Re: [HumJanenge] Fight against curroption

Dear Friends

Late Masterji was a very practical and down to earth person.
We must follow his vision and eschew theoretical and academic exercises.
Only useless / idle people have time for scholarly discussions.
We need practical ideas / suggestions to use RTI to generate social revolution.

I also notice that some members are replying to each and every post. Please
try and limit yourself to maximum of 2 posts per day. Always ask yourself
"is it necessary for me to bark at every passing car ?" When in doubt DON'T !

If this unhealthy trend continues, offending members posting privileges shall be
withdrawn for indefinite period.

PMK

On Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 7:50 PM, Gangadharan Nair N
<ng.puthoor@gmail.com> wrote:
> The big question is "How are we going to do it?"
>
> I have my own doubts whether you like it or not, nobody on this earth can
> eradicate corruption from the face of our Nation, India. Our system of
> Democracy, "the Panchayat Raaj", does not permit any Elected Member to be
> truthful and patriotic.
>
> Panchaayati Raj is a system of governance in which gram panchayats are the
> basic units of administration. It has 3 levels: Village, Block and District.
>
> The term 'panchayat raj' is relatively new, having originated during the
> British administration. 'Raj' literally means governance or government.
> Mahatma Gandhi advocated Panchayati Raj, a decentralized form of Government
> where each village is responsible for its own affairs, as the foundation of
> India's political system. His term for such a vision was "Gram Swaraj"
> (Village Self-governance).
>
> It was adopted by state governments during the 1950s and 60s as laws were
> passed to establish Panchayats in various states. It also found backing in
> the Indian Constitution, with the 73rd amendment in 1992 to accommodate the
> idea. The Amendment Act of 1992 contains provision for devolution of powers
> and responsibilities to the panchayats to both for preparation of plans for
> economic development and social justice and for implementation in relation
> to twenty-nine subjects listed in the eleventh schedule of the
> constitution.[2]
>
> The panchayats receive funds from three sources – (i) local body grants, as
> recommended by the Central Finance Commission, (ii) funds for implementation
> of centrally-sponsored schemes, and (iii) funds released by the state
> governments on the recommendations of the State Finance Commissions.[2]
>
> In the history of Panchayati Raj in India, on 24 April 1993, the
> Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 came into force to provide
> constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions. This Act was
> extended to Panchayats in the tribal areas of eight States, namely Andhra
> Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,
> Orissa and Rajasthan from 24 December 1996. Now panchayati raj system exists
> in all the states except Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Also all the UTs
> except Delhi. (Refer: [1])
>
> The Act aims to provide 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States
> having population of over 2 million, to hold Panchayat elections regularly
> every 5 years, to provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes,
> Scheduled Tribes and Women, to appoint State Finance Commission to make
> recommendations as regards the financial powers of the Panchayats and to
> constitute District Planning Committee to prepare draft development plan for
> the district.The 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj consists of a) village
> level panchayat b) block level panchayat c) district level panchayat.
>
> Powers and responsibilities are delegated to Panchayats at the appropriate
> level :-
>
> Preparation of plan for economic development and social justice.
> Implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice in
> relation to 29 subjects given in Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
> To levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
>
> Village level panchayat
>
> It is called a Panchayat at the village level. It is a local body working
> for the good of the village. The number of members usually ranges from 7 to
> 31; occasionally, groups are larger, but they never have fewer than 7
> members.
>
> The block-level institution is called the Panchayat Samiti. The
> district-level institution is called the Zilla Parishad.
>
> Intermediate level panchayat
>
> Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the tehsil or Taluka level in
> India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are
> called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the
> Gram Panchayat and the district administration. There are a number of
> variations of this institution in various states. It is known as Mandal
> Praja Parishad in Andhra Pradesh, Taluka panchayat in Gujarat, Mandal
> Panchayat in Karnataka, etc.In general it's a kind of Panchayati raj at
> higher level.
>
> Constitution
>
> It is composed of ex-officio members (all sarpanchas of the panchayat samiti
> area, the MPs and MLAs of the area and the SDO of the subdivision), coopted
> members (representatives of SC/ST and women), associate members (a farmer of
> the area, a representative of the cooperative societies and one of the
> marketing services) and some elected members.
>
> The samiti is elected for 5 years and is headed by the chairman and the
> deputy chairman.
>
> Departments
>
> The common departments in the Samiti are as follows:
>
> General administration
> Finance
> Public works
> Agriculture
> Health
> Education
> Social welfare
> Information Technology and others.
>
> There is an officer for every department. A government appointed block
> development officer is the executive officer to the samiti and the chief of
> its administration the dapartment of
>
> Functions
>
> Implement schemes for the development of agriculture.
> Establishment of primary health centres and primary schools.
> Supply of drinking water, drainage, construction/repair of roads.
> Development of cottage and small-scale industries and opening of cooperative
> societies
>
> Source of Income
>
> The main source of income of the panchayat samiti are grants-in-aid and
> loans from the State Government.
>
> District level panchayat
>
> In the district level of the panchayati raj system you have the "zilla
> parishad". It looks after the administration of the rural area of the
> district and its office is located at the district headquarters. The Hindi
> word Parishad means Council and Zilla Parishad translates to District
> Council. It is headed by the "District Collector" or the "Distric
> Magistrate" or the "Deputy Comminissioner". it is the link between the state
> government and the panchayat samiti (local seld government at the block
> level)
>
> Constitution
>
> Members of the Zilla Parishad are elected from the district on the basis of
> adult franchise for a term of five years. Zilla Parishad has minimum of 50
> and maximum of 75 members. There are seats reserved for Scheduled Castes,
> Scheduled Tribes, backward classes and women.
>
> The Chairmen of all the Panchayat Samitis form the members of Zilla
> Parishad. The Parishad is headed by a President and a Vice-President.
>
> Functions
>
> 1. Provide essential services and facilities to the rural population and the
> planning and execution of the development programmes for the district.
>
> 2. Supply improved seeds to farmers. Inform them of new techniques of
> training. Undertake construction of small-scale irrigation projects and
> percolation tanks. Maintain pastures and grazing lands.
>
> 3. Set up and run schools in villages. Execute programmes for adult
> literacy. Run libraries.
>
> 4. Start Primary Health Centers and hospitals in villages. Start mobile
> hospitals for hamlets, vaccination drives against epidemics and family
> welfare campaigns.
>
> 5. Construct bridges and roads.
>
> 6. Execute plans for the development of the scheduled castes and tribes. Run
> ashramshalas for adivasi children. Set up free hostels for scheduled caste
> students.
>
> 7. Encourage entrepreneurs to start small-scale industries like cottage
> industries, handicraft, agriculture produce processing mills, dairy farms,
> etc. implement rural employment schemes.
>
> 8. They construct roads,schools,& public properties.And they take care of
> the public properties.
>
> 9. They even supply work for the poor people.(tribes,scheduled caste,lower
> caste)
>
> Sources of Income
>
> 1. Taxes on water, pilgrimage, markets, etc.
>
> 2. Fixed grant from the State Government in proportion with the land revenue
> and money for works and schemes assigned to the Parishad.
>
> Gram panchayats are local governments at the village or small town level in
> India. As per 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats (Not Grama
> Panchayat Members - Members will be 15 times more than this.) in India. The
> gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat
> can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300. Sometimes two or
> more villages are clubbed together to form group-gram panchayat when the
> population of the individual villages is less than 300.
>
> Let us analyse our system of Democracy known as "Panchayat Raaj". In the
> Panchayat Raaj, every 300 people elect a Panchayat Member. This alone will
> make the strength of Panchayat Members in the country ( 113 crore /300 = 37
> lakhs) to over 37 lakhs. Even though there is provision for electing 37
> lakhs Panchayat Members, we have constituted only 2,65,000 Panchayats in
> the last election.
>
> Now let us see at what cost our nation keeps this democracy. Even if the
> nation pays @Rs. 1,500/- per panchayat member per month the cost to the
> nation will be 1,500/- x 12 x 37 lakhs which will be around 6.66 Lakh crores
> per annum. What about their allowances and other incidental expenditure on
> these members will be anothe 6.66 Lakh crores. Then what about staffs for
> office and office maintenance will be not less than 10 times the salary of a
> member, which will be nothing less than 66.6 lakh crores.
>
> This shows we the citizens of this great country spends around Rs. 80 lakh
> crores only to declare the world that we are following a democracy. What
> about the developmental costof the country. More or less the same amount
> the State Government collects to run the State Government and an equal
> amount being collected by the central Government to run the central
> government.
>
> In other words the present system of Governance collects around Rs.200 and
> odd Lakh crores rupees to run the Governance of a nation of 100 crore
> population and needs another few Hundred crores for development of the
> nation. In another simple calculation, our system of Democratic Government
> collects around Rs.2 Lakh per citizen to establish that we are a democracy.
>
> Another figure is that 70% of our population does not earn even Rs. 20/- per
> day or Rs. 7,000/- per annum and are exempted from direct income tax, but
> they pay tax & duties on products. So for the remaining 30% people find
> the system very very expensive and start venturing to avoid taxes and
> duties. This will lead them to Gross Corruption.
>
> This is my personal view and expect some healthy discussion on it.
>
> Gangadharan Nair. N
>
> On 9 November 2010 15:51, Mathre Rangarajan <rangajan@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> M. Rangarajan
>>
>> (retired Group General Manager, ONGC)
>>
>> B 2 – 301, SRIRAM SPANDHANA,
>>
>> Chellaghatta village,
>>
>> Bangalore – 560037.
>>
>> Phone: 25227955, 42027955, mobile 9945091581
>>
>> e-mail: rangajan@yahoo.com / rangajan@gmail.com
>>
>> dated 9th November 2010.
>>
>>
>>
>> FIGHT AGAINST CURRUPTION AND ERADICATION OF CURRUPTION.
>>
>>
>>
>> Everybody in India wants to fight against curruption and wants to
>> eradicate curruption and make India a curruption free society in the world.
>> Good luck to everybody!! The big question is "How are we going to do it?"
>>
>>
>>
>> There are lager number of agencies to control and eradicate curruption in
>> India like, CVC, CBI, Anti Curruption Bueraus of State Governments,
>> Lokayukta, etc etc. Each one of them is a Toothless Body. They just don't
>> have any powers of prosecute. They have to get permission form the
>> Government and authorities that be, which never comes. Justice Santosh
>> Hegde, Karnataka Lokayukta who has exposed hundreds of currupt people, has
>> openly admitted that he has not been able to prosecute even a single person
>> in his tenure!!
>>
>>
>>
>> May be you can expose currupt people through RTI - then what? nothing
>> happens and he/she will continue merrily amasing more wealth!!
>>
>>
>>
>> Of course, it is foolish to expect that any Goverment gives these agencies
>> poweres to prosecute - Their pet excuse is that such powers will be misused.
>> Ha! Ha! Government is Politician and there is nothing like an Honest
>> politician, even if there is one, he/she will be useless and cant do
>> anytahing.
>>
>>
>>
>> Today's centre page article "sub verse" in The Times of India is good
>> reading!! (reproduced below)
>>
>> Money for everyone
>>
>> The problem is not too much corruption;
>>
>> it's not enough corruption
>>
>>
>>
>> Prasenjit Chowdhury
>>
>> That some Indians are so ostentatiously rich while others are not calls
>> for a social revolution - we all must ask or our democratic right to make
>> more money. So it is absolutely wrong to demonise the likes of the Reddy
>> brothers, Madhu Koda, Lalit Modi and Suresh Kalmadi. They are actually
>> martyrs to the cause of social egalitarianism who got waylaid on their way
>> to wealth, I hear people quibbling about right and wrong means. Misplaced
>> value, I must say. Moneymaking is the mantra, by fair means or foul.
>>
>> We are envious of the grand opportunity for moneymaking available to a
>> handful of lucky officials, keeping in mind that the apex court expressed
>> serious concern over rampant corruption in the preparation for a Rs
>> 70,000-crore bonanza called the Commonwealth Games. Given a chance, we would
>> all want to make money My theory is that we are not all embezzlers for the
>> simple reason that most of us are mortally afraid of being caught pants
>> down.
>>
>> Much in the same vein, all the hullabaloo about corruption in India
>> stems from jealousy.
>>
>> Those who cringe at the prospect of India becoming the most corrupt nation
>> on earth, discount the fact that the desire to be rich has gained a new
>> social momentum in India. With the passage of the licence-permit raj of
>> the old socialist system that spawned an inefficient regulatory regime,
>> cripplingly high compli ance and transaction costs, a corrupt bureaucratic
>> system and a rent-seeking political system, newer avenues to make money are
>> now available to office-bearers.
>>
>> Moneymaking needs versatility and hard work. Osama bin Laden was
>> known to be in the business of raising ostriches in Kenya. Felling timber
>> inTurkey, breeding camels and setting up factories in Sudan, the combined
>> income from which was to the tune of $50 million a year in 2001. Had he not
>> dissipated himself as a terrorist mastermind, he could have given many a
>> Bill Gates a run for their money!
>>
>> Prying into the tales of wealth of the big-buck earners is surely an
>> exercise of anguished Voyeurism but i cannot help it. So I crooned over
>> Forbes magazine's India Rich List* 2010, to learn how partial Lord
>> Mammon is to the Reliance Industries head (and Antilla'-owning) Mukesh
>> Ambani, or to the UK-based steel baron, Lakshmi Mittal, or to Azim Premji of
>> Wipro who, at number 3, increased his net worth to $17.6 billion from $14.9
>> billion last year.
>>
>> What do they do with that unconscionable amount of money,
>> however well deserved? That, I guess, is a silly question. Only 10 per cent
>> of India's charity funds comes from individuals and corporates and there are
>> many better options than philanthropy. With lots of money, you can buy a
>> villa in a Pacific island, yacht around the world in medieval luxury and
>> have the prettiest of women prancing around you. You can drive a limousine
>> (or a Bugatti Veyron), write with a 333 series
>> John Harrison pen, wear a Franck Muller watch, sip Petrus red wine, or
>> simply open a nunnery.
>>
>> It has been revealed that over Rs 5 lakh crore of 'tainted' money has
>> been siphoned illegally out of the country in the last eight years and
>> stashed away by Indians in Swiss banks. Why must we baulk at this sheer
>> scale of acquisitive entrepreneurship by saying that such unaccounted money
>> causes great damage to the national economy? Pink Floyd said: "Money, it's a
>> gas/ Grab that cash with both hands / and make a stash".
>>
>> I have a personal plan to make money I will open up public urinals. I will
>> charge people who must be willing to pay for relieving themselves in a
>> 'holistic' atmosphere. It would be quite a money-spinner in a crowded India.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit
> from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with
> others.
>
> " Vande Matharam "
> ng.puthoor@gmail.com
> Gangadharan Nair N.
>
> When you realize you've made a mistake, please have the courage
> to admit it & also take immediate remedial steps to correct it.
>