate expectation of being heard as the advice of the Committee was to inevitably affect them, which has been denied to them before the decision to revise minimum wages was finalized.     
19. The constitution of the Committee was completely flawed and its advice was not based on relevant material and suffers from non-application of mind. The Government decision based on such advice is in violation of express statutory provision, principles of natural justice, denied fair representation to the employers as well as the employees in fact without any effort even to gather relevant material and information.
20. The non-application of mind by the committee and the respondents, to the relevant material considerations, offends Article 14 of the Constitution of India.   
                              Having said this, it must be now stated that in para 365 of this landmark judgment, it is pointed out that, “The Notification bearing no. F-13(16)/MW/1/2008/Lab/1859 dated 15th September, 2016 issued by the respondents constituting the Minimum Wages Advisory Committee for all scheduled employments is ultra vires Section 5(1) and Section 9 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and is hereby declared invalid and quashed.”
                                  Furthermore, in para 366, it is pointed out that, “The Notification bearing no. F. Addl. LC/Lab/MW/2016 dated 3rd of March 2017 issued by the respondents revising minimum rates of wages for all classes of workmen/employees in all scheduled employments is ultra vires Article 14 of the Constitution of India; of Section 3 & Section 5(2) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, of Rule 20 of the Minimum Wages (Central) Rules; appears from non-application of mind, is based on no material and is in contravention of principles of Natural Justice and is hereby declared invalid and quashed.” Also, para 368 says that, “The applications are disposed of as having been rendered infructuous.” Finally para 369 concludes the judgment by saying that, “No order as to costs.”  
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Poorest Of Poor Cannot Go To Private Hospitals: Uttarakhand HC

Coming straight to the core issue, it has to be noted right at the outset that in a landmark judgment delivered on July 6, 2018 with far reaching consequences, the Uttarakhand High Court in Chandra Shekhar Joshi v State of Uttarakhand & others in Writ Petition (PIL) No. 71 of 2015 recently issued a slew of commendable directions for improving the functioning of Government Medical College, Haldwani and its associate hospitals. The Court was hearing a petition filed by one Chandra Shekhar Joshi who had highlighted the lack of basic facilities at the Government Medical College, Haldwani and its associate hospitals, Dr Sushila Tewari Memorial Hospital and Swami Rama Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. It is the “poorest of poor” who cannot afford to go to private hospitals who have to suffer the most which cannot be condoned under any circumstances!
                                      As it turned out, on the oral application of petitioner, the Medical Council of India is added as respondent no. 6 in the petition. Para 3 of this landmark judgment brings out that, “According to the averments made in the petition, the institution is plagued with absenteeism. The poor patients are not getting specialized treatment. Number of posts are lying vacant. Patients are not getting the medicines from the hospital. There is a tendency among the doctors to refer the patients to other hospitals.” This is most deplorable and depreciable! Why should patients be referred to other hospitals and not treated there only?
                                         To be sure, it is rightly highlighted in para 4 of this landmark judgment that the hospital does not fall under the administrative control of the Department of Medical Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Uttarakhand. It falls under the control of the Department of Medical Education. For this reason, free medicines cannot be provided.
                                   Truth be told, para 5 points out that, “A startling revelation has been made that Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Institute currently has the Department of Radiotherapy only. Here, the conventional radiotherapy is delivered and also Brachytherapy is done. Simple forms of chemotherapy are often performed but complex form of chemotherapy is not feasible due to lack of medical oncology department. There is no Surgical Oncology Department yet. The Department of General Surgery and ENT often perform cancer surgeries when possible. The Departments of Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology are due to be brought in when the institute is upgraded to State Cancer Institute. There are no Neurology, Gastrology, Nephrology, Urology or Cardiology Departments in the hospital. There is no independent Cardiology Department.”
                                             Going forward, in para 8, it is rightly brought out that, “Government Medical College, Haldwani (formerly known as U.K. Forest Hospital Trust Medical College) is only medical college in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, India. It was established in 1997. The Government Medical College, Haldwani is the first post graduate college in Uttarakhand, recognized by the Medical Council of India and the Government of India. The Govt. Medical College Haldwani has two hospitals associated with it – Dr Sushila Tiwari Memorial Hospital and Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Center. Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Center was inaugurated on 22nd February, 2010. However, there is only one Department which is functional i.e. Radiotherapy. The lack of oncological disciplines of medical oncology, surgical oncology, haematological oncology, gynaecological oncology & pediatric oncology is acutely affecting the population of the state at present.”
                                  Needless to say, para 12 of this landmark judgment further brings out that, “There are no facilities like Neo-adjuvent, and Adjuvent for Cancer patients. Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Institute has been established in the year 2010 but till date, the Oncology Department is not in existence. There is no Medical Oncologist, Surgical Oncologist, Gynecological Oncologist or Pediatric Oncologist in the medical college. Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Institute is functional since 22.2.2010 and it is shocking that till date, no Specialists have been appointed except the opening of Department of Radiotherapy. Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Center has virtually become defunct in absence of specialists.”    
                             Let me hasten to add here that in para 13, it was explicitly held that, “The time has come when the State Government should accord Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Institute as the State Cancer Institute by providing it the latest state of art equipment including Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT) Scan and Specialists namely medical Oncologists, Surgical Oncologists, Hematological Oncologists, Gynecological Oncologists and Pediatric Oncologists at the earliest. The facilities provided to the Cancer Hospital in a big building are confined only to the Concurrent and Palliative Chemotherapy. The posts in Clinical and Non-Clinical Branches are lying vacant. There are no details of the persons who applied and were selected pursuant to the advertisement issued by the Medical College. The posts are required to be filled up of Teaching as well as Non-Teaching Staff in all the Departments as per the Minimum Standard Requirements for the Medical College for 100 Admissions Annually Regulations, 1999. The Equipment is to be provided as per Schedule III of the Regulations at the earliest.”
                                      Furthermore, it is underscored in para 14 that, “The poorest of poor patients visit the medical college. They have a fundamental right to be treated by the Specialists. It is the duty cast upon the State Government to provide free medicines/drugs to the poorest of poor.” On similar lines, in para 27, the Bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Lok Pal Singh asserted vocally that, “Every citizen has a fundamental right to health. The State has the obligation to provide best medical services to its citizens. The poorest of poor cannot go to the private hospitals. Since the latest equipment is not available with the respondent – Medical College, the parents are referred to other hospitals including private hospitals.”
                                    While clearly and convincingly exposing the shortcomings, this landmark judgment in para 24 points out that, “A startling revelation has been made that 4 posts of Professors, 4 posts of Associate Professor/Reader, 1 post of Medical Superintendent, 1 post of Dean are lying vacant in the medical college. 29 posts of Tutor/Registrar/Sr. Resident and 68 posts of Junior Resident and 1 post of Deputy Librarian are lying vacant. In total, 129 posts in this category are lying vacant.” Para 25 goes on to further point out that, “There are 310 sanctioned posts of Staff Nurse out of which 142 have been filled up on regular basis and 64 posts have been filled up through UPNL. Nursing is the backbone of any medical institute. In all, 104 posts of Staff Nurse are lying vacant.” It is also conceded in para 26 that, “Now as far as the technical staff is concerned, 380 posts are lying vacant. These posts are required to be filled up on emergent basis. The hospitals cannot be left sick.”
                                  Bluntly put, para 28 observes astonishingly that, “It is surprising to note that the Medical College has no Department of Neurology, Gastrology, Nephrology, Urology or Cardiology. These Departments are essential for public health. The State Government is required to take immediate steps for creation of these Departments in the Govt. Medical College, Haldwani at the earliest. The surgeries of the cancer patients are required to be undertaken only by the Oncologists/Medical Surgeons from their respective branches.” As if this is not enough, it is further observed in para 29 that, “A startling revelation has been made in the daily edition of ‘The Pioneer’ dated 3rd July, 2018 that 61 Ambulances are lying idle in the compound of office of Director General (Health). The ambulances are required to be refurbished immediately to make them functional. Ambulances which have completed their maximum mileage are required to be replaced.”
                                    To top it all, para 30 further observes that, “It has also come into light that there is also acute shortage of doctors in Kumaon Division as per the daily edition of ‘Amar Ujala’ dated 3rdJuly, 2018. There is shortage of 267 doctors in Kumaon Region. The total posts sanctioned are 981 out of which only 714 doctors are working and 267 posts are lying vacant.” Worst of all, para 31 laments that, “There is no Trauma Center in the Medical College. The Trauma Center is required for the simple reason that due to the terrain and geographical conditions of the State, the fatal accidents do occur wherein the passengers receive serious injuries. They are required to be operated upon immediately by the Neurosurgeons. The Trauma Center is a must in every Medical College.”
                                         Needless to say, para 32 makes a scathing attack for not spending enough on purchasing the latest equipments. It says that, “Petitioner has also placed on record the details of the budgetary provision. A sum of Rs 23.00 crores was spent for the construction of Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Center. The system cannot permit non-utilization/under utilization of building constructed at the cost of Rs 23.00 crores. The amount is contributed by the tax payers. The system is accountable for every pie spent by the government. Budgetary provisions are available for the medical college but still the latest equipment is not purchased for the reasons best known to the management of the Medical College.”
                                      Finally and most importantly, para 33 which is the concluding part of the judgment concludes by saying that, “Accordingly, the present petition is disposed of by issuing the following mandatory directions: –
A.  The respondent-State is directed to make Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Institute fully functional by creating the posts of Medical Oncologists, Surgical Oncologists, Hematological Oncologists, Gynecological Oncologists and Paediatric Oncologists within three months from today by holding the walk-in interviews. The State is also directed to upgrade the status of Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Institute to the State Cancer Institute within three months. The State is also directed to give incentives to the specialists to join premier institution in the State of Uttarakhand by giving them at least 15 advance increments, suitable accommodation and conveyance befitting their status.
B.  Since Swami Rama Cancer Hospital & Research Institute is the constituent hospital of Medical College, the State Government is directed to provide the latest state of art equipments/machinery required under the Minimum Standard Requirements of the Medical College for 100 Admissions Annually Regulations, 1999 for training and teaching of the MBBS and MD/MS students within two months.
C.  The respondent-State is directed to establish the Nephrology, Neurology, Urology and Cardiology Departments in the Medical College within three months. Thereafter, the posts shall be filled up within a further period of three months by holding the walk-in interviews.
D. The State Government is directed to establish the Trauma Center in Government Medical College, Haldwani and make it functional within three months from today as per the standard procedure.
E.  The State Government is directed to fill up all the posts of teaching staff as well as non-teaching staff, lying vacant in the Medical College, within three months from today to provide quality treatment to the patients. The first preference shall be given to the teaching faculty including clinical and thereafter to non-clinical and nursing.
F.   The State Government is directed to deploy 61 newly acquired ambulances after refurbishing them within one month from today.
G. The State Government is directed to fill up all the vacancies of Medical Officers in Kumaon Division within four months from today.
H. The State Government is directed to install the MRI/PET, Mammography and other states of art equipment for treatment of patients and training and teaching of MBBS and MD/MS students within three months from today.
I.     The State Government is directed to provide essential life-saving drugs/medicines to the patients free-of-cost.
J.    The Principal of the Medical College is directed to ensure absolute hygiene in the hospital and if necessary, by outsourcing the same.
K.   The State Government may consider constructing Inns/Sarays for the attendants of patients in the close vicinity of the hospital.
L.   The Medical Council of India shall carry out the inspection of the Medical College immediately after six months to ensure that all the parameters laid down by it are followed in letter and spirit by the respondent- Medical College failing which it shall be open to the MCI to take action, as envisaged under law, against the Medical College for non-fulfilling the minimum standards.”
                                    All said and done, it is a landmark judgment and its mandatory and laudable directions must be implemented in letter and spirit in totality. It will go a long way in ensuring that the poorest of poor who cannot afford to go to private hospitals get proper treatment for cancer. It is India which tops in world with maximum death from cancer at 2.2 million per year.
                                       To be sure, health spending has pushed 55 million Indians into poverty in a year as was published in ‘The Times of India’ on June 13, 2018. Cancer has the highest probability of resulting in ‘catastrophic expenditure’ for a household. But it can be checked if the landmark directives laid down in this landmark judgment are implemented in totality. It will also go a long way in ensuring that the Medical Colleges function as per the directives laid down. Not just this, it will also certainly go a long way in improving the functioning of Government Medical College and Associate Hospitals which is the crying need of the hour!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh

West UP Deserves Statehood But Has Not Even A Bench

It has to be said right at the outset that it is most disgusting, disheartening and deplorable that West UP which deserved statehood right since 1947 has not even a single bench of a high court since last more than 70 years! What bigger proof is needed than this to highlight that West UP has always received a step motherly treatment from Centre for reasons known best to it? West UP’s population at 9 crore is more than all states except Bihar, Maharashtra and UP of which it too is a part and accounts for nearly half of the population of UP!
West UP Deserves Statehood But Has Not Even A Bench

                                               Here too West UP has area of 98,933 square km which is more than even Bihar with 94,000 square km! Still it has not even bench leave alone high court! On what ground can this be ever justified?
                                       It is on record that Sampoornanand had recommended a high court bench to be created for West UP at Meerut way back in 1955 after more than 100 elected representatives met him and apprised him of the same but the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru turned down the legitimate demand even though he had allowed a bench to be created at Lucknow in 1948 on July 1 more than 70 years ago! This despite the glaring fact that Allahabad is just about 200 km away from Lucknow! Still why Lucknow with just 12 districts and area of 62,000 square km was given preference over West UP?
                                          Needless to say, at that point of time even Uttarakhand formed part of UP and together with West UP accounted for 40 districts still why not a single bench was created? Why the people especially litigants of hilly areas now forming a separate state called Uttarakhand along with West UP were compelled to travel thousands of kilometers all the way to Allahabad to get justice? Why did Jawaharlal Nehru not accede to the commendable recommendation by the then UP CM Sampoornanand to create a high court bench in Meerut in 1955 which would have considerably reduced the distance as compared to Allahabad not just from 26 districts of West UP but also from the hilly areas district numbering 13 which now form part of Uttarakhand but which till 2000 formed part of UP and had to travel so far all the way to Allahabad?
                                          What is even more reprehensible is that when Centre led by the then PM late Mrs Indira Gandhi herself appointed Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice Jaswant Singh in late 1970s to look into where all high court benches are needed had explicitly recommended that UP must have 3 more benches at Agra, Dehradun and Nainital apart from the one at Lucknow but not even one bench was created by Centre which is totally incomprehensible even though Centre took no time in creating a high court bench for Maharashtra at Aurangabad which already had bench at Nagpur and Panaji, for Tamil Nadu at Madurai and for West Bengal in Jalpaiguri which already had a bench at Port Blair for just 3 lakh people of Andaman and Nicobar islands! It was so baffling to see that Centre could not come up with any cogent and convincing argument to justify denying even a single bench to UP!
                                            It is not hidden from anyone that UP has maximum pending cases in the country both in the high court at more than 10 lakh whereas other big states have just about 1 lakh and some have just few thousands and some like Sikkim have just 100 still have high court and same is the case also in the lower courts with more than 60 lakh pending cases which is highest in India yet has just one bench only! Not just this, UP is among the largest states, is the most populated state with more than 19 lakh population as per the 2011 census, maximum MPs in Lok Sabha at 80, maximum MPs in Rajya Sabha at 31, maximum MLAs in Vidhan Sabha at 404 and in Vidhan Parishad at 104, maximum PM including the present PM Narendra Modi who represents Varanasi, maximum villages more than one lakh whereas no other state has more than 5000 villages, maximum districts at 75, maximum Judges in high court at 160, maximum Judges in lower courts at nearly 2500, maximum poverty, maximum cases of dacoity, robbery, riots, murders etc and here too West UP owes for more than half of them and still it has neither high court nor bench!
                                             It is not hidden from anyone that Allahabad high court is the oldest high court in India along with Calcutta and Madras High Court which completed its 150 years in 2016 and is also among the biggest in Asia yet has just one bench at Lucknow which is so close to Allahabad! This is what is most condemnable! If Lucknow is capital then so are Bhubaneshwar which is capital of Odisha, Bhopal which is capital of Madhya Pradesh, Thiruvananthapuram which is capital of Kerala and Dehradun which is capital of Uttarakhand but they have neither high court nor bench then why Lucknow was accorded VVIP treatment at the cost of West UP? Why Centre did not take into account that the high court and benches of 8 states including Delhi, Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh high court, Jaipur bench of Rajasthan high court among others and above all even Lahore high court in Pakistan are nearer to West UP as compared to Allahabad?
                                            Why West UP with more than 26 districts and more than 9 crore population are punished since independence to travel all the way to Allahabad in which a whole night is spent and many times without reservation also since 1947 till 2018 to attend court hearings? Why 2 benches were approved straightaway for Dharwad and Gulbarga by Centre for just 4 and 8 districts in Karnataka in 2008 which already had bench at Hubli even though Karnataka has just less than 2 lakh pending cases whereas UP has more than 10 lakh pending cases and West UP alone has more than 5 lakh pending cases which is more than whole of Karnataka put together and populationwise also Karnataka has just 6 crore population and West UP has 9 crore population still it has not even a bench? Why Centre didn’t approve former UP CM Mayawati’s laudable recommendation to create West UP as a separate state in 1995 when she was CM?
                                         Why Centre approved statehood for just 88 lakh people of Uttarakhand with 13 districts in 2000 but not even a bench for more than 9 crore population and 26 districts of West UP leave alone statehood as recommended by former UP CM Mayawati? Why even after so many UP CM like ND Tiwari, Rajnath Singh among others recommended a high court bench for West UP was it not accepted by Centre? Why Centre has repeatedly succumbed to those opposing a bench in West UP?
                                 With what face Centre approves one more bench for Maharashtra in 2018 which already had 3 benches at Kolhapur for just 6 districts but stubbornly refuses even a single bench for West UP for 26 districts even though Justice Jaswant Commission had recommended 3 benches for UP? With what face Centre repeatedly assures lawyers of West UP to end their 6 month strike as was done in 2001, 3 to 4 month strike as was done in 2014-15 and one to 2 month strike as normally happens year after year since last many decades apart from the strike of Saturday continuously from May 1981 till August 2018 as also many times on Wednesdays and now also from 6th to 8th August the lawyers of West UP of more than 20 districts will be on strike and this can intensify further if Centre fails to address this vexed issue once and for all yet takes no action in this regard? With what face can Centre cite the lameless excuse of not getting recommendation from the State Chief Minister or State Chief Justice for creating a bench which is just not required as per Section 51 of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 which postulates that Centre can create a high court bench for UP, Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir by directly bringing it up in Parliament? None other than former Attorney General while he was in office as Attorney General in 2001 had categorically said that, “Centre is empowered to create a high court bench anywhere in UP without any recommendation from the Chief Justice or Chief Minister or anyone else in this regard”!
                                            With what face can Centre ignore what its own top leader and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself demanded – the creation of a bench in West UP and that too right inside Parliament in 1986? With what face can Centre ignore what Satyapal Singh who is Union Minister and BJP MP from Baghpat had demanded in Parliament a long time back that UP need 5 benches at Meerut, Agra, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and Varanasi? With what face can Centre not listen even to its own other senior Union Cabinet Ministers like Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Dr Mahesh Sharma, Gen VK Singh among others who have all demanded bench in West UP at some point of time or the other?
                                          With what face can Centre not listen event o its own former Union Ministers like Sanjeev Baliyan who just recently forcefully raised the demand for a bench in West UP on several grounds and rightly asserted that for just 10,000 lawyers of Allahabad, the neck of more than 8 crore people of West UP cannot be strangulated? With what face can Centre not listen to so many of its other BJP MPs like Rajinder Agarwal from Meerut, BJP MP Vijaypal Singh Tomar who too recently raised it in Parliament among others and not relent even though its own national BJP President Amit Shah too had assured the lawyers that a high court bench would be created here as the demand is totally justified?
                                           Why Centre even disregarded what former Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association BN Krishnamani said so eloquently that, “Only by the creation of a high court bench in any of the districts in West UP will the people living there get real justice”? If UP can’t be given more benches and West UP can’t have even one bench which actually deserves statehood in the real sense then all benches in India must be disbanded right now because it is the people of West UP who are suffering the most because of no bench here and have to travel the most!
                                  What a pity that  Assam with just about 2 crore population had 7 high court benches before Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura were given high court itself for just 27, 29 and 36 lakh population, Sikkim with just 6 lakh population and less than 100 pending cases has high court and above all even Port Blair with just 3 lakh population has bench but West UP with more than 9 crore population and more than half of the total pending cases of UP has not even a single bench of high court! Why Centre is clinging with the recommendation made by the Law Commission in 1956 in its fourth report that more benches should not be created while not caring for the 230th report of Law Commission made in 2009 which recommended creation of more benches and here too why just UP is being singled out?Why can’t one bench at least be approved straightaway for West UP at any of the 26 districts?
                                           Why should the more than 9 crore people of West UP be denied “speedy Justice”, “justice at doorsteps” and “affordable cheap justice”? Why should the people be made to travel so far even after more than 70 years of independence? It is a national tragedy that West UP which deserves statehood since independence has not even a bench more than 70 years later in 2018! No PM till date has dared to show the political will to address it till now even though there have been repeated agitations, repeated strikes, repeated shutdown of West UP many times and what not over it! Why the constitutional right of more than 9 crore people of West UP of having access to “speedy and cheap justice” is being denied even after more than 70 years of independence? Can Centre answer?
Rajendra Singh Jani, Advocate,
President, Meerut Bar Association,
Chairman of Central Action Committee for Establishment of High Court Bench in West UP,
Chamber No. 7,
Civil Court, Near Western Kutchery Gate,
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. 

Nuclear and Radiological Emergency

 Nuclear and Radiological Emergency

The growth in the application of nuclear science and technology in the fields of power generation, medicine, industry, agriculture, research and defence has led to an increase in the risk of occurrence of Nuclear and Radiological emergencies. 

India has traditionally been vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geo climatic conditions and it has, of late, like all other countries in the world, become equally vulnerable to various man-made disasters. 

Nuclear and Radiological Emergency can arise in a nuclear facility at plant level leading to plant/ site or offsite emergency depending upon the extent of its impact on the surroundings. It can also take place while using radiation sources, either at Hospitals, Industries, Agriculture or Research Institutions due to loss or misplacement or due to faulty handling. The other events that can lead to Nuclear or Radiological Emergency in the public domain, include, accident of a vehicle carrying radioactive/nuclear material, due of an orphan source i.e. the source which is not under regulatory control or due to usage of radiation source/radioactive material in Malevolant activities.

Any radiation incident resulting in or having a potential to result in exposure and/or contamination of the workers or the public in excess of the respective permissible limits can lead to a nuclear/radiological emergency. 

Sad memories of the use of nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the wide publicity given to the reactor accidents at Three Mile Island (TMI) in USA and Chernobyl in erstwhile USSR, have strongly influenced the public perception of any nuclear or radiological emergency to be most often linked, erroneously though, to only these events. However, one must be prepared to face nuclear/radiological emergencies of lower magnitudes and ensure that the impact of such an emergency (which,for a given magnitude, is likely to be much greater today because of higher population densities coupled with an enhanced urban infrastructure due to economic prosperity) is always kept under control. It may be noted that better infrastructure can be helpful during such incidences in terms of enhance communication, transport and medical support. 

For improving the quality of life in society, India has embarked upon a large programme of using nuclear energy for generation of electricity. As on date, India has 20 power reactors and three research reactors in operation along with five power reactors under construction. It is also planned to explore setting up Thorium based reactors to meet its ever increasing energy needs. The country is  also at the verge of making operational the first 500MW prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)  after a prolonged experience of operation of FBTR (Fast Breeder Test Reactor). Further, the country utilises  adioisotopes in a variety of applications in the non-power sector, viz., in the field of industry, agriculture, medicine, research, etc. Due to the inherent safety culture, the best safety practices and standards followed in these applications and effective regulation by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, the radiation dose to which the persons working in nuclear/radiation facilities are exposed to, is well within the permissible limits and the risk of its impact on the public domain is very low. 

However, nuclear emergencies can still arise due to factors beyond the control of the operating agencies; e.g., human error, system failure, sabotage, earthquake, cyclone, flood, etc. Such failures, even though of very low probability, may lead to an on-site or off-site emergency. To combat this, a number of system upgrades have been planned to mitigate/prevent such emergencies. However, proper emergency preparedness plans must be in place so that there is minimum avoidable loss of life, livelihood, property and impact on the environment.

Preparedness at Nuclear Facilities

The probability of a major accident at nuclear facilities leading to the release of large quantities of radioactivity into the environment is always ensured to be negligibly small. However, even in the event of a major release into the environment, the prompt and effective implementation of countermeasures can reduce the radiological consequences for the public and the environment.

Preparedness for Nuclear/Radiological Emergencies

The handling of nuclear emergencies requires coordination among different service groups of the nuclear facility. In the event of potential radiological consequences in the public domain, all the authorities at the three levels, i.e., district, state and central, will play a vital role and assist the offsite officials in effectively responding to and keeping the public informed on the precautions to be taken.

Major Responsibilities of Nuclear Power Plant Operators

This includes the arrangements required to promptly classify an emergency, mitigate the emergency, notify and recommend protective actions off the site consistent with international guidelines, protect those on site, obtain off-site assistance, conduct environmental monitoring of the affected area and assist off-site officials in keeping the public informed.

Major Responsibilities of Off-Site Officials

This includes the arrangements required to promptly implement protective actions and countermeasures in the affected area.

Emergency Preparedness for Nuclear Power Plants

Since the proper implementation of countermeasures can significantly reduce the consequences of an emergency situation, it is mandatory for all nuclear facilities that there must be a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan. Prior to the issuance of a license for the operation of a nuclear facility, the AERB ensures that the facility has the Emergency Response Manuals for the three main types of emergencies, viz., plant, on-site and off-site, and that the plans are in place to handle these types of emergencies. The operators of nuclear facilities must make an assessment of the type and quantum of release of radioactivity under various accident conditions and the extent to which it can spread into the environment.

Plant Emergency

When the radiological consequences of an abnormal situation are expected to remain confined to the plant boundary or a section of the plant, it is described as a plant emergency. Nuclear facilities in the country already have the following provisions for the detection, classification, notification and mitigation of any emergency situation:

  • Emergency operating procedures for the assessment of an emergency condition and its mitigation.
  • Pre-identification of any facility-specific, abnormal situation for classification of a plant and site emergency.
  • Facility-specific, approved nuclear emergency response plans specifying the jobs of all the functionaries who have been assigned roles during the emergency.
  • Alerting the plant personnel by sounding the emergency siren and making an emergency announcement.
  • Adequate means for communicating a notification to the emergency response organisations at the facility, the district and state authorities, CMG of DAE and the central government authorities.
  • Identified assembly locations for plant personnel and casual visitors for their accounting, and assessment of persons trapped in the radiological areas.
  • Formation of rescue teams and activation of a treatment area and decontamination centre.
  • Radiation survey around the plant and outside the plant and site boundaries.
  • Assessment of wind speed, wind direction and the affected sector around the nuclear facility.
  • Whenever required, the nuclear facility is able to mobilise the services of the ambulance and paramedical staff at its site.
  • Equipment and materials for handling a nuclear emergency are kept at a designated place of the nuclear facility and ERC (Emergency Response Centre).

On-Site Emergencies

An accidental release of radioactivity or the potential of release of activity extending beyond the plant, but confined to the site boundary, constitutes a site emergency condition. In addition to all the provisions applicable in a plant emergency, the following additional provisions are ensured:

  • Extensive radiological survey for an assessment of the radiological conditions within the site boundary of the nuclear facility.
  • Suitable prophylaxis to be made available at all assembly areas for administration to plant personnel, in case the situation demands.
  • Identification of temporary shelters within the facility/site for shifting plant personnel, in case required.
  • Provision of a fleet of vehicles for evacuation of plant personnel from the site to a safer place.
  • Provision of fixed and portable contamination monitors to check contaminated personnel/vehicles leaving the site.
  • On sensing the potential of release of radioactivity which can transgress into the public domain, the concerned district authorities are alerted to be on standby for emergency operations in the public domain.
  • Radiological monitoring of the environment in the EPZ (16 km radius around the plant).

Off-Site Emergencies

On recognising the potential for an uncontrolled release of radioactivity into the public domain, the concerned district authorities are alerted to be on standby for emergency response operations. In addition to all the provisions applicable in plant emergency and site emergency, the following additional provisions are to be ensured for handling a nuclear emergency in the public domain:

  • Pre-identification of plant conditions which can lead to an emergency in the public domain.
  • An assessment of the radiological status at the site boundary and in the public domain.

For handling of an off-site emergency condition in an NPP, there is an off-site emergency committee headed by the district magistrate of the concerned district and supported by the district subcommittee, which include chiefs of all public service departments relevant to emergency management in the district and also the Head of the Site Emergency Committee of the nuclear facility for technical advice. This committee takes decisions pertaining to the handling of a nuclear emergency outside the site boundary and ensures implementation of countermeasures such as sheltering, prophylaxis and evacuation and resettlement, including maintenance of law and order and civil amenities. All the activities pertaining to the handling of an off-site emergency are guided and coordinated from a pre-designated emergency response centre located outside the boundary of the nuclear facility. The information and broadcasting department of the district, in association with an authorised information officer, ensures the smooth flow of information to the media to avoid panic and spreading of rumours.

What is Flood

 India is highly vulnerable to floods. Out of the total geographical area of 329 million hectares (mha), more than 40 mha is flood prone. Floods are a recurrent phenomenon, which cause huge loss of lives and damage to livelihood systems, property, infrastructure and public utilities. It is a cause for concern that flood related damages show an increasing trend. The average annual flood damage in the last 10 years period from 1996 to 2005 was Rs. 4745 crore as compared to Rs. 1805 crore, the corresponding average for the previous 53 years. This can be attributed to many reasons including a steep increase in population, rapid urbanization growing developmental and economic activities in flood plains coupled with global warming.

An average every year, 75 lakh hectares of land is affected, 1600 lives are lost and the damage caused to crops, houses and public utilities is Rs.1805 crores due to floods. The maximum number of lives (11,316) was lost in the year 1977. The frequency of major floods is more than once in five years.

Floods have also occurred in areas, which were earlier not considered flood prone. An effort has been made in these Guidelines to cover the entire gamut of Flood Management. Eighty per cent of the precipitation takes place in the monsoon months from June to September. The rivers a bring heavy sediment load from catchments. These, coupled with inadequate carrying capacity of rivers are responsible for causing floods, drainage congestion and erosion of river-banks. Cyclones, cyclonic circulations and cloud bursts cause flash floods and lead to huge losses. It is a fact that some of the rivers causing damage in India originate in neighboring countries; adding another complex dimension to the problem. Continuing and large-scale loss of lives and damage to public and private property due to floods indicate that we are still to develop an effective response to floods. NDMA’s Executive Summary Guidelines have been prepared to enable the various implementing and stakeholder agencies to effectively address the critical areas for minimising flood damage.

Floods

 

Emergency Kit

  • Battery operated torch
  • Extra batteries
  • Battery operated radio
  • First aid kit and essential medicines
  • Emergency food (dry items) and water (packed and sealed)
  • Candles and matches in a waterproof container
  • Knife
  • Chlorine tablets or powdered water 
  • Important documents (Ration card, Voter ID card, Aadhar Card etc.)
  • Cash, Aadhar Card and Ration Card
  • Thick ropes and cords
  • Shoes

What is Urban Floods

 Urban Floods

Urban flooding is significantly different from rural flooding as urbanization leads to developed catchments, which increases the flood peaks from 1.8 to 8 times and flood volumes by up to 6 times. Consequently, flooding occurs very quickly due to faster flow times (in a matter of minutes). Urban areas are densely populated and people living in vulnerable areas suffer due to flooding, sometimes resulting in loss of life. It is not only the event of flooding but the secondary effect of exposure to infection also has its toll in terms of human suffering, loss of livelihood and, in extreme cases, loss of life.

Urban areas are also centres of economic activities with vital infrastructure which needs to be protected 24×7. In most of the cities, damage to vital infrastructure has a bearing not only for the state and the country but it could even have global implications. Major cities in India have witnessed loss of life and property, disruption in transport and power and incidence of epidemics. Therefore, management of urban flooding has to be accorded top priority.

Increasing trend of urban flooding is a universal phenomenon and poses a great challenge to urban planners the world over. Problems associated with urban floods range from relatively localized incidents to major incidents, resulting in cities being inundated from hours to several days. Therefore, the impact can also be widespread, including temporary relocation of people, damage to civic amenities, deterioration of water quality and risk of epidemics.

What to Do After Floods

  • Drink chlorinated or boiled water.
  • Take clean and safe food
  • Sprinkle insecticides in the water ponds/ stagnant water.
  • Please cooperate with disaster survey team by giving correct information.

Emergency Kit

Prepare a safety kit which should include a torch, sheets/ blankets, waterproof clothing, battery-operated radio, bottled water, first-aid kit, medication, personal valuables and personal documentation.

Guidelines

As a part of its mandate, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has made efforts to prepare the National Guidelines on Management of Urban Flooding. Even though urban flooding has been experienced over decades in India but sufficient attention was not given to plan specific efforts to deal with it. In the past, any strategy on flood disaster management largely focused on riverine floods affecting large extents of rural areas. Mumbai floods of July 2005 turned out to be an eye-opener. Realizing that the causes of urban flooding are different and so also are the strategies to deal with them, NDMA has for the first time decided to address urban flooding as a separate disaster, delinking it from floods.

URBAN FLOOD RISK IN INDIA 

There has been an increasing trend of urban flood disasters in India over the past several years whereby major cities in India have been severely affected. The most notable amongst them are Hyderabad in 2000, Ahmedabad in 2001, Delhi in 2002 and 2003, Chennai in 2004, Mumbai in 2005, Surat in 2006, Kolkata in 2007, Jamshedpur in 2008, Delhi in 2009 and Guwahati and Delhi in 2010.

A special feature in India is that we have heavy rainfall during monsoons. There are other weather systems also that bring in a lot of rain. Storm surges can also affect coastal cities/ towns. Sudden release or failure to release water from dams can also have severe impact. In addition, the urban heat island effect has resulted in an increase in rainfall over urban areas. Global climate change is resulting in changed weather patterns and increased episodes of high intensity rainfall events occurring in shorter periods of time. Then the threat of sea-level rise is also looming large, threatening all the coastal cities. Cities/towns located on the coast, on river banks, upstream/ downstream of dams, inland cities and in hilly areas can all be affected.

ISSUES IN URBAN FLOODING

Among the important cities of India, the average annual rainfall varies from 2932 mm in Goa and 2401 mm in Mumbai on the higher side, to 669 mm in Jaipur on the lower side. The rainfall pattern and temporal duration is almost similar in all these cities, which receive the maximum rainfall from the south-west monsoons. The average rainfall for the month of July in Mumbai is 868 mm and this far exceeds the annual average rainfall of 611 mm in London.

Stormwater drainage systems in the past were designed for rainfall intensity of 12 – 20 mm. These capacities have been getting very easily overwhelmed whenever rainfall of higher intensity has been experienced. Further, the systems very often do not work to the designed capacities because of very poor maintenance. Encroachments are also a major problem in many cities and towns. Natural streams and watercourses have formed over thousands of years due to the forces of flowing water in the respective watersheds. Habitations started growing into towns and cities alongside rivers and watercourses. As a result of this, the flow of water has increased in proportion to the urbanization of the watersheds. Ideally, the natural drains should have been widened (similar to road widening for increased traffic) to accommodate the higher flows of stormwater. But on the contrary, there have been large scale encroachments on the natural drains and the river flood plains. Consequently the capacity of the natural drains has decreased, resulting in flooding. Improper disposal of solid waste, including domestic, commercial and industrial waste and dumping of construction debris into the drains also contributes significantly to reducing their capacities. It is imperative to take better operations and maintenance actions.

What is Landslides

 India has the highest mountain chain on earth, the Himalayas, which are formed due to collision of Indian and Eurasian plate, the northward movement of the Indian plate towards China causes continuous stress on the rocks rendering them friable, weak and prone to landslides and earthquakes. The slow motion of the Indian crust, about 5 cm/year accumulates stress to which natural disasters are attributed. Some landslides make unique, and unparalleled catastrophes. Landslides and avalanches are among the major hydro-geological hazards that affect large parts of India besides the Himalayas, the Northeastern hill ranges, the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris, the Eastern Ghats and the Vindhyans, in that order, covering about 15 % of the landmass. The Himalayas alone count for landslides of every fame, name and description- big and small, quick and creeping, ancient and new. The Northeastern region is badly affected by landslide problems of a bewildering variety. Landslides in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal as also those in Sikkim, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh pose chronic problems, causing recurring economic losses worth billions of rupees. A different variety of landslides, characterized by a lateritic cap, pose constant threat to the Western Ghats in the South, along the steep slopes overlooking the Konkan coast besides Nilgiris, which is highly landslide prone.

Some spectacular events of tragedies are reported as Varnavat landslide, Uttarkashi District, Malpha landslide Pithoragarh district, Okhimath landslide in Chamoli district, UK and Paglajhora in Darjeeling district as well as Sikkim, Aizawl sports complex, Mizoram.These are some of the more recent examples of landslides. The problem therefore needs to be tackled for mitigation and management for which hazard zones have to be identified and specific slides to be stabilized and managed in addition to monitoring and early warning systems to be placed at selected sites.

landslide
The Photograph of Okhimath landslide which formed a lake in Madhyamaheshwerganga, Rudraprayag district.

A general landslide hazard map of India shown here marks the areas of different hazard zones in various states of India; one may note that Himalayas of Northwest and Northeast India and the Western Ghats are two regions of high vulnerability and are landslide prone.

ZoneMap

NDMA guidelines are being followed for Landslide Hazard Zonation (LHZ) maps at 1: 50,000 scale and progressively larger scales for specific areas. National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC),Department of Science and Technology (DST), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of India (IITs), Universities have done tremendous work in this regard. The NRSC Atlas on selected corridors of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh has been a very useful Atlas (Please see NRSC work on Landslides). DST has funded more than 30 projects spread over India by various academic institutions the reports of which can be requested from DST (NRDMA).

An example of LHZ map at 1: 50,000 scale from a part of Himalayas in Chamoli district (Pachauri, 1992) shown here is based upon several geological, geotechnical parameters. Such maps are being refined and relooked for higher level of verification and acceptability for public use. Approximately 15 % of the Indian landmass has to be covered by such maps at 1: 50,000 scale or higher to classify slopes in various levels of hazards. Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing applications are being used through NRSC under a special group of GIS for LHZ at NDMA through database collection from all concerned departments and being stored through good offices of GIS and other agencies, CSIR labs, DST etc as a parallel theme on landslide mitigation.

zone

Emergency Kit

  • Battery operated torch
  • Extra batteries
  • Battery operated radio
  • First aid kit and manual
  • Emergency food (dry items) and water (packed and sealed)
  • Candles and matches in a waterproof container
  • Knife
  • Chlorine tablets or powdered water purifiers
  • Can opener.
  • Essential medicines
  • Cash, Aadhar Card and Ration Card
  • Thick ropes and cords
  • Sturdy shoes

Recover and build

Remain calm and be alert and awake, listen to warnings of heavy and prolonged period of rainfall from weather station, if your home is located below a debris covered area move away to safer place, listen to sounds of rock fall, moving debris and cracking of trees, or cracks in ground or any movement. Keep a battery operated ready for the night.

Call and help rescue teams, keep drinking water containers, first aid kit and essential medicines and avoid entering damaged houses.

Watch for flooding if close to river, help others who need help especially elderly people, children and women, seek advice from local authorities for rebuilding damaged houses, roads etc.

Report any damage of roads, power and telephone lines to concerned authorities.

What is Heat Waves

A Heat Wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western parts of India. Heat Waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July. The extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions adversely affect people living in these regions as they cause physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has given the following criteria for Heat Waves :

  • Heat Wave need not be considered till maximum temperature of a station reaches atleast 40°C for Plains and atleast 30°C for Hilly regions
  • When normal maximum temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40°C Heat Wave Departure from normal is 5°C to 6°C Severe Heat Wave Departure from normal is 7°C or more
  • When normal maximum temperature of a station is more than 40°C Heat Wave Departure from normal is 4°C to 5°C Severe Heat Wave Departure from normal is 6°C or more
  • When actual maximum temperature remains 45°C or more irrespective of normal maximum temperature, heat waves should be declared. Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becomingly increasingly frequent globally due to climate change. India too is feeling the impact of climate change in terms of increased instances of heat waves which are more intense in nature with each passing year, and have a devastating impact on human health thereby increasing the number of heat wave casualties.

Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becomingly increasingly frequent globally due to climate change. India too is feeling the impact of climate change in terms of increased instances of heat waves which are more intense in nature with each passing year, and have a devastating impact on human health thereby increasing the number of heat wave casualties.

Health Impacts of Heat Waves

The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke. The signs and symptoms are as follows:

  • Heat Cramps: Ederna (swelling) and Syncope (Fainting) generally accompanied by fever below 39°C i.e.102°F.
  • Heat Exhaustion: Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps and sweating.
  • Heat Stoke: Body temperatures of 40°C i.e. 104°F or more along with delirium, seizures or coma. This is a potential fatal condition

Recover and Build

If you think someone is suffering from the heat:

  • Move the person to a cool place under the shade
  • Give water or a rehydrating drink (if the person is still conscious)
  • Fan the person
  • Consult a doctor if symptoms get worse or are long lasting or the person is unconscious
  • Do not give alcohol, caffeine or aerated drink
  • Cool the person by putting a cool wet cloth on his/her face/body
  • Loosen clothes for better ventilation

Emergency Kit

  • Water bottle
  • Umbrella/ Hat or Cap / Head Cover
  • Hand Towel
  • Hand Fan
  • Electrolyte / Glucose / Oral Rehydration

Why Is Centre Not Creating A Bench In West UP?

It is so disgusting, shocking and frustrating to see that BJP which is holding the helm of affairs in Centre as well as in State of UP is not listening to its own MPs both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as its own Union Ministers who are repeatedly demanding the creation of a high court bench in West UP yet Centre is just refusing to relent! Why is Centre so intransigent about not relenting to what is the legitimate and popular demand of the more than 9 crore people of West UP by which the litigants and seekers of justice would be saved from the unnecessary trouble of travelling so far more than 700 to 750 km on an average all the way to Allahabad to seek justice by creating a high court bench in any of the 26 districts of West UP? Why Centre pompously inaugurates 14 lane national highway by which time spent in covering the distance between Meerut and other districts to Delhi stands reduced by one or two hours but is not ready to do anything by which the people are saved from the trouble of travelling so far to Allahabad to seek justice?  
                                      Why Centre is not listening to even its own BJP MP and former Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan who candidly pointed out to Lok Sabha Speaker in  Zero Hour that from his Muzaffarnagar constituency, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Rajasthan High Court, Madhya Pradesh High Court and above all even Lahore High Court in Pakistan which is about 498 km is nearer than Allahabad High Court which is 730 km away? He pointed out that about 15 lakh cases of West UP were pending which is more than many states pending cases! He pointed out that Maharashtra with 8 crore population has bench and 3 benches and Madhya Pradesh with 7 crore population has high court and 2 benches but West UP with more than 8 crore population has not even a bench! Taking the bull by the horns, he did not shy away from even saying that the stiff opposition by lawyers from Allahabad High Court is no ground to deny West UP a bench and said that for 10,000 lawyers of Allahabad, the neck of 8 crore people of West UP cannot be stifled! There is a lot of merit in what he has said! But why is BJP led by PM Modi not listening?
                                        Why BJP is not listening even to  Kanta Kardam who is Rajya Sabha MP  and who too has said that she will raise the demand for a bench in Rajya Sabha? She said that this is not a demand just of lawyers but is a justified demand of the people of West UP and creation of a bench here is imperative. Rajinder Agrawal who is BJP MP from Meerut rightly said that all MPs from West UP are united in demanding a high court bench for West UP.
                                       Even Gen VK Singh who is Union Minister and BJP MP from Ghaziabad has supported this legitimate demand and made the lawyers meet Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in March and he too supported the demand for a bench in West UP! Even Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh too has reiterated time and again his firm and full support for the creation of a high court bench in West UP! Amit Shah too had assured his support for bench in West UP while meeting a delegation of lawyers in Meerut! Still why even after more than 4 years of being in power in Centre and nearly one and a half year in UP is Centre not taking any step to create a bench in West UP?
                                    We all know how Sampoornanand who was UP CM had demanded the creation of a bench in West UP from Centre in 1955 but Centre refused even though a bench was created in Lucknow in 1948 for just 12 districts but for nearly 40 districts of West UP including those now in Uttarakhand not a single bench was approved by the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru! Even ND Tiwari as UP CM had proposed the creation of a bench in West UP but Centre again didn’t accept it! Mayawati as UP CM even proposed the creation of West UP as a separate state but again Centre didn’t accept it!
                                  Now let us have a glimpse of the distance of different districts from Agra and Meerut. The distance from different districts of West UP till Allahabad varies from 600 to 800 km. But the distance from different districts to Meerut and Agra stands considerably reduced and it is Meerut which is close to most of the districts! The distance of different districts from Meerut and Agra is as follows: –
Districts                    Meerut         Agra
Meerut                      00                243
Muzaffarnagar          58                301
Saharanpur                117              360
Baghpat                     45                  248
Ghaziabad                  46                  203
Bijnore                       80                   316
Gautambuddhnagar 83                   161
Bulandshahar            69                     180
Shamli                        67                        301
Hapur                         29                        213
Sambhal                     117                      187
Amroha                      94                         226
Rampur                      146                       245
Moradabad                 130                      220
Bareilly                        195                       210
Aligarh                         133                       88
Hathras                        167                        60
Mathura                       196                        59
Etah                               203                       83
Mainpuri                      261                        113
Agra                              243                        00    
                                              The lawyers of West UP are fighting people’s struggle who are worst affected as they have to travel more than 700 to 800 km on an average all the way to Allahabad to attend court hearings and many times trains get late and many times have to travel without reservation! How many people can afford to go by plane as some lawyers of Allahabad argue? Very few!
                                       What purpose is served by creating a single bench for such a large state like UP which has maximum population more than 22 crore as UP CM Yogi Adityanath keeps mentioning repeatedly, maximum villages more than one lakh whereas no other state has more than 5000 villages, maximum MPs for Lok Sabha at 80, maximum MPs for Rajya Sabha at 31, maximum MLAs in Vidhan Sabha at 404, maximum MLAs in Vidhan Parishad at 104, maximum towns more than 900, maximum pending cases more than 10 lakh and here too West UP owes for more than half of them, maximum hate crimes, maximum Judges in high court at 160, maximum PM since independence, maximum Mayors, maximum elected representatives at all levels and is among the largest states still has just one high court bench created by Jawaharlal Nehru more than 70 years back on July 1 in 1948 but not a single for West UP even 70 years later in 2018! How can this be ever justified?
                                             Why even six months continuous strike by lawyers of 26 districts of West UP thrice as they did in 2001, three to four months strike as they did in 2014-15, two months as they did in 2010 and one month as they did in 2009 apart from the strike every Saturday and even many times on Wednesday apart from the many strike for weeks every year has failed to shake Centre in taking any concrete step for creating a high court bench in West UP? Why even the right and laudable legal advice rendered by one of the most eminent jurist of India Soli J Sorabjee in his capacity as Attorney General that,  “Centre is empowered to create a high court bench in West UP without any recommendation from the Chief Justice or Chief Minister or anyone else in this regard” failed to shake Centre in creating a bench in West UP promptly?  Why Centre even disregarded what former Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association BN Krishnamani said so eloquently that, “Only by the creation of a high court bench in any of the districts in West UP will the people living there get real justice”? If UP can’t be given more benches and West UP can’t have even one bench then all benches in India must be disbanded right now because it is the people of West UP who are suffering the most because of no bench here and have to travel the most!
                                                     It is indisputable that as per the Section 51 of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, the Centre can create a high court bench in any of these 3 states – UP, Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir directly by bringing it up in Parliament. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Singh Tomar himself on 25th July raised his voice demanding bench in West UP and wondered why when Centre is empowered to create a bench in UP without any recommendation from the Chief Minister or Chief Justice is not taking necessary step in this direction! Centre does not need any recommendation from State Government or the Chief Justice as has been very wrongly propagated for many decades by Centre as it wants to just avoid it on any specious pretext! After Centre declares bench for West UP, State Government has to just allot land for it.  
                                   What a national disgrace that these very 3 states – Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar keep on grabbing the national news headlines for all the wrong reasons as crime incidents keep multiplying very rapidly and what is worst is Centre’s irrational stand to not allow a single more bench in any of these 3 states! Why Centre even disregarded what former Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association BN Krishnamani said that, “Only by the creation of a high court bench in any of the districts in West UP will the people living there get real justice”? Why Centre is ignoring even what Atal Bihari Vajpayee demanded the setting up of a bench in West UP as Opposition Leader way back in 1986 right inside Parliament?
                                        Why Centre fails to appreciate that if bench is created in any of the 26 districts of West UP, all the more than 9 crore people will stand to gain equally irrespective of religion, caste, creed, community or gender? Why Centre fails to appreciate that when 2 high court benches more can be created for just 4 and 8 districts of Karnataka at Dharwad and Gulbarga which already had bench at Hubli and which has just 6 crore population and not even two lakh pending cases whereas West UP has more than 5 lakh pending cases and UP more than 10 lakh similarly Maharashtra already had 3 benches at Nagpur, Panaji and Aurangabad and one more now created at Kolhapur, Assam with just about 2 crore population had 7 high court benches before Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura were given high court itself for just 27, 29 and 36 lakh population, Sikkim with just 6 lakh population and less than 100 pending cases has high court and above all even Port Blair with just 3 lakh population has bench then why is West UP with more than 9 crore population and more than half of the total pending cases of UP has not even a single bench of high court?
                                         Why Centre is ignoring even the legitimate voices of its own leaders from West UP like Union Minister Satyapal Singh who demanded 5 benches for UP at Meerut, Agra, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and Varanasi and not prepared to create even a single bench not just in West UP but in any hook and corner of UP except continuing with the one already at Lucknow? Why Centre is clinging with the recommendation made by the Law Commission in 1956 in its fourth report that more benches should not be created while not caring for the 230th report of Law Commission made in 2009 which recommended creation of more benches and here too why just UP is being singled out?
                                        Why can’t one bench at least be approved straightaway for West UP at any of the 26 districts? Why should the more than 9 crore people of West UP be denied “speedy Justice”, “justice at doorsteps” and “affordable cheap justice”? Why should they be made to travel so far even after more than 70 years of independence? Why Lucknow has high court bench since 1948 for just 12 districts with just 62,000 square km area even though it is so near to Allahabad just 200 km away but West UP with 26 districts and more than 98,933 square km has not even a bench 70 years later in 2018? If Lucknow is capital then so are Bhopal which is capital of Madhya Pradesh, Bhubaneshwar which is capital of Odisha, Dehradun which is capital of Uttarakhand and Thiruvananthapuram which is capital of Kerala but they have neither high court nor bench! Then why both high court and bench only for Eastern UP and nothing for West UP? Why can’t this be remedied immediately?
Rajendra Singhj Jani, President Meerut Bar Association,
Chairman Of The Central Action Committee For Establishment Of High Court Bench In Western UP,
Chamber No. 7, Civil Court,
Near Western Kutchery Gate,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.          

Enact Law For Safety Of Soldiers Of Jammu And Kashmir

It is most hurting to see that in India, the soldiers who hail from Jammu and Kashmir and who join forces either in Army or in CRPF or in BSF or in police or in any other forces against the will of majority of those who hate India and enjoy stone pelting at forces are being mocked at repeatedly by Centre by just not providing any security to them and their family! In just few days we keep hearing soldiers from Jammu and Kashmir having been abducted at gun point and then tortured and then killed! Centre proudly spends more than Rs 560 crore on Hurriyat leaders who just hate India and always rant against India and openly swear loyalty with Pakistan but is not prepared to spend even a small mount on safety of soldiers of Jammu and Kashmir! Soldiers of Jammu and Kashmir are being repeatedly abducted from their home itself and then killed after bring tortured yet we see neither Centre nor Opposition taking it seriously! 
Truth be told, the latest to be killed is police constable Mohammad Salim Shah who was killed by suspected militants after his abduction on night of July 20 from his house. His multiple bullet injuries was found on July 21 afternoon in Qaimoh village of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district! He was brutally tortured and he was videographed which was later sent to all news channels just like in case of earlier killings so that no one from Jammu and Kashmir join forces!
Be it noted, Salim had been recently promoted and was working as a Special Police Officer and was undergoing training in Kathua! He had come home in Muthalhama of Kulgam district on leave. He is the 25th policemen killed by militants in Jammu and Kashmir this year! 
What is most reprehensible to note is that Centre and Opposition both are not raising this and feel that there is nothing wrong in spending more than Rs 560 crore on security of Hurriyat leaders whom militants always hail and feel no need to provide security to soldiers of Jammu and Kashmir! As if this is not enough, even Supreme Court whom we all or at least I can say for myself consider as “Living God” too just says nothing on it even though it feels very angry on mob killing and mob lynching which certainly deserves to be condemned in the strongest terms! But why this deafening silence on soldiers killings and stone pelters who pelt stone in favour of terrorists?
To be sure, we all saw how earlier this month in July, another police constable Javed Ahmad Dar too was abducted from his vehicle at Vehil in Shopian district and killed after being tortured by militants yet Centre feels we should just relax because at least Hurriyat leaders are safe on whom crores are being spent for their security! As if this was not enough, in June an Army soldier Aurangzeb Khan was also abducted from a private vehicle when he was going home for Eid in Shopian. His body was recovered from a Pulwama village. He was killed after being tortured similarly as he fearlessly admitted that along with Major Shukla he was responsible for killing of many terrorists! 
Bluntly put: A brave and die hard nationalist like Aurangzeb Khan can never die. His life is the biggest offering that he himself voluntarily sacrificed for the nation! No weapon, no terrorist, no Pakistan, no China or any other country can ever kill the likes of brave soldiers like Aurangzeb of 44 RR who belonged to 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry at Shadimarg in Shopian and hailed from the village Salani in Poonch district of Jammu.
Any Indian who does not feel to salute Aurangzeb can never be a true Indian! What Aurangzeb has done so willingly cannot be done even by me and I candidly acknowledge this! No award, no Bharat Ratna, no Nobel Prize, no Paramveer Chakra or any other award can ever honour Aurangzeb because Aurangzeb stands tallest above all these petty awards!
Even after being captured by terrorists and even after being tied to a tree, he did not show any sign of fear nor did he plead to be spared. He voluntarily acknowledged his brave role in eliminating several terrorists along with Maj Shukla when cross questioned by terrorists without showing any sign of fear! He could have blamed others for killing terrorists and could have escaped being killed but he dared to confront them and didn’t fear for his life nor pleaded for mercy!
Aurangzeb is our national pride, national icon and no politician, no political party can ever mock at him by denying him any award because he stands above all such petty considerations and his supreme sacrifice is the biggest testimony to it. The biggest tribute that we can pay to Aurangzeb is by adopting zero tolerance policy towards terrorists and Pakistan! No license should ever again be given to Pakistan or terrorists in the name of Ramzan to kill our soldiers by ordering forces to take no action against them because this tantamount to mocking at Ramzan which under no circumstances can ever be associated with terrorists and Pakistan who leave no opportunity to slaughter our citizens and soldiers whenever they get any opportunity to do so! Why was this unfettered license given to Pakistan and terrorists knowing fully well what they do as they have done in past also and even former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was compelled to revoke this so called “Ramzan ka ceasefire”? Why Supreme Court also just says nothing on it?
How long will politicians plead ceasefire for terrorists, traitors and Pakistan? How long will politicians plead “talks and dialogues” with these rogues? How long will politicians refuse to learn anything from past experiences like the brutal murder of Lieutenant Umar Fayyaz and continue appeasing terrorists and Pakistan? How long will Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status for Pakistan continue since 1996 unilaterally like unilateral ceasefire till now? How long will Pakistan enjoy benefit of Indus Water Treaty will killing our citizens mercilessly?
Mohammad Haneef Khan who is Aurangzeb’s father who is himself an ex-serviceman stands perfectly justified when he says that, “I want to ask PM Modi if he’s listening to me, why are you appeasing stone-pelters and separatists? Punish the terrorists who killed my son. Why was Ramzan ceasefire announced? Terrorists have no religion, then why operations were stopped against them during Ramzan? Why Pakistani flags are allowed to be waved openly in India?” What Mohammad Haneef has said is perfectly right and no sane person will ever question this!
How can cases be withdrawn suddenly against more than 10,000 stone-pelters by J&K State Government? How can a crime be encouraged openly by a duly elected State Government? How can Centre too endorse it by doing nothing to stop this? Does Centre favour stone pelting on our soldiers! Never saw stone pelting on such a large scale as we are now seeing in PM Narendra Damodardas Modi’s Raj!Why even Supreme Court didn’t intervene and stop Jammu and Kashmir State Government led by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti from acting against India’s national interests?
Why politicians never want Pakistan to be declared a “terror state” and named “Aatankistan” as demanded by Maulana Mehmood Madani who is leader of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and MP from Bangalore Rajeev Chandrashekhar even though they demand the same from world at very international forum like UN? What is the real mystery behind this? Why is free license given to “traitors, terrorists and Pakistan” to kill our brave soldiers and others during Ramzan? Is Ramzan meant to kill Indians? How long will leaders fool themselves and this nation?
What is happening now so brazenly in PM Modi’s time in Kashmir is most shocking and still he keeps appearing in fitness challenge along with his cabinet colleagues like Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore who inspite of having an Army background shamelessly does “fitness exercise” even as Pakistan kills many of our BSF soldiers in Samba along with an Assistant Commandant as also Aurangzeb and a senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari who was editor of “Rising Kashmir” and bombards our border areas forcing lakhs to migrate and here too many women and children are killed! Why is all this taken so lightly? We see Rahul and Modi hugging each other in Parliament even as soldiers from Jammu and Kashmiri soldiers are being slaughtered repeatedly as has happened just recently with Mohammad Salim Shah! Pakistan merges PoK with Pakistan but our politicians don’t have the guts to ensure the “full and final merger of J&K with India! Why can’t we also act similarly?
Former CJI JS Khehar while in office as CJI had rightly said that, “How can one country have two flags, two Constitutions, two laws and two citizenship?” Why can’t Centre abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A which are most discriminatory and forbids Indians from outside the state to settle there or even appear in any exam there? What have we gained by it? Flags of Pakistan and ISIS! For how long this disgraceful appeasement will continue? No law, no Constitution, no Judge, no Court not even Supreme Court can be above the unity and integrity of India which has to be ensured under all circumstances!
What message is Centre sending by caring a damn for the repeated killings of our brave soldiers and instead appearing in news channels to issue “fitness challenge” to heroes, heroines, and others? What message is Centre sending by celebrating “Yoga Day” and caring a damn for the anger of the families of our brave soldiers like Aurangzeb who got killed because of this Ramzan ceasefire? Is this the biggest tribute that is being paid to our soldiers? Should we be proud of it? No wonder, more and more soldiers from Jammu and Kashmir are being killed!
Lieutenant Umar Fayyaz who hailed from Kashmir was slaughtered by terrorists last year. DSP Mohammad Ayyub Pandit was posted for security of Hurriyat leaders but he was himself killed after the mob was provoked by some leaders! Stone pelters in Modi’s Raj attack our soldiers openly and their helmets are thrown in gutter after being slapped who still say nothing even while they are fighting terrorists yet Supreme Court says nothing on this even though it speaks about zero tolerance for human rights violations by forces in Manipur! Is this not double standard? Why Centre always want security forces to exercise restraint and restraint and cases are lodged against them for exercising right of self-defence but cases against stone pelters are withdrawn at the drop of a hat yet not just Centre but even Supreme Court just says nothing?
Who is the great military adviser who is advising and guiding our PM and Home Minister to resort to all such foolish and self-destructive actions like Ramzan ceasefire, continuing with MFN status for Pakistan unilaterally, retaining Article 370 and Article 35A, continue spending Rs 560 crore every year from taxpayers money on Hurriyat leaders who openly shout slogans favouring Pakistan while not spending a penny on providing security to soldiers from Jammu and Kashmir, continue allowing Pakistan to take advantage of Indus Water Treaty which Modi had earlier himself criticised and many more such foolish acts? On a concluding note, soldiers like Mohammad Salim and Aurangzeb and other such Jammu and Kashmir soldiers are national icon who inspite of being tortured and beaten brutally pledge loyalty for India and for this are killed finally needs no recommendation or citation or award or anything else from any leader or politician to be respected because every true Indian will salute him always for the supreme sacrifice that he has rendered without any hesitation! But Supreme Court must now speak up very strongly for them by ordering Centre to provide security to them and their family and if this is not done that day is not far when no one from Jammu and Kashmir will ever like to join forces for a thankless nation which believes in providing security for Hurriyat and separatists and spending crores on it but not spending a penny for soldiers who love India and join forces! The earlier this is done, the better it shall be in our national interests! 
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.