The flight of capital, talent and workforce

The flight that took industrialist Sabu M. Jacob from Kerala to a warm reception in Telangana is a microcosm of what is routinely and often silently happening in Kerala.

Capital, talent and workforce have been leaving Kerala over decades.  The best efforts to industrialise Kerala took place in the last few decades of Travancore Government. Subsequent democratic governments only saw the decline of traditional industries. The first major industry to move out of Kerala in a significant manner was the cashew industry. The coir industry declined, but remained in the State like the wood industries as it is not easy to shift the raw materials from Kerala.

Kerala has always lagged in manufacturing. Service industries dominated; but that needed money to come in from outside either in the form of remittances from Keralites working outside or tourists. What distinguishes Sabu Jacob’s Kitex Garments is that it is a rare (for Kerala) 100 per cent export-oriented manufacturing unit in the State.

A unit of Kitex group

One of the major constraints for manufacturing units in Kerala is environmental factors.  And the major allegations being raised against Kitex Garments and related companies is that it is polluting a river, and that it is not paying minimum wages.  But to a neutral observer, it is clear that Kitex is the least polluting of several major industrial units in Ernakulam district. Clearly, there is selective amnesia from the part of officials and politicians. It is not clear whether Kitex did not pay minimum wages to any particular section of the workers. But generally, the workers there are satisfied about their wages.

Militant trade unionism, which is fortunately on the decline now, and greedy full-time politicians have been the bane of all industrial enterprises in the State. There are signs that the latter too may face a decline in the future. In fact, the fight between Sabu Jacob and politicians from both the ruling and Opposition fronts is a political fight—a backlash, at least from a few entrepreneurs, to the exploitative tactics of politicians.

Twenty20
Sabu Jacob had floated his own political party Twenty20 to fight the situation. He captured control of several panchayats from regular politicians, and fielded candidates from eight constituencies in the last Assembly elections. His candidates failed to win in the Assembly elections because the entrepreneur failed to take certain things into consideration that makes a successful political campaign.

His selection of candidates was something similar to his company selecting it managers. The candidates were qualified but lacked popularity. If Twenty20 had fielded actor Sreenivasan or had roped in technocrat E. Sreedharan, the outcome might have been different.

Their campaign style too was defective. The candidates often started speeches with their biodata and there were not many local people accompanying them during house-to-house campaigns. Sabu Jacob’s speech showed feudal tendencies– he often reminding people of the services of his father and family. He also declared that it was in people’s interest to vote for Twenty20 (as they were benefiting from his hand-outs and good governance in the panchayats) and he would go his away if his party was defeated. This was when the biggest stake holder was Mr. Jacob himself. The party had no declared policy on most subjects or position on hot topics in the State.

But Mr. Jacob always stressed the need for creation of employment in the State and highlighted the flight of the youth from the State for jobs outside the State.

Migration of workforce
What the party was raising was something that should have been serious concern to the State for long. Early migration from Kerala started to Burma (now Myanmar) and Malaysia before independence.  After independence, small numbers of people were migrating to the United States, Canada and European countries. But it was the construction boom in the Gulf in the seventies and eighties that turned migrations into a flood. Now people also migrate to Australia and New Zealand.

According to government agency NORKA, about 40 lakh Keralites are now working abroad. While those in Gulf countries will return, almost all of those migrating to developed countries will never return.  Number of Keralites working in other States is given as 13.74 lakhs.

According to 2011 census, the total workforce in Kerala is about 116 lakhs which comes to 34.78 per cent of the population.  (This means that, on an average, one employed person supports two others). This is apparently against the resident population.  But as many as 63.74 lakh people work outside Kerala. This means that about a third of the State’s actual working population is forced to seek jobs outside the State. This is a serious situation which needs to be corrected urgently.

Tailpiece:
Whatever the political parties in the State are saying against Kitex Garments, the investors are supporting the company deciding to have investments in Telangana. The price of shares of Kitex Garments shot up by about 80 per cent in three days after Sabu Jacob left for Telangana. On July 13, there were no sellers for the share, indicating that the share price may go up further.
It is indeed a vote of confidence for Telangana and the negative vote for industrial climate in Kerala.

Additional information update
The company has filed a case against revision of minimum wages to the workers. The case is pending decision.

Congress MLA P. T. Thomas has told the media that the company has not installed reverse osmosis plant at its factory as agreed to a meeting called by K. Babu who was Minister in 2012. Why the UDF and LDF governments had not enforced the decision is a larger question.

It is alleged that there is discrimination against non-supporters of Twenty20 in the Kizhakkambalam panchayat and that the panchayat authorities do not attend certain meetings attended by local member of the Assembly.

Further update (16-3-24): The Contribution of Rs. 30 lakhs made by Kitex group to CPI(M) and contributions to others through electoral bonds amounting to Rs. 25 cr. indicate that Sabu cannot possibly be trusted by voters. In these days of political and financial blackmail, Sabu’s threat to disclose details against Chief Minister’s daughter– instead of releasing the information for public good, offers nothing better.

Healthcare is not a police task

Dancing by police to convey the message on precautions against Covid-19
Dancing by police to convey the message on precautions against Covid-19

The decision of the Kerala government to entrust contact-tracing for COVID-19 to police is ill-advised on several counts.

Heavy-handed measures will only generate public resentment and resistance, with some people even finding ingenious ways to dodge the restrictions.

The authorities think that strict rules and strong enforcement are needed to achieve their goals. However, it is better for them to remember that their rule making powers, as Erskine May said in respect of legislative powers of British Parliament, is limited by the willingness of the people to obey or people’s power to resist.

The police are a high risk group, as far as chances of spread of COVID-19 among them are concerned, owing to a host of factors. They already have to interact with people at close quarters. The tendency of many of them to abuse and manhandle people only adds to the risk. The condition of their camps and lay-out of their residential quarters could also contribute towards faster spread of the disease. At the same time, it is important to keep the force free of infections as their services are crucial in other areas as maintenance of law and order, prevention of crime and emergency response. So, they should be kept out of the business of contacting potential COVID-19 patients. They are already dealing with a stupendous number of about 2.7 lakh cases in connection with enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions.

The government is entrusting the job to police not because they have nobody else to do the job. The staffs of many government departments are idling at home, with no salary cuts at these times. They could be deployed for the work. It was strange that government could not even find data entry operators for COVID-19 testing centres and had to recruit fresh when many typists and data entry operators of the government were sitting at home.

Healthcare is a civilian task for which even ‘civil’ police officers need not be involved.

Related links:

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2020/apr/15/record-40k-arrests-28k-vehicle-seizures-in-kerala-during-covid-19-lockdown-2130422.html

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2020/apr/20/gps-tracking-app-of-police-backfires-in-keralas-kasaragod-puts-covid-patients-in-a-spot-2132510.html

https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-commandos-cordon-off-kerala-fishing-village-labelled-covid-19-epicentre/356366

COVID-19: another lock down may not be the best choice for Kerala

Corona virus

The rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Thiruvananthapuram district, extension of lock down and increasing restrictions show that the government is failing contain the disease in the district.

The benefit from several of the restrictions is marginal while the impact on livelihoods is serious. Measures like holidays for banks on Saturdays have little benefit. The restricted working hours for shops selling provisions and groceries— where no demand-drop could be expected from fewer working hours, only serves to add to crowding, especially when home deliveries are banned.

The fast spread of the disease in the coastal areas was unanticipated especially in the absence of proper surveillance among the poor fishers. But the spread of the disease at Ramachandra textiles, Pothys and other showrooms, shops and markets and infections in hospitals could have been anticipated. The first cases at the hyper market, which also makes home deliveries, were known as back as in May.  About a month later, government stops home deliveries hitting every agency making home deliveries. As pointed out in an earlier post, home deliveries are safer than going around shopping, especially for the older people. On one hand, the government talks about reverse-quarantine, and on the other hand, makes it almost impractical for aged couples living alone to stay at home.

The government should apply Gandhiji’s talisman while imposing restrictions over COVID-19. It is fairly comfortable for the large population of government servants, teachers and their families and others drawing regular salaries in Trivandrum to be under lock-down. However, that is not the case with daily wage earners. The government has done nothing to provide financial assistance to them, other than releasing pension arrears for older persons.

Food assistance in the coastal region (mostly to fishers) is limited to five kg of rice and one kg of pulses. The population is denied protein-rich fish for consumption as they cannot go out to fish. If one goes without good food, one’s immunity may be compromised.

The lock-down in coastal villages may be beneficial to the urban centres (though that deprives them also of fish); but for fishers, it does not reduce crowding significantly. Interactions among neighbours are inevitable when there is hardly any home to ‘stay at home’. On a normal day, a significant portion of the population will be dispersed—fishing at sea or selling fish. Now, they are all packed together. It would have helped if widespread testing was undertaken and patients isolated and lock-down lifted in a week or two. However, testing is proceeding at a slow pace.

While the overall performance of Kerala is very good compared to most other States in managing the pandemic, the following deficiencies should be flagged.

Testing is inadequate and progressing at a slow pace. The fact that some COVID-19 cases are confirmed after the patient is dead goes to prove this. Now, the government has decided to replace PCR tests for discharge of patients with antigen tests. Antigen tests are less reliable than PCR tests and World Health Organisation (WHO) does not recommend it for clinical purposes owing to uncertainties regarding results. Apparently, the government is compelled to do so— there is already a daily backlog in respect of PCR test results.

In fact, the government has failed to set up adequate testing and treatment facilities to deal with a spike in COVID-19 cases during the past six months. Hence, the hospitals are now full and first line treatment centres with bare facilities are being set up speedily. There is shortage of personal to man the hospitals and facilities.  This is compounded by many doctors and health workers testing positive for COVID-19.

Now, government is thinking of a State-wide lock down. It is notable that the lock down at the national level as well as the triple lock down in Trivandrum failed to bring down cases. Activities in the agriculture and fisheries sectors and much of the service sector cannot just be stopped for long periods. It can even lead to food shortages and much misery.  Wider and effective enforcement of social distancing at work places, markets and functions and events may yield better results. Business should not be allowed in congested and crowded places and norms should be specified for online deliveries. Use of masks should become a habit when one steps out of homes.

Kerala already has a low case fatality rate from COVID-19. Facilities should be set up on a war-footing to deal with increasing number of cases and keep the fatality rate low.

Kerala slipping in containing Covid-19

Kerala is slipping in containing the COVID contagion. The extension of lock down in Trivandrum and elsewhere is indication of this.

What went wrong was the failure to enforce social distancing norms including wearing of masks and adoption of precautions relating to opening of malls and markets. The Trivandrum Medical College Hospital was showing signs of fatigue and weaknesses and even contributed marginally to local spread of the disease.

We already know that lock down only help to delay spread of the pandemic. The Kerala government is only repeating the failed model of Modi government by announcing lock down on the previous night. The government even moved an armed battalion to Poonthura to enforce the “triple lock down”. The results were immediately visible with a protest by fishers that threw all the social distancing to winds. Another round of protests could be expected if the government prevents fishers from going to sea for long to earn their livelihood, without giving them any monetary assistance. There will also be shortage of fish in the market.

The most laughable aspect of triple lock down in Trivandrum was the Collector’s order which said that people could call the police for grocery supplies to homes. She could not imagine that the police are ill-equipped for such a job without any system for receiving orders, billing and delivery. Moreover, as force that comes into close contact with people on an everyday basis, they are the riskiest group to undertake home deliveries.

To add to this drama, this week the administration had announced ban on home deliveries. After the COVID-19 crisis arose, many agencies were supplying milk products, provisions and groceries to homes efficiently. This was the safest method for supply of provisions and groceries, especially to senior citizens living alone. The administration stopped this overnight, forcing vulnerable groups to go to stores, groceries and sellers of meat and fish.

It is true that people working with a hypermarket making home deliveries from East Fort and getting their supplies from Tamil Nadu had tested positive for COVID-19. However, people were not widely informed of this. No restrictions were imposed on godowns, markets and hotels functioning in congested areas. It was notable that transmission occurred at a congested shop in Saphalyam complex which itself lack proper air circulation. The Palayam and parts of Chala markets are places where people will have to move in close proximity. Token system at the entrance and one way movements may reduce the problems to some extent, but that has not been tried.

Home deliveries are safer than people visiting large markets and stores. There is scope for godowns to operate from different locations. The only thing is that the government should stipulate minimum space for operations and other protocols for them. Similar is the case with hotels supplying parcels. They should have sufficient space for the kitchen and packing. Space left empty in the absence of diners could be used to expand the space available for cooking and delivery.

Recently, food delivery boys in Trivandrum had contacted COVID-19. Instead of banning deliveries in the light of developments like that, the administration should go for regular health check-up of such vulnerable groups, avoiding the easy way of shutting everything down. The economic impact and human tragedies resulting from shut downs could be large. Lock downs are not something you can use off and on.

Despite claims to the contrary, Kerala’s preparedness for dealing with the spreading diseases seems to be inadequate. This is at the root of current restrictions which destroys the livelihood thousands of people and possibly creates more victims than the toll from COVID-19. As days go by, Opposition to lock downs are bound to increase, besides number of those circumventing or breaking the restrictions.

One India goes for a toss

Montage from twitter.

ONE INDIA—we hear about that often during these Covid-19 times. But the disease is proving that we are far from achieving unity. Look at the following reports.

Karnataka Closes Kerala Border, 7 Die Due to Delayed Medical Assistance
Telegana Stops Issuing Passes to Migrant Workers and Others Returning from Maharastra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
Karnataka Bans Entry of People from Gujarat, Maharastra and Tamil Nadu till May 31
Kerala Stops Malayalees Returning From Other States at Border
1000 Buses from Rajastran Dispatched from Alwar Stopped at UP Bharatpur Border by UP Cops
40 Haryana Buses from Gurgaon with Stranded Migrants Were Sent Back by UP Police

Indian States were stopping their own people from entering the State on the ground that they were coming from Covid-hit red zone, not to speak of people from neighbouring States. The BJP Government in UP not only refused entry for buses from Congress-ruled Rajasthan but also from BJP-ruled Haryana. So, the migrant drama played out in UP was more than a Congress-BJP tussle.

Centre fails to lead
The Central Government did not intervene or coordinate movement of people wanting to return home for nearly two months now. All it did finally was to send some trains here and there without waiting for clearance from the States.  However, this did not address even part of the problem. In fact, the States were acting as if they were different countries and returning workers were refugees coming to their States. This happened because the Centre did not take overall responsibility for Covid-19 control.

The Union Government, however, tried to achieve a form of paramountancy by dictating orders to the State governments on lock down. But, it failed to address critical issues like financing the fight against the disease and addressing inter-State issues such as that of the migrants, and even inter-State movement of patients. Much of the resources for the fight in terms of equipment, personnel et cetera had to be mobilised by the States. The Central agencies other than the ICMR played hardly any part.

Soon, the Centre lost the plot. By the end of the first phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who announced the lock down without consulting anyone, started consulting the Chief Ministers. By the time, he announced the fourth phase; the Centre had to concede more freedoms to the States.  This was despite the fact that the lock down measures hardly attracted any Opposition from the States.  The States were allowed additional borrowing from the market and they went into a ‘self-reliant’ mode as if they had embraced the Atma Nirbhar slogan of the Prime Minister.  The borders were made as impermeable as possible, often citing order of the Union Home Ministry.

The Kerala Example
Kerala had done well in containing the disease, but miscalculated on what the lock down will or will not achieve elsewhere in the country.  Its achievements were largely the result of early detection, isolation, contact tracing and better care. It also looked after the migrant workers. The lock down at the national level made it easy for it to enforce social distancing and adopt precautionary measures including closure of places of worship and other establishments.

In its bid to keep its record intact, it delayed steps to facilitate return of Malayalees outside the State and abroad. This was despite some States like UP bringing back students from Kota in Rajasthan. In fact, Kerala could have asked the Centre to facilitate return of Keralites to the State and migrants to their respective States, after the first phase.

Despite claims to the contrary, it was also not well-prepared for a large influx of Malayalees from outside. This caused crowding and other issues at the border check posts. The migrant workers became restless as their return was being delayed, often because other States were also trying to keep matters pending.  Hence, Kerala too had at least isolated cases of migrants trying to reach their homes on trucks and cycles. Even now, the mess is far from over. The State did not operate a single bus or Sramik train for Keralites from Bangalore, Hyderabad or Chennai till now. Keralites had to arrange their own vehicles for their return to their homes at high costs. Sramik trains from Delhi and other places are yet to reach Kerala.

There is still no national plan as to how to deal with Covid-19 other than extending lock downs. Full mobility may not be restored at least until July. Kerala has a total lock down on Sundays, the scientific reasoning of which is unclear other than delaying the infections by a day or two.  Lower business hours and total closures on Sundays could only increase the crowd. We still have no trajectory either at the national or State levels as to what is to be achieved even by July.

Kerala messes up return of stranded Keralites from other States

Chappals on road

Kerala should have facilitated an ordered return of Keralites stranded in other States by arranging buses and trains for them. This is what other States have done for stranded citizens though belatedly. (However, even those States nor the Centre have taken care of the entire migrant work force till now).

The Kerala government let the stranded Keralites including students to their own devices, subjected them to a cumbersome bureaucratic process and created chaos at the borders. Many had to spend large sums from their pockets to hire vehicles.

This shows the State was ill-prepared for the influx of Keralites returning to their homes. This was despite its claims that quarantine facilities were ready. In fact, the LDF government is facing the consequences of successive governments driving large numbers Keralites out of the State by not creating job opportunities here.

The skewed development process in the past (Kerala model) has resulted in white collar workers from Kerala leaving for jobs outside and blue collar migrant workers coming to Kerala. Neither the State nor the Centre had any plans to deal with their issues before or after declaring the first and second phase of lock down. Even during this third phase, very little is being done compared to the enormity of the problem.

The Centre and States should have jointly addressed this problem long back and funded the process. But the Centre has abdicated its responsibility in an inter-State matter.  So, the States cannot be faulted for much of the problems.  The solution now may be to open up public transport and take the risk (unless the State and Centre can manage the current situation properly). A degree of social distancing, hand-washing and masks could be insisted upon.

Whether you do phased withdrawal of lock down or not, the present humanitarian crisis cannot be allowed to continue. There is now the possibility of corruption rearing its head at the borders —many will sneak in or be taken for a ride by agents, literally as well as figuratively. The government is already bogged down by cases registered for violation of lock down. There is also the distinct possibility that something similar to the tragedy at Aurangabad could happen in Kerala also. People are already taking the forests routes. Migrant workers are trying to smuggle themselves out in truck and some have started long walk from Kasaragod. In Eranakulam and other districts, police have beaten up migrant workers. Someone could die anytime in incidents like these.

It is also notable that Keralites stranded in other States are getting step-motherly treatment compared to those returning from Gulf countries. Politicians know where money and influence are.

Update (11-5-2020)

More details are now available as to how Kerala government messed up the return of Keralites stranded in other States.

The about-turn of the government on issuing passes at the borders, suspension of online registration etc caused much confusion. The instruction 3 of Government order dated 6/5/2020 indicated that people could come to the borders without passes. The only condition was that they had to undergo institutional quarantine. However, the government changed tune by May 8 because it could not handle the influx. The Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan stated in his evening press conference that only those with passes from Kerala government would be allowed to enter the State. (The download link to this order, appended below, has now been removed from the official Website of General Administration Department).

Meanwhile, the registration process for issue of passes remained suspended for two days. Many people who thought that no more passes would be issued rushed to the entry points at the borders. Besides, the stranded Keralites were required to take passes from originating State as well as Kerala and valid dates for passage often did not match. So, some landed at the borders ahead of their date of entry to Kerala. (This has now been sorted out with Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu will now issue passes only if passes of Kerala have already been obtained). These were also people who were traveling in a group. While some got their passes, application of others of the same group were pending (and they hoped to sort out the matter at the borders). Sometimes this was because they belonged to different districts. Some districts took longer time to grant the passes after making arrangements for quarantine. (Still the system worked effectively in facilitating and enforcing quarantine). Though the government claimed that it had more than a lakh rooms ready for quarantining people, they were not actually ready for occupations. Besides, the government wanted to give priority to expatriates arriving from abroad.

Everyone has a right to return home.

Mullaperiyar: What is Pinarai Vijayan up to?

Pinarayi-Vijayan

Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan

The new Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarai Vijayan has willingly courted controversy in the first week of assuming office itself over Mullaperiyar and other issues.

The essence of his statement on Mullaperiyar was that Kerala will have to take into account the finding of the empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court that the dam was safe and future negotiations would have to be over the report of the committee and its reliability. Secondly, he said that a new dam at Mullaperiyar, which Kerala had proposed as a means to ensure safety of people of five districts in the State, was not possible without cooperation from Tamil Nadu.

Faced with strong opposition to the change in the State’s stand over Mullaperiyar, Mr. Vijayan clarified that the government was still for new dam. What he had said was that it was not possible to build a dam without cooperation from the Centre and Tamil Nadu.

There was no compulsion for Mr. Vijayan to come up with an early policy statement on Mullaperiyar as no decision was pending on the issue that needed immediate attention. He also made a statement in favour of revival of the Athirappally hydroelectric project which is strongly opposed by environmental activists and leaders of the CPI which is a constituent of the ruling coalition, the Left Democratic Front. He could have delayed taking a stand on both the issues if he wanted.

However, he apparently had political and administrative reasons for making statements on Mullaperiyar and Athirappally even at the risk of losing some goodwill. On the face of it, the statements hook his bite noire in the party V. S. Achuthanandan who had adopted stands in favour of new dam and against Athirappally project in the past. There has been a truce between Mr. Achuthanandan and Mr. Vijayan before the elections, and Mr. Achuthanandan, as Leader of the Opposition, led the campaign of the Opposition Front. However, the CPI (M) chose Mr. Vijayan as the Chief Minister.

Mr. Vijayan’s statements come at a time when the party is considering an advisory position with Cabinet rank for Mr. Achuthanandan in the Government. Mr. Vijayan’s camp has already raised the criticism that this would give rise to duel power centres. If Mr. Achuthandnan loudly opposed the policy pronouncements by Mr. Vijayan, that would be proof to support the argument. Being a seasoned politician, Mr. Achuthanandan’s reaction was measured. Yet, there is no certainty that he would get the position he desired.

In a raising a controversy, Mr. Vijayan’s political costs are limited. His party does not have much support in any of the areas that will be directly impacted by failure of Mullaperiyar dam. The sufferer is the CPI which has won seats in areas that would be hit by a failure of the Mullaperiyar dam and impacted by the Athirappally project. CPI had done a sterling performance in this election winning 70 per cent of the seats it contested. The CPI (M) knows that it would have to concede more ground to CPI as CPI comes out of political stagnation in Kerala. So, any damage done to CPI is to its advantage.

There is also speculation that the CPI (M) would like to come closer to AIADMK considering CPI (M)’s diminishing importance at the national level. It is also notable that in Devikulam constituency in Kerala, where there is a Tamil population; AIADMK secured over 11600 votes which was more than twice the margin of victory of the CPI (M) candidate in the constituency.

Apart from political objectives, Mr. Vijayan’s statement is clearly aimed at laying the path for new initiatives. Kerala has nearly exhausted its legal options on Mullaperiyar at least for the time being. The way it conducted the cases before the Supreme Court left a lot to be desired. For example, the Supreme Court made an erroneous observation in its 2006 judgement that the waters would be contained in the Idukki dam downstream in case of failure of Mullaperiyar dam. However, Kerala failed to produce the Dam Break Analysis showing that towns and villages and a large population would be washed away, in subsequent litigation in the Court. The previous government then tried to hide reports of the Analysis, which it had commissioned, and other documents relating to the litigation from public by issuing an executive order against releasing documents on Mullaperiyar under Right to Information Act.

Now, Mr. Vijayan needs an opening to drive new policy and this could not be done without admitting the status quo following the Supreme Court orders and the impossibility of building a new dam in the near future. He has to open dialogue with Tamil Nadu. Acknowledging that there is a finding that the dam is safe is first step towards that.
Water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala is slogan raised by the previous government. However, with Tamil Nadu seeking legal options and rejecting the proposal for a new dam, it had only campaign value. Mr. Vijayan has not specified what policy options he would pursue now. He probably has to reconstitute the Mullaperiyar Cell, which failed in its objective, and hold discussions with experts and lawyers before proceeding.

Even before Mr. Vijayan deprecated the proposal for new dam, there was a section of those agitating against the raising of water level in the old dam who argued that the dam should be decommissioned in a phased manner. The decommissioning should be over 50 years or so allowing Tamil Nadu the opportunity to shift its agriculture practices to modern techniques that need less water for irrigation.

Water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer, who was Union Secretary for Water Resources, stated as back as in 2011 that Kerala would be repeating a folly committed more than 100 years ago by building a new dam.

Opinion is growing around the world against large dams and inter-basin diversion of river waters. The Mullaperiyar dam totally cut off flow through the river. International covenants now recognise lower riparian rights and the need to allow flow needed to maintain ecosystems and activities downstream.

Moreover, Kerala’s stand on impact on the Periyar Tiger Reserve is contradictory. On one side, it argued that the raising of the water level would harm the Reserve. On the other side, it proposed a major construction activity and impounding of water within the protected area.

It is expected that Mr. Vijayan would look into all this and come up with a new approach to the issue.

Tragedies and failure to fix responsibility

Police at Puttingal temple near Paravoor following the fireworks accident on April 10, 2016

Police at Puttingal temple near Paravoor following the fireworks accident on April 10, 2016

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has announced that rules relating to fireworks in places of worship and elsewhere would be made more stringent while announcing judicial probe into the fireworks tragedy at Paravoor.

The announcement was made without waiting for the finding of the enquiry commission or its recommendations on what are the changes needed in the laws. Instead, the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) was immediately tasked with the job of proposing changes to the rules and stipulations.

This is part of an attempt the divert attention from the fact that it was not lack of laws but failure to enforce them that had caused the tragedy. The tragedy would not have occurred if the ban order issued by the Additional District Magistrate was carried out.

This is not the first time that governments resort to such gimmicks. Whenever enforcement fails, governments talk of inadequacy of laws. Instances are several such as rape laws and the Goonda Act. The so called strengthening of the legislation often results only in increasing the bribes and political patronage that goes behind violation of the laws. Besides, those without influence get punishments disproportionate to their crimes.

The announcement of enquiry commissions is used by politicians as a ruse to escape from public ire. Inquiries of by judicial commission often drag for years at huge public expenditure and its recommendations are not often carried out. The time taken could help matters to cool down and delay or avoid fixing of responsibility. In fact, failure to fix responsibility is a major factor behind repetition of tragedies in Kerala.

The Paravoor tragedy may claim a toll higher than that of Perumon tragedy which had claimed 106 lives. The enquiry commission failed to dig at the real reason for the accident and blamed it on ‘tornado’ without any basis. When 45 tourists died at Thekkady following boat capsize in 2009, the attempt was to blame it on the driver though the boat was defective. Following enquiry by a judicial commission, changes were brought to inland vessel rules. However, even the stipulation that life jackets should be issued and worn by the tourists is still being ignored at several places.  There are many similar cases like the Kumarakom boat tragedy and enquiry commission report on that.

Now, it will not be a surprise if those who failed to enforce the additional district magistrate ban order against the fireworks display at Peravoor are not taken to task. Poor fireworks contractors who are minor spokes in the giant wheel that drives festivals like that at Paravoor will be punished.

Kerala government undermines right to information

top-secretThe Right to Information Act was enacted to bring transparency in administration and thus check corruption.

Kerala government is hitting at the very root of the legislation by exempting a branch of the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau (VACB) from the purview of the Act.

A notification issued by the government a month ago excludes the “top secret section” of the Vigilance from the purview of the Act. All confidential verifications and vigilance enquiries /quick verifications of sensitive nature are done by this section of the VACB.

Those who can hide behind the notification include the Chief Minister, former Chief Ministers, Ministers, former Ministers, members of the Assembly and Parliament and all India service officers. Works related to all surprise checks inclusive that of all India service officers, Chief Minister, former chief ministers, ministers, former ministers, MLAs, MPs are also exempted.  All correspondence made by VACB with Lok Ayukta, Lok Pal, CBI and CVC in connection with any enquiry and investigation as well as all petitions which are already under enquiry/investigation by Lok Ayukta,, Lok Pal, CBI and CVC are covered under the notification.

Interestingly, the notification is issued by a government headed by a Chief Minister who has set up Web cameras in his chamber and office claiming that they would enhance transparency. (That it is a farce is another matter). Moreover, the notification is issued misinterpreting a provision of the RTI Act. Section 24(4) of the Act provides for exclusion of intelligence and security organisations from the purview of the Act. The Government has used this provision to include the ‘T’ branch of the VACB in the schedule of organisations excluded from supplying information under the Act.

But the rider is that the provision applies only to “intelligence and security organisations” notified by the government, and a vigilance bureau is neither. Even if it is accepted for argument’s sake that the VACB is intelligence or security organisation, Section 24(4) specifies that information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded. So, the notification by the government is totally in violation of the Act.

It is just aimed to help corrupt ministers and bureaucrats to buy time from public exposure just before the elections. It is notable that the LDF has not strongly come out against the notification— they are also beneficiaries of the notification.

Related: Mullaperiyar studies are public documents

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘war over sea’, a misplaced adventure?

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is reportedly planning an outreach programme in Chavakkad in Thrissur district next week to take up the cause of traditional fishermen. The most pressing issue there is described as the woes of fishermen resulting from the Central Government’s decision to impose ban on fishing for 61 days. He is ill-advised to take up this issue as a shorter ban on fishing is not actually in the interests of traditional fishermen.

It may be recalled that the traditional fishermen had launched a series of agitations for three-month ban on bottom trawling during monsoon led by persons like Fr. Thomas Kocheri and Sr. Philomin Mary in the eighties. The mechanised boat owners were strongly opposed to the ban though it was aimed at conservation of fish resources.

Fishermen's agitation

Fishermen blocking the highway at Alappuzha in 1985 demanding, among other things, ban on trawling.      Photo: Roy Mathew

Congress leader K. Karunakaran was not in favour of the ban and had used police to suppress the agitation when he was the Chief Minister. However, even Congress supporters in the Dheevara Sabha were forced to take a stand in favour of the ban. The agitation led to appointment of various committees to study the issue. Finally, the government decided to have a shorter ban of about 45 days though this was not a scientifically sound decision. Expert committees had called for a longer ban during monsoon to cover the entire breeding season of fishes.

What has changed between now and then is that more of the traditional fishermen have become owners or workers of mechanized fishing boats. The same forces which opposed the ban for quick returns and lobbied with Karunakaran are now behind Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s move. The only difference is that more ‘traditional fishermen’ are now with them. However, this assessment would depend on whether someone is ‘traditional’ by birth or by use of the fishing gears.

Scientifically, the only thing that has changed is confirmation of the fact that all (economically valuable) fishes do not breed during monsoon. Experts in the eighties have either discounted this fact or did not have adequate data to come to a conclusion. This may necessitate deeper look into the recommendation and possibly modification of the ban on a regional basis. More important may be the need to declare marine reserves like wildlife sanctuaries.

A shorter ban will not fully serve the purpose and a two month ban is reasonable considering all the factors. However, stricter enforcement of ban on net types and mesh sizes will be more crucial to conservation of marine resources. Fishlings ought to be allowed to grow to certain sizes before they are harvested.

Related Report:

After land, Rahul to wage war over sea