Conclusion for the blogs so far written

As we all know public policy models helps us to understand how public policy making process works in reality. There several examples around us which we can fit to these models rather we can analyse those real life experiences with the help of this theoretical foundation of public policy. Why do finance minister wants to keep inflation low at the time of election? This can be well explained by the public choice model where people take decisions based on maximum personal benefits. The public policies are driven by motivations like employment, income etc. Thus homoecomomicus plays important role here. Why wheat subsidies are higher versus non wheat in agricultural sector? This real life question can be solved in the framework of group theory. The power imbalance between wheat growers and non-wheat grower determines the price policy in this respect. Thus, this question can be well understood in the domain of group theory. Therefore I would like to sum up saying that analyzing policy from various dimensions and through alternative frameworks is an exercise which gives an insight to think about many policy alternatives further.

Financial Crisis

Date: 11th Nov. Indian Express

The US Federal Reserve hiked its support for insurer American International Group (AIG) Inc to about $150 billion on Monday after an initial bailout attempt failed to stem massive losses. Under the new plan, the government is putting $150 billion at AIG’s disposal, $27 billion more than it extended previously. But the new package will leave the government exposed to billions of dollars of potential losses. AIG shares rose 24 per cent to $2.62 in premarket trade after the new rescue plan was dis closed. The restructured bailout was announced as AIG posted a $24.47 billion third-quarter loss, the largest in the company’s 89-year history, hurt by massive losses on investments and billions of dollars of insurance claims from hurricanes that battered the US Gulf Coast earlier this year. The Fed will buy $40 billion of AIG preferred shares through the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), lend it $60 billion under a credit facility, and provide $50 billion to buy distressed securities and backstop AIG’s securities lending portfolio.

Analysis:

This small article demonstrates the ‘Incremtalism: Polcicy model of Decision making’. Incrementalism views a public policy as a continuation of past government activities with only incremental modifications. Here in US economy due to financial crisis happened recently demanded financial adjustments from the government. As pointed out by many political thinkers incrementalism is essentially remedial and focuses on improvement of present social imperfections rather than promotion of futuristic goals. Here in case of US Economy economic imperfections should be corrected by interfering in the market. There is no time and need to bring out a long term planned changes or structural changes. Hence government focuses on policies like Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to support industries suffering from the capital crisis. These policies are additional to the existing policies to correct the imperfections.

Maharashtra tops in fake colleges

4th November 2008 Times of India

Number of institutes without AICTE approval has gone up to 203 in country
D Suresh Kumar TNN

Chennai: In a major concern for the regulators of higher education, the number of fake technical institutions is growing in India. While last year, there were 169 fake technical institutions, which offered engineering and management courses that were not approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), currently the number of such dubious institutions has grown to 203. In Tamil Nadu, at least 15 institutions offer engineering and management courses for varying durations, all of which are not recognised by the AICTE. The AICTE has during the last three years identified 203 fake technical education institutions in the country. Maharashtra, with 74 institutions, has the highest number of such colleges and institutes which are functioning without approval or recognition. Delhi has 25 fake technical institutions, Karnataka 22, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal 15 each and Uttar Pradesh has 14,” statistics compiled by the HRD ministry revealed. Union minister of state for human resources development D Purandeswari had recently informed the Lok Sabha that students and parents were being cautioned not to join in these institutions. While some of these institutions offered engineering degrees, some others offered MBA or post-graduate/diploma courses in management. Interestingly, quite a few of them also have tie-ups with foreign institutions, which again is not approved by the HRD ministry. Some of them even declare the fact, although not prominently, that the course offered in their institutions are not approved by the regulatory bodies in India. The ministry has requested Chief Ministers of all States to issue instructions to the law enforcing authorities “to take punitive action under the Indian Penal Code against fake universities and educational institutions.” It has also issued show cause notices to the fake unapproved institutions asking them to either seek approval from the competent regulatory body or discontinue offering the courses. “Students can contact the regional AICTE offices before enrolling for technical or management courses,” a ministry official said. We will contact our headquarters and obtain a list of such unapproved institutions. In consultation with the headquarters we will host the list of these institutes on our official website and also give it publicity in the media to ensure that students were not mislead,” M S Palanichamy, chairman, AICTE (Southern Region), told TOI.

Analysis:

The mushrooming of fake Universities both technical and Management colleges in different states of India is a matter of grave concern. States like Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh etc. have become the epicenter for all these activities. It is stunning since it puts the career of a student at stake. Maharashtra has the highest number of such fake college/institutions which are 74 in number followed by Delhi with 24, Karnataka 22, West Bengal 15 and Uttar Pradesh 14. The University Grant Commission or UGC which is the statutory authority in India is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining standards of higher education in the country. It also has the responsibility to recognize the fake universities in India and to take legal action against them. In order to keep a vigil on the functioning of educational institutes, the department needs to constitute monitoring committees so that they could keep a check on illegal institutions which are running across India. Moreover State Universities should also be taken into confidence to deal with this situation. The government is also planning to amend the existing law, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) Act to make it stricter, viable and efficient. At present, the institutes violating the norms for approval are fined up to Rs.1,000. This is nothing compared to spoiling of someone’s career.
The HRD ministry has even directed the Chief Ministers of different States to take punitive action under the Indian Penal Code or to issue show cause notices to the fake unapproved institutions asking them to either seek approval from the competent regulatory body or discontinue offering the courses. The need of the hour is to take quick action so as to save students falling prey to these fake Universities by publishing and highlighting about them.

More Muslims studying, but can’t find jobs

27th October Times of India

Unemployment Rate Among Grads Double That For Hindus
Subodh Varma TIG

It’s crunch time for Faidul, and Nazma, his mother, is worried. He is in class 10, and the sole hope of his parents for a better future. The three-member family lives in a small house in Pahari Imli, Old Delhi. They earn a meagre living making necklaces at home, from material provided by contractors. Faidul is an indifferent student, and Nazma is desperately looking around for somebody who will help him. They can’t afford a regular tuition. “Once he clears 12th, he will get a job. Otherwise, he will have to spend his life like us,’’ she says. But Faidul has to help in the necklace work at home apart from going to school. Between them, Nazma and Faidul symbolize the hope and the shackles of a large section of the Muslim community. Like other underprivileged sections in India, Muslims have taken to education in a big way in recent years, hoping to escape from poverty. Attendance of Muslim children in schools has increased much more rapidly than other religious communities. Unexpectedly, this rush to school is even more marked in rural areas and among girls. But is better education leading to better jobs? It is too early to say, but trends of employment still show much lower opportunities, even for educated Muslims.
A comparison of data collected by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 1999-2000 and in 2004-05 shows that in rural areas, attendance of Muslim boys (5-14 years old) increased by nearly 12% compared to about 9% for other communities, and for Muslim girls it increased by 16% compared to about 13% for others. As a result, 76% of Muslim boys and 71% of girls were attending school in 2004-05, quite close to boys (84%) and girls (71%) from the Hindu community.In urban areas, the pace of increase in school attendance in the 5-14 years age
group was practically the same for Muslim boys compared to other communities, while it was almost double, at 12%, for Muslim girls compared to Hindu girls. Here too, the gap is fast closing, except that the pressure of finding work appears to be telling on the boys more, costing them their education. A similar though This is starkly reflected in unemployment rates, especially among educated persons. In rural areas, while 7% of Hindu graduates were unemployed, among Muslims this was more than double at 15%. In urban areas too the unemployment rate among Muslim graduates was double that of Hindus. This means that despite more and more persons getting educated, they are not finding jobs at the same rate—a share of the educated are remaining out of the workforce. It also indicates discrimination—your religion can make all the difference in getting a job, even if you have the same educational qualification. This is reflected in the shares of educated among those employed. In rural areas, among men, 19% of employed Hindus had completed secondary or higher levels of education, while among Muslims only about 10% had studied to that level. In the urban areas, 48% of employed Hindus but only 26% of Muslims had secondary or higher levels of education. “Many educated boys spend the whole day hanging around at tea shops. Who knows what is going on in their minds,’’ says a Muslim resident of Jamia Nagar, the scene of a recent police arrest of alleged terrorists. somewhat muted trend is visible in the older age group of 15-19 years. Attendance rates among Muslim boys have increased at nearly twice the rate as Hindu boys, both in urban and in rural areas. Urban Muslims under pressure to learn & earn.
A comparison of data collected by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 1999-2000 and in 2004-05 shows that the participation of Muslim girls too has increased at a faster pace than their Hindu counterparts in the 15-19 age group. The highest increases have been shown in the Christian community.
In the 20-24 years age group, there has been a rapid increase in attendance in higher education centres among Muslim youth, except for men in urban areas, where there has been a decline in attendance. In the urban areas, the gap between the two communities becomes deep in the older age groups, primarily because of steep fall in attendance of Muslim males. Like Faidul, they are under pressure to earn as well as learn. But does better education lead to better jobs? The NSSO reports reveal a mixed picture. Between 1993-94 and 2004-05 the proportion of employed who had studied beyond secondary level increased much more for Hindus than for Muslims. In rural areas the increase was about 6% for Hindus, but only by about 3% for Muslims among men, and around 3% for women from both communities. In urban areas, among men, the increase was about 7% for Hindus compared to 5% for Muslims while among women it was 8% for Hindus and 6% for Muslims.

Analysis:

The constitution as well as the basic right which we get as a member of a democratic country speaks of equal opportunities. However when it comes to practice the scene is totally different. This new paper article highlights the same it says that the education among the Muslim community at par with other section of the society is on rise. For instance for age group 5-14 years old) increased by nearly 12% compared to about 9% for other communities, and for Muslim girls it increased by 16% compared to about 13% for others. As a result, 76% of Muslim boys and 71% of girls were attending school in 2004-05, which is close to boys (84%) and girls (71%) from the Hindu community. There is increase zeal in getting good as well as higher education to get a job. It is also found that a good percentage of children (both boys and girls) from Muslim community going to school is on rise indifferent to all age groups be it in primary, Secondary as well as graduate level. This increase is seen in both the rural and the urban areas.

In spite of this (rise in attendance, zeal for a better education) urban Muslims are still under pressure to learn and earn which is hampering their overall growth. The unemployed Muslim graduates is double that of Hindus meaning that despite of more and more persons getting educated, they are not able to find job and thus a good chunk of Muslim educated youth remain out of the workforce. This is an unintentional outcome of the education policies encouraging Muslims to get educated. This overall situation highlights the discrimination on the name of religion even if one has same education qualifications compared to a person from other community(s). Thus it is the duty of the state to come with affirmative policies to make an egalitarian society based on equal opportunities and to provide condition to live a dignified life. Here the government should take further step or policy measure to curtail the unintentional outcome of policies encouraging Muslims.

Parliament’s met only 32 times so far this year

20th Oct. 2008 Times of India

Bhaskar Roy TNN

New Delhi: The telltale signs of parliament’s decline have been visible for a while—now they stare you in the face. Parliament has met for just 32 days this year, the lowest number in its history. This is shocking considering that in 1956, the Lok Sabha met for a record 151 days. As the years have passed, and issues have become more complicated, our legislators appear to be taking less and less interest in parliament.
Even if parliament sits for a couple of more weeks in the last two months of the year, 2008 will go down in history as the year that saw the shortest duration of business. This, at a time when issues have become both economically and politically graver, and the need for MPs to put their minds together and evolve a national consensus is being felt by all.
In the early years, parliament—as statistics show—functioned far more robustly. From 1952, the year the Lok Sabha was constituted, parliament met for more than 100 days every year. In 1953 and 1954, it met for 137 days each. The real decline began in 1999 when the Lok Sabha had only 51 sittings. And the trend has persisted.
Bypassing the legislature was a disease that afflicted the state assemblies first. Haryana, Goa and some of the north-eastern states were notorious for skirting the assembly. In presiding officers’ conferences, the issue has come up again and again. Now the virus seems to have struck parliament. This has happened despite a political consensus that parliament should meet for a minimum of 100 days in a year.Given the current trend, this won’t be achieved this year. Experts are also worried for other reasons. They believe that the alarm bell should be pressed for the largescale “infiltration’’ of criminal elements into parliament.
Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap says that the decline of the Lok Sabhahas happened not just because of the fewer number of days it has met to transact business and legislate, but also because of the changing composition of the House. He points out that 125 MPs in the present Lok Sabha—that is almost one in five—have c riminal backgrounds. Times View: It appears to be quite clear now that parliament will at best function for around 50 days in calendar 2008. That is, by any yardstick, a shockingly low figure. The exchequer is estimated to spend about Rs 440 crore on parliament in the current financial year. That is taxpayer money being spent on the assumption that MPs will do their job, which is to legislate and debate the important issues of the day. If the government decides to skip or truncate sessions because it would rather not face parliament, it is effectively pouring this huge sum down the drain. That is simply not acceptable. The quality of many laws is poor, and many of them are obsolete. Parliament must take up these issues. A minimum of 130 days per year has been suggested in the past as a norm. It’s a norm that must be enforced.

Analysis:

This is something shocking for a democratic country like India. Parliament which is the supreme legislative body of a country is behaving in this particular fashion. This year the parliament had only 32 sittings which is around 3 times less than the regular sessions. After Independence, parliament usually met for more than 100 days or more every year. However the real decline started from 1999 onwards. Expert on parliamentary affairs belief that, this is not just because of less session but because the very composition of the parliament. Where one out of five has a criminal record and a different mindset. Lagging both accountability and responsibility towards the citizen. This is an example of using resources of public to serve self-interests rather than interests of the people.

Our MPs are taking less interest in parliament and its functioning. Years have passed, and issues have become more complicated, This Phenomenon was first seen in the some of the State assemblies of Haryana, Goa and some of the north-eastern states. The decline has also affected the laws which are passed which are obsolete and old fashioned. There is both wastage of huge amount of money and time. In presiding officers’ conferences, the issue has been raised again and again. However all went to vain. Now the time is to do something and to wipe out this virus which has struck out parliament. What is important here is to think about the policy alternatives which will make these representatives responsible and accountable. The policy alternative should be such that it would penalize these representatives. Moreover media should take up this issue and conduct a public discussion.

‘Create system where one cop briefs media on criminal cases’

Date 15h Oct 2008 Source: Times of India

Grover Episode: HC Gives Police Two Weeks To Clarify Errors, If Any, In Reports
Shibu Thomas

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Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday asked the police to consider laying down guidelines for sharing information with the media in ongoing criminal investigations. While hearing a petition filed by Kannada actor Maria Susairaj, an accused in the Neeraj Grover murder case, a division bench of Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice Ashutosh Kumbhakoni emphasised the freedom of the press and at the same time, underlined the need for “self-imposed restrictions’’. “It is our duty, as a court of law, to protect everybody’s freedom, especially that of the press,’’ said Justice Nazki. “Similarly, the press must also ponder over their role and should try to protect the credibility of court. If people lose faith in court, they lose faith in the judicial system.”

The court seemed concerned over the selective leaking of information by the police, especially in the Maria case, where a spate of reports appeared about the alleged confession made by the actor. The court found that the reports on Susairaj’s confessional statements were factually incorrect. “The police have a responsibility to ensure that any information given to the media should be accurate and not false,’’ said the judge. “Sometimes, half truths are given out, which are different from the impression that an investigating officer has about the culpability of a particular person.’’ Reiterating that it was the duty of the police “to inform the public of the progress in a crime investigation,’’ the court suggested that the department should “create a system by which one responsible officer will share information (with the media) rather than every investigating officer’’.

The judges sought to draw a delicate balance between press freedom and responsible reporting in the age of 24x7 media. “The press and the judiciary, both should be independent and free. Both should not have any fetters, but the more freedom you have, more responsibility is involved and, therefore, both these institutions are required to have selfimposed restrictions,’’ said Justice Nazki. The judges seemed especially concerned about the effect that trial by media in high profile cases had on the credibility of courts. “If reports in the media make a particular person seem guilty or innocent, and finally when the matter goes to trial, if the result is opposed to the perceptions of people, they tend to believe that the court was not fair.’’ Justice Kumbhakoni, too, echoed the views in the judgment penned by him. “It will be too risky to permit the media to give a wide and sweeping pre-trial publicity of any case, virtually turning a trial by court into a trial by media, especially on the basis of undisclosed sources of information.’’ Justice Kumbhakoni underscored the value of investigative journalism, which he said, was an inseparable facet of the freedom of press. The judge added that this freedom came with a rider and had to be tempered with responsibility. “It is only the responsible press, which can claim not only freedom but also immunity from being compelled to divulge the source of its information,’’ said the judge. Maria, in her petition, had sought a copy of her alleged confessional statement and had also claimed that while she was denied a copy, the statements were published in the media. The court said it was the prerogative of the investigating agency to supply a copy of the statement to an accused before filing a chargesheet. The court, however, asked the police to issue a clarification within two weeks if any factually incorrect report on the confession was published in the media.

Analysis:

The media plays a very important role as a source of information, education and entertainment. It is a mirror of the society. Media is supposed to link public with the government. The judiciary asks police to follow the lying guidelines regarding sharing information with media. Here we see the divergence between the policy statements and policy outputs. The policy says that police should share the information with media. In case filed by Kannada actor Maria Susairaj, an accused in the Neeraj Grover murder case, the court emphasizes the freedom of press. It says that it is duty of a court of law, to protect everybody’s especially that of the press. The court seemed concerned over the selective leaking of information by the police, especially in the Maria case, where a spate of reports appeared about the alleged confession made by the actor. The court found that the reports on Susairaj’s confessional statements were factually incorrect. The policy statement says that the police have a responsibility to ensure that any information given to the media should be accurate and not false. But policy output or actual action taken by police reflects that the information shared with media was false. Thus this is an illustration of how divergence between what actors or agency implementing policy are doing and what they should do.

On the other hand, the news paper article throws light on role of media and influences of media in policy making and implementation. The public opinion is often unstable and gets influenced by media to a large extend. It comprises of print and electronic media which shapes the public opinion. Media reports on the content of the issues as well as the participants. Hence it is responsibility of media that it should not misinterpret the content. As pointed out in the above by the judiciary that it should not make a particular person seem guilty or innocent which might affect the credibility of court. It is duty of judiciary. Especially in the criminal cases it should not sensitized the issue for publicity and should follow self-imposed restrictions. However it is free present different dimensions of the case and open the discussion for public.

In a first, drop in number of students opting for Marathi

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Date 13h Oct 2008 Source: Times of India

Dramatic Rise In English-Medium Enrolment In State
Hemali Chhapia
Mumbai: As the middle class wakes up to the opportunities available to the English-literate, the state of Maharashtra has for the first time seen a drop in enrolment in Marathi-medium schools. In its place, more students are taking to English. Data released on Saturday by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration notes that the student population in Marathi-medium schools has fallen from 119.61 lakh to 117.95 lakh, whereas enrolment in English-medium schools has gone up from 11.91 lakh to 15.02 lakh. (see box). The trend is more pronounced in the state’s capital. If there are 4.31 lakh students in Marathi medium schools in Mumbai, there are over a lakh more— 5.57 lakh kids—in our city’s English medium schools. Mumbai’s municipal schools, which witness an annual exodus of students from Marathi- to English-medium schools, has been forcing the state to think on lines of converting some of its Marathi schools to English medium. “However, that decision has been pending since a year due to political resistance,’’ said a source in the BMC. On the other hand, Priya Khan of Samarthan, an NGO which works in the area of education, said, “Many private schools like King George have converted some of their Marathi-medium divisions to English. This drift is only going to grow.’’ Socio-linguist Peggy Mohan, who has authored a paper on ‘Is English the language of India’s future?’, believes that control of the discourse of science and technology is what gives a language a hold over the future, not great literature and poetry. Even native language words are replaced.

Analysis:

This converting the Marathi –Medium schools to English–Medium schools or terminating some Marathi Medium Divisions to English Medium can be seen as a sympotic relation between environment and policy making. Societal and natural environments in which the political systems works or the policy making process takes place contain causes that create and shape or further bring changes to policy making. Here the social change has brought policy change. The variable in the environment ranging from geographical factors to social structures to cultural factors affect policy making process.

Language is a subset of cultural variables. Due to globalization and technology driven development (as technology is available from developed world) the dominance of English has increased. Now a days English has become essential to get a job. This changing scenario has influenced government’s policy to convert Marathi Medium schools in English ones.

Tribal takes ‘pariksha’ to prove she’s innocent

Date 10th Oct 2008 Source: Times of India

Rajasthan Panchayat Forces Woman To Put Her Hands In Boiling Oil To Prove She Wasn’t A Witch
Jaipur: A tribal woman in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district was forced by a village panchayat to face a ‘pariksha’ to prove that she was not a witch. The 32-year-old not only burnt her fingers when she was asked to pick up silver coins from a vessel filled with boiling oil but was also beaten black and blue for failing the ‘traditional test’. Her ordeal didn’t end here. Her family members didn’t let her in the house and instead dumped her in a hospital. The police have arrested five of the 23 accused for the incident that took place on Sunday.
It all started when two members of the Gharasiya tribe in Khara village died in a month. The family held 32-year-old Gujriya, resident of the same village, responsible for the deaths. The matter was taken to the village panchayat, which after hearing the complaint of Gharasiyas, told the woman to face the test to prove that she was not a witch. A group of villagers took Gujriya to a deserted place and forced her to put her hands in the boiling oil container. She sustained severe burns on both hands. But her torture didn’t end there. She was singed and thrashed for failing the test. She was then taken to the Gharasiya family and asked to ward off the evils with magic words.
Later, a few villagers reported the incident to the Abu Road police, which registered a case against 23 persons, including the Gharasiyas. Informing about the traditional test, a villager said, “If a woman is labelled a witch, she has to pick up a silver coin from a tank containing boiling oil. If her hands are burnt, her witchhood is confirmed, otherwise she is declared innocent.” He said if the woman is labelled a witch, she is forced to free the victim’s family from her curse and ostracized. Sirohi SP Vijendra Jhala said strict action would be taken against the guilty. He also said that the adminstration is taking care of her medical expenses. Sho Deva Ram Chaudhary said the incident occurred on Sunday but the villagers reported the case quite late. He also said that five accused have been arrested and a manhunt launched to nab the remaining villagers. Her condition is said to be stable, he said.

Analysis:

This is an incidence which shows the need for public policy which arises from the social and economic conditions prevailing in the society. Generally it is said that government performs the function of governing the people. The domain of activities is more or less restricted to the political domain. However as an actor or agency in a welfare state it has to interfere in the social sphere of life. In this case customs like asking a lady to put hands in burning oil to prove if she is with or not is a blind and perilous custom followed by the Gharasiya tribe in Jaipur. The actors or members of government like Panchayat members were also involved in this brutal act. Thus, there is problem of blind traditions are still followed which has to be abolished. The customs or traditions have to analysed in the time framework. In this era of knowledge those tradtions who are proved to be wrong and baseless, a public policy should be needed to check them. Also, the actors of public policy who themselves are obstacles in achieving the goal of welfare of people should be punished strictly.

Navi Mumbai will get 12 hawkers’ zones

Chittaranjan Tembhekar
Navi Mumbai: The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) on Monday commenced construction of the first hawkers’ zone for residents of Kalamboli. The corporation has planned a total of 12 such zones that will cater to 14 lakh residents living in areas from Kharghar to New Panvel in Raigad district.
The hawkers’ zone at Kalamboli is expected to be operational in 11 months. While Kharghar will have four such plazas, three each will come up in Kamothe and Panvel and two in Kalamboli. The total cost of the project is pegged at Rs 18-20 crore (Rs 1.5-2 crore for each plaza). “Of the registered 14 lakh population, 64% are working women. A facility that allows them to shop for their household needs under one roof close to their homes would make their life easier,’’ said Deepak Kapoor, joint managing director of CIDCO. Such markets are common in Singapore and London, he added.
At present, hawkers occupy road space and leave behind mounds of garbage. The first experimental hawkers’ zone is coming up on a 1,000 sq m plot in Kalamboli’s Sector 1 and will cater to residents of nearby sectors like 2, 5, 5E, and 6. The facility will have 52 shops on the ground floor with separate sections for vegetables and non-vegetarian items. The shops will be given to the listed hawkers of Kalamboli on no-profit and no-loss basis, Kapoor said. He added that each shop, measuring around 7 ft x 7 ft, will be sold at Rs 842 per sq ft, whereas the cost on construction would be recovered from the 22 commercial shops that would be built on the first floor. According to Kapoor, the auction is expected to fetch at least Rs 4 lakh for each hawker’s shop (otla or galla) and handsome commercial rates for the 22 commercial shops above them.
The first floor will mainly have tailors, stationery shops, cyber cafes, electronic repairs, STD booths, Xerox centres, grocers, hardware stores or ice cream parlours, Kapoor said. CIDCO has already finalised the hawkers’ list prepared by the hawkers’ association in Kalamboli in 2005. Of the list of 70 hawkers, the first 57 will be given shops while the rest would be accommodated in other proposed plazas, he added.
The plaza will have special machinery to lift garbage every three hours, a drinking water tank atop, proper illumination, and separate toilets for men and women, security guards and maintenance staff. For the first six months, CIDCO will maintain the plazas, and would later hand over the maintenance to the hawkers’ association. However, CIDCO would monitor the plazas regularly for cleanliness, Kapoor said. The second hawking plaza will come up in New Panvel’s Sector 12. Design for these zones will remain the same for all the 12 plazas.

Analysis:

Hawkers and street vendors are part and parcel of urban life in India. Mostly illegal, their presence is a significant factor in the increase in overcrowding along our cities roads. However most of people find it convenient to shop from hawkers. To solve this problem of Hawkers without harming interests of both hawkers and consumers the City and Industrial Development Corporation CIDCO has come up with the proposed policy solution. It is called ‘Hawker Zone’ which is a replication of an open street market. It brings together vegetable hawkers from nearby informal markets, providing the basic facilities for consumer in nearby markets. It aims at providing mutually beneficial solution to customers and vendors.

As we know that Policy making is a process starts with the problem identification through demands for government action. This ‘public project’ has been come into shape in response of demands or claim of hawkers and consumers. The public policy is based on economic rationale of costs and benefits. A rational policy is one that achieves “maximum social gain” that is governments should choose policies resulting in gains to society that exceeds its costs by the greatest amount and government should refrain from policies if costs are not exceeded by gains. Now, in this case of Hwkers Plaza Project. The costs of building of infrastructure will be recovered from commercial shops. Thus, it is a policy that makes a better off paying for worst off. Also, the intangible benefits or benefits which can not be calculated directly (e.g. benefits due to clearing of traffic on roads, security and dignity of hawker) are definitely offset the costs.

Therefore, on the two basic principles of rationalism we can say that this public policy is a rational policy. This project demonstrates a public policy attempting for rehabilitation of street vendors on one end and interests of consumers on the other.

a. Policy should be adopted if benefits exceed costs. And b. Among policy alternatives, decision makers should choose the policy that produces the greatest benefit over cost.

No referendums for SEZs: CM

Date 3rd Oct 2008 Source: Times of India

Mumbai: Commenting on the land acquisition row in Raigad for the first time, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday denied outright that the state had conducted a ‘referendum’ in the 22 villages in Pen district which have refused to part with land for the Reliance group’s Mumbai special economic zone. Terming it a mere “technical procedure’’, Deshmukh maintained that the state government would not hold a referendum of any kind for land acquisition, not even for SEZs. The CM, who has just returned from a tour to Europe, said the 22 villages in the command area of Hetwane dam were an exception to the normal land acquisition process. “We had already issued orders under Sections 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act. But later, the amended SEZ Act passed by the Centre clarified that the government would not take over land under the command area of a dam, hence the Raigad district collector called for suggestions and objections in the villages surrounding the Hetwane dam,’’ said Deshmukh. It was a onetime exception, done only because these villages were near a fully completed dam, he added. However, ten days after the Raigad collector conducted the plebiscite; Deshmukh said he was still to get the report. Faced with a volley of questions on the issue, the CM ruled out starting a new practice of holding referendums among villagers. “If any land is required for a public project, the state cannot hold a referendum over it. As for the SEZ, the state will notify the area but leave it to the SEZ developer to settle the acquisition directly with land owners,’’ he clarified. Pushed into a corner over opposition to land deals by members of his own cabinet, Deshmukh gave it a democratic twist. “If Ajit Pawar supported locals opposing the Dow Chemicals unit near Pune, it was in his capacity as a local representative. It does not mean that he deliberately wanted to create problems for the government,’’ he said. Confirming reports that Tata group chairman Ratan Tata had sought an appointment with him, the CM said he would meet the industrialist later this week. “I have just come back from Europe. I will meet him as soon as possible,’’ he added. However, he refused to divulge whether Tata had sought to discuss the Nano issue in particular.

Analysis:

This is a news piece throwing a light on much debated issue of (Special Economic Zones) SEZs. Before discussing about the referendum in Pen on building up Maha-Mumbai Special Economic Zone it is important to look at the issue in brief. The SEZ will cover 5,000 hectares in line with the central government’s new SEZ policy. In Pen, as in the 45 villages are resisting acquisition for the government brokered-SEZ, swords are being sharpened. Notices have been sent to over one lakh landowners. The referendum on the Maha-Mumbai Special Economic Zone being set up by Reliance has been taken and 22 villages in the Pen Tehsil voted against the acquisition of their land was news in many State and National news papers.

On this backdrop the Chief Minister comments that the referendum taken in Pen is not official and added that it was not a referendum but asked for the suggestion of people. This is an example of the conflicting interests existing in the society. The interests of villagers and interests of industrialists are contradictory to each other. This news in addition demonstrates ‘political tactics’ of the governmental official. The Chief Minister is saying that the land can be acquired for ‘public project’. However does not talk about the ‘social cost’s involved in the same.

The crux of an issue is that starting referendum might seems to be a good solution for local people but will it work out in every case? How far it will be transparent? Policy making being a complex process has various dimensions to it. The unintentional outcome of the starting referendum procedure for local issue might start up a parallel process which might not always be transparent. Sometimes it might happen that people get mislead by their political leaders or even by social activists. We can not assume that referendum will assure the coming up of public policy favoring victims or it will not always lead to the best possible solution. What requires here is that of peoples’ participation through setting up a committee, starting peoples’ movement for the victims.