Mullaperiyar: strategic failure of Kerala government

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Roy Mathew

The report of the empowered committee of the Supreme Court is the result of a strategic failure from the part of the Kerala government.

The Central Water Commission was actually the opposite party in the case for Kerala. Yet, it failed to prevent those associated with the Commission from undertaking safety related assessment of the Mullaperiyar dam. (Technical members of the Committee C.D. Thatte and D. K. Mehta were former Secretary to the Ministry of Water Resources and retired Chief Engineer, Central Water Commission respectively.)

Kerala nominated retired Supreme Court Judge K. T. Thomas to the committee. This was a strategic mistake as what Kerala needed was a man who could understand and judge technical matters and argue on technical issues. Kerala could have better argued legal points before the Court itself instead of having a legal luminary in the committee. It seems that Mr. Thomas did not push forward any legal issues. He failed to express his views strongly on technical matters, he being not a technical expert. The result is the finding by essentially by Mr. Thatte and Mehta that the dam is structurally and hydrologically safe.

In the process, they ignored studies by IIT, Roorkie and IIT Delhi which had found that the dam was not structurally and hydrologically safe. It was true that they had done the studies in a hurry and this affected its quality. However, there were irrefutable facts in their reports which the twosome has ignored.

Core sampling and its examination for strength was important in determining whether the dam was strong enough to withstand earthquakes and higher water levels. During drilling, proper samples could not be obtained except from the foundation, apparently because portions of the old dam were hollow. However, it seems that the committee submitted its report before the results of the study came in. Kerala should have insisted that the report should wait the finding of the study.

Now, Kerala would find it extremely difficult to argue technical points before the Court. The Court cannot be convinced easily that the dam is unsafe, as judges would attach value to the report of the empowered committee.

It may also be worth examining why Kerala made strategic mistakes. The government had always failure to act in time and in a coordinated manner. Its engineers did not see eye-to-eye on several matters. Its lawyers were not often briefed properly by its engineers. Politicians concentrated on playing to the gallery and there were often allegations against both the politicians and officials who were in charge of fighting the Mullaperiyar case over the past two decades. It is also worth noting that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa herself had alleged that Kerala politicians had land in areas irrigated by waters from Mullapeiryar.

For further reading:
Mullaperiyar– in search of truth
Mullaperiyar and dam safety
Mullaperiyar dam dispute
http://keralaviews.wordpress.com/tag/mullaperiyar/

Endosufan controversy: truth is not easy to decipher

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Roy Mathew

Whether there is any substance in the controversy over the letter written by Principal Secretary (Health) to the Community Medicine Department of Kozhikode Medical College asking, essentially, whether they are willing to make any amends to the report of their studies on endosulfan is not easy to determine.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has denied any wrong-doing by officials of the Health Department in their response to legal notice on endosulfan and that no minister had seen the file or the correspondence. Even if a Minister has given a directive, the Health Secretary has seen to it that the letter is carefully worded after obtaining the advice of the Law Department. The letter written by the Health Secretary is reproduced below.

The wordings like the use of ‘impediment’ may suggest a bias in favour of endosulfan manufacturers. However, the net result of final decision communicated to Mr. Ganesan strengthens the legal case in favour of ban on endosulfan. From the letter (reproduced below) read with earlier communication to the Department, it would appear that the government is upholding the results of the studies after due process and had shown no bias towards the Department. It could be that the Principal Secretary Rajiv Sadanandan acted intelligently.

The only problem with the letter is that the date appears to have been over-written. Was it sent before the controversy broke out or after that?

Such doubts arise because the history of the UDF government headed by Oommen Chandy was not one of unblemished support to the victims of endosulfan. As pointed out in an earlier post, the Agriculture Secretary of the Government had signed the report of the Mayee Committee (conclusions are reproduced below) hardly a fortnight before Mr. Chandy set out to tour the affected villages of Kasaragod district promise solace to the victims in 1984.

Recommendations of Mayee Committee

Sparring between PSC and Government

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Roy Mathew

The PSC and the government are at loggerheads over extension of ranked lists for appointments to various posts in government. It was usual for the Cabinet to recommend extension of various rank lists for different reasons and PSC used to accept them routinely. This time the left- dominated Board of the PSC has refused to accept the recommendations of the government, leading to almost a show down between the autonomous PSC and the government. Obviously, politics is behind the decision of the PSC though there is some merit in PSC’s stand.

The government wants extension of the ranked lists because of its decision to discontinue unified retirement date introduced by the previous government and fix 56 years as the age of superannuation. The extension will offset the disadvantage arising from the decision to those in the live ranked lists of PSC. However, it is notable that for the youth seeking employment in government service and who are yet to be in a PSC list, the decision would offset their entry by about one year. This is partly the result of the previous government’s decision also as the decision by the previous and present governments effectively increased the retirement age by one year in two steps.

The consequence of this to new applicants would be that they would enter government service one year later, on an average, and retire a year later. So, the average age of government servants would shift upwards and the youth who have already passed their examinations would have a longer wait for job.

However, the general consequence of extension of ranked lists is that the quality of those entering into government service would come down. A PSC list is expected to be live for only one year. However, if new list is not published, a list will be valid up to three years. This is what is being extended to up to 4.5 years now. Over such a long period, the best candidates in the list would get other jobs. Finally, those getting advice in the fourth year would be those who would not have normally got into government service.

If the PSC struck to the one year norms, the government would be getting the best of the lot and at an early age. However, the PSC is so understaffed and so bureaucratic that this hardly ever happens. New lists are always delayed. And this is the best excuse for government to seek extension of rank lists when they come under pressure from those in the live lists.

Endosulfan: the denouement

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Roy Mathew

The Supreme Court has finally said it: no more studies are needed (to establish the link between the broad spectrum pesticide endosulfan and the health effects on people). This is apparently the results of work done by Dr. Mohammed Aisheel and others in compiling a large bibliography of studies on endosulfan besides recent studies by Kerala government and various research establishments.

The studies showed that the endosulfan could cause large number of diseases reported from Kasaragod district of Kerala and Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and the mechanism of action of the pesticide in human body. Studies may still be needed to conclusively establish that some of the diseases manifesting in the district is indeed caused by endosulfan.

A severely handicapped child who is getting assistance as an endosulfan victim

That is, while endosulfan as cause of many diseases is established, it may be more difficult to establish that the very diseases in a person or group are caused by endosulfan. The disease can be caused by other factors and these needed to be eliminated to prove the latter. However, the Supreme Court is satisfied with the evidence at hand and ordered continuing of the nation-wide ban on endosulfan on the basis of the precautionary principle.

It is notable that the Union Agriculture Commissioner maintained in his report prepared for the committee appointed by the Supreme Court that said that the problems were confined to Kerala and Karnataka and recommended ban only in these two States. They had even taken the line of the endosulfan manufacturers that endosulfan is safe to pollinators which goes against the findings of the Kerala Agriculture University.

It is also notable that much of the data and studies linking endosulfan to various diseases were available when the O.P. Dubey and C. D. Mayee committees appointed by the Central government declared that no link had been established between the use of endosulfan in the estates of Plantation Corporation of Kerala and the health problems reported from the Padre village. The Director of Agriculture of Kerala Government, who was a member of the Mayee committee, signed the committee report. This was despite the findings of the expert committee (headed by Dr. P. K. Sivaraman), appointed by the Kerala government, which was before him. The report was submitted in August 2003 and the Director signed the report in December 2004, hardly ten days before then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy visited Kasaragod promising succor to the endosulfan victims.

The victims are yet to get the package promised to them except for sanction given for a project funded by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Though it has been shown that the aerial spraying of endosulfan was done disregarding the rules and without valid requirement for pest management, no action had been taken against any of the officials culpable of poisoning entire villages.

Endosulfan: spray of death
Endosulfan: brochure published by Kerala Government
Endosulfan: a Kerala story

Administering drugs, instead of controlling mosquitoes

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Roy Mathew

The government and local bodies, which could not control mosquitoes or supply mosquito nets to the poor, will again embark on mass administration of drugs for filariasis later this month, assuming that an unknown percentage of the population is infected. (Official documents claims that the prevalence of microfilaria towards the end of last century was about 15 per cent. Current figures are not known.)

This is somewhat like administering paracetamol to the entire population during monsoon assuming that many people have contacted fever. No one knows whether repeated administration of drugs (diethyl carbamazene citrate-DEC and albendazole) year after year would reduce its effectiveness. Filaria may develop resistance over a long period, going by the evolutionary principle. WHO had conducted a study in 2008 to find out whether the effectiveness of albendazole had decreased following mass administration among children in Nepal. (Though the study has been reported on the WHO Website, the results could not be found.)

However, the main concern is regarding the ethics and use of funds. It is against medical ethics to administer potent drugs to people with no disease for which the drug is a cure. Moreover, principles like that a doctor should see the patient and administer drugs as per body weight is dispensed with. This also means that advisable precautions are not taken. (See http://www.icm.tn.gov.in/drug%20formulary/ANTIINFECTIVE%20DRUGS.htm)

Thiruvanathauram Mayor K. Chandrika takes the pills at inaugural of Mass Drug Administration

Drugs for entire families are delivered together by volunteers even to children if the parents are not at home. There is the risk of children consuming the drug indiscriminately, resulting in overdose. Warning against use of the drug by infants, pregnant women and the elderly may not always reach them. Both DEC and albendazole are prescription drugs which are to be administered by doctors and supplied through pharmacists.

The mechanism of action of the diethylcarbamazene citrate against microfilaria (the causative parasitic organism of filariasis) is not known. Latest studies show that the unusual and novel therapeutic effect on the cell walls of the parasite which is yet to be fully studied. The drug has effect on human neutrophil and eosinophil. (See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC185347/pdf/aac00198-0157.pdf)

Doctors are not even sure of the dosage (The earlier recommendation was for administration of diethyl carbamazene citrate for 12 days. Now the prescription is just one dose of the drug combination). Still, it is being administrated to the entire population (excluding three districts in Kerala) though none can be sure of long term effects of taking the drug year after year. Albendazole can cause birth defects in newborns, if taken during pregnancy, according to authoritative sources. (See http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a610019.html)

Reaction to diethyl carbamazene citrate can range from dizziness, nausea and vomiting to skin rashes, fever and even anaphylaxis (which can be fatal). The latter reactions caused by dead microfilaria rather than the drug occur only if microfilaria is present in the body in large numbers and anaphylaxis will occur only in people allergic to dead microfilaria. ( A case of such reaction was reported from Trivandrum Medical College years ago.) Few reports of such incidents in Kerala indicate the prevalence of microfilaria is actually lower than projected.

The practice of mass drug administration against filariasis had been started about a decade ago. The claim was that the disease could be eliminated in five years with 65 per cent coverage of the endemic areas. This did not happen and the project is now being extended with new target of 2015 for elimination. If the money spent on mass drug administration was spent on improving primary health care, it could have helped in the treatment of many diseases.

Fogging for mosquito control

The prevalence of filariasis, it may be noted, is actually the results of lack primary health care. Diseases like elephantiasis, the advanced form of filariasis, occur in society because of absence of proper health care. For filariasis could be cured, if detected at its early stages, and progression into elephantiasis could surely be prevented. Doctors can easily advice tests to confirm filariasis at early stage when swelling of testis or breasts is noticed.

Elephantiasis is absent among upper strata of society because they get early treatment. Incidence of filarisis is also lower among them because of use of mosquito nets and other measures to prevent mosquito bites. If the government provided mosquito nets to the poor, instead of drugs for cure, not only filariasis but also other vector borne diseases such malaria, Dengue fever, chikungunya could have be prevented to a great extent.

Honouring Yesudas, Is Assembly Setting a Bad Precedent?

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Roy Mathew

The Kerala Assembly honours playback singer K. J. Yesudas on Wednesday. That Yesudas is meritorious to receive honours is unequivocal. However, the Assembly may be setting a bad precedent.

The danger here is that the practice of the House honouring eminent persons could become something like the universities awarding honorary degrees. Many an unworthy persons receive honorary degrees with universities having to bear various kinds of pressures. The Assembly too is sure to come under pressure for honouring persons under influences that may not always be honourable.

K. J. Yesudas

These days we see communal organisations competing each other for issue of commemorative stamps. There are not many complaints because the postal department is liberal in the issue of such stamps.
However, the Assembly cannot be liberal like that. Questions can still arise why the Assembly is honouring a popular singer and not the well known exponents of classical music or arts. Will the Assembly be honouring people from other fields such as literature?

It is true that the House has honoured past members and journalists on occasions like its jubilee. However, the connotation that the House was honouring someone was almost absent as it was considered part of the celebrations rather than connected with the business of the House. Besides, those honoured were someway associated with the functioning of the Assembly though journalists are technically strangers as far as proceedings of the House are concerned. Now, the occasion for the House deciding to honour Yesudas is that he is completing 50 years of his illustrious career as professional singer this year.

One should recall that there was even opposition to civilian awards. The Janata Government headed by Morarji Desai had discontinued the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri awards in the late seventies. Though it was restored three years later by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the choice of winners continued to attract criticism despite the government having a system and machinery to make the selections. How is the Assembly going to make better choices if it plans to honour more people?

Leases and rents

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Roy Mathew

Opinion may be divided on whether the State government should move now to collect revised rents from Tamil Nadu for the forest land leased to it. However, a legislature committee had suggested last year that it should and its report has now been published by the Legislature Secretariat.

More than what the report says, there may be something to read between the lines in the report.

An Act had been passed by the Assembly as back as in 1980 to revise the rent on grants and leases given by the erstwhile princely States of Travancore and Kochi which later became part of Kerala. However, it remained unimplemented for years, allowing large gains for the plantations. In the nineties, the Forest Secretary stayed revision of the rents on a representation given by planters. Though the Act was subsequently amended to reduce the rents proposed and remove some practical difficulties, it took years for the law to get the President’s assent. The Central department delayed it raising questions such as those relating to the profitability of plantations though they were not relevant to assent for an Act passed by the legislature after due consideration.

Government’s after government deferred implementation of the Act. At one point, the late T. M. Jacob of Kerala Congress raised a written allegation in the Assembly that bribes had been taken to delay revision of the rents. Finally, it was the last LDF government that gave the green signal for enforcement of the Act. However, steps were taken only in some districts such Thrissur for revision and the process is yet to be completed.

Periyar Tiger Reserve ........................................................ Photo: Roy Mathew

The Public Accounts Committee has not delved into these issues apparently because it was dealing with Periyar Tiger Reserve area. (Besides, other committees have gone into the issue previously and even quantified the losses to the exchequer. The LDF government had estimated the losses as per the amended Act to be about Rs. 18 crore a year in its Budget). It finds that besides the Periyar lease in favour of Tamil Nadu, there are other lease holders in the Reserve area including the public sector Kerala Tourism Development Corporation and a private plantation contiguous to the protected area. The Committee has firmly recommended that their rents should be revised, but has suggested that the provisions of the Act should be verified in relation to the Periyar lease. It has not gone into detailed examination whether the provisions of the Act applies to the Periyar lease but left it to officials to examine the question and renew the rent. The Forest Department has maintained that the matter could not be decided at its level because it is an inter-State matter.

An interesting aspect of the report is the strictures made by the committee over the delay in notification of the contiguous habitats of the Reserve as ecologically fragile, as envisaged in the Environment Protection Act for the past 30 years. It also criticizes the quarrying done by Public Works Department of Tamil Nadu in the area during the period. Was the notification been delayed for the benefit of the lease holders in the area?

If the Kerala government now proceeds to revise the rent of the Periyar lease under the Act, it would have the effect of the State recognising the validity of the lease deed as it had done indirectly in 1979 by signing a supplementary agreement. The supplementary agreement is now considered as a major blunder of Kerala government. So, it the rent is to be revised, the Kerala government would have to first cancel the original lease deed (this will require legislation unless violation of lease deed could be cited) and grant fresh lease with revised rent for a limited period.

Recommendations of the PAC

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