RAJYA SABHA COMMITTEES –A PROFILE (2008)
(Standing Committees and Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees)
SUMMARY OF WORK DONE
RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI
April, 2009/ Chaitra, 1930 (Saka) RAJYA SABHA COMMITTEES –A PROFILE (2008)
(Standing Committees and Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees)
SUMMARY OF WORK DONE (1st January to 31st December, 2008)
RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI
April, 2009/Chaitra, 1930 (Saka) Website:http://www. rajyasabha.nic.in
E-mail: [email protected] Committee Co-ordination Section
PRICE: Rs. 150.00 PREFACE This brochure attempts to present in concise form information about the activities of five Standing Committees as well as eight Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees being administered by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for the period from 1st January to 31st December, 2008. 2. For the sake of better reading, the material has been divided into thirteen chapters dealing with one Committee at a time. Each chapter gives information regarding composition of the Committee, subjects selected for examination, review of work done and Reports presented, etc. 3. After every chapter, Annexures containing details of the sittings of Committees and Sub-Committees, etc. have been appended.
NEW DELHI; V. K. AGNIHOTRI, April 16, 2009 Secretary-General. CONTENTS
Chapter No. Name of the Committees Page Nos. Chapter-I Committee on Subordinate Legislation ...... 1 Chapter-II Committee on Petitions ...... 22 Chapter-III Committee on Government Assurances ...... 31 Chapter-IV Committee on Papers Laid on the Table ...... 44 Chapter-V Committee on Ethics ...... 61 Chapter-VI Committee on Commerce ...... 64 Chapter-VII Committee on Home Affairs ...... 78 Chapter-VIII Committee on Human Resource Development ...... 100 Chapter-IX Committee on Industry ...... 165 Chapter-X Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests ...... 189 Chapter-XI Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture ...... 204 Chapter-XII Committee on Health and Family Welfare ...... 278 Chapter-XIII Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice ...... 348 CHAPTER-I COMMITTEE ON SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION I. Composition of the Committee 1. The Committee on Subordinate Legislation was reconstituted on the 4th September, 2006. The Committee consisted of the following Members:— COMMITTEE ON SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION (Constituted on the 4th September, 2006)* 11. Dr. (Shrimati) Najma A. Heptulla — Chairperson 12. Prof. P. J. Kurien 13. Dr. Radhakant Nayak 14. Shri Praveen Rashtrapal 15. Ms. Mabel Rebello 16. Shri Vikram Verma 17. Shri Surendra Lath 18. Shri Mahendra Mohan 19. Shri Penumalli Madhu 10. Shri N. Jothi 11. Shri M.V. Mysura Reddy 12. Shri Ali Anwar 13. Shri Harendra Singh Malik 14. Shri R. Shunmugasundaram 15. Shri Abani Roy 1.2 The Committee on Subordinate Legislation was reconstituted on 28th May, 2008. The following is the composition of the Committee:— COMMITTEE ON SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION (Constituted on the 28th May, 2008) *11. Dr. (Shrimati) Najma A. Heptulla — Chairperson *12. Prof. P.J. Kurien *13. Dr. Radhakant Nayak *14. Shri Praveen Rashtrapal *15. Ms. Mabel Rebello *16. Shri Vikram Verma *17. Shri Raghunandan Sharma *18. Shri Penumalli Madhu *19. Shri Ali Anwar Ansari *10. Shri M.V. Mysura Reddy *11. Shri Abani Roy *12. Shri Tiruchi Siva *13. Shri Biswajit Daimary *14. Shri Birendra Prasad Baishya **15. Shri Bimal Jalan #16. Shri Bharatkumar Raut
*Same Committee continued till 27th May, 2008. **Dr. Bimal Jalan resigned from the membership of the Committee w.e.f. 29th August, 2008. #Shri Bharatkumar Raut nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 5th September, 2008. 1 2
II. Subjects selected for examination 1.3 The Committee had identified the following subjects for detailed examination:—
Sl. Ministry / Department Subject Date of No. Identification 1 2 3 4 1. Department of Atomic Energy The Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of 05.09.2008 Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987. 2. Ministry of Civil Aviation The Airports Authority of India (General 01.04.2008 management, Entry for Ground handling Services) Regulations, 2007. 3. Ministry of Communications (i) The Telecom Unsolicited Commercial 14.01.2008 and Information Technology Communication Regulations, 2007 (Department of Telecommunications) (ii) The Direct to Home Broadcasting 25.02.2008 Services (Standards or Quality of Service and Redressal of Grievances) Regulation, 2007 4. Ministry of Environment and The Hazardous Materials (Management, 08.09.2008 Forests Handling and Transboundary Movement) Draft Rules, 2007 5. Ministry of Finance The Regional Rural Banks (Officers and 09.01.2008 (Department of Financial Employees) Service Regulations, 2000. Services) 6. Ministry of Finance (i) The Intellectual Property Rights 25.02.2008 (Department of Revenue) (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007 (ii) The Electronic Furnishing of Return of 13.06.2008 Income Scheme, 2007 7. Ministry of Finance The Government Securities Regulations, 2007 25.02.2008 (Department of Economic Affairs) 8. Ministry of Home Affairs The State Emblem of India (Regulation of Use) 25.02.2008 Rules, 2007 9. Ministry of Health and (i) The Indian Medicine Central Council 01.04.2008 Family Welfare (Post-graduate Ayurveda Education) (Department of AYUSH) Regulations, 2005. (ii) The Indian Medicine Central Council 02.04.2008 (Permission to existing Medical Colleges) Regulations, 2006. 10. Ministry of Health and The Indian Nursing Council Regulations, 1951 08.09.2008 Family Welfare (Department of Health) 11. Ministry of Human Resource The Auroville Foundation Rules, 1997 03.09.2008 Development 12. Ministry of Information and The Sports Broadcasting Signals 25.02.2008 Broadcasting (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharti) Rules, 2007 3
1 2 3 4
13. Ministry of Micro, Small (i) The Khadi and Village Industries 25.02.2008 and Medium Enterprises Commission Regulations, 2007 (ii) The Andaman and Nicobar Islands 25.02.2008 Khadi & Village Industries Board Rules, 2001 14. Ministry of Petroleum and (i) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory 25.02.2008 Natural Gas Board (Meetings of the Board) Regulations, 2007 (ii) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory 25.02.2008 Board (Levy of Fee and Other Charges) Regulations, 2007 (iii) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory 25.02.2008 Board (Conduct of Business, Receiving and Investigation of Complaints) Regulations, 2007 (iv) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory 25.02.2008 Board ( Appointment of Consultants) Regulation 2007 (v) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory 25.02.2008 Board (Authorizing Entitties to Lay, Build, Operate or Expand City or Local Natural Gas Distribution Networks) Regulations, 2008 (vi) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory 25.02.2008 Board (Determination of Network Tariff for City or Local Natural Gas Distribution, Networks and Compression Charge for CNG) Regulations, 2008 (vii) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory 25.02.2008 Board (Exclusivity for City or Local Natural Gas Distribution Network) Regulations, 2008. 15. Ministry of Social Justice The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of 25.02.2008 and Empowerment Children) Model Rules, 2007 16. Ministry of Shipping, Road The Central Road Fund (State Roads) 14.01.2008 Transport and Highways Rules, 2007 (Department of Road Transport and Highways) 17. Ministry of Textiles The Central Silk Board (Amendment) 15.05.2008 Rules, 2007 18. Ministry of Urban (i) The Delhi Metro Railway (Salary, 25.02.2008 Development Allowances, Other Terms and Conditions of Service of the Claims Commissioner) Rules, 2007 (ii) The Delhi Metro Railway (Procedure to 25.02.2008 be followed by the Claims Commissioner and amount of compensation payable in case of death and injuries due to accidents) Rules, 2007 4
III. Review of work done (a) Sittings of the Committee 1.4 During the year, the Committee held 7 sittings for 10 hours and 25 minutes. A Statement showing the dates of sittings of the Committee held during the period under review, the duration of the sittings and the subjects discussed is given in Annexure-I. (b) Study Visits 1.5 The Committee undertook study visits to various places to make on the spot study of the subjects under its examination as per the details given below:— Sl. Dates Places visited Rules/Regulations Considered No. 1 2 3 4 1. 18th—21st Mumbai 1. Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006. January, 2008 2. Regional Rural Banks (Officers and Employees) Service Regulations. 3. Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors (Licensing, Professional Requirements and Code of Conduct) Regulations, 2000. 4. Mumbai Port Trust (Licensing and Control of Pilots) Regulations, 2007. 5. Neptha (Acquisition, Sale, Storage and Prevention of use in Automobile Order, 2000. 2. 24th—29th Bangalore and 1. Regional Rural Banks (Officers and Employees) May, 2008 Udhagamandalam Service Regulations. 2. The Solvent Raffinate and Slop (Acquisition, Sales, Storage and Prevention of Use in Automobile) Order, 2000. 3. The Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005. 4. The Central Silk Board (Amendment) Rules, 2007. 5. The Tea (Marketing) Control Order, 2003. 6. The Tea (Distribution and Export) Control Order, 2005. 3. 30th July—2nd Mumbai 1. Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006. August, 2008 2. The Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, 2004. 3. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regualtion of Use in Motor Vehicles) Order, 2001. 4. The Kerosene (Restriction on Use and Fixation of Ceiling Price) Order, 1993. 5. The State Bank of Travancore Service Regualtion, 1979. 4. 14th—19th Chennai and 1. Biomedical Wastes (Management and Handling) September, 2008 Puducherry Rules, 1998. 2. The National Highway Authority of India (Fee for the Use of National Highways Section and Permanent Bridge-Public Funded Projects) Rules, 1987. 3. The National Highways (Rate of Fee) Rules, 1997. 4. Indian Nursing Council Regulations, 1951. 5. The Auroville Foundation Rules, 1997. 5
1 2 3 4 6. The Liquified Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Use in Motor Vehicles) Order, 2001. 7. The Kerosene (Restriction on Use and Fixation of Ceiling Price) Order, 1993. 8. The Hazardous Materials (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Draft Rules, 2007. 9. The Regional Rural Banks (Officers and Employees) Service Regulations. 10. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2002.
1.6. In addition, the Committee also undertook local visits inside Delhi on subjects under its examination as given below:
Sl. Dates Rules/Regulations Considered No. 1. 8th and 9th April, 2008 1. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Grant of approval for starting new technical institutions, introduction of courses or programmes and increase/variation of intake capacity of seats for the courses or programmes and Extension of approval for the existing technical institutions Regulations, 2006. 2. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) award of deemed University status to an institution imparting technical education and maintenance of norms and standards in Universities including deemed to be Universities Regulations, 2006. 3. The Airports Authority of India (General Management, Entry for Ground Handling Services) Regulations, 2007. 4. The National Housing Bank (Recovery of Dues of Approved Instituions) General Regulations, 2002. 5. The Indian Medicine Central Council (Post-Graduate Unani Education) Regulations, 2007. 6. The Indian Medicine Central Council (Post-Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2005. 7. The Indian Medicine Central Council (Permission to Existing Medical Colleges) Regulations, 2006. 2. 3rd and 4th 1. The Hazardous Materials (Management, Handling and October, 2008 Transboundary Movement Draft) Rules, 2007. 2. The Bio-Medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998. 3. 11th November, The Kerosene (Restriction, Use and Fixation of Ceiling Price) Order, 1993. 2008
IV. Reports Presented 1.7 During 2008, the Committee presented following Reports to the House:—
Sl. Report No. and Subject No. Date of Presentation
1 2 3 1. 173rd Statutory Orders Laid on the Table of the Rajya Sabha during its (22.04.2008) 212th Session 6
1 2 3 2. 174th (i) The Determination of the Price of the Forfeited Property Rules, 2005. (23.04.2008) (ii) The Cement (Quality Control) Order, 2003. (iii) The Indian Council of World Affairs Rules, 2006. (iv) Communication received from Shri Dipankar Mukherjee, MP, Rajya Sabha regarding the industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946. (v) The National Council for Teacher Education (Guidelines for regulation of tuition fees and other fees chargeable by unaided teacher education institutions) Regulations, 2002. 3. 175th (i) The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. (22.10.2008) (ii) The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) rules, 2001- Implementation of 138th Report of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha. (iii) The Export-Import Bank of India (Employees) Pension Regulations, 2000. (iv) UCO Bank/UBI Bank Pension Regulations, 1979. 4. 176th (i) The Airports Authority of India (Lost Property) Regulations 2003- (22.10.2008) Implementation of 163rd Report of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha. (ii) Statutory Investigation into Railway Accident Rules, 1998- Implementation of the 138 Report of the Committee on Subordinate legislation, Rajya Sabha. (iii) the Spices Grading and Marking Rules, 2005. 5. 177th Statutory Orders laid on the Table of the Rajya Sabha during its (22.10.2008) 213th Session. 6. 178th Report on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Regulations, (19.12.2008) 1999. 1.8 Minutes of the sittings of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation relating to various Reports presented to the House were prepared and presented to the House alongwith the relevant reports.
V. Summary of Recommendations (a) 173rd Report Statutory Orders Laid on the Table of the Rajya Sabha during its 212th Session 1.9 The Committee examined the notifications containing Subordinate Legislation that were laid before the Rajya Sabha during the 212th Session in the light of its recommendations as contained in its 131th, 135th and 152nd reports regarding timely and proper laying of Notifications and reiterated this stand.
(b) 174th Report (i) The Determination of the Price of the Forfeited Property Rules, 2005. 1.10 The Committee noted with satisfaction that the Ministry of Home Affairs had agreed to take action in Rule 3, to insert an explanation allowing the Authorized Officer to utilize the service of consultant(s)/ Valuer(s) to arrive at the value of forefeited property and in Rule 7 (2) , to make provision for paying the interest at the prevailing interest rates on savings bank account of State Bank of India on the price of the forefeited property to the claimant. 7
1.11 The Commttee hoped that the Ministry would carry out the above amendments expeditously under intimation to it. However, on other points, the Committee noted with satisfaction the reply given by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
(ii) The Cement (Quality Control) Order, 2003 1.12 The Committee considered the replies furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) and noted the position with satisfaction. As regards the incorporation of the procedure for destruction of sub-standard cement in the regulations, the Committee noted that the matter has been referred to the Technical Department of BIS for examination by a Technial Committee. The Committee recommended that this may be examined urgently and the action taken in pursuance to the decision may be intimated to the Committee forthwith.
(iii) The Indian Council of World Affairs Rules, 2006 1.13 The Committee was not satisfied with the explanation furnished by the Ministry of External Affairs with regard to the delay in the framing of Rules/Regulations under Sections 25 and 26 of the Indian Council of World Affairs Act, 2001. The Committee would like to point out that the ICWA Rules, 2006 are not comprehensive rules covering all areas as envisaged under Section 25(2) of the ICWA Act, 2001. The Committee observed that rules are yet to be framed in respect of two vital aspects concerning the officers and employees of the Council as indicated under Section 25 (2) (e) and (f) of the Act. Similarly, the Council is still in the process of framing regulations contemplated under Section 26 of the Indian Council of World Affairs Act, 2001, even after so many years. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the Ministry of External Affairs should take immediate steps to ensure that the Regulations are put in place within a definite time frame, which may be intimated to it.
(iv) Communication received from Shri Dipankar Mukherjee, MP, Rajya Sabha regarding the industrial (iv) Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946 1.14 The Committee was happy to note that the Ministry of Labour and Employment vide notification G.S.R. 655 (E), dated 10th October, 2007 [notifying the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules, 2007] rescinded the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules, 2003, amending the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946 whereby, a new classification of workman 'fixed term employment workman' was introduced.
(v) The National Council for Teacher Education (Guidelines for regulation of tuition fees and other fees (v) chargeable by unaided teacher education institutions Regulations, 2002 1.15 The Committee was unhappy to note that the NCTE failed to formulate the regulations in the matter of fees chargeable by the unaided teacher education institutions in the first instance in compliance with the provisions of the NCTE Act, 1993 and that an initiative was taken in the matter as late as in the year 2000 and that too in pursuance to the Court directions. 1.16 While the Committee noted the explanation furnished by the Ministry on for the time being application of the regulations to institutions which offer courses or training in teacher education (other than those institutions offering a treacher education programme leading to a university degree), but the Committee felt that the Council should review the position now and regulation 2 should be modified suitably after taking into account the position obtaining as on date. 1.17 The Committee noted with satisfaction that the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of School Education and Literacy) had accepted most of its suggestions as under:— • In regulation 3 (d) by agreeing to delete the phrase "...or any other authority as may be designated by the Council" so as to make the provision more specific. • In Regulation 4 (2) by agreeing to replace the word "candidate" with the word "student" which has already been defined in Clause 3 (m) of the regulations in order to maintain consistency. • In regulation 4 (3) by agreeing to amend the regulation so as to do away with the division of seats into free and payment seats as in the case of technical education by States like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, etc. 8
• In regulation 5 by agreeing to consider the suggestions of the Committee regarding the constitution of Committees for fixation of fees payable. • In regulation 9 (1) (i) by agreeing to replace the words "three years" with the words "three academic years" so as to make the provision more specific. • In regulation 9 (1) (iv) by agreeing to insert the words "including at least one newspaper in regional language" so as to make aware a larger section of the people in the matter of fee payable. 1.18 The Committee hoped that the Ministry would carry out the above amendments expeditiously. 1.19 The Committee felt that Government should take the framing of subordinate legislation very seriously and simply because the regulations have been framed by the Council, that should be no ground for not getting them vetted by the Ministry of Law, when the latter are prepared and ready to do it. The Committee accordingly recommended that the Council should get all its regulations vetted by the Ministry of Law.
(c) 175th Report
(i) The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 1.20 The Committee took note of the various amendments to the Rules carried out by the Ministry of Shipping, Road, Transport and Highways (Department of Road, Transport and Highways). Its observations regarding some of these amendments are indicated hereunder: • Rule 1(3) Rectifying the typographical error by deleting the words and figures 'sub-rule 3 of rule 103'; • Rule 4 Omitting item No. 5 "Electricity or telephone bill" and item no. 7 "Pay slip issued by any office of the Central Government or State Government or a local body" from the list of documents which can be treated as evidence for correctness of address and age for the purpose of issue of licence. The Committee had suggested that identity card issued by the Central or State Government can be included in the list of items that can be considered as evidence as to the correctness of the address and age of the applicant. Instead, the Ministry have deleted "Electricity and telephone bills as well as pay slips of the Central/State Government in respect of their employees, in Rule 4 as admissible evidence for proof of address and/or age. The Committee noted that age and the address of the applicant for a driving licence are vital piece of information and therefore adequate care needs to be taken while making admissible evidence in support thereof. Accordingly, items in rule 4 should be reviewed regularly to keep pace with the changing times but, additions/deletions therein should be done with abundant caution so that the provisions are not misused; • Rule 5 Prescribing that an application for issue of learner's licence or a driving licence or for making additions of another class or description of a motor vehicle to a driving licence or for renewal of driving licence to drive other than transport vehicle, must be accompanied by a self declaration as to the physical fitness in Form 1 and an application for a licence to drive a transport vehicle must be accompanied by a medical certificate in Form 1-A to be issued by a registered medical practitioner; • Rule 7 Providing appropriate space in Form 1-A for affixing of photograph in the Medical Certificate which was not there in the pre-revised provisions; • Rule 9 Substituting the words and figures "specified in the VII schedule of the constitution" with the words and figures "specified in the VIII schedule of the constitution" thereby rectifying the typographical error in Rule 9; • Rule 50(1) Substituting the existing Rule 50(1) by a new one giving specifications of the registration number plate in relation to the language, script as well as the kind of letters and numerals to be used therein which were not there in the pre-revised provisions; • Rule 75(2) Substituting the words "State Government shall" with the words "State Government shall, if so desired by the Central Government" so as to provide that the State Register of Motor Vehicles should mandatorily be sent by the State Governments to the Central Government whenever "desired by the Central Government". The Committee, however, felt that the Central Ministry should have up- to-date data/records/information with regard to the Motor Vehicles in the States so that they have all 9
relevant inputs and are able to formulate better and accurate policies, closer to the ground realities/ needs in the field of transportation and motor vehicles. The Committee, in this context, recommended that there should be a mechanism whereby the Ministry has access to relevant information/statistics at the State level on a regular basis. The Committee felt that computerization of relevant information at the State Level can be of great help in this regard and the Central Ministry may take steps to ensure that the State Transport Departments computerize their records forthwith; • Rule 89 The Committee noted with satisfaction that rule 89 has been omitted and accordingly, the inconsistency in the rule as pointed out by it has gone. 1.21 The Committee's recommendations and observations arising out of the examination of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 are enumerated below:
Educational qualification required for issue of a driving licence (Rule 9) 1.22 The Committee was of the considered view that with the passage of time it has become imminent that drivers of motor vehicles should possess some formal education so that they are able to read and understand various sign boards, directions etc. while driving. This is all the more essential in case of metro and big cities in the country where new and complex flyovers and relatively different traffic regulations are in force which may not be possible for an illiterate driver to understand or comprehend. The Committee did appreciate that prescribing a minimum education qualification can adversely effect the livelihood of a sizeable section of people who are engaged in the business of driving but, equally important is the safety and security of the people around on the roads which is endangered due to the ignorance on account of illiteracy. The Committee felt that the safety of the road users outweighs and therefore recommended that the Government should consider to prescribe henceforth some minimum educational qualification say, 5th or 8th standard pass, for all types of licenses including those for driving commercial vehicles. 1.23 As regards the requirement of a driving licence for tractors when used as a transport vehicle, the Committee was happy to note that Govenment have taken up this matter with the State Governments. The Committee further appreciated that the Motor Vehicles Act prescribes a valid permit and other documents for use of a tractor as a transport vehicle. The Committee impressed upon the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways to review the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act as well as the rules of 1989 framed thereunder so as to ensure that tractors, when used as a transport vehicle, whether for transporting goods or people, which is commonly done in the rural areas, does not remain unregulated and do not become a traffic hazard on the roads. The Committee accordingly recommended that Government may prescribe the requirement of a driving license subject to certain conditions keeping in view the rural background of the persons in case use of tractors outside the fields is to be allowed in order to maintain the safety and security of the road users.
High Security Number Plates 1.24 The Committee was happy to note that the Government are in the process of implementing high security registration plates for vehicles. The Committee recommended that the Government should take up this project on priority and ensure that this is implemented within a definite timeframe. The Committee hoped that the implementation of this project would not only reduce instances of theft of vehicles but would also help in meeting the requirement of the law relating to the number plates i.e. the size and shape of the letters etc.
Tinted Glasses 1.25 The Committee appreciated that tinted glasses on vehicles many a times become a hurdle for the security agencies in the prevention of crime and apprehension of criminals. But, the Committee would like the Ministry to keep in view the extremely hot conditions that prevail in most parts of the country during the summer period. The Committee felt that the requirements of security can be met in case light films are put on the vehicle which may not obstruct the visibility beyond the disired level. The Committee accordingly recommended that the Ministry of Surface Transport may work put on this issue with the security agencies for determining what percentage of visibility in a film would meet their requirement and the norms so determined can be notified for the information and compliance by the vehicle owners. The Committee would also appreciate if the manufacturers of such films are mandatorily required to indicate the percentage of visibility of the film on their rolls so that anybody who has put a film on his vehicle is confident that he is not violating the law. The Ministry 10 may recommend similar action to the states also who may take action depending upon the climatic conditions and security requirements of their State. The Committee would also expect a definite policy of Government on this so that there is no uncertainty in the minds of the vehicle owners.
Use of Private Vehicles as Commercial 1.26 The Committee takes note of the various factors which prevent a vehicle owner to operate commercially on the basis of a valied permit namely, heavy taxation on commercial vehicles as compared to transport vehicles while entering from one state to another and even otherwise, procuring of fitness certificate for a commercial vehicle on a yearly basis as compared to a 15 year period for a transport vehicle, procuring of a permit for using a vehicle on commercial basis, etc. This vast difference between the requirement to be fulfilled in case of getting a vehicle registered for commercial or transport purpose and the financial implications involved in running a vehicle with a commercial permit is perhaps the main reason which prompts anybody to use his/her transport vehicle commercially. The Committee was unhappy to find such a state of affairs going on unendingly. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of SRT should consider this matter seriously as it not only involves revenues for the Government but also the safety and security of the commuters when vehicles operate unauthorizidely in the city or on the highways. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that the Ministry should interact with the State Government on this issue in order to find out how such violations could be eliminated i.e. by rationalizing the financial implications so that the tendencies of violation are reduced. The Committee was conscious of the fact that vilations in this area are a source of corruption with the implementing agencies and therefore, there is all the more a reason that a solution is found out and the sources of corruption are plugged once and for all.
Better Regulation of Traffic and Enforcement of Traffic Laws 1.27 The Committee noted that the various traffic regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act are being enforced by the traffic police division of the State. Keeping in view the very heavy traffic that is seen on the roads in the big metropolitan there is a need to make concious efforts to see that the traffic moves in a regulated manner taking care of both the vehicle drivers a well as the enforcement agencies. The Committee was of the considered view that simply increasing the penalties cannot be a solution for instilling discipling among the vehicle drivers. In this context the Committee felt that the transport department of the State and the enforcement agencies i.e. the traffic police, can take some steps which may lead to disciplining the vehicle drivers on the roads voluntarily. For examples, both the state transport department and the traffic police can jointly or individually consider educating the vehicle drivers on the traffic rules and regulations in a bigger way. This can be done by having some short programmes prepared and shown through the T.V. network as well as on the websites of the two departments. Secondly, the Committee felt that the traffic police in a city like Delhi should not give up its regulatory function of assisting and guiding the vehicle drivers at crossings and intersections which definitely is helpful and satisfying for the vehicle drivers. The Committee would also recommend that steps should be taken to device some specific training and refresher programmes for the traffic cops so that they can discharge their functions more accurately, responsibly and faithfully and eventually are able to win the confidence of the motor drivers.
Pollution under Control Certificate 1.28 The Committee was happy to note that a lot of attention is being paid particularly in big cities and metros to contain the menace of air pollution resulting from vehicles on road. There was an actual need for stern steps to check the high pollution levels caused due to emissions from vehicles in metropolitan cities where the vehicle population is too large. In order to keep the emission levels from the vehicles under check, the steps taken by Government with regard to bringing in higher in-built technology in the vehicle and upgrading the quality of the fuel are laudable. But, the system of making all vehicles undergo a pollution check on a on-going basis calls for a review. In the first place, Government has not made any distinction between a commercial and a private vehicle for this purpose and anybody would agree that the commercial vehicles are put to use much more extensively as compared to private vehicles and therefore, the chances of distortion of emissions are more in case of commerical vehicles as compared to the private vehicles. Secondly, the Motor Vehicles Act prescribes a validity period of 6 months for a PUC certificate i.e. a vehicle should undergo pollution check at least once in 6 months. But, some of the States like Delhi have prescribed a validity period of 3 months of 3 months for a PUC 11 certificate. Therefore, in a city like Delhi all vehicles are required to undergo a pollution check once in 3 months. It is doubtful whether the State of Delhi has enough paraphernalia/infrastructure for the work of this magnitude and as a result, several vehicles continue without a PUC. Thirdly, the new vehicles with upgraded technology being used as private vehicles hardly go beyond the prescribed emission norms. Even the new vehicles are required to get a fresh PUC certificate after three months of taking delivery. Keeping in view all these factors, the Committee recommends that the Government should review the existing dispensation so that people are not compelled to queue up for obtaining PUC certificate so frequently when their vehicles are well designed to adhere well to the prescribed emission norms. The Committee incidentally found that in a city like Delhi, the job of issuing PUC certificates has been entrusted to private individuals who are located mostly at the filling stations. In this context the Committee recommended that an authorization can be given to the authorized service stations also for different brands of vehicles so that the vehicles undergo a pollution check along with each service. This would ensure an automatic pollution check of all vehicles at least once or twice a year without any extra effort on the part of the vehicle owners.
Certificate of Fitness 1.29 The Committee noted that the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, do not prescribe any age limit for passenger buses and private vehicles. The only restriction is in terms of years for issue of National Permit for different types of vehicles. Similarly, the Supreme Court has not fixed the age of the vehicles but has put certain restrictions on registration/plying of commercial vehicles older than 8 years. Also, a certificate of fitness is issued in respect of new transport vehicles to be valid for 2 years and to be renewed every three years. The Committee felt that the States lack in infrastructure for carrying out necessary periodic checks on the transport vehicles, whose number is too large. The Committeee, however, was of the view that there is a need for stricter provisions so that the vehicles on roads are better maintained and in good working condition, which would also enhance safety on road and reduce the number of accidents. Government may consider improving the infrastructure so that the checks on the vehicles are thorough and effective and eventually with improved infrastructure, private vehicles are also brought into this regime at least in the metro cities to being with. 1.30 The Committee hoped that the Ministry shall carry out necessary amendments expeditiously under intimation to it.
(ii) The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001—Implementation of 138th Report of (ii the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha 1.31 The Committee was happy to note that the Ministry has carried out the amendments as suggested by the Committee on Rule 9(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001 as contained in its 164th Report and decided not to pursue the matter further.
(iii) The Export-Import Bank of India (Employees) Pension Regulations, 2000 1.32 The Committee noted with satisfaction that the Ministry of Finance (Banking Division) have taken necessary follow up action on its suggestions as follows:— • In Regulation 2(g), by amending it so as to include legally adopted child in the definition of child so as to make the provision more liberal with regard to giving pensionery benefit to a legally adopted child also. • In Regulation 17, by notifying the amendments therein for counting the period of leave not exceeding twelve months granted on grounds such as sickness, higher studies and such other grounds as may be approved by the Board during the entire period of service for all purposes including pension in order to make the provision more specific about the reasons for granting such leave and setting up the norms of sanctioning such leave. • In Regulation 33, by notifying the amendments therein for making pension payable from November 1, 1993 in case of employees who retired prior to that date and from the date of retirement in case of those who retired after that day so as to extend the pensionery benefit to the employees. • In Regulation 35, by notifying the amendment therein for raising the minimum amount of pension in lines with the recommendations made by the Committee thereby extending the financial benefit to the employees of the Bank. 12
1.33 So far as Regulation 3 is concerned, the Committee decides not to pursue the matter as the interested employees have since exercised their option and the issue has become redundant. The Committee also accepted the Ministry's veiw point on regulation 15 and 18 and decides not to press for changes in them any more. 1.34 With regard to Regulation 18, the Ministry/Exim Bank has not taken any action stating that since the recommendations made by the Committee is on the lines of CCS (Pension) Rules and this provision of Exim Bank under Pension Regulations are in line with that of Public Sector Banks and hence it has not been found possible to agree to the suggestions made by the Committee. The Committee, however, was satisfied with the Ministry's reply and it was decided to keep the provision as it is.
(iv) UCO Bank/UBI Bank Pension Regulations, 1979 1.35 The Committee noted with satisfaction that the Ministry of Finance (Banking Division) had accepted some of its recommendations and had taken necessary action upon them as under: • Reg 2 (o): By rephrasing the regulation 2(o) as "son or unmarried daughter or widowed/divorced daughter including such son or daughter adopted legally till he/she attains the age of 25 years or upto his/her marriage/re-marriage, whichever is earlier", thereby making its provisions clear and unambiguous. • Reg 8: By agreeing to amend the regulation 8 so as to provide a fixed tenure of 3 years for the Board of Trustees to be eligible for reappointment, but may not be nominated for more than two tenures, thereby prescribing a term for the Board of Trustees. • Reg 9: By agreeing to amend the regulation 9 by specifying the purpose/objective of the directions from the banks to the trustees, in order to minimize the scope for excessive or discretion by the banks. • Reg 10: By agreeing to arbitrarily fixing a period of two months from the date of publication of balance sheet of the Bank for closure of the books of accounts of the Pension Fund, thereby reducing the prescribed 180 days to two months for preparing the banks financial statement. 1.36 The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Finance should carry on the amendments in the Regulations as above expeditiously.
(d) 176th Report
(i) The Airports Authority of India (Lost Property) Regulations 2003—Implementation of 163rd Report of the (i) Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha 1.37 The Committee noted with satisfaction that the Ministry of Civil Aviation had carried out the amendments as suggested by the Committee in Regulations 3 (1) & (2) and Regulation 4 of the Airports Authority of India (Lost Property) Regulations, 2003 by substituting the words "any officer" with the words "Duty Airport Manager/Duty Officer Control Tower as the case may be" thereby, making the provisions more specific, and decided not to pursue the matter further.
(ii) Statutory Investigation into Railway Accident Rules, 1998—Implementation of the 138 Report of the Committee (ii) Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha 1.38 The Committee, after considering the advice tendered by the Ministry of Law and Justice (Department of Legal Affairs) that legal immunity to Commissioner of Railway Safety from being called as witness in the Court of Law cannot be provided under the law, was satisfied with the advice and decided not to pursue the matter further.
(iii) The Spices Grading and Marking Rules, 2005 1.39 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation) was not in agreement with most of the suggestions raised by the Committee such as: • In Rule 5 to provide for inspection of the quality control agencies/grading laboratories, and also to specify the frequency of such inspection and the rank/level of the officer-in-charge of such inspection. 13
• In Rule 6 (1) to make the provisions more specific as the words "clean, sound, free from insects...." particularly the word "sound", are capable of varied interpretation. • In Rule 6 (2) to substitute the words "suitable lining" which admit of varied interpretation with more appropriate words so as to make the provisions of the rules more specific. • In Rule 6 (3) to specify in the rule itself the substances with which the containers and packaging materials shall be made to make the rule specific. • In Rule 7 (1) & (4) to specify he minimum level/rank of the officer who may be authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser on his behalf for the purpose of these rules. • In Rule 8 (3) to substitute the words "adequate" which is subject to varied interpretations with some more appropriate word so as to make the provisioin specific. 1.40 The Committee recommends that changes may by suitably incorporated in the Spices Grading and Marking Rules, 2005 in view of the above suggestions. 1.41 The Committee expressed its unhappiness at the quality and purity of spices available particularly with the local sellers. The Committee observed that there is need for specifications to meet the international standards not only in respect of spices meant for export but also those for consumption in the domestic market. The Committee took serious note of the reports of rampant adulteration of these items in the local markets. In view of this, the Committee strongly recommended that certification of spices should be made mandatory. The Committee further observed that some items being sold under AGMARK license do not meet the desired quality and there is fake imprint of AGMARK on items sold by the local sellers. The Committee therefore strongly recommended that the Ministry should take steps to ensure that specialized and technically advanced equipments are used while making AGMARK insignia so that it is impossible to replicate/forge it. The nodal Ministry should curb such malpractices and impose strong punitative measures. 1.42 The Committee was concerned about the fact that India's share in the world spice market is dwindling. The Committee was of the view that while the price of spices in the international market are soaring our farmers are deprived of the profit. The Committee observed that the Ministry should disseminate the appropriate information to the farmers living in the countryside regarding prices, etc. The Committee observed that in the globalised market, Spices Board should devise mechanism to help farmers increase their productivity which is much lower in India than the world standard.
(e) 177th Report
Statutory Orders Laid on the Table of the Rajya Sabha during its 213th Session 1.43 The Committee examined the notification containing Subordinate Legislation that were laid before the Rajya Sabha during the 213th Session in the light of its recommendations as contained in its 131st, 135th and 152nd reports regarding timely and proper laying of Notifications and reiterated this stand.
(f) 178th Report
All India Institute of Medical Science Regulations, 1999 1.44 Delay in framing of regulations The Committee was dismayed over recurrence and persistence of an oversight for 43 long years despite the existence of the Section 29 sub Section (3) in the Act which stipulates that the regulations framed under such Section should have been laid before each House of Parliament as soon as they are made. The Committee held the Ministry responsible for such omission.
Regulation 4 (2) (b) of the AIIMS Regulations, 1999 regarding Minutes of the Meeting of the Institute Body 1.45 The Committee was of the opinion that Regulations must clearly fix the periodicity of the meetings of Governing Body and the Institute Body. The Committee felt that instead of leaving the decision on the President/ Chairman, at least one meeting of these bodies should be held in every quarter. The Verbatime records of the meetings should be kept along with the final minutes. The Committee also recommended that the draft minutes 14 of the meetings of Institute/Governing Body should be circulated under the signature of the Director of the Institute and only the final minutes duly confirmed by the members present, should be signed by the President and filed in the Minutes Book. Minutes may be circulated and confirmed by the Members electronically.
Regulation 4 (9)—Powers of the President to include fresh/supplementary items in the agenda for the meeting 1.46 As regards Regulation 4 (9) that empowers the President to include fresh/supplementary items, the Committee recommended that any issue so included by the President or with his approval should be first adopted by the simple majority of members present and any decision thereon should be taken with 2/3 majority of the membership of Institute. Similar practice should be adopted in respect of Regulation 8 (9) with respect of Governing Body with an exception that all the decision should be unanimous. The Committee recommended that necessary provisions should be incorporated in the relevant Regulations.
Regulation 4 (6)—Time period for calling extraordinary meeting 1.47 The Committee was happy to note that the Ministry had carried out the amendments suggested by it, incorporating the provision that an extraordinary meeting of the Institute can be called on a written request of not less than 9 members of the Institute within 7 days of the receipt of the requisition vide regulation 4 (6) of the AIIMS Regulations, 1999. The Committee recommended that relevant background papers on the issue of such extraordinary meeting must be electronically or otherwise circulated among the members at least 5 days in advance. The relevant regulation must be amended accordingly.
Regulation 4 (14)—Confirmation of business transacted through circulation of papers—incorporation of savings clause 1.48 The Committee strongly recommended that there must be inserted a saving clause in regulation 4 (14) for saving any action taken in pursuance of business transacted by circulating the papers and accordingly, AIIMS Regulations, 1999, be suitably amended and a proposal to that effect be approved by the Institute Body at the earliest.
Regulation 18—Revision of fee for various courses 1.49 The Committee expressed its concern about the interminable delay in rationalizing fee structure in AIIMS. The Committee wanted further clarification on the issue as to why the matter of rationalizing fee structure has been pending for such a long time and if any further development have taken place the Committee should be informed about it. The Committee was of the view that fee structure should be realistic and rational. The fee structure should be reviewed periodically after every five year.
Appointment of Dean and Sub-Dean 1.50 The Committee was informed that one lady sub-dean was appointed in the Institute by the Director and sacked by the Ministry without assigning any reason. As such the Committee felt strongly that one post of Dean and one post of sub-dean be earmarked for the lady members of faculty only. The Committee expressed its deep anguish over the manner in which a prominent Professor was removed from the post without letting her complete her tenure. The Committee also recommended clear guidelines in the form of regulations for the appointment to the posts of Dean and sub-Dean and that there should not be any overlapping of powers between Director AIIMS and President of Institute Body so far as the appointment to such academic posts are concerned and such powers should remain the exclusive domain of Director, AIIMS.
Role of President, Governing Body of AIIMS and autonomy of the Institute 1.51 The Committee was deeply concerned about the ominous implications of the appointment of the Health Minister as the President of the Institute. The country had seen enough of it during the recent past. The Committee noted that when the AIIMS Bill was considered in Parliament in the year 1956, concern for guarding Institute's autonomy was very much reflected in speeches made there. Even the then Health Minister also gave assurance that it will be ensured. She said that the Bill clearly provides that in the Institute's Body, except for 2-3 representatives from the Government out of total membership of 17, all others will be non-official. There shall not be any unwarranted bureaucratic/executive control in the functioning of AIIMS; and the power to run/manage functioning of AIIMS shall be completely vested with the Director, faculty, resident doctors and staff of AIIMS. 15
1.52 The Committee was not convinced with the Ministry's justification for appointment of the Minister of Health and Family Welfare as the President of the Institute Body to protect the interest of Government and the funds are being provided by the Ministry of Health. No doubt funds are provided by the Government, but if the institute adheres to the broad financial policy of the Government, interference by the Ministry in its day- to-day functioning is highly undesirable. The Committee expressed its deep anguish about this bizarre justification extended by the Ministry. The Committee only wondered if the Ministry at all has the authority to interpret the provisions of the Act in contradiction to what was conveyed to the Parliament by the then Minister of Health. The Government should keep the interest of millions of people and their health and medical research uppermost in their mind. The funds are allocated by the Ministry of Finance to all the Ministries and Government institutions from Consolidated Fund of India. However, this does not entitle the Finance Minister to the presiding functionary of all such institutions. The Parliament being the watchdog over all the executive bodies, can always point out and hold these bodies responsible for their malfunctioning or financial misappropriation. The noble duties which the AIIMS has to perform namely, patient care and treatment, high quality medical education and path-breaking medical research, etc. cannot be effectively achieved if the functional autonomy of AIMMS was not ensured. The Committee, therefore, reiterated its stand for protecting and preserving the autonomy of the Institute, as a statutory body, which stands undermined by nominating the Health and Family Welfare Minister as President of the Institute, whereby he automatically assumes the position of Chairman of the Governing Body. The Committee recommended that the Standing Finance Committee and Academic Committee should be headed by the Director of AIIMS alongwith the academicians of repute in the fields of medical sciences. The Committee felt that such a prestigious institution should be kept free from Government control in order to ensure efficiency and in the interest of the country. 1.53 The Committee found that relevant Regulations pertaining to the role of President of Institute, Governing Council and its President are conspicuously ambiguous. Going by the language of Regulation (6), the Committee also apprehended if the Governing Body also exercises such functions in addition to those mentioned in Schedule I. Further, the President of the Institute works in twin capacity — President of the Institute and the Chairman of the Governing Body, in addition to his/her personal capacity. The Committee considered that the entire drafting of the Regulations has been kept specious. While no specific powers and functions of the President of Institute in his twin capacity have been defined in the main body of the Regulations except in the Schedule, the President of the Institute dose have a overbearing power in his/her three capacities. While the Regulations define Governing Body as the executive body of the Institute, no specific executive powers are conferred upon the Chairman of the Governing Body individually. Therefore, by delegating the core executive powers in Chairman, the Governing Body has over delegated its power in one individual, thereby defeating the very purpose of Governing Body to a large extent. Such delegation of power may create twin centers of authority i.e. the Chairman of the Governing Body and the Director of the Institute, who by the Regulations has been made the administrative head of the Institute. In context of the prevalent trend of appointing the Minister in the administrative M/o Health and Family Welfare as the President of the Institute, such concentration of power seriously undermines the position of the Director and imperils the autonomy of the AIIMS. Obviously such a scheme goes contrary to the spirit of the present legislation which was reflected in the statement made by the then Minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur before the Parliament. The Committee, therefore, recommended that AIIMS must overcome such under-regulation in respect of role and functions of Governing Body and its Chairman by incorporating substantive provisions in the regulations. 1.54 The Committee noted that the Ministry has cited the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case B. Shankaranand Vs Common Cause and others (Civil Appeal No. 4662/1996) for justifying the nomination of Minister and the Secretary as the Member of Institute under Section 4(e) of the Act. Inter alia the Minister also becomes the President of Institute and the Chairman of the Governing Body. This situation was never envisaged in the Act. Referring in detail to the reply of the then Minister of Health to the numerous queries of the MPs apprehending the predominance of Government nominees wherein the Minister categorically denied such possibility on the floor of the House, the committee considered that it was a solemn assurance given by the Minister of Government of India to the Parliament. Such assurance has not been reverted ever since either by amending the Act or through any other instrument like Motion or Resolution in the House. It is therefore extremely important that the Supreme Court judgment should be read alongwith the statement of the then Minister before the Parliament, to avoid any possible conflict between the two organs. 16
Service rules 1.55 The Committee was of the opinion that there has been gross under-regulation under the Sections 28 and 29 of the Act. The Regulations framed under these Sections are generic and lack specific details. This has led to discrepancies in interpretation and application, thereby causing avoidable litigations. Certain Regulations pertaining to the service conditions draw heavily from the Central Rules. The Committee was of the opinion that AIIMS being a statutory body should have its own proper subordinate legislation as it is considered as a centre of excellence. Therefore, rules and regulations should be laid down, that are suitable to its own requirements. The Committee was of the opinion that AIIMS should have is own elaborate and specific rules and regulations so that there is adequate transparency in service matters and unnecessary controversies are avoided. In respect of certain Policy decision taken by the Central Government in respect of retirement age or reservation, the AIIMS can refer to framework determined by the DOPT, however, other service conditions should be specifically detailed in the Regulations. 1.56 The Committee took very serious note that while Regulation 23 recognizes the temporary posts at AIIMS, no detailed regulations regarding their service conditions have been made. As such, there are grave and justified grievances of Resident Doctors. The limit of working hours per week for the Resident Doctors is routinely violated. Their stipend and allowances have not been revised for years. There have been apprehensions about irregularity in the selection of senior residents. Taking cue from the recent decision by the Courts in respect of disclosure of marks, it will be prudent on the part of AIIMS, that the marks of theory and practical are disclosed separately in the selection of Senior Residents. The Committee also recommended that the relevant Standing Committee of the Governing Body should look into the accommodations and amenities to which Resident Doctors are entitled. 1.57 The Committee would specifically like to comment upon the service conditions of the physiotherapists. The discipline is growing in profile with introduction of new aids. Disease specific rehabilitation therapies are required. Accordingly the Government has introduced new Degree courses in physiotherapy. It is, therefore, required to improve the service conditions and emoluments etc. of the physiotherapists and the AIIMS may also take a view on allowing them the Non-Practicing Allowance.
Regulation 24(1)—Qualification for appointment 1.58 Taking view of the submission made by the Ministry on 28th February 2002, the Committee noted with reservation that even after passage of more than six years the Ministry have not been able to notify through Gazette the age and qualification in respect of each post. The Committee noted that provisions under the Regulation remain specious leaving scope for random arbitrariness which is evident from the mounting number of court cases. The Committee also found it objectionable that Regulations have hinged qualifications and experience for appointments with those prescribed by the Central Government. The Committee felt that AIIMS was set up as an institution of academic and research excellence and was given autonomy. However, over the years there has been definite pattern in depleting the autonomy as is envident from predominance of Central Government nominees in the Governing Body and Institute. The Committee wondered if the AIIMS regulations at all reflected the objective of the Act. Instead the intended autonomy has become and excuse for the Ministry's unbridled intervention. The AIIMS and its Academic Standing Committee should be made the competent authority to prescribe the qualification and experience for the appointment. Further the 'Appointing Authority' for different grades has been defined only in the Schedule. The Committee considered that only the Governing Body and the Director have Executive and administrative functions as envisaged in the Act. Neither the Act nor the Regulations provide that the Governing Body can delegate its core functions to its Chairman. It is therefore recommended that Other than Director, for all the Grade A and B positions the Governing Body should be Appointing Authority. And for Grade C and D, the Director of the AIIMS should be made the appointing authority. As per the Act the President in his individual capacity has not been entrusted with any administrative role except for heading the Governing Body. By delegating executive powers in its Chairman, the Governing Body is over-delegating its core function.
Regulation 26—Regulation of seniority of employees of the Institute 1.59 The Committee was of the strong view that age, qualification, seniority of employees, etc. must be prescribed separately for each post in the Regulations itself rather than leaving it to the discretion of appointing 17 authority. This will go a long way in minimizing scope for malpractices and putting in place a fair recruitment policy for this premier Institute of the country.
Regulation 29—Absence of the employees of the Institute for long periods 1.60 The Committee was also of the view that allowing permanent employees of the Institute to remain absent from duty for two years at a stretch is not in the best interest of the Institute. It should be done only in exceptional circumstances and such circumstances should be defined in Rules itself. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that penal measures should be introduced to disincentivise the permanent employees of the Institute who are away from their posts other than leave or suspension for more than six months. This will not be applicable to those teaching faculty members who have served for 5 years and thus are entitled for one year of extra ordinary leave/sabbatical or other type of permissible leave/academic leave. This may be used for a maximum of 2 years at a stretch, if the person has served for 10 years including 2 years of leave. In no circumstances, can a person be on leave or an assignment for more than 3 years at a stretch. As regards sabbatical leave, it should be for fixed duration, i.e. 15% of service period, or a maximum of 7 years. The faculty should be given the flexibility to avail it (at minimum 1 month to maximum of 3 years period for any given assignment/sabbatical). Individual availing assignment/sabbatcial of less than or equal to 6 months should be allowed to receive 50% of basic pay in order to maintain the family in Delhi. The Academic Standing Committee of the Governing Body should periodically review the provisions with a view to giving maximum professional exposure to the faculty.
Regulation 33 (2) (d)—Consultation with UPSC and adhoc manner of filling up of posts 1.61 The Committee strongly felt that in the absence of adequate staff/faculty, the existing ones working in AIIMS were under undue pressure and the Adhocism in this regard has not only diluted the standards of the Institute but has also created uncertainties in the mind of the adhoc faculty members. 1.62 However, the Institute Body and Governing Body on more than one occasions did try to address this issue between 2000 to 2003. After filling up 163 posts on regular basis in 2003, extraordinary situation was created when a large number of faculty members who worked for varying periods from 3 months to almost ten years on adhoc basis, were treated at par in seniority. This obvious anomaly was partly corrected by taking a decision to consider the period of adhoc services as a one-time measure. Still, there was about 45 faculty members who were not given their seniority because of the limitation of the existing scheme of Assessment Promotion, where a person has to have served as associate professor for 4 years to be promoted as additional professor. This created dissatisfaction among adversely affected faculty members. This also led to some litigation as most of the selections have been challenged in Courts. Appointment at Assistant Professor level has created an anomalous situation and there had been some appointment as "lateral entry" as Associate or Additional Professor Level. All these anomalies need to be corrected for all the time to come and a clear-cut policy has to be framed for direct recruitment posts and assessment promotion scheme (APS). There had been ambiguity in the seniority of professors coming from direct recruitment and APS. 1.63 Therefore, the regulations must be made as comprehensive as possible. Also, in Central Health Scheme, a person becomes professor just in 6 years and this creates dissatisfaction in AIIMS faculty, where it takes 11-12 years for direct professor post and 17—20 years in APS. Sometimes, ridiculous situations arise because of this as the student of AIIMS who joins CHS and becomes professor comes as an expert after 6-7 years and his/her own teachers appear before them for selection as additional professor/professor. Faculty association has also given a representation as follows: • The promotional avenues need to be restructured. The eligibility for promotion from additional professor to professor should be after 4 years compared to present 7 years the ceiling of 75% from associate professor to additional professor level and 50% from additional professor to professor level should be removed. • The retirement age should be raised to 65 years across the board for faculty. No extension should be given on individual basis beyond the retirement age. No professor should be made head of the department beyond the age of 62 years. • The concept of rotating headship to be introduced as there are instances that one faculty member by virtue of being senior even by a day remained HOD for 20-30 years and other faculty members never got an opportunity to become HOD at all. 18
1.64 Therefore, the Committee recommended that the Ministry should take immediate steps to fill up all vacant posts on permanent basis. The Committee also took serious note of the manner in which appointment to various administrative posts at AIIMS are being made directly by the Health Ministry without consultation with the Director, AIIMS and perceives this as an attempt to further handicap the efficient functioning of the Director, AIIMS. 1.65 The Committee would like to consider the points i, ii and iii given above as submitted by the Faculty Association for implementation. The Committee accordingly recommended that the Faculty Association is a stakeholder in the issue and should be consulted by the Governing Body. However, increase in retirement age should not be applicable to those already on extension. This may lead to discrepancies. 1.66 The Committee was particularly concerned about the implantation of reservation. The Committee recommended that the issue should be addressed within the framework of DOPT Rules.
Comparison with private hospitals 1.67 The Committee noted that though there is the element of economy in AIIMS, there is much scope for improvement on service delivery system, especially in the attitude and behaviour of employees. The Committee felt that the work culture of the institute should change. The Committee also points out that the cleanliness of the institute leaves much to be desired in comparison with private hospitals. While appreciating the fact that AIIMS is a centre of excellence in the field of research and medical education, the Committee wanted the Institute to concentrate on the aspect of patient care and attitude towards the patients.
Valiathan Committee Report 1.68 The Committee felt that the recommendations contained in the report of the Valiathan Committee has great relevance in the present context and while re-framing the AIIMS Rules/Regulations these inputs should be taken into consideration so as to help maintain the autonomy of the institute and also to maintain its status as an institute of excellence. The Committee took note of the Ministry's response to the questionnaire vide its OM dated August, 2008 wherein it was stated that the recommendations of the Valiathan Committee were under the consideration of the Government. The Committee directed that it should be informed whether the Government has taken final view of the Committee's recommendations. If so, it should be informed that which recommendations have been accepted and which have not been accepted and reason for not accepting such recommendations and if implementation of such recommendations would require amendments to the Act or Regulations made thereunder.
Non-furnishing of replies on questionnaire by the Ministry 1.69 The Committe took serious note of the callous manner in which the Ministry have dealt with the queries of the Committee. The Ministry is putting the entire blame for its inefficiency and shortcomings on the Director, AIIMS which is not a healthy trend. The Committee strongly felt that this kind of indifferent attitude and labeling undue allegations on the head of a premier institute is highly uncalled for. Efforts should be made to ensure that such things are not repeated in future. 1.70 The Committee after having gone through the rules/regulation of the AIIMS and also hearing views both of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the AIIMS authorities had come to the conclusion that the relevant rules/regulations need to be reviewed/amended urgently. • Unseemly controversies generated in AIIMS during the last few years, have done more harm than good to this premier institution. The Committee felt that it could have been avoided, had there not been so many grey areas as pointed out by the Committee in the Report in the rules and regulations, particularly those relating to its autonomy, selection, promotions, etc. • The Committee felt that the Central Universities model where President of India being a Visitor has the power to intervene and issue directive/enquiries etc., should be adopted if the need for it arises due to any problem or undue interference in the normal functioning of the Institute. The Committee would like to have Ministry's response to this. 1.71 The Committee was also of the view that apart from the option suggested by the Valiathan Committee, another option regarding the appointment of Director can be considered by the Ministry. The appointment of 19
Director, AIIMS and in other such institutes being established by the Government can be made by the Search Committee that has an independent chair, capable of exercising the highest quality of judgment. The direct involvement of admfinistrative Ministries can result in unfortunate situations.
VI. Secretariat 1.72 The Committee Section (Subordinate Legislation) headed by an Assistant Director and Research Officer constitutes the Secretariat of the Committee. A Joint Secretary, a Joint Director and a Deputy Director remained in charge of the Branch. 1.73 To assist the Committee in its work, the statutory orders laid on the Table of the Rajya Sabha, Bills passed by the Parliament, representations/references received from individuals/Ministries and the material received from the Ministries/Departments/Various non-official organizations and individuals were studied from which points were culled out and questionnaires for written replies/evidence were prepared for the use of the Committee. 1.74 The Secretariat collected material for on-the-spot studies and prepared study tour notes. 1.75 The work relating to drafting of Reports of the Committee and their considerations and approval along with their presentation, laying, printing and distribution was undertaken. The Secretariat also dealt with the work relating to the scrutiny of action taken notes received from the Ministries concerned on the recommendations contained in the Reports of the Committee and preparation of Draft Reports of the Committee on the Action Taken Reports. ANNEXURE-I (See Para 1.4) Details of the sittings of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation during the year 2008
Sl. Date Duration Subject No. Hrs-Mts. 1 2 3 4 1. 21.04.2008 40 To consider and adopt its draft 173rd Report on Statutory Orders minutes laid on the Table of the Rajya Sabha during its 212th Session and draft 174th Report on certain rules/regulations examined by the Committee. 2. 21.07.2008 1 hr. Consideration of the following memoranda: (i) Memorandum No. 17/2008 regarding the Pulses Grading and Marking Rules, 2003; (ii) Memorandum No. 18/2008 regarding the Information Technology (Certifying) Authority Rules, 2000; (iii) Memorandum No. 19/2008 regarding the Gas Cylinder Rules, 2004; and (iv) Memorandum No. 20/2008 regarding the Fruits and Vegetables Grading and Marking Rules, 2004. 3. 25.08.2008 2 hrs. 1. Consideration and adoption of the draft 175th Report on certain rules/regulations examined by the Committee. 2. Consideration of the following memoranda: (i) Memorandum No. 17/2008 regarding the Pulses Grading and Marking Rules, 2003; (ii) Memorandum No. 18/2008 regarding the Information Technology (Certifying) Authority Rules, 2000; (iii) Memorandum No. 19/2008 regarding the Gas Cylinder Rules, 2004. (iv) Memorandum No. 20/2008 regarding the Fruits and Vegetables Grading and Marking Rules, 2004. 3. Consideration of draft report on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Regulations, 1999 4. 26.08.2008 2 hrs. 45 1. Oral evidence of the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of Health) on the Bio-Medical Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 2. Oral evidence of the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests on the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989—Implementation of the 99th Report of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha. 5. 21.10.2008 30 Consideration and adoption of the draft 176th on certain rules/ minutes regulations examined by the Committee and 177th Report on Statutory Orders laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha during its 213th Session.
20 21
1 2 3 4 6. 10.11.2008 2 hrs. 30 1. Oral Evidence of the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family minutes Welfare (Department of Health) and President, Indian Nursing Council on the Indian Nursing Council Regulations. 2. Oral evidence of the representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs on the Haj Committee Rules, 2002. 7. 17.12.2008 1 hr. Consideration & adoption of draft 178th Report on AIIMS Regulations, 1999. CHAPTER - II COMMITTEE ON PETITIONS I. Composition of the Committee 2. The Committee on Petitions earlier constituted on the 4th September, 2006, was reconstituted on 28th May, 2008. 2.2 The composition of the Committee was as follows:—
COMMITTEE ON PETITIONS (Constituted on the 4th September, 2006) 1. Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu —Chairman 2. Shri Nandi Yellaiah 3. Shri V. Narayanasamy 4. Prof. Alka Balram Kshatriya 5. Shrimati Maya Singh 6. Shri Virendra Bhatia 7. Shri Moinul Hassan 8. Shri Thanga Tamil Selvan 9. Shri Subhash Prasad Yadav 10. Shri Dinesh Trivedi COMMITTEE ON PETITIONS (Constituted on the 28th May, 2008) 1. Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu — Chairman 2. Shri Vijay J. Darda 3. Shri Dharam Pal Sabharwal 4. Shri Rama Chandra Khuntia 5. Shrimati Maya Singh 6. Shri Virendra Bhatia 7. Shri Shyamal Chakraborty 8. Shri N.R. Govindarajar 9. Shri Subhash Prasad Yadav 10. Shri Sabir Ali II. Review of Work Done (a) Sittings held and subjects discussed 2.3 During the period under review, the Committee held 18 sittings which lasted for 13 hours and 37 minutes. A statement showing the dates of the sittings of the Committee held during the period under review, the duration of the sittings and the Main Agenda taken up during those meetings is given in Annexure-II.
(b) Study Visits 2.4 During 2008, the Committee undertook the following study visits to interact with the representatives of the regional print and electronic media, parents, teachers, students, managements of hospitals, educational 22 23 institutions, University Professors, religious leaders, NGOs and State Government in connection with the four petitions under its examination:—
Sl. Dates Places Visited Discussions held with Purpose No. 1. 3 to 8 Kolkata, Bengaluru (i) Interaction with the (i) In connection with the February, and representatives of regional examination of the issues raised 2008 Thiruvananathapuram print and electronic media in the petition submitted by Shri and other experts. Gurjit Singh, a resident of Patiala, regarding the misuse of Right to freedom of speech and expression by the print and television media and the need to restrict it under Article 19(2) of the Constitution. (ii) Interaction with Parents/ (ii) In connection with the Teachers Association/ examination of the issues raised Educationists/NGOs/ in the petition signed jointly by representatives of religious Ms. Asha Sharma, a resident of groups on the petition Karol Bagh (New Delhi) and followed by interaction with Ms. Pratibha Naithani, a resident State Government of Borivali (Mumbai) praying for representative national debate and evolving consensus on the implementation of the policy for introduction of sex education in the CBSE affiliated schools and holding back its introduction until then. 2. 18 to 23 Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Interaction with NGOs In connection with the August, Nellore, Chengalpattu associated with rehabilitation examination of the issues raised 2008 and Chennai LAPs followed by interaction in the petition submitted by Shri with the representatives of Ram Naik and five others praying State Governments. for integration and empowerment of leprosy affected persons (LAPs). 3. 14 to 18 Bengaluru and (i) Interaction with State (i) In connection with the September Mumbai Governments and local examination of the issues raised 2008 authorities, associations of in the petition submitted by Shri teachers, students and parents, Gurjit Singh, a resident of Patiala, managements of hospitals and praying of imposition of educational institutions, reasonable restrictions on use of school/college Principals, mobile phones. University Professors, religious leaders and mobile users. (ii) Interaction with petitioners (ii) In connection with the exami- alongwith NGOs associated nation of the issues raised in the with rehabilitation of LAPs petition submitted by Shri Ram followed by interaction with Naik and five others praying for the representatives of integration and empowerment of Government of Maharashtra leprosy affected persons on the petition. (LAPs). 24
III. Reports Presented 2.5 During the year 2008, the Committee presented two Reports to the House as per following details:—
Sl. Report No. and Subject No. Date of Presentation 1. 131st Petition praying for integration and empowerment of Leprosy affected persons 24.10.2008 (LAPs). 2. 132nd Petition regarding misuse of Right to freedom of speech and expression by the 12.12.2008 print and electronic media and the need to restrict it under Article 19(2) of the Constitution. IV. Summary of Recommendations
(a) 131st Report 2.6 Notwithstanding the status of the Acts as informed by the nodal Ministry and the concerned administrative Ministries, the Committee observed that the discriminatory provisions in the statutes had hampered the empowerment of this marginalized section of the society (Leprosy affected persons). It is high time that those Acts be amended to ensure integration of Leprosy affected persons in the mainstream. The Committee hope that the concerned Ministries and State Governments would urgently consider amendments to such anachronistic and discriminatory provisions in the concerned legislations.
Waiver of Disability Criteria for the LAPs 2.7 The criteria for issuing disability certificate for purpose of getting Government job is governed by the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Right and Full Participants) Act, 1995 in accordance with which a person with disability means a person suffering from not less than 40 per cent of any disability, as certified by the medical authority. The same criterion is made applicable for issuing disability certificate to the LAPs. During the study visits, majority of LAPs appealed to the Committee for issuance of disability certificate irrespective of their degree of disability which would help them get Government job. Disability due to leprosy carries with it social disgrace for the LAPs as a result of which they suffer both physically and psychologically. The loss of sensation due the leprosy does not get reversed even after RCS. The Committee therefore strongly recommended that disability of LAPs should be treated on a separate footing and they should be given disability certificate irrespective of the degree of disability, which would offer them gainful opportunities to lead a dignified life.
Public Awareness Campaign 2.8 The Committee observed that as per common belief leprosy is an incurable disease and there are lot of misconceptions about it in the public psyche due to which the people affected by leprosy are discriminated, segregated and isolated from the community and forced to live in groups at distant places. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in coordination with Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Publicity Departments of the State Governments, should launch a nation wide campaign advocating the curability of leprosy and the humanitarian aspect of leprosy affected persons, so that people appreciate their problems and come forward with a helping hand, to their cause. The Committee felt that the Films Division of I & B could prepared documentaries for dissemination of positive messages across the masses. The Committee was optimistic that such a campaign would help in reducing the age old fallacies attached with the disease and the persons affected by it.
Uniform Sustenance Allowance for LAPs 2.9 The Committee strongly recommended that LAPs who are not able to earn their livelihood, should be given allowance @Rs. 2000/- per month, uniformly in all States for maintenance. Since the number of LAPs is limited, the Committee felt that this sum would not be a burden on the national exchequer. The maintenance 25 allowance could be shared on 50:50 basis between the Central Government and the States.
MCR Footwear 2.10 The LAPs in the States of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have asked for two pairs of footwear in place of one pair as at present. The estimated expenditure in preparing on pair of MCR chappal is approximately Rs. 250/- and the average time taken by the institution to supply MCR chappals is one month. The Govt. of India provide funds for procurement of 35,000 to 40,000 MCR chappals to the States. The Committee desired that Government may consider enhancing the budget so that the genuine demand of LAPs for two pairs of MCR chappal could be met.
Exemption of VAT on the Items Produced by the LAPs 2.11 The Committee recommended that the products being directly produced by LAPs, be exempted from levy of VAT which would greatly help them to earn livelihood and ensure their economic empowerment.
Free Medical Facilities in LAP Colonies 2.12 During its field visits, the Committee found that medical facilities in the self settled LAP colonies are not adequate. The Committee wished to state that it is the duty of the Nation in general and the medical fraternity in particular, to take care of this helpless section of the society. It recommended that primary health centres be designated as nodal agencies to take care of the medical needs of LAPs. Under such arrangements the Medical Officer of the nearby primary health centre or Government hospital must visit the LAPs colony at least once a week to attend to medical requirements of LAPs. It is equally important that medicines are supplied by Central and State authorities for treatment of LAPs. Instead of depending only on international agencies and missionary services, the Government should arrange free medicine to LAPs through its designated medical stores.
Civic Amenities in Self settled Colonies 2.13 The Committee was given to understand that while civic amenities like drinking water, electricity, toilets and drainage have been provided in Government rehabilitation homes free of charge, the LAPs are required to pay the electricity bills in self-settled colonies. The Committee would like the Central Government to advise State Governments and local authorities to provide civic amenities in all self-settled colonies free of charge. The Committee recommended that where no colonies have been identified, the LAPs should be given housing sites under the Indira Awas Yozana and electricity provided under the 'Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana'.
Free Education to the Children of LAPs 2.14 The Committee recommended that Government should ensure education upto higher secondary level, free of charge, for the dependent children of LAPs. It would like the Government to arrange vocational and degree courses to the dependent children of LAPs for their self-sustenance in future. The Committee would urge upon the Ministry of Human Resource Development to take up the matter with the State Governments and impress upon them to attend to the educational needs of the children of LAPs with the kind of compassion and urgency they deserve.
Permit to Operate Auto Rikshaw 2.15 The Committee recommended that LAPs who are eligible for driving license, should be provided liberal loans through banks on a reasonable and affordable rate of interest under DRI Scheme for purchasing auto rickshaws. All possible assistance should be rendered to provide permits for operating their vehicles without any hindrance. This would enable LAPs access to affordable means of sustenance.
Financial Assistance for Small Scale means of Sustenance 2.16 The Committee noted that even if some of the leprosy affected persons are able to do work, they are unable to get employment because of the social discrimination and dishonour. The Committee would like the Ministry of Finance to advise banks for granting loans under affordable rate of interest to LAPs engaged in employment generation programmes such as dairying, poultry, sheep-goat breeding, weaving, etc. The 26
Government may even consider granting financial assistance to those LAPs capable of cultivating land where Government land is available.
General 2.17 The Committee had been given to understand that individuals with Hansen's disease have been known as lepers. However, this term is falling into disuse due to the pejorative connotations of the term. Mahatma Gandhi once said that the word "leper" is a word with bad odour and should not be used. In 1948 International Leprosy Congress held at Havana recommended for not using the word "leper". In no other disease, the person is called by name of the disease of which he is suffering. Even the 'disabled' are now called 'people with disability' or 'differently abled people'. The blind and deaf are called in a dignified way as "visually handicapped" and "hearing impaired people", respectively.Instead of addressing persons as "AIDS patients", many publications now talk about "people with AIDS". The word 'leper' has become almost synonymous with 'Outcast'. Using the words like "leper" or "ex-leprosy patient" perpetuates the humiliation and discrimination. There was a strong feeling that, if someone who has (had) leprosy is always being labelled as a "leprosy patient", "ex-patient" or even just as a "patient", it will have negative consequences for that person. Given the social stigma against leprosy, this label wrongly gives the impression that an affected person will always remain a patient and, thus, is never really cured. From a rehabilitation point of view it would be desirable to change terminologies used in the field. The attitude conveyed by the behaviour of the health workers towards patients is also very important in this context. The term most widely used amongst people and agencies working in the field of Hansen's disease is "leprosy affected persons" which is a dignified expression. Therefore, the word "leper" and its equivalents derivatives in regional languages should not be used in the official record. The Committee therefore strongly endorses the usage of positive terminology for the leprosy affected persons. 2.18 The Committee urged upon the Government to take up the plan of action suggested by it through its recommendations, seriously and implement the same in coordination with the concerned Ministries of the Central Government, State Governments, PRIs, NGOs and the leprosy affected persons in a time bound manner. The Committee felt that governmental efforts alone are not going to address the cause of the people affected by leprosy; it is the mindset of the society that would make the difference. All of us need to appreciate that these unfortunate brethren, need special care, attention and service from the society. They should not be treated as social outcasts. It is, therefore, the duty of each one of us to render all possible help and care to those people keeping in mind our Indian ethos "Manav Seva is Madhav Seva". The members of the Committee considered it a privilege to address the issues concerning the people affected by leprosy. The Committee appreciated the initiative of the petitioners in bringing those issues to Parliament through this petition. The Committee would take this opportunity appeal all sections of the society to do a little bit, in the service of persons affected with leprosy so that they would be integrated into of the mainstream. The Committee would also urged upon the media to highlight the issues concerning persons affected with leprosy and give due coverage to the advocacy programmes of both Government and non-Government organizations.
(b) 132nd Report 2.19 Sting operation by TV channels is no longer an uncommon phenomenon. While majority of such operations may have succeeded in providing vital clues and tips to the investigating agencies in unearthing the truth, a few of them did more harm than good for want of facts and created sensationalism to increase the TRPs of a particular channel, The furtherance of the objective of freedom of speech and expression in such cases has remained debatable and questionable, let alone the veracity of information gathered as a result thereof. The Committee felt that the electronic media should not air information gathered through sting operation unless and until there is ample evidence to conclusively prove the guilt of the alleged accused; if it is required in public interest, the version of the alleged accused should also be aired simultaneously and with equal prominence. In the case of an innocent school teacher in Delhi, who was acquitted by fair trial, of the allegations levelled in a sham sting operation, the media has damaged her image and reputation beyond repair. The Committee was of the considered view that there is need for abundant caution in embarking upon sting operation as it involves the invasion of the right to privacy of a person, even though the right to know may take precedence over right to privacy, in public interest. Where a sting operation is found to be false and fabricated, the media company ought to be given stringent punitive punishment commensurate with the damage caused to the innocent individual. It is however not the intention of the Committee to recommended curtailment of the 27 freedom of the Press and it is also not in favour of a constitutional amendment, as prayed by the petitioner but at the same time the abuse of the said freedom by a section of the media for creating sensation, achieving pecuniary benefit and enhancing their TRPs, has to be checked in public interest. The right of media always comes with a duty-duty to report fairly, objectively and accurately. The duty attracts restrictions and limitations which protect the right of an individual. The Committee was of the view that freedom of the Press is essential for healthy functioning of democracy, however, democracy comes with responsibility. Freedom of the Press cast responsibility on media as well. The Committee, therefore, expect the media to contribute to success of democracy by protecting the freedom of individual including his/her right to privacy. The Committee observed that even though the right to know takes precedence over the right to privacy, the right to privacy should not be encroached upon, under the garb of freedom of the Press unless prompted by genuine public interest. Therefore, the Committee advocated following of a middle path approach between both the rights, to meet the ends of justice. 2.20 Expression of views and making analyses of the news by the news channels, and the latest trend of the press conferences being held by police officers and live telecast thereof, have become a regular affair. Telecasting views on the news relating to the arrest of an alleged accused and airing of press conference by the police, tantamount to the trial by media which may have prejudicial impact on the witnesses, the accused and the administration of criminal justice in general and it may also affect the judge sub-consciously. In a recent double murder case in Noida, speculative stories by certain news channels and the much touted press conferences by police officers being telecast live, have dented the image of the alleged accused beyond repair inasmuch as the father of the victim was condemned before the actual trial had commenced. At the same time, the Committee would like to acknowledge the fact that in certain high profile murder cases, the vigilance of the media resulted in the dispensation of justice to the victims and their family members who have otherwise lost all hopes of getting justice under the present system. 2.21 The Committee had taken note of the recent direct live telecast of the sixty hours Operation Black Tornedo by the security forces to combat terrorist attack in Mumbai particularly on Oberoi Trident and Taj Mahal Palace Hotels and Nariman House, by news channels. It included live feed of air dropping of NSG commandoes on the rooftop of Nariman House which had taken away the element of surprise and was critical and crucial in the operation of Black Tornedo. The Committee apprehended that the live footage shown by TV channels to the viewers could also have been used as free intelligence input by the perpetrators sitting far away from the place of incident who allegedly guided the attackers to take appropriate emergent measures against the positions of security forces through satellite/mobile phones. Such live feed of Commandoes being air dropped directly endangers the success of operations and safety of hostages as well as security forces. The committee noted that the live coverage was partially restricted later because of some good sense prevailing with suitable advisories. Needless to mention self regulation by media otherwise was not in place. The Committee expect the media to treat information of sensitive nature carefully and endeavor to ensure that the interest of Nation and lives of security forces and hostages in such type of operation is not jeopadarised by live telecasting such nature of operations. 2.22 The Committee had also expressed concern over the repeated display in the media, of human corpses in case of natural calamities, accidents, incidents of bomb blast, arson, etc., which causes negative psychological impact on the viewers. News channels in many foreign countries do not telecast the footage of dead bodies. The Committee desired that similar approach may be adopted by the news channels in our country. 2.23 Sensationalisation by the private news channels is an ever increasing trend. The viewers deserve balanced news based on verified facts. The Committee opined that the news channels need to be more careful and responsible so as not to involve themselves in airing unverified information for breaking news and subsequently amending it. If necessary, the Ministry of Information and broadcasting through the proposed Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill and Content Code, may devise suitable mechanism to check such sensationalisation and ensure veracity of facts. 2.24 The Committee was aware of the existing regulatory mechanism of the print media which is in place for almost three decades. The Committee had been informed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that proposals are under consideration to grant more powers to the press Council of India to regulate the Print Media. In this context, the Committee recommended that Government to process the matter expeditiously and come out with appropriate amendment to the Press Council of Act, 1978. 28
2.25 The recent initiative for evolution of self-regulation by News Broadcasters Associations is also a welcome step. The Committee was of the view that self-regulation is an ideal situation but it may not be effective to regulate the media particularly in the scenario of growing competition amongst the channels for supremacy in the business of ratings. The Committee was, therefore, in favour of having statutory regulations in place covering the print and electronic media, in the larger interest of the society, on the model of the Press Council of India vested with more powers. The Committee understand that the Government has proposed to put in place the Broadcasting Regulatory Authority of India (BRA) under an Act of Parliament and a new Content Code to be issued thereunder. The Committee expect the Government to address all the issues raised by it, while going ahead with the proposed legislation. The Committee hope that the proposed Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill will incorporate the views of all concerned and the same introduced in Parliament without further delay.
V. Secretariat 2.26 The Committee Section (Petitions) has presently a strength of one Assistant Director, one Committee Officer, two Assistants one Senior Clerk and one Attendant. A Joint Secretary, a Joint Director and a Deputy Director remained in-charge of the Branch. 2.27 To assist the Committee in its work, the background material received from the Ministries/Departments/ various non-governmental organizations and individuals, was culled out for preparing questionnaires for written replies/evidence/report for the use of the Committee. Material from unconventional sources such as internet, newsclippings etc. was also utilised for examination and report of the subject. 2.28 The Secretariat also collected material from on-the-spot studies and judiciously utilized the inputs in the preparation of the Reports of the Committee. 2.29 The Secretariat dealt with the work relating to the scrutiny of action taken notes received from the Ministries concerned on the recommendations contained in the Reports of the Committee. ANNEXURE-II (See para 2.3) Details of the sittings of the Committee on Petitions during the year 2008.
Sl. Date of Time Main Agenda No. Meeting Devoted Hrs.–Mts.
1 2 3 4 1. 23.1.2008 0.52 to further hear the secretary and other Officers of Ministry of Human resource Development (Department of School Education and Literacy) on the petition praying for national debate and evolving consensus on the implementation of the policy for introduction of sex education in the CBSE affiliated Schools and holding back its introduction until then. 2. 21.2.2008 2.15 to hear the representatives of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi on the petition praying for national debate and evolving consensus on the implementation of the policy for introduction of sex education in the CBSE affiliated Schools and holding back its introduction until then. 3. 28.3.2008 0.30 to review the pending petitions and Action Taken Notes on its Reports. 4. 10.6.2008 1.40 to hear Shri Ram Naik and others on the petition praying for integration and empowerment of leprosy affected persons. 5. 11.6.2008 1.20 to hear Jainacharya Srimad Vijay Ratnasundarsuri and others on the petition praying for grant of exemption to certain categories of charitable organizations from payment of income-tax on receipt of anonymous donations. 6. 23.6.2008 1.00 to hear the petitioner, Shri Gurjit Singh on his petition praying for imposition of reasonable restrictions on the use of mobile phone. 7. 01.7.2008 0.30 to consider the ATN received from the M/o Women and Child Development on the recommendation made by the Committee in its Hundred and Twenty-nineth Report on the petition praying for ICDS Scheme by converting it into a regular Department under the M/o HRD and regularization of services of Anganwadi workers/helpers as employees of that Department. 8. 2.7.2008 0.50` to hear the representatives of the Ministries of Home Affairs and Law and Justice on the petition on misuse of Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression by the Print and Electronic media and the need to restrict it under Article 19(2) of the Constitution. 9. 11.7.2008 0.55 to hear the Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on the petition on misuse of right to freedom of speech and expression by the print and electronic media and the need to restrict it under Article 19(2) of the Constitution. 10. 13.8.2008 0.30 to decide its future course of action on the petition praying for imposition of reasonable restrictions on the use of mobile phones. 11. 4.9.2008 0.25 to consider Memorandum No. 4/2008 on media reports relating to examination of the petition praying for imposition of reasonable restrictions on the use on mobile phone. 29 30
1 2 3 4
12. 26.9.2008 1.15 to hear oral evidence of the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the petition praying for integration and empowerment of leprosy affected persons. 13. 6.10.2008 0.40 to discuss the response received from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the issue concerning the petition on integration and empowerment of Leprosy Affected Persons (LAPs) 14. 21.10.2008 0.15 to consider and adopt its draft Report on the petition praying for integration and empowerment of Leprosy Affected persons (LAPs) 15. 7.11.2008 0.40 to consider and adopt its draft Report on the petition regarding misuse of Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression by the Print and Electronic media and the need to restrict it under Article 19(2) of the Constitution. 16. 18.11.2008 1.00 to transact the following business: (i) adoption of its draft 132nd Report; (ii) Further consider of Memorandum No. 4/2008 on media reports relating to examination petition on restriction of mobile phones and (iii) hear the petitioner on petition reg. benefits of pay revision and pension to the VRS optees and retirees of IFCI. 17. 3.12.2008 1.00 to transact the following business: (i) consideration and adoption of its draft 132nd Report; (ii) consideration of Memorandum No. 4/2008 on media report relating to petition for imposition of reasonable restrictions on the use on mobile phones and (iii) oral evidence of management of IFCI and representatives of M/o Finance on the petition regarding benefits of pay revision and pension to the VRS optees and retirees of IFCI. 18. 23.12. 2008 0.40 To review status of the pending petitions. CHAPTER-III COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT ASSURANCES
I. Composition of the Committee 3. The Committee on Government Assurances was constituted on 4.9.2006 and was allowed to continue till 28th May, 2008 when the present Committee was reconstituted. 3.2 The Committee constituted on 4th September, 2006 consisted of the following Members:— COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT ASSURANCES (Constituted on the 4th September, 2006) 1. Shri A. Vijayaraghavan — Chairman 2. Shri Janardhana Poojari 3. Shri Satyavrat Chaturvedi 4. Shrimati Prema Cariappa 5. Shri Ramdas Agarwal 6. Shri Ajay Maroo 7. Shri Bhagwati Singh 8. Shri Ravula Chandra Sekar Reddy 9. Shri Robert Kharshiing 10. Shri B.J. Panda The present Committee was reconstituted on 28th May, 2008, consists of the following Members:— COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT ASSURANCES (Constituted on the 28th May, 2008) 1. Shri A. Vijayaraghavan — Chairman 2. Shri Satyavrat Chaturvedi 3. Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan 4. Shrimati Viplove Thakur 5. Shri Ramdas Agarwal 6. Shri Shanta Kumar 7. Shri Brij Bhushan Tiwari 8. Shri B.J. Panda 9. Shri O.T. Lepcha 10. Shri Thomas Sangma
II. Subjects selected for Examination 3.3 The Committee on Government Assurances examined the assurances pertaining to the following subject:—
Sl. Assurance No. Brief Subject Name of Status No. (with date) taken up Ministry for examination 1 2 3 4 5 1. (i) Supplementary put by (i) Insurance Information & The assurances were Shri P.K. Maheshwari, scheme for Broadcasting dropped on 11.03.2008. M.P. on SQ. No. 164 journalists dated 3.3.2003
31 32
1 2 3 4 5 (ii) USQ. No. 2203 dated (ii) Insurance 13.3.2003 scheme for journalists 2. (i) USQ. No. 3996 dated (i) Expansion of Tribal Affairs -do- 28.4.2003 TSP Area (ii) USQ. No. 1290 dated (ii) Declaring tribal 16.8.2004 Sub-plan areas as scheduled areas 3. USQ. No. 4381 dated Corruption in Defence The Committee did not 4.5.2005 armed forces accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 4. (i) USQ. No. 1459 dated (i) Simplification Finance The Committee did not 6.12.2005 of information accede to the request of the brochures for Ministry for dropping of the insurance assurances and directed that products the Ministry be asked to (ii) USQ. No. 410 dated (ii) Reforms in furnish a Status Note in the 5.12.2006 insurance sector matter. (iii) USQ. No. 2174 dated (iii) FDI in 12.12.2006 insurance sector (iv) USQ. No. 2310 dated (iv) Bill raising 20.3.2007 FDI in insurance sector 5. (i) USQ. No. 2696 dated (i) Proposals of Rural The assurances were 10.5.2006 Madhya Pradesh Development dropped on 11.03.2008. (ii) USQ. No. 854 dated under SGSY 29.11.2006 (ii) Proposals pending under SGSY from M.P. 6. USQ. No. 574 dated Opening of Indian Human The Committee did not 31.7.2006 Institute of Resource accede to the request of the Information Development Ministry for dropping of the Technology in assurance and directed that each State the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 7. Supplementary put Earning of DD Information & The Committee did not by Shri Kuldip Broadcasting accede to the request of the Nayyar, M.P. on SQ. Ministry for dropping of the No. 265 dated assurance and directed that 10.3.2003 the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter and decided to hear the Secretary, Ministry of information and Broadcasting in the matter on a later date. 33
1 2 3 4 5 8. USQ. No. 39 dated Change in Defence The assurance was dropped 23.11.2005 designation of on 30.06.2008. MNS Cadre 9. Supplementary put by Encouraging Defence -do- Shri Rajeev Shukla, indigenous M.P. on SQ. No. 63 production of dated 22.2.2006 Defence equipment 10. Supplementary put by FDI in print and Information & The assurances were Dr. Murli Manohar electronic media Broadcasting dropped on 30.06.2008. Joshi, M.P. on SQ. However, the Committee No. 167 dated 14.3.2006 directed that the Ministry be asked to maintain the data and keep it available in the Ministry for record. 11. USQ. No. 178 dated Single window Commerce and The Committee did not 26.7.2006 clearance Industry accede to the request of the mechanism for Ministry for dropping of the manufacturing assurance and directed that units the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 12. USQ. No. 52 dated Terrorist attack in Home Affairs The assurance was dropped 22.11.2006 Malegaon, on 30.06.2008. Maharashtra 13. USQ. No. 1188 dated IIIT in Orissa Human The Committee did not 4.12.2006 Resource accede to the request of the Development Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note giving clear cut answer to the subject and decided to hear the Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Develop- ment alongwith the Secretary, Planning Commission in the matter on a later date. 14. USQ. No. 2728 dated Financial Food The Committee did not 18.12.2006 assistance for cold Processing accede to the request of the storage Industries Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note and decided to hear the Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries alongwith the Secretary, Planning Commission in the matter on a later date. 34
1 2 3 4 5 15. USQ. No. 1746 dated Gujarat Industrial Labour & The Committee did not 14.3.2007 Park Ordinance Employment accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a latest Status Note in the matter. 16. (i) USQ. No. 3861 (i) Increase in Law & Justice The assurances were dated 22.5.2006 retirement age of dropped on 30.06.2008. Judges in High Courts (ii) USQ. No. 2824 (ii) Extension of dated 10.9.2007 retirement age of High Court Judges 17. USQ. No. 477 dated Regarding review of Human The assurance was dropped 3.12.1999 the working of Resource on 25.09.2008. National Book Development Trust 18. SQ. No. 45 dated Regarding reforms Food -do- 3.12.2004 in FPI Sector of Processing Karnataka Industries 19. USQ. No. 2162 dated Regarding affix Power The Committee did not 22.12.2004 energy labels accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter and decided to hear the Secretary, Ministry of Power in the matter on a later date. 20. (i) USQ. No. 2915 dated (i) Additional gas Petroleum & The Committee did not 23.8.2005 to North Eastern Natural Gas accede to the request of the (ii) SQ. No. 125 dated States Ministry for dropping of the 2.8.2005 (ii) Diplomacy on oil assurances and directed that (iii) SQ. No. 560 dated (iii) Iran-India the Ministry be asked to 23.5.2006 Pipeline Project furnish a Status Note in the (iv) USQ. No. 813 dated (iv) Import of LNG matter. 1.8.2006 from Iran (v) USQ. No. 2220 dated (v) Russia’s 12.12.2006 Participation in Iran Pipeline Project 21. USQ. No. 2295 dated Data protection Chemicals and The assurance was dropped 18.8.2006 under TRIPS Fertilizers on 25.09.2008. agreement 22. USQ.No. 422 dated Agreement on Human The Committee did not 27.11.2006 quota to private Resource accede to the request of the educational Development Ministry for dropping of the institutions assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 35
1 2 3 4 5 23. USQ. No. 709 dated Coastal security Home Affairs The Committee did not 5.3.2008 scheme accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note on the proposal to establish National Marine Police raining Institute in Kerala and details of progress made with regard to the implementation of the scheme in all the 9 States and 4 Union Territories. 24. USQ. No. 931 dated Sales tax scam in Petroleum & The Committee did not 28.11.2000 Gujarat Natural Gas accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurnace and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter, and if necessary, the Committee may hear Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in the matter. 25. USQ. No. 1137 dated Losses in Forest Environment The Committee did not 12.12.2003 Plantation and Forest accede to the request of the Development Ministry for dropping of the Corporation assurance and directed that Limited the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 26. (i) USQ. No. 1459 (i) Simplification Finance The assurances were dated 6.12.2005 of information dropped on 18.11.2008. brochure for (ii) USQ. No. 1410 Insurance products dated 5.12.2006 (ii) Reforms in (iii) USQ. No. 2174 insurance sector dated 12.12.2006 (iii) FDI in (iv) USQ. No. 2310 insurance sector dated 20.3.2007 (iv) Bill raising FDI in insurance sector 27. USQ. No. 162 dated Setting up of Shipping, The assurance was dropped 2.3.2006 Indian Maritime Road on 18.11.2008 Service cadre Transport & Highways 28. USQ. No. 926 dated Formation of Haj External The Committee did not 30.11.2006 Corporation Affairs accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 36
1 2 3 4 5 29. Supplementary raised Cleanliness in Health & The Committee did not by Shri Rudranarayan Government Family accede to the request of the Pany, M.P. on Rajya Hospitals Welfare Ministry for dropping of the Sabha SQ. No. 282 assurance and directed that dated 10.3.2006 the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 30. SQ. No. 141 dated Meeting of Indo- External The assurance was dropped 8.3.2007 Pak Foreign Affairs on 18.11.2008. Ministers 31. USQ. No. 2315 dated Investment by LIC Finance The Committee did not 20.3.2007 in sick companies accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter, and if necessary the Committee may hear Secretary, Ministry of Finance in the matter. 32. Supplementary raised FDI in cruise Shipping, The assurance was dropped by Dr. M.S. Gill, M.P. Shipping space Road on 18.11.2008. in Rajya Sabha SQ. Transport & No. 606 dated Highways 17.5.2007 33. USQ. No. 2172 dated New Education Human The Committee did not 3.9.2007 Policy Resource accede to the request of the Development Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 34. USQ. No. 3720 dated Old pension Home Affairs The Committee did not 9.5.2007 scheme for para- accede to the request of the military forces Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 35. USQ. No. 2445 Handloom Export Textiles The Committee did not dated 5.9.2007 Zones in Tamil accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter.
36. USQ. No. 741 National Heritage Minister of The Commitee did not accede dated 27.11.2007 Commission Culture to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Minis try be asked to furnish a Sta tus Note in the matter. 37
1 2 3 37. USQ. No. 741 dated National Heritage Minister of The Committee did not 27.11.2007 Commission` Culture accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. 38. USQ. No. 2090 dated Production of Steel Steel The Committee did not 7.12.2007 accede to the request of the Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note by collecting the information from the States and report back to the Committee. 39. USQ. No. 188 dated Production of pure Science & The Committee did not 27.2.2008 water from Technology accede to the request of the moisture Ministry for dropping of the assurance and directed that the Ministry be asked to furnish a Status Note in the matter. III. Review of Work Done
(a) Sittings of the Committee 3.4 During the year 2008, the Committee held 6 sittings lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes. Statement showing the dates of sittings of the Committee held during the period under review, the duration of the sittings, and the subject discussed are given in Annexure-III.
(b) Study visits
Place Name of the Organisation Subject
1 2 3 Kolkata-Port Blair- (i) State Bank of India Assurances arising from (i) Unstarred Ahmedabad (ii) Chief Secretary, Andaman and Question No. 4992 dated 10-5-2002 regarding from 3rd to 8th Nicobar Islands Administration disbursement of loans to farmers by major February, 2008 (iii) Coal India Ltd. banks (ii) Unstarred Question No. 4340 (iv) UCO Bank dated 15-5-2007 regarding loans given by (v) Hoogly Dock and Port Engineers banks to SCs/STs (iii) Starred Question Ltd. No. 564 dated 4-5-2005 regarding (vi) United Bank of India misappropriation of funds for disasters (vii) Kolkata Port Trust rehabilitation by private institutions (viii) Allahabad Bank (iv) Unstarred Question No. 418 dated 23-2-2006 (ix) ONGC Ltd. regarding shifting the head quarters of (x) Kandla Port Trust CIL (v) Unstarred Question No. 2879 dated (xi) Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. 24-8-2006 regarding setting up of a Coal (xii) State Bank of Saurashtra Videsh Ltd. (vi) Unstarred Question No. 779 dated 6-3-2007 regarding regulation over loans provided by Banks (vii) Unstarred Question No. 2307 dated 20-3-2007 38
1 2 3 regarding different rates of interest charged by banks (viii) Unstarred Question No. 809 dated 9-12-2004 regarding revival plan for HDPEL (ix) Unstarred Question No. 1216 dated 4-8-2005 regarding revival plan for HDPEL (x) Starred Question No. 66 dated 27-7-2006 regarding corporatization of major ports (xi) Unstarred Question No. 1687 dated 9-8-2005 regarding abandoned oil fields in Western Offshore (xii) Unstarred Question No. 1014 dated 21-8-2007 regarding adulteration of petrol and diesel. Mumbai-Bangalore from (i) Bank of India Assurances arising from (i) Unstarred 27th to 31st July, 2008 (ii) Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Question No. 522 dated 4-3-2008 regarding Ltd. subsidy in interest components on educa- (iii) Central Bank of India tional loans and (ii) Starred Question (iv) Bankof Maharashtra No. 567 dated 6-5-2008 regarding loan waiver (v) Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. scheme for farmers (iii) Unstarred Question (vi) Nuclear Power Corporation Ltd. No. 1674 dated 9-8-2005 regarding demand (vii) Dena Bank and supply of Kerosene and assurances (viii) Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. pertaining to allocation of kerosene to (ix) Union Bank of India various States (iv) Unstarred Question (x) Bank of Baroda No. 2639 dated 17-4-2008 regarding Nuclear (xi) Corporation Bank Power Corporation of India (v) Unstarred (xii) Syndicate Bank Question No. 2609 dated 16-12-2005 (xiii) Vijaya Bank regarding agreement with manufacturers (xiv) State Bank of Mysore on drug price control (vi) Unstarred (xv) Karnataka Antibiotics and Question No. 3267 dated 16-5-2006 Pharmaceuticals Ltd. regarding revival of major companies (xvi) HMT Ltd. (xvii) Canara Bank New Delhi on GAIL India Limited (i) Unstarred Question No. 1678 dated Thursday, the 25th 09-08-2005 regarding Jagadispur-Haldia September, 2008 Pipeline Project (ii) Unstarred Question No. 2900 dated 23-08-2005 regarding GAILs agreement with China Gas Holding Corpo- ration (iii) Unstarred Question No. 3797 dated 29-04-2008 regarding Gas Pipeline for Goa. Kochi and (i) State Bank of Travancore (i) USQ No. 1909 dated 18.03.2008 Lakshadweep from (ii) Lakshadweep Administration regarding Allowances and Benefits in 3rd to 9th December, (iii) Shipping Corporation of India Banking Industry (ii) USQ No. 4213 dated 2008 (iv) Cochin Port Trust 06-05-2008 regarding credit sources for poor (v) Coir Board women in the country (iii) SQ No. 564 dated (vi) Cochin Shipyard Ltd. 04-05-2005 regarding misappropriation of (vii) Fertilizers and Chemicals funds for disaster rehabilitation by private Travancore Ltd. institutions (iv) USQ No. 709 dated 05.03.2008 (viii) State Trading Corporation Ltd. regarding coastal security scheme (v) USQ and PEC Limited No. 3319 dated 22.12.2005 regarding opening up of cruise shipping sector (vi) USQ No. 2576 dated 06.09.2007 regarding recommendations on port 39
1 2 3 security (vii) SQ No. 337 dated 06.09.2007 regarding upgradation of Cochin port (viii) SQ No. 725 dated 16.05.2002 regarding Privatisation of Coir Board (ix) USQ No. 181 dated 04.08.2006 regarding revival plan for sick fertilizer units (x) USQ No. 2643 dated 07.09.2007 regarding revival of sick units (xi) U.S.Q. No. 1553 dated 16.3.2005 regarding provisions of compensation for multiple duties and taxes on exports. 3.6 Verbatim record of proceedings of the sittings of the Committee in which evidence was taken has been maintained. These comprised of 85 pages. IV. Reports Finalised and Presented 3.7 During 2008 the Committee presented the following Report to the House.
Sl. Report Subject Presented on No. No. 1. 62nd Review of progress of implementation of assurances 18th December, 2008 V. Summary of Recommendations (a) 62nd Report 3.8 The Committee recommended that the Ministries/Departments of the Government of India should streamline their existing mechanism of monitoring of assurances with a view to liquidate them within the shortest possible time. Timely fulfilment of assurances was critically important, for, if their fulfilment was delayed inordinately, the assurances became irrelevant and lost their significance with the passage of time and their fulfilment reduced to a mere technicality. 3.9 The Committee was anguished to note the casual attitude of the Government in fulfilling the assurance which pertained to an incident of explosion in train in which innocent lives were lost. If the security mechanism of Railways had been effective, such an incident would not have occurred. It was emphasized by the Committee time and again that before forwarding the Implementation Report, the Ministry must ensure that the assurance had been fulfilled in totality. In the instant case when the investigations were not complete there was no point in sending the Implementation Report. It was a grave matter and all efforts should have been made to nail the guilty especially in view of increase in terrorist attacks in the country. The Ministry should have expedited the investigations and bring the guilty to book as the lackadaisical approach of the Government would embolden those who were involved in nefarious activities putting at risk lives of millions of travelers and weaken the lifeline of the country. The Committee recommended that the Ministry take urgent steps to complete the investigations and take necessary steps to fulfill the assurance in its totality. 3.10 It appeared that the Ministry was in great hurry to fulfill the assurance as it sent the Implementation Report without ascertaining that the Implementation Report was complete in all respects. Even before completing the pre feasibility studies of Southern Corridors it sent the Implementation Report. The Ministry should have ensured that the pre Feasibility Studies were completed at the earliest so that decision on the construction of high- speed corridors could be taken. These corridors would benefit millions of passengers by reducing travel time, in turn benefiting the Railways by boosting revenue. The Committee expected that the Ministry would complete the feasibility studies expeditiously and report back to the Committee about the fulfilment of the assurance. 3.11 The Committee noted the Ministry had conveniently put the onus of fulfilment of the assurance on Ministry of External Affairs, whereas the assurance pertained to the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Himalayan Range plays an important role in the ecology of the Indian subcontinent. Any ecological disturbance in the region has a detrimental effect on the environment and the damage caused by construction in the area may be far reaching. The Committee also observed that the Implementation Report was silent 40 on the issue of interaction/discussion with the Chinese counterpart on the matter. The Report mentioned that the Government kept a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India's security whereas the assurance pertained to the effect of construction activities on the Himalayas. The Committee was surprised to note as to how the Ministry sidetracked the issue and furnished an Implementation Report without ensuring that every aspect of the assurance had been addressed to. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should pursue the assurance in all seriousness and take necessary steps to liquidate the assurance. 3.12 The Committee expressed its displeasure at the half-hearted approach of the Ministry in fulfilling the assurance related to tigers. The dwindling tiger population was a major concern in the country. Mindless killing and poaching had already taken a heavy toll on the tiger population in the country, which was on the brink of extinction. The slack attitude of the Government was a blow to the efforts of those engaged in conservation of tiger. The Ministry should have expedited the investigations and present the findings of the investigations and also provided the details of action taken against the guilty so that the assurance was fulfilled in its totality. 3.13 The Committee recommended that the Ministry should have taken up the matter with the Planning Commission to expedite the confirmation of the allocation. To meet the challengers of the competition posed by the private operators, the Ministry should have taken urgent steps to get the tentative allocation confirmed by the Planning Commission. The field of Communication was rapidly evolving hence any delay on the part of the Government would cause further losses to the Government as well as deprive the people from making use of communication facilities especially in rural areas. The Ministry must have also provided the details of the investment proposed to be made during the Eleventh Five Year Plan and accordingly take steps to fulfill the assurance. 3.14 The Committee was pained to note the casual attitude of the Ministry in fulifilling the assurance. The proposal of the Government of Kerala should have been examined at the right earnest and a decision should have been arrived to liquidate the assurance. The Ministry should have taken pro active approach to set up shipyards as major portion of the world shipbuilding activity had shifted to Asia, mainly Japan, Korea and China. At present the Shipping industry was at the receiving end due to Government policies. Unless the Government acted speedily to support the shipbuilding industry, it would be very difficult to compete with foreign counterparts. 3.15 The Committee observed that the recommendation made by the Task Force would be effective only if the comments/suggestions from the concerned Ministries/Departments were received and acted upon. In view of the observations made in the Rajendra Sachar Report, it was imperative that the Government invite the comments/suggestions of the concerned Ministries/Departments at the earliest. The Committee would like the Ministry to take required action to implement the recommenations so that maximum number of people could benefit from them and then fulfil the assurance accordingly. 3.16 The issue of Bangladeshi migrants in the country was of great concern as it puts a lot of pressure on the limited resources of an area. Besides there were incidents of their involvement in anti-national activities in the country. Due to ethnic and linguisitc similarities it was difficult to distinguish them from the locals. It was an issue that needed to be addressed urgently otherwise it would lead to a multidimensional problem. The Ministry should have taken urgent steps to streamline the process of identification of Bangladeshi migrants and taken a decision regarding putting restrictions on them and report back to the Committee about the fulfilment of the assurance in its totality. 3.17 With the liberalisation of the Indian economy, private sector investment had become a major factor for infrastructure development. The Ministry should come out with some concrete measures/some bold incentives to attract private investment in Ports as it would have long term effects on the economy. The Committee expressed its displeasure and aunguish that the Ministry was not coming forward with vital information in the reply and hoped that the Ministry would expedite the information and liquidate the assurance. 3.18 The Committee observed that opening up of the Broadcasting Sector had brought forward various players in the field who wanted to reap the benefit from the boom in this sector. At this juncture the need for an 41 independent Regulatory mechanism to monitor their operations was being felt particularly in view of the quality of programmes being broadcast by various channels. The Ministry should have taken a decision in this regard and fulfill the assurance. 3.19 The Committee was appalled by the attitude of the Ministry in not fulfilling the assurance related to one of the premier health institutes in the country. By replying to a part of the assurance, the Ministry displayed its casual attitude towards fulfilling the assurance. Of late AIIMS was in the news for reasons other than related to the medical field. Such unwarranted circumstances would lead to its deviation from its objectives of providing quality medical education and health care to the millions of citizens in the country. The Committee was of the view that the recommendations of the Expert Committee would help the Institute to reach dizzy heights and achieve higher goals. The Ministry, therefore, should have come out with the recommendations of the Expert Committee and also taken steps expeditiously to implement them and accordingly fulfill the assurance. 3.20 Media reports were full of illegal and inhuman tactics used by the banks and their agents to recover loans from defaulters. In some cases, the harassed customers had even committeed suicide to escape harassment from the agents. It was surprising that the Ministry had not bothered to issue the final guidelines which would help in mitigating the sufferings of customers who availed loans from banks and Credit Card Holders. The Committee desired that the Ministry to take urgent steps to issue the guidelines at the earliest to safeguard customers from the strong arm tactics adopted by the banks to recover loans from them and accordingly fulfil the assurance in its totality. 3.21 The Committee recommended that development of North Eastern Region should be given due importance by the Government to pacify the people's unrest and prevent the people from migrating to the other parts of the country in search of employment and education. The Ministry must have ensured that the projects earmarked for the region were expeditiously completed so that the region could move forward on the path of development and prosperity. The details about progress of the project may accordingly be supplied to liquidate the assurance. 3.22 The Committee found it to be a classic case where one authority passing the responsibility to another for completing a project in this first stage. It was surprising that no serious action was taken by the Central Public Works Department so far though the Government had given sanction for covering the nullah. It was clear that the nullah was a health hazard to the residents of nearby localities. Further, it was surprising that such a matter was taking undue long time to be completed in the heart of the capital of the country and one wondered what would be state of affairs in the rest of the country. The Committee directed the Ministry to take urgent action in the matter and make that area eco-friendly; liquidate the assurance without further delay and send a final reply in the matter. 3.23 The Committee noted with surprise that how the Ministry could send a fulfilment report without answering the essence of the question i.e. by when the project wil be completed. It was callous and insensitive on the part of the Ministry to send such incomplete report. The Committee urged the Government to take prompt action in the matter and liquidate the assurance. 3.24 The Committee was surprised to note that the Ministry did not bother to reply to all parts of the Question thereby displaying its casual attitude in fulfilling the assurance. The Ministry furnished the reply as a mere formality completely ignoring the other aspect of the Question i.e., the action contemplated by the Government. The Committee directed the Ministry to pursue the assurance in right earnest. 3.25 The economic development of minority communities was a very important issue for the Government. Lack of sense of urgency on the part of the Government in matters related to the minority community did not augur well in the social fabric of the country. Every attempt should have been made so that they could also enjoy the facilities enjoyed by other and thereby could be brought into the mainstream and allowed to reap the benefits of economic development. The Committee directed the Ministry to make available the information as asked for in the Quetion at the earliest. 3.26 The Committee was anguished to note the callous attitude of the Ministry towards fulfilment of the assurance. Sexual harassment was a sensitive subject especially pertaining to innocent children. The Ministry 42 should have taken steps to investigate the matter completely and present complete facts to the Committee instead of furnishing an evasive reply. The Ministry was silent about the position during the last two years, the details of investigation, action being taken by the Government and whether Government was considering making the penal provisions stringent in this regard. The Ministry conveniently chose to ignore the information asked for in the question and merely furnished a routine reply that the Ministry had written to the Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs to take suitable remedial measures. Simply writing to Chief Secretaries did not absolve the Government of its responsibility in the matter. The Committee was of the view that remedial measures were not enough to deal with the problem. The Government should have directly taken steps to make provisions for stringent action against the guilty and if necessary made amendments in the statutes instead of initiating half-hearted measures to root out the malaise affecting the society. The assurance should have been fulfilled accordingly. 3.27 The Committee observed that time-frame is a vital aspect of any project. By simply saying that schemes had been launched did not fulfil the responsibility of the Government. The responsibility of the Government was not over till a project was completed and met the objectives with which it was started. The Committee directed the Ministry to intimate about the commencement of the various projects launched and progress made so far with the objective of improving environmental conditions. 3.28 In view of the fact that an assurance was given on the floor of the House, it should be treated as fulfilled only after an Implementation Report towards its satisfactory fulfilment was laid on the Table of the House. The Committee directed that the Ministry may seek extension of time from the Committee till an Implementation Report was laid on the Table of the House. 3.29 The Committee was of the view that in the present scenario the increasing demand for energy was an indicator of the rapid growth of the Indian economy. To meet the rising demand there was an urgent need to ensure that the production also matched the energy demands of the different sectors of the economy be it agriculture, industries, shipping, mines etc. A deficiency in the supply would be an impediment in the growth of the economy. Therefore an energetic approach on part of the Government was the need of the hour. 3.30 The Committee was of the view that extensive publicity should have been given to the schemes started by banks for providing education loans to students so that a large number of students particularly those belonging to the rural areas were able to benefit from them. The Committee also noted the difficulties faced by the banks in recovering outstanding loans from students. To counter the situation, the Committee recommended that a scheme be formulated by the banks to recover the loans from the students from their salary once they were employed. It should be made mandatory for the students, on joining an organisation, to inform their employers about the loan availed by them so that provision could be made for recovering the outstanding loans from their salary.
VI. Secretariat 3.31 The Committee Section (Government Assurances) headed by a Committee Officer constitutes the Secretariat of the Committee. A Joint Secretary, a Director and a Joint Director remained in-charge of the Branch. 3.32 To assist the Committee in its work, material received from the Ministries/Departments/Various non- official organizations and individuals was studied from which points were culled out and questionnaires for writtern replies/evidence prepared for the use of the Committee. 3.33 The Secretariat also collected material for on-the-spot studies and gave inputs during the study visits undertaken by the Committee. 3.34 The work relating to drafting of the Reports of the Committee alongwith their presentation, laying, printing and distribution was also undertaken by the Secretariat. 3.35 The Secretariat also studied material like Parliamentary Debates, answers to Parliamentary Questions etc. relevant to the subjects under examination of the Committee. ANNEXURE-III (See Para 3.4) Details of the Sittings of the Committee on Government Assurances during the year 2008
Sl. Date of Duration Subject No. Meeting Hrs.-Mts. 1. 11.03.2008 20 mins The Committee considered requests of various Ministries for dropping of assurances. 2. 30.06.2008 55 mins The Committee considered requests of various Ministries for dropping of assurances and also considered its future programme and decided to visit some of the places i.e. Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad during the last week of July, 2008. 3. 21.08.2008 1 hr 50 mins The Committee heard the representatives of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in connection with the progress of implementation of pending assurances particularly assurances relating to Law to confiscate property of corrupt public servants and other pending assurances of the Ministry. 4. 25.09.2008 30 mins The Committee considered requests of various Ministries for dropping of assurances. 5. 18.11.2008 45 mins The Committee considered requests of various Ministries for dropping of assurances. 6. 17.12.2008 30 mins The Committee considered and adopted the 62nd Report and also considered its future programme and decided to visit Jodhpur, Udaipur, Mumbai, Daman & Diu and Silvassa sometime in the month of January- February 2009.
43 CHAPTER-IV COMMITTEE ON PAPERS LAID ON THE TABLE
I. Composition of the Committee 4. The Committee on Papers Laid on the Table was constituted on the 4th September, 2006 and was reconstituted on the 28th May, 2008. 4.2 The Committee consisted of the following Members:— COMMITTEE ON PAPERS LAID ON THE TABLE (Constituted on the 4th September, 2006) 1. Shrimati Syeda Anwara Taimur — Chairperson 2. Shri Nabam Rebia 3. Shri G. Sanjeeva Reddy 4. Shri Jayantilal Barot 5. Shri Vijay Kumar Rupani 6. Shri Mangani Lal Mandal 7. Shri Datta Meghe 8. Shri Varinder Singh Bajwa 9. Shri Ajay Singh Chautala 10. Sardar Tarlochan Singh COMMITTEE ON PAPERS LAID ON THE TABLE (Constituted on the 28th May, 2008) 1. Shrimati Syeda Anwara Taimur — Chairperson 2. Shri B.S. Gnanadesikan 3. Shri G. Sanjeeva Reddy 4. Shri Vijay Kumar Rupani 5. Shri Prakash Javadekar 6. Shri Varinder Singh Bajwa 7. Shri Ajay Singh Chautala 8. Sardar Tarlochan Singh 9. Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy 10. Shri Mahmood A. Madani
II. Subjects selected for examination 4.3 The Committee on Papers Laid on the Table, Rajya Sabha performed the following functions:— (i) Examined the laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of Government Companies, Public Sector Undertakings, bodies created by Acts of Parliament, Cooperatives, Institutes and Societies framed and financed by the Government; (ii) Examined the delay in the laying of the Government Notifications/Orders on the Table of Rajya Sabha; and (iii) Monitored the implementation by the Ministries on the recommendations of the Committee set out in its various reports.
44 45
III. Review of work done
(a) Sittings of the Committee 4.4 During the year 2008, the Committee held 12 sittings lasting for 12 hrs. A statement showing the dates of sittings of the Committee held during the period under review, the duration of the sittings and the subjects discussed are given in Annexure IV. 4.5 The Committee examined 102 cases of requests received from the Ministries regarding grant of extension of time for laying the Annual Reports/Audited Accounts of Government Companies/Organisations and the Committee after due examination granted extension in 88 cases. 3 cases were placed before the Committee for its consideration and in 11 cases the Committee directed the Ministries to send revised request for extension of time. The Committee undertook two local visits and held discussions with the managements of the concerned Government organizations. In rest of the cases, representatives of Ministries and organizations were invited for oral evidence before the Committee.
(b) Study Visits 4.6 During the year 2008, the Committee visited the following Organisations to discuss with the management regarding the delayed laying of their Annual Reports and Audited Accounts on the Table of the Rajya Sabha:—
Sl. No. Date of visit Company/Organisation visited 1. 15.07.2008 i(i) National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar. (ii) Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS), Leh. 2. 16.07.2008 i(i) Jammu & Kashmir Development Finance Corporation Limited, Jammu. (ii) Ujala Society Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Srinagar. 3. 17.07.2008 Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering & Winter Sports (JIM), Pahalgam. 4. 16.09.2008 i(i) School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi. (ii) All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi.
IV. Reports presented 4.7 During the year 2008, the Committee presented the following Reports to the House:—
Sl. Report No. Date of Subject No. Presentation
1 2 3 4 1. 110 27.02.2008 Regarding laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of University of Delhi, Delhi; Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan, Ujjain; Sports Authority of India, New Delhi; Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha, New Delhi. 2. 111 27.02.2008 Government Notifications/Orders and Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of Government Companies/Organisations laid by the various Ministries on the Table of the House during the 210th Session of Rajya Sabha. 3. 112 27.02.2008 Government Notifications/Orders and Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of Government Companies/Organisations laid by the various Ministries on the Table of the House during the 211th Session. 4. 113 21.10.2008 Regarding laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi; National Culture Fund (NCF), New Delhi and Development Council for Sugar Industry, New Delhi. 46
1 2 3 4 5. 114 21.10.2008 Regarding laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation Limited (MAIDC), Mumbai and Goa Meat Complex Limited (GMCL), Panjim, Goa. 6. 115 21.10.2008 Government Notifications/Orders and Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of Government companies/organisations laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha during the 212th Session. 7. 116 18.12.2008 Government Notifications/Orders and Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of Government Companies/Organisations laid by the various Ministries/Departments on the Table of the House during the 213th Session of Rajya Sabha. 8. 117 18.12.2008 Regarding laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the various State Agro Industries Corporations.
V. Summary of Recommendations
(a) 110th Report
University of Delhi, New Delhi [Ministry of Human Resource Development (Deptt. of Higher Education)] 4.8 The Committee recommended that the Ministry along with the University should set, if necessary, a revised time schedule, so that the papers are laid on the Table within the prescribed period. It also urged upon the Ministry to ensure that the pending papers are laid on the Table of the House as early as possible and that effective steps be taken to lay the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts simultaneously so as to give to Parliament, at a given time, complete and fair picture of the functioning of the University. 4.9 The Committee further recommended that the Ministry and the University may take up the matter of delay in audit of Accounts with the C&AG. The Ministry must ensure that the Audited Accounts and the Audit Certificate are received from the C&AG within time so as to expedite the process of laying of papers on the Table of the House. 4.10 The Committee also impressed upon the Ministry to follow a proper procedure for seeking extension of time and invariably approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for seeking extension of the time in case of any delay in the laying of the papers by citing cogent reasons and lay the papers on the Table of the House within the extended period granted. The Committee was not satisfied with the submission of the Ministry that it has laid the delay statement for the year 2005-06 on the 8th May, 2007 (The statement has actually been laid on the 14th of May, 2007). It should have done this much earlier if it was not in a position to lay the papers, as the prescribed time for laying was upto 31st December, 2005. It was also at a loss to understand that sometimes delay statements could not be laid in time because the Ministry did not get cogent reasons for delays etc. In view of the Committee this shows lack of coordination between the Ministry and the University. If delay is taking place somewhere, the University should know where it is happening and it must apprise this fact to the Ministry so that, if need be delay statement could be laid mentioning therein reasons for delay. Without specifying causes of delay, a delay statement is incomplete and unacceptable. 4.11 The Committee also urged upon the Ministry and through it to the University to enhance the pace of computerization, so that the work relating to preparation of Annual Report and compilation of Annual Accounts could be speeded up.
Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan, Ujjain [Ministry of Human Resource Development (Deptt. of Higher Education)] 4.12 The Committee also urged upon the Ministry to strictly follow its recommendations pertaining to seeking extension of time citing cogent reasons in case of delay in laying the papers; laying a comprehensive delay statement along with the Annual Report and Audited Accounts and laying a comprehensive review 47 covering broad performance of the organization and a brief description of the critical areas along with the Annual Report.
Sports Authority of India (SAI), New Delhi (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports) 4.13 The Committee, emphasised that the SAI as well as the Ministry should monitor the time schedule prepared for each stage involved in the preparation of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts closely so that papers of the SAI are laid on the Table of the House within the prescribed time limit i.e., within nine months from the date of closure of the annual accounts. The Committee further recommended that the SAI and the Ministry should take all possible steps to ensure that pending reports of the Authority are laid on the Table of the House at the earliest. 4.14 The Committee also suggested that the Ministry and the Authority may take up the issue of audit of Accounts at the highest level with the C&AG so that the delay involved in completion of the audit and furnishing of the Audit Certificate is minimized. 4.15 The Committee also impressed upon the Ministry the need to follow a proper procedure for seeking extension of time. It must invariably approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for seeking extension of time in case of any delay in the laying of the papers by citing convincing reasons and should lay the papers on the Table of the House within the extended period. 4.16 The Committee acknowledge efforts being made by the Ministry in further enhancing the level of sports in the country. The Committee agreed that our sports persons have given encouraging performances in recent times in different disciplines, yet it was of the firm view that lot of distance has yet to be covered. We are still far behind many countries in most of the games at international level and to come close to them a lot of sincere efforts need to be made. The Committee was, therefore, of the opinion that talents in different games need to be located at young age and thereafter proper grooming of those boys and girls through appropriate training, coaching and exposure at different levels is required. Needs of all kind which help them in making world class sportspersons should be fulfilled. The Committee, therefore, supported the endeavours of the Ministry in taking up various activities to achieve this goal and urges upon the Ministry of Finance to see that demands of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs in carrying out various activities to promote sports in the country is adequately met.
Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS), New Delhi [Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of AYUSH)] 4.17 The Committee expressed its pleasure for the efforts made by the Ministry and the CCRAS in ensuring timely laying of papers on the Table of Rajya Sabha and hopes that this trend would continue. 4.18. The Committee recommended that in case of delay in laying of papers the Ministry should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for seeking extension of time citing cogent reasons.
(b) 111th Report
Madhya Pradesh Agro Industries Corporation Limited [Ministry of Agriculture (Deptt. of Agriculture and Cooperation)] 4.19 The Committee was distressed to note that there has been excessive delay of nearly 2 years in approval and laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts before the Parliament. The Committee also observed that the Ministry and the Corporation did not take timely step in appointment of statutory auditors thereby further delaying the completion of accounts at the Branch level. In this regard the Committee in its recommendations has been urging the Government to settle the issue pertaining to the delayed appointment of Statutory Auditors in consultation with C&AG. Further there has been much delay in obtaining clarification and replies from AGMP, Gwalior and almost 10 months lapsed between the date of completion of accounts at the Branch level and the receipt of final comments by the C&AG. The Committee directed the Ministry and the Corporation to take up the matter appropriately at the C&AG level. The Committee advised the Ministry and the Corporation not to allow such instances to unduly delay the laying of the papers. 48
Mahila Samakhya Society, Uttar Pradesh [Ministry of Human Resource Development (Deptt. of School Education and Literacy)] 4.20 The Committee observed with concern that the Mahila Samakhya Society, Uttar Pradesh had been very tardy in consolidating and finalizing its Accounts for the year 2002-03. Further, the Society has taken 3 years 4 months and 13 days to compile, collect and process the relevant information pertaining to Annual Report and Audited Accounts. The Committee directed the Society to take prompt steps to streamline the work relating to the compilation, collection and processing of information pertaining to various programme activities and in obtaining approval of the Executive Council. The Society and the Ministry should ensure that delay of such nature do not become repetitive and the papers are laid within the due date of laying. The Committee is also not satisfied with the explanation of the Society that the delay in laying of the papers was caused due to obtaining necessary approval of the Executive Council. The Ministry is further directed that the information furnished in the delay statement should contain in chronological order the dates of completion of all necessary stages involved in the preparation and laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Society on the Table of Rajya Sabha.
Haj Committee of India, Mumbai (Ministry of External Affairs) 4.21 The Committee is distressed to note that there has been delay of more than 3 years 2 months and 14 days and 2 years 2 months and 14 days in the laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Haj Committee of India, Mumbai for the years 2002-03 and 2003-04. The Committee was of the view that the Ministry and the Haj Committee should have taken timely steps to pursue the matter with the audit authorities for timely completion of the audit report. This had unduly delayed the laying of the papers of the Haj Committee for the years 2002-03 and 2003-04. The Committee advised the Ministry and the Haj Committee not to allow such instances to unduly delay the laying of the papers in future. The Ministry was further directed that the information furnished in the delay statement should contain in chronological order the dates of completion of all necessary stages involved in the preparation and laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Corporation on the Table of Rajya Sabha.
Andhra Pradesh State Irrigation Development Corporation Limited, Hyderabad (Ministry of Water Resources) 4.22 The delay in the laying of the Annual Reports of the Andhra Pradesh State Irrigation Development Corporation Limited was a matter of concern to the Committee. The Committee did not agree with the reason tendered by the Corporation regarding the delay that the Reports were laid before the State Legislature in December, 2006 and the complete information alongwith Annual Reports were received in the Ministry on the February, 2007. The Committee noted that the Reports for the year 2002-03 were laid before the State Legislature by the State Government after a delay of 2 years 11 months and 13 days and nearly 3 years lapsed in finalization and laying of Annual Reports before the Parliament. The Corporation, on its part, needs to ensure that the Annual Reports are submitted to the Ministry well in advance of the stipulated date of laying. The Committee advised the Ministry and the Corporation not to allow such instances to unduly delay the laying of the papers.
North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC), Dimapur, Nagaland (Ministry of Culture) 4.23 The Committee was distressed to note that there has been a delay ranging between 6 years to over 10 years in the laying of Annual Report of the North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur. The Committee observed that the Annual Accounts for the years 1995-96 to 1997-98 and 1998-99 to 1999-2000 were submitted to the Audit on 18.05.98 and 10.06.98 and 20.02.01 and 16.03.2001 respectively but the combined draft Audit Report for the period from 1995-96 to 1999-00 were received from the Auditor General Nagaland by NEZCC only on 26.09.01. The Committee noted with concern that the Ministry should have taken prompt steps to ensure timely receipt of the draft Audit Report for the said years from the Auditor General. Further, the Committee was dismayed that the English and the Hindi version of receipt of Audited Accounts and Audit Certificates were received only on 27.12.06 and 05.02.07 respectively after a lapse of nearly 7 years. The Committee directed the Ministry and NEZCC to take urgent steps to systematise the finalisation of accounts and to pursue the matter with the Auditor General, Nagaland for timely receipt of Audit Reports and Certificates. NEZCC and the Ministry of Culture should ensure that delay of such nature do not become repetitive and the papers are laid within due date of laying. 49
Development Council for Sugar Industry, New Delhi (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution) 4.24 The Committee viewed with concern that the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Development Council for Sugar Industry had been delayed phenomenally for laying on the Table of Rajya Sabha. The delay ranges between 1 year 2 months to over 8 years. The Committee was not satisfied with the explanation that the delay was mainly due to reconstitution and expiration of the Development Council as it can be explicitly seen that the Ministry and the Organization always failed to get its Annual Reports and Audited Accounts approved by the Council during its various meetings. The Committee directed the Ministry to take appropriate steps to ensure that the papers were approved during the tenure of the Development Council and further instructs the Ministry to keep a tandem check over the activities and meetings of the Development Council to ensure that the papers were timely laid during the meetings of the Development Council. The Ministry was further directed that the information furnished in the delay statement should contain in chronological order the dates of completion of all necessary stages involved in the preparation and laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Society on the Table of Rajya Sabha.
(c) 112th Report 4.25 The Committee noted that the concerned administrative Ministries failed to lay comprehensive delay statement along with the delayed Govt. Notifications/Orders. The Committee, therefore, would like to impress upon the Ministries than in case of delay in the laying of Govt. Notifications/Orders, a comprehensive delay statement explaining the reasons in detail for the delay in laying of the papers on the Table of the House from the date of publication of the Notification/order in the Gazette to the actual date of laying on the Table of the House, mentioning the time-frame, if any allowed in the Statute should invariably be laid. 4.26 The Committee took a serious note of the delay in the laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts by the concerned Ministries/Departments and directed them to take necessary steps to ensure that the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Companies/Organisations functioning under their control are laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha with nine months of the closure of the Annual Accounts.
Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (National Population Stabilisation Fund) New Delhi (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) 4.27 The Committee urged that since Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh is a new organisation. The Ministry and the Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh should take effective steps to streamline the procedure of preparation and laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts from the initial years so that delay does not occur at any stage and the papers are laid within time in future. 4.28 The Committee reiterated its recommendation that in case of delay, a statement giving reasons for delay containing information, in chronological order setting forth the dates of accounts, their submission to Audit, receipt of draft Audit Report, replies given to audit queries, receipt of final Audit Report, translation and printing of Accounts and their submission to the Ministry for laying on the Table of the House, should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts so that the House may identify the stages, causes and intent of delay and suggest remedial measures wherever required. 4.29 The Committee further recommended that a comprehensive review covering broad performance of the organisations and a brief description of the critical areas should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts as the Parliament being preoccupied sometimes with important legislative business may not find sufficient time to go through the working of Annual Accounts and therefore, a review on the working of the organisation may enable it to have cursory look on the functioning of the organisation. 4.30 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports & Audited Accounts on the Table of the House, the administrative Ministry should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the paper when laid. 4.31 The Committee recommended that each Report of the Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh should cover only one financial year and hopes that in future the Ministry/Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh will scrupulously follow the Committee's recommendations. 50
National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, [Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Higher Education)] 4.32 The Committee was not satisfied with the reasons adduced by the Ministry for the delay in laying the papers on the Table of Rajya Sabha and urged upon the Ministry as well as the NIT, Tiruchirappalli to streamline the process of preparation of accounts, their audit and other related issues so that the Annual Reports and Audited accounts are laid within the stipulated time. 4.33 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports & Audited Accounts on the Table of the House, the administrative Ministry should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the paper when laid.
Hindustan Vegetable Oils Corporation Limited (HVOC) (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution) 4.34 The Committee noted that the HVOC is under closure and under liquidation. The Committee was, therefore, of the view that the documents of liquidated wound up Companies upto the actual date of winding up are required to be laid before, both the Houses of Parliament. The Committe thus recommended that the Ministry should ensure so that the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the HVOC are laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha till the actual date of winding up. 4.35 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports & Audited Accounts on the Table of the House, the administrative Ministry should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the rasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the paper when laid.
(d) 113th Report
Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi (Ministry of External Affairs) 4.36 The Committee expressed its displeasure on the fact that there has been inordinate delay in the laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Indian Council of World Affairs since the year 1999-2000. While the delay for the years 2003-04 to 2005-06 ranged from 7 months to over 2 years, the delay in respect of the years 1999-00 to 2002-03 has ranged between 6 year, 7 months and 3 year, 7 months. The Ministry is yet to lay the papers for the years 2006-07 which should have been laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha by 31.12.2007. 4.37 The Committee was constrained to note that the failure to convene regular meeting of the Initial Council and resolving difficulties relating to the membership of the Council and the Board resulted in phenomenal delay in laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of ICWA. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry and the Council should ensure that the meeting of ICWA takes place regularly so that the Reports are approved timely by the Governing Body. 4.38 The Committee also recommended that the Ministry, in case of delay should furnish the statement of reasons for delay which should invariably contain information in chronological order about the date of finalisation of annual accounts, appointment of auditors, forwarding the accounts to the auditor, completion of audit, submission to C&AG, adoption of report by AGM, completion of translation and printing and forwarding of the papers to the Ministry. Such a statement should necessarily be laid along with the delayed papers on the Table of the House so as to enable the Committee to identify the stages, causes and extent of delay and suggest remedial measures, wherever required. 4,39 The Committee further recommended that the Government Review laid on the Table of the House along with the Annual Report and Audit Accounts of the Council should be comprehensive and should cover broadly the performance of the Council and contain a brief description of the critical areas of the functioning of the Council for the year under review. 4.40 The Committee also impressed upon the Ministry to follow a proper procedure for seeking extension of time and invariably approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for seeking extension of time in case of any delay in the laying of the papers by citing convincing reasons and lay the papers on the Table of the House within the extended period. 51
4.41 The Committee, emphasised that the ICWA as well as the Ministry should prepare a time schedule for each stage involved in the preparation of Annual Report and Audited Accounts and monitor the same closely so that papers of the ICWA are laid on the Table of the House within the prescribed time limit i.e., within nine months from the date of closure of the annual accounts. The Committee further recommended that the ICWA and the Ministry should take all possible steps to ensure that pending reports of the Council are laid on the Table of the House as early as possible.
National Culture Fund (NCF), New Delhi (Ministry of Culture) 4.42 The Committee expressed its displeasure on the fact that there has been persistent delay in the laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the National Culture Fund (NCF) since the year 2002-03. While the delay for the year 2005-06 was 10 months, the delay ranged between 1 year, 2 months to over 1 year, 4 months for the years 2002-03 to 2004-05. The Ministry has yet to lay the papers for the years 2006-07, which should have been laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha by 31.12.2007. 4.43 The Committee was dismayed to note that the scrutiny of the dates involved in the preparation and laying of the documents of NCF reveals that considerable time was taken in the receipt of the Audited Accounts and Audit Certificate from the audit authorities, i.e. nearly 1 year for the year 2002-03 and around 3 to 5 months for the years 2003-04 to 2005-06. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Culture should take up the matter with the statutory auditors and the C&AG for timely completion of audit and matter regarding the timely receipt of the English and Hindi version of the Audited Accounts and Audit Certificate so that any delay due to non-receipt of Audit Report could be avoided and the Annual Reports along with the Accounts are authenticated in time by the Minister of Culture. Committee's attention has also been drawn by considerable time taken by the Council in the approval of the Balance Sheets for 2002-03 and 2003-04. 4.44 The Committee was also distressed to note that the Annual Reports got delayed due to delay in printing of the Reports and late submission of the Accounts by the project managers. The NCF took around 1 to 6 months for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06 for the final printing of the reports which had been a major contributory factor towards the delay. The Committee recommended that the requisite steps be taken to ensure that the work of translation and printing of the Annual Reports is done in the shortest possible time and the matter should be taken up with the project managers to ensure the accounts are compiled and consolidated in time. 4.45 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry to follow a proper procedure for seeking extension of time and invariably approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for seeking extension of time in case of any delay in the laying of the papers by citing convincing reasons and lay the papers on the Table of the House within the extended period. 4.46 The Committee emphasised that the National Culture Fund, New Delhi as well as the Ministry should prepare a time schedule for each stage involved in the preparation of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts and monitor the same closely so that papers of the National Culture Fund are laid on the Table of the House within the prescribed time limit i.e., within nine months from the date of closure of the annual accounts. The Committee further recommended that the NCF and the Ministry should take all possible steps to ensure that pending reports of the Organization are laid on the Table of the House as early as possible.
Development Council for Sugar Industry, New Delhi [Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (Deptt. of Food and Public Distribution)] 4.47 The Committee observed that there has been unusual delay in laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Development Council for Sugar Industry as per the Section 7(4) of the IDR Act, 1951 on the Table of Rajya Sabha. For the Years 1997-98 to 2005-06, the documents have been laid after a delay ranging between 10 months, 22 days to over 8 year, 2 months. The Committee expressed its displeasure over the fact that the Ministry has not furnished detailed reasons (date-wise information) for the delay in the laying of papers thereby rendering the Committee hapless in identifying specific stages at which the delay in the laying of the papers and suggest remedies. 4.48 The Committee was dismayed to note that after the reconstitution of the Development Council in the year 1996 for a period of two years, no meeting of the Council were held during the years 1997-98 and 1998-99 respectively. The Council was reconstituted again in November, 1998 and two meetings were held during the 52 existence of the Council. However, the accounts for the year 1997-98 were audited in May, 2000 only and therefore could not be placed in the said two meetings. The tenure of the Council again expired on 10.11.2000. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution should take up appropriate steps to ensure that the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts are approved by the Council while it is in existence. 4.49 The Committee also recommended the Ministry that in case of delay, the Ministry should furnish the statement of reasons for delay wihch should invariably contain information in chronological order about the date of finalisation of annual accounts, appointment of auditors, forwarding the accounts to the auditor, completion of audit, submission to C&AG, adoption of report by AGM, completion of translation and printing and forwarding of the papers to the Ministry and such a statement should necessarily be laid along with the delayed laying papers on the Table of the House so as to enable the Committee to identify the stages, causes and extent of delay and suggest remedial measures, wherever required. 4.50 The Committee further recommended that the Government Review laid on the Table of the House along with the Annual Report and Audited Accounts of the Authority should be comprehensive which should cover broadly the performance of the Authority and contain a brief description of the critical areas of the functioning of the Authority for the year under review.
(e) 114th Report Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation Limited (MAIDC), Mumbai [Ministry of Agriculture (Deptt. of Agriculture and Cooperation)] 4.51 The Committee took note of the delaying factors in the finalization of Audited Accounts of the Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation Limited as highlighted by its Managing Director during its study visit to Mumbai. The Committee was not aware about any initiative taken by the Ministry of Agriculture in this regard. The Committee would appreciate if both the Ministry and the Corporation work out a time-schedule for timely laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts. Problem areas pointed out by the Corporation need to be removed at the earliest. 4.52 The Committee also viewed with serious concern non-laying of Annual Report and Audited Accounts of the Corporation for 2006-07. The Committee was constrained to observe that the Ministry has failed to approach it for extension of time in this regard. The Committee did not appreciate the non-adherence to prescribed norms for laying of papers in Parliament. The Committee reiterated that the Ministry of Agriculture should invariably approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for seeking extension of time by giving cogent reasons for the delay.
Goa Meat Complex Limited (GMCL), Panjim, Goa [Ministry of Agriculture (Deptt. of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries)] 4.53 The Committee was constrained to observe that Annual Report and Audited Accounts of the Goa Meat Complex Limited for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are yet to be laid in the Parliament. What was more disturbing was that the Ministry of Agriculture has failed to approach the Committee for extension of time for laying of these Reports. The Committee reiterated that in the event of delay, the Ministry should make all efforts for timely laying of Papers in the Parliament. The Ministry should invariably approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for seeking extension of time.
(f) 115th Report 4.54 The Committee took note of laying Notifications/Orders beyond the stipulated time-frame by the administrative Ministries, particularly the Ministry of Finance, Law and Justice and Shipping, Road Transport and Highways which were unable to lay their 19, 50 and 50 Notifications/Orders respectively within the stipulated time. The Committee, while scrutinising the delay statements given by the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways with respect to its delayed Notifications S.O. Nos. 97E, 526E, 527E, 528E, 632E, and 644E noticed that the reasons for the delay given by the Ministry were not cogent and satisfactory. In view of the above, the Committee was constrained to recommend that, if any delay occurs, the Ministry should furnish satisfactory reasons for the same. The Committee further recommended that the Ministry should try to lay the Notifications/Orders within the prescribed time-frame. 53
4.55 The Committee took a serious note of the delay in the laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts by the concerned Ministries/Departments and directed them to take necessary steps to ensure that the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Companies/Organisations functioning under their control are laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha within nine months of the closure of the annual Accounts. The Committee impressed upon the Ministries of Agriculture, Culture and Human Resource Development to timely lay their Annual Reports and Audited Accounts within the stipulated time as they were unable to lay their 10, 15 and 46 Annual Reports and Audited Accounts respectively within the stipulated time.
University of Delhi [Ministry of Human Resource Development (Deptt. of Higher Education)] 4.56 The Committee recommended that the University and the Ministry should ensure that delays of such nature do not become repetitive and the papers are laid within the due date. The Committee noted that in most of the cases where papers were laid by a long delay, much time was taken at the level of auditing of Annual Accounts and in receiving of Audit Report from CAG. The Committee urged the Ministry to finalize and submit the accounts to the Audit in time so that delay does not occur at any stage and the papers are laid within the stipulated time in future. 4.57 The Committee reiterated its recommendation that in case of delay, a statement giving reasons for delay containing information, in chronological order setting forth the dates of accounts, their submission to Audit, receipt of draft Audit Report, replies given to audit queries, receipt of final Audit Report, translation and printing of Accounts and their submission to the Ministry for laying on the Table of the House, should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts so that the House may identify the stages,causes and intent of delay and suggest remedial measures wherever required. 4.58 The Committee further recommended that a comprehensive review covering broad performance of the organisation and a brief description of the critical areas should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts as the Parliament being preoccupied sometimes with important legislative business may not find sufficient time to go through the working of Annual Accounts and therefore, a review on the working of the organisation may enable it to have cursory look on the functioning of the organisation. 4.59 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports & Audited Accounts on the Table of the House, the administrative Ministry should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the committee in the papers when laid. 4.60 The Committee also recommended that the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts be laid on the Table of the Parliament simultaneously and more so during the same Session thereby giving the House a fair and complete picture of the Reports of the University of Delhi.
Central Adoption Resource Agency, New Delhi, (Ministry of Women and Child Development) 4.61 The Committee was not satisfied with the reasons adduced by the Ministry for the delay in laying the papers on the Table of Rajya Sabha and urged upon the Ministry as well as the CARA, New Delhi to streamline the process of preparation of accounts, their audit and other related issues so that the Annual Reports and Audited accounts are laid within the stipulated time in future. 4.62 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports & Audited Accounts on the Table of the House, the administrative Ministry should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the paper when laid. 4.63 The Committee was distressed to note that the first audit of the CARA, New Delhi was conducted in the year 2004 and while the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts for the year 2001-02 to 2003-04 were laid before the Table of the Rajya Sabha with delays ranging between 3 years to 1 year, it took almost 5 years for the Papers for the year 2000-01 to be laid on the Table of the House. 4.64 The Committee was dismayed to note that the delay in submission of annual reports and audited accounts for the year 2004-05 has been attributed to late receipt of audit statement from DGACR. The Committee recommended the Ministry and CARA, New Delhi to pursue the matter with DGACR timely in future so that the papers are laid in time. 54
4.65 The Committee reiterated its recommendation that in case of delay, a statement giving reasons for delay containing information, in chronological order setting forth the dates of accounts, their submission to Audit, receipt of draft Audit Report, replies given to audit queries, receipt of final Audit Report, translation and printing of Accounts and their submission to the Ministry for laying on the Table of the House, should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts so that the House may identify the stages, causes and intent of delay and suggest remedial measures wherever required.
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi (Ministry of Culture) 4.66 The Committee noted that the revision of the Annual Accounts by the DGACR for the period from 1995-96 to 1998-99 and thereby the revision of accounts for the subsequent years led to the delay in laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts for the year 2003-04 onwards. However, the Committee noted with concern that the audit of accounts for the year 2003-2004 was commenced on 10.07.2006 as the approval of the trust for the accounts could be sent only on 20.12.2005 due to a delay in holding the IGNCA Trust meeting leading to a delay of almost 1 year 6 months and led to the subsequent delays in the audit of the papers of IGNCA for the years 2004-05 and 2005-06. Further, the Final Audit Report in respect of Annual Accounts for the year 2003-04 was issued in English and Hindi on 11.01.2007 and 27.02.2007 respectively but the Annual Report along with the Audited Accounts was forwarded to the Ministry only in August 2007 after a delay of almost 5 months which could have been avoided. The Committee was, therefore, of the view that the Ministry should have taken prompt steps in holding up the IGNCA Trust meeting which could have avoided such a long delay in the audit of accounts. The Committee thus recommended that the Ministry as well as the IGNCA, New Delhi to streamline the process of preparation of accounts, their audit and other related issues so that the Annual Reports and Audited accounts are laid within the stipulated time. 4.67 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports & Audited Accoutns on the Table of the House, the administrative Ministry should approach the Commitee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the paper when laid.
Central Agricultural University (CAU), Imphal, [Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Agriculture Research and Education)] 4.68 The Committee felt that the Central Agricultural University, Imphal should have coordinated with the Ministry regarding the shortage of man power which could have averted such long delay in laying of the papers of the University. The Committee urged the Ministry to have better coordination with the University and to ensure that the shortage of manpower does not hamper the preparation of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the organization. 4.69 The Committee thus recommended that the Ministry as well as the Central Agricultural University, Imphal to streamline the process of preparation of accounts, their audit and other related issues so that the Annual Reports and Audited accounts are laid within the stipulated time. 4.70 The Committee further recommended that a comprehensive review covering broad performance of the organisation and a brief description of the critical areas should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts as the Parliament being preoccupied sometimes with important legislative business may not find sufficient time to go through the working of Annual Accounts and therefore, a review on the working of the organisation may enable it to have cursory look on the functioning of the organisation. 4.71 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports & Audited Accounts on the Table of the House, the administrative Ministry should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the papers when laid. 4.72 The Committee recommended that the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts be laid on the Table of the Parliament simultaneously and more so during the same Session thereby giving the House a fair and complete picture of the reports of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal. 55
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Society, U.T. Chandigarh , [Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of School Education & Literacy)] 4.73 The Committee reiterated its recommendation that in case of delay, a statement giving reasons for delay containing information, in chronological order setting forth the dates of accounts, their submission to Audit, receipt of draft Audit Report, replies given to audit queries, receipt of final Audit Report, translation and printing of Accounts and their submission to the Ministry for laying on the Table of the House, should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts so that the House may identify the stages, causes and intent of delay and suggest remedial measures wherever required. 4.74 The Committee further recommended that a comprehensive reivew covering broad performance of the organisations and a brief description of the critical area should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts as the Parliament being preoccupied sometimes with important legislative business may not find sufficient time to go through the working of Annual Accounts and therefore, a review on the working of the organisation may enable it to have cursory look on the functioning of the organisation. 4.75 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts on the Table of the House, the administrative Ministry should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the paper when laid.
(g) 116th Report 4.76 As per the recommendations of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, the Notifications/Orders are required to be laid before the House (i) if the House is not in Session, during the Session immediately following the date of publication of the Order in the official Gazette and (ii) if the House is in Session, on the date of the publication of the Order, during its continuance and in case the time lag between the date of publication and the date of the closing of the Sesssion is less than 15 clear days, before the expiry of the Session immediately following the said Session. The Committee was of the view that all the Ministries/ Departments are expected to follow the said time schedule. The Ministries of Corporate Affairs, Finance, Health and Family Welfare and Shipping, Road & Transport and Highways were requested to strictly adhere to the prescribed time schedule. 4.77 The Committee impressed upon the Ministries that in case of delay in the laying of Government Notifications/Orders, a comprehensive delay statement explaining the reasons in details for the delay in laying of the papers on the Table of the House from the date of publication of the Notification/order in the Gazette to the actual date of laying on the Table of the House, mentioning the time frame, if any allowed in the Statute should invariably be laid. 4.78 The Committee took a serious note of the recurring delay in the laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts by the concerned Ministries/Departments and directs them to take necessary steps to ensure that the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the Companies/Organisations functioning under their control are laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha within nine months of the clossure of the Annual Accounts.
Central Agricultural University (CAU), Imphal [Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Agricultural Research and Education)] 4.79 The Committee was not satisfied with the reasons adduced for delay by the Ministry in the delay statements laid along with the Annual Reports of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal for the years 1998- 99 to 2001-02. 4.80 The Committee failed to understand the reasons for delay in starting actual compilation of data relating to Annual Report which is phenomenal e.g. for the year 1998-99 it was started in 2005. The Committee urged that the Ministry/University should take effective steps to streamline the procedure of preparation of Annual Report and Audited Accounts. The Ministry should approach the problem of non availability of statutory officers and other scientific staff and take steps to provide the requisite infrastructure and resources for smooth functioning of the routine work of the University. 4.81 The Committee reiterated its recommendation that in case of delay, statement giving reasons for delay containing information, in chronological order setting forth the dates of accounts, their submission to 56
Audit, receipt of draft Audit Report, replies given to audit queries, receipt of final Audit Report, translation and printing of Accoutns and their submission to the Ministry for laying on the Table of the House, should be laid along with the Annual Report and Audited Accounts so that the House may identify the stages, causes and intent of delay and suggest remedial measures wherever required. 4.82 The Committee further recommended that a comprehensive review covering broad performane of the organizations and a brief description of the critical areas should be laid along with the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts as the Parliament being preoccupied sometimes with important legislative business may not find sufficient time to go through the Annual Report and Audited Accounts and therefore, a review on the working of the organization may enable it to have cursory look on the functioning of the organization. 4.83 The Committee reiterated its recommendation that both the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts for a particular year of Central Agricultural University, Imphal should be laid simultaneously on the Table of the House so as to give a clear and complete picture of its functioning at a point of time. 4.84 The Committee took a serious view of the fact that inspite of Annual Report and Audited Accounts of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal from 2002-03 onwards yet to be laid, the Ministry has failed to seek extension of time therefor. The Committee impressed upon the Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Agricultural Research and Education) that in case of delay in laying the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of any organisation under its administrative control, the Ministry/Department should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by explaining the reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the paper when laid. 4.85 The Committee was of the view that the Ministry should take early steps for not only clearing the huge arrears but also ensure the timely laying of Reports in future.
Hindustan Vegetable Oils Corporation Limited (HVOC), New Delhi [Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (Department of Food and Public Distribution)] 4.86 The Committee reiterated its recommendation that in case of delay, statement giving reasons for delay containing information, in chronological order setting forth the dates of accounts, their submission to Audit, receipt of draft Audit Report, replies given to audit queries, receipts of final audit Report, translation and printing of accoutns and their submission to the Ministry for laying on the Table of the House, should be laid along with the Annual Report and Audited Accounts so that the House may identify the stages, causes and intent of delay and suggest remedial measures wherever required. 4.87 "The Committee was of the view that the non-existence of any provision in the Companies Act, 1956, with regard to the laying of papers of companies under liquidation is a lacunae which needs to be removed as the Parliament has to satisfy itself that the funds of the Government Companies in which thousands of crores of public money has been invested are not allowed to be swindled due to mismanagement or mal-administration. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department of Company Affairs should take steps for making appropriate amendments to the Companies Act, 1956 so as to ensure that the documents in respect of liquidated wound up Companies up to the actual date of winding up are laid before both Houses of Parliament." 4.88 The Committee reiterated this recommendation and was optimist that the Ministry/HVOC would adhere to it strictly and clear all the arrears in the shortest possible time. 4.89 The Committee took note of the fact that inspite of delay in laying of papers, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has failed to approach it for seeking extension of time therefor. The Committee reiterated its recommendation that in case of delay in laying the Annual Report and Audited Accounts of Hindustan Vegetable Oils Corporation Limited (HVOC), New Delhi, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution should approach the Committee sufficiently in advance for extension of time by citing cogent reasons for doing so. A reference should be made to the extension given by the Committee in the papers when laid. The Ministry/Department should adhere to this recommendation without failure in future.
Chittaranjan National Cancer Research Institute (CNCRI), Kolkata [Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of Health and Family Welfare)] 4.90 The Committee took a serious view that in spite of well-defined and pedantic insistence on the recommendation of the Committee that in case of delay, statement giving reasons for delay containing information, 57 in chronological order setting forth the dates of accounts, their submission to Audit, receipt of draft Audit Report, replies given to audit queries, receipts of final audit Report, translation and printing of accounts and their submission to the Ministry for laying on the Table of the House, should be laid along with the Annual Report and Audited Accounts so that the House may identify the stages, causes and intent of delay and suggest remedial measures wherever required, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of Health & Family Welfare) has laid an incomplete delay statement. The Committee hoped that in future the Ministry/Institute would adhere to this recommendation of the Committee. 4.91 The Committee was constrained to note that inspite of considerable delay, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has failed to adhere to its long-standing directive of seeking extension of time for valid reasons well in advance. The Committee would appreciate if the Ministry abides by this directive by seeking extension of time as and when required. The Committee also directed that the Ministry/Department to chalk out a time bound programme so that the arrears are cleared within a reasonable time.
National Commission for Women (NCW), New Delhi (Ministry of Women and Child Development) 4.92 The Committee was concerned by the delay caused due to failure of the National Commission for Women (NCW), New Delhi to fulfil the requirements of the concerned provision of the Statute/Act which provides the framework of its functioning. Laying of the Annual Report and Audited Accounts of a public organisation is not merely a formality to be observed. Its purpose is to ensure the accountability of such organisation to Parliament and as such it has the right to be apprised of the activities thereof to know whether the purpose for which the said organisation was constituted is being fulfilled or not. It was, therefore, imperative that the documents of such organisations was laid before the Parliament in time and complete in all respects. 4.93 The Committee, therefore, desired that in order to ensure the timely laying of the documents of National Commission for Women (NCW), New Delhi, it should take care that all the provisions of the concerned Statute/Act relevant to National Commission for Women should be fulfilled and complied by to avoid undue lag and multiplicity of steps in the process of laying the Annual Report and Audited Accounts on the Table of the House. 4.94 The Committee was hopeful that the Ministry will take all possible steps to ensure that all the pending Reports are laid on the Table of the House as early as possible. 4.95 The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation as in its 88th (Para 8.3) and 105th (Para 7.3) Reports with regard to National Commission for Women (NCW), that in case of delay, a comprehensive statement giving reasons for delay containing information, in chronological order setting forth the dates of accounts, their submission to Audit, receipt of draft Audit Report, replies given to audit queries, receipts of final audit Report, translation and printing of accounts and their submission to the Ministry for laying on the Table of the House, should be laid along with the Annual Report and Audited Accounts so that the House may identify the stages, causes and intent of delay and suggest remedial measures wherever required. 4.96 The Committee was also surprised to note that the Ministry has failed to comply with the well- established directive given by it for seeking extension of time well in advance in case for delay in laying of papers. The Committee expected the Ministry to adhere to this directive in future.
(h) 117th Report 4.97 The Committee took note of the fact that the administration of the State Agro-Industries Corporation had been transferred to the respective States w.e.f. the 1st April, 1997 following the decision of the National Development Council. Nevertheless the Central Government still continues to be a shareholder in these Corporations and as such the laying of the Annual Reports of these Corporation on the Table of both Houses of Parliament is very much its responsibility and a statutory requirement under Sections 617 and 619A of the Companies Act, 1956. Moreover, Parliament is interested in knowing how these Corporations are functioning because of their laudable objective in helping agricultural operations through mechanisation and in promoting agro-based industries in the country. In this connection, the Committee reiterated its direction contained in its First Report under which the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of public undertakings and Government companies are required to be laid on the Table within 9 months of the closure of accounts. 58
4.98 Regarding the inordinate delay in laying the Annual Reports of these Corporations, the Committee has no other alternative but to observe that the Government had been very much remiss in complying with directions of the Parliamentary Committee and the statutory requirements in this regard. The arrears have alarmingly grown in one case to over 20 years and have reached a stage that unless some immediate measures are taken by the Central/State Governments and the Corporations, the situation may go beyond all hope and redemption. The Committee felt that the nominees of the Central Government in the Boards of these Corporations should have been more vigilant and made concerted efforts to assist the State Corporations in clearing their arrears. 4.99 The Committee recommended that a time-bound and well formulated plan of action be chalked out without further delay in consultation with all concerned, to clear the arrears within the shortest possible time. Such a time schedule should be limited to a maximum period of two years. The clearance of all the arrears should not, however, become a cause for delay in laying of the future Reports. 4.100 The Committee reiterated its earlier directions contained in its First Report that whenever it is not possible for it to lay the Reports before the end of the stipulated time, the Government should seek extension of time by explaining the reasons for the delay and indicating the probable date by which the Report is likely to be laid on the Table of the House. The Committee hoped that the Government would comply with this recommendation without fail in future. 4.101 The problem of the delay in the appointment of auditors has been engaging the attention of the Committee for quite some time as most of the Ministries/Department have been attributing the reasons for the delay in the laying of Annual Reports etc., of public undertaking/enterprises under their administrative control to the belated appointment of auditors. The Committee felt that the procedure hitherto followed needs review. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry should, in consultation with the C&AG, evolve a simplified procedure which would eliminate such delays, thereby enabling the public undertakings/enterprises, etc. to get there Annual Accounts duly audited in time and also to clear, arrears, if any. 4.102 The Committee desired to be informed of any decision of the Government with regard to any steps taken to revive the ailing State Agro-Industries Corporations. 4.103 The Committee hoped that Government would take early steps for not only clearing the huge arrears but also ensured the timely laying of Reports in future. Till the arrears are cleared the Government should lay a statement during each Session of Parliament giving the latest position in regard to the laying of the Reports of these Corporation, the steps taken to expedite their laying and the time likely to be taken to lay them on the Table of the House.
VI. Secretariat 4.104 The Committee Section (COPLOT) headed by a Committee Officer constitutes the Secretariat of the Committee. A Joint Secretary, a Director and a Deputy Director remained incharge of the Branch. 4.105 To assist the Committee in its work, the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of various Government Companies/Organisations laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha and the material received from the Ministries/ Departments/Government Companies/Organisations were studied, on the basis of whcih points were culled out and questionnaires/memoranda/background notes for evidence/local visits were prepared for the use of the Committee. 4.106 The work relating to drafting of reports by the Committee, their consideration and approval alongwith their presentation, laying, printing and distribution was undertaken. ANNEXURE-IV (See Para 4.4) Details of sittings of the Committee on Papers Laid on the Table
Sl. Date Duration Subject No. Hrs. Mts. 1 2 3 4 1. 15.02.2008 01-05 The Committee considered the delay laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), Kolkata (Ministry of Culture) and Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO), Dhanbad (Ministry of Coal). Thereafter, The Committee considered and adopted the draft 110th, 111th and 112th Reports. 2. 31.03.2008 00-45 The Committee discussed with the Committee on Papers Laid on the Table (COPLOT), Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council (APLC) and gave a brief on the functioning of the COPLOT, Rajya Sabha and in turn was apprised about the functioning of COPLOT, APLC. 3. 28.04.2008 00-45 The Committee could not transact its business for lack of qorum. (Lack of However, the meeting was rescheduled for 6th May, 2008 at 4.00 p.m. Quorum) 4. 06.05.2008 00-45 The Committee could not transact its business due to lack of quorum. (Lack of However, the meeting was rescheduled for 23rd May, 2008 at 11.00 a.m. Quorum) 5. 23.05.2008 01-05 The Committee considered and adopted the draft 113th and 114th Reports. The Committee then considered the delayed laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts on the Table of Rajya Sabha of various State Agro Industries Corporations specially the delayed laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts and other related issues of Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar State Agro Industries Corporations. 6. 04.06.2008 00-45 The Chairperson welcomed the members of the Committee and highlighted the genesis, mandate and the procedure adopted by the Committee to monitor the timely laying of the Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the various Government Companies/ Organisations, statutory bodies, Societies and Cooperatives on the Table of the Rajya Sabha. The Chairperson also solicited the cooperation of the members in the smooth functioning of the Committee in pursuance of its objectives. The Committee, thereafter, discussed its future programme. The Committee decided to visit Srinagar and Pahalgam in the first week of July, 2008 subject to the approval of the Hon'ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha and authorized the Chairperson to seek permission from the Hon'ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha for the said visit. 7. 07.07.2008 00-45 The Committee considered Memorandum No. 2 of 2008 regarding (Lack of delayed laying of Government Notification/Orders and Annual Reports Quorum) and Audited Accounts on the Table of Rajya Sabha during the 213th Session. The Committee also decided to visit Gurgaon to hold discussion with the representatives of Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL)
59 60
1 2 3 4 on the 5th August, 2008 in connection with the persistent delay in laying of its Annual Reports and Audited Accounts. 8. 04.08.2008 02-00 The Committee heard the (i) Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals and (Lack of Fertilizers (Department of Pharmaceuticals), (ii) Secretary, Ministry of Quorum) Culture and (iii) Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Higher Education) on the delayed laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of a number of organizations during the Budget Session of Rajya Sabha. 9. 15.09.2008 01-00 The Committee heard the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment alongwith the representatives of the (i) Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, New Delhi and (ii) National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (NIVH), Dehradun on the delayed laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the above organizations on the Table of Rajya Sabha. The Committee thereafter, considered and adopted the 115th Report. 10. 06.10.2008 01-00 The Committee considered Memorandum No. 2 of 2008 regarding (Lack of delayed laying of Annual Report and Audited Accounts of Council Quorum) for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. The Committee, thereafter, considered its draft 116th and 117th Reports but due to lack of quorum, the Committee could not adopt the Reports and deferred the same for the next meeting. The Committee discussed the issue of quorum of the Committee meetings and noted that quorum for House Committee meetings which consists of ten Members was three. The Committee was of the view that the quorum of the meetings of the Committee on Papers Laid should be three instead of five and directed that the matter may be taken up with the Rules Committee. 11. 21.10.2008 00-30 The Committee considered Memorandum No. 3 of 2008 regarding the delayed laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of State Implementation Society, SSA/DPEP, Andhra Pradesh. The Committee, thereafter, considered and adopted the draft 116th and 117th Reports. The Committee considered the delayed laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of some Guwahati, Shillong and Darjeeling based organizations on the Table of Rajya Sabha and decided to visit the headquarters of these organizations from 7th to 12th November, 2008 and authorized the Chairperson to seek permission from the Hon'ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha for the said visit. The Committee felt that the quorum for a meeting of the Committee should be three instead of five for its smooth functioning. The Chairperson was authorized by the Committee to take up the matter with the Secretary General. 12. 01.12.2008 00-45 The Committee heard the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family (Lack of Welfare (Department of Health and Family Welfare) along with the Quorum) representatives of (i) National Academy of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (ii) All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and (iii) Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), New Delhi on the delayed laying of Annual Reports and Audited Accounts of the organisations on the Table of Rajya Sabha. CHAPTER V
COMMITTEE ON ETHICS
I. Composition of the Committee 5. The Committee on Ethics was constituted last on August 6, 2005, under rule 287 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States and the casual vacancies that arose in the Committee from time to time were filled up by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha. 5.2 The Committee consists of the following Members:— COMMITTEE ON ETHICS (Constituted on August 6, 2005) 11. Dr. Karan Singh — Chairman 12. Smt. Sushma Swaraj 13. Shri Janeshwar Mishra 14. Shri Sitaram Yechury 15. Dr. V. Maitreyan 16. Shri Jabir Husain 17. Shri Satish Chandra Misra 18. Dr. Janardhan Waghmare 19. Shri Sharad Yadav 10. Dr. Bimal Jalan
II. Review of work done
(a) Sittings of the Committee 5.3 During the year 2008 the Committee held one sitting lasting for one hour and thirty minutes. A statement showing the date of sitting of the Committee held during the period under review, the duration of sittings and the main agenda taken up is given in Annexure-V.
(b) Study Visits — Nil
III. Reports Presented— 5.4 During 2008 the Committee did not present any report to the House.
IV. Summary of Observations/Recommendations 5.5 Though, the Committee did not present any report during the year, an important recommendation for substitution of the definition of the term 'dependent children' occurring in Explanation (V) to sub-section (5) of Section 75A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 with the definition as contained in Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 was made by it in its meeting on 16th December, 2008 with a direction that necessary consequential action for amendment of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 may be taken by the Secretariat.
V. Secretariat 5.6 The Committee Section (Ethics) is headed by a Committee Officer constitutes the Secretariat of the Committee. Joint Secretary, Joint Director and a Director remained incharge of the Branch.
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5.7 The work of maintenance of the Register containing information of "Members' Assets and Liabilities" under the Members of Rajya Sabha (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Act, 2004 and the "Register of Members' Interests" in terms of Rule 293 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States, was undertaken by the Section. 5.8 During the period under reference, five complaints alleging breach of Code of Conduct and other ethical misconduct by Members of Rajya Sabha were received. The complaints were examined as per the provisions of the relevant rules. As there was no prima facie case, the complaints were disallowed. One case was still under examination/consideration. 5.9 The Section also processed twelve requests received from the CPIO, Rajya Sabha Secretariat for supply of information under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The requisite information was furnished within the stipulated time. ANNEXURE-V (See Para 5.3)
Details of the sittings of the Committee on Ethics during the year 2008
Sl. Date Duration Agenda taken up No. Hrs.-Mts. 1. 16.12.2008 01 30 Considered the Comments of the Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department), Government of India on the recommendations of the Committee suggesting amendments in the — (i) definition of the term 'dependent children' occurring in Explanation (v) to sub-section (5) of Section 75A of the Representation of People Act, 1951; and (ii) sub-rule (2) of Rule 3 of the Members of Rajya Sabha (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Rules, 2004 with a view to laying down a certain benchmark in relation to the changes that the Members have to notify in their declarations of assets and liabilities followed by a meeting with the Committee on Ethics of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council.
63 CHAPTER VI COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE
I. Composition of the Committee 6. The Committee was constituted on 5th August, 2007. The following was the composition of the Committee: COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE (Constituted on the 5th August, 2007) 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Jai Parkash Aggarwal 4. Dr. K. Keshava Rao 5. Shri Arun Jaitley 6. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal 7. Shri Mohammed Amin 8. Shri Rajkumar Dhoot 9. Shri Dinesh Trivedi 10. Shri Robert Kharshiing LOK SABHA 11. Shri Omar Abdullah 12. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 13. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda 14. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 15. Shri N.N. Krishnadas 16. Shri Manjunath Kunnur 17. Shri Jivabhai A. Patel 18. Shri Virchandra Paswan 19. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 20. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 21. Shri Gingee N. Ramachandran 22. Shri Kashiram Rana 23. Shri Haribhau Rathod 24. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran 25. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 26. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 27. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki 28. Shri Sarvananda Sonowal 29. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy 30. Shri Balashowry Vallabhaneni #31. Shri T.K. Hamza
#Nominated w.e.f. 12th December, 2007 vide Shri Amitava Nandy who was nominated to Committee on Home Affairs. 64 65
6.2 The Committee was constituted on 5th August, 2008. The following was the composition of the Committee: 1. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Thennala G. Balakrishna Pillai 3. Shri Jai Parkash Aggarwal 4. Dr. K. Keshava Rao 5. Shri Arun Jaitley 6. Shri Banwari Lal Kanchhal 7. Shri Mohammed Amin 8. Shri Parimal Nathwani 9. Shri Y.P. Trivedi 10. Vacant LOK SABHA 11. Shri Omar Abdullah 12. Shri C.K. Chandrappan 13. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda 14. Shri Radhey Shyam Kori 15. Shri N.N. Krishnadas *16. Shri Manjunath Kunnur 17. Shri Jivabhai A. Patel 18. Shri Virchandra Paswan 19. Shri Shishupal N. Patle 20. Shri E. Ponnuswamy 21. Shri Gingee N. Ramachandran 22. Shri Kashiram Rana 23. Shri Haribhau Rathod 24. Shri Sippiparai Ravichandran 25. Shri S.P.Y. Reddy 26. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 27. Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki 28. Shri Sarvananda Sonowal 29. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy 30. Shri Balashowry Vallabhaneni 31. Shri Amitava Nandy The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department of Commerce and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) is under the purview of the Committee's scrutiny.
*resigned on 20th October, 2008 66
II. Subjects selected for Examination 6.3During 2008, the subjects taken up by the main Committee/Sub Committee were as under:—
Subjects taken up by the Main Committee/Sub Committee(s) No fresh subject was taken up by the Main Committee/Sub Committee in the year 2008.
III. Review of work done
(a) Sittings of the Committee 6.4 During its terms, the Committee held twenty one sittings, lasting forty-four hours and forty minutes. A statement showing the dates of sittings of the Committee during the period under review, the duration of each sitting and the subjects discussed are given in Annexure VI.
(b) Study Visit 6.5 During the year, the Committee/Sub Committee(s) undertook on-the-spot study visit to various institutions/project sites, etc., as per the details given below, in connection with the subjects under examination:—
Sl. Committee Dates of visits Places visited In connection with (subjects) No. 1. Sub Committee I 19th to 23rd Indore, Mumbai, Foreign and Domestic Investment in February, 2008 Bangalore and Retail Sector. Chennai 2. Sub Committee I 26th to 31st May, West Bengal, -do- 2008 Assam and Meghalaya 3. Sub Committee II 18th to 22nd Tamil Nadu and Towns of Export Excellence and Export February, 2008 Kerala Infrastructure at Airports, Ports, Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Land Custom Stations (LCSs) in the country 4. Sub Committee II 24th to 31st May, Sikkim, Assam, -do- 2008 Manipur, Tripura and West Bengal 5. Sub Committee II 4th to 9th Ahmedabad, Mumbai, -do- September, 2008 Bangalore, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam 6. Sub Committee II 27th November to Greater Noida, -do- 1st December, 2008 Amritsar, Ludhiana, Panipat, Mundra and Kandla 6.6 Verbatim record of proceedings of the sittings of the Committee, at which evidence was taken, was kept. Reports presented 6.7 During the year 2008, the Committee presented/laid the following Reports in the Houses:—
Sl. Report No. and Subject No. Date(s) of Presentation/ Laying in Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha
1 2 1. 84th Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2007 19.03.2008 19.03.2008 67
1 2 2. 85th Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Commerce (Ministry 16.04.2008 16.04.2008 of Commerce and Industry) 3. 86th Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Industrial 16.04.2008 16.04.2008 Policy & Promotion (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) Action 4. 87th Taken by the Government on the recommendations/ observations of the Committee contained in its Eighty Third Report 24.10.2008 24.10.2008 on the Functioning of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) 5. 88th Patents and Trade Marks Systems in India 24.10.2008 24.10.2008
6.8 Minutes of sittings of the Committee on Commerce relating to various Reports presented/laid in the Houses were prepared, alongwith the respective Reports.
V. Summary of Recommendations
(a) 84th Report
Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2007 6.9 The period of four months, instead of three months, should be retained to file an opposition to registration. 6.10 The proposed amendment to Section 23 should not come into force till the Trade Marks Registry is sufficiently and adequately equipped to dispose of both the domestic and the international applications within the stipulated period of 18th months from the filing of such applications. 6.11 The expression 'real and effective' needs to be appropriately defined in the rules. 6.12 The words "as soon as may be" may be substituted by the words "within the prescribed time limit", and, in this context, a time-limit of two months should be provided in the Rules. 6.13 These words may be substituted by the words "within the prescribed time-limite" and the time-limit in this context may be provided in the rules. 6.14 The Government should not accede to the Madrid Protocol, till the Trade Marks Registry is equipped with adequate, skilled manpower and requisite infrastructure and enabled to handle the pressure of dealing with trade mark applications, both domestic and international, within a period of eighteen months. 6.15 The following new Section may be inserted after Section 36 G:—
Uniformity of 36H. A holder of international registration of a trade mark, who is entitled to the protection of Standards that trade mark in India and any other Contracting Party shall apply, as far as possible, the same trade description as to the standard of quality of its goods or services in all the Contracting Parties granting the protection. No alteration in the said trade description in a material respect shall be permissible in any Contracting Party, unless required by its laws. 6.16 Sections 40, 41 & 42 of the Principal Act should be retained and, in consequence, Clause 5 should be deleted. 6.17 The use of word "made" in the context of an application is not appropriate and should be substituted by the word "filed". 6.18 The words "without the knowledge of assignment or transmission" may be added, after the words "trade mark". 6.19 The Sub Clause (c) of clause 9 may be deleted. 68
(b) 85th Report
Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Commerce (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) 6.20 Substantial reductions in the outlay will adversely affect the projected outcome of the schemes being implemented by the Department. The Department should pursue the matter with the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance to get enhanced allocation at RE stage, so as to achieve the targeted objectives of various schemes. 6.21 The steep appreciation of the Indian rupee vis-a-vis dollar has contributed significantly to deceleration of our exports. So long as the Rupee is linked only to dollar, the country's exports would have to live with fluctuations of exchange rate. The Government should explore multi currency linkage for exports. There should also be facility for shifting from one currency to another, in the light of constant appreciation of Rupee against dollar. The Dual exchange rate at 60:40, as was given by the Government during 1991, may be considered. Alternatively, invoices may be allowed in rupee only. 6.22 Though it is good that Indian rupee has been gaining strength in international market, yet it has caused discomfiture for the exporters in general. This has also led to retrenchment and unemployment in certain sectors and hardship in others. Government must work for reducing this hardship. Industries with less import content such as textile, garments and automobiles need to be provided immediate succour. Government should set aside a fund to support these industries and their exporters. The fund's scope may be enlarged to cover food processing, herbal products and agro industries, to give them special incentives for promoting their exports. 6.23 The Department should prepare a Vision Document, setting a goal of achieving 7.5% share of the world trade by the year 2025. While charting a road map for the future, the Department should, inter alia, identify at least one or two sectors in which India could have the largest share in the world market. 6.24 The exporters should be given exemption from the payment of service tax as far as possible and should be required to pay service tax only where it is totally unavoidable. Even where service tax is to be deposited, to be refunded later, the procedure of refund should be both simple and quick. The Department must impress upon the Ministry of Finance as to how this plethora of taxes and protracted refund procedures were making Indian exports non-competitive in the global trade market. 6.25 The Government should take steps to provide better linkages with the Ports of exports. An ideal solution could be setting a target of turnaround time at ports for all the goods. 6.26 Full EDI connectivity would automatically reduce the transaction costs in 8-15% range. To ensure speedy implementation of the EDI project, the Advisory Committee may be empowered to issue directions to all the implementing agencies from time to time. More importantly, a time-frame of, say, one year should be fixed for the completion of the project. 6.27 The Department should vigorously follow up the matter regarding sharing of burden of reimbursement of taxes on various products by the State Governments, and ensure its expeditious resolution. 6.28 The Government should take a re-look into the issue of abolishing customs duty on the import of capital goods, under the EPCG Scheme. 6.29 The Government should consider to introduce a SME Export Technology Fund, so as to provide a one-time funding to export-oriented units at nominal rates. This fund could have dedicated experts to guide the exporters receiving the fund towards technology sources for their sectors. 6.30 The Department should develop its own cadre of Trade Commissioners and support staff who could either be posted in the Indian Mission abroad or even have their separate establishments, if necessary. Indian Trade Commissioners should be closely networked with Export Promotion Organizations in India as well as in the countries assigned to them. The flow of information should be in real-time accompanied by expert advice on how best to make use of emerging opportunities. The Department should prepare a scheme for the development of the proposed cadre and establishments over a period of, say, 5-10 years whereafter its dependence on the Ministry of External Affairs should reduce to the minimum in so far as commercial information and networking are concerned. 69
6.31 Besides collection of commercial information, the DGCI & S should set up a dedicated data collection and dissemination system, consisting of information regarding pattern of demand and opportunities in other countries, competitors who are vying to meet the demand and avail of the opportunities, the manner in which our exporters could try to stay ahead of their competitors, etc. The DGCI & S should serve as a veritable mine of information for the Indian manufacturers/traders/exporters. 6.32 The scale of infrastructural deficiencies, the allocation for ASIDE Scheme in the budget 2008-2009 is far from being adequate. In view of the serious infrastructure-related problems encountered by the exporters, the Department should try to obtain a higher allocation for the Scheme at RE state. 6.33 When the Central component under the Scheme is released by the Department of Commerce, the later should also have the details of schemes under the State components, so that the infrastructure gaps in the way of exports could be filled. Even otherwise, there should be no difficulty on the part of the State Government to share information with regard to their projects with the Central Government since they are jointly responsible for creation of infrastructure under the Scheme. 6.34 In order to enhance our exports, the combined outlay for MAI and MDA schemes should be substantially enhanced, say, to 0.1% of the amount of total exports during the previous year. There is a need to broaden the scope of MDA Scheme and the Department should be more liberal in giving grants to exporters for market development. The combined allocation under MDA and MAI Schemes in a year should not be less than 0.1% of the total exports during the preceding year. 6.35 India should export items like leather, tobacco and tea to Russia which may find a huge market there. 6.36 In order to get recognition for our horticulture and fruit products for exports, an exclusive rating and grading parameter, on the lines of ISI, could be formulated, to lay down such levels of classification, grading and pricing for the export items as would make our horticulture products internationally acceptable. 6.37 The Department should emphasise primarily on setting up and upgrading post-harvest handling facilities, so as to reduce losses caused due to spoilage and to ensure quality production of agro products. Investment should be made in the setting up of common facilities, to maintain cold chains and to improve the quality of the produce, by setting up integrated pack houses, perishable cargo handling centres at exit points like airports, seaports, etc. APEDA should also encourage exporters to make use of good quality packaging material. 6.38 The Government should set up modern laboratory testing facilities-cum-awareness facilitation centres, so as to make the marine exports meet the quality standards of international specifications. MPEDA may also consider to supply healthy pathogen, free seed, to prevent diseases in our aquaculture products. 6.39 MPEDA should examine the feasibility of covering other States also in the exercise to carry out census of farms and farmers and mapping aquaculture forms. Provisions should also be made to upgrade the digitalized data. 6.40 The Department should work out strategies to meet the negative fall out of rupee appreciation and should explore new markets for Indian Tea, so that the impact of decline in export of tea to certain countries could be offset and overall export of Tea continues to grow. 6.41 The Government should identify the problems that come in the way of revival and opening of the closed Tea gardens and take remedial measures to solve the problems. The Government should help in reviving as many gardens as possible in the overall national interest of export and employment. 6.42 The Rehabilitation Package for Tea industry/workers should include provision for making the social and basic infrastructure available around the Tea Gardens. 6.43 Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) Scheme should be properly implemented. The tea companies should be motivated to avail of the Scheme so that the intended benefits reach them and the objectives of the Scheme are achieved. 6.44 The Department should expedite approval of the Export Promotion of Coffee Scheme, so that the efforts aimed at gaining increased market share in key overseas market bear fruit. 6.45 There is an urgent need to give boost to the rubber industry for sustaining and increasing the export of natural rubber. The Department should implement the scheme for Rubber Development in the North Eastern Region expeditiously. Research on growth and production of rubber in the North East should also be promoted. 70
6.46 The approval of competent authority for introduction of Crop Insurance Scheme for Tea, Tobacco, Rubber and Spices should be obtained expeditously. An awareness campaign should also be launched by Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) Trust, to make the scheme popular amongst the growers. 6.47 The medicinal tourism could get a fillip if the Spices Board is able to unlock the medicinal value of spices. The Government should broad-base its studies to identify more spices for their medicinal value and, thereafter, create awareness about the findings of the studies so undertaken. 6.48 The Government should consider bringing all aspects related to cashew under the ambit of the proposed Cashew Board, for its all round growth. The Government should encourage the cashew exporters for greater participation in International Food Fairs, etc. 6.49 The revised Inland Transport Assistance Scheme does not seem to have received due publicity. The Department should put in more efforts to publicise this Scheme, so that it attracts more applicants to reap the benefits of the Scheme. 6.50 The Department should work out a scheme for the unorganized leather sector including there in components for training, financial assistance for setting up a viable unit and market support.
(c) 86th Report
Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) 6.51 The Department should identify the causes of decrease in growth rate of the manufacturing sector as a whole and take corrective measures to boost the growth rate of this sector. The Department should also look into the reasons for sharp decrease/negative growth rate of the 2-digit level industry groups and take necessary measures, in coordination with the concerned Ministries, to improve the growth rate of industrial groups. 6.52 The Department should get the evaluation process hastened so that its Plan allocation does not continue to suffer in the coming years. The Government should devolve the responsibility of getting evaluatory studies done on the Ministries/Departments concerned who could engage independent agencies, with proven credentials, for the purpose. Depending solely on the Planning Commission for evaluating all the Government Schemes leads to inordinate delays and derails the planning process. 6.53 The Department should prepare a Vision Statement, spelling out in clear terms its short-term, medium- term and long-term goals, towards creating a healthy, conducive and competitive environment for industrial and infrastructural growth in the country. The said Vision Statement should be accompanied by Annual Action Plans for the realization of stated goals. 6.54. The Department should follow up with the Planning Commission for an early evaluation of the Transport Subsidy Scheme, so as to get enhanced allocation for the Transport Subsidy Scheme at RE stage. 6.55 The Department should not waste funds on the failed Growth Centres but devise a constructive plan to sustain the successful Growth Centres. While deciding the quantum of Central Assistance in the next two years and in determining the date of discontinuation of Central Assistance, the Department should keep in view the objective of making the 56 selected Growth Centres physically and financially viable. 6.56 The Department should speed up the process of critical evaluation of the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) and recast it, as necessary, without any further loss of time so that the 11th Plan allocations could be optimally utilized. 6.57 The modernization and strengthening of the Intellectual Property Office should have received due priority in budgetary allocation and the requirement of Rs. 68.15 crore projected by the Department should have been fully met. The Department should try proactively to get this allocation enhanced at RE stage. 6.58 The Department should hasten the process of filling up the additional posts of Examiners, Hearing Officers, etc. to ensure prompt disposal of patents and trade marks applications. At the latest, this task should be completed by 31st March, 2009. 71
6.59 The Department should expedite preparation of the project for protection of agricultural, natural and manufactured products of traditional and heritage value as there are many Indian products and goods which have unique Geographical Characteristics. 6.60 The Department should endeavour to register as many items having Geographical Indications as possible. Efforts should also be made to build public awareness in this regard . 6.61 The Technical Expert Group (TEG) appointed by the Government to suggest amendments to the Patents Act has not discharged its functions expeditiously and to the satisfaction of the Committee. As a result, the prices of life-saving drugs have been going up, which is a cause for serious concern. The necessary amendments to the Patents Law, which could control the drug prices, if not fully reduce the same, are also help up. The Committee, therefore, recommend that the Department should take vigorous measures so that the report is received without any further delay. The Committee also records its serious displeasure at the Department not exercising its executive authority effectively in this matter. 6.62 The Department should quickly obtain approval of the CCEA to implement the Integrated Leather Development Programme (ILDP) during 2008-09 so that the funds allocated under the head are properly utilized. A strategy for adopting a mission mode approach for enhancing the competitiveness of the leather sector and increasing investment in the sector should also be formulated. 6.63 In a country like India, there should be a paradigm shift from slaughtering to utilization of fallen carcasses in order to obtain raw hides. For this purpose, a scheme for proper utilization of fallen caracasses needs to be put in place with a view to solving the problem of low availability of raw material, without compromising the livestock population. 6.64 The various problems plaguing the leather units in the unorganized sector are inability to source right inputs, lack of finance/working capital, inconsistent quality, lack of standardization, poor marketing ability, seasonal production and competition from the organized sector. The Department should take steps to begin the process of "organizing" the unorganized leather sector by creating requisite awareness and forums for the purpose. 6.65 There is no provision for the unorganized leather sector in the budget of the Department thereby highlighting the utter neglect of this sector. The Department should make adequate budgetary allocation for providing training, market support and direct financial assistance to those engaged in the unorganized leather sector. If necessary, a new scheme may be worked out to give effect to this recommendation. 6.66 The Department should not only ensure that the funds allocated under the scheme 'Project Based Support to Autonomus Institutions' are fully utilized but also guard against imbalance or inequity of allocation under which some organizations get a profusion of funds while others are made to starve for funds. 6.67 The Department should follow up with FICCI and ASSOCHAM vigorously to recover expeditiously their part of the contribution towards the seed money to Quality Council of India. 6.68 The Department should strive to get expeditious approval to Academy of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AEAMT) project so that the same could be implemented in the year 2008-09. 6.69 The Department should prepare a blueprint for a smooth transition from research and development activities of IRMRA from non-type sector to tyre sector in the 11th Five Year Plan, and achieve the transition within the specified time-frame. 6.70 More sector-specific Design Centres/UG Campuses, should be set up especially in the North East, keeping in view the diversification in cane and bamboo products. 6.71 Initiatives should be undertaken up upgrade the facilities, particularly in IT-related infrastructure, as the resource material available at National Institute of Design’s (NID's) knowledge management centres is required to be updated continuously to meet the requirements of Education, Research and training programme. 6.72 In order to enable the industry to sustain the production, the Department should envisage certain policy measures, such as funding of R & D projects, delicensing of the paper industry, rationalisation of duty structure, etc. The Department should also set up a Technology Upgradation Scheme for Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute (CPPRI), on the lines of Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) for Textiles. 72
6.73 The decision regarding restructuring the Tariff Commission and expanding its role and responsibilities should be taken without any further loss of time and, in any case, not later than three months. 6.74 A study on the pricing structure of "branded salt" which is very high vis-a-vis unbranded salt available in the market should be undertaken. The Department should also expedite the study already commissioned on the export potential of salt in Gujarat. 6.75 The Department should expeditiously complete the process of consulting the stake-holders and come out with its considered view regarding shifting of Salt Commissioner's office from Jaipur to Ahmedabad, within a period of three months.
(d) 87th Report
Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/observations of the Committee contained in its Eighty Third Report on the Functioning of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) 6.76 No further SEZs should be approved or notified till the new Land Acquisition Act and R&R Policy are in place and all necessary and consequential amendments have been effected in the SEZ Act and Rules. 6.77 The Department should immediately commission an independent study, if it has not already done so, to gauge the impact of SEZs approved/notified so far, on the farmers whose lands were acquired as well as others (agricultural labourers, local artisans, etc.) who were connected with the acquired land. 6.78 The Government should completely debar the use of double-cropped/multi-cropped/irrigated land for setting up SEZs, as already recommended by the Committee. 6.79 On the basis of some cosmetic changes, the Government has claimed that "the concerns expressed on acquisition of land for SEZs have been addressed", whereas what is required is a fundamental change in the SEZ policy. The fact that industrial priorities are still being pitted against agricultural priorities is worrisome. The Committee strongly recommend that this trend should be reversed and, for setting up SEZs, the interests of agriculture and of the farming community should not be compromised. 6.80 The Government itself does not appear to be aware of the break-up of 62,378 hectares of land, under formally approved SEZs, into barren, single-crop, double-crop and multi-crop land (this assumption stems from the fact that the information has not been shared with the Committee so far). The Government should, therefore, finalize the norms regarding the land to be utilized for setting up SEZs, in accordance with the Committee's recommendations, and incorporate the same in the SEZ Act and rules made thereunder. 6.81 The Department should look into all such cases where forcible/compulsory acquisition of land has taken place after 5th April, 2007 and take such corrective action as necessary. 6.82 The Government should enunciate a clear policy with regard to governance issues emerging as a result of setting up of SEZs in relation to areas surrounding SEZs. 6.83 The Government should review the impact of fiscal incentives given under the SEZ Act in 2011, five years after the Act came into force. Parameters of the review should be laid down now so that a proper assessment about the impact of fiscal incentives is made at the relevant point of time.
(e) 88th Report
Patents and Trade Marks Systems in India 6.84 The Department should make all out efforts at capacity building of the Indian Patent Offices, so as to provide intellectual property services of global standards. Efforts should also be made to make the Indian Patent Office an International Search Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The Department should undertake an exercise aimed at awareness generation and sensitization among professionals as well as general public, about the importance of Intellectual Property Rights for economic and trade development, and also to develop in the country a culture of respect for IPRs. 6.85 Most significant constraint of the current patent publication system in India is the lack of a searchable patents database, that can provide all requisite information on an updated basis. The current PDF file format is 73 not suitable for searching all the journal publications at once. Lack of readily available information does not help create a transparent patent system. 6.86 An electronic searchable patent database should be made public at the earliest. 6.87 The lack of transparency with regard to the process of examination of applications not only tends to weaken the patent system, it makes the Patent Office non-participative and unaccounble for its decision. Trasnparency would help stengthen the patent system and also assist the examiners constructively in their work. 6.88 Section 144 of the Patents Act should be repealed and a transparent examination system should be made available, for all to view. The public should be permitted access to all the examination reports, preferably via an online searchable database. 6.89 The Patent Office decisions on the pre and post-grant oppositions should be made available on the Patent Office website. 6.90 Government should endeavour to remove the weaknesses of the provisions relating to pre-grant opposition. It would also give locus standi to the affected public, who should be able to point out if a patent was being mistakenly granted. 6.91 In view of the huge number of patent applications expected in the near future, it is imperative that the Government increases the number of posts sanctioned, in order to ensure efficient and timely examination of the patent applications. 6.92 The Department should explore the possibility of upgrading the staff in the Patents and Trade Marks Offices, on the lines of scientific cadres, with impressive salary/remuneration/incentive packages so as to check migration and enhance job satisfication. The help of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Science and Technology could also be elicited in engaging intellectuals and scientists, especially in the fields of bio-technology, for examination of patent applications. 6.93 The Government should exploit this opportunity to setup an IP Management Centre; in collaboration with ASEAN countries, which could help the country imbibe the best practices in the domain of Intellectual Property Rights and Intellectual Property Management. 6.94 The set-ups like Intellectual Property Management Division, CSIR, TIFAC and NRDC should be provided necessary infrastructure and support, to enable them to become "Centres of Excellence", in providing specialized IPR training to members of the scientific community. CSIR could also launch a Pilot Project, for imparting IPR training to the interested school and college-going students, depending upon the availability of resources at the lab/IPMD. The Government should encourage Universities to introduce short-term and medium- term programme of instruction/training in IPR, including in the fields of bioscience and biotechnology. 6.95 The Government should allocate sufficient funds for R and D investments, so as to retain the IP wealth within the country. For a better coordination on this front, an Inter-Ministerial group should be set up by the Deparement of Industrial Policy and Promotion. 6.96 The resultant delays in such a vital matter as to the definition of patentability will lead to serious setbacks in the protection of Intellectual Property Resources of our country. 6.97 The Government should take an early and unequivocal decision with regard to patentability of micro-organisms per se or their specific activities. 6.98 It needs to be ensured that the laws are not TRIPS-plus but just TRIPS compliant. 6.99 Section 3 (k) of the Patents Act, 1970 provides that 'mathematical or business method or computer programmes per se or algorithms' are not patentable. The domain of "per se" in the definition needs to be clearly defined. 6.100 The Department should provide for a royalty ceiling payable by the compulsory licence holder, to the patent holder . 6.101 The Government should introduce payment of Royalty, both at the interim and at the final stage, and even in revocation proceedings, which would provide revenue to the patent holder and access to medicines under the Public Health System . 74
6.102 A stage has come for taking urgent steps, to determine what constitutes national emergency or the circumstances of extreme emergency, and allow domestic enterprises, to take compulsory licences and produce products. 6.103 The Government should make the process of Compulsory Licensing simpler and conducive of public interest. 6.104 The Department should make provision for implementing TRIPS 31(b) Article in our Patents Law at the earliest. 6.105 The Government should take immediate steps to align the balance of convenience, as per the Indian patentability criteria laid down in the Act of 2005 so that the Public Health System does not suffer due to the Exclusive Marketing Rights Regime (EMRs). 6.106 Since the consequences of Data Exclusivity are quite serious, the Government should not fall prey to such demands of MNCs. The Government should guard against moves to enter into FTA with USA, as the developed countries, particularly the USA, are trying to bring in certain TRIPS Plus measures through Bilateral and Regional Agreements. 6.107 The Government should take measures on a war footing to ensure recognition of Geographical indications originating from our country at the WTO. 6.108 A thorough review of the TRIPS Agreement has become a sine qua non, as the interests of developing countries were given a short shrift in the original TRIPS Agreement, which was heavily loaded in the interest of developed countries. 6.109 The issue regarding Patent Harmonization should be opposed tooth and nail by India and other developing countries. 6.110 The Government should set up an inter-Ministerial Task Force, Comprising the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Agriculture, whose Terms of Reference should be collection, collation, publication and publicity of all the traditional knowledge of the country, so that the same is not usurped by the developed countries. Efforts should also be made to encourage research in the field of traditional knowledge, as a fool proof way of protecting it. The Government should make efforts to integrate the traditional systems to the Health Care System of the country, so that the under load on the All Pathic System is reduced. 6.111 The Government should direct its energies at building pressure for a mandated review of the TRIPS Agreement. 6.112 The Government should ensure that the modernization Project of Trade Mark Registry at Ahmedabad is completed within the Plan period itself. The Department should take necessary steps to remove infrastructural constrain hampering the efficient functioning of the Trade Marks Registry at Ahmedabad. If need be, some additional space may be rented, till completion of the new Trade Marks Registry building. 6.113 There should be strict adherence to the statutory time-limits for trade mark search and examination/ screening of applications. The Trade Marks Registry should be fully computerized to reduce paper work and to increase efficiency, and for quick disposal of applications. A provision for trade marks search through Trade Marks Official Website, to check the registrability, should be put in place. 6.114 The Department should examine whether at least a part of the revenue being earned by the Trade Marks Registry can be ploughed back in a way as the Japanese and the Koreans are doing. The additional allocation could be used for the training of scientific cadres, for creating upgraded infrastructure, more staff and more equipment. 6.115 The Government should not accede to the Madrid Protocol, till the Trade Marks Registry is equipped with adequate, skilled manpower and requisite infrastructure and enabled to handle the pressure of dealing with trade mark applications,both domestic and international, within a period of eighteen months. 6.116 The Government should quickly organize a work study about the requirements of TMR and strengthen the administration, to enable it to perform its duties efficiently, instead of ad hoc management of work through contract Examiners, The system of appointment of contract Examiners may prove to be undersirable on a long-term basis. 75
6.117 The Department should provide storage facilities for proper upkeep of the growing volume of records at TMR offices. Apart from this, the Department should also consider bar-coding system, for keeping track of the files. 6.118 The Government should examine the need to provide for inclusion of Small Marks, Taste Marks and Sound Marks in the definition of trade marks. 6.119 More technical and experienced persons, familiar with the Intellectul Property Law, may be appointed on the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), in order to imporve its functioning.
VI. Secretariat 6.120 The Committee Section (Commerce), headed by a Committee Officer, constitutes the Secretariat of the Committee. Secretary, Joint Secretary & Financial Advisor, Joint Director and Deputy Director remained in-charge of the Branch. 6.121 To assist the Committee in its work, the material received from the Ministries/Department non- official organizations and individuals was studied and points were culled out and questionnaires for written replies/evidence prepared, for use of Chairman/Members of the Committee . 6.122 The Secretariat also collected material for on-the-spot studies and prepared study notes. 6.123 The work relating to drafting, consideration and approval of draft reports by the Committee, along with their presentation, laying, printing and distribution was undertaken. The Secretariat dealt with the work relating to scrutiny of action taken notes received from the Ministries concerned on the recommendations contained in the Reports of the Committee and preparation of Draft Reports on the Action Taken Notes. 6.124 The Secretariat also studied material like Parliamentary Debates, Answers to Parliamentary Questions, Budget Estimates, Plan Documents, Books, Journals, newspapers, etc., relevant to subjects under examination of the Committee. ANNEXURE-VI (See Para 6.4) Details of the sittings of the Committee on Commerce during the year 2008 Sl. Date Time Subject No. duration 1 2 3 4 1. 10.01.2008 2hrs. Examination of the Action Taken Notes (ATNs) on 61st and 75th Reports of the Committee on ‘Functioning of MMTC’ and ‘India and the Sixth Ministerial’, respectively. 2. 11.01.2008 2hrs. Examination of the Patents and Trademarks Systems in India. 3. 31.01.2008 2 hrs. 50 min. Clause by clause consideration of the Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2007. 4. 01.02.2008 2 hrs. 30 min. -do- 5. 06.02.2008 1 hr. 30 min. Interaction with the Standing Committee on Trade and Industry of the Swedish Parliament. 6. 17.03.2008 2 hrs. 55 min. (i) Consideration and adoption of draft Eighty Fourth Report on the Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2007; and (ii) Examination of Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. 7. 18.03.2008 2 hrs. 45 min. Examination of Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. 8. 25.03.2008 3 hrs. 30 min. Examination of Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. 9. 26.03.2008 3hrs. Examination of Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Commerce. 10. 03.04.2008 1 hr. 30 min. Interaction with Members of European Free Trade Area (EFTA) on Indo-EFTA Trade Relations. 11. 10.04.2008 1 hr. 50 min. Consideration and adoption of the draft Reports on Demands for Grants (2008-09) pertaining to the Department of Commerce and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. 12. 05.05.2008 45 min. Interaction with Members of the Namibian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics, Natural Resources and Public Administration. The Committee also decided the visit by Sub Committee I to West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya from 26th to 31st May, 2008, in connection with examination of the ‘Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector’. 13. 21.05.2008 1 hr. Consideration of ATN on 83rd Report of the Committee on the Functioning of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). 14. 22.05.2008 2 hrs. Examination of the subject of Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector. 15. 11.06.2008 2 hrs. Examination of the subjects of: I. Development of Leather Industry; and II. Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector. 76 77
1 2 3 4 16. 12.06.2008 2 hrs. 30 min. Examination of the subject of Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector, including FDI in Education and Book Publishing. 17. 30.07.2008 55 min. Consideration of the draft Action Taken Report on the 83rd report of the Committee on The Functioning of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and adopted the same. 18. 11.08.2008 50 min. Examination of the subject of Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector. 19. 03.09.2008 3 hrs. 35 min. Examination of the subject of Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector ‘particularly FDI in Education and Book Publishing’. 20. 26.09.2008 2 hrs. 30 min Examination of the subject of Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector. 21. 21.11.2008 2 hrs. 15 min. Examination of the subject of Foreign and Dometic Investment in Retail Sector. CHAPTER-VII COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS I. Composition of the Committee 7. Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees are constituted under Rule 268 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha. Each of the Standing Committees is related to the Ministries/ Departments as specified in the Third Schedule to the Rules of Procedure. As per Part-I of the Third Schedule, there are eight such Committees under the administrative control of Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Sixteen such Committees, as mentioned in Part-II of the Schedule are with the Lok Sabha Secretariat. These Committees are constituted by the respective Presiding Officers of the two Houses of Parliament. During the period under review, the Committee on Home Affairs which was constituted on 5th August, 2007 with 10 Members from Rajya Sabha and 21 from Lok Sabha, continued until it was reconstituted w.e.f. 5th August, 2008. The Committee had two Ministries under its jurisdiction, namely, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). 7.2 The Committee consisted of the following Members:— COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS (Constituted on 5th August, 2007) 1. Shrimati Sushma Swaraj — Chairperson RAJYA SABHA *2. Shri Rishang Keishing 3. Shri R.K. Dhawan 4. Shri S.S. Ahluwalia 5. Shri Janeshwar Mishra @6. Shri Prasanta Chatterjee 7. Shri Satish Chandra Misra 8. Shri Sanjay Raut **9. Shri Rama Chandra Khuntia $10. Shri Tiruchi Siva LOK SABHA 11. Shri L.K. Advani 12. Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala 13. Shri Ilyas Azmi 14. Km. Mamata Banerjee 15. Shrimati Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo 16. Shri Biren Singh Engti 17. Shri Tapir Gao #18. Shri Hemant Khandelwal 19. Shri Naveen Jindal 20. Shri Ajit Jogi 21. Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen †22. Shri Amitava Nandy
*Renominated to the Committee w.e.f. 14th May, 2008 on expiration of his Membership from Rajya Sabha on 9.4.2008. @Renominated to the Committee w.e.f. 14th May, 2008 on expiration of his Membership from Rajya Sabha on 2.4.2008. **Nominated as a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 14.5.2008. $Nominated as a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 21.5.2008. †Nominated w.e.f. 12 December, 2007 vice Shri T.K. Hamza who was nominated to Standing Committee on Commerce. #Nominated as a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 13.6.2008. Shri V. Narayanasamy ceased to be a member of the Committee w.e.f. 6.4.2008 consequent upon his induction in the Union Council of Ministers, Shri N. Jothi ceased to be member of the Committee w.e.f. 27.3.2008 consequent upon his resignation from the membership of the Rajya Sabha, 78 79
23. Shri Ram Chandra Paswan 24. Shri Sachin Pilot 25. Shri Ashok Kumar Pradhan 26. Shri M. Rajamohan Reddy 27. Shri Baju Ban Riyan 28. Choudhary Bijendra Singh 29. Shri Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh 30. Shri Mohan Singh 31. Vacant
Shri Raghunath Jha ceased to be a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 6.4.2008 consequent upon his induction in the Union Council of Ministers, Shri G. Karunakara Reddy ceased to be a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 3.6.2008 consequent upon his induction in the Council of Ministers of Karnataka Government. 80
COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS (Constituted on 5th August, 2008) 1. Shrimati Sushma Swaraj — Chairperson RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Rama Chandra Khuntia 3. Shri Rishang Keishing 4. Shri R.K. Dhawan 5. Shri S.S. Ahluwalia 6. Shri Janeshwar Mishra 7. Shri Prasanta Chatterjee 8. Shri Satish Chandra Misra 9. Shri Sanjay Raut 10. Shri Tiruchi Siva LOK SABHA 11. Shri L.K. Advani 12. Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala 13. Shri Ilyas Azmi 14. Km. Mamata Banerjee 15. Shrimati Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo 16. Shri Biren Singh Engti 17. Shri Tapir Gao 18. Shri T.K. Hamza 19. Shri Naveen Jindal 20. Prof. K.M. Kadermohideen 21. Shri Hemant Khandelwal 22. Shri Ram Chandra Paswan 23. Shri Sachin Pilot 24. Shri Ashok Kumar Pradhan 25. Shri M. Raja Mohan Reddy 26. Shri Baju Ban Riyan 27. Choudhary Bijendra Singh *28. Ms. Agatha K. Sangma @29. Vacant #30. Vacant 31. Vacant
* Nominated as a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 1st December, 2008. @ Consequent upon change in nomination as Member and appointment as the Chairman of DRPSC on Agriculture, Shri Mohan Singh ceased to be a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 5th December, 2008. # Consequent upon vacation of his seat in Lok Sabha as a result of his election to Legislative Assembly of Chhattisgarh, Shri Ajit Jogi ceased to be a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 26th December, 2008. 81
II. Subjects selected for examination 7.3 The Committee on Home Affairs had selected the following subjects for examination during the year:—
Sl. No. Ministry/Department Subject 1. Ministry of Home Affairs Administration of Union Territories 2. Ministry of Home Affairs Naxalism 3. Ministry of Home Affairs Security Arrangement at DMRC 4. Ministry of Home Affairs Working of Foreigner's Divisions, including Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) & Immigration Department 5. Ministry of Home Affairs/Ministry of Internal Security and Economic and DoNER Infrastructural Development in NER. 7.4 In addition to the above subjects, Hon'ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha also referred the following Bill to the Committee for examination:—
Sl. No. Date of reference Name of the Bill 1. 31.12.2008 The Land Ports Authority of India Bill, 2008 7.5 Besides the above Bill, the Committee had also inherited the following Bills referred to it in 2006 and 2007:—
Sl. No. Date of reference Name of the Bill 1. 22 December, 2006 The Foregin Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006 2. 20 August, 2007 The Private Detective Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2007 3. 10 December, 2007 The Constitution (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007 4. 10 December, 2007 The Sixth Schedule to Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007
III. Constitution of Sub-Committees of the Committee on Home Affairs 7.6 The following sub-Committees were constituted on 13 April, 2007 and the same were re-constituted on 9 August, 2007 after the reconstitution of the Committee: (i) Sub-Committee on Scheme for Police Housing for Central Police Forces and Delhi Police; (ii) Sub-Committee on Modernisation of Prison Administration; (iii) Sub-Committee on Civil Defence and Rehabilitation of J & K Migrants; (iv) Sub-Committee on Border Fencing and Flood Lighting Projects; and (v) Sub-Committee on Rehabilitation of Tsunami Affected Persons.
IV. Review of work done
(a) Sittings of the Committee 7.7 Statement showing the dates of sittings of the Committee held during the period under review, the duration of the sittings, the number of Members present and the subjects discussed is at Annexure VII. 7.8 The Committee had interacted with following foreign delegations during the period under review:
Sl. No. Date of Interaction Name of Delegation 1. 15 September, 2008 Seven-Member delegation of India-France Senatorial Friendship Group headed by Mr. Pierre Fauchon 82
7.9The Chairperson, Committee on Home Affairs interacted with the following foreign delegations during the period under review:
Sl. No. Date of Interaction Name of Delegation 1. 11 February, 2008 HE Dr. Furio Radin, President of the Croatian Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights. 2. 12 March, 2008 Irish Parliament's Joint Committee on the Constitution headed by H.E. Mr. Denis O' Donovan 3. 28 November, 2008 Five-Member delegation of Conservative Friends of India (CFIN) M.Ps of British Parliament.
(b) Sittings of Sub-Committees 7.10 Statement showing the dates of sittings of the sub-Committees held during the period under review, the duration of the sittings, the number of Members present and the subjects discussed is at Annexure-VIII.
(c) Material and Memoranda furnished to the Committee 7.11 A voluminous notes/documents, received from the concerned Ministries/Departments on the subjects/ Bills were examined by the Committee. 7.12 A large number of memoranda, received from the non-officials on different subjects/Bills were examined by the Committee. Those Memoranda were sent to the concerned Ministries for their comments.
(d) Study Visits 7.13 (i) The Main-Committee had not undertaken any study visit during the period under review. (ii) The following sub-Committees had undertaken study visits as per details given below: Sub-Committee on Rehabilitation of Tsunami Affected Persons: Visited Kochi, Chennai, Puducherry and Port Blair from 03-06 January, 2008 for on-the-spot visit to sites developed for rehabilitation of Tsunami Affected Persons. Sub-Committee on Border Fencing and Floodlight Projects: Visited Jammu and Punjab from 24 to 28 May 2008 to make a first hand assessment of the implementation of the Border Fencing and Floodlighting Projects. Sub-Committee on Modernisation of Prison Administration: (i) Visited Chhattisgarh and Orissa on 30 and 31 May 2008 for on-the-spot visit to oversee implementation of the scheme of Modernisation of Prison Administration. (ii) Visited Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu from 1—3 July, 2008 for on-the-spot visit to oversee implementation of the scheme of Modernisation of Prison Administration.
(e) Evidence Taken 7.14 Eighty-three (83) evidences were taken by the Main-Committee and its sub-Committees during the period under review and verbatim record of each of the sittings was kept.
V. Reports Presented
(a) Reports 7.15 During 2008, the Committee presented the following Reports to both Houses of Parliament:— Sl. Report No. and Date(s) of Subject No. Presentation/ Laying in Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha
12 3 4 1. 129 The Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and 28.02.2008 28.02.2008 the Constitution (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007. 83
12 3 4 2. 130 Action Taken by Government on the Recommendation/Observation 16.04.2008 16.04.2008 contained in 126th Report on Demand for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of Home Affairs 3. 131 Action Taken by Government on the Recommendations/Observations 16.04.2008 16.04.2008 contained in the 127th Report on Demand for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of DoNER. 4. 132 Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Ministry of Home Affairs 16.04.2008 16.04.2008 5. 133 Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Ministry of Development of North- 16.04.2008 16.04.2008 Eastern Region 6. 134 The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006 21.10.2008 21.10.2008 7. 135 Border Fencing and Floodlighting Projects of Indo-Pak Border 21.10.2008 21.10.2008 8. 136 Revamping and Revitalization of Civil Defence in the Country 21.10.2008 21.10.2008
(b) Action Taken Reports 7.16 The Committe presented 130th and 131st Reports on the Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations contained in its 126th and 127th reports, respectively.
VI. Summary of Recommendations
(a) Report No. 129 [The Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Constitution (a) (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007] 7.17 The Committee observed that if the Bills had been passed immediately after signing of MoS, the situation would have been different because Shri Subhash Ghisingh was the undisputed leader of Darjeeling at that time. It also observed that during the last two years, much water had flown down and non-holding of elections to the Gorkha Hill Council had added fuel to the fire. 7.18 The Committee observed that 'Police' and 'Public Order' are the responsibilities of State Government and the Committee enquired several times both from the Government of West Bengal as well as Central Government as to whether the law and order would not deteriorate with the passage of the Bills because the evidence before it was to the contrary. Representatives of both the Governments had asserted more than once that the enactment of the Bills would not lead to any major law and order problem and rather the local people would in course of time join the mainstream of electoral politics. 7.19 The Committee after taking into consideration the statements made by the Union Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal before it to the effect that as per their assessment the passage of the Bills would fulfil the aspirations of people of Darjeeling; they would in course of time participate in the electoral process under the new dispensation of the Sixth Schedule; and that there would be no serious law and order problem in Darjeeling consequent upon the passage of the Bills by Parliament and that the apprehensions of civil unrest and turmoil in the hills in the event of conferment of the Sixth Schedule status were highly exaggerated and in view of the lack of any mechanism with the Committee to verify the averments of the authorities, it had no other option but to rely on the official statements and accordingly decided to proceed with the clause-by-clause consideration of the Bills. In this context the Committee cautioned and advised the Ministry of Home Affairs to make a fresh assessment of the ground realities all over again before proceeding with the Bills in the two Houses of Parliament. 7.20 The Committee recommended that thirty three per cent reservation for women should be provided in the composition of the proposed Gorkha Hill Council Darjeeling. The Committee, in that context noted 84 that provision already exists for reservation of two seats for woman out of five nominated seats. The Committee, recommended that nine seats—three out of ten seats reserved for ST, five out of fifteen seats reserved for non-tribals and one out of three open seats—should be reserved for women, out of the twenty eight elective seats. 7.21 The Committee further noted from the composition of the Council that there was no provision for reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs). Darjeeling Hill areas had substantial SC population and there was no reason why reservation to SC should not be provided in the Council which was a constitutional requirement. The Committee was not convinced with the reply of the Ministry of Home Affairs that the SC population was not sufficient so as to provide reservation for them. The Committee, therefore, recommended that necessary reservation to SCs may be provided in the Council. 7.22 The Committee recommended that the Constitution (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 be passed, taking into account amendments suggested and the observations made in its report.
(b) Report No. 130 (Action taken by Government on the recommendations/observations contained in the One Hundred and Twenty Sixth Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of Home Affairs)
Modernisation of Police Forces 7.23 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs had forwarded the "Comprehensive Composite Proposal" to the Planning Commission for technology upgradation in the functioning of police at all level through a project called CIPA- crime registration, investigation, and prosecution modules to be linked through a broadband/CDMA/VSAT network. The Committee desired that the Planning Commission may clear the project at the earliest.
Coastal Security Scheme 7.24 The Committee having being constrained to note that even though the scheme was approved in 2005 for implementation, in five years several proposals were still in approval stage, recommended that all the proposals may be given approval at the earliest. The Committee also recommended that the Price Negotiation Committee of MHA may complete all the formalities for purchase of boats.
National Disaster Management Authority 7.25 The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs should expediously consider the Draft National Policy on Disaster Management as prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority and finalize the document at the earliest. The Committee deserved that the country could not wait for a disaster to happen before the policy was finalized. 7.26 The Committee while noting that it was unfortunate that the constitution of National Disaster Relief Fund was still at consultation stage recommended that the Government should take early action in the matter and ensure that NDRF was in place converging Calamity Relief Fund/National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF). 7.27 The Committee noted that a provision for creation of National disaster Mitigation Fund was made way back in Disaster Management Act, 2005. Undue delay had taken place in the process of discussion of MHA with the Ministry of Finance, the National Disaster Management Authority and Planning Commission. The Committee recommended that the process of creating the fund may be completed at the earliest. 7.28 The Committee recommended that the process of notifying the NDRF Rules may be completed at the earliest.
Demand No. 98 — Lakshadweep 7.29 The Committee being of the view that not much had been done in the direction of opening the islands for tourism recommended that the Government may again look into this aspect and take all steps to open up the islands to tourism as this may increase employment opportunities to the people of the area. 85
(c) Report No. 131 (Action Taken by Government on the Recommendations/observations contained in the One (c) Hundred and Twenty Seventh Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of DoNER)
Undue Delay in Pilot and Airhostess Training 7.30 Expressing its displeasure over the continuing delay in identifying the institute for pilot and airhostess training, the Committee recommended that the institutes may be selected immediately so that training may start without further delay.
Externally Aided Projects 7.31 The Committee apprehending that both the projects, viz. North Eastern Urban Development Project (NEUDP) and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) may be delayed in the process of approval and transfer, desired that these projects should start without any further delay.
Civil Aviation 7.32 The Committee reiterated its observation that inter and intra air connectivity of NER would prove a sine qua non for the all round development of North-Eastern Region, be it a tourist destiny or economic development or inducement investment. The Committee, therefore, strongly, recommended that the Ministry of DoNER should not confine itself merely to forwarding the development projects from one Ministry to the other. Being the territorial Ministry endowed with role and responsibility of developing the North-Eastern Region, it should play pro-active and result-oriented role in pursuing continuously so far as the inception and implementation of the proposal/undertaken projects are concerned viz. improvement of inter and intra region air services; setting up of Greenfield airports at Kohima, Itanagar, Gangtok and for up-gradation of airports of Pasight and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, Baljek in West Goro Hills, Meghalaya and Kamalpur and Kailashah in Tripura. These projects should be completed within the stipulated time frame and should not incur time and cost overruns. The Committee further recommended that the Ministry of DoNER should take adequate follow up action with the Ministry of Civil Aviation for harnessing the vast pool of trained pilots and technical staff of IAF by inducting them on permanent absorption basis.
Problems and Prospects of Agricultural Sector 7.33 The Committee desired that pattas may be issued to the small tea growers at the earliest. The Committee also desired that the project reports may be obtained from the State Governments on rubber Plantations and the Task Force may finalize its recommendations at the earliest.
Special Initiatives 7.34 The Committee desired that the Cabinet Secretariat may make the provision in the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 at the earliest, that the line Ministries would consult the Ministry of DoNER before finalizing any scheme to be implemented in North East.
(d) Report No. 132 [The Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Ministry of Home Affairs]
Multipurpose National Identity Cards Scheme (MNIC) 7.35 The Committee expressed its strong displeasure on the adhocism adopted by the Government. The Multipurpose National Identity Cards (MNIC) scheme was launched on pilot basis prior to the announcement of the Unique Identity Number Scheme. The Planning Commission should have obtained status as well as feedback on the MNIC Scheme and then taken a decision on any other scheme, let alone UID scheme. Running of two parallel schemes appeared to be overlapping in objectives and may be perceived to be wastage of time and resource. Implementation of the pilot project for MNIC had taken unduly a long time and yet it was not known how long it would take to complete the Scheme in the entire country and on top of that another scheme had been launched. The Committee recommended that the Group of Ministers may critically review the MNIC and UID Schemes and examine the feasibility of merging the two into a single integrated programme, so as to avoid overlapping of objectives and likely wastage of resource and manpower. Government must ensure that such a programme should be feasible for implementation within a reasonable and strict time frame. 86
Modernization of Police Forces 7.36 The Committee observed that the role of the Ministry was not confined to merely allocating funds to the States but it had the responsibility to ensure that each and every rupee allocated was spent in the furtherance of the objective of the scheme. The Committee reiterated its recommendations made in the earlier reports that it should be insisted upon all the States to send utilization certificates at the earliest in order to ensure that States spend the funds meant for modernization of their police forces in an efficient manner. 7.37 The Common Integrated Police Application scheme was a path breaking initiative in networking the entire policing system of the country. Since the scheme was being extended to the entire country and also to other higher levels of hierarchy of the police system, completion thereof, may bring a perceptible change in the police-public interface and the public perception of it. The Committee recommended that emphasis should be laid on the attitude and behaviour of the police personnel. The Committee also desired that the Scheme be implemented in its true spirit and the targets should be achieved. The Committee also recommended that a monitoring mechanism should be put in place at the Centre to ensure proper implementation of the scheme.
Disaster Management 7.38 The Committee was dissatisfied over the delay in providing the full complement of personnel to man the Secretariat of the Disaster Management Authority which was long overdue. The Committee was of the considered view that the time frame for any project relating to disaster management was the key for its success. The Committee, therefore, recommended for early action for completing the process of posting the required personnel to the National Disaster Management Authority without further delay. 7.39 The Committee also expressed its concern over the non-utilization of large amount of money sanctioned during 2007-08 for various projects. The reasoning given by the Ministry was not accepted. In case, so much preparation was required for finishing the projects, the Ministry should have anticipated the required time and the allocation should have accordingly been sought. The Committee recommended that the Detailed Project Reports for all the projects may be completed during the current year so that the projects may take off at the earliest.
Delhi Police 7.40 The Committee was of the view that Delhi Police should re-assess the requirement of funds keeping in view the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010, with a view to improve its functioning, for providing adequate protection to the people in NCR. The Committee was of the view that the increase in the allocation for Delhi Police was insufficient, considering the security scenario of Delhi and the forthcoming Games. The crowded places of Delhi were the prime targets for terrorist activities due to their vulnerability. One of the major targets could be Metro Stations. Security at Metro Stations should be tightened. The Committee was also of the view that overall security measures should be strengthened in the NCR and additional allocation should be made for this purpose. 7.41 The Committee however expressed its concern over the instances of corruption cases in Delhi Police as reported in the media. The Committee felt that the system should be overhauled. The Committee hoped that the series of proactive measure undertaken to check corruption in Delhi Police would ultimately yield results in improving the image of the Delhi Police amongst the general police.
Shifting of Boundaries to Zero Level 7.42 The Committee was of the view that the shifting of the border fencing to the zero line was the only solution left for the convenience of the people residing in nearby villages to carry out their agricultural activities. The Committee therefore, recommended that suitable action should be initiated at the earliest for shifting of the fence to zero line. The Committee also desired that recruitment of female constables be done at the earliest.
Illegal Bangladeshi Migrants 7.43 The Committee felt that a large presence of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants posed a grave threat to the internal security and it should be viewed seriously. Reports had also appeared that counterfeit notes were in 87 large circulation along Indo-Bangladesh border. The Committee strongly recommended that movement along the border may be strictly monitored.
Border Area Development Programme (BADP) 7.44 The Committee in its One Hundred thirteenth Report on Demands for Grants (2005-06) pertaining to the Ministry of DoNER had recommended that it should specify the developmental work under the Border Area Development Scheme which should be undertaken around 60-75 Km of the actual border. But the ground realities in this context were different as the Committee came to know about the fact that those funds were spent on civilian gardens and parks depriving the people in the border areas where there was hardly any communication. The Committee recommended that a proper monitoring mechanism should be put in place to monitor the utilization of these funds as the people living in the border areas are suffering due to lack of infrastructure viz. schools and other medical facilities. 7.45 The Committee felt that border areas in the North-Eastern part of the country had been neglected for a long time. Some border areas were not easily accessible. The Committee was constrainted to note that inspite of its recommendation made in earlier reports, the Cabinet Secretariat had not taken any decision on the issue of transferring of BADP Scheme to Ministry of DoNER. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the issue be resolved immediately in the interest of the nation.
Insurgency in North-Eastern States 7.46 The Committee felt that for the last four or five decades, this region was facing the problem of insurgency and people were frustrated with the prevailing situation. The Government had to take the responsibility of resolving the problem. The Committee was of the considered view that inspite of decrease in number of the causalities; reported instances of extortion activities and collection of levies by the outlawed groups were increasing. The Committee called upon the Ministry to keep a close watch on the developments in this regard and all efforts be made to foil the nefarious design of the secessionists.
(e) Report No. 133 [Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region]
Overall Assessment of Demands for Grants 7.47 The Committee was concerned that even though the Ministry of DoNER made a projection of Rs. 2,922 crore for the current year, the actual allocation made was Rs. 1,455 crore under plan scheme. The Committee was given to understand that due to the reduction in the allocation by almost 50%, many projects would suffer. The Ministry would not be able to implement the schemes for the development of the region. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended that the allocation to the Ministry be made as per its requirement as it would be in the interest of the overall development of the North-Eastern Region. 7.48 The Committee was not convinced by the reasoning given by the Secretary, NEC on the visibility aspect of the development. The component of private investment was a totally different matter to be viewed in the proper context and persepective. First of all, the outcome of the public investments should be visible and transparent. Then only a positive message would go down for private investment. The Committee appreciated that there were basic and inherent problems in converting public investment into tangible results. That would only be achieved if there was a sense of commitment among implementing agencies and the State Governments. The Committee recommended that sincere efforts should be made to ensure the investment made for the development of NER should yield concrete result so much so that the outcome should manifest itself.
Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) 7.49 the Committee viewed with concern the fact that even though DoNER had projected Rs. 1,200 crore for NLCPR, only Rs. 650 crore had been allocated for the current financial year. The Committee also took note of the fact that for NLCPR the projection was made on the basis of performance during the last two years. The Committee further took note of the unspent balance lying with other Ministries and recommended that the allocation for NLCPR may be increased appropriately at RE stage to meet the requirement of various projects proposed to be taken up by the Ministry. The Committee also recommended that allocation may also be made from out of the unspent balance of various Ministries. The Committee desired that the Ministry of DoNER may pursue the matter at highest level for early release of the funds. 88
North-Eastern Council 7.50 The Committee took a critical view of the allocations made for NEC. The allocation of Rs. 624 crore in BE 2008-09 as compared to the allocation of Rs. 600 crore in the previous year, was in no way commensurate with the number of projects to be taken up by NEC. Besides the new projects, the NEC had also several spilled over projects. The Committee agreed that it was difficult for NEC to fulfil its role as a regional planning body due to financial constraints and, therefore, recommended that the NEC may be provided with suitably enhanced allocation at RE stage so that NEC projects which were facing difficulties due to shortage of funds did not get affected.
Technical Assistance and Capacity Building 7.51 The Committee was happy to note that 36 students had been selected for training in Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) and Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME) and some young persons had also been selected for airhostess training. The Committee however, wished to observe that those trainings were being held outside the North-Eastern region. If the North-Eastern region had to be strengthened and the capacity for the region had to be upgraded, such Institutes should be opened there instead of sending people outside for training. The Committee, therefore, recommended that an early decision may be taken on starting the Pilot Training Institute at Lilabari. Whatever problems that were coming in the way be sorted out at the earliest and the Central Ministry may take initiative in this regard. The Committee was of the view that there was huge potential for fashion designing and fashion technology in the North East which was still to be tapped. The Committee reiterated that a National Institute of Fashion Technology may be opened in the North East at the earliest. The Committee was also of the view that there was a huge potential for sportspersons in the North East and this potential had not yet been tapped. To tap this potential, a separate Sports Institute or Sports Academy is required in the North East. The Committee, therefore, reiterated that a Sports Academy may be opened in the North-Eastern Region.
North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd. (NERAMAC) 7.52 The Committee recognized the fact that the North-East Region, though industrially backward due to poor infrastructure, had great potential in terms of agriculture, horticulture, floriculture. This potential of the region had remained unharnessed and the NERAMAC was the one which could accelerate the growth in those sectors. The Committee expressed its disquiet over the fact that the Ministry in general and NERAMAC in particular were not able to tap the potential available in abundance and this showed poor planning and initiative. Sincere efforts were required to be made to harness these resources. The Committee recommended that the pineapple juice concentrate plant in Tripura may be revived by providing it better machineries and skilled manpower.
Transfer of Hill Area Development Programme (HADP) and Border Area Development Programme (BADP) 7.53 The Committee expressed its deep concern that even though the two programmes i.e., Hill Area Development Programme (HADP) and Border Area Development Programme (BADP) were shown in the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 against the Ministry of DoNER but the programmes were yet to be transferred to it. The Committee was constrained to note that inspite of its recommendation made in the One Hundred and Twenty Seventh Report, the Cabinet Secretariat had not taken any steps in this direction. The issue was pending with that Secretariat since long. The Committee reiterated that such important issue should be resolved on a priority basis.
Connectivity 7.54 The Committee was satisfied that for BE 2008-09, an amount of Rs. 63,845.00 lakh, which was an increase of 58.02% over the previous year, had been allocated for transport and communication. The Committee was happy to note that the Union Government's intention was to invest an amount to the tune of Rs. 50,000 crore on the road sector in the North-East Region over the Eleventh Plan period. The Committee was of the view that given the strategic location of the region, the roads on the Indo-Myanmar border (under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North East of DORTH), road to connect Mizoram and the Kaladan Multi- modal project (under MEA), tri-lateral highway between India, Myanmar and Thailand, important roads in 89
Myanmar (Tamu Kalewa road, Rih Tidim and Rih Falam roads) should be upgraded constructed/at a fast pace and completed at the earliest. 7.55 The Committee recommended that development of proposed three Greenfield Airports at Itanagar, Cheithu and Pakyong should be given priority. The Committee desired that the proposal regarding two new greenfield airports at Tawang and Kokrajhar be examined expeditiously. The Committee was pleased to know that the agreement between NEC and Alliance Air had been extended for the year 2008 for operating ATR services between locations in the North East. The Committee desired that airports at Silchar, Dibrugarh and Umroi may also be upgraded at the earliest. The Committee also desired that the AAI should submit its DPR on non operational airports, namely, Kailashahar, Kamalpur and Pasighat and DPR on Tezu airport, as early as possible. 7.56 Regarding inland water transport, the Committee recommended that Indo-Bangladesh IWT Protocol and Kaladan River multi-modal transport route from Mizoram to Sittwe Port should be given utmost importance as they could help increase foreign trade with neighbouring countries.
Ropeway at Tawang 7.57 The Committee Felt that the Ropeway project at Tawang was a classic example of procrastination and, therefore, expressed its displeasure over the fact that though the foundation for the Ropeway was laid by the President of India in 2002 yet the progress of construction of this ropeway was not at all satisfactory. Even though funds were allocated the previous year, it was a matter of concern that the State Government was still in the process of issuing tenders in August, 2007. It was unfortunate that the Secretary, DoNER could not give the latest status of the project. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended that the Ministry must take suitable initiatives and follow-up action to ensure completion of project without further delay. Otherwise, the Committee apprehended that there would be time and cost overruns.
North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP) 2007 7.58 The Committee was pleased to note that several incentives had been taken for new industrial units as well as the existing one in the NEIIP, 2007. While appreciating the initiatives to attract foreign investment in the region, the Committee felt that more emphasis should be given on potential investors from other parts of India. However, in order to give fillip to the NEIIPP 2007, the Committee recommended that the Ministry of DoNER should interact with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises for promoting enterprises including agro and rural industries. The Committee strongly felt that the benefits accruing from Micro Small Medium Enterprises Act, 2005, Khadi and Village Industries Corporation Act, 2007, North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2007 would go a long way in promoting MSMEs in the region provided adequate institutional arrangement and proper awareness were in place. The Committee also recommended that the Government should give high priority to the problem of connectivity in the region as without proper and adequate connectivity, the investors would not be convinced for investing in the region.
Initiatives Under India's Look East Policy 7.59 The Committee recognized that under India's Look East Policy, border trade with neighbouring landlocked countries was of utmost importance as the North-East Region could provide a link between India and South East Asian countries for increasing trade between the two regions. The Committee therefore recommended that the 'Look East Policy' may be followed up vigorously in close coordination with other concerned Union Ministries and State Governments. As pointed out by the Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, the infrastructure of the Land Customs Stations needed to be improved for better border trade.
Power Sector 7.60 The Committee was of the view that there was an immense potential of hydro-power in the region which had still not been fully harnessed. The Committee recommended that the emphasis should be laid on completion of on-going projects without further delay before new projects were taken up in the Eleventh Plan.
Education 7.61 The Committee felt that there was some mismatch in the figures pertaining to literacy and dropout rates in the NE States. The Committee therefore recommended that the figures should be rechecked/verified by 90 the concerned authorities so as to get the true picture in this regard. Regarding shortage of teachers in NE States, the Committee recommended that the Two Years' Certificate Course in Teachers' Training offered by IGNOU, through the distance learning mode, may be availed of effectively for training of existing teachers. At the same time setting up of new teacher training institutes may also be considered. The Committee was optimistic that the revised funding pattern of 90:10 will give a boost to Sarva Shiksha Abiyan in the NE Region.
(f) Report No. 134 [The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006]
Foreign Source 7.62 The Committee felt that the definition of 'foreign source' was vague in relation to the status of the Indian companies with more than fifty percent foreign holding. The Committee was given to understand that such foreign holding is permitted under FDI or FII norms. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Indian companies, where the foreign holding was in excess of fifty percent, may be excluded from the purview of the definition of 'foreign source' and accordingly the definition may be modified.
Time-Bound Post Decisional Hearing 7.63 The Committee took note of the fact that clause 5(3) provided for a notice period of thirty days for the organization to represent during the notice served to them. The Committee, however, expressed its concern over the fact that there was no provision or a time frame in the clause for a post-decisional hearing or in other words, there was no provision for an appellate authority before whom an appeal may be made against the Government's decision. In the absence of a time frame and an appellate authority, Government may procrastinate a decision and during this period of animated suspension, the sword of damocles would be hanging on the organisation. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a time frame may be provided within which the Government had to take a decision on specifying an organization of a political nature not being a political party. The clause should also provide for an appellate mechanism to redress grievances arising out of decisions of the Central Government under sub-clause (1).
Foreign Hospitality 7.64 The Committee having discussed the matter at length, came to the conclusion that the definition of 'foreign hospitality' was not clear regarding the status of a person i.e. whether in official or personal capacity, when he/she was on foreign visit. The Committee felt that this aspect should be adequately clarified and accordingly recommended that the words "when on official visit" may be added after the words "a person" in clause 2(1)(i). 7.65 Likewise, the Committee was of the view that clause 6 did not clarify the status of a person when travelling abroad i.e. whether in personal or official capacity. The Committee therefore felt that the restriction on acceptance of foreign hospitality provided in clause 6 should appropriately apply to a person when one was travelling to a foreign country in one's official capacity.
Transfer of Foreign Contribution to Others 7.66 The Committee felt that due to the restriction as aforesaid, the ultimate sufferers would be the smaller NGOs who were working in remotest parts of the country. They would not get funds unless registered or had obtained prior permission and they would be victims of red-tapism. Therefore, as observed by the Home Secretary, the larger organization or the mother NGO which wanted to give funds to smaller organization should obtain prior permission and clearance for such transfers. The Committee, therefore, recommended that necessry amendment may be made in this regard in clause 7, specifying or laying down that an organization which was seeking to transfer the foreign contribution to any other organization, should obtain prior permission from the Central Government.
Administrative Expenditure 7.67 The Committee was inclined to agree with the view that in the absence of the definition of "administrative expenses", it would be difficult to identify the items of expenditure under that head. The Committee therefore recommended that the term "administrative expenses" may be appropriately defined in the Bill. 91
7.68 Having regard to the two opposing viewpoints on the proposed cap on administrative expenditure and also having regard to the various pros and cons of the matter, the consensus in the Committee was in favour of endorsing the provision of the ceiling of fifty percent of foreign contribution received in a financial year, to meet administrative expenses, which according to the Committee was a reasonable restriction.
Time Limit for Registration and Grant of Certificate 7.69 The Committee observed that clause 12 which was quite exhaustive, did not cast any obligation upon the Central Government to dispose of an application for grant of certificate of registration or for prior permission within a given time frame. Thus an applicant may be kept waiting indefinitely for a decision by the Central Government. The Committee was of the considered view that the Government should consider prescribing a time limit of ordinarily ninety days for taking a decision on an application for grant of certificate of registration or giving prior permission. The Committee was further of the considered view that in case of delay in grant of certificate or prior permission, beyond the normal period of ninety days, it should be the duty of the Central Government to record the reasons for such delay in on the lines of the provisions of sub-clause (4) of clause 12. The Committee therefore, recommended that the Government should adequately address the suggestion made by it in the preceding para. 7.70 The Committee also recommended that in sub-section (c) of sub-clause (3) of clause 12, the word "meaningful" should be omitted as the expression is liable to be interpreted subjectively. The Committee further recommended that the word 'people' appearing in the said sub-section, may be substituted by the word 'society', which was a better expression, with reference to the context. 7.71 Like in the case of grant of certificate of registration or prior permission, the Committee felt that in the absence of a time limit for renewal of registration, the applicant may be kept waiting indefinitely for a final decision. The Committee observed that there should be a time limit for the purpose of renewal of registration, which could be ordinarily up to ninety days from the date of application, made under sub-clause (1) of clause 16. The Committee therefore recommended that the Government should adequately address the suggestion made in this regard.
(g) Report No. 135 (Border Fencing and Floodlighting Projects of Indo-Pak Border)
Incidents of Death of BSF Personnel Due to Snake Bite 7.72 The Committee came across incidents of death of BSF personnel due to snake bite coupled with the time taken to move the victims to hospital located far off from the border. One of the solution that was suggested was that the BSF personnel be provided with knee-high boots. The Committee, agreeing to the suggestion, strongly, recommended that the Government should make a provision for supplying knee-high boots to the BSF personnel.
Logistic Strategy For Border Surveillance and Management 7.73 The Committee was of the views that that the Ministry of Home Affairs should take into account the geographical and topographical location of Jaisalmer and Barmer sectors for chalking out logistic strategy for border surveillance and management. This sector was one of the largest having an area of 470 kms where BSF has been entrusted with the task of taking care of 122 BOPs and 187 gates. Since the terrain of these sectors was sandy, marred with permanent and shifting sand dunes of varying height of 10 to 50 metres, a well chalked out strategy was the need of the hour. Regular maintenance and repairing of roads would ensure continued surveillance of the border areas. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Ministry of Home Affairs should provide a tractor to each company for regular repairing and maintenance of roads along the border areas. The BSF should get the required basic infrastructure for monitoring the border, for example, lateral and axial roads upto the BOPs to enhance the operational efficiency. The task of surveillance should be carefully examined so that effective monitoring mechanism was put in place. At present, one Battalion is entrusted, on an average, with the task of manning 60-62 kms which inhibits operational efficiency. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs should look into the matter at the earliest. 92
Water Supply For The BSF Personnel 7.74 The Committee was given to understand that about Rs. 3 crore was spent on water supply for the BSF personnel. It was suggested that a water pipeline along the BOP line may be provided for use of BSF personnel as well as for the wildlife and tree plantations. The Committee agreed that laying of pipelines along the border would be economical as compared to the supply of water by the water tankers and accordingly recommended the same for early implementation. 7.75 The Committee noted that the places of worship in the border areas are closely interwined with daily life of BSF Jawans. It was of the considered view of the Committee that if water tank/reservoirs/lakes could be constructed near such places of worship, it would to a great extend solve the daily necessity of the Jawans as well as the cattle of the farmers. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs should come out with suitable scheme for providing water tanks/reservoirs/lakes near the places of worship located near the frontier areas.
Emergency Evacuation in the Bhuj/Naliya Sector 7.76 The Committee observed that the existing system of emergency evacuation in the Bhuj/Naliya Sector by IAF on requisition from BSF was not a proper arrangement as the helicopter had to fly to the place of incident from Jamnagar after refuelling. The term 'emergency evacuation' had no meaning as disaster would not wait for hours before it strikes. The Committee, therefore, recommends that an alternative arrangement may be put in place.
Completion of Construction of Border Roads Without Further Delay 7.77 The Committee was constrained to observe that the work of construction of border roads Gujarat Sector had not been taken up seriously. Out of total length of 134 Kms. which was required to be constructed, 73.5 Kms. road had been allotted to CPWD and 60.5 Kms. to the NBCC. Out of 73.5 Kms., CPWD had constructed only 49 Kms. road. NBCC too has not completed its work. The Committee strongly recommended that Government must make an inquiry into the matter and direct the agencies concerned to complete the construction of border roads without further delay, for effective patrolling of the border areas by BSF personnel.
Expeditious Construction of Remaining Link Roads 7.78 The Committee recommended that the construction of the remaining link roads (to the extend of 21 kms) be expedited. The reported wearing and tearing of the link roads from Dharmshala to BOP Vigokot and Dharamshala to BOP Bediabet, due to heavy vehicular traffic of NBCC/CPWD needed immediate attention for repair.
Strengthening of Monitoring Mechanism in Bhuj Sector 7.79 The Committee was given to understand that Creek Sector was a porous border. Infiltrators in collusion with anti-national elements and terrorists, entered the country through this border. Smuggling of fake currency notes, narcotics, arms and ammunition, explosives and trafficking of illegal immigrants, were some of the common anti-national activities that were carried out through this area. Creek area was reportedly used as a launch pad for terrorist activities and gathering information on patrolling pattern of the country. All those activities indicated the nefarious design of the forces inimical to the country's interests, to widen the scope of terrorism to coastal areas. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended that the Ministry of Home affairs should immediately pay attention towards strengthening of the monitoring mechanism in the Bhuj Sector, and plug the porous points in the border. Sooner it was done better it would be in the national interest.
Upgrading India's Border Surveillance and Ministry Preparedness 7.80 The Committee was apprised that the bund in Jammu Sector which was constructed in order to provide security cover to the persons engaged in fencing work, had now become counterproductive and was helping militants. It has been reported that Pakistan had made a lot of construction after ceasefire. It had constructed 97 OP Towers and 162 barracks. The Committee, therefore, strongly felt that Government of India should upgrade India's border surveillance and military preparedness. 93
Replacement of Existing Border Flood Light (BFL) System 7.81 Keeping in view the fact that the floodlight equipments in Punjab Sector had outlived their life and cables had also become obsolete and damaged, the Committee recommended that it was necessary to replace the existing Border Flood Light (BFL) system by new ones, with utmost expedition.
Realigning Fence Towards Zero Line 7.82 The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs should take up the issue of realigning the fence towards the zero line on top priority as large tracts of cultivable lands lied beyond the present fencing area. The Committee also recommended that shifting of fencing in Abohar and Ferozpur Sectors be completed in a scheduled time frame and the proposal of shifting of fencing in Gurudaspur sector be finalized and approved at the earliest. 7.83 It had been brought to the notice of the Committee that the Indian farmers sowed the crops in the large land located between the fencing line and international border areas which was very fertile. Unfortunately, during the harvest time the crops were taken away by the people from the other side of the border with the connivance and support of the border guarding forces of the neighboring country. The Committee was of the view that the problem being faced by our farmers was expected to be minimized with the forward shifting of this stretch of fence.
Construction of Pontoon Bridge 7.84 The Committee appreciated the hardship being faced by farmers in cultivating their land beyond the rivers Tarna, Sutle and Ravi. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Government should explore the possibility of construction of a pontoon bridge at Chakri over river Tarna, bridge over Ravi at Kakkar village and a bridge over Sutlej river.
Construction of Pucca Roads Along Entire stretch of Punjab Frontier 7.85 The Committee expressed its serious concern over the absence of Black Top (Pucca) road along the entire stretch of fencing of Punjab Frontier. The Committee wanted the Ministry of Home Affaris to look into this grey area and examine the possibility of construction of pucca roads along the entire stretch of Punjab Frontier. The Committee strongly recommended that axial and lateral roads connecting border fence gates, be constructed for effective patrolling of the border areas. The Committee was of the strong view that pontoon bridges/belley bridges were also required to be constructed at strategic locations to facilitate movement of BSF troops as well as farmers. The Committee further recommended that the construction of pucca roads and their timely repairing would improve better surveillance of border areas by the BSF and curbing of infiltration from other side of the border area.
One more battalion at Ferozpur Sector 7.86 The Committee desired that the issue of raising one more batalion at the Ferozpur Sector may be examined in the Ministry of Home Affairs as this was a hyper sensitive area.
Upgrading Amenities For Tourists 7.87 During the course of its study visit, the sub-Committee had occasion to witness the retreat ceremony at the Wagha Border at Amritsar. The Committee observed that although a large number of tourists flock this area for witnessing the retreat ceremony, the infra-structure and amenities were inadequate. The Committee, therefore, recommended that there was a need for upgrading amenities for the tourists. The Committee, therefore, recommended that there was a need for upgrading amenities for the tourists. The Committee also had an opportunity to visit JCP Hussainiwala. That place was also home to the Samadhis of Saheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. However, it was less popular amongst the visitors. Therefore, there was a need to popularize this place amongst the public. The Committee also felt that there was an urgent need for a longer gallary to accommodate more persons to witness the retreat ceremony as the existing one could accommodate small number of persons, at JCP Hussainiwala. 94
(h) Report No. 136 (Revamping and Revitalization of Civil Defence in the Country)
Assisting District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) 7.88 The Committee was of the strong view that Civil Defence set up could play a major role in assisting the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) with the help of its volunteers at grassroot level, in different phases of disaster, particularly in pre-disaster (public awareness, community capacity building and community preparedness) and mid-disaster (response and relief) phases. Training to the cadres of Civil Defence in this respect would make available to the States, trained manpower in district and local administration in the event of a disaster, and would also provide them additional resources to generate public awareness to sensitise and prepare the community for disaster scenarios.
Adequate Training and Professionalisation of Civil Defence Apparatus 7.89 The Committee was of the view that Civil Defence should be made more professional as the challenges had grown extremely complex and required a more sophisticated response. That in turn, required better training and higher professionalism. The Committee was also of the view that sense of professionalism was essential to be infused among the ranks of Civil Defence organizations across the country in order to augment its capability to deal with the potential challenges which were growingly assuming complex characteristics warranting sophisticated response for safety of lives and properties. The sophistication can be achieved by encouraging professionalism in the civil defence organization and by imparting better training.
Public-Private Partnership in Civil Defence 7.90 The Committee recommended that private sector, having good track record, should be encouraged to participate in civil defence activities through tax exemptions on contributions made in such activities. They could also be persuaded to sponsor seminars and other awareness programmes, as part of their social responsibility. The Committee recommended that private sector entities, including enterprising citizens, should be encouraged to participate in building and maintaining civil defence activities, inter alia by way of granting exemption from tax to financial contributions made towards such actitivies, including sponsoring of seminars and other public awareness programmes etc.
Linking Civil Defence with Disaster Management 7.91 The Civil Defence organization should enhance its capacity to act as first responder to any disaster situation with the help of its volunteers at different levels. This would make trained manpower available to the State, district and local administration in the form of Civil Defence staff and volunteers in the event of a disaster. The Committee recommended that training in Civil Defence should be made part of Disaster Management. It was in this area that civil defence had maximum potential.
Provision For Adequate Number of Training Institutes 7.92 The success of the suggested new role of Civil Defence would largely depend on selection of motivated cadre with aptitude for social service. The Committee was of the view that in order to raise sufficient trained cadre, Civil Defence required more training institutes. The Committee strongly recommended revamping of Central Training Institutes in States and establishing more such institutes for better supply of trained cadres in times of need.
Integrating Civil Defence Organisations with NCC/NSS and NYKS 7.93 The Committee was of the view that a workable linkage between the various youth organizations and Civil Defence for the purpose of strengthening the Disaster Management effort could developed by synergizing all efforts and resources of the various agencies involved and capacity-building measures for developing trained human resource. 7.94 Youth organizations such as National Cadet Corps (NCC), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sanghthan (NYKS), and National Service Scheme (NSS), which invariably comprised of volunteers belonging to Schools, Colleges and Universities, although had the inherent advantage of reaching out of the grass-roots level and their ready availability for immediate assistance in the event of any disaster and have been rightly recommended by the 95
High Power Committee for focusing emphasis on greater coordination with the youth organization, the Committee found a short-coming in the said recommendation of the High Power Committee which was conspicuous in restricting the endeavour only within the youth who had the privilege of receiving formal education in schools, colleges and universities and, thus, leaving a vast pool of un-educated youth, whose number must be substantial in the country where approximately 43 percent people were illeterate, outside the Civil Defence endeavour because they would neither be member of NCC nor NYKS nor NSS. The Committee, therefore, urged upon the Ministry of Home Affairs to make sincere efforts in seeking the cooperation and coordination of various youth organizations as well as to ensure inolvement as volunteers, also of non-student youths, right from the village panchayat level upto the level of each Civil Defence district.
Amendments to Civil Defence Act, 1968 7.95 The Committee recommended that the amendments to the Civil Defence Act, 1968, as recommended by the Home Minister's Defence Advisory Committee, may be carried out in a time bound manner.
General Observations 7.96 It was incumbent on the Government to ensure that the project for 'Revamping of Civil Defence' was implemented within XIth Plan period so that Civil Defence could play a vital role in disaster management, as envisaged by K.M. Singh Committee.
VI. Secretariat 7.97 The Committee Section (Home Affairs) was headed by a Committee Officer. A Joint Secretary, a Director and a Deputy Director remained incharge of the Section with Secretary holding overall charge. 7.98 To assist the Committee in its work, written material received from the Ministries/various non-official organizations and individuals and independent research inputs were studied from which points were culled out and questionnaires prepared for use of the Committee. 7.99 The work relating to drafting, consideration and adoption of draft Reports by the Committee along with their presentation, laying, printing and distribution was undertaken. The Secretariat also dealt with the work relating to the scrutiny of action taken notes on the recommendations/observations of the Committee contained in its Reports on Demands for Grants (2006-07). 7.100 The Secretariat also studied material like Parliamentary Debates. Answers to Parliament Questions, Budget Documents, Five Year Plan Documents, Appropriation Accounts (Civil), Outcome Budget, CAG Reports on accounts of the Union Government (Civil), Books, Journals, Newspapers, etc. relevant to the subjects under examination of the Committee. The Secretariat also made use of material downloaded from the various websites. ANNEXURE-VII (See Para 7.7) Meetings of the Committee on Home Affairs during the year 2008 Sl. Date of Time devoted Main Agenda No. Meeting Hrs. Mts. 12 3 4 1. 09.01.2008 2 — Oral evidence of Secretary, Planning Commission along with others on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006. 2. 10.01.2008 2 50 Oral evidence of representatives of parties/groups/organizations and individuals of Darjeeling on the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2007 and the Constitution (One Hundred & Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007. 3. 11.01.2008 1 50 Oral evidence of Shri Saman Pathak, MP, Rajya Sabha along with representatives of the Communist Party of India (M), Darjeeling District Committee and some other individuals on the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Constitution (One hundred & Seventh Amendment) Bill 2007. 4. 21.01.2008 0 55 Interaction with the All party Delegation of West Bengal Legislative Assembly on the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Constitution (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007. 5. 30.01.2008 1 10 Oral evidence of Home Secretary on the issues raised on the Foreign contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006 followed by clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill. 6. 31.01.2008 0 35 Internal discussion on the Foreign Contribution Regulation Bill, 2006. 7. 07.02.2008 2 50 Oral evidence of Administrator, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal on the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Constitution (One Hundred & Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007. 8. 18.02.2008 3 30 Oral evidence of Home Secretary on the issues raised in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Constitution (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007 and in-house discussion on the Bills. 9. 19.02.2008 1 6 Clause-by-clause consideration of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Constitution (One hundred & Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007. 10. 27.02.2008 — 40 Consideration and adoption of draft 129th Report on the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Constitution (One Hundred and Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2007. 11. 27.03.2008 2 30 Presentation of the Secretary, Ministry of Development of North- Eastern Region on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of that Ministry followed by question-answer session. 12. 28.03.2008 3 45 Presentation of Home Secretary on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Home Affairs followed by question-answer session. 13. 05.04.2008 3 30 Presentation of Home Secretary on Naxalism. 14. 11.04.2008 — 30 Considered and adopted the following Reports : (i) 130th Report on action taken by Government on the
96 97
1 2 3 4 observations/recommendation contained in the 126th Report on Demand for Grants (2007-08) pertaining the Ministry of Home Affairs. (ii) 131st Report on action taken by Government on the recommendations/observations contained in the 127th Report on Demand for Grants (2007-08) pertaining to the Ministry of DoNER. (iii) 132nd Report on the Demand for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Home Affairs. (iv) 133rd on the Demand for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of DoNER. 15. 29.04.2008 0 45 Discussion on future programme of sittings. 16. 15.05.2008 2 0 Clause-by-clause consideration of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006. 17. 16.05.2008 1 46 Clause-by-clause consideration of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006. 18. 23.05.2008 5 20 Oral evidence of Chief Secretaries, Home Secretaries and Directors General of Police of Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa on ‘Naxalism’. 19. 24.05.2008 4 55 Oral evidence of Chief Secretaries, Home Secretaries and DGs of Police of Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh on ‘Naxalism’. 20. 13.06.2008 2 10 Heard Home Secretary on the Private Detective Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2007. 21. 27.06.2008 — 30 Visit to a few Delhi Metro Railway Stations followed by discussion with the Sr. Officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs, DMRC, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, CISF and Delhi Police to review the security arrangements in the Delhi Metro Network. 22. 29.07.2008 — 30 Considered and adopted report of the Committee on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006. 23. 11.08.2008 — 35 (i) Considered Memorandum on representations received from individuals on the issues relating to settlement of claims under Displaced Persons Claims and other Laws (Repeal) Bill, 2004 on which the Committee presented its 114th Report on 27th July 2005; and (ii) Considered Memorandum on Note received from Indian Police Service (Central) Association, New Delhi in connection with anomalies in the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission. 24. 19.08.2008 Heard the views of certain individuals regarding non-settlement of claims under the various laws (now repealed by the Displaced Persons Claims and Other Laws (Repeal) Act, 2005), enacted to rehabilitate displaced Persons from erstwhile West Pakistan to India. 25. 28.08.2008 — 50 (i) Considered proposal to visit to Sikkim and Assam tentatively from 11 October to 15 October 2008 to study internal Security and infrastructural development of NE region; and (ii) heard HS and LS on issue of pending unsatisfied verified claims and inaction on the decrees and orders of various High Courts and Supreme Courts, post repeal of the Displaced 98
1 2 3 4 Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 and allied laws. 26. 15.09.2008 1 45 Interaction with the delegation of the French-India Senatorial Friendship Group, led by HE Pierre Fauchon. 27. 16.09.2008 0 20 Internal discussion on the Private Detective Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2007 and future course of Action thereon. 28. 23.09.2008 0 50 (i) Heard the home Secretary on the issue of non-settlement of claims under the various laws enacted to rehabilitate displaced Persons from erstwhile West Pakistan to India, which had been repealed by the Displaced Persons claims and other Laws (Repeal) Act, 2005; and (ii) Heard the Home Secretary to ascertain the response of the Ministry of Home Affairs on the issues flagged by the Secretariat in its letters dated 16 & 17 September in the light of the discussions held in the meeting of the Committee on 16th September 2008 in regard to Private Detective Agency Regulation Bill, 2007. 29. 03.10.2008 0 35 Considered and adopted draft report submitted by the Sub- Committee on Border Fencing and Floodlighting Projects on ‘Border Fencing & Floodlighting of Indo-Pak Border’. 30. 15.10.2008 1 0 (i) heard the Home Secretary and the Law Secretary on the issue of non-settlement of claims under various laws enacted to rehabilitate displaced person from erstwhile West Pakistan to India which had been repealed by the displaced persons claims and other laws (Repeal) Act, 2005; and (ii) Considered and adopted report submitted by the sub- Committee on Civil Defence and Rehabilitation of J&K Migrants on “Revamping and Revitalization of Civil Defence in the country”. 31. 04.12.2008 0 45 Further Considered the Private Detective Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2007. ANNEXURE-VIII (See Para 7.10) Details of the Meetings of the Sub-Committee on Home Affairs held during 2008 : Sub-Committee on Rehabilitation of Tsunami Affected Persons Sl. Date of Time devoted Main Agenda No. Meeting Hrs. Mts. 1. 07.02.2008 1 — Heard the Special Chief Secretary (Planning) and Commissioner for Disaster Management of the Government of Andhra Pradesh on the issue of rehabilitation programmes being undertaken in tsunami affected areas in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
Sub-Committee on Housing Scheme for Central Police Forces and Delhi Police Sl. Date of Time devoted Main Agenda No. Meeting Hrs. Mts. 1. 13.05.2008 1 25 (i) heard the presentation of Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs on Housing Scheme for Central Police Organisations; and (ii) sought clarification on the housing schemes for CPOs and Delhi Police personnel. 2. 14.07.2008 1 30 Heard Secretary, Planning Commission, Secretary, Department of expenditure, Ministry of Finance; Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development; Additional Director General, CPWD; and Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority on issues connected with Housing Scheme for Central Police Forces and Delhi Police.
Sub-Committee on Modernisation of Prison Administration Sl. Date of Time devoted Main Agenda No. Meeting Hrs. Mts. 1. 29.04.2008 — 15 Decided visit jails in some select states for on-the-sport study of the progress made in the implementation of the Scheme of Modernisation of Prison Administration and the tentative dates of visits.
Sub-Committee on Border Fencing and Flood Lighting Projects Sl. Date of Time devoted Main Agenda No. Meeting Hrs. Mts.
1. 06.05.2008 — 30 Decided its future programme and selected border areas for on-the- spot study of the progress made in the implementation of the scheme of Border Fencing & Floodlighting Projects and the tentative dates for such visit.
99 CHAPTER-VIII COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
I. Composition of the Committee 8. During the period of review, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development was reconstituted on the 5th August, 2007 and thereafter it was again reconstituted on 5th August, 2008. Shri Janardan Dwivedi M.P. was nominated as Chairman of the Committee. 8.2 The Committee consisted of the following members:— COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (Constituted on 5th August, 2007) 1. Shri Janardan Dwivedi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA *2. Shri Dwijendra Nath Sharmah 3. Shri Shantaram laxman Naik 4. Shri Vijay Kumar Rupani 5. Shri Laxminarayan Sharma 6. Shri Uday Pratap Singh **7. Shrimati Brinda Karat *8. Prof. Ram Deo Bhandary 9. Shrimati Supriya Sule 10. Shri T.T.V. Dhinakaran LOK SABHA 11. Shri Ashok Argal 12. Shri Basudeb Barman 13. Shri Harishchandra Chavan 14. Shri Harish Chavda 15. Shrimati Parmjit Kaur Gulshan 16. Shri Ramswaroop Koli 17. Shri G.V. Harsha Kumar 18. Shrimati Nivedita Sambhajirao Mane 19. Shrimati Archana Nayak 20. Shrimati M.S.K. Bhavani Rajenthiran 21. Prof. Rasa Singh Rawat 22. Shri Ganesh Prasad Singh 23. Shri Chengara Surendran 24. Dr. Meinya Thokchom 25. Shri K. Viruparshappa 26. Shri Ravi Prakash Verma 27. Shri Rahul Gandhi 28. Shri Ram Lakhan Singh 29. Shri Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury †30. Dr. K. Keshava Rao $31. Shri N.K. Singh
*Ceased to be a member of the committee w.e.f. 9.4.2008 †nominated w.e.f. 14.5.2008 $nominated w.e.f. 21.5.2008 **Ceased to be a member of the committee w.e.f. 21.5.2008 100 101
COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (Constituted on 5th August, 2008) 1. Shri Janardan Dwivedi — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Shantaram Laxman Naik 3. Shri Vijay Kumar Rupani @4. Shri Laxminarayan Sharma #5. Shri Uday Pratap Singh 6. Shri T.T.V. Dhinakaran 7. Shrimati Supriya Sule 8. Dr. K. Keshava Rao 9. Shri N.K. Singh *10. Shri M. Rama Jois LOK SABHA 11. Shri Ashok Argal 12. Shri Basudeb Barman 13. Shri Harishchandra Chavan 14. Shri Harsinh Chavda 15. Shri Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury 16. Shri Rahul Gandhi 17. Shri Francis K. George 18. Shrimati Paramjit Kaur Gulshan 19. Shri Anant Kumar Hegde 20. Shri Ramswaroop Koli 21. Shri G.V. Harsha Kumar 22. Shrimati Nivedita Sambhajirao Mane 23. Shrimati Archana Nayak 24. Shrimati M.S.K. Bhavani Rajenthiran 25. Prof. Rasa Singh Rawat 26. Shri Ganesh Prasad Singh 27. Shri Ram Lakhan Singh 28. Shri Chengara Surendran 29. Dr. Meinya Thokchom 30. Shri Ravi Prakash Verma 31. Shri K. Virupakshappa
@Seat vacant due to demise of Shri. Laxminarayan Sharma on 17th October, 2008. #Ceased to be a member of the Committee w.e.f. 25.11.2008. *Nominated w.e.f. 1.9.2008. 102
II. Subjects selected for examination 8.3 The Committee on Human Resource Development did not select any fresh subjects during the year 2008. It continued with examination of the following subjects selected in 2007:— Sl. No. Ministry/Departments Subjects 1. Department of Higher Education Functioning of AICTE 2. Department of School Education and Implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Literacy & Ministry of Women and Mid-Day Meal Scheme and ICDS in Union Territories Child Development
III. Bills referred to the Committee 8.4 The following Bills were reffered to the Committee by Hon'ble Chairman/Hon'ble Speaker for examination and report:—
Sl. No. Date of reference Name of the Bill 1. 14.11.2008 The Central University Bill, 2008 2. 15.12.2008 The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 IV. Constitution of Sub-Committees of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human IV. Resource Development 8.5 No Sub-Committee was constituted during the year 2008. V. Review of work done (a) Sittings of the Committee 8.6 During the year 2008, the Committee held 15 sittings lasting over 23 hrs. 22 minutes. A Statement showing the dates and duration of each sitting of the Committee, as also the subjects discussed during this period are given in Annexure IX. (b) Sittings of Sub-Committees 8.7 No Sub-Committee was constituted during the period under review. (c) Study Visits
Sl. Committee/Sub Dates Places of Visit Organization Purpose No. Committee examined
1. Main Committee 16th to 23rd Kolkata, Ministry of Human To interact with the officials of January, Puducherry Resource IIT, Chennai, IIM Kolkata to 2008 & Chennai Development, know the problems faced by them Department of and suggestions for solving them. Higher Education The Committee also visited Universities of Calcutta and Madras to know the status of special grants to these Universities. Department of To examine the implementation School Education of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and & Literacy Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Union Territory of Puducherry Ministry of Women To examine the implementation and Child of ICDS Scheme in the Union Territory of Development Puducherry. 2. Main Committee 3rd to 9th Kochi Ministry of HRD Visited University of Mumbai to February, Lakshadweep, Department of interact with the officials of the 2008 Mumbai, Daman Higher Education institution to know the status of & Silvasa special grants, extended to the University. Department of To examine the implementation School Education of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-Day & Literacy Meal Scheme in the Union Territories of Lakshadweep, Daman & Silvasa Ministry of Women To examine the implementation of and Child ICDS Scheme in Union Territories of Development Lakshadweep, Daman and Silvasa. 103
V. Reports presented 8.8 During 2008, the Committee presented the following Reports to the House:—
Sl. Number of Report Date of Report No. Presentation/ laying of Report 1. 206th 17.4.2008 Demands for Grants 2008-2009 (Demand No. 57) of the Department of School Education & Literacy. 2. 207th 17.4.2008 Demands for Grants 2008-2009 (Demand No. 58) of the Department of Higher Education. 3. 208th 23.4.2008 Demands for Grants 2008-2009 (Demand No. 105) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. 4. 209th 30.4.2008 Demands for Grants 2008-2009 (Demand No. 104) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. 5. 210th 22.10.2008 Report on "Implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-Day Meal Scheme and Integrated Child Development Services Scheme in the Union Territories". 6. 211th 12.12.2008 Report on "the Functioning of All India Council of Technical Education of the Department of Higher Education”. 7. 212th 17.12.2008 Report on "The Central Universities Bill, 2008". 8.9 Minutes of sittings of the Committee relating to adoption of the various Reports were prepared and presented to the House alongwith the relevant Reports.
VI. Summary of the Recommendations
(a) 206th Report
Budgetary Allocation 8.10 The Committee pointed out that out of Rs. 13,100 crore allocated for SSA in 2008-09, Rs. 7690.00 crores was proposed to be met from the amount generated as Education Cess under the Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh against the contribution of Rs. 6993.00 crore as Education Cess in 2007. Similarly, under MDM Scheme, out of Rs. 8000.00 crore allocated for 2008.09, Rs. 5127.00 crore was envisaged from the Education Cess, as compared to contribution of Rs. 3400.00 crore from Education Cess in 2007-08. Thus, it was evident that direct funding by the Central Government to its two flagship Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and MDM was, in fact, declining as there was simultaneous increase in the amount accruing from Educational Cess that goes to Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh. 8.11 The Committee welcomed the extension of MDM to upper primary level and launching of new schemes for girls' and also for 35+ persons.
Under-utilization of Funds 8.12 Such under-utilization in the case of SSA & MDM during 2007-08 notwithstanding, the Committee noted improvement in the rate of increase in the utilization of allocations as compared to the previous years. The Committee recommended that every possible effort should be made for narrowing this gap in the utilisation of allocated funds to the maximum possible extent.
Pending Utilisation Certificates (UCs) 8.13 The Committee was concerned about a large amount of funds being cornered by these bodies and no efforts being made to get the money back from them. The only action taken against the erring NGOs was to 104 blacklist them. The Committee recommended that every effort be made to bring them to book and such NGOs be proceeded against under the Indian Penal Code.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Achievements under SSA 8.14 The Committee was fully aware of the various limitations in the gigantic task of universalisation of elementary education (UEE) in a vast country like ours particularly, through the schemes like SSA and MDM. It appreciated the efforts made in trying to achieve various goals set in this regard and the Committee took note of some improvements in respect of various dimensions/indicators towards reaching the goal of UEE. It, however, felt its duty to point out the areas of concern with a view to making mid way corrections and making assiduous efforts for achieving our goal in time.
Goals of SSA 8.15 The Committee noted that the first goal of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to bring all children to schools, Education Guarantee Centres, Alternate Schools, 'Back-to-School' camps by 2005 had been long overdue. As per District Information System for Education (DISE) 2006-07 figures, the Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) at the primary level and the Upper Primary level stood at 92.75 and 48.45 respectively. Further, as per the Department's estimate, around 75.97 lakh children in the age group of 6-14 did not attend any form of schooling. Maximum concentration of such children was reported to be in Bihar (28%) followed by West Bengal (18%) and Uttar Pradesh (10%). Even after three years since 2005, the goal of achieving universal enrolment remained yet to be achieved. 8.16 As regards bridging gender and social gaps at primary level by 2007 and upper primary level by 2010, the situation was no better. As per the target, we should have by now been able to bridge the gender and social gaps at primary level. However, DISE 2006-07 statistics puts the Gender Parity Index in enrolment at 0.93 for the primary level. On the social front, percentage of enrolment at elementary level was 19.87 for SCs and 10.69 for STs. For OBCs, it was 42.18% at the primary level and 41.23% at the upper primary level. Going at this pace, it is highly unlikely that the goal of bridging gender and social gaps in elementary education can be achieved by the year 2010. 8.17 The goal of Universal Retention by 2010 also, it appeared, would remain unfulfilled. The drop-outs rate of primary level in the Class I—V group had, no doubt, decreased from 39% in 2001 to 29% in 2004-05; it still might be about 20%. State-wise figures, however, indicated extreme disparities in this respect. There were ten States having a dropout rate exceeding 40%. In contrast Delhi, Puducherry and Kerala showed 0% dropout rate, followed by six States having less than 5% dropout rate. This rate was more than 60% at upper primary and secondary levels in 2004-05. Going at this rate, the target of universal retention by 2010 appears difficult to reach. 8.18 For girls, the dropout rate had remained around 25.4% in 2005. Similarly, SC and ST student dropout rates have been 34.2% and 42.3% respectively. And if dropout rate was taken as total for class I to VIII, it was around 50% in the year 2004-05. Comparative analysis of State-wise achievement level points out to another disturbing trend. In respect of quite a few States, dropout rate showed an upward trend during the period 2002—05. Not only this, in respect of some States, whereas enrolment ratio continued to be much below the national ratio, dropout rate was considerably higher than the average rate. Thus, the Committee felt that the target of the Universal Retention by the year 2010 also would be difficult to reach. 8.19 The Committee would appreciate if exact status note made available to it. 8.20 The Committee was of the view that the slow pace of progress in providing basic infrastructure in the schools was a major problem area. The main goals of SSA can only be achievable if basic components like school building, additional classrooms, drinking water, toilet facilities, recruitment and training of teachers were in place as scheduled. These gaps under different components of SSA were being persistently point out by the Committee. With the availability of funds and effective monitoring mechanism reported to be in place, position should have improved by now. The Committee would again emphasize that the basic infrastructure as well as dedicated teachers were the deciding factors through which SSA goals and targets can be accomplished in time. 105
Quality in SSA 8.21 Last but not the least, the quality of elementary education being provided in the government and government-aided schools, let alone EGS/AIE centres, left much to be desired. In the absence of clearly identified verifiable indicators of quality, the quality of education could be judged mainly on the basis of the students learning achievement levels. As per the findings of the 2003-04 National Sample Surveys by NCERT for class III which was carried out in 29 States, students in as many as 17 States scored below the mean achievement level in Mathematics and 13 States were lagging being in achievement in Language. For Class V covering 30 States/UTs, students on 17 and 15 States/UTs scored below the mean achievement levels in mathematics and languages respectively. Class VIII students of as many as 10 States (in mathematics), 11 States (in languages) and 10 States (in Science) scored below the mean achievement levels in a survey conducted across 17 States. Further, as per DISE 2006-07 figures, only 44.96% boys and 45.12% girls could pass the class IV/V examinations with 60% and above marks. The figures for classes VII/VIII were 38.83% for boys and 40.06% for girls. Clearly, the achievement levels of students were far from being satisfactory. 8.22 The Committee was of the view that one of the reasons for the lack of quality education in the elementary schools was the teachers themselves not possessing the required academic qualifications. Committee's apprehensions were borne out by the DISE data of 2006-07, which showed that only 44.01% regular elementary schools teachers possessed qualification upto Higher Secondary level with some of the States having teachers with still lower qualifications. The Committee could only imagine about the status of teachers in EGS/AIE Centres. 8.23 The Committee expressed its grave concern on the aforesaid findings. At the current pace of progress being made towards the goal of universalisation of elementary education, the Committeee had serious doubts about achieving the goals by the year 2010. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Department to make a realistic assessment of the progress made vis-a-vis the targets on priority basis. Based on the findings of the assessment, the Department could consider redefining the goals/targets of the scheme in a realistic manner.
Funding Pattern 8.24 The Committee was informed that the Working Group (XIth Plan) had confirmed that the States had demanded to continue the 75:25 sharing ratio. The Working Group also had recommended for acceptance of the demand of the States/UTs to continue the 75:25 sharing pattern in the XIth Plan also. Moreover, with the allocations of SSA increasing significantly every year and projected to increase further in coming years, it might be difficult for the States and UTs to spare 50% of the total SSA allocations. The Committee had been informed that all the States and UTs were now contributing their share regularly. It indicated their increasing commitment to SSA and its goals. The Committee was happy to note this. On a note of caution, it however, would like to emphasize that inability of any State/UT to contribute the required share might hamper the achievements made under SSA. The Committee, therefore, felt that the sharing pattern suggested by the Working Group was worth considering. 8.25 Impact assessment and evaluation of performance of schemes like SSA and MDM was mainly dependent upon the quality of data collected from the field about their various dimensions. There have been different, if not contradictory, figures about various indicators collected by different sources. While data emanating from government sources present a better picture, those given by non-government sources reflected a different picture. Methodology, technique, etc. adopted by the agencies also made significant variations. Then, there was a problem of updation of data; we get data that are 3-4 years old. Mid corrections and future planning based on the old figures certainly would not be effective. The Committee found that the Selected Education Statistics which was released in 2007 contained data collected from the States/UTs during 2004-05. 8.26 The Committee found that the achievements could be misleading as the data on which these calculations were based may not be the actual figures. The Committee was given to understand that the enrolment figures represent only the number of children whose names were entered in the school rolls. The number of students who were actually attending was lower. There was a trend in some States to cover almost all students through entrolment drives and indicated a very low figures of Out of School Children (OoSC). Further, both the District Information System of Education (DISE) and NCERT's All India Educational Survey (AIES) restricted themselves to collecting information about recognised schools, which meant that data about a large number of private unrecognized schools was omitted. 106
8.27 The Committee expressed its concern about this aspect despite being aware of the dimension of this exercise and the practical problems/constraints faced in collection and updation of data from the States/UTs. The Committee was of the opinion that in view of the greater importance of readily available authentic and latest data, the data collection exercise needed to be made more scientific, objective and quick. In the age of ICT, it was possible to do that. 8.28 Committee's attention had been drawn by one of the recommendations made by the Joint Review Mission on the SSA (16—26 July, 2007) wherein it was suggested that steps be taken to reduce unnecessary data collection and burdensome form-filling by determining what was the minimum amount of data required from schools and with what frequency. The Committee hoped that necessary action must have been taken in the matter.
Educational Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) under SSA 8.29 The Committee, however, noted that targets set for AIE coverage for 2006-07 remained unfulfilled. Against targeted 59,19,685 children to be covered under AIE Centres, only 30,32,943 children could be covered. Position remained unchanged during 2007-08 also. Against the target of 47,44,701 children to be brought under AIE centres, after first three quarters, achievement was only 29,26,619 children. The Committee understood that these children are from the 'very hard to reach' category. But the fact remained that in many States, there were large number of such children deprived of any education so far. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the Department should make every endeavour to actively involve the concerned State Government to bridge such glaring gaps. 8.30 The Committee was aware of need of EGS and AIE in our context and appreciated the upgradation of these to Primary Schools. Around 24 lakh children are still in this system. Our effort must be to phase out these centres at the earliest because after all these were not full-fledged schools. While EGS/AIE may be helpful in achieving universal access, their quality of education would not be at par with the formal schools.
Girl's Education under SSA 8.31 As per information provided to the Committee, out of the 2180 KGBVs sanctioned in the country, only 1819 were functional upto March, 2008. About this big gap between KGBVs sanctioned and those functioning in States like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, delay in identification of agencies to run the schools and unavilability of land were cited as the main reasons. However, more worrisome fact as accepted by the Department was that some schools could not be made functional due to delay in identifying girl students. The Committee failed to understand our inability to identify girls for the schools—the very purpose for which these special schools were being set up. 8.32 The Committee was happy to note that the Department proposed to open 410 new KGBVs during 2008-09 in the area where the female literacy rate was less that 30% in the rural blocks and 53.67% in the urban blocks. The Committee, therefore, recommended that all-out efforts be made not only for starting all the schools sanctioned at the earliest but also sanction more schools. There was a mismatch between the target and funds made available for this purpose. The Committee, therefore, recommended that allocation for this purpose would certainly be inadequate which must be enhanced suitably. 8.33 The Committee observed that the Scheme for Strengthening of Boarding and Hostel Facilities for Girl Students of Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools was under implementation during the Tenth Plan period. Due to some inherent problems, the scheme could not be effectively implemented. The Scheme was got evaluated by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and a revamped Scheme is proposed to be launched during 2008-09. The Committee noted that out of Rs. 10.00 crores allocated for the Scheme for 2007-08, an expenditure of only Rs. 35.00 lakhs had been reported. Reason being the same as for the Tenth Plan that the Scheme was under revision. The Committee had been informed that around 250 girls hostels were targetted to be sanctioned with a proposed allocation of Rs. 80.00 crore for 2008-09. In addition, around 150 Girls Hostels run by reputed NGOs were also proposed to be assisted. The Committee while appreciating this initiative was constrained to point out that the scheme was yet to be approved by the competent authority. Department's clarification that the projected outcomes were highly tentative and its achievement would depend on the form in which the scheme was approved and the time the scheme was actually launched, confirmed Committee's apprehension about the fate of this revised scheme. The Committee strongly felt that the scheme was already 107 over delayed. Any further delay would defeat the very purpose of providing a much-needed facility to girl students. It was also convinced that allocation for this purpose would have to be enhanced. 8.34 The Committee did not find any gender segregated data particularly under the SSA, emphasis on girl education apart. If we exclude the girl-specific schemes like NPEGEL, KGBV schemes, it was not clear as to what percentage of expenditure was on the girls. Even in girl-specific initiatives neither allocations were adequate nor were the expenditure upto the mark. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a status report showing, among other things, outlays and outcomes as also the percentage of expenditure on girls education from the total allocation to the Department and that of SSA expenditure be provided to the Committee.
Teachers Recruitment and Training 8.35 The quality of education under SSA has been defined to be a thrust area for the XIth Plan. No matter what special interventions were devised to achieve this target, the absence of regular teachers was bound to hinder the implementation of the SSA. The Committee was of the view that to achieve this target, the Department should ensure that all existing vacancies of regular teachers were filled up at the earliest and the percentage of Para teachers be brought down to the minimum. 8.36 The Committee was surprised to see that in respect of States/UTs like Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, no target for Teacher training was fixed during this period. What was more disturbing was the overall status of Teachers trained under SSA. Out of 35,39,559 Teachers targeted to be trained as on 2007-08, achievement upto 31st December, 2007 was reported to be only 19,14,575, i.e. 54.09 per cent of the cumulative target. The Committee took a serious view of such a state of affairs. The Committee would only emphasize that there is an urgent need for providing the required training to maximum number of teachers. A fully trained teacher undeniably was the most crucial component for achieving the goal of providing quality education under SSA.
National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools 8.37 The Committee was happy to note that the Department has factored in inflation while assessing the central assistance towards cooking costs. The Committee also welcomed the initiative of the Department to henceforth provide Grant-in-aid for transportation expenses. 8.38 The Committee took note of the fact that the Mid-Day Meal Scheme had been extended to all the Upper Primary Schools across the country from 2008-09. The Committee pointed out that there may be areas, particularly tribal and remote areas, where only private schools were running. With only Government and Government-aided schools being covered under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, children residing in such areas and going to small private schools were being deprived for no fault of theirs. The Committee felt that this was an area of serious concern and needed to be taken care of. The Committee would like a viable proposal to be worked out for this purpose.
Provision of Kitchen-cum-Stores 8.39 The Committee expressed its serious concern over these findings. The Committee recommended that every possible effort be made to encourage States/UTs to get and utilize funds for Kitchen-cum-Store in the shortest possible time. 8.40 The Committee's attention had also been drawn to the State-wise details of expenditure incurred on Transport subsidy under the Scheme. The details revealed that States/UTs like Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Puducherry failed to avail of this facility during 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. In the absence of any further details in the matter, the Committee was unable to comprehend the reasons for non-utilisation of the subsidy. The Committee would like the Department to give reasons State-wise, for the same.
Lifting of foodgrains 8.41 The Committee believed that there must be practical reasons behind States/UTs not lifting their share of foodgrains provided free of cost under the scheme. Quality of foodgrains being sub-standard, problem 108 in transporting foodgrains from FCI outlets to the schools, pilferage and delay in release/receipt of central assistance have been reported to be some reasons behind this. The Committee recommended that Department must take up this issue with the concerned States/UTs and see to it the foodgrains were lifted regularly by them. 8.42 The Committee during its visit to Lakshadweep was informed that there was no FCI godown in this UT; they have to lift grains from Mangalore. Cost norms for transportation cost did hardly cover the actual cost. As a result, UT was not lifting foodgrains. They had taken up this issue with the Government of India but to no avail. The Committee was quite convinced of their limitations in this regard and urged upon the Department to take up this issue with the concerned Ministry for providing FCI outlet in the UT at the earliest. The Committee would like to know the development in this regard in the Action-Taken Note.
Monitoring of MDM 8.43 Data collection, evaluation and monitoring were exercises that were inter-related yet different. The Committee had expressed its concern/opinion about the problem/issues involved in such activities in respect of SSA in paragraph 2.18 in this report. It applied ipso facto to MDM also. 8.44 The Committee pointed out about the monitoring of the MDM particularly at school level. The scheme itself provides for a community monitoring by the Panchayats VECs, PTAs, Mothers' Groups, etc. The Committee found during its visits to several States/UTs, and also the Members individually as peoples representatives from different parts, that the community participation/involvement in monitoring the MDM schemes remained a far cry. The kind of role visualized for them in the scheme did not exist in most of the States/ UTs expect few. So much so, even MPs and MLAs were also not being involved formally at least in the monitoring aspect. In one of the UTs visited by the Committee, the only local Lok Sabha Member complained that he was not at all consulted or involved in these exercises. 8.45 The Committee was of the considered opinion that MDM could be made more attractive and effective simply by activating the local community for this purpose; it would not only ensure hygiene and quality of food but also in reducing teacher absenteeism, improving quality of teaching-learning, pupil evaluation, etc. Some States/regions have adopted good practices in these respects which needed to be propagated to all the States/ UTs for adoption with suitable modifications wherever required. 8.46 The Committee recommended that the study may be expedited so as to enable the Centre and the States/UTs to take remedial steps to plug the loopholes in the existing monitoring mechanism. 8.47 The Committee failed to understand the basis for inclusion of component of replacement of cooking devices, utensils under MME with separate funds earmarked for their procurement and being duly released. The Committee would also like to have an idea about component-wise utilisation status of MME funds by the States/UTs. Restructuring and Reorganization of Teacher Education 8.48 The Committee noted that an allocation of Rs. 450 crores made for the scheme at the BE stage in 2007-08 was subsequently reduced to Rs. 266.65 crores at the RE stage. The scheme had again been granted a BE allocation of Rs. 450 crores in 2008-09. The Committee hoped that the entire allocation would be utilised for the scheme during this fiscal. 8.49 The Committee had pointed out in the past also about the problems of delays in civil construction, transfer of land and shortage of teaching/non-teaching staff under these schemes in the institutions at different levels. 8.50 The Committee emphasized the need to sensitize the State Government to ensure that budgetary provision of the central assistance was made in the State's budget; and that urgent steps were taken to expedite availability of land for these institutions. As regards the large number of vacancies, particularly of academic staff in the DIETs, the Department must periodically review the vacancy position and ask the respective States/ UTs, to fill up the vacancies at the earliest. Further, while granting central assistance to these DIETs, the level of filled up posts may be linked with the amount of release. 8.51 The Committee noted that the Department had initiated the exercise of comprehensive evaluation of the scheme. The Committee failed to understand the basis for going for another review in spite of comprehensive evaluation undertaken by a Sub-Group of Planning Commission under the chairmanship of Director, NCERT. 109
8.52 The Committee was not aware about the position taken by the Department on the contradictory recommendations made by the two different Committees about the future of NCTE. The Committee would like to know the clear position taken by the Department in this regard. The Committee would also like to emphasize that Teacher Education needed to be given proper focus and timely action. Nobody could deny the fact that teacher training in the right perspective was one of the most crucial component for providing quality education to our children. Further delay due to reviews, counter-reviews would prove to have a negative impact only. 8.53 Due to shortage of trained teachers, particularly in case of B.Ed. and M. Ed., instances of one teacher being showed on the rolls by different institutions of Teacher Education with a view to fulfill requirement laid down by NCTE, lest they should lose their recognition, have come to the notice of the Committee. This practice is reported to have become rampant particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. The idea of allotting an identification number to every education degree holder and by putting those numbers on the website of NCTE so that anybody was able to cross check this kind of duplication can perhaps tackle this problem area. The Committee would like the Department to consider this idea and present its views for the perusal of the Committee. 8.54 Besides there had been a long standing demand for making 'Education' as a subject in the competitive exams, held in the country. The Committee would like the Department to take up with the concerned quaters and furnish its considered opinion on this aspect to the Committee.
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan 8.55 The Committee did not accept the reply of the Sangathan. It was of the opinion that except for the vacancies arising out of death, resignation and termination of services, all other vacancies could be anticipated well in advance and hence there was no reason as to why the Sangathan could not initiate the process of recruitment for all other posts well in advance. The very fact that such large number of vacancies exist was a pointer to the Sangathan not being able to take action in time. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Sangathan to streamline its recruitment procedures at the earliest and complete the recruitment of posts at the earliest. Efforts should be to ensure that vacancies, as and when they arise, were filled up within the shortest possible time. 8.56 The Committee was surprised as to why the Department was not able to come up with the required ATN in one go. 8.57 The Committee felt that this issue should be resolved without further delay and the Committee be informed accordingly. 8.58 The Committee expressed its displeasure at the callous attitude with which this case had been taken. Even after taking up this issue persistently for nine months. The Committee was yet to receive a response. The Department appeared to be helpless because Ministry of Defence, which had to take a decision in the matter, was not responding to its repeated requests. The Committee directed the Department to take up the issue with the Ministry of Defence again and if no response was received in a reasonable time, the Committee would decide about taking appropriate steps that may be available to it.
Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti 8.59 The Committee had time and again been urging the Department to sort out the problem of acquisition of land in operationalisation of JNVs. It however felt that not much headway appeared to have been made in this regard. As per the latest information made available to the Committee, there were 75 JNVs where land had not yet been formally transferred by the State Government in the name of the Samiti. The Committee found that 41 Vidyalayas were functional from temporary site, quite a few for considerable period. Residential schools functioning from temporary sites for years could not be considered an ideal position. The Committee reiterated its recommendations and urged upon the Department to find a way out of this problem. It must take up this issue with State Governments and ensure that the 23 non-functional JNVs are operationalised at the earliest. 8.60 The Committee had been informed that the establishment of Special Navodaya Vidyalayas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was being dealt with by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Committee noted that the Department of School Education and Literacy was in favour of an inclusive strategy rather than having separate Vidyalayas for SC/ST students. At present, SC and ST representation in all JNVs in the country was to the extent of 24.64% and 15.74% respectively. Therefore, a better option would be 110 to consider opening more JNVs in districts having SC/ST concentration with reservation for SC/ST to the extent of their proportion of the populations in the district. In the interest of better co-ordination and management, the Committee was inclined to agree with the contention of the Department. 8.61 The Committee was of the opinion that in case of most of the vacancies except for a few which may have arisen on account of death, resignation, termination of services etc., recruitment processes could have initiated well in advance. Large number of vacancies in teaching posts that too for a long time directly told upon the academic performance of the students. The Committee did not know how the teaching was being managed by the schools in which there are vacancies. The Committee recommended that recruitment processes be structured in such a manner that vacancies did not get accumulated and were filled up as and when they arose in the shortest possible time. 8.62 Apart from gap in operationalisation and existence of large number of vacancies, other cause for concern was reported shortfall in the enrollment of new students as well as seats remaining vacant in higher classes. The Committee viewed it seriously and would like to know the reasons for this and corrective measures taken to see that seats did not go vacant in these schools for which lot of money was being spent. Plan allocation for JNVs was more than double of the plan allocation for KVs, particularly when number of KVs was almost double of the number of JNVs. Of Rs. 860 crores given at RE in 2007-08 to JNVs, only Rs. 532.50 crores could be utilized upto December, 2007. The Committee in its report on the working of JNVs had given a number of suggestions for improving the situation. It only hoped that these were being implemented.
Information and Communication Technology in School 8.63 The Committee noted that in the year 2007-08 22833 schools were covered under the scheme. On perusal of the State-wise details, it was, however, found that the spread of the Scheme in different States was quite uneven. Further while the total amount of assistance approved (both Centre and State share) was Rs. 53792.40 lakhs, less than 50% of the funds were released upto February, 2008. The Committee found that in as many as 10 States/UTs, not found had been released during 2007-08 due to the pendency of UC of the previous project. This was a worrying trend. The Committee was aware of the fact that the Scheme was being reviewed for better implementation in the XIth Plan. The Committee hoped that the Department would factor— in these problems, especially regarding pendency of UCs, while finalizing and approving the news scheme. 8.64 The Committee found that out of 1,07,112 Secondary Schools targetted to be covered under the ICT Scheme, only 1967 and 719 Schools could be covered during 2005-06 and 2006-07 respectively. Status of 22,633 Schools Sanctioned during 2007-08 was not known. The Committee understood that States have been advised to implement the scheme in at least 2 schools in each Educationally Backward Block in each State. Availability of electricity was one of the major problems identified in the successful implementation of the Scheme. The Committee would like to emphasize that every effort should be made for availability of electricity during school hours where computer labs have already been set up/likely to be set up in the near future. The Committee would appreciate if monitoring of this aspect was regularly carried otherwise the very purpose of this scheme would be defeated. 8.65 The Committee was also informed that the revised scheme if implemented in the current fiscal would require an allocation of around Rs. 1600 crores. It was further informed that to even implement the programme in its present form, the Department would need at least Rs. 800 crores during 2008-09. 8.66 The Committee was of the view that a forward-looking scheme like ICT @ school should not face constraint of funds. Any compromise in this regard, the Committee believed, would impact adversely the consolidation of the edge that India enjoys in the fields of IT in the global scenario. The Committee recommended that more funds be provided to the scheme during 2008-09.
Vocational Education at +2 level 8.67 About the need to promote vocationalisation of education, this Committee had also made number of observations expressing its concern about the manner in which it was being implemented. Vocational streams in schools/colleges did not attract students and there were no adequate infrastructure available including the trained teachers. A more focussed approach was suggested by the Committee, particularly in engaging local entrepreneurs in developing an interface with them so that they could get trained manpower that they need and 111 students their employment. The Committee was happy to know that the scheme for skill development was being revamped. It only hoped that revised scheme would take care of all the problems that plagued the earlier schemes. The Committee emphasized the need for finalizing the revised scheme this year only.
New initiatives under the Secondary Education 8.68 The Committee was happy to note that the secondary education had begun to receive focussed attention that was long overdue, because only 10% of our secondary possouts were going for the higher education so far. The interventions proposed in the SUCCESS scheme were more or less on the lines of those of the SSA and were proposed to be implemented with the help of the State Governments and Union Territories. The Committee advised the Department that while finalizing/implementing the scheme, the problems and shortcomings noticed in the implementation of SSA, such as delay in the timely receipt of complete and viable proposals from State Governments, non-availability of land, financial constraints in the States, delay in recruitment and training of teachers, lack of adequate and effective monitoring, etc. should be kept in mind. The Committee would like to point out that Rs. 1305.00 crores allocated in 2007-08 primarily meant for preparatory activities by the State Governments remained unutilized for want of approval of the Scheme from the Competent Authority. The Committee recommended that the duly approved Scheme be launched in 2008-09 as pressure on secondary education was bound to increase due to emphasis on elementary education. 8.69 As regards the existing schemes like the Scheme for Integrated Education for the Disabled Children that was under revision, the Committee had expressed its concern in its previous reports about its slow implementation as well as lack of visible impact. The Committee noted that the process of revision of this scheme was still continuing in spite of the announcement of a National Action Plan for the Inclusive Education of Children and Youth with Disabilities in March, 2005. The Committee observed that the revised Scheme replacing the existing IEDC Scheme was to be launched during 2007-08. However, the revised scheme was yet to get the approval of the Planning Commission before being sent to the Cabinet. The Committee could only hope that all these formalities would be completed at the earliest and the revised scheme was launched in 2008-09 itself. 8.70 The Committee did not agree with the proposals outlined to set up the model schools particularly through the public-private partnership mode. The Committee was in favour of setting up these schools under government support and control.
Bal Kendra Staff 8.71 The Committee was surprised to see that the part-time instructors working in the Bal Bhawan were being paid the same salaries that was fixed twenty-seven years ago, whereas in the meantime, salaries, etc. have been increased in the case of other Central employees at least twice. The Committee felt that there was a strong case for revising the amount being paid to them suitably on the basis of existing rate of inflation.
Adult Education 8.72 Adult education schems were meant for imparting functional literacy to non-literates in the age group of 15-35 years, for which a National Literacy Mission was launched in 1988. Over the years, the Committee noted, the literacy rate had shown substantial improvement. Nearly 124 million persons have been made literate under various schemes. Today, we have literacy rate at 65% (male literacy 75.26% and female literacy 53.67%), gender gap 21.59%, SC literacy 54,69% and ST literacy 47.10%. Although the Committee appreciated the significant improvements reported on all these counts, it however, felt that the gaps in all these respects were still on the higher side. For example, we have still 304 million non-literates in the country, around 47% feamale were still illiterate and around 50% of SC and ST population in the reference age group remained illiterate. It was thus clear that our efforts and resources in the adult education sector have not had the desired results. Not only in respect of functional literacy, our achievements in respect of vocational education particularly, among the rural youth, had also not been properly focused and emphasized. We have been able to set up the Jan Shikshan Sansathans to conduct vocational training for the neo literates only in 221 districts, out of more than 600 districts in the country. Similary, large number of districts were yet to have Districts Resource Centres Zila Saksharata Samitis—important bodies for implementing adult education programmes. State Liasion calls were also not in place in every State. The Committee was happy to note that there was a visible shift in this respect 112 as the Government had decided to revamp the existing scheme laying special emphasis on the skill development and had also increased the allocations by Rs. 200 crores in the 2008-09 as compared to the year 2007-08. 8.73 The Committee was also happy to note that an additional intervention from the year 2008-09 had been started for the persons in the 35+ age group who were hitherto left out. Rs. 15 crores had been earmarked for this purpose. The Committee felt that this allocation would be sufficient to take care of only small section of this age group that constituted 160 million persons in the country as per the Census 2001. This number might have, in fact, gone further up by now.
Miscellaneous 8.74 A number of schemes were being administered by the Department having far-reaching impact in the Education Sector. The Committee noted that general awareness about these schemes, eligibility norms, their implementing agencies, etc. was not there. The Committee was of the view that such information should be available on the website of the Department. The Committee would also appreciate if a pamphlet in English and Hindi and also Regional languages giving details of these Schemes in a simple forms is got published by the Department. Such a move would prove useful for all concerned, both beneficiaries and implementing agencies.
(b) 207th Report
Budgetary Allocation 8.75 The Committee appreciated the enhancements in allocation for the year 2008-09 which was about 18 per cent over the previous year. It was, however, not satisfied with the trend of utilization of the allocations made during 2007-08, specially in the schemes/organizations mentioned above. While the overall expenditure of Department may be as per the norms i.e. upto 70% of the allocated funds upto December, 2007, scheme-wise utilisation of funds did not reflect a happy picture. Expenditures in regard thereto were far less than the norms laid down in this regard. The Committee had been in its previous reports expressing its concern about the less utilisation of funds under the various programmes/schemes. The Committee observed that in respect of all the above mentioned, schemes/organizations, allocation for 2008-09 showed an upward trend. It, therefore, recommended the department to make an assessment of the manner in which these schemes/programmes were being implemented/administered and see to it that funds allocated to them did not remain underutilised/ unutilized, certainly not less than the norms prescribed in this respect. 8.76 The Committee appreciated the efforts made by the Department and hoped that the Department would be able to liquidate all the pending UCs during the current fiscal. 8.77. The Committee was happy to see that due to efforts of the Department, the amount of USBs was also coming down. It would like the Department to continue to strive to bring down these unspent balances to the minimum.
University Grants Commission 8.75 The Committee would like the Department and the UGC to compile these records online which may be updated every year. It would like the Department to furnish the reply in this regard. 8.79 The Committee was informed the UGC had constituted a number of Committees namely, Yash Pal Committee to prepare curriculum framework for higher education, Gnanam Committee on administrative and academic reforms; and another Committee on the affiliated under-gradudate colleges. The Committee noted that these Committees were working on important aspects that were quite germane to the system of higher education. The Committee hoped that these Committees would be able to submit their reports in provided time frame and it would like to know the views of the Government on the recommendations made by them.
Audit Paragraphs 8.80 The Committee hoped that follow-up action on the CAG Report and corrective measures for future must have been taken by the UGC. 113
Allocation of Rs. 100 crore each of Universities of Calcutta, Madras and Mumbai 8.81 The Committee felt that the M/HRD's stand on treating this as a central assistance to UGC and ongoing scheme, if heeded by the Department of Expenditure, these formalities and procedures could have been avoided without committing any type of irregularities, procedural or otherwise and the matter could have been expedited. 8.82 The Committee urged upon the Department of Higher Education and the UGC to expedite release of money as soon as possible under the existing guidelines/norms of fund disbursal of the UGC. These universities have special status and significance having made a mark in the academic history of our country. By giving grant of Rs. 100 crore to these universities, the Committee felt, we were not doing a favour to these universities. In fact, it should be treated as a small tribute to their contribution in the various walks of life during pre-Independence days and after. Therefore, the Committee felt that disbursal of this assistance to these great academic institutions should be done as a special case even if we have to make an exception to UGC rules/norms without treating it as a usual routine affair so that the projects undertaken by them did not suffer.
Vacancies in Central Universities 8.83 In view of these vacancy positions, the Committee did not know how were we going to manage the teaching positions at various levels that would be required for thirty Central Universities that are proposed to be opened during 2008-09 itself. The Committee hoped that the Department/UGC had an emergent plan for this purpose. 8.84 The Department had expressed kind of helplessness in this very crucial area of higher education. Its role was "limited to providing the Visitors nominees to the Selection Committees" of these universities because the recruitments of the teaching posts in a university were made by Executive Councils. The only measure that the Central Government could take in this regard was to enhance the age of the superannuation of the teachers in its universities from 62 to 65 years. The Committee had expressed its strong reservations about raising of retirement age because this move would block the employment opportunities at the entry level as hundreds of eligible candidates are jobless. The Committee reiterated its recommendation made in its 202nd Action Taken Report that raising of retirement age should be adopted only as a temporary measure till the large number of existing vacancies were filled up. 8.85 The Department informed in Action Taken Notes furnished to the Committee in 2007-08 as follows:
2004 2005 2006 Number of UGC-NET qualified 7242 13833 12187 Number of Doctorates awarded 15328 17853 17898 In view of the large number of NET qualified and Doctorate holders being available as shown above, the fact of suitable candidates not being available for teaching positions was quite surprising to the Committee. If it was so, it indicated towards another serious malaise of sub-standard quality of education, where we have the numbers but not the quality. This situation puts a big question mark on our efforts as well as achievements in this field which, in view of the Committee, called for a serious review. 8.86 The Committee agreed with the Department that due to obvious reasons, the bright young people were not attracted to adopt teaching in higher education as a career as compared to other new and emerging sectors of our economy. The Government had appointed a Committee for the revision of the pay scales, service conditions, etc. of the university and college teachers and other academic staff. The Committee hoped that recommendation of the pay revision body would come out soon and be implemented at the earliest so that the teaching profession could be made more attractive. Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes vacancies 8.87 As regards vacancies in teaching positions reserved for SC/ST categories in the Central universities, the Committee was informed in the Action Taken Note that there were 224 posts identified in SC category and 128 in ST category of which 177 and 94 posts respectively were filled up or were in the process of being filled up as on 31st August, 2007. The Committee was happy to see that these vacancies were being cleared and hoped that remaining would also be filled up without further delay. 114
8.88 The Committee was surprised to note that out of remaining 47 posts of SC and 34 of ST category, 32 posts and 21 posts respectively belonged to Delhi University. A prestigious central university like Delhi University had allowed the vacancies of SCs and STs to remain unfilled for which no justification could be given to the Committee. This fact was pointed out by the Committee in its 202nd Report also and it would like to reiterate that the Department/UGC must ensure that the University fills up these vacancies on priority because it is a constitutional obligation.
Vacancies in State Universities 8.89 The Committee was aware of the limitations of the Central Government in this regard. At the same time, status of teaching vacancies in State universities which may be equally bad, if not worse when compared with Central Universities, could not be ignored any more. The Committee, therefore, felt that the Department should continue making assiduous efforts at the Secretary and Minister's level in different States to get the vacancies liquidated. The U.G.C. which provided grants/assistance to State universities and colleges was required to play a pro-active role in this regard by linking disbursal of these funds with the position of vacancies in the State universities/colleges. This became more important in view of the fact that U.G.C. was going to support remaining universities and colleges also which have not received any support from the UGC so far.
Deemed-to-be Universities 8.90 The Committee was in favour of devising a mechanism to ensure consultation with the States in the process. 8.91 The Committee was of the view that the power of the Department and UGC for granting Deemed-to- be University status to any institution of higher education was extraordinary in nature, because it amounts to by-passing legislatures; a University could only be established/incorporated by an Act passed either by Parliament or a State Legislature. This power, therefore, should be used sparingly and only in highly deserving cases. Alternatively, all the other cases could be covered under the autonomous colleges scheme. About this concept of deemed-to-be universities, the Committee had expressed its opinion in its 172nd Report that the entire scheme needed to be revisited. The Committee reiterated its recommendation and expected a considered response from the Department in this regard.
Fake Universities 8.92 The Committee was at a loss to see that we were caught into a very helpless situation, where we were unable to apply an effective check on operations of the fake universities/institutions. UGC, apart from issuing their names on its website and media and writing to the States, had not been able to do anything. The Committee was not inclined to agree that nothing could be done against such institutions until AICTE/UGC Acts were amended. The Committee was of the view that they could be proceeded against even under the existing laws as their operation amounted to cheating per se. What was required was strong will to nab them and close their operations.
Women and Higher Education 8.93 The Committee would like to emphasize that the Department and UGC would have to sensitize the universities and colleges to come forward for this purpose with a view to ensure that all the universities were covered during the 11th Plan. Similarly, the implementation of the Post-Graduate Scholarship Scheme for Single Girl Child also left much to be desired. In view of the position explained above, the Committee felt that schemes for women participation in higher education should be implemented in a more focussed and effective manner and adequate financial assistance be provided during the 11th Plan so that their implementation did not suffer. It should also be ensured that their physical and financial performance was also improved to a great extent. 8.94 The Committee, therefore, recommended that this aspect must be included every year particularly in the Budget Document and Annual Report of the Department.
New initiatives/Schemes 8.95 After seeing the extent of coverage and allocation of the Scholarship scheme and performance of other such schemes, the Committee found its apprehensions in this regard have come true. The Committee had 115 been emphasizing about raising the numbers of scholarships/Associateships for higher education in a big way; it had expressed its reservations about the logic and efficacy of educational loans in our country. Such loans may help only a small number of students in elite institutions/sectors that fetch handsome salary; what about the large majority, particularly those students from poor families and other insitutions. This problem was being compounded when IIMs/IITs are raising fees at prohibitive levels. Large majority of students in our country come from poor families and education is in social sector. The need, therefore, for Government's control over deciding the fee could hardly be over-emphasized. While subsidizing educational loans may be welcome idea, the Committee recommended to increase the number of scholarships/assistance for poor students.
Indian Institute of Advance Studies, Shimla 8.96 The Committee in its 193rd Report on Demands for Grants, 2007-08 had pointed out a number of irregularities found out in a special audit, particularly certain lacunae in the terms and conditions of grant of fellowship resulting in large number of fellows not submitting their monographs/research papers. The Institute could neither insist upon their submission nor take any action again them. In the absence of a provision to make the fellows accountable in such a situation, the institution suffered huge financial loss. Issue of unauthorized expenditure and blockage of huge fund due to slow progress of special repair and maintenance of its buildings was also pointed out by the Committee. These concerns of the Committee were communicated to the Institute by the Department who have maintained that Institute had a system of concurrent monitoring of research being conducted by its fellows and they were now making a six monthly review to monitor the progress by the experts. But the Institute had not said anything about to claim the money back from the defaulting fellows, as was being practised by the other Councils like ICHR. The Institute, however, had assured to initiate a revision of system of monitoring of its fellows to instill accountability in them as well as in the Institute administration so that such a situation did not arise in future. For this, the Governing Body of this Institute was scheduled to meet in October, 2007. But the Committee noted that the Governing body could not meet in October and its meeting which was held in February, 2008 could not arrive at any decision and the matter had been deferred for a future date. The Committee also observed that the financial performance of this Institute except for the year 2006-07 had not been upto the mark. In the year 2007-08, out of Rs. 2.40 crore allocated under the Plan, only 60 lakh was spent till December, 2007. In view of the position given above, the state of affairs in such an old and prestigious Institute did not present a very happy picture. The Committee was for the development and strengthening of this Institute which has had a glorious past. The Committee therefore, recommended that the Department should ensure that research work in this Institute was carried on without any hindrance and a system imbued with transparency and accountability in its functioning was put in place at the earliest. The Committee would like to have action taken note on the steps taken in this regard.
Indira Gandhi National Open University 8.97 The Committee was dismayed to find under-utilization of funds for the Schemes under Distance Education as shown below:— B E R E Actual Expenditure 2007-08 2007-08 till December, 2007 1. National Mission in Education 502.00 0.00 0.00 through into & Communication Technology 2. IGNOU 108.00 108.00 40.00
TOTAL: 610.00 108.00 40.00 8.98 The Committee recommended that approval of the EFC and other procedural formalities needed to be taken care of at the earliest for timely intimation of the Scheme. 8.99 The Committee reiterated its serious concern about under-utilization of funds for an important scheme like IGNOU. The Committee had been given to understand that a quarterly review meeting with the officers of IGNOU was arranged for each quarter of the financial year, at the level of Divisional Head in the Distance Learning and Scholarship Bureau to assess the achievements of physical and financial targets set by IGNOU. The Committee would like to be apprised of the findings of this review meeting held recently regarding the achievement of IGNOU. 116
8.100 In view of the fact of under utilization of funds, the Committee was of the opinion that the achievement of IGNOU was not at desirable level. The successful implementation of a scheme depended on optimum and judicious utilization of resources and achievements of set targets. Concerted efforts needed to be made for meeting escalating demands for Higher Education through an efficient open and distance learning system in the country. 8.101 The Committee had raised the issues of non-availability of internet and of books and study material in rural areas on time. The Department had made efforts towards providing a single window web based support services to the learners, network of 26 Gyanvani FM Radio Stations, making available audio-video programmes/ cassettes/CDs at Regional Centres and Study Centres, tele-conferencing facility, telecounseling sessions etc. These efforts of the Department would not help students having no access to internet or students living in remote areas. The Committee was of the opinion that the IGNOU should ensure that required books and reading material were sent on time to the students. The Committee also recommended for expanding the network of Study Centres and improving the infrastructure of Centres for increased number of beneficiaries. 8.102 The Committee hoped these fixed targets would be achieved by the Department within the stipulated time period of one year and with the funds available at hand . 8.103 The Committee believed that by identifying the problem areas, the Department had taken a step forward and should now look for solutions. Efforts for making available faculty for various disciplines, preparatory exercise for launching region-based programmes etc. needed to be done beforehand by the Department for effective and timely utilization of funds and resources.
Distance Education Council (DEC) 8.104. The Committee supported this line of thinking of the Department but was not very with the pace of developments in this regard. Since DEC was a body under the IGNOU Act, many universities were not prepared to accept the DEC jurisdiction in recognizing/approving courses/degree offered by various universities/ institutions. The Committee in its earlier report had recommended for a separate Act for the DEC for making it a regulatory body for open university and open learning system and distance mode on the lines of UGC. DEC should be developed as an apex body for promoting, coordinating and determining standards in distance education. 8.105. According to the Committee, the matter had been under consideration since long. The proposal of a new Statutory Council i.e., a statutory DEC should be finalized at the earliest, DEC should be constituted as early as possible so as to act as regulating body for maintaining the standard of distance education, accreditation matters etc. The Committee was also of the opinion that before finalizing the proposal to set up the DEC, Central Universities and other Institutions of Higher Learning like the IIMs , IITs etc. may also be consulted.
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) 8.106. The Committee was not aware about the reasons for lower allocation made to AICTE in 2008-09. The Committee could only emphasize that its mandate of funding of various technical programmes, regulating the functioning of technical institutions spread across the country, programmes for faculty development etc., should not suffer for want of funds. 8.107. These issues have time and again been pointed out by the Committee in the past. The Committee was also of the opinion that the AICTE Act in its present form had witnessed many weaknesses and it should be revamped at the earliest. This was emphasized by it as early as in 2001 in its 113th Report on Technical Education. The Committee was happy to note that the Department had finally taken a decision to review the functioning of AICTE. It hoped that the review would take into consideration all the shortcoming of the existing Act while simultaneously focusing on the upcoming challenges of technical education in India. The Committee was also in favour of devising a mechanism to ensure consultation with the States in this regard. 8.108. The Committee had been pursuing with the department to work out a mechanism whereby something could be done on the issue of a number of seats remaining unfilled in the technical institutions every year. The Department had stated that a suitable mechanism was being worked out. The Committee desired that the Department in consultation with the States and other stakeholders should try to find a solution to this at the earliest. 117
Central Institutions of Science and Technology 8.109. The Committee's attention had been drawn to the fact that grants released to several institutions under Plan during 2007-08 remained under-utilised. The position at the end of December, 2007 was as under: (Rs. in crores)
Sl. Name of Scheme/Programme/Project Budget Revised Actual upto No. Estimate Estimate December, 2007 1 National Institutes of Tech. Teachers Trg. & 24.00 14.91 5.80 Research 2. School of Planning & Architecture 16.00 4.00 2.50 3. Grants to IISc, Bangalore 196.00 40.00 25.00 4. North-Eastern Regional Institute of Science & 55.00 10.00 5.50 Technology, Itanagar 5. IIIT, Allahabad 42.00 22.00 9.00 6. IIIT, Jabalpur 25.00 11.00 5.50 7. Central Institute of Technology, Kokrajhar 5.50 8.10 4.37 The Committee would like to know about the reasons for the position shown above regarding under- utilization of funds. 8.110. The Committee was happy to note that the Department has been prompt enough to grant additional grants to the IITs in distress. The Committee believes that funds constraints should not be allowed to hinder the functioning of premier institutions like the IITs. Otherwise, they would have no option but to raise student fee which would be a restrictive step. The Committee, therefore, recommended that IITs must be given adequate funds at appropriate stages. 8.111. The Committee desired to know about the entire procedure of holding the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for the IITs in detail. Main points of the judgement of the Hon'ble High Court in the matter, as and when delivered, may also be provided to the Committee.
Scheme for upgrading existing Polytechnics and setting up of new Polytechnics in Special Focus Districts 8.112 The Committee reiterated its persistent observation of expediting the procedural formalities prior to launching of a new scheme. 8.113 The Committee was for inclusion of more districts under the Scheme. It expressed its displeasure for not being able to get the scheme finalized during 2007-08. Besides, the allocation of Rs. 110 crores for the scheme was highly inadequate in view of the fact that more districts were going to be included as announced in 2007-08. The Committee, therefore, recommended that scheme be finalized and implemented this year and more funds be provided for this scheme.
Polytechnics for persons with Disabilities 8.114 The Committee was disheartened to note that during 2006-07 and 2007-08, 25 students in formal and 100 in non-formal streams could be admitted in 50 Polytechnics. The Committee noted that expansion of the scheme would be taken based on the Report of an Appraisal Committee. The Committee could understand that allocation of Rs. 4 crore for 2008-09 could only be utilised after the formulation of the revised scheme. The Committee had serious doubt if the revised scheme could take off this year. The Committee was dismayed to see the manner in which the scheme was being treated. The Committee strongly felt that the Department would have to take urgent steps to reach out to persons with Disability and motivate them to take benefit to the scheme meant for them only. The Committee desired to be informed of the progress made in this regard. 118
Scheme of Community Polytechnics 8.115 The Committee had noticed that during the Tenth Plan, trend of Plan fund allocation and Utilisation thereof very clearly established that the scheme was not being administered as envisaged. The Committee strongly recommended that status of the scheme should change for the better during the Eleventh Plan. A beginning could be made by implementing the scheme in accordance with the suggestions made in the Appraisal Committee Report.
Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) 8.116 The Committee welcome this initiative of the Department. This review, the Committee hoped, would help resolve several issues that have been in the centre of national debate in the recent years. The Committee found that terms of reference of the Bhargava Committee included inter alia to review the existing fee structure in IIMs, use of their corpus funds and the number of scholarships/freeships, etc. This Committee appointed in October, 2007 was supposed to submit its report within six months. It meant that this Committee must be about to give its Report. The Committee failed to understand why some IIMs went ahead with raising their fees, without waiting for the Bhargava Committee Report. It strongly felt that in the future, no IIM should go ahead with increasing the fees before the Bhargava Committee submits its Report.
New Institutions of Higher Learning 8.117 The Committee welcomed the decision to set up such a large number of premier institutions in the country that would certainly address the issue of acess and quality to a great extent. What, however, worried the Committee was the massive efforts and resources that would be required for accomplishing it within the shortest possible time. Location of 4 IITs, 6 IIMs and 14 world class universities were yet to be finalised. The Committee was also concerned as to how the Department would fulfil its financial commitments in this regard given the fact that allocations during 2008-09 have been at their lowest. Most of the resources would go in implementing OBC reservation that had been given go ahead now. It was believed that the very basic formalities may perhaps not be completed during the year. The Department would be under tremendous pressure and the Committee felt that if it proceeded in a time-bound manner and got requird resources, task ahead should not be very difficult to fulfil.
Study visit of the Committee 8.118 The Committee would like the Department to furnish brief but-to-the-point response on each of these issues/demands alongwith the action were being taken or could be taken in these respects.
Development of Languages 8.119 The Committee would like the Department to furnish a detailed note on the targets fixed and achievements, both physical and financial, for the Development of Languages in the last three years. The difficulties faced by the Department in this regard may also be furnished for perusal of the Committee. 8.120 The Committee noted that the new schemes announced in 2007-08 for setting up of National Translation Mission, Linguistic Survey of India, Centre for Pali & Buddhist Studies and Scheme for Development of Minor and Endangered Indian Languages are at various stages of approval. The Committee would appreciate if these formalities could be expedited and the schemes be implemented at the earliest during 2008-09 itself.
(c) 208th Report
Introduction 8.121 The Committee appreciated the reorientation of the fragmented Scheme into an integrated framework with a multi-pronged approach towards youth empowerment and their participation in the planning of their development. The Committee was of the view that youth development being a multidimensional activity would be better achieved if we have a holistic approach towards it. That appeared to be the main reason that we have not had significant achievements in this regard, so far. The Committee expected that now the Ministry would be able to focus on all the thrust area of the Youth Development simultaneously to achieve the desired objectives under an umbrella scheme. 119
8.122 The Committee was worried about an apparent lack of coordination among the Central Government, State Governments and National Sports Federations. The Committee felt that this situation should not be allowed to continue any further. It would be against the interests of the sports paricularly, keeping into account the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, 2010. The Committee recommened that all the 'key stakeholdes' should regularly interact by integrating their synergies for the promotion of games, motivation of players and development of 'sports infrastructure'. 8.123 Keeping into account our vast youth population, the Committee recommended that the Ministry should make all out efforts to review the National Youth Policy incorporating in it the key areas such as education, health, sustainable development, self-confidence, social harmony and national integration. The Committee also recommended that special attention should be focused on those youth and adolescents who were living under poverty line in rural and urban areas.
Budgetary allocation
Commonwelth Games-2010 8.124 The Committee firmly believed that the Ministry would face financial constraints due to slashing of their projections. The basic exercise of preparing projections gets defeated if the final allocation gets curtailed drastically to less than half from Rs. 1836 crores to Rs. 890 crores only. Either the projections were unreasonably high or the Ministry failed to put across their case convincingly before the Planning Commission. Both the situations called for serious review. The Committee would like the Ministry to approach the Planning Commission as well as the Ministry of Finance again for additional funds so that important development schemes on both Youths as also on Sports sectors were not affected due to shortage of funds. This was more important in view of huge finances required for hosting the forthcoming Commonwealth Games. 8.125 While advocating the need for enhanced allocation for schemes meant for our youth, the Committee had a word of caution for the Ministry. Committee's experience about the utilization status of plan allocation during the previous years had not been very encouraging. During 2005-06, against a provision of Rs. 438.99 crore, expenditure reported was only Rs. 386.10 crore. Plan allocation of Rs. 600.00 crore for 2006-07 remained underutilized with an expenditure of Rs. 457.19 crore. The Committee found that position had remained unchanged in 2007-08. Against a provision of Rs. 700.00 crore, the Ministry could manage to utilize only Rs. 466.26 crore upto 31st January, 2008. The Committee was not fully convinced by the assurance given by the Secretary that by the end of the financial year, allocated funds would be fully utilized.
Youth Bureau 8.126 The Committee had been voicing its serious concern over the pendency of Utilization Certificates under different Schemes of the Ministry. The Committee appreciated that as a result of efforts made by the Ministry during the last one-two years, the pendency level had come down. A s per the latest report, number of pending UCs as on 31.12.2007 was 6297 involving an amount of Rs. 98.52 crores. While appreciating the progress made in bringing down the pendency level of UCs, the Committee pointed out that position still left enough scope for improvement. Committee's concern arose from the that a very large number of UCs for varying amounts were to be furnished by NGOs running different Youth Welfare Schemes as shown below:—
Scheme Year No. of NGOs from whom UCs are awaited Promotion of National Integration 2005-06 56 2006-07 22 Promotion of Adventure 2005-06 15 2006-07 9 Promotion of Youth Activities and Training 2005-06 35 2006-07 28 Scheme of Development of Empowerment of 2005-06 34 Adolescent 2006-07 74 120
8.127 The Committee also noted that there were 96 pending UCs with different Sports Federations as on 6.2.2008 with maximum number of 20 UCs being with the Wrestling Federation, followed by Ball Badminton Federation of india and Indian Weight Lifting Federation having 17 pending UCs each. 8.128 The Committee was not aware whether any action has been initiated so far for recovery of funds lying with the these NGOs. On a specific query in this regard, the Secretary of the Ministry admitted that recovery of funds from NGOs was a major problem, specially with regard to NGO-run Schemes. One of the initiatives taken by the Ministry was to release funds to only those NGOs duly recommended by the State Governments. Ministry would be directly dealing with only National level NGOs. The Committee was not convinced by these initiatives. The reason being that there have been cases where blacklisted NGOs have approached the Ministry under new names, thus getting further releases of funds. Seriousness of this problem could be imagined by the forthright admission of the Secretary in this regard. The Committee was of the opinion that there was an urgent need for putting in place a very stringent mechanism for screening of NGOs for release of Central funds. The Committee understood that one of the main reasons for NGOs flouting prescribed norms was their being registered under the Societies Registration Act which was a very old Act having no teeth. The Committee, accordingly, felt that it was high time that feasibility of having an effective legislation for registration of NGOs was explored. 8.129 The Committee in one of its earlier reports had asked the Ministry to provide views of all the States on the issue of bringing sports to the Concurrent List. Ministry was yet to furnish that information. Committee would firm up its opinion only after framing the response of States on the proposal.
Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) 8.130 The Committee could understand the basis for the quantum of funds proposed simply becaue of a variety of programmes/activities being administered by the NYKS at different levels through different agencies. However, the Committee was disturbed to note that the Sangathan had failed to keep pace with the funds allocated during the last two years. Plan allocation of Rs. 45.00 crore in 2006-07 had to be brought down to Rs. 36.75 crore at the RE stage and expenditure reported was Rs, 32.25 crore. Position worsend in 2007-08 so much so that allocatiion of Rs. 58.50 crore had to be drastically reduced to Rs. 29.78 crore at the RE stage with expenditure reported upto 31.1.08 being only Rs. 19.00 lakhs The Committee took a serious view of the fact that unspent balance available from the previous year led to such a situation. The Committee wondered as to whether the NYKS had been able to successfully carry out its mandate. 8.131 The Committee had been pursuing this case for the last several years. It had been informed earlier by the Ministry that the recruitment could not take place as the posts were not duly sanctioned by the Ministry of Finance.The Committee in its earlier report had taken the stand that the candidates who had already passed the recruitment test should be given priority in appointment. 8.132 The Committee found that the candidates filed the case because they were not recruited. Now, if the Ministry filed an application in the court with the promise to appoint these successsful candiates, the problem could be solved. The Committee found argument too technical that it was the recruitment process that was cancelled and the selection was not completed. D.G. NYKS conceded before the Committee that there was a communication gap with regard to the recruitment. According to him neither the posts were sanctioned nor the selection process was completed and no list of selected candidates was finalised. 8.133 The Committee expressed its deep anguish over the manner in which the issue of the recruitment of the Youth Coordinators had been dealt with. It was quite disturbing that on earlier occasions, the Ministry had informed that selection was done but the case was sub-judice. The new fact about stalling of selection process and absence of list of final candidates was a revelation to the Committee. If the Ministry had not adopted the correct procedure, the successful candidates could not be left to suffer for no fault of theirs. The Committee strongly felt that the candidates who deserved to be recruited should not be deprived of their right as a matter of natural justice. The Committee would like the Ministry to give priority in appointments to those candidates who have qualified in the test. The Committee directed the Secretary to check the records again and report back the status of the case to the Committee. The Secretary promised to do so but nothing was heard thereafter till this report was adopted by the Committee. 8.134 The Committee hoped that the study of IIM, Ahmedabad would help the Ministry in drawing up a plan of action to restructure NYKS. The Committee was of the view that such an exercise was necessary not 121 only because NYKS was the key agency in implementing/overseeing majority of youth activities/programmes, but its role was going to be widened further. NYKS was going to take up sports and games on a big scale by having a convergence of Youth and Sports Programmes.
National Services Scheme (NSS) 8.135 The Committee was happy to note that amount being paid to NSS volunteers has been increased and this Schemes was being expanded as well. While the Committee agreed in principle that given the utility of the Scheme in nation-building, allowing opening of new NSS units on self-financing basis would be a welcome step. The Committee would , however, like the Ministry to ensure that this did not become a channel to collect funds from the students by unscrupulous SFUs. The Committee would like to know the experience of Delhi and Maharashtra in this regard. 8.136 The State-wise details made available by the Ministry however, revealed a somewhat different position. The Committee found that Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and West Bengal were the only states to have complied with the prescribed norm. Remaining States were showing pendency with Delhi being the major defaulter by setting amounts upto 1982-83 only. The accounts of State Governments of Chhattisgarh and Lakshdweep Administration were last settled upto 2001-02. This was an area of concern where the Ministry needed to strengthen its monitoring in consultation with State Governments, otherwise the performance of the Scheme would remain questionable. The Committee hoped that the Ministry would take up the settlement of accounts with the States to clear the backlog at the earliest. 8.137 The Committee noted that reputed agency like Tata Institute of Social Sciences had been engaged to study and report on NSS. The Committee desired that an evaluation of NSS Scheme needed to be carried out so as to know its social impact and its importance in nation-building. The Committee hoped that the study of TISS would cover this aspect also. 8.138 The Committee had been given to understand that NSS was a self-evaluating programme for addressing the local programmes locally. The programme was evaluated through social audit in the institutional campuses. Besides that, concomitant evaluations were carried out by the 14 Training and Orientation Centres and 4 Training and Research Orientation Centres. The Committee was of the view that these Centres should take up the issue of non-expansion of NSS Programme in the NE and Northern Region by making an assessment based on inter-action with all concerned.
National Service Volunteer Scheme 8.139 The Committee felt that NSVS who play a major role in the successful implementation of Youth Programmes, needed proper motivation. It was encouraging that the revision of their honorarium was under consideration. The Committee hoped that the evaluation by IIM, Ahmedabad would be expedited so that necessary steps for strengthening the scheme could be taken at the earliest.
Rashtriya Sadbhavana Yojana 8.140 The Committee hoped that the study by IIM would be expedited and corrective measures would be initiated so as to ensure the reach of the scheme to States not performing well.
Youth Hostels 8.141 The Committee noted that a provision of Rs. 2.00 crore made for 2008-09 was meant for completion of 8 Youth Hostels. The Committee apprehended that the scenario would remain unchanged in 2008-09 also. 8.142 The Committee could thus presume that target of completion of 8 Youth Hostels in 2008-09 would simply remain on paper. Element of helplessness was evident in acceptance of the Ministry about persistent delays in the preparation of estimates, finalisation of sites and development thereof by CPWD/State Government. Another negative aspect as mentioned by the Ministry was the poor management of Youth Hostels by the State Governments. 8.143 The Committee had been informed that the Planning Commission had suggested construction of Youth Hostels under public private partnership (PPP). It had also been suggested that some portion of the Youth Hostel could be earmarked with differential tariff facilities so as to generate funds for proper maintenance 122 and upkeep. Wider consultations on this new concept were required with State Governments and other stake holders. Only thereafter, the scheme would be revamped. The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendations made for expediting the completion of construction work of ongoing hostel projects. It was high time that the Ministry took the initiative and got these projects completed under its direct monitoring. 8.144 The Committee felt that in view of the past experience, the idea of maintaining/constructing Youth Hostels under Public Private Partnership could perhaps salvage the situation. On a note of caution, the Committee would, however, like to say that implementation of a Scheme under PPP mode was likely to have dangerous implications/consequences, which needed to be carefully looked into while finalising modalities for this purpose.
Sports Authority of India (SAI) 8.145 The Committee would like to have a detailed note on the targets and achievements of SAI in 2007-08. The Committee would like to draw the attention of the Ministry to the observations contained in its 195th Report on the mismatch between utilization of funds and the targets fixed. Under-utilization of funds in an organization under the control of the Ministry left much to be desired. The financial management in SAI needed to be strengthened to ensure that the gaps between the allocation and utilization were kept under check. Committee's attention had been drawn to a number of pending paras regarding SAI in CAG Reports of 2006 and 2007. These paras pertained to penalty due to low power factor (Rs. 1.95 crore), idling of equipment (Rs. 1.10 crore), inadmissible expenditure (Rs. 72.03 lakh) avoidable interest payment (Rs. 12.75 lakh) and expenditure due to short recoveries and delayed deposit of service tax (Rs. 63.65 lakh). The Committee noted that in all these cases, the audit observations were being examined in consultation with SAI and thereafter the Action Taken Note would be submitted. The Committee understood that there was a set procedure for taking follow-up action on CAG Report which was a prolonged exercise. The Committee would, however, like to point out that the very fact that CAG had been commenting on non-adherence to financial norms by SAI indicated that there were problem areas in the functioning of SAI. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should get a thorough review of the functioning of SAI through some independent agency. 8.146 The Committee was not satisfied the manner in which the coaches were being deployed. Particularly, the mass transfer of 700 coaches in one go in 2005 was said to have created a mess. As a result, both the players and the coaches were put to a lot of inconvenience and the sports sector had to suffer due to that whimsical step. The Committee found that the SAI had no transfer policy in place which despite persistent persuasion by this Committee was yet to be formulated. 8.147 The Committee found that the selection procedure for the coaches also needed improvement. The Ministry needed to adopt a more transparent and pragmatic approach with regard to the selection as well as deployment of coaches. The Committee would also like the Ministry to pursue with the Ministry of Finance for lifting the ban on recruitment of coaches so that the vacant posts could be filled up and the players do not suffer in the absence of coaches.
SAI Training Centre Scheme (STC) 8.148 The Committee observed that coaches have not been deployed in the Extension Centres under STC despite repeated requests on that account. The trainees were ready and the kits distributed but the training could not start in the absence of the coaches. This situation, according to the Committee, would not augur well for the development of sports. The Committee would like the Government to immediately depute coaches in all STC Centres. The Committee did not find any gender-segregated data in respect of STC trainees. The Committee recommended that a status report showing outlay and outcome as also the percentage of expenditure on girl trainees be provided to the Committee. The Committee stressed that such data should invariably be compiled in respect of all the schemes under the Ministry.
Sports Infrastructure Development 8.149 The Committee recommended that the Central Government should meet its obligation in cases where State contribution had been released, though the projects were not completed. The Committee would also like the Ministry to take up such cases with the Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission where Government of India had sanctioned amount but the State Governments failed to provide matching grant. 123
8.150 The Committee would appreciate if a Status Note giving details about the infrastructure projects (State-wise) was submitted to it at the earliest. The Committee was of the view that schemes relating to creation of sports infrastructure were required to be given due importance simply because of their being in place was essential for nurturing sports talent in a country.
National Sports Federations (NSFS) 8.151 The Committee felt that more and more asto-turfs were needed to be laid. There should be astro-turf facility in each district. The Committee reminded the Ministry of its observation about the astro-turf in SAI Centre of Bangalore and desired to know the status thereof.
Scheme of Incentives for Promotion of Sports 8.152 The Committee strongly felt that there was an urgent need for monitoring the holding of State level tournaments/competitions and also ensuring incentives to participants. One should forget the fact that nurturing of sports talents started from school/college level only. 8.153 The Committee would like to have a status note on the number of Sportspersons being granted pension. The Committee understood that under the National Sports Development Fund, another component of the Umbrella Scheme, athletes were assisted for training and participation in international tournaments in identified sports disciplines. The Committee hoped that a grievance redressal mechanism must be in place so as to ensure reach of incentives to deserving sportspersons and welfare of our retired sportspersons. The Committee would like to have an idea in this regard.
Promotion of Sports among disabled 8.154 The Committee apprehended that this laudable objective might remain on paper in 2008-09 also. It was very discouraging to realise that the most marginalised segment of our society continued to be deprived on any State patronage. Assistance being provided at present to mentally and physically challenged sportspersons through Sports Federations like Paralympics Committee of India, special Olympic Bharat and the All India Sports Council of Deaf could not be considered adequate enough. The Committee once again strongly recommended that the Scheme for Promotion of Sports among Disabled should be formulated without any further delay so as to ensure its launching during 2008-09 itself.
Commonwealth Games, 2010 8.155 The Committee felt that the present completion schedule would be too late for sportspersons for required training/practice at these venues for the Commonwealth Games to be held in 2010. According to the Committee, there was already a confusion prevailing about our preparedness for the Games and the delayed completion schedule may create problems at the last moment. The Secretary clarified before the Committee that the venues other than the Commonwealth Games were already available for the players. The Committee had seen the condition of these play field itself, less said was better about them. Facilities for running national coaching camps and national preparatory camps were also no better. Government was attempting to provide playing conditions of international standard in these venues. The Committee was of the view that the schedule for completion of different venues would adversely affect preparation of our national teams. The Committee urged upon the Ministry to prepare the venues within the scheduled target so that our players get some exposures on these venues before the Games. 8.156 The position of the outlays and expenditure in respect of the Commonwealth Games during the Xth Plan was indicated in the table below:
Year Physical Financial (Rs. Lakhs) Target Achievement Outlay Expenditure 2005-06 NA NA 4550.00 3305.00 2006-07 NA NA 15000.00 8108.00* Total NA NA 19550.00 11413.00 (Xth Plan) *As on 31.12.06 124
8.157 The Committee observed that against a projection of Rs. 869.35 crore in 2008-09 for the Commonwealth Games, funds allocated were only Rs. 244.00 crore. Break-up of funds asked for and allocated was as indicated below: (Rs. in crore)
Components of Commonwealth Proposed Allocated Games, 2010 SAI Stadia Renovation 382.70 172.00 AITA (Tennis) 10.00 7.00 Preparation of Teams 301.65 50.00 Upgradation/creation of training 175.00 15.00 venues 8.158 The Committee failed to understand the reasons for such wide variations in the proposal and allocations. The Committee strongly felt that shortage of funds should not be cited as one of the factors for any delay both in the completion of projects and preparation of our teams. The Committee recommended that required funds need to be made available as and when required. At the same time, every step may be taken for completion of all the projects as per the time-schedule.
Panchayat Yuva Krida Or Khel Abhiyan 8.159 The Committee appreciated the lofty-ideals with which was ambitious Scheme of Panchayat Yuva Krida and Khel Abhiyan was being started. There were, however, apprehensions over the proposed channelisation of funds through numerous implementing agencies. The Committee would like the Ministry to set up an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure that diversion of funds to other schemes did not open the door for misappropriation. The Committee would also like the Ministry to examine the feasibility of including the pending infrastructure projects under this Abhiyan. This, however, required proper and regular co-ordination with the State Governments and the concerned Ministries for better utilization of funds. The Committee hoped that the Ministry would implement this flagship scheme with all the seriousness it deserves. After discontinuance of Infrastructure Scheme in April, 2005, all hopes for sports infrastructural development in our rural areas would be on Panchayat Yuva Krida and Khel Abhiyan.
National Championship for Women 8.160 The Committee was, however, constrained to observe that allocation of Rs. 60.00 lakhs and Rs. 1.10 crore in 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively had remained unutilised. The Committee apprehended that the same position may be there in 2008-09 also. The Committee would appreciate if a review of this scheme was carried out so as to identify the problem areas followed by corrective measures.
(d) 209th Report
Introduction 8.161 The Committee appreciated the lofty ideals and objectives envisaged through the Vision Statement of the Ministry. In the first instance, it appeared as if the vision covered expansions or review of some of the existing schemes of the Ministry. This was a positive thinking on the part of the Ministry. Regular evaluation of the schemes indicated that feedback was being obtained, monitoring was done and corrective measures taken. Most of the schemes under the Ministry were being implemented through State Governments or NGOs. It was, therefore, imperative that implementing agencies were kept in loop during the entire exercise of review and revamping to be done after thorough consultation with field agencies. The Committee hoped that the Ministry had done all such preparatory exercises as were necessary in respect of its schemes meant to be reviewed, expanded and revamped. The Committee was optimistic that Ministry would strive hard to achieve its mandate for development of women and protection of children through focused schemes envisaged in their Vision Statement. 125
Budgetary Allocation 8.162 The Committee noted that the Plan allocation for both child and women welfare schemes showed a steady increase and overall utilization position appeared satisfactory in the recent years. However, scheme- wise status revealed that in respect of some of schemes, position was somewhat different with respect to ICDS, Training Programme under ICDS, Scheme for prevention and control of Juvenile Social Maladjustment, Conditional Cash transfer Scheme for the Girl Child with Insurance Cover, Hostels for Working Women, STEP, Short Stay Homes, RMK, Swayamsiddha Swadhar etc. 8.163 The Committee noted with concern that the utilization of the allocation for these schemes presented a dismal picture about their performance. Under-utilization of allocation meant that there were some shortcomings/ bottlenecks in the delivery mechanism, as a result, the resources were perhaps not being managed optimally. The Committee was happy to see the signficant increase in the Ministry's allocation for the year 2008-09. The Committee called upon the Ministry to make assiduous efforts ensuring that funds were utilized in more effective and prudent manner. 8.164 The Committee noted that Ministry had made efforts for incurring expenditure as evenly as possible despite the unspent balances lying with the State Governments and other implementing institutions. Unspent balances with the State Governments particularly, in respect of the Centrally sponsored schemes like ICDS and Swayamsidha as on 31.12.2007 were to the tune of Rs. 162.02 crores and Rs. 21.95 crore respectively. A State- wise analysis revealed that under ICDS, some States have negative balances i.e. the amount of reimbursement to be released by Central Government as the next installment. Major States having unspent as well as negative balances were Bihar, U.P., Karnataka, Rajasthan, M.P., Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra. 8.165 Although the amount remaining as unspent balance may not be large enough but the Committee was of the opinion that it should be kept at the minimum level. The matter of unspent balance should, therefore, be urgently taken up with the concerned State Governments so that the implementation of a scheme like ICDS, vital for physical, social and psychological development of children as well as the pregnant and lactating mothers, did not suffer. 8.166 As regards the existing negative balance, that was to be reimbursed to the States, the Committee did not know the reasons for the delay in withholding the releases to these States. The Committee recommended that the funds must be reimbursed at the earliest to these States and the negative balance should not allowed to occur. 8.167 The Committee found some gaps in the overall achievements both in terms of physical and financial, during the Tenth Plan period. During the year 2007-08 also, the first year of the Eleventh Plan presented a more disappointing picture in all the major schemes of the Ministry like ICDS, Shishu Greh, Integrated Scheme for Street Children, Working Women's Hostel, STEP, CSWB, Short Stay Homes etc. 8.168 The Committee expressed its serious concerns over the major gaps between the targets and the achievements thereof. The Committee felt that the non-availability of funds was not an issue, but utilization thereof seemed to be the main problem resulting in non-achievement of targets. Apparently, there were some serious gaps at each level in the entire delivery system. The Committee believed that more impetus needed to be given to all the schemes that concern the most vulnerable sections of our society i.e. women and children. Implementing agencies needed to be motived for more efficacious implementation of the schemes. Simultaneously, we must have effective periodical monitoring and review of the performance of the Schemes with a view to overcome the problems encountered in implementation of these schemes. 8.169 The Committee was at a loss to find that UCs remain outstanding from as far back as 1986-87. It would like the Ministry to continue its concerted efforts to clear pending UCs with active support from the State Governmetns, NGOs and other implementing agencies in liquidating the pending UCs. Pendency of UCs for more than twenty years reflected our helplessness/failure in getting these accounts cleared. The money that was blocked due to this, was a public money which could not be allowed to be misappropriated like this. 8.170 The Committee had observed in the past also that it took normally one to two years to actually start a scheme, which was a very long time and needed to be narrowed to a large extent. The Committee recommended that necessary approvals for the rest of the Schemes should be sought by the Ministry as early as possible so as to reduce avoidable delays. The Committee further recommended that all preparatory exercises including 126 allocation, plan of action etc, of these schemes should be completed beforehand by the Ministry to ensure their timely implementation.
Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) 8.171 As on 31.12.2007, against 10,52,638 AWCs sanctioned, number of operational AWCs was 9,37,767. AWCs providing supplementary nutrition to children (six months to six years of age) and pregnant and lactating mothers was only 8,82,611. The status of AWCs in respect of the some States showed significant gap between sanctioned and operational AWCs. 8.172 The Committee noted that there was significant gap between the sanctioned AWCs and those operational. The Committee had doubts over the achievement of the new target of AWCs, when there was already a backlog of around 2 lakh AWCs to be made operational. The Committee had expressed its concern about this in its previous reports also. It reiterated that the Ministry must make all out efforts not only to universalise the ICDS, but also to operationalise all the projects as well as the AWCs sanctioned so far. 8.173 The Committee observed that construction of AWC buildings was the most important component of infrastructure development so that the services under the scheme could be delivered efficiently. The Committee understood that Ministry proposed to provide for construction of AWC building in XIth plan. This step, according to the Committee, should have been taken long time back. The Committee after having seen during its visits to the AWCs in various parts of the country, was also convinced that the ICDS Scheme must provide for construction of AWCs for making it more effecitve. The Committee would like the Ministry to explore the possibility of involving the Ministries of Rural Development, Tribal Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment and Health and Family Welfare under their existing Schemes for construction of AWCs. The Committee also reiterated its earlier recommendation for fixing a percentage of its allocation for infrastructure development on the lines of SSA. 8.174 Committee noted that not all AWCs were providing supplementary nutrition. Supplementary nutrition was, infact, heart and soul of the ICDS Scheme that had to be given to the children and to the pregnant and lactating mothers. The Committee viewed it seriously and it did not know the reason about this. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to make sure that all the AWCs must provide supplementary nutrition. 8.175 The Committee expressed its deep concern over the outcome of the survey carried out by NIPCCD in 2006 covering 150 ICDS projects from all States/UTs. The Committee had seen for itself during its visit to AWCs in different parts of the Country — it presented a dismal picture about the infrastructure and other facilities at AWCs. Lack of basic facilities, such as toilets, drinking water, cooking arrangements, etc. revealed the manner in which these AWCs were functioning. The Committee felt that lack of adequate and convenient space, unhygienic conditions, etc. appeared to be the main problems associated with AWCs and once provision for a building specially designed for the purpose was made it would take care of the problems mentioned above. Till the provision for a building for AWCs was made, the Government should make assiduous efforts for making available basic facilities. Possibility of utilizing the village schools and community owned buildings for accommodating the AWCs should also be explored. 8.176 The Committee was aware of the problems/constraints beeing faced in the North-East region in construction of AWC buildings due to its peculiar conditions. It however, failed to understand the absence of any progress in this regard during the recent years. It appeared that all activities for this purpose have come to a standstill. The Committee was informed that the States were not submitting the UCs of funds released to them for constructing AWCs. It appeared that they were not able to contribute even 10% of their share for this purpose. The Committee was not happy with this state of affairs in the region, which needed special attention. It therefore, recommended that it must be taken at the highest levels to sort out the problems at the earliest, so that the work could proceed at the desired pace. 8.177 The Committee was of the view that importance of training and capacity building of the ICDS functionaries for improving the quality of their services could hardly be over emphasised. However, the tables above present a disappointing picture regarding training of the ICDS functionary. The Committee expressed its apprehension about the utilisation Rs. 100 crores provided for this purpose in the year 2008-09. The Committee felt that the training aspect was not being taken up with such seriousness as it deserved. The Committee felt that the training aspect was not being taken up with such seriousness as it deserved. The Committee therefore, 127 recommended that the Ministry must take up the issue with the State Governments to ensure that training of ICDS functioniaries, both job as well as refresher, was conducted regularly. In some States/UTs like Manipur, Bihar, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Pondicherry, no targets have been fixed. The Committee was baffled if all ICDS functionaries in these States/UTs were fully trained. 8.178 The Committee took notice of the reports about the proposal to introduce packed meal/fortfied food instead of cooked meal under ICDS. The Committee wanted to know the exact position with respect to the above speculation.
Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for the children of working mothers 8.179 The Committee was happy to learn that 5000 creches were proposed to be operated every year during the eleventh Plan period. It, however, felt that the allocation for this scheme would be highly inadequate. Besides, the cost norms for financial assistance, supplementary nutrition for child, emergency medicine, honorarium for creche worker, etc. were also very low, in view of the existing inflationary rate. It may be very difficult to manage the services to be provided by these creches. The Committee, therefore, recommended that keeping in view the shortage of creches in the country, the Ministry should open more creches preferably in the areas where these were needed most and also in uncovered areas. The Committee further recommended that the allocation for this be enhanced appropriately with a view to meet the required expenditure meant only for the proposed expansion but also for enhancing cost norms under the Schemes suitably. 8.180 The Committee, however had not been informed as to when this 10-days training module would be put into practice. The Committee would like the Ministry to urgently conduct this training to creche workers so that they were better equipped to provide care and services to the children at the earliest. The Committee underlined the need to establish linkages with more training institutions and trained personnels for this training in view of the proposed expansion of creches during the XIIth Plan. Besides, the financial allocation for this purpose be also enhanced suitably. 8.181 The Committee observed that during 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, only two NGOs were given funds. 8.182 The Committee found the fact little baffling that while there had been large gap between the allocations and release made, as shown in the table above, actual expenditure during the same years have been fully utilized. The Committee would like to have this clarified. 8.183 The Committee appreciated this in-built component of monitoring of creches which would help in the better delivery of services in the creches. The Committee was, however, of the view that monitoring mechanism needed to be made more effective and extensive. It only hoped that the findings in this regard were studied and mid course corrections adopted regularly. 8.184 The Committee noted the suggestion given in the sub-Group Report on Child Protection (For the Eleventh Five Year Plan) that for the scheme to achieve its objectives, lateral linkages with the local PHC or sub- PHC in the area, tie-up with the AWCs for inputs like immunization, polio-drops, basic health monitoring needed to be strengthened. The Report further emphasized on upgradation of the range and standards of care provided, of early learning, early development opportunities, social skills, infrastructure and materials, including cooking/eating utensils, cots, mattresses, pillows, crade fans, toys and learning materials in the creches. The Committee found these suggestions of the working group very useful. The Ministry should capitalize on these suggestions and try to develop adequate linkages for getting better services.
Child Budgeting 8.185 The Committee observed from the outlays earmarked for each one of the four child-related sectors as the proportion of the total Union Budget that it reflected low priority accorded to these sectors, particuarly to child development, their health and protection. Focused attention was required particularly, for child health and protection, with a signficant increase in fund support. 8.186 The Committee also appreciated the Ministry for resuming the 'child budgeting' exercise from 2004-05 onwards which had earlier started in 2002-03 and discontinued in 2003-04. The Committee believed that by the use of the tool of "child budgeting", accountability of public funds would be ensured. 128
The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) 8.187 The Committee described the plight of children in our country deplorable. Their condition must have worsened further as the last census was conducted in the 2001. The Committee was of the opinion that the need of the hour was to introspect about our approach, efforts and resources devoted to overall development of children so far. The Committee felt that we have a long way to go in providing them safe environment free of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect so that they grow up into confident and self-respecting individuals. 8.188 The Committee hoped that this revamped centrally sponosred scheme of ICPS would be able to generate required impetus to our endeavour in providing a safe environment for the holistic development of children, in need of care and protection. It expected the Ministry to complete all the formalities before the implementation of the scheme as early as possible. 8.189 The Committee hoped that his umbrella scheme of child protection would be able to address the issues of child protection and care through three of its schemes to be merged under it from this year. The Committee would however like the Ministry to first address all the shortcomings of the three existing schemes to be merged under ICPS and ensure a regular monitoring of the NGOs and other agencies. The "National Website on Missing Children" to facilitate training, recovery and rehebilitation of children who either run away or were missing envisaged under ICPS should also be made functional as early as possible. 8.190 The Committee appreciated the Ministry for providing special shelter care for HIV/AIDS affected children. It would advice the Ministry to identify the HIV/AIDS affected children in each district/State so as to know the number of shelter homes required in each district/State. The Committee also would like the Ministry to undertake preparatory exercises for setting up of Juvenile Justice Boards/Child Welfare Committees and Child Protection Unit in each district. The existing Juvenile Children Homes needed improvement and upgradation in the quality of care provided to children in the institutions, full staff strength, regular and timely release of Central Grants etc. The Ministry should focus on these aspects of the existing Juvenile Homes under the ICPS.
Integrated Scheme for Street Children 8.191 The Committee found the utilization of funds for the year 2007-08 to be satisfactory. However, the Committee noted the overall utilization of funds for this scheme for the Tenth Plan period left a gap of about 28 per cent The Committee emphasized the need for ensuring optimum and judicious utilization of funds for the successful implementation of the scheme. 8.192 The Committee observed that the performance of the scheme as regards its achievement of targets had not been satisfactory. 8.193 The Committee hoped that the Ministry achieves the set targets for the year 2008-09 unlike in the previous year. 8.194 The Committee observed that despite 90 per cent of the financial assistance for the scheme being given by the Central Government, there seemed to be lack of initiative for encouraging more and more State Governments/UT Administration/NGOs etc. to open more and more such centers for the street children. The Committee recommended opening of such centres in areas where they were not existing by more active coordination with State Governments/UT Administration/NGOs/Local Bodies. A partnership between the Government and civil society could help us a great deal in having adequate and proper arrangements for the well-being of street children. 8. 195 The Committee was surprised to know that the Ministry did not have any database on the street children in the country, the target group of this scheme. The Committee would like the Ministry to start preparing a data-base entailing the number of children on the streets (State-wise) and the number of children benefiting from this scheme. The Committee also laid emphasis on evolving a mechanism to monitor and ensure that the children from the centres, fit into the mainstream; and did not go back to streets again. The Committee believed that the real success of the scheme lies in this. A feedback in this regard would be of great help to assess the success/failure of the scheme in the true sense. 8.196 The Committee would be failing in its duty by not expressing its deep concerns over the growing number of street children. Millions of children living on the street, begging for their survival let alone other basic facilities, shelter or food. It was very unfortunate that even after sixty years of Independence, we have 129 failed to provide a safe environment to our children. Present scheme with such a lower allocation was not going to help at all. The Committee would like the Government to take the rehabilitation of street children in a big way in consultation with the State Governments and the civil society. 8.197 The Committee expressed its displeasure over the lack of basic facilities in these centres and expresses apprehension about the effectiveness of the new Scheme, ICPS under which this part had been subsumed. Improving basic facilities as well as providing adequate projects in all the States/UTs would require lot of time, efforts and resources. The Committee hoped that Ministry was aware of these dimensions, for providing required resources and efforts. 8.198 The Committee would also like to draw the attention of the Ministry towards the 'Study on Child Abuse—India 2007' which depicted the deplorable condition of child in our country. The Committee believed that the Ministry taking note of the findings of the study on child abuse should make pro-active efforts for providing safe environment for children and take stern measures against persons accused of abusing children. The Ministry should send out a strong message to persons engaged in child abuse through TV, radio and print media. The Commission for Protection of Child Rights should be involved in taking initiatives to stop the problem of child abuse rampant in our society. The Committee hoped that through networking of various agencies working for the cause of children, the Ministry could contain and address the problem of child abuse through social education, stringent laws and the integrated scheme implemented in the mission mode.
Programme for Juvenile Justice 8.199 The Committee had been given to understand that in the year 2005-06 and 2006-07, underutilization of funds was due to non-receipt of proposals from some of the State Governments/UT administration under the scheme. Also, some of the States did not have funds for meeting 45% expenditure from their State budget as per the norms of the scheme. Since no such reason had been given for the year 2007-08, the Committee presumed that the Ministry had received viable proposals from different agencies in 2007-08, and as such, the total funds allocated for the scheme were utilised. The Committee expressed its concern about States not sending proposals and some of them not being able to afford their share. 8.200 The Committee was happy to see the performance of the scheme both financial as well as physical in 2007-08. It had been done against all odds inherent in the scheme. The Committee, therefore, appreciated the Ministry for its performance as regards achievement of targets was concerned. The Committee hoped that the Ministry would meet the set targets successfully this year too. Our effort should be to provide better facilities to children in the homes with better cost norms, provide for rent in case of rented accommodation and increasing involvement of good NGOs. 8.201 The maximum number of such homes situated in the States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan shows that States were taking good interest in this scheme. The Committee was of the opinion that the funding pattern of the scheme may be revisited so as to encourage all the States to implement this scheme for Juvenile Justice as it catered to a very vulnerable section of our society. 8.202 The Committee took note of the findings of the evaluation of the scheme for Juvenile Justice by CRY-2007 as mentioned below:— — Most of the States were yet to follow the 5-tier (Observation Home, Children's Home, Special Home, Shelter Home and After Care Home) institution system as prescribed in the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. — Most of the institution did not have full strength of staff in place. — Regular and timely release of cental grants and corresponding release of matching contribution by States should be the norm. — Significant improvement in the quality of care provided to children in the institution required. — Staffing pattern recommended by model rules of JJ Act, 2000 were not applied to all the States and enforced in all institutions. 8.203 Apart from these problems, these homes have many others. The Committee hoped that all the shortcomings in the homes would be addressed in the new comprehensive scheme of ICPS. His scheme had 130 been transferred to the Ministry with higher expectations of delivery. The Committee hoped that the Ministry would hard to achieve the targets under the scheme.
Scheme of Assistance to Home for Children (Shishu Greh) to Promote in-country adoption 8.204 The Committee noted that out of Rs. 20.00 crores allocated for the scheme for the entire plan period, expenditure incurred was only Rs. 11.48 crore covering only 2650 beneficiaries. Plan allocation for the scheme in 2007-08 was Rs. 3.00 crore and expenditure incurred upto 24.03.2008 is Rs. 2.53 crores. In the year 2007-08, 4 States, 82 projects and 58 NGOs have been assisted. The number of beneficiaries had been 820 against the target of 1500. The Committee had been informed that the approved outlay of Rs. 3.00 crores for the year 2008-09 would be used for benefiting 650 children by assisting 65 units. The Committee found that this scheme needed urgent attention in more ways than one. Allocation was meagre and expanse and spread of the scheme was highly small and uneven. During the Tenth Plan, just 77 Shishu Greh and Rs. 11.48 crore benefiting only 2650 children in a vast country like ours says everything about it. The Committee emphasized the urgent need for not only allocating adequate resources but also to plan to reach uncovered areas and rationalization of existing coverage for better spread of the scheme in the country. 8.205 The Committee was glad to know that the Ministry realized the importance of training of functionaries of the Shishu-Grehs and special focus on awareness campaigns.The Committee hoped that the Ministry would make concerted efforts for making this scheme popular and ensure effective implementation of the scheme through training and awareness programmes. 8.206 The Committee noted the findings of the evaluation of the scheme by NIPCCD-2007 as mentioned below:— — Not all the organization maintained a unit of 10 children at a given time. — About 88% child care workers (ayahs) getting honorarium/salary between Rs. 1000-2500 p.m. — 53% organization faced delay in release of grants and another 32% found terms/conditions of the scheme complicated. — Difficult procedure and non-uniformity of law. — Delay in release of grants. — Difficulty in finding families for in-country adoption. — Lack of budget for salaries of staff. — 47% child care workers had no training. 8.207 The Committee recommended the Ministry to take note of these shortcomings and adopt measures for improving the condition of Shishu Greh. The Committee hoped that performance of this scheme also would improve during Eleventh Plan after it would be merged under the new umbrella scheme of ICPS.
Scheme for Welfare of Working Children in Need of Care and Protection 8.208 Plan allocation for the scheme for the entire Tenth Plan Period was Rs. 45.00 crore while the expenditure incurred during this period was only Rs. 3.96 crore. The number of beneficiaries of the scheme was 6996. 8.209 The Committee expressed its deep anguish over gross underutilization of funds for the scheme during the Tenth Plan Period. 8.210 The Committee had been informed that the total number of on-going projects under the scheme is 113, number of new proposals received during 2007-08 was 95 and the number of new projects recommended during 2007-08 is 50. The Committee had been given to understand the quantifiable deliverables identified for the scheme in 2008-09 were to assist 125 projects and to benefit 12,500 children. Special focus of the Ministry would be on increasing employability of children on reaching 18 years of age. Performance of the scheme, both financial and physical presented a grim picture. It appeared as if this scheme was being run as a formality with no commitment to the cause of poor and hapless working children. Even the meagre allocation could not be utilized. Number of projects and the total working children being helped was negligible. In view of this, the 131 projection made for 2008-09 appeared to be a tall claim. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the scheme needed urgent review with a view to identifying and redressing the problem area dogging the scheme. It certainly needed to be expanded and strengthened at a massive scale. Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) 8.211 Out of the allocated fund of Rs. 170.00 crores for the five years, expenditure incurred was only Rs. 121.20 crore. The Committee would like to be apprised of the reasons for the underutilization. A similar trend of underutilization of funds was being witnessed under Condensed Courses for Women Education, Short Stay Homes, Awareness Generation Programme etc. 8.212 The Committee was of the opinion that some sort of monitoring of the functioning of the Board would be desirable for making its working more transparent. It was responsible for the implementation of so many important programmes/schemes. And as can be seen, performance of most of these schemes left much to be desired. 8.213 Tendency of having a male child has been common wish amongst the people in the society. The Committee felt that priority of male child to a female one has led to an imbalanced sex ratio in the country. The Committee would like the CSWB to take up in a big way for spreading awareness in the society about the equal status of female child. The Board would be doing a better service to the country by carrying forward a dedicated campaign about importance of female child in the family. The Committee hoped that the Board would take up this subject as mission and come forward with a report on action taken in this regard. Hostels for Working Women 8.214 The Committee was of the opinion that there should not be any further delay in the implementing of the revamped scheme. 8.215 The Committee hoped that the Ministry had completed its preparatory exercises including the procedural formalities beforehand for setting up District Level Committees. The Ministry should also give wide publicity to the scheme so that more number of viable proposals are received. 8.216 The Committee was unhappy to note that only 42 hostels could be completed during the Tenth Plan Period benefiting only 5100 women. The Committee also observed that the targets set for the year 2007-08 have not been achieved with respect to number of hostels to be sanctioned and the achievement and also the number of beneficiaries. 8.217 As per the records made available by the Ministry, 607 Working Women Hostels were complete, 45 hostels were under-construction from 1994-95 to 2005-06. 8.218 As per the scheme, hostel buildings were required to be completed within 24 months of release of first instalment. In these above cases considerable delay had already taken place. The Committee had expressed its serious concern over the inordinate delay in construction of these hostels in its previous reports. Reasons given were that land availability at suitable places for the hostels and the escalating cost of land. The Committee believed that these problems would be taken care of in the revamped scheme. However, the Committee was uncertain about completion of this revamping exercise and the actual implementation of the Scheme. The Committee would like to have details of revamped scheme for it perusal. Condensed Courses for Women Education 8.219 The Committee expressed its serious concern over the issue of under-utilization of funds and under-achievement of targets. The Committee recommended that the Ministry and the CSWB should ensure proper implementation of the scheme through active support and close monitoring. Given the past record of the achievement, the Committee believed that the target of 750 courses benefiting 22,500 women to be conducted in 2008-09 would call for implementing it with renewed vigour. CSWB would have to play a more pro-active role for achieving these targets. Short Stay Homes (SSH) 8.220 The Committee would like the Ministry to ensure that the expenditure incurred be evenly spread throughout the years, hurried expenditure normally should be avoided. During 2007-08, against the target of 399 homes covering 15960 beneficiaries, only 132 Homes were sanctioned benefiting 3960 women. The Committee 132 wanted that the reasons for under-achievement should be ascertained by the Board, so that the problem areas were identified and solutions looked for. Monitoring of these Homes be done by undertaking frequent inspections and feedback be obtained regularly. The Committee was informed that the evaluation of the scheme was being done by the Planning Commission and also by a Committee formed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The Committee would like to be apprised of the finding of these evaluations.
Other schemes of the Ministry 8.221 "Other schemes" include provision for Research Publication and monitoring, Information and Mass Media, Innovative work on women and children, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Information Technology etc. Massive funds for these schemes left unspent in the year 2007-08. 8.222 It provided a disappointing picture in respect of implementation of these schemes, particularly those relating to Research Publication and Monitoring; Information and Mass Media and Information Technology. These constituted the core areas for a successful and efficacious implementation of the Ministry's mandate. Monitoring and publicity for awareness generation were the aspects that need to be adequately strengthened in the Ministry. 8.223 Allocation for Information, Mass Media and Publicity was Rs. 15.00 crore in 2007-08. Expenditure incurred was only Rs. 0.41 crores as on 31.01.2008. Such an under utilization of funds indicated that it was not getting as focussed an attention as it deserved. The Committee emphasized the publicity/advertisement of these social messages through vernacular languages in different regions of the country. Small booklets advocating the cause of women, particularly for campaign against female-foeticide, domestic violence, eve- teasing, dowry, child abuse, etc. should be printed in most of the languges for distribution amongst large sections of people across the country. 8.224 It was informed that State Government were appointing their Revenue Officers as Protection Officers for monitoring and implementation of the provisions of Domestic Violence Act. These officers were discharging dual charges. All the districts have not been covered as far as appointment of Protection Officer was concerned. The number of women Protection Officers in this grade was quite less, which was not in consonance with the spirit of the Act. The Committee emphasized that majority of such officers should be women. They should be exclusively deputed for the purpose. It was equally important to cover all the districts at the earliest for the better implementation of the Act. The Committee would like a status note on the appointment of Protection Officers dealing with Domestic Violence Act for its consideration.
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) 8.225 Allocation of Rs. 12.00 crores for the year 2007-08 could not be utilized. The Committee did not know the reason for nil utilization. The Committee was happy to find two and a half time hike in the allocation for the RMK in 2008-09. It, however, felt concerned at nil expenditure in 2007-08. Normally, the demand for more funds was based on the utilization trends of available funds. The Committee therefore, emphasized on the optimum use of funds and resources for the successful implementation of the scheme.
Swadhar 8.226 The Committee noted underutilization of funds, only exception being in the year 2005-06 when there was an excess expenditure. It was due to opening of new /Swadhar Shelter Homes and Women Helplines and continuance of existing homes. In 2007-08, against an allocation of Rs. 15.00 crore, expenditure reported upto 31.01.2008 was nil. However, as per the latest information, Rs. 10.91 crore had been spent as on 14.03.2008. The Committee was unable to understand the reason for this sudden spurt in the expenditure within one and half months. The Committee would like the Ministry to furnish a note on the targets achieved and money disbursed between 1st February to 14th March, 2008 under the scheme alongwith the problems, if any faced, in the achievement of set targets. The Committee urged the Ministry to ensure optimum utilization of funds and accomplishment of targets fixed lest the whole purpose of the Scheme may get defeated.
National Commission for Women 8.227 The Committee was unable to understand the reason behind the increasing pendency of cases. It must have further gone up in 2007. It was very surprising that cases were pending since 2005. There may be 133 many more even prior to this. NCW have got to simplify procedure with a view to remove bottlenecks, if any, and reducing delays in the final disposal of cases. Justice delayed is justice denied and therefore, all efforts/ measures should be taken to clear off pending complaints so as to bring relief to the aggrieved women. 8.228 The Committee would like to know as to when were the Annual reports for the year 2004-05 and 2005-06 circulated to the concerned Ministries/Departments and what is the status of the ATRs thereon. The Committee would also like to be apprised about the status of the Annual Report of NCW for 2006-07. The Committee emphasized on greater co-ordination between Ministries/Departments to ensure timely submission of the Annual Report to the Parliament. Proper co-ordination and networking amongst the Departments/ Ministries would ensure timely justice to the aggrieved women. 8.229 The Committee was of the view that the members and Chairpersons of the Women Commissions had to perform a plethora of tasks like redressal of complaints, recording statements, taking necessary action for relief of aggrived women, advising them etc. The Committee, therefore, believed that they require specialized training for handling these multifarious jobs that were mainly juridical and legal in nature. The Committee was of the opinion that this would help in efficient functioning and timely and proper disposal of cases. Role of NGOs 8.230 There were complaints of misappropriation of funds, and new NGOs had been blacklisted. These blacklisted NGOs sometime manipulated to seek funds and continue draining the nation kitty. Mere blacklisting would not suffice. The Committee would like the Ministry to initiate criminal proceedings against erring NGO as a strong deterrent in the future. The Ministry should include the follow up of this recommendation in the Action Taken Replies. Conclusion 8.231 The Committee during the general review of the Scheme implemented by the Ministry had noted that there had been under utilization of funds inrespect of many of the schemes of the Ministry. The Committee was aware that most of the Schemes of the Ministry were being implemented by State Governments and other local agencies including NGOs but this could not be the only reason. Under utilization of funds could also be due to many other reasons ranging from lack of vision, direction and ideas. Lack of will to execute the Schemes could not be ruled out. The Committee believed that utilization of funds should not necessarily be wasteful or hurried — it should be spent fairly as well as evenly through out the year with a closer and stricter monitoring. The Committee strongly emphasized the need for ensuring that funds were utilized in a proper, smooth and productive manner. This would also pave way for more realistic projections and achievement of targets. There was a need to evolve a delivery mechanism with no bottlenecks and other problems being encountered in the existing system. (e) 210th Report Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Implementation of SSA in Puducherry 8.232 The Committee was informed that the Gross Enrolement Ratio (GER) at primary level decreased to 101% during 2006-07 which was 107.02% in 2005-06. However, there had been an improvement in GER at upper primary level which was 99.7% in 2006-07 in comparison to 97.37% in 2005-06. The number of out of school children had increased from 1724 children during 2005-06 to 2673 children during 2006-07. Also, the drop out rate at primary level increased from 4.35% during 2005-06 to 4.43% during 2006-07. The Committee found these developments worrisome and it recommended to the Department and the UT Administration to take corrective measures urgently. 8.233 Committee's attention was drawn by the unsatisfactory level of education indicators specially in respect of the district of Yanam. The Committee noted that Yanam had a very high drop-out rate of 17.33%. The district also suffered from a low GER of 80.2% at primary level. In Committee's opinion, such a high level of drop- out rate against quite a low GER called for corrective measures without any delay. The Committee, accordingly, recommended to the UT Administration to take sincere steps to improve the situation in Yanam. There was an urgent need to identify specific problem areas in relation to Yanam followed by appropriate action. 134
8.234 The Committee noted that Puducherry was one of the few States/UTs which had failed to fully realize the benefit of Alternative Schooling mode under SSA. In fact, the Committee had pointed out this fact in its 201st Report wherein it had observed that against a target of bringing 1724 children in Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) fold, only 94 children (5.45% of the target fixed) could actually be covered till 31st March, 2007. Also, during 2007-08, against the physical target of 2673 children under EGS/AIE scheme, the Achievement level at the time of Committee's visit in January, 2008 was nil. The Committee was unhappy over the lackadaisical approach of the UT Administration, particularly when the drop-out rate and Gross Enrolement Ratio (GER) were becoming adverse. The Committee hoped that the UT Administration would take necessary steps to ensure that all the components under SSA were optimally implemented so as to ensure maximum coverage of children in the UT thereunder. 8.235 The Committee was informed that besides other initiatives like providing aids and appliances and giving financial assistance, home based care and teaching were being given to 92 mentally retarded students. The Committee appreciated such steps being taken for CWSN, especially mentally retarded students. However, the Committee failed to meet any teacher/volunteer given specialized training for taking care of the educational needs of such children during its study visit. The Committee hoped that the UT Administration must have organised specialized training programmes for teachers of CWSN. 8.236 The Committee noted that against a physical target of 2701 CWSN to be covered under the Scheme of Integrated Education for Disabled during 2007-08, only 948 CWSN could be covered till the 9th January, 2008. Committee's attention had been drawn by the physical targets remaining under-achieved under this vital component during the previous three years also. The Committee found this unacceptable and recommends that the UT Administration should make all efforts for enclusion of all the identified CWSN and not repeat the past performance of under-achieving the physical targets. Necessary funds for the purpose may be provided. 8.237 The Committee found that this dismal trend had continued in 2007-08 also with only four school buildings being completed against a target of ten school buildings. The Commitee was at a loss to comprehend the factors responsible for such an approach of the UT Administration. In fact, due to such a tardy progress in civil works, the Project Approval Board did not agree to any fresh civil works for the UT of Puducherry for the year 2007-08. The Committee also found that pace of other civil works like construction of toilets, drinking water facilitis, Block Resoruce Centres (BRCs) and Cluster Resource Centres (CRCs) had also been discouraging. The Committee was all the more disturbed by the fact that inspite of funds being duly allocated all these years, UT Adminsitration had simply failed to take benefit of the same. The Committee would like both the Department and the UT Administration to take corrective measures so as to ensure removal of all the problem areas. Obviously, it was high time to focus on the quality of education under SSA. The civil works could not be allowed to linger on indefinitely simply because good infrastructure was a pre-condition for retention of students and quality education. 8.238 The Committee noted that against a financial target of Rs. 79.78 lakhs during 2004-05, the actual expenditure was a mere Rs. 8.85 lakhs; in 2005-06 only Rs. 15.18 lakhs were spent against an allocation of Rs. 75.87 lakhs and in 2006-07 against an allocation of Rs. 73.52 lakhs, only Rs. 9.97 lakhs could be spent. The situation continued to be discouraging as against an allocation of Rs. 67.98 lakhs during 2007-08 only Rs. 4.57 lakhs could be spent as on 09.01.2008. The Committee was perturbed to note that the position seemed to have deteriorated further during the last two years as against a target of 5061 and 4807 teachers to be trained in 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively, only 1467 and 520 (upto 9th January, 2008) could be trained. The Committee strongly felt that neglect of teachers' training may have adversely affected the quality of education in the UT of Puducherry. The Committee desired to underline the fact that education without quality would not serve any purpose. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the UT Administration should take corrective measurs so that the targets fixed under Teachers' Training were fully achieved. 8.239 The Committee observed that although the survey conducted by the Puducherry University was only a sample study, it gave a fair idea about the practical problem areas evident at the ground level. The Committee hoped that required follow-up action must have been taken by the concerned authorities both at the UT and Central level by now. The Committee would like to be apprised about the same. The aforesaid assessment pertained to the first half of the year 2007-08. The Committee hoped that the report about the second half of the year 2007-08 must have been received by now. Committee's apprehensions had arisen because as per the details available with the Committee, similar assessment for the second half of the year 2006-07 seemed to not 135 been conducted. The Committee could only emphasise that the very purpose of monitoring of SSA programme by independent institutions would be defeated if any missing links/gaps were there.
Allocations under SSA 8.240 The Committee was happy to note that the UT Administration had been regularly providing its share for the SSA after not having done so in the initial years. What however worried the Committee was the trend of utilisation of the allocations so far. While the allocations had been rising over the years, actual expenditure incurred had been far from satisfactory. The Committee, therefore, urged both the Centre and the UT Administration to work towards optimum and judicious utilisation of allocated funds within the stipulated time period in future.
Civil Works 8.241 The Committee further noted that the Department had no clue whatsoever about the progress in respect of the civil works. As per the Department, not a single civil work had been undertaken by the UT Administration till January, 2008. This was a matter of serious concern for the Committee. The Committee felt that such a situation was a proof enough to conclude that the monitoring mechanism that the Centre had supposedly put in place to take stock of the progress being made by the UTs had failed miserably in Lakshadweep. This was also indicative of the fact that there was absolutely no coordination between the Centre and the UT in the implementation of such an important Programme. Feeling disturbed over the present state of affairs, the Committee recommended to the Department to urgently review its procedures in the matter. The Committee felt that the pace of construction of civil works as per the requirements of SSA Programme needed to be speeded up at the earliest.
Enrolment/Out of School Children 8.242 The Committee welcomed the initiative taken by the UT Administration to achieve cent percent enrolment as envisaged under the SSA. It hoped that the UT Administration would be able to achieve this target well within the stipulated time.
Teachers appointment/training 8.243 The Committee was informed that the Project Approval Board had sanctioned eight posts of primary school teachers during 2007-08. However, only four teachers could be appointed. The Committee was given to underdstand that the remaining posts could not be filled up for want of opening the newly sanctioned schools. Such a situation concerned the Committee as in its opinion, mere sanctioning of civil works and the requisite infrastructure would lead to nowhere as long as these were not completed in time. The Committee strongly recommended that the implementation/performance level under SSA in the UT needed to be speeded up with the required support and strict monitoring by the Department. 8.244 The Committee noted that the UT was way behind its target of training of 620 teachers even in the last quarter of 2007-08. 55 per cent of the target group of 620 teachers i.e. 331 teachers had not being given any form of training. The remaining 45 per cent of the teachers had also only been imparted a shorter version of the training in place of the mandatory 20 days training as is required under SSA. This surely did not augur well with the implementation of SSA in Lakshadweep and there was an urgent need on the part of both the Centre and the UT Administration to ensure that this target was achieved a reasonable period of time.
Children with Special Needs 8.245 The Committee noted that 349 children had been identified as disabled in the Union Territory. It was however disheartening to know that the degree of disability of these children could not be assessed for want of specialist doctors. Accordingly, aids and appliances required by these children could also not be supplied. The Committee had time and again been stressing on the need of developing a holistic approach to this sensitive matter. The Committee felt that the Department and the UT Administration should urgently look into the matter to ensure that all such impediments were removed/taken care of. This would facilitate the inducting of such special children into the mainstream within the shortest possible time. 136
Innovative Activities 8.246 The Committee welcomed these initiatives. The Committee felt that these initiatives would surely boost the performance/implementation of SSA in the UT. The Committee would appreciate if all possible support/assistance in this regard was extended by the Department to the UT Administration.
Community Mobilisation 8.247 As per the UT Administration, Village Education Committees (VEC) and School Management Committees (SCM) had been formed in all the islands. Community awareness programmes were also being conducted in all islands by the Block Resource Centre/Cluster Resource Centre Co-ordinators of SSA. The Committee, however, during its interaction with the UT Administration officials found that the role of VEC/SCM in the management/formulation of the development plans needed to be strengthened. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Department and the UT Administration to jointly look into this aspect and see to it that the involvement of the VECs and SCMs was appropriately enhanced. 8.248 The Committee observed that 41 National Social Science Institutions had been attached to all States/UTs to make independent and regular field visits for monitoring the performance of SSA. The Committee was, however, surprised to note that although the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum had been given this responsibility in respect of Lakshadweep, no such survey seems to have been conducted so far. The Committee would like to emphasise that such independent surveys/studies were very much required, specially in the case of States/UTs located away from the main land. The Committee would appreciate if immediate steps were taken in this regard.
Implementation of SSA in Daman and Diu
Allocation for SSA 8.249 The Committee was not at all impressed with the trend of utilisation of the funds by the UT Administration. Year-wise allocation of funds and utilisation thereof revealed a very dismal scenario. The Committee found that although funds had been earmarked every year by the Project Approval Board, utilisation thereof has simply not taken off. Availability of Opening Balance year after year had led to a situation that at the beginning of 2007-08 with an amount of Rs. 207.14 lakhs being carried forward from the previous year, there was no allocation either from the Government of India or from the UT Administration. What was more disturbing for the Committee was that as on the 31st January, 2008, i.e. in the last quarter of 2007-08, with nil allocation, only one-fourth opening balance of Rs. 207.14 lakhs amounting to Rs. 56.02 lakhs could be utilised. Estimated utilisation of the remaining balance in the last two months of the year compels the Committee to conclude that benefits of this Flagship Programme of the Government had simply not reached this island territory of the country.
Civil works 8.250 The Committee noted that except the component of Additional Classrooms (UPS) and Boundary Wall (PS), performance level remained nil. The Committee wondered how in the last two months of the year, physical and financial targets could be estimated to be achieved. The Committee strongly felt that there were serious bottlenecks which were coming in the way of successful implementation of SSA in the UT. The Committee was of the firm view that urgent steps were required to be taken so as to ensure that the targeted children did not continue to remain deprived of this major programme. One must not forget that the goal of universalisation of education could not be achieved without proper basic infrastructural support.
Enrolment/Out of School Children 8.251 The Committee welcomed the efforts being made by the UT Administration to bring all children to school. It hoped that the UT Administration would be successful in bringing all the 90 children who were still left out under the AIE Centres. The Committee cautioned the UT Administration that the number of Out of School Children might have gone up since the last identification had been carried out. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the UT Administration to carry out such identification/surveys on a more regular basis. A mechanism to keep track of migratory population should also be evolved so as to have a clear assessment of the impact of the SSA mission in the UT. 137
Teachers' appointment/training 8.252 The Committee was, however, surprised to note that details made available to the Committee by the Department indicated a very different position. Against a target of inservice/new recruit training for 509 teachers during 2007-08, not a single teacher had been trained upto 31st January, 2008. The Committee was not happy with the apparent communication gap between the Department and the UT Administration. The Department being not aware about the UT Administration exceeding the physical targets under the Teacher Training component seemed to be unjustifiable to the Committee. The Committee could only conclude that before furnishing the details to the Committee, no attempt was made to cross-check the latest position with the UT Administration. The Committee would appreciate if such misleading projections are avoided in future. 8.253 It was envisaged to provide school grant to 79 schools and maintenance grant to 76 schools during 2007-08. Here also, performance level upto the 31st January, 2008 was less than 50 per cent achievement level. The Committee wondered as to what could be the impediments in the release of funds to schools. Status of allocated grants could be well imagined.
Children with Special Needs 8.254 The Committee was not aware as to when these health camps were conducted. Notwithstanding this, the Committee urged the UT Administration to ensure that all these 77 children were extended every possible support/help as per provisions of SSA so as to ensure that they too could reap the benefits of education as was envisaged under the Programme.
Computer Education 8.255 The Committee felt that the importance of computer education in today's world could hardly be overemphasized. It, therefore, strongly recommended to the Department to extend all possible help/support to the UT Administration in this direction. 8.256 The Committee felt that the above findings of the monitoring team about the status of SSA in Daman were self-revealing and confirm that this remote island UT was yet to take the full benefit of SSA. The Committee apprehended that situation would be no different in Diu also. The Committee was not aware as to whether any follow-up action had been taken either by the UT Administration or the Central Government so far on the monitoring report. Progress details of 2007-08 did not give much hope to the Committee. The Committee could only emphasise the fact that special focus had to be there on the remote/cut off areas of the country. Only then, it could be said that SSA was being implemented in the real spirit.
Implementation of SSA in Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Allocation under SSA 8.257 The Committee founds that although funds as per the requirements of different components under SSA had been duly approved by the Project Approval Board from 2003-04 onwards, the UT Administration had simply failed to take the benefit of the same. As a result, Opening Balance was available every year at the beginning, compelling the Department not to release any funds from 2004-05 to 2006-07. It was only in the last three years that the UT Administration was able to utilise the allocated funds but again not the entire allocation. The fact remained that things were not moving in accordance with the schematic pattern duly approved by the Project Approval Board. 8.258 The Committee was also informed that for 2007-08 upto February, 2008, against 65% central share of Rs. 516.34 lakhs, only Rs. 145.65 lakhs and against 35% of UT share of Rs. 278.03 lakhs, only Rs. 40.00 lakhs had been released. The above details clearly indicated that some of the very vital components like Integrated Education for Children, Research and Evaluation, VEC training, Innovative Project, EGS/AIE Centres and Free Text-Books continued to remain on paper with no activity emerging so far. In the opinion of the Committee, this was indeed a dismal scenario which needed to be tackled without any further delay. The Department had to play a pro-active role, inspite of there being constraints. The Committee would like to be apprised about the follow- up action taken in this regard. 138
Civil works 8.259 The Committee was, however, surprised to observe that the details about two components as given by the Department indicated quite a different position. As per the Department, out of the target of 314 additional classrooms, only 96 classrooms had been completed with work on 147 classrooms being in progress. Similarly, against 40 new primary schools to be opened, work on only 10 schools had been completed with construction of 24 schools going on. These variations between the details given by the Department and UT Administration confirmed Committee's apprehensions of there being total lack of co-ordination between the two authorities. The elaborate mechanism did not seem to be active in the UT where the need was the most. The Committee would like to understand the factors responsible for such a situation. 8.260 The Committee took note of the above projections made by the UT Administration. The Committee was, however, apprehensive about the outcome of such a massive project. This concern of the Committee stemmed from the fact that the UT Administration had been unable to utilise the allocations under the Repair and Maintenance head on several occasions. Funds allocated under this head during the year 2005-06 and 2007-08 have remained unutilised. The Committee also failed to understand as to why the UT Administration decided in favour of allowing the Repair and Maintenance work to accumulate over the years when funds for this purpose was being provided to it on a regular basis. Besides this, there seemed to be a mismach between the projections made by the UT Administration and status of two components of Drinking Water and Toilet facilities made available by the Department. The Committee had been informed by the Department that against a target of 91 drinking water facilities, work had been completed only on 4 with 30 works being in progress. Similarly, out of 47 toilets targeted to be completed, only 5 had been completed with 42 being constructed. Projection of Rs. 12.25 lakhs and Rs. 261.00 lakhs for drinking water and toilet facilities respectively given by UT Administration did not tally with the details given by the Department. It seemed that the UT Administration and the Department were not working together. The Committee took a serious view of this. The Committee would like both the Department and the UT administration to comment on this.
Teacher recruitment 8.261 The Committee would appreciate if a Status Note giving the details of methodology adopted for recruitment of teachers in 2006 and complaints received/discrepancies noticed, if any, and follow-up action thereon was submitted to it. 8.262 A demand was also put forth to the Committee by the UT Administration officials regarding the release of the funds under the Teachers Salary head. It was requested that funds under this head may be released in two instalments—the first at the beginning of the year and the remaining 50 per cent as the next instalment afterwards. The Committee learnt that a request in this regard was pending with the Department. It was also requested that the funds being provided under SSA need to be enhanced and the Department should consider their request favourably. The Committee would like the Department to comment on the viability or otherwise on the above-mentioned demands.
Enrolment/Out of School Children 8.263 The Committee was further informed that the drop-out rate in primary schools in the UT has shown an appreciable decreasing trend from 11 per cent in 2003-04 to 8 per cent in 2004-05 followed by 5 per cent in 2005-06 and 2.74 per cent in 2006-07. Committee's attention had also been drawn by the drop-out rate of 5 per cent in primary schools as intimated by the Department in their Status Note. The Committee further noted that this variation in data was also evident in the upper primary schools. Against a drop-out rate of 11.16 per cent given by the UT Administration, higher drop-out rate of 13 per cent had been indicated by the Department. The Committee was perturbed to note that this variation in data was reflected in the number of schools and teachers and Pupil Teacher Ratio also. The Committee was not happy with such a situation. This clearly showed lack of co-ordination between the nodal Department and implementing authorities at the ground level. The Committee would appreciate minute cross-checking of statistical data by the Department for the simple reason that all the planning and implementation parameters were based on such data only. The Committee also felt that the drop- out rate was still on the higher side in the upper primary stage and needed to be brought down significantly. The Committee hoped that the Department as well as the UT Administration would work in tandem so as to ensure universalization of education as envisaged under SSA. 139
8.264 The Committee took note of the efforts currently being made by the UT Administration to reduce the number of drop-outs/Out of School children in the UT. The Committee believed that the initiatives as outlined above would go a long way in achieving this goal if taken with due caution and diligence. It would appreciate if all possible support/assistance to the UT Administration in the implementation of the initiatives was provided by the Department. The Committee was also of the view that the issue of drastic reduction in GER in upper primary schools when compared with GER in primary schools needed to be examined and followed by corrective measures. If need be, strength of upper primary classes/schools may be increased. The issue of release of funds for the setting up of Social Welfare Hostels in the UT may also be taken up with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs by the Department. 8.265 The Committee observed that specific problem areas reflecting on the practical difficulties and gaps had been pointed out in the Monitoring Report on the implementation of SSA in the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Committee apprehended that no follow-up or corrective measures seemed to have been taken. Had it been so, Status Report presentede before the Committee would have been specific. The Committee was not aware whether there existed any mechanism for review of monitoring reports followed by remedial action.
Implementation of SSA in Andaman and Nicobar Islands 8.266 The Committee would, however, like to point out that UT Administration had to ensure that every child of school going age in the UT was covered under SSA. 8.267 The Committee observed that out of 437 schools located in the UT, number of upper primary schools was only 130 when compared with 307 primary schools. This clearly showed that all the students enrolled in primary schools were not getting the opportunity to pursue their studies further. The Committee viewed this with serious concern, specially in view of drop-out rate of 11.36 per cent. The Committee was of the firm view that urgent steps needed to be taken for setting up of more upper primary schools. Possibility of converting the existing primary schools to upper primary schools could also be explored. 8.268 The Committee observed that the Project Approval Board had been duly approving every year allocation of funds keeping in view all the components envisaged to be covered under SSA in the UT. However, trend of allocation and utilisation of Central and UT funds led one to conclude that the UT set-up did not have the required capacity to make use of earmarked funds. What was more disturbing was that there was no indication of any improvement in the absorption capacity of UT Administration. Analysis of funds allocated and utilisation thereof in 2007-08 confirmed Committee's apprehensions. Against an approval of Rs. 929.18 lakhs by the Project Approval Board, funds released were only Rs. 629.57 lakhs, also including an opening balance of Rs. 241.75 lakhs. At the end of the financial year, utilisation status was only Rs. 261.62 lakhs. In other words, the UT Administration could only spend the opening balance. Quantum of fresh releases did not make any difference. The Committee strongly felt that the situation demanded a close introspection of all conceivable impediments in the judicious and maximum utilisation of funds under SSA by both the Department and the UT Administration. One must not forget that SSA was a programme which had to be implemented in a mission mode for achievement of all its objectives. 8.269 The progress made in the completion of the Civil Works in the Islands presented an alarming picture. The Committee noted that inspite of funds being released every year, the civil works continued to be pending. The UT Administraton had simply failed to spend money on almost all the components of SSA. The gap between the allocated funds and the actual expenditure was quite large particularly in 2007-08. The Committee had been given to understand that under Civil Works expenditure was zero during 2007-08. 8.270 The Committee viewed with serious concern that of total 316 Civil works sanctioned since the inception of SSA in A&N Islands in 2003-04, only 74 works could be completed by the close of 2007-08. This was indeed a very discouraging scenario. The Committee was all the more disturbed by the fact that construction activities in the UT had not suffered due to lack of funds. Funds were always there with flexible norms for further enhancement as per requirement. However, due to very visible lack of communication and co-ordination between the Central authorities and UT Administration, things had been allowed to linger on. The Committee would appreciate if this element of lack of awareness of prescribed procedure and communication gap was permanently removed. Every effort needed to be made for expeditious completion of all civil works. 140
8.271 The Committee observed that SSA was being operated in a mission mode and it was desirable that the officers deputed for implementation of this Programme were given adequate time to study the area specific needed of different components under the Programme so that they could implement the same in a better way. Frequent transfer of officials had negative impacts. It not only demotivated the personnel already on job and familiar with the Programme but even the new incumbent took his own time to understand the intricacies. This led to gap in achievement of targets and ultimately the Programme suffered. It would be appropriate if the officials particularly the State Project Director was not disturbed before completion of his/her tenure. The Ministry should, therefor, urgently take up this matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure completion of tenure of the officers in the Islands. 8.272 Another problem pertaining to the Programme was the appointment/deployment of teachers in the Islands. There were total sixty three teachers under SSA engaged in different schools. The representative of UT Administration clarified that teachers were not being engaged in non-teaching jobs. There was also a shortage of minimum core staff under SSA. The Committee viewed the issue of deployment of teachers quite seriously. The Committee felt that success of any Programme depends on proper deployment of teachers in the field. It hoped that UT Administration would strive hard to utilise the services of teachers optimally. The Committee expected the UT Administration to fill up the vacancies of core staff for better coordination and implementation of the Programme. 8.273 The Committee observed that 41 National Social Science Institutions had been attached to all States/UTs to make independent and regular field visits for monitoring the performance of SSA. The Committee was, however, surprised to note that although the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kolkata had been given this responsibility in respect of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, no such survey seemed to have been conducted so far. The Committee would like to emphasise that such independent surveys/studies were very much required, specially in the case of States/UTs located away from the main land. The Committee suggested that immediate steps must be taken in this regard. 8.274 The Committee found that the problems in the implementation of SSA in Islands were more of administrative nature. There was no dearth of commitment for implementation but for some administrative lacunae, the Programme had not picked up to the desired level. Inspite of its peculiar geographical location and facing vagaries of nature, time had come to capitalise on the advantage of the educational opportunities for children through SSA in the overall development of the society. Being under the control of the Central Government, the UT Administration should have better mode of co-ordination with the Centre. The Committee hoped that the Department as well as the UT officials would maintain better coordination to implement the Programme in letter and spirit.
Implementation of SSA in Chandigarh 8.275 Analysis of GER in respect of boy and girl students revealed some startling facts. GER of 84.43 per cent at primary level for boy students had gone down to 66.23 per cent at the upper primary level. In contrast, GER of 73.82 per cent at primary leve for girl students showed only a marginal decrease at upper primary level i.e. 69.58 per cent. The Committee failed to comprehend such a low level of GER specially when viewed alongwith other UTs. The Committee found the figures of Gross Enrollment Ratio of both primary and upper primary classes to be quite disturbing. It would be very difficult for the Chandigarh UT to make progress with such low level of Gross Enrollment Ratio. In the absence of latest figures, the Committee could only hope that things must have improved by now. The Committee would appriciate if a detailed analysis in this regard was made by the Department in co-ordination with the UT Administration. 8.276 The Committee founds it very strange that the Department was dependent only on the published data available in the public domain. In the era of IT advancement, the nodal Department depending on more than two year old State/UT statistics when the latest figures were already available with the State/UT authorities was not acceptable to the Committee. The Committee would appreciate if such a level of communication gap did not continue any more and both tthe Department and the UT Administration work in close co-ordination. 8.277 The Committee would like to point out that State Plans were approved after undergoing a thorough examination and consultation process. Therefore, funds for State Plans needed to be released timely. Any deviation in this process would only lead to SSA not being implemented as envisaged and its benefits not reaching the targetted beneficiaries. The Committee also strongly felt that Chandigarh having its own special 141 architectural design was a historic fact. Every new construction there had to be as per the special norms only. In Committee's opinion, a viable solution could be to develop one or two models of architectural design, duly approved by the competent authorities. If this was done, procedural delays in undergoing approval process would be eliminated. 8.278 The third problem area brought before the Committee was the quality of education. The Committee noted that as per DISE Report, learning achievement for class V has decreased by 5% from a figure of 41% students achieving>60% in 2006--07 to only 36% in 2007-08. Similarly, achievement survey conducted by NCERT for classes III and V revealed that mean achievements of students in Maths and Languages in class III were below the national average. The Committee viewed this trend with serious concern. With the UT having adopted the revised SSA mode/whereunder every teacher appointed had to be familiar with certain kinds of pedagogy and discipline, thereby directly impacting the quality of education, quality of education going down was beyond the Committee's apprehension. TheCommittee understood that periodic surveys were being conducted by NCERT for monitoring the quality of education under SSA. Annual Review meetings where all States/UTs participate were also being held. The Committee would emphasise that the UT Administration should take all conceivable measures so as to maintain the desired level of qualily of education. 8.279 The Committee was informed that there had been a spurt in migration in the city of Chandigarh with 20,000 children being added every year. As per the 2006-07 Report of the Administration, 315 posts out of 785 sanctioned posts of teachers were lying vacant. The Committee was, however, informed that some teachers under SSA have been recruited in the last two years and presently 40 posts were lying vacant. The Committee was further informed that elaborate process of selection took a long time to fill up the vacancies. The Committee was not convinced with this argument. With there being no ban on recruitment and no dearth of applicants, recritment process taking one year to complete was not a justified proposition in Committee's view. The Committee would like to be apprised about the status of sanctioned posts of teachers, posts lying vacant, details of teachers recruited during the last three years alongwith number of additional posts required under SSA in the UT. 8.280 The Committee observed that 41 National Social Science Institutions had been attached to all States/UTs to make independent and regular field visits for monitoring the performance of SSA. The Committee was, however, surprised to note that although the Punjab University, Chandigarh had been given this responsibility in respect of Chandigarh, no such survey seemed to have been conducted so far. The Committee would like to emphasise that such independent surveys/studies were very much required. The Committee suggested that immediate steps must be taken in this regard.
Implementation of SSA in Delhi 8.281 Committee had also been informed that in a survey of 15 lakhs Households located in the focus areas including JJ Colonies, Resettlement colonies, Slum areas etc. completed in May, 2008, approximately 45,000 out of school children in the age group of 11-14 years had been identified. The Committee observed that inclusion of all such out of school children alongwith retention of children already in school was indeed a massive exercise. This became all the more cumbersome with the school education set-up in Delhi being looked after by three authorities i.e., Delhi Govt., MCD and NDMC. The Committee noted that out of tota (both Govt. and Private) 3594 schools in the capital, there were 2421 primary schools and 1173 upper primary schools. Out of 2401 Govt. Schools, 1712 were primary schools (1279 MCD+ 367 DoE + 60 NDMC +6) and 689 were upper primary schools (650 DoE + NDMC +6 DCB). The Committee strongly felt that for achievement of goals set under SSA, active co-ordination among all the implementing agencies was very essential. Sustainable efforts needed to be persistently made by all concerned so as to ensure enrolment of all eligible children, alongwith decrease in the drop-out rate. 8.282 The Committee found that the enrolment of SCs in Delhi was only 10.4 per cent against a population of 16.09 per cent and similar position held good in respect of minorities. The Education Secretary had no clue about the reasons for such how enrolment. She conceded that Union Ministry of HRD and Planning Commission had also alerted Delhi Govt on this account. Delhi Govt, according to her, was collecting child-wise data from all schools to conform the reasons. The efforts were, however, to bring every child to school. The Committee was unhappy to note that Delhi Govt. was not sure of the data about enrolment of children belonging to SCs and minorities, who deserved to be brought to the mainstream through SSA. The Committee strongly felt that 142 the Delhi Govt. needed to reorient its strategy to enroll more and more children belonging to these oppressed classes of society, at least in proportion to their population. 8.283 The Committee observed that alongwith GOI releases of Rs. 9122.68 lakhs, State Govt. had also contributed an amount of Rs. 3328.89 lakhs during this period. Thus, out of total allocation of Rs. 12451.57 lakhs, State Govt. could utilise Rs. 11864.68 lakhs. Not only this, quantum of total release fell much below the approved outlay of Rs. 29,832.62 lakhs. The Committee was of the view that trend of allocation of funds and utilisation thereof clearly indicated that there still continued to be constraints in the implementation of SSA in Delhi in the real sense. 8.284 The Committee was not fully convinced by the clarification given by the Secretary, Department of Education, Delhi Government. The fact remained that majority of school children in Delhi did not have even the required facilities. Initiatives like provision of Rs. 4 lakhs per school and outsourcing of some services by the Delhi Govt. seemed to concur with the ground realities placed by the NGOs before the Supreme Court. 8.285 The Committee would also like to point out that there were as many as 1279 primary schools run by MCD out of total 1712 Govt. Schools covered under SSA. With the Delhi Govt. not having the responsibility of MCD, it became all the more crucial for the Department to play a more pro-active role. The Committee also strongly felt that at the ground level, all the implementing agencies needed to work in harmony and close co- ordination in the implementation of programmes like SSA in mission mode. 8.286 The Committee opined that vacancies of teachers to such a large extent did not augur well. This must be adversely affecting the education system directly. The Committee hoped that the Delhi Administration would accord due priority to filling up of vacant posts and honour its own commitment well before the commencement of new academic session. 8.287 The Committee was not fully convinced by the justificaton given by the Secretary. The Committee would like to point out that Class V achievement level has gone down in mid-term survey to 67.32 in Language, 45.33 in Maths and 49.51 in EVS. The Committee felt that there was no monitoring of the quality of the training programmes for teachers. it was understood that opinion of individual trainee teachers was seldom taken. Teachers were the backbone of our education system. They play a pivotal role in shaping the future of student community. They needed to be exposed to the latest teaching techniques and therefore periodical training programmes should be arranged for them. Any laxity on that account would weaken our education system. The NCT Delhi Administration needed to strengthen its monitoring of the quality of teachers training otherwise the very objective of universalisation of education would be defeated. 8.288 The Committee found that no details about implementation status of SSA in MCD and NDMC schools in Delhi had been placed before it by the Department. The Committee was thus not in a position to make a real assessment of the impact of the Flagship Programme of SSA in the capital of the country. The Committee would appreciate if a Status Note giving complete details about MCD and NDMC schools was made available to it at the earliest. 8.289 The above problem areas highlighted in the sample study of some schools in East and South Delhi gave a clear picture about the status of implementation of SSA at the ground level in the NCT of Delhi. The Committee felt that position would be more or less similar in the remaining seven districts of NCT of Delhi. The Committee was not aware about the follow-up action, if any, taken on the above study. The committee strongly felt that these reports by reputed Monitoring Institutes followed by corrective measures would go a long way in the successful implementation of SSA. The Committee would like to be apprised about the action taken by the Delhi Govt. on the aforesaid study report.
National Programme of Mid-Day Meals in Schools (MDM Scheme)
Implementation of MDM Scheme in Puducherry 8.290 The concept of Central Kitchens, the Committee noted, was something unique in Puducherry. The Committee in its visits to these kitchens observed that cooking was being managed in a better and professional manner. What further impressed the Committee was the fact that by engaging such Centralized Kitchens for preparing the food, the UT had saved itself from the hassles being faced by the other States/UTs in the implementation of the scheme at the ground level. This exercise had also no doubt saved the UT Administration 143 of the cost of engaging individual cooks for every school in the UT. the engagement of Co-operative Societies and SHGs in the preparation and distribution of mid-da meal made the entire process very transparent. Besides highlighting the management skills of UT Administration, it also promoted the causeof Co-operative Societies and SHGs indirectly. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Department to examine the viability of having similar arrangements in other States/UTs and prepare appropriate guidelines in this regard. 8.291 The Committee appreciated the additional inputs through which the UT Administration had substantiated the MDM Scheme. The Committee was inclined to agree with the assessment of the UT Administration that provision of mid-day meal comprising of variety of food items of nutritious value prepared in hygienic conditions by professionals had led to a positive impact on both student enrolment and their retention. It was also indirectly improving the health of students and contributing to gender equality. It only hoped that the example set by the UT encourages the other States/UTs to come forward in a similar way so as to see to it that the objectives of the Scheme were achieved within the shortest possible time. 8.292 The Committee welcomed these innovative schemes and wished the UT Administration the very best in its endeavour to provide nutritional support to all school-going children in the UT. The Committee would appreciate if the methodology of implementation of MDM Scheme intiated by the UT Administration alongwith various UT level additions was brought before all the States/UTs as a case study by the Department. The Committee firmly believed that quite a few States/UTs would come forward for adoption of innovative measures of UT of Puducherry in their set-ups.
Implementation of MDM Scheme in Lakshadweep 8.293 The Committee during its visits to the schools found that proper cooking facilities were missing in many places. In many schools, the Committee also noted that the quality of food and hygiene etc. were not up to the mark. The Committee would appreciate if corrective measures in this regard are taken by the UT Administration without any further delay. The Department may also pursue this matter at its end, so that such lacunae in the implementation of the scheme were not allowed to recur in the future. 8.294 The Committee was given to understand by the Department that out of 157.92 MTs of foodgrains allotted to the UT in 2007-08, lifting had been nil till the Committee visited the UT in February, 2008. This was, however, contested by the UT Administration. The UT Administration officials stated that the figures given by the Department were not updated and that they had in fact lifted a part of the allocations made to them under the scheme. The lifting was, however, slow. The Committee felt disturbed by the ground realities. The Department not being aware of the latest details of the implementation of the scheme in the UT points to the fact that there was lack of coordination between the various agencies involved in the implementation process. This was not acceptable to the Committee. The Committee feared that if this was the case with a UT, the state of afairs in the other States which did not come under the direct control of the Centre would be even worse. The Committee, therefore, called upon the Department to immediately put its act together and see to it that such loopholes were plugged once for all. 8.295 On enquiring about the slow pace of lifting of foodgrains, the UT Administration officials apprised the Committee of the fact that there was no Food Corporation of India godown in Lakshadweep. The foodgrains allotted to the UT were required to be lifted all the way from Mangalore in Karnataka. This was proving to be the main hindrance in lifting of the foodgrains as it was not always possible to get the foodgrains via the sea route due to various reasons like topographical and geographical constraints of the Islands, bad climate, rough sea, etc. Moreover, the transportation cost was also very high and was not being adequately compensated by the subsidy provided for this purpose by the Department. These constraints had resulted in the slow lifting of the foodgrains under the scheme. The Committee believed that the problem being faced by the UT was genuine and must, therefore, be given a favourable consideration by the Department. The matter needed to be resolved in a feasible and appropriate manner without any further delay. 8.296 The Committee was given to understand that the Lakshadweep Administration on its part had made every possible effort to get a godown in one of its Islands. The UT Administration had taken up the matter with the Ministry of Food & Civil Supplies. They had even offered land for the construction of the godown. Attempts to offer a godown on lease to the Union Ministry of Food & Civil Supplies were also made. However, nothing was found acceptable by that Ministry. The Committee shared the concern of the UT Administration and desires that the Department may take up this issue with the Ministry of Food & Civil Supplies for necessary redressal. 144
8.297 Another point that came up for discussion was regarding the inadequacy of the quantity of foodgrains being supplied to the UT under the Scheme. The UT officials argued that since there was no foodgrains production in the entire UT, they should be given some additional allocatins under the scheme. The Committee was also informed that the quality of the foodgrains supplied was also not always very good. On many occasions, foodgrains could not be lifeted as they were not found to be fit for consumption. The Committee was not aware as to whether this issue was brought to the notice of the Department earlier. The Coomittee would appreciate if the request made by the UT Administration was considered favourably by the Department. 8.298 The Committee strongly felt that such research projects were necessary for finding a solution to the shortage of potable water in the UT. Such an exercise would in fact prove beneficial for the inhabitants of the Islands as a whole. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the Department may take up this matter with the appropriate authorities at the Centre so as to at least ensure that such research projects did not die out due to lack of funds and reach a logical end. The Committee believed that the UT, given its typical geographical and topographical constraints, had to gear itself up to face the challenges that were unique to the Islands. The Department had to also come forward with every possible support if such a noble scheme was to be implemented in the right earnest.
Implementation of MDM Scheme in Daman & Diu 8.299 The Committee noted that out of Rs. 83 lakhs allocated from the UT Budget for 2007-08, expenditure reported was Rs. 63.13 lakhs which was utilized for purchase of ingredients required for Mid-Day Meals. The Committee, however, found that the position was entirely different in respect of Centrel Funds. Out of Rs. 44.16 lakhs provided as cooking cost (Rs. 1.50 per child/day) for 209 days, utilization reported at the time of Committee's visit was nil, reason being that funds were released only in December, 2007. The Committee was also disturbed to note that out of 294.38 MT foodgrains allocated by the Centre, only 49.50 per cent could be lifted by 31st December, 2007. Another factor which needed serious consideration was that inspite of under-utilisation of both foodgrains and financial release, number of children being covered is 16,790 as against targeted number of 14,085 children. The Committee strongly felt that there was mismatch in the figures placed before it. The Committee would appreciate if actual status of the Mid-Day Meal Programme in the UT was placed before it. 8.300 The Committee would like to point out that MDM Scheme had an in-built component of providing assistance to construct Kitchen-cum-stores in a phased manner upto a maximum of Rs. 60,000 per unit. The Committee strongly felt that benefit of this component needed to be taken wherever proper arrangement for cooking meals was not there. Out of 82 Schools, only 35 Schools having such a facility called for an urgent action. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department and the UT Administration needed to sit together and sort out the problem at the earliest. A proposal to provide the required kitchen sheds to all the schools in the UT within a reasonable period of time may be worked out and follow-up action taken thereon. 8.301 The Committee favoured the demands of the UT Administration regarding enhanced allocation and cooking costs and recommended to the Department to consider them favourably. The Committee was also of the opinion that an objective assessment of the demands by the representatives of cooks/helpers may also be made by the UT Administration in consultation with the Department and necessary action taken thereon.
Implementation of MDM Scheme in Dadra & Nagar Haveli 8.302 On enquiring about the reasons for the difference between the achievements and the targets set, it had been stated that the achievement level had been based on the average attendeance of the students. Further, students from the urban areas had the tendency of taking meals at home. There were also some students who did not take the meal due to religious reasons. The Committee could understand a few students not taking the meal for various reasons. The variation in the target figures and their achievements, however, appeared to be very large. Further, it also had doubts about the figures qoted under the Upper Primary Classes for 2007-08. When the fund utilisation had been nil, where from have these children been provided the meals? The Committee would appreciate if the Department could clear the confusion in the matter. 8.303 The Committee also found that the lifting of foodgrains had been extremely low in the year 2007-08. Against an allocation of 780.47 MTs, only 51.00 MTs i.e., 7 per cent of the allocation had been lifted by the UT till December, 2007. During 2005-06 also, only 43 per cent of the allocation was lifted by the UT. This was in fact 145 a very poor show on the part of the UT Administration. The Committee could only conclude that the MDM Scheme was not being implemented as envisaged. 8.304 The UT Administration had engaged 215 Cooks and 235 Helpers to prepare the meals. These Cooks and Helpers were paid on the basis of half-day daily wage rates of Rs. 57.50 and Rs. 51.00 respectively. During its interaction with these cooks/helpers, the Comittee was requested to consider enhancing the remuneration being paid to them. The Committee, as it had stated in respect of the other UTs, would like the Department and the UT Administration to favourable consider the request. 8.305 The Committee observed that details of food being served to the students indicated that there was no variety. It seemed only rice, dal and some vegetable with two bananas/one egg twice a week was being served to the students at present. The Committee understood that on the request of the Administration, wheat had been allocated by the Department from January, 2008. The Committee hoped that the addition of wheat along with rice, the student would be getting more variety and nutrition in the meals being served to them.
Implementation of MDM Scheme in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Funding 8.306 The Committee hoped that from 2008-09, Central Assistance would be extended for coverage of upper primary schools under MDM Scheme without any initial problems emerging simply because it was already well established for the last few years. 8.307 The Committee felt that an alert monitoring set up at school level with the involvement of community was well-established in the UT. However, the Committee was somewhat disturbed to note that UT level Steering- cum-Monitoring Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Education) had not been meeting regularly. As informed by the UT Administration, the last meeting of this Committee was held on the 12th December, 2005. A gap of about two and half years in the holding of meeting at UT level that too in respect of a Flagship Programme could not be considered satisfactory. Such high level Committees were supposed to have an overview of the entire programme so as to ensure that problem areas were removed at the earliest. The Committee had its own doubts about the frequency of meetings of Committees set up at district and zonal level. The Committee was of the view that the nodal Department had to take the initiative for having the feedback about such meeting and proper monitoring. 8.308 The Committee was not inclined to accept the clarification given by the Department that the UT Administration did not keep them informed about the adjustment of expenditure from UT Budget. Similarly, the clarification with regard to procurement of kitchen devices given by the representative of the UT Administration that P&AO had asked for the authority letter from the Ministry of HRD in respect of the kitchen devices procured by them was also not convincing. From the above-mentioned instances, the Committee could only draw the conclusion that communication channel between the Department and the UT Administration was simply not working. The Committee viewed these ground realities with serious concern and would appreciate if both the authorities work in co-ordination. The Department needed to devise a methodology which was free from administrative hassles and cumbersome procedures. 8.309 The Committee was concerned over the issue of unspent balances in respect of cooking cost, MME, construction of kitchen sheds and procurement of kitchen devices. The Committee presumed either work on these components was completed or no work was taking place. The Committee emphasized that the funds released by the Centre should be optimally and judiciously utilised. It, therefore, urged upon the Department to closely coordinate with the UT Administration to ensure timely utilisation of the funds.
Implementation of MDM Scheme in Delhi 8.310 The Committee also noted that number of girl students was higher than boy students. The Committee was not happy with latest data in respect of Delhi not being available with the Department. Such a communication gap that too when both the agencies were located in one place could not be justifiable. It became all the more disturbing when facts were to be placed before a Parliamentary Committee. 146
Financial Management 8.311 On a perusal of the figures furnished by the Delhi Government regarding number of days food was served to the children in a year, there appeared to be a conflicting statement. At one place, the Government informed that during 2007-08, food was served on 190 average days, while the figures have been mentioned as approximately 180 days in the same document. Either of two may be authentic but they both were still below the targeted number of 200 days. Physical as well as financial achievements could vary if there was such notable variance in the data relating to number of days on which mid-day meal was served. The Committee was not satisfied with the reasons for shortfall given by the Delhi Government. It appeared that the Delhi Government was not sure about the correct figures that were to be furnished to the Committee. There appeared to be no monitoring and the Committee was inclined to believe that the children may not have got mid-day meal on a considerable number of days. The Committee also failed to understand as to why the penalty clause for non supply of mid-day meal was not included while finalising the terms and conditions with the service providers. Things seems to have been left at the mercy of the service providers. 8.312 The Committee had noted that while there were 26 suppliers engaged for 482 schools under Delhi covering 1,44,095 beneficiaries, only 11 suppliers were catering to 1,795 schools covering 9,67,594 benefiaciers under MCD schools. While the ratio of number of the suppliers and the schools was 1:18 in respect of GNCT schools, it was 1:163 in MCD schools. How one supplier was catering to 163 MCD schools; the efficacy was doubtful and needed to be reviewed. The Committee would like to have a status note on the criteria for engaging suppliers and quality of food supplied by them. 8.313 The Committee appreciated the monitoring mechanism devised by the State Government in the schools but the ground realities may be different. The fact of nil complaint was indicative that either people may not be aware about such mechanism or the complaints/suggestions were not being recorded properly. The Committee would like the Delhi Administration to create awareness amongst the students and the parents about the availability of such mechanism so that the latest feedback could be obtained for better appraisal of both quality as well as quantity aspects of the Mid-day Meal Scheme. 8.314 During the year 2007-08, the work of third party evaluation and monitoring of Mid-day Meal Scheme in Delhi was entrusted to Lady Irwin college and Institute of Home Economics. The Committee understood that the reports received from these two agencies were under the consideration of Delhi Government. The Committee would like the Delhi Government to share with it the features of these reports and the action taken thereon. 8.315 As per the Action Plan for the year 2008-09, the Delhi Government proposed to take number of steps to ensure 100 per cent utilisation of plan funds for MDM Scheme to achieve target to cooked meal for 200 days. This would further help in ensuring 100 per cent lifting of food grains from FCI. This according to the Committee indicated that there was under utilisation of funds under the MDM Scheme and that was why the status in terms of lifting of food grains had been discouraging. 8.316 The Committee noted that the Department was already seized of the entire issue of supply of foodgrains under the MDM Scheme in Delhi to the contractors and percentage of wastage involved. The Committee would like to know the exact reasons for the wastage and hoped that the information sought for in this regard for the last three years would be made available to it at the earliest. The Committee found that as a matter of precaution, this issue had been taken up with other UTs also. The Committee was of the view that such an action was required to be taken so as to ensure that maximum benefit reaches the targetted beneficiaries. 8.317 The Committee was not inclined to believe Delhi Government's claim about 100 per cent coverage of students. Percentage of utilisation of cooking cost vis-a-vis food grains did not tally with each other. There was an apparent gap in the attempt to fulfil the targets. This could be attributed to some short of slackness in monitoring. The Committee appreciated that the assessment exercise of the Department had surfaced certain loopholes in implementation at the ground level. The Committee would like the Department to carry similar assessment in other States/UTs for better appraisal of the problem areas so that remedial measures could be taken in the implementation of the scheme. 147
Implementation of MDM Scheme in Chandigarh 8.318 The Committee, however, observed that number of children to be covered under the scheme during 2008-09 as approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) indicated a somewhat different position. Number of students of Government and Government Aided schools as per the PAB figures for 2008-09 were 79,902 and for AIE Centres were 5261 which were less than the projection made by the Chandigarh Administration. The Committee was not happy with the discrepancies in the data being placed before it. Such a situation only compelled the Committee to conclude that UT Administration was not aware about the details of PAB approvals. If that be so, this communication gap could not be appreciated by the Committee.
Programme Management 8.319 The Committee shared the concerns of CAG and would like the UT Administration to allow the institutes to focus on their primary responsibility. As the Committee had been informed that NGOs and Self Help Groups were being involved in cooking of meals, the efforts in this direction needed to be intensified. The Committee had also been infored by the UT Administration that 50 per cent of the students of class I to III generally did not consume the prescribed quantity. This aspect also needed to be kept in view when going for a change in the hiring of agencies for preparation of mid-day meals. The Committee was of the view that experience of Puducherry Administration of providing mid day meals through Central Kitchens and involvement of Co-operative Societies/SHGs could also be followed by the Chandigarh Administration, with due adaptations as per their requirements. 8.320 The Committee found that for 2008-09, projection of the total cooking cost of Rs. 828.00 lakhs for 75000 students for 230 days was based on the average cost of Rs. 4.80 per child only. The Committee failed to comprehend the reasons for placing such misleading details before the Committee. This clearly showed that things were not being managed as envisaged under the Scheme. Such lack of co-ordination and communication gap called for serious introspection both at the Centre and UT level. 8.321 The Committee found that the lifting of foodgrains had been far from satisfactory. The Committee doubted that the quantity of meals supplied to the children must be lower than that prescribed under the scheme. 8.322 Committee's attention had been drawn by another discrepancy noticed in respect of allocation and lifting of foodgrains. As per the Status Note given by the Department, against an allocation of 1222.03 MTs for 2007-08, 1137.87 MT foodgrains were lifted (based on the details given by FCI). However the Committee found that UT Administration had informed that out of 1129.29 MTs foodgrains allocated in 2007-08, only 790.82 MTs were lifted. The Committee further noted that an amount of Rs. 46.04 lakhs was released being the cost of foodgrains to FCI for 2007-08. The Committee was deeply disturbed by such glaring discrepancies being noticed by it. The Committee strongly felt that there was a total lack of co- ordination between the Central and UT authorities. Such a communication gap compelled the Committee to conclude that the position would be similar in respect of other years not only for lifting of foodgrains but for other components also. 8.323 The Committee also observed that sanction of transport subsidy of Rs. 4.23 lakhs pertaining to 2007-08 was received by the UT only in April, 2008 and accordingy not allowed by the AG. The matter had since been referred back to the Department for revalidation. The Committee was of the view that overall picture emerging about the status of MDM Scheme in Chandigarh was very unsatisfactory. It seemed that there was a big difference not only between the projections being made by the department and UT Administration but ground realities may also be equally discouraging. The Committee would appreciate if a Status Note on the MDM Scheme touching on all the components was submitted to it at the earliest. 8.324 The Committee understood that the Punjab University was studying the issues concerning dropouts, low academic achievement, irregularity, attendance of students. These issues, the Committee felt could have fair relevance with the status of Mid-day-Meal scheme. It was given to understand that a study report on the scheme had recently been submitted to the UT Administration. The Committee would like to have a copy of the study report. 148
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme
Implementation of ICDS in Puducherry 8.325 The Committee observed that quantum of funds being allocated for Nutrition Supplement by the UT Administration was very high when compared with what was being provided by the Centre. The Committee was happy to note that there was no dearth of funds and UT Administration was committed for nutrition and well-being of its future citizens. 8.326 The Committee was not fully convinced by the clarification given by the UT Administration. The Committee believed that even if the UT Administration was forced to rent premises for the AWCs premises with adequate space could had been selected. Simply renting a premise which did not fully serve the purpose made no sense. The Committee would like the Ministry to see to it that the premises rented for the purpose of running AWCs should fulfill some minimum requirements/specifications before they were declared fit for use. It also called upon the Ministry to sit together with the UT Administration to figure out some viable solution to the problem regarding identification of sites for construction of AWCs in the urban areas. 8.327 Another aspect that drew the attention of the Committee was the fact that the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) of ICDS Project-V was a male person. The Committee was not in favour of gender discrimination. What it however felt in this case was that had the post been held by a woman, the beneficiaries especially the pregnant and lactating mothers would have definitely been in a better position to communicate with her as compared to a male person who was holding the post. The Committee, therefore, called upon the UT Administration to try and ensure that such responsibilities were generally given to women officers in the interest of the scheme. 8.328 The Committee also found that several posts of ICDS functionaries were vacant when it visited the UT in January, 2008. Again, against 32 posts of ICDS Supervisors, only 27 were in position. The Committee urged the UT Administration to ensure that all these vacancies were filled up immediately. Any delay in filling up these posts may adversely affect the project. 8.329 The Committee was informed that the Anganwadi workers in Puducherry region had been imparted a two day orientation programme on Nutrition & Health by the Puducherry Health Mission in August-December, 2007. It was proposed to impart similar training to the workers of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam during February- March, 2008. Further, a proposal to provide training to these workers on Early Childhood Eduction by the SSA Mission, Puducherry was also being considered by the UT Administration. The Committee welcomed these initiative of the UT Administration. It, however, believed that such training sessions should be undertaken on a more regular basis. Regular training could be of great help in imparting new skills to these workers and sustaining their motivation. 8.330 The Committee noted that the AWWs and AWHs, in addition to manning the AWCs were entrusted with additional duties such as identification of old age pensioners, widows, physically challenged persons for pensionary benefits and disbursement of pension amounts and free rice to targeted families, assisting in Integrated Pulse Polio Immunization programmes and issue of Ration Cards. The Committee was informed that due to additional responsibilities, their working hours were equivalent to the full time Govt. staff. The Committee was happy to note that keeping in view their workload and also demands of the Association of these workers, they have been adjusted as regular Women Development Multi-purpose Co-ordinators and Women Development Multi-purpose Helpers in the Puducherry Corporation for Development of Women and Handicapped Persons Ltd. in the time-scale of pay Rs. 3050-4590 and Rs. 2550-3220 respectively.
Implementation of ICDS in Lakshadweep 8.331 The Committee was informed that 8640 beneficiaries comprising children (6 months to 6 years), adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating mothers in the UT were being provided Supplementary Nutirition under ICDS. Non-formal pre-school education was being provided in all the Anganwadi Centres having 2535 pre-school children. There was 100 per cent Immunization coverage of children againt six disease. Pregnant women were also being taken care of. The Committee was happy to note that benefits of all the components envisaged under the ICDS Scheme were being extended to the targetted children and women. 149
8.332 The condition of AWC buildings in the UT concerned the Committee. The reasons forwarded by the UT Administration for renting premises for AWCs appeared to be convincing to the Committee. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Ministry to examine this issue in detail and consider extending some additional financial assistance to the UT in the light of high cost incurred in construction of AWCs. Till then, it urged the UT Administration to ensure that the premises they rent for the AWCs had adequate space for all their activities. 8.333 The UT Administration officials in their evidence before the Committee submitted that though they had 9 Community Development Blocks, there was only one ICDS project with one Child Development Project Officer to look after the implementation of ICDS Scheme in all blocks/islands which were geographically isolated from each other. A proposal submitted by the UT Administration to sanction 8 more ICDS projects, 9 more AWCs and 11 more Mini AWCs under the 3rd phase for expansion of the scheme was also pending consideration of the Ministry. The Committee strongly felt that the proposal for expansion by the UT Adminsitration was based on genuine requirements. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the same may be accorded top priority by the Department. There should be no cause for further delay in the matter. 8.334 The Committee during its visit to the Lakshadweep islands found that the single post of Medical Officer and 4 posts of Auxilliary Nursing Midwives (ANMs) sanctioned under the ICDS Scheme were lying vacant. This was something very shocking to the Committee. Implementation of a Scheme like the ICDS was practically impossible without these functionaries. The Committee failed to understand as to in what manner reported Immunization coverage and health check-ups of children and women including expectant/lactating mothers were being managed in the absence of required medical personnel. The Committee strongly felt that it would not be advisable to envisaged medical care under the programme of 6957 children, 449 pregnant women, 1349 lactating mothers and 719 adolescent girls under the charge of only 2 Lady Health Visitors. The Committee would also like to point out that the population of Lakshadweep was spread over in 10 islands. Keeping in view their geographical location, strength of medical personnel needed to be suitably augmented. The Committee hoped that necessary action in this regard would be taken by the Ministry at the earliest. 8.335 The Committee was in favour of greater participation of the District Panchayats in the implementation of the ICDS Scheme and called upon the Lakshadweep Administration to ensure that they were adequately represented in the committee constituted for this purpose. 8.336 During interaction with the Anganwadi staff, the Committee was requested that the premium of Rs. 80/- that the staff were required to pay for availing the facility of group insurance policy called 'Anganwadi Karya Kartri Bima Yojana' may be waived. It was also requested that their services may be regularised. The Committee was also of the opinion that the premium that the staffs were required to pay for availing the facility of insurance should be waived. The Committee had in fact in its 203rd Report recommended the complete waiver of this premium. The Committee called upon the Ministry to take up this issue with the appropriate authorities and see to it that they were given a favourable consideration.
Implementation of ICDS in Daman & Diu 8.337 During its stay in the UT, the Committee visited the Anganwadi Centres at Kadaiya, Marwad, Ringanwada and Varkund. The Committee found the overall functioning of these Anganwadis as satisfactory. More attention, however, needed to be paid towards maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene in these Centres which the Committee hoped will be taken care of by the Daman & Diu Administration. 8.338 The Committee, during its examination of the implementation of the Scheme, noted that the physical targets set for the year 2007-08 were 5000 children and 1100 mothers/girls for the Daman district and 4500 children and 100 mothers/girls for the Diu district respectively. The Committee, however, found that against these targets, 4500 children and 950 mothers/girls in Daman district and 4067 children and 846 mothers/girls in Diu district had been covered till the end of January, 2008. Thus, against a combined target of 9500 children and 2100 mothers/girls, achievements were 8601 children and 1796 mothers/girls respectively. The Committee felt that these gaps were considerable. It, therefore, recommended that the Daman & Diu Administration should make concerted efforts towards achieving these targets well within time. 8.339 The Committee was happy to note that majority of AWCs in Daman and Diu districts were housed in Government Buildings. The Committee hoped that the remaining AWCs would also be similarly placed at the earliest. 150
8.340 It was further brought to the notice of the Committee that there were two vacancies in the grade of Mukhya Sevika in the Child Development Project offices in Daman & Diu. The Committee called upon the UT Administration to see to it that these posts did not lie vacant for long and were filled up within the shortest possible time. 8.341 The Anganwadi Workers/Helpers made a request to the Committee for enhancement of their honorarium and regularization of their services. The Committee observed that the Ministry had already issued instructions in 2006 for reservation of 25 per cent of posts of AWWs for Helpers and similarly, 25 per cent of posts of Supervisors for AWWs. The Committee understood that majority of States had already taken the required action in the matter. The Committee strongly felt that this initiative had indirectly resulted in better service conditions for both AWWs and Helpers. The Committee would appreciate if this matter was pursued by the Minsitry with the UT Administration. 8.342 It was also alleged that no funds had been received under the Kishori Shakti Yojana from the Centre during 2007-08 and the UT was forced to meet the expenditure from its allocation under Nutritional Programme for Adolescent Girls. It was also stated that the total annual expenditure on the scheme was Rs. 1,33,800/-. On enquiry, it was however learnt that the Centre had not released the funds due to unspent balances lying with the UT. As per information furnished to the Committee, the UT had an unspent balance of Rs. 1.35 lakhs as on 01.04.2007. Infact, the expenditure on the Kishori Shakti Yojana was only Rs.84,300 in 2006-07. This was something that the Committee was unable to comprehend. Firstly, when the annual expenditure on Kishori Shakti Yojana came to around Rs. 1.34 lakhs, howcome the UT spent only Rs. 84,300/- in 2006-07. Secondly, when Rs. 1.35 lakhs was available with the UT, why did it need to divert funds from other schemes to meet the expenditure on Kishori Shakti Yojana. The Committee would like to be apprised about the exact position in this regard.
Implementation of ICDS in Dadra & Nagar Haveli 8.343 The Committee found the expnditure incurred under the two heads ICDS General & Supplementary Nutrition as satisfactory. It, however, noted that though the expenditure under the ICDS (General) had head more or less been exhausted, an amount of Rs. 28.78 lakhs under the Supplementary Nutrition head remained unutilized. It hoped that the UT Administration was able to make optimum utilisation of the funds allocated to it by the end of the year 2007-08. 8.344 The Committee during its stay in the UT had the opportunity to visit the Anganwadi Centres at Dadra and Galonda. The infrastructure facilities at these Centres, however, did not impress the Committee. These Centres, as was found by the Committee in the other UTs, were very congested and cramped for space. The Committee was of the opinon that the wide variety of activities supposed to be undertaken at these Centres, particularly pre-primary classes and storing/cooking foodstuffs, would have definitely been adversely impacted due to the space constraint. The Committee, therefore, urged the Ministry to seriously look into this aspect and if the need arose, re-visit the norms and guidelines issued in this regard. 8.345 The Committee felt that the payment to the Workers/Helpers was indeed very low. Though the central assistance towards payment to the Workers/Helpers had been enhanced in the budget 2008-09, the role of the UT Administration in alleviating this condition could not be ignored. The Committee understood that the Ministry had already issued instructions in 2006 for reservation of 25 per cent of posts of AWWs for Helpers and similary 25 per cent of posts of Supervisors for AWWs. The Committee was informed that majority of States had already taken the required action in the matter. The Committee strongly felt that this initiative had indirectly resulted in better service conditions for both AWWs and Helpers. The Committee would appreciate if this matter was pursued by the Ministry with the UT Administration. 8.346 The Committee noticed certain shortcomings in the implementation of the Kishori Shakti Yojana and Nutritional Programmes for Adolescent Girls Schemes. The Committee was constrained to observe the virtual non-implementation of two very crucial components of ICDS primarily meant for young girls, who were still the most neglected members of our society. The Committee urged upon the UT Administration to take immediate steps for proper implementation of these two Schemes. The Committee at the same time also called upon the Ministry to take note of the situation and ensure that the monitoring aspect was further strenghened for better performance of such schemes in the future. 151
Implementation of ICDS in Andaman & Nicobar Islands 8.347 During the evidence, the Committee was informed that the Central allocation under the ICDS scheme (General) was to the time of Rs. 177.55 lakhs during the year 2007-08. The UT officials, however, conceded the fact that only Rs. 84 lakhs could be utilised during the year. The remaining amount was not spent as a substantial part of it was received by them only during the end of the fiscal. The Committee further noted that these figures did not match the figures supplied to it by the Ministry of Women & Child Development. As per the Status Note Submitted by the Ministry, allocation for ICDS (General) during 2007-08 was Rs. 241.55 lakhs. The Committee was not satisfied with the overall allocation and utilisation of funds under ICDS, especially Central funds. Discrepancies noticed in the figures provided by the Ministry and the UT Administration also worried the Committee. The very fact that a major portion of Central assistance was received by the UT Administration in March, the last month of the financial year indicated that logistic problems were very much there. The Committee also took note of the admission of the Ministry that due to delay in release of Central funds, majority of State Govts. were finding it difficult to utilise the allocated funds in time. The Committee was informed that the Ministry in a major initiative had already released the first instalment of Central funds for 2008-09. The Committee felt that this was a step in the right direction which was long awaited. The Committee hoped that status of utilization by States/UT would now show improvement. 8.348 The Committee was happy to note that the UT Administration had taken the Supplementary Nutrition Programme seriously. 8.349 The Committee expressed its serious concern in the matter. The Committee was not aware about any action initiated so far in this regard both at the UT and Central level. The Committee strongly felt that factors responsible for this trend needed to be looked into. It, accordingly, recommended to the UT Administration to urgently carry out a survey in this regard and take necessary corrective steps. The Committee would like to be apprised in this regard. 8.350 The Committee noted that under the third phase of extension of the ICDS scheme, the Andaman & Nicobar Administration had furnished a requirement of 17 AWCs and 31 Mini AWCs. As per the information provided to the Committee, these requirements had been incorporated in the composite proposal of the Ministry and were under consideration. The Committee recommended to the Ministry to expedite the finalization of the proposals and their early implementation in the UT. 8.351 The Committee also found that there were as many as 10 vacancies in the grade of Supervisors under the ICDS scheme. The Committee had time and again been recommending for the filling up of all vacancies of functionaries under the ICDS scheme. It only hoped that the UT Administration would take up this matter seriously and fill these vacancies within the shortest possible time. 8.352 The Committee was, however surprised to note that no target had been fixed for training of ICDS functionaries of their UT under the scheme during the year 2007-08. However, an allocation of Rs. 4.95 lakhs had been made for this purpose and Rs. 2.00 lakhs had also been released to the UT during that year. The Committee failed to understand the reasons for this and would like the Ministry to clarify the position. 8.353 The Committee noted that the level of expenditure under the Kishori Yojana in the UT had been satisfactory in 2005-06 and 2006-07. The Commitee was, however, surprised to note that the expenditure figures against an allocation of Rs. 2.75 lakhs during 2007-08 had not been reported till the time when the Committee met the UT officials in May, 2008. The Committee did not approve of this delay on the part of the UT and strongly felt that such delays needed to be appropriately discouraged in the future. 8.354 The Committee understood that for better implementation of the scheme and effective monitoring of utilization of allocated funds thereunder, a separate head of account was specifically created from 2005-06 onwards. In spite of of that, Centre being not aware about the status of allocated funds even after the closing of financial year could not be considered a satisfactory status for a scheme. The Committee would like to be apprised about the final outcome in the matter.
Implementation of ICDS in Delhi 8.355 On enquiring about the strengths and weaknesses of implementation of the ICDS Scheme in the UT, the Secretary (Social Welfare), Delhi Administration stated that a study to assess the impact of ICDS had been commissioned through the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). He further submitted that the IIPA 152 had recently submitted its Study Report to the UT Administration and they were in the process of examining it. The Committee was happy to note that an attempt had been made to assess the impact of the implementation of the ICDS Scheme in the UT. It recommended to the UT Administration to examine the Study Report on priority and initiate the necessary follow-up action in the matter in consultation with the Ministry. A copy of the said Report may also be furnished to the Committee. 8.356 Another issue that came up for discussion was regarding the training of ICDS functionaries during 2007-08. As per the information furnished by the Ministry, only 900 of these personnel had been trained against a target of 2716. The Secretary, UT Administration, however, in this submission before the Committee improved upon this figure and stated that the achievement till the end of the fiscal had been 1596 personnels. As for the reasons for this low achievement, it was stated that a number of other programme like the Pulse Polio Programme were also running concurrently and that affected the outcome. The Committee was not convinced with the clarification given by the UT Administration. There appeared to be lack of proper planning and coordination between the Ministry and the UT Administration in the matter. The Committee would appreciate if more realistic targets were set for this purpose in the future. 8.357 The Committee was concerned to note such a large number of posts were lying vacant under the ICDS Scheme in the UT. It was also not fully convinced with reasons forwarded by the UT Administration for such a situation. The fact that a large number of cases were filed in the Courts against these recruitments was perhaps an indication to the fact that there must have been some sort of mismanagement in the recruitment procedures adopted to fill up these posts. Nonetheless, the Committee recommended to the UT Administration to quickly sort out these issues and ensure that these vacancies were filled up at the earliest. 8.358 The impact and effectiveness of the non-formal pre-school education being imparted under the ICDS Scheme was another pertinent issue raised in the meeting. According to the UT Administration, this was some proof of the fact that the pre-school education had some success rate. However, it was conceded by the UT Administration that they had not conducted any study on this aspect and therefore, did not have any data to corroborate their findings. The Committee was of the view that the UT Administration should have had the data on this aspect. It, therefor, recommended that a formal study in the matter may be undertaken by the UT Administration at the earliest. The Committee would also like to be apprised about the findings of this Report. 8.359 The Committee was informed that the UT Administration had furnished a requirement of 5 ICDS Project and 500 Anganwadi Centres for the 3rd phase of expansion of the Scheme. During the evidence, the Committee was further informed that these requirements were provisional and could require upward revisions depending on the findings of the Study Report submitted by the IIPA. The Committee understood that the requirements furnished by the UT Administration were still under consideration of the Ministry. It, therefore, recommended that the UT Administration should expedite the examination of the Study Report and come up with the revised requirement figures before the Ministry finalised its decision in the matter. 8.360 the Committee was happy to note that the fund utilisation under the Kishori Shakti Yojana had improved over the years. The Committee, however, was not satisfied with present coverage of the scheme and recommended to the UT Administration to urgently expand it to all the blocks in the UT.
Implementation of ICDS in Chandigarh 8.361 The Committee was not fully convinced by the clarification given by the representative of UT Administration. The Committee found it rather surprising that in spite of number of operational AWCs increasing to 370 in 2007-08 from 329 AWCs in 2006-07, number of beneficiaries of Supplementary Nutrition was reduced in 2007-08. The Committee was of the opinion that increase in the number of AWCs must have been based on some assessement by the concerned authorities. Element of migratory population could not be the sole factor responsible for this development. The Committee would like to have full details in this regard. 8.362 The Committee also understood that the problem of migratory population and its adverse implications on the ICDS scheme may not be confined to Chandigarh alone. It was a widespread phenomenon and every big city/town in the country was today facing this problem in one form or the other. The Committee, therefore believed that isolated attempts by the States/UTs may not suffice. There was a need for much wider consultations and collaborations between the States/UTs to find ways of tackling this problem and the Ministry would have to take the initiative in this regard. 153
8.363 The Committee observed that the Kishori Shakti Yojana had failed to attract the requisite number of beneficiaries as was envisaged at the time of its inception. It was of the opinion that while such schemes were easy to be implemented in the States/UTs, it must be very difficult to implement them in cities/towns like Chandigarh where there was a very high degree of migratory population Funds under this Scheme, if even utilized, were more likely to be misused in such circumstances. In their evidence before the Committee, the representatives of the Ministry accepted the fact that the objectives of the scheme could not be achieved by restricting the enrolment of 2-3 adolescent girls per AWC and there was a need to review the scheme. Malnutrition of girls was related to the nutrition of their mothers. Besides, there was the problem of girls getting married at a younger age leading to younger age of pregnancies and its consequent complications for both the mother as well as the child. Then there was also the problem of there being a chance of certain amount of vested interest coming in whereby it appears to be beneficial for the girls to remain below minimum weight prescribed for the scheme. Once a gril crossed that minimum weight, she was no more given the nutrition that she was otherwise eligible for under the scheme. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Ministry to make an indepth analysis of all the above-mentioned problem areas being faced in the implementation of the Kishori Shakti Yojana and come up with a more comprehensive programme for adolescent girls in the country. 8.364 The Committee was informed that the UT Administration had furnished a requirement of 130 Anganwadi Centres for the 3rd phase of expansion of the Scheme. It hoped that the Ministry took a final decision in the matter at the earliest in the interest of the scheme. 8.365 It was also found that there were 3 posts of supervisors lying vacant in the UT. The Committee urged the UT Administration to fill up these vacancies at the earliest. General Observations 8.366 Policy framework for the Centrally-sponsored Schemes of SSA, MDM and ICDS had been laid down by the Central Government and the different State Governments and UT Administrations were the implementing agencies. During the course of its interactions with various stakeholders in the UTs of Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Delhi, the Committee had observed some very specific and pertinent problem areas which were common to all the three aforesaid Schemes in all these Union Territories. The Committee would like to make the following observations in this regard. 8.367 Intricate details touching upon various aspects of the components and parameters were the very basis for effective implementation of a Scheme. In Committee's opinion, such details once finalised became the foundation stone for implementing as well as carrying out necessary improvements and modifications in the Scheme. The experience of the Committee in this regard while interacting with the various stakeholders or analysing the material placed before it both the Department and the concerned UT Administrations had not been very satisfactory. The Committee had noticed that the Department was solely dependent on the feedback being furnished to it by the concerned UT Administration. While being aware that this was the practical proposition, the Committee would like to point out that it was also the duty of the Department to cross-check and analyse the various data being forwarded to it to the extent possible. The Committee was, however, constrained to point out that this aspect had not been receiving the required attention. On many occasions in the past, discrepancies between the submission made by the Department and UT Administration came to the notice of the Committee which made it difficult for the Committee to make the exact assessment about the running of the Scheme in a particular UT. The Committee strongly felt that every conceivable effort should be made to have the accurate and latest data not only for placing the same before a Parliamentary Committee but also for better implementation of a Scheme. 8.368 Lack of coordination between the Department and the UT Administration at different levels had invariably been noticed both in the written feedback given to the Commitee and also during interactions with the representatives of the Department and the UT Administration. The Committee felt very disturbed by such a situation prevailing in respect of Flagship Schemes of the Government. It became all the more glaring when such a communication gap was noticed while dealing with UTs located at a great distance from the mainland. The Committee strongly felt that these were the area where both the Department and the UT Administration needed to work in perfect harmony. The Committee acknowledged that this lack of coordination would have been somewhat justifiable in the initial stages of implementation of these Schemes but now since these Schemes were operational for a number of years, such a discouraging situation should not have been allowed to continue. 154
8.369 During the course of discussions with the representatives of the UT Administrations, many UT specific problems had come to the notice of the Committee. The Committee felt that in all such cases, the problems or hindrances being faced by the UT Administration could have been easily resolved much earlier. However, it was very disturbing to note that in majority of the cases, the Department was not even aware of the same. The question of resolving such problems, therefore, did not arise. The Committee would like to emphasise that such a situation should not be allowed to continue further. The Department being the Nodal Authority should immediately take action whenever a problem was brought to its notice. Ideal position would be that there was regular channel of communication open between the Department and the concerned State/UT authorities. 8.370 The Committee understood that a monitoring mechanism working at different levels—District, Zonal UT/State and the Department in respect of these Schemes had been evolved and was reported to be working very effectively. It was, however, very surprising to observe that ground realities were entirely different. The general impression which the Committee had gathered was that wherever monitoring was done, be it by the UT Authorities or the Department or independent agencies, no follow up action worth mentioning was being taken. The Committee would appreciate if all such monitoring was duly followed by the required follow up action. Committee opined that in this era of IT advancement and easy connectivity, such monitoring and resultant corrective measures could be very fast and effective. 8.371 While examining the implementation of ICDS Scheme, the Committee had observed that under the component of Supplementary Nutrition, the UT Administrations, more or less, had been actively participating by providing more than the required funds. The Committee was, however, not aware as to whether any assessment on the targeted beneficiaries especially the malnourished children who were being covered under this component had been made so far. The Committee felt that such an exercise should be initiated without any further delay. 8.372 Some very innovative measures within the broad policy framework of the Schemes by some UT Administrations were noticed by the Committee during its visit. The Committee had the opportunity to see the visible impact of such initiatives from close quarters. The Committee was of the opinion that such path- breaking measures needed to be placed as a case study before the other State Governments so that they were also encouraged to adopt the same to the extent possible. The Committee would appreciate if the Department took up such an exercise. 8.373 The Committee has been informed that the Executive Committee of the National Mission for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) had taken the initiative of constituting District Level Committees comprising of public representatives to monitor the implementation of the Programme in districts in July, 2007. It was also understood that the States/UTs had been informed of the amendments in August, 2007. It had however, come to the notice of the Committee that most of the States/UTs were yet to initiate the necessary follow up action in the matter. The Committee, therefore, desired to have a status note on the follow up action taken by each States/UTs. Wherever these Committees had been constituted, the meetings held so far and the outcome of the meetings may also be furnished.
(f) 211th Report
Need For Amendments/Enforcement of Certain Provisions of the AICTE Act, 1987 8.374 The Committee appreciated the need for inclusion of emerging technical programmes under the AICTE Act. However, it was skeptical about the capability of the Council in handling this additional mandate mainly due to the general perception about the Council not satisfactorily managing the programmes presently under its purview. New programmes, the Committee felt, would mean garnering additional financial, administrative and infrastructural facilities. AICTE itself had expressed several constraints including inadequacy of resources for handling the programmes under its purview. The Committee was constrained to note that AICTE with its existing limitations would not be able to manage the newly emerging areas alongwith the existing ones. Committee's apprehensions had been aggravated by the fact that AICTE had, at present, no mechanism for forecasting growth in new technologies for developing educational programmes in the emerging areas due to inadequate information system. As a result, vital task of updation for both introducing new courses and funding was yet to be taken up by the Council. The Committee, therefore, opined that taking up added 155 responsibilities would pose a challenge to the Council and it was upto the Council do devise ways to do a good job in managing all the courses of study including new areas. The Committee would like to emphasise that the Council needed revamping to update itself about newly emerging areas for developing technical educational programmes. A mechanism needed to be evolved having a group of experts so as to facilitate the Council in doing research and forecasting growth in new technologies. The need of the hour for the Council was to move, change, grow and re-orient its strategies with the changing times. The Committee was also of the view that the AICTE should consolidate its core competence, revamp its infrastructure and restructure the organization keeping in view the altered realities prior to enlarging its mandate to cover new disciplines. 8.375 The Committee agreed with the expert views advocating retention of management education under the definition of "technical education". However, in view of the mushrooming of institutions providing management education across the country, the monitoring apparatus in this regard was required to be strengthened. Even while recognizing the commonalities keeping in view the differentiating characteristics, management education needed a varied calibrated approach. The AICTE should consider creating a specialized wing with independent domain specialized for considering all aspects of Management education. 8.376 The Committee was of the view that the existing regulatory system for pharmacy education sector should continue. 8.377 The Committee was surprised to note that such a situation had been allowed to persist for long without any pro-active step being initiated. The Committee would appreciate if this crucial issue was examined without any further delay and a rightful decision keeping the interests of student community as a whole was taken. The present overlapping of functions and conflict of interest needed to be stopped forwith by having only one regulatory body for the discipline of architecture. 8.378 The Committee opined that taking into consideration the newly emering areas and the demand for excluding few disciplines from the definition of technical eduction, Section 2 (g) needed to redefined with specificity rather than in generic terms. Hence, amendment of the said Section was definitely called for.
Section 10: Powers and Functions of the Council 8.379 Three very important functions viz (i) evolving suitable performance appraisal systems for technical institutions/universities, incorporating norms and mechanism for enforcing accountability, (ii) advising the Central Government in respect of grant of character to any professional body/institution in the field of technical education conferring powers, rights and privileges on it for promotion of such profession; and (iii) laying down norms for granting autonomy to technical institutions remained on paper only, all these years for reasons best known to the Council. Feedback submitted to the Committee clearly indicated the disinclination of the Council in this regard. The Committee could understand the reasons for there being no quality control on the standard of technical institutions whose numbers keep on increasing every year. The Committee presumed that before bringing this legislation, the policy formulators and law-makers must have examined all the pros and cons while prescribing very specific functions for the regulatory body for technical education in the country. The Committee could only emphasize that serious rethinking was required in this regard by all concerned. Status of the remaining 18 functions entrusted to the Council as indicated to the Committee left much scope for improvement. Considering the need to attract and retain high quality faculty the Committee strongly urged that norms for granting autonomy to technical institutions should be finalized and implemented on a priority basis. 8.380 Following are the provisions which in the Committee's opinion required introspection followed by pro-active action on the part of the Council. 8.381 The Committee was constrained to note that the AICTE till date had failed to undertake any survey whatsoever in any field to technical education leaving thereby the crucial mandate of making forecast about the needed growth and development in technical education unattended so far. 8.382 The Committee expressed its deep anguish that the Council had not undertaken any survey till date to anticipate and forecast the growth and development in technical education. The Committee wondered as to how the Council had been coordinating the maintenance of standards in the absence of any such survey. The Council seemingly appeared clueless about the existing ground realities with respect to the various disciplines of technical education. Undoubtedly policies, regulations or norms could not be formulated without relying on some authentic data. In a situation where data provided by the National Technical Manpower Information 156
System (NTMIS) was not being used for educational planning, the Committee deprecated the lack of initiative on the part of the Council to fill the gaps. The Committee found that it was only after this issue was raised by it, the Council initiated some action by setting up a Committee represented by the Chairmen of all the Boards of Studies to suggest a reliable survey mechanism. This was indeed a very discouraging state of affairs that the Council had taken such a long time to realize the lack of efficacy of a scheme envisaged for planning the advancement of technical education in the country. The Committee had been given to understand that a pilot study had been commissioned to be conducted in three States i.e. one State with the highest enrolment rate (Tamil Nadu), another State with the average enrolment rate (Madhya Pradesh) and the third State with the lowest enrolment rate (Bihar). Report of the pilot study was to be given within two months and on the basis of this Report, an all India survey would be conducted. The Committee was happy to note the initiation of the pilot study though it got delayed beyond comprehension. The Committee would like to emphasize that the Report of the said pilot study should be submitted by the Committee of the Council at the earliest so that required action was not further delayed. Further, based on the findings of the Pilot Study, an Action Plan for covering the entire country within 12 months should be evolved if necessary through outsourcing. 8.383 The Committee observed that concentration of institutions in specific regions was the testimony of extent of regional imbalance. The very objective of proper planning and co-ordinated development of the technical education system throughout the country in the backdrop of evolving AICTE from an advisory body to a statutory body seemed to have been defeated. The Committee would like to draw the attention to the following extract from the National Policy on Education 1986 making a specific mention of the need for making AICTE a statutory body. "The All India Council for Technical Education will be vested with statutory authority for...... ensuring the co-ordinated and integrated development of technical and management education." 8.384 The recent efforts made by the Council for setting up a Committee for overcoming regional imbalance were too late and apparently not very effective. More than twenty years have passed since the Council became a statutory body. Despite the self claimed reforms in approval process of the Council, the regional imbalances have continued. The Committee was hardly convinced with the restrictive approach of the Council. The Committee would like the Council to share the recommendations of its Committee and the follow up action taken in the matter within one month. 8.385 The Committee appreciated the initiatives undertaken by the Council for promoting technical education amongst women, the handicapped and the weaker sections. It had also taken cognizance of advertisements recently issued by AICTE for women specific technical institutions which was a welcome step. 8.386 Committee's attention had also been drawn to the perceptible lack of co-ordination between AICTE, State Governments and other agencies having a key role in the implementation of welfare schemes for the aforesaid categories in their respective States. Not only this, there were no guidelines/regulatory support for the weaker sections of the society for getting technical education. Also, AICTE had no role in the admission of students of weaker sections of the society in technical institutions. The Committee failed to understand the reasons for lack of any pro-active action on the part of AICTE as the statutory regulatory body for all conceivable aspects of technical education in this vital area. It was high time that serious efforts were initiated for elimination of aforesaid constraints. 8.387 The Committee had taken note of three major drawbacks in this provision as pointed out by the Council. The first major drawback was the world 'agencies' remaining undefined and thus leading to ambiguity with regard to specific agencies required to be consulted for grant of approval of new technical institutions. The Committee was in agreement with the contention of the Council and recommended that definition of 'agencies' may be incorporated under the relevant section of the Act. 8.388 The Committee found logic in the contention of the Council. The Committee strongly felt that primary objective of co-orddinated development of technical education system throughout the country entrusted to the Council through the AICTE Act of 1987 could only be fulfilled in the real sense if this dual stream of technical education was brought under one regulatory body. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that Section 10(k) be modified to include the faculties and departments of Universities including Deemed to be Universities imparting technical education at the time of granting them approval for their establishment and starting new courses as well. Definition of the term 'technical institution' as given in Section 2(h) may also be 157 modified accordingly. The Government may also examine feasibility of trifurcating the functions of the accreditation, regulation and control with each entity functioning with autonomy and arm's length relationship with Government.
Linkages between Industry and Technical Institutions 8.389 The Committee was, however, surprised to note that inspite of several initiatives taken for meaningful interaction between industry and academia for mutual benefits specific to technical education system, linkages between industry and technical institutions continued to remain weak. The Committee had been given to understand that anticipated response from the industry was simply missing. The variety of initiatives had failed to evolve the desired level of participation of the industry. Tie up with industry associations such as CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, NASSCOM and with entrepreneurship promoting agencies such as NSTEDB-DST, EDI, NISIET, NIESBUD failed to take off. The fact that monitoring was required to ensure good progress of all the existing schemes, as admitted by the Council itself, indicated the dismal state of affairs in this most vital area. The Committee was not impressed by the reported move of the Council in setting up yet another Committee for review of the existing Industry-Institute Partnership Schemes. In Committee's opinion, to term it as a strategic initiative could not be considered justified. Need of the hour was to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the representatives of industry so as to have the real understanding of their requirements and remove the existing bottlenecks. The Committee was not aware as to how many technical institutions have an Industry Institute Partnership Cell operational in the real sense. The Committee strongly underlined the need for a review of this facility so as to make such cells the focal point for better interaction between the academia and industry. Undoubtedly, the Council would have to play the role of co-ordinator and facilitator between the industry and institutions. The Committee would also like to emphasize that in view of the need to foster public/private partnership and harness private sector resources, AICTE should holistically examine its existing rules, regulations and procedures to further this objective. This may be undertaken after broad-based consultations with Industry. The findings of such consultation and proposed action may be submitted to this Committee within three months.
Institutions operating programmes of foreign universities in the country 8.390 The Committee found it very disturbing that as many as 62 such institutions were operating in the country without any apparent control. The Committee understood that complaints were registered with the Council where students were taken for a ride by such institutions. However, in the absence of any statutory powers enshrined in the Act, the Council authorities remained a helpless witness so far. The only action taken by it had been to put a list of such unapproved institutions on its web site, public notices issued in the print media and advisories sent to the concerned State Governments/UTs for initiating action for closure by invoking civil and criminal laws applicable in such cases. 8.391 A suggestion which had been made to the Committee by the Council was that such foreign universities/ institutions be brought under Section 10(k) alongwith modification in the definition of technical institution' and 'university. The Committee also felt that these modifications may make the task of the Council somewhat easier. At the same time, the Committee would like to point out that in the context of Indian technical institutions inspite of there being statutory provisions and relevant regulations, the Council had simply remained a mute spectator with regard to handling of unapproved technical institutions so far. Therefore, the Council, besides being pro-active would also have to explore some other mechanism to curb the uncontrolled expansion of foreign institutions/programmes in the country.
Procedure for Approval of new technical institutions 8.392 The Committee was, however, surprised to note the general perception, as revealed from the feedback received in response to the Press Release issued by it mentioning that the Council had been spending its entire energy, time and resources only on one function i.e. grant of approval for starting new institutions and introduction of new courses. Even on that account, many of the approved institutions did not fulfil minimum standards and prescribed criteria with respect to infrastructure, number of faculty members etc. It has also been pointed out that the procedure for granting recognition and approval was not only complicated but suffer from irregularities and non-transparency. The Committee had also been given to understand that access to AICTE officials for seeking clarifications was extremely difficult which was further causing undue 158 delay. A time-bound system for the approval process may be placed on the website and accountability for deviations needed to be assigned to secure transparency and minimize harrassment. 8.393 The Committee wondered whether there was any prescribed criteria for selection of experts for the Inspection team and if it existed, whether it was being strictly adhered to. Besides the general lack of confidence in the existing procedure of inspection carried out at the initial stage, the Committee would like to point out that the list of 137 unapproved technical institutions displayed on the web site of the Council confirms its apprehension that prescribed norms/guidelines for grant of approval were not being adhered to. Instead of members of the Inspection Team being randomly handpicked, criteria for their selection should be foolproof and unquestionable. The Committee had also been given to understand that members of Inspection team were generally from Government institutions. With the increasing participation of private sector in the field of technical education, their representation to the extent possible should also be reflected in the Inspection Team. This crucial issue needed to be considered by the Council, without any further delay. 8.394 The Committee therefore, failed to comprehend the rationale behind the Council's suggestion for amending the Act when the required power had already been provided in the Regulations. It was the execution part of the Regulation which was not coming forth. The inability of the Council to take stringent action against the unapproved institutions and those violating norms and standards under this Regulation was quite disturbing. The accountability of the Council did not end simply by issuing show cause notices to these institutions and requesting the State Governments to take action against them. The Committee expressed its serious concerns over the large number of institutions continuing to flout the norms and operating without any check. The Committee, therefore, urged the Council to assume its mandated responsibility and take immediate corrective steps for crubing the institutions that were flouting the norms and standards prescribed by AICTE.
Inspection of existing Technical Institutions 8.395 In such a scenario, the Committee could well understand the status of follow-up action and corrective measures taken on the basis of inspection reports. The Committee would appreciate if details of action taken on the 655 inspections carried out during the last three years were forwarded to it. The Committee apprehended that situation would be similar in respect of other disciplines of technical education. The Committee would also like to draw the attention of the Council to the fact that a well-built inspection mechanism having all the expertise and objective approach was the very foundation of the technical education system in the country. Any neglect in this regard was simply not acceptable. The Council should, therefore, conduct a review of the existing inspection mechanism for bringing in the required improvements.
Shortage of faculty—Qualitative and Quantitative 8.396 The Committee hoped that the above-mentioned line of action must have been completed by now. If not, the Committee would appreciate if this exercise was expedited to ensure launching of the scheme at the earliest. 8.397 The Committee understood the gravity of the problem of faculty shortage in technical institutions. The very purpose of opening new institutions was defeated if they did not have the required faculty for imparting technical education. The Committee would like to emphasize that qualified and competent faculty has to be there in all technical institutions for imparting quality education. Merely filling the vacancies of faculty positions by less qualified persons who did not meet the prescirbed criteria would only result in sub- standard education system which was unfortunately evident in majority of technical institutions at present. 8.398 The Committee appreciated the efforts made by the Council but much more needed to be done for addressing this problem. The Committee observed that it was almost three years back, the Scheme of Mentor Institutions was recommended by the two Expert Committees. However, the AICTE could not launch the scheme as sufficient funds for the purpose had not been allocated. Out of Rs. 950 crores earmarked for Mentor Institutions in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, only Rs. 5 crores had been allocated for the financial year 2008-09 for faculty development. The Committee considered non-allocation of fund as sheer lack of initiative on the part of both the Council and the Department for this major scheme, which was the outcome of the deliberations of two Expert Committees. The matter needed to be urgent taken up with the Planning Commission/Ministry of Finance for allocation of funds. Before that, the Council should ensure that all preparatory exercises and feasibility studies were completed beforehand so that there was no further delay in launching the scheme. 159
Secondly, concerted efforts should be made to attract and retain qualified persons in the teaching profession. Attractive remuneration packages at par with the industry should be offered to qualified and competent persons so that exodus of such people is arrested. The Committee also believed that wide publicity should be given to highlight the wide scope and better prospects of technical courses so that more and more students opt for them. The need of the hour was to make the profession attractive with ample training opportunities and other incentives. 8.399 The Committee could only emphasize that all-out efforts needed to be made by the Council and the Department so as to ensure that the proposed scheme did not meet the fate of the Early Faculty Induction Programme. A number of other measures/programmes besides the scheme of Mentor Institutions had been recommended by the two Expert Committees both for upgradation of qualifications of existing faculty and their competency building and for attracting young Graduates/Post graduates to teaching. The Committee hoped that these measures would also be implemented at the earliest. The Committee, however, had reservation on the recommendation of increasing the age of retirement of existing faculty at Professor level from 65 to 70. The Committee reiterated that the right step would be to attract the talented youth to the noble profession of teaching by giving maximum incentives.
Pending legal cases against AICTE 8.400 The Committee believed that the large pendency of cases against AICTE spoke volume of the poor grievances redressal mechanism forcing the aggrieved to resort to courts. The Committee understood that there was an Appellate Committee constituted by the Council for redressal of grievances. At present, there were only 13 cases before this Committee. This figure was abysmally low in view of dissatisfaction expressed by a large number of stakeholders against the functioning of the Council. The Committee believed that either the redressal mechanism did not inspire confidence amongst the aggrieved or the people were not aware of the mechanism itself. The Committee believed that the functioning of this Appellate Committee needed to be reivewed and made effective so that affected persons brought their cases before this Committee instead of filing cases in courts for redressal of their grievances. Efforts should be made by the Council to give wide publicity about its Appellate Committee mechanism. The Committee would term it a suitable mechanism where the people first approach the Appellate Committee of the Council and then resort to legal help. 8.401 The Committee was of the opinion that grievances received in the Cell should be attended to with due priority and be redressed within shortest possible time in order to prove the efficacy of the Cell so that the interest of the complainant was addressed in the right earnest. AICTE should through its Grievance Cell endeavor to protect the rights of the representationists in general and the students in particular. 8.402 The Committee observed that in similar Acts, a provision safeguarding the interests of officials and functionaries against any person liability in the performance of their duties was duly incorporated. The Committee was of the view that AICTE Act should not be an exception and a provision on the lines of similar provision in other Acts may be incorporated in it.
Commercialization of technical education 8.403 While welcoming this initiative, the Committee felt that such cases needed to be dealt with expeditiously so that students' interest and future remains secure. AICTE should play a pro-active role by constant monitoring of such complaints and taking suitable action in case of deviations. The Committee was also of the view that the initiative needed to be taken to give wide publicity so that message reaches all concerned. 8.404 The Committee found that a suitable mechanism for charging of fees covering all categories of technical institution was yet to be evolved. 8.405 The Committee noted that in accordance with Supreme Court directions given in various judgements, State level Fee Committees and Admission Committees prescribed fees to be charged by technical institutions and oversaw the admission and charging of fees in all private technical institutions. The Committee, however, felt that the main objective behind setting up of such Committees of technical education being not commercialized perhaps continued to remain elusive. Not only this, another disturbing trend noticed in the recent years was level of commercialization in the charging of fees by private Universities running technical courses. At present, 160 they were free to fix the amount of fee to be charged, quality of education being imparted by them remaining a non-issue. 8.406 The Committee firmly believed that education sector should be protected from being commercialized at all costs. The Committee recommended for exploring the feasibility of a uniform fee structure commensurate with the infrastructure and other facilities available in the institutions. The Committee hoped that the Report of the Ranganath Mishra Committee comes out with a sound and effective mechanism of the regulation of admission and fee structure of technical institutions. However, this exercise had to be expedited in the interest of students as this matter had already been over-delayed. In the meantime, the State Fee Committees and State level Admission Committees should be take stringent action against institutions violating the regulations made by these Committees.
Administrative and Financial Problems in the functioning of AICTE 8.407 The Committee could well understand the kind of administrative drawbacks with which the Council continued to remain burdened inspite of it being in existence for so many years. However, the Committee failed to comprehend the sheer lack of any initiative on the part of the concerned authorities for taking corrective measures. Nobody could deny the fact that such administrative constraints could have been very easily removed. The Committee, therefore, impressed upon the Council to carry out a thorough review of its functioning both at the Headquarters and Regional Offices level and bring about the overdue administrative reforms. 8.408 The need of the hour was to strengthen the Regional Offices by assigning greater responsibilities to deal with technical institutions in various parts of the country. As recommended by the High Power Committee, delegation of responsibility would make AICTE focus on policy issues and major initiative for quality growth and excellence of technical education in the country and the Regional Offices would shoulder responsibilities of directly dealing with the technical institutions. Therefore, additional manpower for the Regional Offices was the need of the hour. The Committee recommended that proposal for sanctioning additional posts for the Regional Offices may be moved by AICTE for the smooth functioning of its regional Offices. The Committee would like to emphasize on a pertinent point of decentralization of powers and workload to the Regional Offices of AICTE. Centralization of powers meant heavy workload and inefficient functioning of the Council. The need of the hour was to delegate responsibilities to the Regional Offices so as to strengthen them to officiate on their own. 8.409 The Committee observed that AICTE had not been able to assets its manpower requirement for its smooth functioning. At the time of the study by SIU of AICTE's manpower requirement in 2005, the Council failed to express its need for increased staff strength. Now the Council was submitting a proposal for sanctioning 41 more posts. The Committee believed that AICTE should assess thoroughly its manpower requirement at its Headquarters and in the Regional Offices and then request the Ministry for additional staff.
New initiatives for expanding technical education 8.410 The Committee believed that the initiative regarding opening of second shift taken by AICTE was a welcome step but it needed to be further explored regarding its feasibility in technical institutions. One of the major hindrances, according to the Committee would be the shortage of faculty. The Committee would like to point out that when the faculty requirement for the existing institutions remained far from fulfilled, additional faculty for teaching in the evening shifts seemed to be a far-fetched idea. The Committee wondered in what manner, the most important component of this new venture would be taken care of.The Committee strongly felt that any ad-hoc measures would only turn out to be self-defeating. Appropriate arrangements were required to be in place before embarking on this idea. 8.411 With regard to the idea of development of integrated campus with multi-discipline technical institution, the Committee was the opinion that it was a progressive idea but it required more and more resources/ infrastructure for the same. The Committee understood that such integrated campuses were being administered by some private institutions and Universities. It would be better if their expertise was used so as to ensure smooth functioning of the proposed integrated campuses. Feasibility studies for having an integrated campus should be completed beforehand to avoid inordinate delay. 161
Miscellaneous 8.412 The Committee urged the Council to expedite the reports of the two Committees constituted by the Council in this regard. Also, technical courses like mechanical engineering, civil engineering etc needed to be popularized by the Council. Link-up with the industry for prospective jobs in these fields needed to be strengthened by the Council so that students opted for the other courses also. 8.413 The Committee strongly felt that Government could not remain a mute spectator. Some urgent proactive action was required on its part. The Committee had noticed that the faculty members of prominent technical institutions had been engaged in the coaching institutes. The Committee expressed its serious reservations over this trend. It would like the Council to monitor this aspect and take appropriate action against the erring coaching institutes. 8.414 In the opinion of the Committee, there was an urgent need for review of entrance test procedure with a view to streamline it so as to make it more scientific and less cumbersome.
Conclusion 8.415 A long list of the Committees was indicative of the plethora of issues which either remained unresolved or needed to be reviewed in the field of technical education. The Committee presumed that the Council must be flooded with innumerable suggestions/complaints with regard to its functioning. Scrutiny of suggestions and evolving remedies thereof was a continuous exercise for any institution. The Council which was primarily shaping the future technocrats and management experts could not be an exception for such exercise. The Committee appreciated the review exercise going on in the Council through its Committees. However, only setting up Committees and lingering on the action to be taken would not serve the purpose. Important thing was how and when the outcome of the studies was translated into reality. The recommendations of the Committees set up to look into various aspects of functioning of the AICTE and Government's response thereto may be submitted to this Committee within three months so as to enable it to have a holistic view on the system as a whole. 8.416 The Committee believed that the examination of functioning of AICTE by it would be providing additional inputs to the Council in the review exercise. It hoped that the Council would consider its recommendations in the right perspective and endeavour to streamline and strengthen the whole gamut of technical education in the interest of all concerned.
(g) 212th Report
Clause 3: Establishment of the Universities 8.417 The Committee felt that views both in favour and against the upgradation of Goa University into a Central University seemed to have some substance. In the light of the views expressed before the Committee and representations received from various sections of society, the Committee was of the opinion that the provision relating to upgradation of Goa University into a Central University be dropped at this Stage. Efforts may, however, be made to evaluate the situation with a holistic and balanced approach to ensure that Goa did not remain the only State without a Central University.
Clause 6: Powers of University 8.418 The Committee found that two important branches of learning viz. Law and Agriculture did not find place in the clause. The Committee recommended that these two branches of learning should also be added in the clause.
Clause 6 (1) (xvii) 8.419 As per clause 6 (xvii), the University shall have the power to confer autonomous status on a College or an Institution or a Department, as the case may be, in accordance with the Statutes. The Committee had expressed its reservations while considering the Sikkim, Tripura and Rajiv Gandhi University Bills. The Committee reiterated that the provision of this clause amounts to giving unbridled powers to the University for conferring autonomous status on a College, an Institution or a Department. The Committee was of the opinion that some 162 definite parameters and conditions for conferring autonomous status to the institution may be specified. The Committee, therefore, recommended that clause 6(1) (xvii) may be suitably amended.
Clause 6 (2) (i) to (viii) 8.420 The Committee took note of variety of innovative measures encompassing all conceivable quality aspects of academic programmes as well as better service conditions for teaching community envisaged in this Clause. While welcoming these path-breaking innovative measures, the Committee would like to point out that such a provision should find place in all the Acts governing Central Universities. The Committee, therefore, recommended that necessary action may be taken accordingly.
Clauses 20 (1), 21 (2), 22 (2) and 23 8.421 The Committeed recommended that the provision for the constitution and term of office of the Court, Executive Council, Academic Council and Boards of Studies may also be included in the first statutes.
Clause 28: Power to make Ordinances 8.422 As per clause 28(1) (k), the Ordinances may provide for the manner of co-operation and collaboration with other Universities, institutions and other agencies including learned bodies or associations. The Committee had expressed its reservations on a similar provision while considering the Sikkim, the Tripura and the Rajiv Gandhi University Bills. The Committee reiterated that the words 'other agencies' left ample scope for associating with agencies which might be private commercial and detrimental to academic standards. Necessary safeguards may be taken to ensure qualitative aspects of higher education.
Clause 32: Right of Central Government to issue directions and to call for returns and information. 8.423 The Committee had strong reservations on the inclusion of this provision in the proposed Bill. The Committee would like to draw the attention of the Department to the fact that existing Central University Acts did not have such a provision. The Committee was not inclined to believe that a situation may have arisen so far in case of any Central University where a Central University had deviated from its objectives and the Centre failing to take any corrective measures in the absence of any authoritative power. The Committee would also like to point out that UGC/AICTE and Central Universities could not be treated on the same footing. Whereas AICTE/UGC were regulatory bodies having a jurisdiction of the entire country, the Universities would only be having a State under their purview. Not only this, all actions/decisions of the University would be deliberated and taken by different statutory bodies. With such a power, the autonomy of a University was bound to be adversely affected. In the absence of valid justifications for having such a provision, the Committee recommended deletion of Clause 32 (1) of the Bill.
Clause 44: Transitional Provisions 8.424 The Committee was of the view that instead of the Central Government, the appointment of the first Chancellor, the first Vice-Chancellor, the first Registrar and the first Finance Officer should be made by the Visitor on the recommendations of Search Committees comprising of eminent persons constituted by the Visitor. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Clause 44(a) and (b) may be amended accordingly. 8.425 The Committee also felt that the term of offices as long as five and three years as provided in the transitional provision was quite long. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the term of office of the first Chancellor, the first Vice-Chancellor be reduced from five years to three years and of the Registrar and the Finance Officer from three to two years respectively. 8.426 Clause 44(c) and (d) empowered the Central Government to constitute the first Court, first Executive Council and the first Academic Council. The Committee was of the view that the eligibility conditions and qualifications of persons to be nominated by the Central Government needed to be specified. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that eligibility conditions and qualifications of persons to be nominated to the aforesaid Authorities should be stipulated in the Statute or Rules. 163
The Schedule
Clause 2 (2) of the Statutes 8.427 The Committee noted that in the earlier Acts the Search Committee comprised of 3 Members with 2 Members nominated by the Executive Council and 1 by the Visitor. On the same analogy, the Committee recommended that three Members could be nominated by the Executive Council and two by the Visitor.
Clause 2 (5) of the Statutes 8.428 The Committee was of view that power under this provision needed to be made exceptional and therefore it suggested that necessary amendment be made in this regard.
Clause 9 of the Statutes 8.429 The Committee noted that the retirement age of the post of Librarian had not been provided in the clause. This may be looked into.
Clause 36 (1) (iii) and 36 (3) of the Statutes 8.430 The Committee noted that clause 36 (1) (iii) did not specify the number of the elected representatives of the students in the Students' Council. The Committee therefore, recommended that the words "such number of elected representatives of students as may be specified by the Academic Council" may be substituted by the words "equal number of elected representatives of students." Further sub-clause (3) of clause 36 may be rephrased as "the Student's Council shall meet, at least, twice in an academic year, the first meeting being held in the beginning of the academic session."
VII. Secretariat 8.431 The Committee Section headed by a Committee Officer constituted the Secretariat of the Committee. A Joint Secretary, a Director and a Joint Director remained incharge of the Section. 8.432 To assist the Committee in its work, material received from the Ministries/Departments as also from other organizations and individuals was studied, and relevant points were culled out. Questionnaires for written/oral replies were prepared for use of the Committee. 8.433 The Committee also studied material like Parliamentary Debates, answers to Parliamentary Questions, Budget Estimates, Economic Survey, Mid-Term appraisal of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, Books, Journalism, and Newspapers etc. relevant to the subject under examination of the Committee. The Committee sent questions based on newspapers report/articles alongwith the questionnaire based on Expenditure Budget and other relevant documents. The Committee also downloaded study material from websites on various subject for preparation of reports. ANNEXURE-IX (See Para 8.6) Details of the sittings of the main Committee on Human Resource Development during the year 2008
Sl. No. Date Duration Hrs.Mts. Main Items or Agenda 1. 11.1.2008 1-00 Presentation by the Secretary, Department of Higher Education on ‘the Functioning of AICTE’. 2. 26.3.2008 2-56 Presentation by the Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports on the Demands for Grants of the Ministry for the year (2008-09) 3. 27.3.2008 4-37 Presentation by the Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy on Demands for Grants (2008-09). Presentation by the Secretary, Department of Higher Education on the Demands for Grants (2008-09). 4. 28.3.2008 2-20 Presentation by the Secretary, and the officials on the Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Women & Child Development. 5. 15.4.2008 1-30 Consideration and adoption of Draft 206th & 207th Reports on Demands for Grants (2008-09) pertaining to the Department of School Education & Literacy and Department of Higher Education. 6. 17.4.2008 1-00 Consideration and adoption of Draft 208th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) pertaining to the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. 7. 28.4.2008 1-30 Consideration and adoption of Draft 209th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) pertaining to the Ministry of Women & Child Development. 8. 28.5.2008 3-00 Oral evidence of the Secretaries of the Department/Ministry and the representatives from the UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and NCT of Delhi on the implementation of the SSA, MDM Schemes and ICDS Scheme. 9. 25.6.2008 1-15 Consideration and adoption of the Draft 210th Report on the Implementation of SSA, MDM Scheme and ICDS Scheme in the Union Territories. 10. 31.7.2008 0-59 Interface with the delegation of Thailand Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education on the salient features of schemes like SSA, MDM, and their impact on universalization of education in India. 11. 11.8.2008 0-20 Introductory meeting of the newly constituted Committee and Chalking out of future programme of the Committee. 12. 16.9.2008 1-30 Oral evidence of the Chairman and other representatives of AICTE on the subject ‘The Functioning of AICTE’. 13. 28.11.2008 0-45 Consideration and adoption of Draft 211th Report on the Functioning of AICTE. 14. 5.12.2008 1-35 Presentation by the Secretary and other officials of the Department of Higher Education on the Central Universities Bill, 2008 and in House discussion on the important provisions of the Bill. 15. 15.12.2008 0-35 Consideration and adoption of Draft 212th Report on the Central Universities Bill, 2008. 164 CHAPTER-IX COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY I. Composition of the Committee 9. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry for the year 2007 was constituted on 5th August, 2007 under Rule 287 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States. The composition of the Committee was as under:— COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY (Constituted on 5th August, 2007) 1. Shri Santosh Bagrodia — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri G. Sanjeeva Reddy 3. Dr. (Shrimati) Prabha Thakur 4. Shri Kalraj Mishra 5. Shrimati Hema Malini 6. Dr. K. Malaisamy 7. Shri Pyarimohan Mohapatra 8. Dr. Vijay Mallya 9. Shri O.T. Lepcha 10. Shri Rahul Bajaj LOK SABHA 11. Shri Guharam Ajgalle 12. Shri S.K. Bwiswmuthiary 13. Shri Ajoy Chakraborty 14. Shri Swadesh Chakraborty 15. Shri Ram Singh Kaswan 16. Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria 17. Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patasani 18. Shri Krishnabhai V. Patel 19. Shri P. Rajendran 20. Shri Ramakrishna Badiga 21. Shri Gurjeet Singh Rana 22. Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana 23. Shri Rajnarayan Budholiya 24. Shri K.C. Palanisamy 25. Shri Ganesh Singh 26. Kunwar Manvendra Singh 27. Shri V.K. Thummar 28. Shri Giridhari Yadav 29. Shri Umakant Yadav 30. Shri Mohan S. Delkar 31. Vacant 165 166
COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY (Constituted on 5th August, 2008) 1. Shri V. Hanumantha Rao — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri G. Sanjeeva Reddy 3. Shri Gireesh Kumar Sanghi 4. Shri Kalraj Mishra 5. Shri Natuji H. Thakor 6. Dr. K. Malaisamy 7. Shri Thomas Sangma 8. Shri Pyarimohan Mohapatra 9. Shri O.T. Lepcha 10. Shri Rahul Bajaj LOK SABHA 11. Shri Guharam Ajgalle 12. Shri Rajnarayan Budholiya 13. Shri S.K. Bwiswmuthiary 14. Shri Ajoy Chakraborty 15. Shri Swadesh Chakraborty 16. Shri Mohan S. Delkar 17. Shri Subhash Sureshchandra Deshmukh 18. Shri Ram Singh Kaswan 19. Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria 20. Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patasani 21. Shri Krishnabhai V. Patel 22. Shri P. Rajendran 23. Shri Badiga Ramakrishna 24. Shri Gurjeet Singh Rana 25. Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana 26. Shri K.C. Pallani Shamy 27. Shri Ganesh Singh 28. Kunwar Manvendra Singh 29. Shri V.K. Thummar 30. Shri Giridhari Yadav 31. Shri Umakant Yadav II. Constitution of Sub-committee of the Committee on Industry
Sl. Sub-Committee Subject Name of the Chairman/ No. Convenor
1. Sub-Committee-I For Ministry of Agro Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria and Rural Industries 2. Sub-Committee-II For Ministry of SSI Shri O.T. Lepcha 3. Sub-Committee-III For Ministry of Heavy Shri Swadesh Chakraborty Industries and Public Enterprises 167
III. Subjects selected for examination 9.2 The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry selected the following subjects for examination:—
Sl. No. Ministry/Departments Subject 1. Ministry of Micro, KVI programmes in North-East Region, Constraints faced by Small and Small and Medium Medium Handicrafts Exporters, Iimpact of SEZ on MSME Sector, Imple- Enterprises mentation and status of Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certification Scheme. 2. Ministry of Heavy NEPA, Ltd. (Disinvestment of Ownership) Bill, 2007, Revival of Burn Industries and Public Standard Co. Ltd., Bharat Bhari Udyog Ltd., Hevy Engg. Corporation, Enterprises Ltd., Hindustan Photo Film Ltd., Bharat Yantra Nigam Ltd., Bharat Wagon and Engg. Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries and Merger of BHPV with BHEL. IV. (A) Sittings of the Committee 9.3 Till December 2008 the Committee held 17 sittings lasting for about 31 hours. The details of the meetings are given in Annexure X. (B) Sittings of the Sub-Committees 9.4 Till December 2008, 6 sittings of the Sub-Committees were held lasting for about 10 hrs. The details of the meetings are given in Annexure XI. V. Study Visits 9.5 The Main Committee and sub-Committees undertook study visits of various parts of the Country to have an in depth and on the spot study of their respective subjects which are as under:
Sl. Committee/Sub Dates Place of Visits Agenda No. Committee
12 3 4 5 1. Sub-Committee-III 17th to 22nd Guwahati- Trade Union of CCI/HPC, NPPC, AYCL, BBUN January, 2008 Kolkata-Chennai and Chennai Petroleum and Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd. on the issue of Wage Policy in respect of Manpower rationalisation. 2. Main Committee 4th to 13th Kolkata-Bangalore Comprehensive Review with the KVI and SME February, 2008 Hyderabad- Associations/Central and State governments and Mumbai- Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and North Thiruvanthapuram Zone based nationalized Banks, select Private Banks -Jaipur and the SLBC on the implementation of the package to step up Bank Credit to SME Sector as announced in Aug., 2005, issue of institutional finance to KVIC Schemes in North East, the issue of nominating agencies and Coal distribution to SMEs with State Government, constraints faced by BHEL and other select leading manufacturer of Power equipments and machineries in Private Sector in view of enhanced power generation targets for 11th plan, constraints faced by HNL and review of utilisation of the Budget allocations in respect of the HNL, review of utilization of the Budget allocations in respect of the ILK, REIL. 3. Main Committee 1st to 9th Chennai- Discussion with the management of Neyveli June, 2008 Mumbai- Legnite Corporation Ltd., Chennai Petroleum Cor- Vishakhapatnam poration Ltd., Cotton Corporation of India Ltd., Shipping Corporation of India Ltd., Hindustan Shipyard Ltd., Dredging Corporation of India Ltd. 168
12 3 4 5 and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd., on reservation for people with disability, discussion with the representative of BHPV and BHEL on re-structuring of PSEs-take over by BHEL discussion with Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, Union Bank of India, SIDBI, KVIC, on Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP). 4. Main Committee 24th August Kochi-Bangalore Coir Board on working/implementation of Coir to 1st -Hyderabad Board Policy, State Bank of Travancore on Credit September, 2008 Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSME Sector, Hindustan Latex Ltd., Hindustan News Print Ltd., Container Corporation of India, Fertilizers and Chemicals (Travancore) Ltd. (FACT) on reservation for People with Disability, State Bank of Mysore on Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSME Sector, Syndicate Bank on Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSME Sector, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd., Bharat Electronic Ltd. on reservation of People with Disability, Vijaya Bank on Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSME Sector, Corporation Bank on Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSME Sector, Canara Bank on Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSME Sector, Bharat Dynamics Ltd. on reservation of People with Disability, State Bank of Hyderabad on Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSME Sector, NMDC on reservation of People with Disability, Electronic Corporation on reservation of People with Disability, Sponge Iron India Ltd. on reservation of People with Disability, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd. (MIDHANI) on reservation of People with Disability, Andhra Bank on Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for MSME Sector, HMT Bearings Ltd. on the issue of revival and discussions with the management and others and visit to Praga Tools Ltd. on the issue of revival and discussions with the management and others. VI. Reports Presented 9.6 During 2008, the Committee presented the following 8 (Eight) Reports to both the Houses:—
Sl. Report Date of presentation/ Subject No. No. laying in Rajya Sabha/ Lok Sabha 12 3 4 1. 204th 29.4.2008 Action Taken Report on the 201st Report of the Committee on the Demands for Grants (2007-08) pertaining to the Department of Heavy Industry (Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises). 2. 205th 29.4.2008 Action Taken Report on the 202nd Report of the Committee on the Demands for Grants (2007-08) pertaining to the Department of Public Enterprises (Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises). 169
12 3 4 3. 206th 29.4.2008 Action Taken Report on the 200th Report of the Committee on the Demands for Grants (2007-08) pertaining to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. 4. 207th 29.4.2008 Action Taken Report on the 199th Report on the Demands for Grants (2007-08) pertaining to the Ministry of Agro and rural Industries. 5. 208th 29.4.2008 Demands for Grants (2008-09) pertaining to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Department of Heavy Industry. 6. 209th 29.4.2008 Demands for Grants (2008-09) pertaining to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Department of Public Enterprises. 7. 210th 29.04.2008 Demands for Grants (2008-09) pertaining to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. 8. 211th 21.10.2008 The NEPA Ltd. (Disinvestment of Ownership) Bill, 2007, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
VII. Summary of the Recommendations
(a) 204th Report 9.7 The Committee observed with concern that as per the Outcome Budget 2007-08, substantial parts of Rs. 1807.84 crores of IEBRs were committed for settling the VRS/statutory dues and salaries, in addition to Rs. 150 crores of Budgetary support. Only Rs. 227.88 crores of IEBR in addition to Rs. 5 crores of Budgetary support will be used for capital investments in PSEs. The Committee considered it as an evidence of a lopsided revival and restructuring of PSEs where greater stress is being laid on restructuring the manpower instead of capital investments in the PSEs. 9.8 The Committee expressed its reservations over the DHI's inability to spend allocated funds for NE region. Yet the planned allocation had been hiked to Rs. 100 crores in the year 2007-08 for the very same projects as in 2006-07. The Committee wanted the DHI to explain the causes of such lackluster performance in NE and steps taken to improve the situation. 9.9 The Committee would like to have the DHI's comments on certain discrepancies in the figures furnished by the Department at different places in its replies. The Committee noted one such discrepancy in case of Rs. 150 crore allocation as loans for the revival to settle salary dues of the PSE employees. As per the information furnished Rs. 257 crores had already been spent and another Rs. 50 crores were likely to be spent by the end of March 2007. Whereas only Rs. 120 crores out of the allocation of Rs. 250 crores meant for loans to settle VRS dues, have been spent. The reply of the DHI does not match with the written replies to the subsequent questions. 9.10 The Committee was concerned that same PSEs may be repeated over the successive years. It presumed that these PSEs could not even raise funds from the market against VRS Bonds and seeks the same from DHI must informed it of the road map as to how long such allocations are likely to continue and from when the PSEs should start paying back the loans. The Committee apprehended that the DHI as the Government department had been reduced to fund raising agency for the PSEs. The Committee found such situation unacceptable. 9.11 In reply to a query the Committee was informed that these non-planned loans ostensibly meant for the revival of PSEs, were in fact utilized in paying the salary dues to the employees. The Committee accordingly, recommended that the DHI should change the nomenclature from a generic heading "Lumpsum Loans for the Revival Schemes of PSEs" to a more specific "Lumpsum for salaries". Such a change in heading would give greater clarity about the specific objective of allocation. 170
9.12 In response to Committee's view on modeling the NATRIP on the lines of Public-Private Partnership, the DHI informed that of the Rs. 1728 crore project Rs. 1090 crores would come from planned resources, Rs. 519 crores from non-planned cess funds and only Rs. 118 crores as user charges. The Committee was of the view that the private component in this project was very less and should be increased substantially. 9.13 The Committee also take an exception of using non-planned Road Cess funds for the Auto sector. The Road Cess was meant for maintenance of national highways and rural roads and certainly not for the auto sector, where going by current growth, the private players had sufficient resources to contribute into such world class R&D facility. The Committee noted that the DHI was funding some 124 R&D projects out of the cess fund. The Committee was seeking information from the DHI about the basis of such diversion of cess funds from their stated objective of maintenance of national highways and rural roads and if these stated objectives had been fully met. 9.14 The Committee found that revival package was largely about restructuring the manpower, waiving or converting the financial liabilities over the PSEs. It was apparent that not much of the Budgetary support was available to the more critical issues of technology upgradation and strengthening the marketing of PSEs. PSE were left to generate Internal and External Budgetary Resources for capital investments. This was despite the fact that DHI had recognized technological obsolescence as one of the factors of PSEs' losing competitive edge. The Committee therefore observed that the Government should consider this aspect while preparing revival packages for the sick PSEs. 9.15 The Committee in its 169th Report had raised question regarding the criterion for dividing the allocations under four categories of Plan, Non-Plan, revenue and Capital Expenditure. This year too, the Committee had sought clarification on such division. Though the GFR 78 and 79 define the Planned and Non- Planned expenditures and Revenue and Capital expenditures respectively. No clarification had been furnished by the Ministry on the hybridized four categories. In absence of such clarification, the Committee apprehended a fair scope of arbitrariness in the classification of allocations, which must be avoided. 9.16 The Committee found it rather intriguing that the lumpsum allocations of Rs. 400 crores meant for the loans to the PSEs to settle the VRS and other statutory dues and to pay the salaries to the employees were categorized as Non-Planned Capital Expenditure, whereas the Salary under the Major Head of Secretariat was placed as a Revenue Expenditure. The Committee found the explanation of the Department untenable that allocations for 'Loans' per se were Capital Expenditure even if it was meant for payment of Salaries or VRS dues to the staff. Similarly Rs. 25 crores meant for R&D in Auto Sector, other than NATRIP, was classified as a Non- Planned Revenue expenditure. 9.17 At the stage of Demands for Grants the Committee was informed that by the 1.3.2007, Rs. 72.66 crores were spent out of this lumpsum allocation to restrcture the PSEs. Yet the RE 2006-07 was shown as 87.82 crores. As such it was inferred that the DHI expected another expenditure of some Rs. 15 crores in the last month of the FY 2006-07. However in its reply the DHI had informed that it incurred massive excess expenditure of Rs. 531.17 crores in the last month of the FY 06-07, thereby grossly overshooting even its RE for the year. The DHI should have given detailed explanations of such gross under-estimation of RE. The Committee found the reply unacceptable and sought more detailed explanation. 9.18 The Committee disapproved the assertion that an enterprise could be converted into a viable one merely by cleaning up the balance sheet without addressing more critical issue of Cap investment, technology modernization and marketing alignments. As the revival plan aim to clear the balance sheets, the Committee should be informed, whether such PSEs can be listed in Stock Exchange to generate IEBRs for capital investments. If yes, give the details of such PSEs. 9.19 In view of the sectoral growth rates, the Committee observed that with 29 of the 48 PSEs of Department of Heavy Industry belonging to engineering and machine tools sector, it was obvious that negative growth in this sector was reflected in the performance of the PSEs. It was a matter of concern for Department of Heavy Industries and corrective measures need to be taken in this regard. 9.20 The Committee took note of the mandate under NCMP regarding revival of viable PSEs. However the reply did not elaborate on an objective criterion to determine the viability of a PSE. PSEs with huge accumulated losses and negative net worth had been considered viable despite previous failed efforts to revive them. The Committee may be informed of the objective basis on which revivability and sustainability of a PSEs is determined 171 by the BRPSE. Had the Government decided on any acceptable cost of revival of a PSE or this critical criteria of revivability had remained subjective on case to case basis. If not, the Committee recommended that the Government must determine objective criteria in accordance with NCMP. As regards reduction in number of loss making PSE, the Committee would like to know how many of such profit-making PSEs had been provided with Budgetary support in form of waivers/conversion, guarantee-fee subsidies or loans and grants. The DHI may provide such information in a tabular presentation. 9.21 The Committee observed steep decline in profits of HMT (Holdg.), REIL, HNL, Hooghly Printing and PTL and desired that the Committee may be apprised of the reasons therefor. The Committee may also be apprised whether the current loss making companies which were likely to make profit in 2007-08 would be making notional or actual profit, break up of each such company may be provided. 9.22 The Committee desired DHI to explain the reduction in budgatary support and IEBR and the steps taken to help PSEs to generate IEBRs in order to reduce their continuous dependence on budgatary support. The Committee observed that despite Government's guarantees the PSEs had not been able to meet IEBR targets which needs to be reviewed seriously. 9.23 The Committee expressed its serious concern over the constraints faced by the engineering and machine tools sector in generating the IEBR and even utilizing the allocations, despite the healthy growth of more than 15% in successive years 2005-06 and 2006-07. 9.24 The Committee had expressed reservations against the practice of getting rather ambitious annual targets that eventually remain elusive. The Department had not explained the reason for shortfall in generating targeted IEBR despite Government's guarantees. Not only IEBR were not achieved, the PSEs in Engineering and Machine tool sector were not able to utilize the budgetary allocations. Ministry's reply did not state the reasons thereof. 9.25 The Committee noted the definition of Planned and Non-Planned expenditure, as given in GFR 78, which states "Plan expenditure represents expenditure on Plan outlays approved for each scheme by the Planning Commission and indicates the extent to which such outlays were met out of budgetary provisions. Expenditure other than these were categorised as Non-Plan expenditure." The obvious corollary to this definition is that the allocations to the tune of Rs. 456.30 crores had not been approved by the Planning Commission. However no clarification had been offered about the criteria on which any scheme is approved by the Planning Commission. 9.26 The Committee had been concerned over the fact that revival plans predominantly entail non planned expenditure without actually adding to the capacity. The Committee desired that DHI must inform of the revival packages approved before every Supplementary Demand so as to ascertain the content of revival plan which necessitate huge revenue expenditures in Supplementary Demands. The Committee had apprehended that revival plan pertain only to financial window dressing at a huge cost of clearing the balance sheets, without making the revival of PSE self-sustainable. 9.27 The Committee appreciated the gradual increase in IT usage in DHI, also recommended that the Parliamentary questions/replies, debates pertaining to DHI and the Acts piloted by DHI too should be posted at the Website instead of maintaining the link with Parliament website. 9.28 The Committee expressed concern over the fact that the HMT which required the Guarantee Fee Subsidy, is also being provided Non-Plan Loans to settle VRS dues. The Committee sought to know the credit worthiness of such PSEs given their financial position and if any steps are being taken for the recovery of loans. 9.29 The Committee felt that though the Guarantee Fee Subsidy did not entail cash flow, yet the Government loses on the revenue in respect of guarantee fee. The Committee therefore, suggested that instead of waiving the returns, Government should defer the payment till companies attains profitability. 9.30 The Committee expressed serious reservations over the delay due to indecision on the part of Boards of Directors of NTPC and BHEL over the Draft Project Report (DPR). Despite approval of the technical feasibility and the requisite yearly budgetary allocations, the Board of the two companies had not been able to arrive at conclusion over the DPR ever since its submission in January, 2006. The Committee found such a situation unacceptable. The Committee desired the Boards of the two PSUs to be alive to the critical importance 172 of such R&D project for the Power Sector in the country. The Government should also ensure an early decision on the issue and that DHI should inform the progress to this Committee. 9.31 The Committee took a strong view of this continuing trend in DHI to keep the resources unutilized and yet seek huge lumpsum allocations annually to provide loans to clear the liabilities of PSEs. While taking such view the Committee also beared in consideration the trend of converting the loans/interests into equity or waving them altogether. 9.32 The Committee was constrained to note that non-planned allocations are being made annually for last nine years since 1998-1999. However, the allocation had remained same. In fact most the beneficiary PSEs, had also availed the loans for VRS and statutory dues. The situation raised serious question regarding the security of such loans. The Committee apprehended that going by the current practice, such loans may either be waived off or converted into unsecured-equity some time in future. 9.33 The Committee observed that only a few select PSEs are able to generate IEBRs. In view of under performance in generating the IEBRs by the PSEs, the Committee apprhended that majority of PSEs had to be funded through the budgetary resources to liquidate their outstanding liabilities or to meet their working capital requirements. The fact that the PSEs were not able to generate IEBRs was indicative of the long term credit worthiness of the PSEs, this is despite the fact that the Government has been providing the guarantees and interest subsidies.
(b) 205th Report 9.34 The Committee desired that the CRR Scheme should be linked with other existing skill development/ employment schemes or schemes to promote skilled entrepreneurs. 9.35 The Committee took serious view of inaction by various Departments of the Government and failure of DPE to follow up with ICPE. The response indicated lack of earnestness. The Committee desired the DPE to pursue the issue with greater earnestness than its defence for the retention of membership of ICPE. 9.36 The Committee considered the DPE's guidelines must have the force of a Government's policy and not remained only an advisory where implementation was voluntary. The DPE must therefore jointly monitor the implementation and performance of its guidelines with the administrative Ministries/Departments and collected and analyzed the data accordingly. Without regular monitoring such guidelines would remain as ineffective. 9.37 The Committee considered that the Indo-Slovenia or Indo-EU relations were at different bilateral plains whereas ICPE is a multilateral institution. The argument that a costly membership of the ICPE was significant to sustain and strengthen the essentially bilateral relations with EU, whose Chairmanship were to be assumed by Slovenia, was facile and far fetched. Keeping in view the depleting membership of ICPE, the Committee did not find Ministry's reply convincing. The Committee desired that the outcome of November meeting of General Assembly and Council of ICPE may be informed to it. 9.38 The Committee may be informed of the outcome of consultation with SCOPE on formulating comprehensive guidelines of Skill Development/training programme for shop-floor employees, supervisors and workmen. 9.39 The Committee may be informed of the final outcome of the proposal to include younger dependents of VRS optees. The Committee may be provided a tabular presentation of the age-wise break up of the FRS optees vis a vis CRR trainees so as to indicate their redeployment. The Committee had also taken note of the fact that since 2002-03 VRS incidents in Non-executive cadre was much higher then Executive and Supervisory cadres combined. 9.40 It has also been observed that VRS among Executives had been highest in Schedule A and B as compared to Schedule C and D Company. The Committee would like to have DPE's view over such a trend. Similarly the VR had been highest from the PSEs in sunrise areas like petroleum, telecom, Coal, Steel which were opening up for private players. Some of such PSEs are profit earning. In case of NTC the incidence of VR in the maximum, the gap between Executives and Non Executive Cadre is the maximum. Considering that textile sector was a labour intensive sector, such trends reaffirm the view that manpower rationalizations has taken place at the peril of semi skilled and skill non executive workers of PSEs. 173
9.41 The Committee may be informed of the outcome of review by EFC and Planning Commission. The Committee also recommends that the performance of the Nodal Agencies in producing the redeployment to the trainees, be reviewed. 9.42 The Committee took note that DPE by its own admission was not optimistic about the efficacy of the CRR Scheme. Considering the fact that number of non executive VR was much higher than the Executives, it must be assessed if executives too opt for CRR Schemes and if so what was the rate of their redeployment. It was disturbing that the skilled and semi-skilled non-executive cadre of the PSEs were not able to deploy their skills in open market.
(c) 206th Report 9.43 The Committee understood that the credit to SME Sector by public and private sector banks had increased in absolute term from Rs. 52,646 crore and Rs. 8,051 crore respectively as at the end of March, 2003 to Rs. 1,04,900 crore and Rs. 12,881 crore respectively as at the end of March, 2007 but the Committee was interested in knowing the progress made in regard to the Government's declarations of the policy package for stepping up of credit to SEM sector by providing 20% year on year growth. The Committee desired that Government should strive in achieving the milestone as set by its own policy. There was no substance in the argument of the Ministry of MSME that the credit size to MSME had increased, that was but natural, keeping in view the increase in the overall credit volume of the banks. What matters for critical assessment of credit to SSI sector was the percentage term as the objective had been set by the Policy Package to SME Sector. 9.44 Since no time-frame had been fixed by the Ministry and the assurance too was given for RE stage of the financial year 2007-08 the Committee will appreciate if the outcome was reflected in the BE of 2008-09. 9.45 The Committee would like to be apprised about whether the evaluation study was done by an independent agency. What was the name of the agency and the reasons for not assigning this task to NSIC? 9.46 The Committee found that the Action Taken Notes as furnished by Ministry of MSME merely enumerate for necessary compliance for future but the ATN did not mention anything about the steps taken by the NSIC with regard to organizing exhibitions, meetings, seminars etc. in both rural and urban areas. The Committee desired that the Ministry many categorically comment on the Committee's suggestions. Since the detailed steps were not given in the reply the Committee desired that it be informed about the detailed steps taken in this regard. The Committee desired that the Ministry of MSME should take appropriate step in ensuring the timely disbursement under CLCSS in future. 9.47 The Committee would like to be apprised of the efforts undertaken by the Ministry of MSME in persuading the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance for enhancing the allocation for plan outlay under the scheme of RE stage. The Committee would like to know to what extent the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance had agreed to the proposal of the Ministry of MSME. 9.48 The Committee may be apprised as to how much fund had been allocated at the RE Stage (2007-08) on two schemes under Upgradation of database: (i) Collection of Statistics of MSMEs; and (ii) Quinquennial census and Annual Sample surveys. The Committee further recommended that the Ministry should pursue with Planning Commission and Finance Ministry to ensure that adequate fund was allocated on the above two schemes for forthcoming financial years. 9.49 The Committee was of the considered view that the abundant natural resources of North-Eastern Region should be appropriately harnessed in the better interest of the region for comprehensive industrial development. Balanced industrial development was not only essential for economic development of the region but also for overall industrial progress and development. Only, institutional arrangement for the purpose, as had been done by Ministry of MSME by launching NER Cell in Office of DC (MSME), won't be sufficient, rather it would require chalking out 'further Action-Plan' and regorous implementation thereof. 9.50 The Committee hoped that newly introduced NER Cell in Office of DC (MSME) would bringforth/ would take up the issue of optimum and complete utilization of earmarked funds on various plan schemes in NER and Sikkim.
(d) 207th Report 9.51 The Committee was informed that the Ministry of ARI had proposed an amount of Rs. 4.0 crore for 174
Village Industries (S & T) for the year 2007-08. After detailed discussion, the Planning Commission agreed to Rs. 2.00 crore only under this head. Thus, 10 per cent of the total budget allocation i.e. Rs. 0.20 crore had been kept from the functional head. The Committee observed that sufficient funds need to be made available at RE stage. 9.52 The Committee noted the performance of VI's but feels still much remains to be achieved keeping in view the size of population that lives in rural India and also the scope of VI have to grow. The Committee, therefore, felt that the contribution of VI can be further strengthened and streamlined by ensuring timely and adequate delivery of credit by the banks, technology upgradation and marketing support in the form of financial support for exhibitions, product design intervention and packaging etc. 9.53 The Committee took note of the situation and observed that if the agro and rural industries had to face the competition, Ministry should intensify several initiatives viz. Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) with concerted efforts for employment generation through setting up of village industries, Common Facility Centres (CFCs) should be strengthened. Rural Industries Service Centre (RISC) Scheme to provide infrastructural support and services to such industries needs strengthening; gear up the design and packaging of village industry Product Development, Design Intervention and Packaging (PRODIP) Scheme; Enhanced financial assistance to village industry units for participation in national and international level exhibitions for market development. 9.54 The Committee noted that an outlay of Rs. 6.00 crore had been earmarked for domestic market promotion and to expand the domestic market 60 exhibitions are to be organized. The Committee recommended that the exhibitions should be organized on rotational basis covering larger areas of the country so as to make the coir products popular throughout the country. 9.55 The Committee was constrained to note that the sales of coir products in domestic market through coir boards show rooms was much lower than the desired level and it needed to be increased. Conditions of showrooms needed to be improved. Alternatively coir board could play pivotal role in arranging tie ups franchise with other showrooms/malls, etc. to popularize the coir products and boost the sale in domestic market. The Committee was very keen to know the outcome of the activities undertaken by board under Marketing Development Assistance Programme. 9.56 The Committee noted that it was highly appreciative on the part of Ministry of MSME to make efforts for 100 lakh employment opportunities but it would like to know the status of merger of PMRY into REGP because with mere token provision of Rs. 50 crore it appears almost impossible task for the Ministry. Out of required 15083.98 crores how much fund was likely to be allocated by Planning Commission after due approval by Cabinet and the proposed schmes/plans to make optimum utilization with more than 100% employment opportunities of Xth Plan. 9.57 The Committee recommended that the benefit of funds after merger should preferably be utilized in the areas/zones where the number of beneficiaries was very less under both these schemes. 9.58 The Committee noted the proposals for 11th Five Year Plan and recommended that Ministry should in order to increase efficiency and productivity of khadi industries endeavour to increase the number and improve livelihood of khadi artisans, make efforts to strengthen the khadi institutions and thereby increasing the employment as a whole; Outdated Charkhas and looms should be replaced on priority by taking the help of public/private partnership and facilities for packaging and designs should be given the required thrust which would lead to more sale and thus increase the wages and livelihood of artisans. 9.59 The Committee expressed its concern over the reply of the Ministry. It would like to know the current status of development for improving the livelihood of khadi artisans, efforts made to strengthen Khadi Institutions in 2007-08 so far ways and means to provided better wages and number of artisans benefited so far from the efforts made, zone-wise, including SC/ST/Backward areas institutions together with the outcome of the discussion with Planning Commission. 9.60 The Committee was keen to know the number of worksheds constructed so far and the utilization of fund for weak institutions. It would also like to know the number of weak institutions provided financial help and their locations, sales outlet rejuvenated zone-wise so far. 175
9.61 The Committee desired to know the ways and methods adopted to decide the minimum/maximum wages to artisans and what was the minimum wage paid to KVI artisans. 9.62 The Committee observed that with the funds allocated for 2007-08 the new schemes for productivity enhancement, production infrastructure and workshed housing schemes should be approved on priority and assistance to khadi artisans be routed through the nodal NGOs (Khadi Institutions) so that the target of about 8-9% growth in employment generation alongwith reasonable enhancement in khadi production could be easily achieved leading to higher production (525.00 crore) and sales (745.00 crore) consequently giving employment to 9.30 lakh persons including 0.50 employment for 2007-08. 9.63 The Committee expressed its concern over the inadequate institutional infrastructure particularly in the North Eastern States. The Committee noted that the presence of Khadi institutions in States other than Assam and Manipur was insignificant. The Committee was keen to know what steps had been taken to strengthen Khadi Institutions in these States and why the numbers have not increased. The Committee accordingly, desired the Ministry and KVIC to furnish a progress report in this regard while furnishing ATR on this report. 9.64 The Committee views the lack of development and proliferation of KVI Industries in NER seriously and recommended that grass root level organisational capacity in the field of Khadi and Village Industries should be given a proper boost. The hindrance in executing the mortgage of properties should be removed by making a Unanimous Consensus of Zonal Committees, voluntary agencies including NGOs, artisans and others engaged in operation of the programmes of KVIC. The Committee also desired that more Khadi Institutions should be registered as the ban of registration has already been lifted and information in this regard be furnished to the Committee. It also recommends Chairperson and CEO, KVIC should visit NRE more often and taken specific interest in stimultating the activities of KVIC. 9.65 The Committee was constrained to note that inadequate R & D activities, lack of proper monitoring mechanism and standardization of products is hampering the growth and development of village industries. The tie ups with reputed institutes may help KVIC in this field. The Committee, therefore, desired that Government should make sincere efforts to remove these difficulties. The Committee would also like to know the details of R & D activities undertaken by KVIC through in-house research and also about the projects sponsored to R & D organizations together with the outcome. The Committee may also be apprised of the action plan prepared by the KVIC in this regard. 9.66 The Committee looked forward for a successful begining of SFURTI in current year as the Ministry had targeted 30% of the approved 104 clusters to become operational by March, 2008 and hopes the targets would be met. 9.67 The Committee was constrained to note the absence of model successful modernized full fledged cluster so far. Whereas the Ministry had informed to regenerate 100 traditional industries cluster from Khadi, Village Industries and Coir Sectors. The Committee would like to know the reasons for poor performance in SFURTI so far. 9.68 The Committee recommended that new Charkhas and looms should replace the old ones under SFURTI scheme so that the production and wages may increase. 9.69 The Committee took note of the last three years' achievements of the total applicants only 59% are sanctioned cases and the disbursement was further reduced to 46% of applicants. It was a reflection on the fact that the number of applications might had been rejected for note submitting the viable projects and/or for note meeting the procedural requirements. The Committee recommended that applicants be properly educated and trained by the sponsoring agencies including banks so that percentage of rejection goes down. Further more than 23% of sanctioned projects, do not get disbursement. The Committee failed to understand the reason whether it was due to spill over effect of funds to the next year or for any other reasons. 9.70 The Committee felt the basic problem being faced in implementation of PMRY was the cold shoulders being shown by the bankers thus affecting employment in rural areas. Even in urban areas the problem persists relating to the interest rate charged by the banks. The Committee accordingly, directed the Government to convince the banks for rationalization of rate of interest to make the scheme successful. 9.71 The Committee was in agreement with the Ministry of MSME but it desired to have a detailed information, zone-wise and State-wise on ISEC, PRODIP and SFURTI to assess the results and efforts made by 176 the Ministry of MSME. It would also like to know the performance of each State KVIB which were important vehicle for implementing KVI programmes together with inputs on constrains being faced by them in getting support from respective State Government and the action taken on it by the Ministry. 9.72 The Committee strongly felt that in the North-East Khadi activities needs to be given special dispensation. At present, there were only 34 KVI institutions working in the North-Eastern Zone, which was less than 2% of the total number of all India institutions in the khadi field. Therefore, there was an imminent need to establish new KVI institutions in the North-Eastern region. The Committee accordingly, recommended for a special drive for developing new KVI institutions in the North-Eastern region. Secondly in order to bring effective management and organization in the khadi field in the North East region, reputed khadi institutions from other parts of the country like Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh etc., requires to be encouraged to bring in their managerial cadre/Khadi Karyakartas, who will train the local artisans in khadi work and also provide help in marketing of khadi etc., if required, some special grants can be earmarked for this purpose. 9.73 The Committee welcomed the proposals for the development and promotion of mega clusters in the States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa. The Committee desired that similar clusters should also be promoted in other States which were growing coconut like Gujarat, Tripura and Goa etc. in a time bound manner. The Committee impressed upon the Coir Board to ensure that those clusters proved to be booster in not only in increasing the production but also improved the quality of products. 9.74 As regards the Science and Technology Programme which was a continuing plan programme of the Coir Board, the Committee felt that consistent efforts were to be made towards technology upgradation, product diversification, introduction of pollution free processing technologies etc. The Committee felt Board's extension service programmes were needed by the Industry. The Committee therefore, desired the Coir Board to take the necessary steps. 9.75 The Committee hoped that measures initiated by Ministry of Agro and Rural Industry and Coir Board to assess the potentialities of coir industry in the North East will help coir industry in the region. The Committee felt that efforts should be made to set up atleast one cluster in a North Eastern State on lines in those set up under Rejuvenation, Modernization and Technology Upgradation programme. This will prove to be a booster in the power of coir products in the region. 9.76 The Committee expresed its concern over the poor performance of REGP particularly in the States of Jharkhand, Orissa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura and Maharashtra. The Government had to make concerted efforts for improvement in these States. As the State KVI Boards were major agencies in implmenation, the Ministry and KVIC should take up the matter with these State Governments and KVI Boards and ensrue that the performance does improve. (e) 208th Report 9.77 The Committee wondered if such a growth had factored in the huge waivers and subsidies given through the Budgetary support. The Committee also observed that of the 34 operational units in case of about 18 PSEs the order books had either stagnated or shown decline in 2007 besides the fact that most of such orders were from the Government of PSEs. Furthermore given the precarious financial conditions, these PSEs may require Government's support for the working capital. As such the Committee felt that the PSEs were functioning more as Government's Departments instead of autonomous sustainabe commercial entities. The Committee also noted that the export earnings in 2007-08 are likely to come down and that only 9 PSEs were likely to show export earnings. 9.78 The Committee had observed with reservation the delay in making reference of BRPSE's recommendations to the competent authority. Considering that the BRPSE included the Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance, Department of Public Enterprises and that it relied significantly on the inputs of administrative Departments, the Committee found the practice of further referring its recommendations Inter- Ministerial Group or the Committee of Secretaries as superfluous and time consuming. The views of the Government on the BRPSE's recommendations were further ratified by the BIFR. The Committee objected to such a practice that leads to further critical delays. On the one hand BRPSE was not provided with adequate budget to make its own independent assessment and was made to rely upon the administrative Ministry, on the other hand its recommendations were further referred to a collateral body of Secretaries. In view of the Committee such a practice only undermines the recommendations of the BRPSE. 177
9.79 The Committee expressed its dismay that even after the passage of one year of the Prime Minister's initiative which he enunciated in his address to the Conference of Chief Executive of Public Enterprises (8th March 2007, New Delhi), necessary instructions had not yet been formulated. The Committee recommended that detailed instructions on the Prime Minister's initiative should be formulated by the Government at the earliest. 9.80 The Committee took very serious note of inexplicable ambiguities in presentation, classification of Demands and mistakes in the figures provided by the Department. The Committee took cognisance of the reply presented by the Ministry of Finance which conceded that while classification on the basis of Capital and Revenue expenditure was a constitutional requirement adding to it another sub classification of Planned and Non-planned expenditure, just because it had been in vogue and institutionalised has led to arbitrariness, which even the representatives of the Department have found difficult to elaborate. In absence of a convincing reply from the Department, the Committee got an impression that the Department and its relevant wing too could not comprehend the current format of classification. Absence of any standardised definition of the four hybridised categories obviously had serious consequences and may have resulted in arbitrariness. 9.81 The Committee also recommended that the explanatory notes instead of being generic ones, should be prepared in context of the allocation to a particular PSE, Scheme/programme. 9.82 The Committee had observed a rather disturbing trend that most of the actual expenditure was made towards the last months of the Financial Year. Further the allocations out of lumpsum allocations of Rs. 400 crores meant to settle VRS/Statutory/salary dues were made only in the very last part of the Financial year. 9.83 The Committee reiterated its concern for lack of investment in R & D despite the presence of robust private participation in the Auto Sector. Earlier too, the Committee had impressed upon the need for private participation in NATRIP. The Committee was of the view that the Cess fund levied on the sales of automobile can not replace the contribution from the Auto players who will eventually use those Testing facilities. The Government may consider greater private participation in the NATRIP. 9.84 The Committee expressed its reservation over serious under utilisation of funds by the NATRIP. Against the Total outlay of Rs. 570.33 crores till 2007-08, Plan only Rs. 312.33 crores were actual Budget allocations, out of which only 170.11 crores have been utilised. In initial two years there had been gross under utilisation of funds. It had also been stated that the bulk of expenditure on the project was envisaged for 2008-09. In 2007-08 too the BE of Rs. 200 crores was scaled down to Rs. 157 crores in RE. Even the reduced allocation remained unutilised. The Committee considered it to be yet another example of hoarding the scarce funds by the Department of HI and not utilising them. In view of the past experience with NATRIP and also taking a view of assertion that the project would seek significant allocations in the Supplementary Demands this year, the Committee recommended that the Ministry of Finance alongwith Department of HI should scrupulously follow the progress of the project and utilisation of funds before committing any further funds in Supplementary Demands. 9.85 The Committee expressed its serious disapproval over delay. It noted that earlier the Planning Commission's approval was postponed as 2006-07 was last year of the 10th Plan. Now despite the passage of first year, only an 'in principle approval for Rs. 300 crores as against Rs. 860 crores had been given by the Planning Commission to a project that was likely to cover sectors which needed urgent technological inputs. Annual requirement of Rs. 129 crores had been pruned to Rs. 24 crores with an assurance of enhancing the allocation upon approval from the competent authority. Such approval was yet to be accorded after the lapse of three years. Despite the Committee's observation (7.5) in its 201st Report regarding the administrative delay in approval, the Planning Commission has not yet taken a final view. On the other hand the performance of the Department too had been lacklustre. Of Rs. 20 crores allocated in BE 2007-08 and retained in Revised Estimates, only Rs. 43 lakhs could be spent. Such underutilisation of funds was yet another example of hoarding of scarce fudns by DHI and raises serious apprehensions about the DHI's ability to efficiently use the annual allocations. 9.86 The Committee wondered the rationale behind providing Government Loans to settle VRS dues to the same PSEs that were able to generate Bank Finance even with the Interest Subsidy. The Committee sought greater details from DGHI in this respect. 9.87 The Committee expressed its serious dismay over the delay in settling the issue between the technology developer BHEL and the technology user NTPC, despite the fact that the technological and 178 commercial feasibility of project had been assessed at various competent levels in the Government and the Government itself was ready to provide budgetary support to the project. The Committee also took in view the competitive cost per MW produced with the technology developed by the BHEL. Considering that the technology was suited to the quality of domestic coal and that there was a need to develop such technology indigenously to address the future environmental issues, the Committee was agreeable to the DHI's proposal that in absence of NTPC, such project should be funded through budgetary support. The Committee however, expressed its serious reservations over the intransigence shown by the NTPC for last five years. 9.88 In conclusion the Committee expressed its serious reservation over the performance of the Department in managing its financial affairs. That significant part of the allocation remains unspent despite seeking higher RE, indicates an avoidable tendency of hoarding the allocations and this had been a predominant trend as far as the DHI is concerned. That bulk of the expenditure was spent in last week of the FY indicates the quality of expenditure. Going by the replies given by the Department in respect of allocations for the revival of PSEs, it appears that entire revival process was so tentative and ad-hoc which makes even distribution of expenditure through the financial year, impossible. That there had been a persistent and serious imbalance in annual Planned and Non-Planned expenditures, with Non-Planned expenditure overshooting the annual budget estimates every year in contrast to the Planned allocations that had remained unspent in most of the cases, is an alarming pointer to the quality of revival of the PSEs and the sustainability of such revival. 9.89 The performance of the two major Planned schemes namely NATRIP and Modernisation of Capital Goods Sector, had been rather unsatisfactory. The two schemes had suffered crippling delays due to administrative bottlenecks and extraneous consideration. The Funds in case of NATRIP have remained unspent, whereas in case of Modernisation of Capital Goods Sector, the Planning Commission has delayed the process. 9.90 In view of the experience of previous years, the Committee recommended to the Ministry of Finance to scrupulously monitor the usage of allocations before committing any Supplementary Demands. In this regard the Committee noted that the Department did not seek cash demands in the Supplementary Demands, instead Token and Technical allocations are sought. The Committee sought to know from where these token and technical allocations were drawn. However, no reply was provided by the Department. The Committee apprehended if the savings from several under-utilised allocations were relocated in the Supplementary Demands. It is desired that the DHI should apprise the source of such savings in its future Supplementary Demands.
(f) 209th Report 9.91 The Committee observed that the actual expenditure, both Planned and Non-Planned, have been less than the RE for the year. The Committee should be informed of such a shortfall in the expenditure for the CRR scheme. 9.92 The Committee took very serious note of inexplicable ambiguiuties in classification of Demands. The Committee took congnizance of the reply presented by the Ministry of Finance which concedes that while classification on the basis of Capital and Revenue expenditure was constitutional requirement adding to it another sub classification of Planned and Non-planned expenditure, just because it had been in vogue and institutionalised has led to arbitrariness, which even the representatives of the Department had found difficult to elaborate. In absence of a convincing reply from the Department, the Committee got an impression that the Department and its relevant wing too could not comprehend the current format of classification. Absence of any standardised definition of the hybridised categories obviously had serious cosequences and may have resulted in arbitrariness. The Committee in agreement with the observation made in the Economic Survey regarding Planned and Non-Planned expenditure. It was the considered opinion of the Committee that once the Budget is approved by the Cabinet for the presentation to the Parliament, it was superfluous to indicate in the SBE the approval of Planning Commission or any other expert body to individual expenditures. The Committee therefore felt that if a classification can not be explained even by the representatives of the Department and the Planning Commission, it must be done away with. The Committee recommended that in view of the reply from the Ministry of Finance and the observations made in the Economic Survey, the Financial Advisor of the Department must peruse with the Ministry of Finance to stop an institutionalised practice in favour of constitutional requirement. 9.93 After almost four years of BRPSE's existence, the Government had approved only 30 cases for revival. Of an expected investment of Rs. 28513.51 crores, so far only about Rs. 8430.48 crores have been 179 approved. Of the requisite cash infusion of Rs. 4440.67 crores, only Rs. 1976.13 crores have been approved. The Committee expresses serious concerns as to how could Government generate such resources for the revival. And if the delay in arranging the resources could escalate the cost of revival. 9.94 In view of the reply of the BRPSE, the Committee recommended an objective appraisal of the need for selective revival against the cost of revival. Without such a selective criteria the policy as enunciated in the NCMP may become a drag on the exchequer instead of being an enbling provision to revive the PSEs to revitalize overall industrial sector in the economy. In this context the Committee also noted that the annual performance target set prospectively for next five years for the revived PSEs were rather conservative. Considering the huge cost of proposed revivals and the limited resources actually committed thus far, it was imperative that some benchmarks of acceptable cost ought to be prescribed. Such benchmark cost of revival may very for core/strategic and non-core/non strategic sectors. 9.95 The Committee observed that with such exhaustive details on the one hand the Board had considered and recommended 51 cases in its 56 meetings till February 2008 inter alia it took on an average just about one meeting to consider and recommend the revival or closure of a PSE, on the other hand the Committee also observed with reservation the delay in making reference of BRPSE's recommendations to the competent authority. Considering that the BRPSE includes the Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance, Department of Public Enterprises and that it relies significantly on the inputs of administrative. Department, the Committee found the practice of further referring its recommendations Inter-Ministerial Group or the Committee of Secretaries as superfluous and time consuming. The views of the Government on the BRPSE's recommendations were further ratified by the BIFR. Often the revival packages get stuck on the issues with the State Governments and other agencies. The Committee objected to such a practice that leads to further critical delays. On the one hand BRPSE was not provided with adequate budget to make its own independent assessment and was made to rely upon the administrative Ministry, on the other hand its recommendations were further referred to a collateral body of Secretaries. In view of the Committee such a practice only undermines the recommendations of the BRPSE. The Committee recommended that the BRPSE should also ascertain the views of other stakeholders particularly the State/local Governments independently before making its final recommendations. 9.96 The Committee noted that Rs. 0.15 crores were allocated to BRPSE for Salaries and it found rather strange that yet another Rs. 5 lakhs were allocated to pay the honoraria to the Chairman and the non-official members of the Board for the 10 meetings held during the FY 07-08.The Department may provide the details of salary expenses. 9.97 Keeping in view the depleting membership of the ICPE and also bearing in view the level of participation during the last three years, when only 28 executives from 16 PSEs attended the courses at ICPE, the Committee considered that level of annual membership fee to ICPE can not be justified when the similar courses were available in India at the competitive cost to the company (CTC). The Committee also observed that most of the PSEs had sent only one executive to a course at ICPE. It was obviously led to wonder if the training of a single executive could make any worthwhile change in any PSE, except for adding to the qualification of the individual participant. The Committee found such an approach of piecemeal training the executives, patently faulty. 9.98 Furthermore, the Committee rejected the view of Ministry of External Affairs that membership of a multilateral inter-government academic organization was required to promote what was essentially bilateral relation between the two countries. The membership of ICPE can not be justified on the basis of an objective cost-benefit analysis. Exposure of an individual executive to the European experience can hardly be an argument for such a costly burden on the budget. The Committee therefore recommended that while individual PSE may negotiate price/fee with the ICPE, the membership must not be a burden on the budget. 9.99 The Committee found the Department's response indifferent and apathetic to its recommendation on a very emergent situation. Instead of formulating the guidelines itself, the DPE had left the assignment to SCOPE, which further gave the project to a Consultant, on whose advice the SCOPE planned two conference with HR managers. Despite such an elaborate process of consultation the urgency to address the emergent issue had been completely missed. The Committee found the reply lacking in earnestness. It recommended that the DPE must prescribe strict timeline of maximum six months to the SCOPE to formulate the guidelines. The Committee may also be informed of the details if the SCOPE has been allocated and dispursed any fund for formulating such guidelines. 180
9.100 However the DPE had not responded to the Committee's specific query if the VRS optees were being employed as casual /daily wage employees in the same PSE. The DPE may also explain if its existing guidelines were also applicable for such casual/daily wage workers. The Committee asked the DPE to ensure the factual situation if the VRS optess had been re-employed as casual/daily wage workers despite existing guidelines and inform the Committee. 9.101 The Committee recommended that the DPE should issue guidelines to the PSEs asking them to reflect the separate wage/salary bills in respect of Executive, supervisory and workers respectively, in their annual statements. 9.102 The Committee expressed its concern over under utilisation of funds meant for a Plan Scheme for economically under-developed NE region. This had been the pattern year after year. However due to the policy requirement a certain percentage of Planned allocation was earmarked for the NE region. The Committee expressed its reservation over locking scarce funds without utilizing them.
(g) 210th Report 9.103 The Committee took a serious note of the reduction under the various Schemes/Programmes in view of the role and constribution of the MSME sector in creation of larger employment opportunities at a lower capital cost. M/o MS & ME should take up the matter with the Planning Commission strongly and get the projected sum released so as to run the Schemes/Programmes smoothly and provide employment to larger sector in the country as per the policy of the Government. 9.104 The Committee was also constrained to note the major reduction in Credit Support Progammes consisting of three schemes and playing a major role in the promotion and development of the MSME sector. The Committee expressed is displeasure on the allocation of insufficient funds under CGTMSE and Micro Financing which were exhausted even before the completion of last Financial Year and thus hampering the execution under these schemes. 9.105 The Committee also took note that the funds allocated under TREAD remained unutilized throughout the year and thus negated the empowerment of women. Committee desired to know the reasons for non- utilisation and hopes that the Government would ensure proper and timely utilization under each and every scheme/Programme in XIth plan. It also expressed apprehension about the achievement of the targets fixed under Credit Guarantee Scheme with such a major reduction. 9.106 The Committee took a serious note that instead of furnishing targets for the Schemes/Programmes for the year 2007-08 the projection under the various Schemes/Programmes had been furnished. It also noted that no targets for Skill Development/EDP was set which is the backbone of success for each scheme and programme. 9.107 The Committee also noted the under utilization against allocation in Development of NER and Sikkim and in other schemes and desired to know the reasons. 9.108 The Committee noted that the TREAD envisages the development of Micro/Tiny Women Enterprises both in rural and urban areas. To make this scheme operational in real sense it felt that the number of participating Banks should be increased. It also felt that the associations who had availed grants from M/o MS & ME should be made eligible for proper implementation after their evaluation. Even in Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme specific time limit by Banks for appraisal of project once the application was accepted by the banks, as the Scheme allows additional comfort to bank through the CGTSI. The Guarantee cover under the Scheme should be enhanced to Rs. 50 lakhs and priority should be given to women entrepreneures who were not able to provide security. 9.109 The Committee appreciated the effort of the Government to bring more Banks/Financial Institutions under MLIs but it desired that more concrete efforts and measures were required to motivate the private and foreign banks operating in the country and funding to priority sector to join the MLIs. The Committee would like to be informed about the measures and steps taken in this regard. 9.110 The Committee appreciated that despite the fact that the funds allocated under Credit Guarantee Scheme for 2007-08 exhausted before the end of financial year, the targets for coverage of women and SC/ST owned enterprises achieved is three times higher. It would like to know the skills and planning devised for 181 execution and recommends for application of planning on these lines in other Schemes/Programmes to achieve the target. 9.111 The Committee noted that the CLCSS launched for the technology upgradation of Small industries sector in selected products. This scheme was implemented through SIDBI and NABARD. With the increasing competition due to liberalization of the Economy, the survival and growth of the SSI units were critically dependent on their modernization and Technological upgradation. It felt that the ceiling of Loan amount should be enhanced to Rs. 1 Crore and the rate of Subsidy should be 15%. 9.112 The Committee recommended that in order to promote climate friendly technologies for MSME sector there was a need to create Central Climate Friendly Technology Fund to help MSMEs to adopt these technologies for which the initial funding could be done by Central Government with private participation by way of contribution to this fund in terms of technology resources. 9.113 The Committee desired that in order to provide real help to the Micro industries direct and easy access to the technologies developed by Central Scientific Organisation should be encouraged. 9.114 The Committee was pleased to note that the Government, with an objective to support the manufacturing sector, particularly the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in their endeavour to become competitive, announced 10 point initiative under “National Monufacturing Competitions Programme” (NMCP). The said programme had the 10 components/programmes. The NMCP was formulated by the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) in consultation with the industry and other stake holders including Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. 9.115 The Committee views that the NMCP was to be implemented through the Ministry of MSME during Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, wherein the total cost was likely to be Rs. 973.25 crores, out of which Rs. 745.10 crore would be Government contribution. 9.116 The Committee desired that the Government Purchase and Price Preference policy which was under preparation as per the provisions of MSMED Act 2006 be expedited by the Government and it should be made obligatory for all Central/State Ministries, Departments or PSUs. It would like to know the details and progress made in this regard. 9.117 The Committee was pleased to note the exports facilitated and recommends that NSIC should continue its efforts with a close co-ordination of M/o MS & ME to provide a greater fillip to the MSME sector but was also surprised to note the static value of exports in the 2006-07 and 2007-08. It would like to know the reasons for the static growth. 9.118 The Committee noted the past performance of the VI Grants for other activities like rebate on polyvastra, exhibitions which had a clear objective of promotion of Village Industries products to increase the sale of VI products, polyvastra etc., and found that against the allocation under Plan Head no achievement had been made. It also desired to be informed about reasons of no achievement. 9.119 The Committee noted with concern that the KVIC was not making optimum capacity utilization of its existing production capacity as against a production capacity of 33 lakhs kgs. only 20.39 lakh kgs. was produced by the Central Silver Plants. 9.120 The Committee recommended that KVIC should expeditiously finalise the proposed to prepare short films on various schemes of KVIC for creating better awareness among the masses. 9.121 The Committee noted the number of projects taken up under PRODIP in 2007-08 and felt that the number has come down. It also felt that the impact of this intervention should be evaluated on priority keeping in view the increased sales and production. 9.122 The Committee appreciated 'Ready To Use Mission' and recommended its extension to all State/ UTs in phases and also recommends that either NIFT or any other fashion technology institute of repute may be involved for improving the design and quality of khadi which would ultimately lead to increased sale and thereby providing larger employment opportunities. 9.123 The Committee felt that product diversification, design and fashion development and fashion shows in major cities would assist marketing of khadi, marketability of products of village industries could be enhanced by concentrating more on quality and packaging. 182
9.124 The Commitee recommended that apart from sale of KVI products through Bhavans, Bhandars, Mobile vans, and three whellers in all big cities, their marketing on commission basis at district and village market besides weekly haats needs to be encouraged. It feels the need of more Khadi bazaars with the active involvement of State Governments and Local Bodies. 9.125 The Committee noted the delay in 'Take off of SFURTI scheme due to unfamiliarity of Technical Agencies with KVI and coir industries and other difficulties which should be dispelled. The Committee also recommended that KVIC and Coir Board should adopt a comprehensive approach for cluster development. The requirements of khadi, VI and coir clusters should be met without constraints. Identification and appointment of Cluster Development Assistants (CDAs) in each cluster should be given priority. 9.126 The Committee took note of the under utilization in SFURTI and slow take off in clusters and desired that the work in clusters should be expedited and Ministry should ensure that no fund allocated remains unutilized. It noted that the Ministry on the one land asks for the funds for the scheme whereas on the other hand it remained unutilized. The Committee directed the Ministry to concentrate more on outcome than outlays. 9.127 The Committee observed with concern that the pace of progress under SFURTI was very slow. Against a target of 100 clusters (Khadi, Village Industries and Coir) only 13 have been inaugurated so far within a time span of 3 years (Base year 2005-06). The Committee also noted the reply of the Ministry regarding operationlisation and functionality of clusters and recommends that the Ministry should make vigorous efforts in Co-ordination with KVIC and Coir Board so as to set up the targeted clusters within targeted time span. 9.128 The Committee felt that all training components should be properly networked with technology support and market support funds of Board and all financial assistance through scheme be given due support to the beneficiaries trained. 9.129 The Committee felf that for development, production and infrastructure, the financial assistacne was too low. It should be modified to provided better financial assistance. The Subsidy component needed to be released through banks in case of loan and to the industry directly in case of own investment for which the industry/enterprises should have PAN number. 9.130 The Committee recommended that the Cior Board should establish full fledged data base system through outsourcing if necessary. Coir board should have technical persons in statistics and market research. Evaluation of Board Schemes, survey/census, commodity market study for domestic and export markets should be carried out once in two year. 9.131 The Committee felt that the Coir Board should focus on technology transfer and incubation training, infrastructure assistance and to create common facility centres/technology upgradation centres and market support/credit support schemes subsidizing the interest rate to the entrepreneurs for development of sector. 9.132 The Committee further recommended that funds allocated under science and technology need to be spent on applied research and development activities, if required outsourcing the scientist and collaborating with national/international reputed research organizations and consortium of machinery manufacturers associations etc. 9.133 The Committee felt that the present set up of Coir Board should be restructured so as to reduce the expenditure of the Board. It also felt that the Board should have 20 members out of which 15 members may represent experts from trade, technology, market etc. and 5 from Government side. 9.134 The Committee also recommended that the Market Development Assistance Scheme of present pattern is supporting co-operative sector and it may be extended to the consortium of tiny/Household and Small industries of private sector for which their accounts and sales turnover may be audited by Board or those recommended by the State Authorities of industries department. 9.135 The Committee noted the under utilization and less achievement in Mahila Coir Yojana and no utilization of funds allocated for Welfare Measures in 2007-08. 9.136 The Committee was surprised to note that no funds were allocated for Andaman & Nicobar Islands which had seen mass level devastation due to Tsunami whereas for the year 2006-07 very small amount as compared to Lakshadweep had been allocated. It would like to know the reasons therefore and urged the Ministry to take up the Matter with Ministry of Finance for more allocation. 183
9.137 The Committee felt that the target for replacement of outdated ratts/looms was very low for each of the two years i.e. 2007-08 and 2008-09. It recommended that the necessary approvals and sanctions should be expedited and the targets be enhanced keeping in view the Spinning/Household units in each coir producing States so that the modernization could take place at a faster pace resulting in enhancement of the earnings of workers and income of spinners and household units ultimately leading to more employment opportunities. 9.138 The Committee observed that some State KVIB were being run without fall time CEO accordingly it recommended that State KVI Boards should have full time Chief Executive Officers for faster pace of programme implementation through KVIB. 9.139 The Committee felt that the renewal of registration of Khadi certificate, by State Government department, under Societies Registration Act, need not be insisted upon as it causes inordinate delay in release of funds to the directly aided institutions in N.E. region. 9.140 The Committee recommended that the condition of mortgage should be relaxed so as to create equitable mortgage in favour of the Commission. It also recommended that the status of Sub office, Silchar, should be upgraded to Divisional Office by adequately strengthening it. 9.141 The Committee recommended that the registration of Institutes in NER should be expedited and Committee be informed of the progress made in this regard.
(h) 211th Report 9.142 The Committee felt that this cannot be called a decent achievement on the face of the fact where the Government had opened parallel processes simultaneously with no actual convergence. With the NEPA's case was still pending before the BIFR, whose prolonged and repeated attempts had not resulted into a viable and sustainable revival, what was the rationale of referring the case of BRPSE, which was only a recommendatory body to the Government. 9.143 The Committee noted that there was an impressive newsprint market in the country which was growing at an annual rate of 15%. The Newsprint consumption in country was 85 lakh tonnes in 2007 which was likely to grow upto 150 lakh tonnes by 2015 and further 200 lakh tonnes by 2020. It further noted that there was a wide gap in the demand of newsprint and the production capacity. Obviously the gap had sought to be filled by the cheap imports mainly from Canada, Russia, Korea, China and other countries. The situation for domestic producers had been further accentuated by decannalising the papers imports. 9.144 The Committee also noted that the NEPA in recent years had shwon slight resurgence in terms of production, Turn over and operating loss/profits. During 2007-08, the Company was likely to earn an operational profit of Rs. 52 lakhs. However, the Company suffered due to burden of loans and interest thereon. The recurrent annual loans by the Government of India have been used in settling salary and other dues, without substantially reviving the company. These loans had become a drag on the Company. The Company was likely to continue to reel under this liability unless a sustainable and comprehensive revival plan was implemented expeditiously. The current Bill sought to revive the Company through disinvestment of Government's ownership. 9.145 The Committee found it to be remarkable that the BIFR which had been seeking fully tied up DRS alongwith possibility of change in management since November 2003, all of a sudden after four years and numerous directions to the Government and Operating Agency, gave up. It not only satisfied itself of the steps taken by the Government but put the ball in the court of Parliament to approve the change of management. It had not been informed to the Committee whether the BIFR in its decision of August 2007 considered the recommendations of the BRPSE of June 2005 before taking such a decision. If yes, than the revival would entail serious cost on the Government's finances and therefore Parliamentary scrutiny. 9.146 As such the Committee expressed its reservation over BIFR's verdict and the Government's subsequent step to bring a Bill without finalizing the financial and administrative details relevant to disinvestment e.g. status of Government's investments, extent of waivers, extent of Government Guarantees, fresh investments, implications of dues/claims of other agencies like Banks, State Governments/local agencies, status and valuation of land and other assets. 9.147 In view of past experience the Committee recommended that the parliamentary approval can not remain unimplemented in perpetuity. If the Government seeks Parliamentary approval it should carry out 184 comprehensive proposal. The Bills seeking disinvestment or transfer of ownership of a Company or its Unit should had cleared Commencement Clause to fix a reasonable time frame for disinvestment/transfer of ownership without incurring further losses/liabilities. 9.148 The Committee also took note of the fact that the Company owed dues worth Rs. 50.01 crores towards Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Local bodies. Notwithstanding the optimism elicited by the representative of Department of Heavy Industries, the representative categorically conveyed the State Cabinet's decision against any waiver of its dues of Rs. 50.01 crores over the NEPA Ltd. 9.149 The Committee took note that the domestic newsprint market was growing at an annual growth rate of 15% and only 50% requirement is met through imports. Thereby leaving remaining 50% market for domestic producers including the NEPA Ltd. The Committee was therefore apprehends the rationale of disinvesting a company at a huge cost on the Government in terms of waivers/conversions, when the newsprint Sector was growing impressively. The Committee appreciated that the NEPA had suffered due to Economies of scales and obsolescence of technology, but it failed to understand if these limitation could be solved by a costly disinvestment. 9.150 The Committee agreed that the Company which commands around 6% of newsprint's market in the country, suffered due to technological handicap and economies of scale. The Committee also observed that without any significant capital investment from the Government, the Company has been gradually increasing its capacity utilisation. However, the Committee found it unconvincing that the Government required a JV partner to scale up the production capacity and technology upgradation. The Committee also took note of the Government's support to the Company over last ten years. 9.151 The Committee considered that in addition to Government's annual assistance of Rs. 174.50 crores, another monetary investment of Rs. 73.09 crores as per TECS would be a worthwhile investment to revive the Company and thereby protecting the loans and investments made in the Company, instead of waiving Rs. 279.08 crores of dues towards GoI and Government of MP and then disinvesting the ownership in favour of JV partner. And in the later case the liabilities towards the State Government and returns of disinvestment remain uncertain. The Committee was apprehensive over the financial prudence of such disinvestment. 9.152 The Committee also noted that the Company faced crippling scarcity of raw material pulp. Shelving of Aliganj project precipitated the problem. Bagasse as an alternative could not be arranged from the sugar mills. As a result the Company had to switch over to old newspapers as the raw material, which necessitated installation of Deinking Plan to optimize the returns. However no effort was made to help the Company overcome this handicap. The Committee also noticed that there were wide differences in the estimates for De- Inking Plant. While the TECS gave the estimates of around Rs. 15 crores (2005), the HPC and its subsidiary Nagaon Paper Mills gave estimates of Rs. 130 crores (2005) and Rs. 100 crores (2007) respectively. The Committee wondered if any effort were made by the Department to reconcile such varying estimates. The Committee also noted that the Department neither accepted the recommendations of TECS nor did it accept the recommendation of HNL/HPC for a fresh Detailed Project Report. The Department has rather relied on the cursory ocular study. 9.153 The Committee also observed that while HPC had earlier refused to take over the NEPA Ltd. as part of revival recommended by BRPSE, yet DHI relied on the ocular study of HPC/HNL. Further while DHI is not inclined to provide fresh investments for the revival of NEPA, it is providing budgetary support to HPC's another subsidiary UP Paper Mills at Jagdishpur. There could be justifiable apprehensions over the conflict of interest in respect of HPC and the DHI should remove such apprehensions on the fairness. 9.154 The Committee therefore was apprehensive whether the Government itself made any effort to efficiently use the infrastructure and productive resources of the Company as intended in the Bill. The representative of the D/O HI and the HPC had asserted before the Committee that the Company suffered due to economies of scales. At the present scale, it was neither in position to dictate the domestic newsprint price. The Committee wondered if not the Government, which private JV partner would have such resources to increase the capacity to economically sustainable levels. 9.155 The Committee was of the considered view that the Company had suffered in terms of finance, infrastructure and management due to inconsistency in Government's policy and lack of timely and appropriate intervention by the Government. 185
9.156 The Committee had been earnest in its recommendations that the Department should safeguard the Government's investments in the CPSEs. The Committee had made observations that current revival were only costly window dressing through massive waivers and Non-Planned investments without actually enhancing the capacity of a Company on a sustainable basis and that the revival must not be confined to Non-Planned loans to clear the salary and other dues of the employees. Its apprehensions had come true in case of NEPA Ltd. 9.157 The Committee found the disinvestment of NEPA Ltd. as proposed in the current Bill was infirm procedurally, lacked financial prudence and was inconsistent in policy. The Bill per se was insufficient in information as it lacked Financial Memorandum and Commencement Clauses. 9.158 The Committee also required that its Report must be and should be vital reference for the BIFR and the issues raised in the Report must be resolved as and when the Government considers bringing the proposal afresh for Parliamentary approval. 9.159 Also there should now be a finality regarding the intent of the Supreme Court's judgment that required Parliamentary approval on the disinvestment of Companies acquired or established through an Act of Parliament. The Parliamentary approval must be an informed approval instead of a routine procedural technicality. As such the Parliament should be informed of the relevant information particularly about the valuation of these assets and liabilities and if such disinvestment had any bearing over the Consolidated Fund of India in terms of cash out go or waivers of dues, same should be indicated through a Financial Memorandum. 9.160 In view of above infirmities, the Committee recommends that the Bill be withdrawn. 9.161 Last but not the least the Committee was of the opinion that sincere efforts should be made by the Central Government to revived the NEPA Ltd. in the true sense for which the management and workforce of the NEPA Ltd., state Governments and the representatives of the people of the area were ready to cooperate wholeheartedly. ANNEXURE-X (See Para 9.3) Details of the sittings of the Committee on Industry during the year 2008
Sl. Date of Duration Agenda No. meeting Hr.–Mts. 12 3 4
1. 02.01.2008 2 hr. 10 min To hear representatives of Ministries of MSME and Coal and NSIC and Coal India Ltd. on the issue of availability of Coal to MSME Sector. 2. 24.01.2008 2 hrs. 45 min –To hear representatives of Ministries of MSME, Textiles, Deptt. of Commerce, EPCH and ITPO on the issue of constraints faced by small and medium handicraft exporters. 1 hr. 10 min –To hear representatives of DHI, M/o Law and Justice, NEPA Ltd., elected representatives and the representatives of select Trade Unions on the NEPA Ltd. (Disinvestment of Ownership) Bill, 2007. 3. 21.02.2008 1 hr. 40 min To hear representatives of Ministries of MSME, Textiles, Deptt. of Commerce, EPCH and ITPO to consider the issue of constraints faced by Small & Medium exporters during exhibitions. 4. 25. 02.2008 2 hr. To hear representatives of Ministry of MSME, Deptt. of Commerce to review the impact of SEZs on the MSME Sector and future prospects in view of recent developments in respect of Govt.’s policy. 5. 28.02.2008 1 hr. 50 min To hear the representatives of Ministries of HI & PE, Law & Justice to consider the NEPA Ltd. (Disinvestment of Ownership) Bill, 2007. 6. 24.03.2008 2 hr. 10 min To hear the views of representatives of REGP, Coir and KVI Associations on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of M/o MSME. 7. 25.03.2008 1 hr. 40 min –To hear the views of representatives of MSME Associations on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of M/o MSME. 1 hr. 55 min –To hear the representatives of select associations in Auto Sector and NATRIP on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Department of Heavy Industries of Ministry of HI & PE. 8. 01.04.2008 1 hr. 50 min –To hear the views of representatives of KVIC, Coir Board and M/o MSME on Demands for Grants (2008-09). 2 hr. –To hear the views of representatives of select PSEs-BHEL, ILK/ REIL, HEC. BYNL Group of PSEs and HCL. 9. 02.04.2008 2 hr. 10 min –To hear the views of representatives of Deptt. of Heavy Industries of M/o HI & PE on Demands for Grants (2008-09). 1 hr. 50 min –To hear the views of representatives of Deptt. of Public Enterprises of M/o HI & PE on Demands for Grants (2008-09).
186 187
12 3 4 10. 28.04.2008 1 hr. 40 min To consider and adopt the draft 204th, 205th, 206th and 207th on Action Taken Notes received from concerned Ministries and draft 208th, 209th and 210th Reports on Demand for Grants (2008-09).
11. 07.05.2008 1 hr. To interact with the visiting Namibian Parliamentary delegation. 12. 15.05.2008 1 hr. 50 min To hear the views of representatives of Deptt. of Heavy Industries of M/o HI & PE, BRPSE, TECS, CARE, M/o E&F, Deptt. of Forest (Govt. of M.P.), Govt. of Uttarakhand, Govt. of M.P., to consider the NEPA Ltd. (Disinvestment of Ownership) Bill, 2007. 13. 20.06.2008 1 hr. 20 min Meeting with representatives of BHEL, BHPV and Department of DHI (M/o HI & PE) on the issue of merger of BHPV with BHEL. ANNEXURE-XI (See Para 9.4) Details of the sittings of the Sub-Committees on Industry during the year, 2008
Sl. Sub- Date of Duration Agenda No. Committees meeting Hr.–Mts.
1. Sub- 09.01.2008 1 hr. 30 min. –To hear representatives of Ministries of HI & PE, Committee-I Law & Justice on the NEPA Ltd. (Disinvestment of Ownership) Bill, 2007. 1 hr. 35 min. –To hear the representatives of Ministry of MSME on the KVI programmes in North Eastern States. 2. Sub- 26.05.2008 1 hr. 50 min On the issue of Revival of Burn Standard Company Committee-III Ltd. (BSCL), a BBUNL group of company. 3. Sub- 30.06.2008 2hrs. Meeting with the representatives of M/o HI & PE Committee-III (DHI), BBUNL, BWEL, BRPSE on the issue of revival of Bharat Wagon and Engineering Ltd.
4. Sub- 08.07.2008 1 hr. 40 min Meeting with the representatives of M/o HI & PE Committee-III (DHI), Management of BYNL and its subsidiaries, M/o Finance, BRPSE on the issue of revival of BYNL group of Companies. 5. Sub- 16.07.2008 1 hr. 25 min Meeting with the representatives of M/o HI & PE Committee-III (DHI), Management of HPF Ltd. and consultants, BRPSE on the issue of revival of HPF Ltd.
188 CHAPTER - X COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS I. Composition of the Committee 10. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests was constituted on 5th August, 2007 and reconstituted on 5th August, 2008. The total number of Members of the Committee was 31, out of which 10 Members were from Rajya Sabha and 21 Members from Lok Sabha. 10.2 The Committee consisted of the following Members :— COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONEMNT AND FORESTS (Constituted on the 5th August, 2007) 1. Dr. V. Maitreyan — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Dr. Prabha Thakur 3. Shri Suryakantbhai Acharya 4. Shri Bhagirathi Majhi 5. Shri Kamal Akhtar 6. Shri Saman Pathak 7. Shri Jabir Husain 8. Shri Ravula Chandra Sekar Reddy 9. Dr. Barun Mukherjee *10. Shri D. Raja LOK SABHA 11. Shri Jasubhai Dhanabhai Barad 12. Dr. Sujan Chakraborty 13. Shri Thupstan Chhewang 14. Shri Pankaj Chowdhary 15. Shri Francis Fanthome 16. Shri Babubhai K. Katara 17. Shri A. Venkatesh Naik 18. Shri Brahmananda Panda 19. Shrimati Neeta Pateriya 20. Shri Jaysingrao Gaikwad Patil 21. Shri Pratik Prakashbapu Patil 22. Shri Bachi Singh ‘Bachda’ Rawat 23. Shri K.C. Singh “Baba” 24. Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh 25. Shri Rakesh Singh 26. Shri Rampal Singh 27. Shrimati Jayaben B. Thakkar 28. Shri Aruna Kumar Vundavalli 29. Shri Akhilesh Yadav 30. Shri Mitrasen Yadav 31. Shri Sita Ram Yadav
*Nominated w.e.f. 28th August, 2007. 189 190
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONEMNT AND FORESTS (Constituted on the 5th August, 2008) 1. Dr. V. Maitreyan — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Suryakantbhai Acharya 3. Shri Bhagirathi Majhi 4. Shri Kamal Akhtar 5. Shri Saman Pathak 6. Dr. Ejaz Ali 7. Shri Jabir Husain 8. Shri D. Raja 9. Shri Nandamuri Harikrishna 10. Vacant LOK SABHA 11. Shri Jasubhai Dhanabhai Barad 12. Dr. Sujan Chakraborty 13. Shri Thupstan Chhewang 14. Shri Pankaj Chowdhary 15. Shri Akbar Ahmad Dumpy 16. Shri Francis Fanthome 17. Shri Babubhai K. Katara 18. Shri A. Venkatesh Naik 19. Shri Brahmananda Panda 20. Shrimati Neeta Pateriya 21. Shri Jaysingrao Gaikwad Patil 22. Shri Pratik P. Patil 23. Shri Bachi Singh ‘Bachda’ Rawat 24. Shri K.C. Singh “Baba” 25. Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh 26. Dr. Rampal Singh 27. Shrimati Jayaben B. Thakkar 28. Shri Aruna Kumar Vundavalli 29. Shri Akhilesh Yadav 30. Shri Mitrasen Yadav 31. Shri Sita Ram Yadav
II. Subject selected for examination 10.3 The Committee deliberated on the various aspects of the functioning of the different Ministries/Departments under its purview and at its meeting held on 12th September, 2008 selected the following subjects for consideration and report (i) Coastal Management Programmes, (ii) Atomic Energy in Power Generation and (iii) Role of Science & Technology towards Rural Application and Rural Upliftment. The Committee, however, took up only the ‘Coastal Management Programmes’ for consideration. III. Constitution of Sub-Committees
10.4 During 2008, no Sub-Committee was constituted. IV. Status of Work Done (a) Sittings of the Committee
10.5 During the year 2008, the Committee held 32 sittings lasting for 57 Hours and 55 minutes. A Statement 191 showing the dates of sittings of the Committee held, the duration of the sittings and the subjects discussed are given in Annexure-XII. (b) Study Visits 10.6 The Committee undertook on-the-spot study visits to various Institutions/Bodies/Centres falling under the purview of the Ministries/Departments. The following table shows the study visits undertaken in 2008, the places visited and dates of visits:— Sl. Dates of Place Visited In Connection With (Subjects) No. Visits
1. 18th to 25th June, Ahmedabad and To examine the working of Space Applications Centre, 2008 Chandigarh Physical Research Laboratory and Semiconductor Complex falling within the administrative control of Department of Space at Ahmedabad and in connection with the ‘Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008’ pertaining to Ministry of Environment and Forests at Chandigarh.
2. 25th to 30th Gangtok, Guwahati, To examine the working of the Botanical Survey of India September, 2008 Shillong and Kolkata at Gangtok, Guwahati Refinery at Guwahati and North- Eastern Space Applications Centre at Shillong, Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute at Kolkata within the administrative control of Ministry of Environment & Forests, Departments of Space and Scientific Research respectively.
3. 28th November to Thiruvananthapuram, To examine the working of the Vikram Sarabhai Space 5th December, Kanyakumari, Chennai, Centre at Thiruvananthapuram and Andaman & Nicobar 2008 Port Blair and Islands Forests Development Corporation Ltd. at Port Hyderabad Blair falling within the administrative control of Department of Space and Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) respectively. The Committee also held meetings with the officials of the MoEf & State govt. officials/organisations/ NGOs on Coastal Management Programmes at various places.
V. Reports Presented 10.7 During 2008, the Committee presented the following seventeen reports to the House :—
Sl. Report No. Date of Subject No. Presentation
1. 184th 11.03.08 Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations Contained in the One Hundred Seventy-Fourth Report of the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests on the Demands for Grants (2007-2008) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. 2. 185th 29.04.08 Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Science & Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) (Demand No. 83). 192
Sl. Report No. Date of Subject No. Presentation 3. 186th 29.04.08 Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (Ministry of Science and Technology) (Demand No. 84). 4. 187th 29.04.08 Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (Demand No. 28). 5. 188th 29.04.08 Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (Demand No. 29). 6. 189th 29.04.08 Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Space (Demand No. 89). 7. 190th 29.04.08 Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Biotechnology (Ministry of Science and Technology) (Demand No. 85). 8. 191st 29.04.08 Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Atomic Energy (Demand Nos. 4 & 5). 9. 192nd 21.10.08 Functioning of Central Pollution Control Board. 10. 193rd 21.10.08 Global Warming and Its Impact on India. 11. 194th 22.10.08 The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008. 12. 195th 23.10.08 Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations Contained in the One Hundred And Eighty-Fifth Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests on the Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Science & Technology. 13. 196th 23.10.08 Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations Contained in the One Hundred and Ninetieth Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment & Forests on the Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Bio-technology. 14. 197th 23.10.08 Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations Contained in the One Hundred and Eighty-Sixth Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment & Forests on the Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 15. 198th 23.10.08 Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations Contained in the One Hundred and Ninety-first Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment & Forests on the Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Atomic Energy. 193
Sl. Report No. Date of Subject No. Presentation 16. 199th 23.10.08 Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations Contained in the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment & Forests on the Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Department of Space. 17. 200th 23.10.08 Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations Contained in the One Hudnred and Eighty-Seventh Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment & Forests on the Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
VI. Minutes 10.8 Minutes of meetings of the Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests were prepared and presented to the House along with the relevant Reports. VII. Summary of Recommendations (a) 185th Report Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) 10.9 The Committee was informed that around 3000 research proposals are received by the Department every year out of which 500-600 proposals are selected for funding. The Committee was of the view that lack of fund should not be allowed to come in the way of funding good and promising research proposals.
Technology Development Programme (TDP) 10.10 The Committee acknowledged the important role that TDP plays in translating lab-scale research into technology mode but for which the benefit of science cannot be reaped. The Committee, therefore, desired that Technology Development Programmes should be further strengthened and intensified so that the advantages of new breakthroughs in the field of science could be taken to the masses at the earliest and at an affordable cost. Drugs and Pharmaceutical Programme 10.11 The Committee was of the view that in a country where poverty is rampant and substantial part of population suffers from diseases, a continued effort in drug research is required for providing cheaper medicines. Continued support to drug research programmes should be provided to enable the scientists to find cheaper and effective drugs. The Committee recommended that drug research programmes should focus on diseases which are afflicting the large populace of our country. 10.12 The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation that more efforts should be made to make alternative system of medicines successfully fill in the gap in areas where conventional cures are not available. The Committee felt that research in Traditional/Alternative systems should focus on areas where conventional cures are either inadequate or too costly.
Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) 10.13 The Committee felt that in the light of the serious crunch in availability of quality scientists, schemes like INSPIRE along with other such schemes needed constant focus and attention. Scheme for Early Attracting of Talents for Science (SEATS) and Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC) in the age group of 22—32 years for 5 years doctoral research backed by an assured research career opportunity scheme for a another period of five years after their Ph.D in sciences are well-thought schemes which if properly 194 implemented have the potential to meet the intended targets and the Committee therefore, felt that these schemes should be given the required attention. (b) 186th Report Central Electronics Limited (CEL) 10.14 The Committee had been informed that the Department is striving to develop photovoltaic cells through which solar energy could be used on a large scale. For this purpose it is working on nano-material which has high absorption capacity per unit area and can go a long way in making storage devices small and portable. The Committee observed that the Department should explore the possibilities of exploiting more and more solar energy and in the long run it should aim at replacing the conventional source of energy with solar energy. To achieve this objective it should look for technologies like nano-technology to improve storage and conversion of solar energy into usable energy sources. The Committee was of the opinion that the Department should make all out efforts in this direction more so because conventional source of energy are regarded as adding to the environmental pollution and global warming.
Intellectual Property and Technology Management 10.15 The Committee felt that there is still a lot to be done to improve awareness about patents in the country, especially among the scientist and other innovators so that the valuable intellectual property earned by them is commercially protected. It was of the opinion that the Department should make more efforts to increase the reach of such awareness programmes. (c) 187th Report Polar Science/Antartic Research 10.16 The Committee commended the research work carried out by the Ministry in the Antarctica as initiating scientific research and exploration in extreme cold conditions is not an easy task. In addition the Committee was of the view that the Ministry may also conduct a prospective study on heart rate variabilities under extreme cold climate and prolonged isolation on expedition's team members to reveal the physiological changes in the heart due to exposure to cold climate. At the same time study may also be carried out to examine the effect of such cold climate on vital body parameters like blood pressure, pulse rate, hemoglobin levels, sleep duration of the members. Drugs from Sea 10.17 The Committee observed that marine organisms have attracted much attention as potential source of drugs over the recent years. The discovery, development and production of drugs from marine bacteria, fungi, microalgae, sponges remains largely in the realm of experimentation. The Committee observed that there is a need to look at this aspect more thoroughly and therefore, recommends extensive research and study to harness bioactive compounds from the marine, organisms for human theraupautic purposes. The Committee also recommended that the extraction and development of potential drugs and chemicals from the depth of the ocean should be pursued with well-focussed mechanism. It further recommended that clinical stage trials should be expedited so that drugs are available in the market at the earliest for the benefit of the people.
(d) 188th Report
Prevention of Pollution of National Rivers 10.18 The Committee expressed its serious concern over the fact that though from the time of its initiation, crores have been spent on the Ganga Action Plan, there has not been much improvement in water quality in reality, despite the claims of the Ministry. The practice of dumping untreated sewage from cities on the banks of the Ganga and dead bodies and carcasses in the river continues unabated causing pollution. The Committee felt that the project has suffered due to apathy and lack of a suitable system in place to monitor the implementation. 10.19 The Committee expressed its concern at the fact that there has been marginal reduction in allocation due to slow progress of works in the Yamuna Action Plan in the three States of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, despite the fact that water quality remains below the acceptable norms. Industrial and domestic sewage discharge and open defecation continues, despite various legislations to control and stop the pollution 195 levels. The Committee also expressed its concern at the fact that though there has been no dearth of funds for the Yamuna Action Plan, no satisfactory results have been achieved as regards cleaning of the river, which provides drinking water to Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and the river has infact turned into a dirty drain. 10.20 The Committee further recommended that the Ministry should develop a proper coordination mechanism with the agencies/departments/ministries involved in cleaning up the river Yamuna and Ganga to solve the problem. The research activities of the scientific departments with regard to treatment and waste management may be put to optimum use to prevent pollution of rivers and lakes in the country.
National Afforestation and Eco-Development Programme 10.21 The Committee expressed its concern at the fact that even though the Ministry intends to achieve the target of 33% of Forest cover by 2012, the only scheme that treats afforestation in a holistic manner and seeks to involved the communities and the society in general in the preservation and conservation of forests has been deprived of funds. The Committee noted with concern that the modalities for the scheme—Panchayat Van Yojana, are yet to be worked out with the Panchayats and felt that the Ministry should have done the ground work for the scheme well before launching this programme so as to ensure utilisation of funds and successful implementation of the scheme.
Environmental Education/Training/Extension 10.22 The Committee felt that to deal with the issue of conservation and preservation of environment, in a broad perspective, the younger generation should be made fully aware of the environmental concerns that are engaging the attention of the country and world at large. Though the Ministry has been doing a commendable job in promoting environmental education by imparting non-formal education at the primary and secondary school level and in colleges and universities, the Committee, however, felt at there is a greater need to stress upon the system of formal education, by including the environmental concepts in the schools/colleges/ universities curriculum itself. In this direction the Committee recommended that the Ministry's proposal to enhance financial assistance to the States for training of school teachers for effective transaction of environment education curriculum in the school under the component of strengthening environment education in school, should be given top priority. Effort should also be made to recognize schools that go green by banning use of plastic bags, etc. thereby sensitizing children towards environment and environment issues. Prevention of Air and Water Pollution 10.23 The Committee noted with concern that the budgetary support for the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been decreased substantially, despite the fact that it is a premier central agency responsible for control and prevention of pollution, and pollution continues to rise unabated across the country. The Committee was also constrained to note that the responsibility and the funds for the civic infrastructure projects, for controlling urban pollution, hitherto funded under NRCP, has been transferred to the schemes like Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) under the Ministry of Urban Development and the funds under CPCB has been reduced. Wildlife preservation 10.24 The Committee expressed concern over the general apathy that the Ministry has shown towards implementation of legislations regarding forest conservation protection of wildlife etc. and recommended that the legislations may be forcefully enforced to prevent any further degradation of environment. In this direction the Ministry should take into account the man-animal conflict that the country is currently facing due to pressure of development and encroachment of forest land. The Committee welcomed the increase of the funds for relocation of families from the tiger habitat to the periphery, from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 10.00 lakhs and recommended that the Ministry make concerted efforts towards expediting the relocation of families, and ensuring peaceful co-existence of both man and animals. 10.25 The Committee expressed its concern that a large number of vacancies, both in the centre and States have yet not been filled up. The Committee had last year expressed its concern over this matter. Filling of the vacancies in the posts of forests wardens and forest guards are of prime importance for the implementation 196 of the legislations regarding forest conservation and animal protection; the State Governments are lagging behind in the filling of a large number of vacancies at these levels. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should vigorously pursue the filling up of posts with the State Governments and monitor the filling up of vacancies, besides filling up of vacancies at the Central Level. (e) 189th Report Village Resource Centres 10.26 The Committee was of the opinion that VRC is a tool which can be used for strengthening and uniting the country in addition to its main objective of providing information regarding various rural services. The Committee, therefore, recommended that efforts should be made to establish VRCs in the farflung, inaccessible, remote border areas of the country, to help confidence-building among the population and remove the feeling of alienation from the country. Disaster Management Support System 10.27 The Committee was aware that a lot of economic devastation and human loss is caused regularly by the floods, cyclones, storms, etc., across the country. In this direction the Committee recommended that there should be proper co-ordination among the various agencies involved in the DMS programme so that there is quick dissemination of information to the District headquarters after the data is obtained from the satellites, in order that human and material losses can be minimised.
Telemedicine 10.28 The Committee was of the opinion that investment in a highly capital intensive area like Public Health may not be always possible, particularly in the backward areas of the country. Telemedicine provides an excellent alternative. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the telemedicine network should be expanded further to include the disease-prone areas which have been left out so far, specially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Department should make concerted efforts towards solving the procedural problems through consistent persuasion and liaisoning with the State administration. (f) 190th Report Biotech Facilities and Programme Support 10.29 The Committee was of the view that remodeling/reengineering of university departments of Life Sciences is of utmost importance in order to remain globally competitive. The Committee expressed its concern over the lack of infrastructure for R&D in molecular modeling, protein engineering, drug designing, immunological studies, pre-clinical studies, clinical trials, etc. as without a strong R&D base success of the Department will remain short-term and would fail to sustain itself in the long run. Therefore, the Committee recommended that infrastructure for R&D needs to be built up adequately to achieve the desired targets fixed in the Eleventh Plan Period. Biotechnology for Societal Development 10.30 The Committee hoped that the Department would disseminate proven and field tested technologies to help the rural population in their skill development, employment and income generation in the field of agriculture, sericulture, etc. This has a potential not only to provide self-employment and raise farm incomes but also to check migration to the cities, which are already under stress. Self Help groups along with other civil society groups need to be roped in big way to make such programmes reach tribal, women and other weaker sections of the society. (g) 191st Report Nuclear Irradiation in Agriculture and Food Processing 10.31 The Committee was of the opinion that some precautionary measures should be taken by the Department of Atomic Energy while irradiating food so that the possible health risks involved before consumption of irradiated food could be effectively dealt with. In this connection a timebound programme for evaluation of Radiological Safety. Microbiological Safety, Nutritional adequacy and Toxicological Safety may be initiated since the irradiation of seed/food products is in a nascent stage. 197
Assistance to Universities and Other Institutions 10.32 The Committee noted that, while allocations under some of the heads of the 'Assistance to Universities' have been decreased, they have remained constant for most of the programmes like public awareness and neighbourhood programme, exhibitions, symposia, etc. In some programmes viz. fellowships, prospective research in funding, etc. insignificant increases have been effected. The Committee was of the opinion that budgetary allocations under these heads are relatively meagre, keeping in view the fact that there is an urgent need to develop interest and awareness amongst the masses and especially the younger generation towards the subject of Atomic Energy and to dispel the negative impression of the public towards nuclear power. The Committee was of the opinion that more funds should be allocated towards mass awareness programmes in the field of nuclear science.
Urban Solid Waste Management 10.33 The Committee felt that both these technologies can prove to be boon for conservation of nature and environment and for the society at large which is grappling with the problem of disposal of sewage as well as solid waste generated in metropolitan cities and small towns. What is required is the propagation and popularization of these technologies because their efficacy lies in their use on a large scale. In view of the fact that environment protection is the need of the hour as hazards of global warming and climate change are looming large, the urgency of such a step becomes more prominent.
Power Sector 10.34 The Committee was of the opinion that Nuclear Energy is a very clean source of energy devoid of any environmental pollution that the production of Thermal or Hydel energy causes. Therefore, conscious efforts should be made to produce the maximum amount of energy from Nuclear sources. Remuneration of Scientists 10.35 The Committee expressed its serious concern at the fact that the present remuneration being paid to the scientists is not attractive enough to attract the best of scientific talent available in the country. Further, to make matters worse, there is a high level of attrition of scientists from the department, who move towards the private sector for better salaries and promotion prospects. The Committee recommended that the case for grant of special allowance over and above the normal salaries may be taken up emphatically with the Government, keeping in view the special requirements of the department, and the scientific community at large, specially in view of the tremendous contributions of the scientists in the field of Atomic Energy. (h) 192nd Report Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) 10.36 The Committee expressed its anguish over the fact that the Central Board created for the purpose of control and abatement of pollution is being given such a raw deal so much so that it has virtually been reduced as a near defunct body. If all the powers and functions were to be concentrated into the hands of the Central Government/Ministry of Environment and Forests the very need to have such an apex body is untenable. The Committee felt that the country can ill afford to let this sorry state of affairs prolong any further as it has already started bearing the brunt of pollution and climate change and hence drastic measures are required to be taken. Central Pollution Control Board needs to be given adequate statutory and legal support to make it effective and functional and for this purpose its constitution under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 needs to be urgently reviewed. The Committee recommended that environment protection should be included as an item in the seventh schedule to the constitution in the concurrent list and CPCB be brought under its ambit with all necessary powers and functions to meet the challenges that pollution and its after- effects pose before us without disturbing the federal character of our constitution. This new body should be given functional as well as financial autonomy so that it can discharge its duties without fear or favour.
Zonal Offices of CPCB 10.37 The Committee also recommended that for making technical and scientific manpower easily and readily available, a long term strategy should be evolved. Environment management and education should be included in the higher educational programmes by devising a suitable syllabi for the purpose. An institute 198 exclusively for the purpose of teaching of and training in the subject of environment related matters could also be one of the options that Government should try to explore. 10.38 The Committee was informed that the remunerations/Salaries/Allowances for officers and staff of CPCB are not lucrative enough to attract talented people and contain the attrition rates. The experienced people from CPCB are hired by corporate sector by offering attractive remuneration and in the process valuable experience is lost. The Committee expressed its grave concern over the situation. The Committee desired that talent and performance should be rewarded. A suitable career progression scheme should also be so devised as to act as incentive to the officers and staff of the CPCB.
National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP) 10.39 The Committee also expressed its concern over the fact that there is no central agency to set standards/norms for emission. The jurisdiction to set norms for vehicular emission lies with the Ministry of Surface Transport while for indoor air pollution, the nodal agency is the Ministry of Labour. The Committee also felt that there is a need for ensuring that the standards once finalized by technical committees are not put on hold for notification by the Ministry as is the case with the sponge iron standard for air and water emission. This is leading to huge problems and rising industrial pollution in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Karnataka and other States. Water Pollution 10.40 The Committee was of the view that a holistic approach is required to tackle the problem of water pollution. The present division of responsibilities between MOEF, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and various municipalities, etc., required better coordination and more synergies so that pollution in water at whatever stage, source or at the consumption point, could be checked and responsibility fixed. The Committee desired that samples of ground water should be taken more frequently in areas which have distilleries, paper plants, power plants and other polluting industries so as to check the adverse impact on local population. The Central Pollution Control Board should also have detailed action plans in the existing industrial areas for regular monitoring of the quality of ground water and other water bodies to ascertain the level of contamination, fix a benchmark for future industrialisation and also to consider moratorium on further industrialisation in such regions based on the contamination level. The Committee recommended that CPCB must also ensure that the polluting industries make adequate arrangements for providing medical and health facilities to the people affected by pollution related diseases in that area/region. The Committee was of the view that the discharge of sewerage is regulated not only in terms of specific loads but also in terms of maximum daily load i.e., kg per day/ kg per hour so that the amount of pollution discharge into a media always remains lower than the assimilative capacity of the rivers. This will ensure that the river or media is not unduly stressed and the down stream users are not affected.
Industrial Pollution 10.41 The Committee failed to understand the rationale behind having separate set of agency for recognizing private and public sector laboratories. The Committee felt that a laboratory is laboratory which should fulfill bare minimum requirements of infrastructural facilities, expertise and capabilities, be it in the private or in the public sector. There must be a standard set of guidelines defining categorically infrastructural requirements, sample handling, laboratory competence, quality assurance, quality control, etc. Uniformly applicable for establishment, evaluation and recognition of labs.
State Pollution Control Boards 10.42 The Committee found that State Pollution Control Boards are suffering from the same maladies as the Central Pollution Control Board as far as their constitution and composition is concerned. The provision that the Chairman of a State Pollution Control Board may at the discretion of State Governments be either whole-time or part time is not conducive for a healthy and effective functioning of State Boards. The Committee felt that only a full time Chairman with adequate knowledge, background and experience in environment management would be able to do justice with the responsibilities assigned to the post. Similarly other Members of the board should also be full timers with adequate technical know-how and expertise in environment related issues. 199
(i) 193rd Report
Observations/Recommendations of the Committee 10.43 The Committee was of the view that the implications of climate changes, if they were to occur, would be serious and devastating. However, it is within the reach of human society to meet these threats. We have to adapt to climate change. Projected impacts related to drought, glacier retreat, temperature rise and cyclon intensity will require adaptive measures such as investments in storm protection and water supply infrastructure and community health services. Adaptation is also required to address the impacts resulting from the warming which is already visible due to past emissions. However, in the long run adaptation alone will not be able to cope with all the projected impacts as there might be increase in the magnitude of these impacts. There is substantial potential for mitigation measures as well to counteract this crisis. 10.44 The Committee has observed that addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation involves extensive study and research and requires high level technical expertise. There is a need to initiate a National Research Agenda on Climate Change to specifically address the issue of Climate Change and its impact.There could be separate institute namely National Institute on Climate Change under the purview of the Ministry of Earth Sciences or Ministry of Science and Technology, which may exclusively cater to the concerns pertaining to the Climate Change mitigation and adaptation measures. 10.45 The Committee was of the opinion that mitigation of climate change, due to man made changes, has emerged a major area of priority at the global level. Planned enhancement of Indian capability for research on climate change is therefore, in the self interest of India. Himalayan Glaciers provide a perennial source of water for Northern India. Research on climate change with a special focus on Himalayan Glaciers is of high significance to India. There are concerns that climate change, could adversely affect the Himalayan Glaciers and they could recede. Some estimates have been made that some of our Glaciers have receded by 21% during the last 40 years. Although there have been several fragmented efforts from many national institutions and universities during the last fifty years, Indian glaciers are among the least investigated in the world. The Committee desired that research effort on Himalayan glaciers must be strengthened. 10.46 The Committee felt that the inter-governmental protocols and conventions recognize the primacy of development and poverty alleviation and the fact that the developed countries have an obligation to undertake action within their countries and support action in developing countries through technology and financing flows. There is currently an upwelling on the global platform as to who should do what and how much. With India growing at an accelerated pace of economic development at our current use of energy levels, fears continue to be expressed in some quarters in the global community. Roles are being cut out for India by others. The Committee was of the view that global community must be made to recognize that our per- capita emission levels of GHG are much lower than the global average and that of the developed countries. The Committee felt that there is an imminent need to impress upon the world community at large to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol. India, therefore, should raise its voice on behalf of the developing nations that all developed nations also adhere. 10.47 The Committee was of the view that India's participation in different global environmental negotiations and several domestic initiatives to counter global warming and climate change underlines its commitment and seriousness towards the problem. It recommended that the vulnerability of climate cange and global warming can best be reduced through the process of sustainable development. There are several means to check the threat which includes exchange of information by all nations, international cooperation in developing environmentally friendly innovative technologies, technology transfer from developed to developing countries and access to environmentally sound services.
(j) 194th Report 10.48 The Committee felt that the establishment of the proposed new Authority would prolong and delay the process of Compensatory Afforestation as the amount collected by State/Union Territories Governments will have to be pooled in a Central fund and then devolved back to them as per whatever formulae worked out by the Central Authority. It was therefore of the view that as the States generate the funds and also utilise the same, an instrument to facilitate utilization needs to be put in place at the State level. 200
10.49 The Committee was of the view that in order to address the issue of alleged diversion of Compensatory Afforestation fund by State/UT Governments the Ministry of Environment and Forests should have, instead of waiting for direction from Supreme Court taken proactive administrative measures by issing necessary directions or taking such other steps as it deemed appropriate in the matter. The Committee was constrained to observe that the Ministry has badly failed to explore other administrative and persuasive measures as its command to settle the issue. 10.50 The Committee was of the opinion that the Bill in its current form gives the impression that it is a step in the direction of legitimatising monetary compensation for diversion of forest land for non-forest purpose. It is based on the assumption that collection of more and more monetary compensation and tree plantation is the answer to forest conservation. But this assumption proves to be totally false if seen in the light of pace of diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes which has gained momentum since 2002 when the Supreme Court direction came. A comparative analysis of the statement showing cases (State-wise) approved for diversion of forest land during the period from 1.11.2002 to 31.07.2008 and 25.10.1980 to 31.10.2002 (Annexure-VII) suggests that while within a period of six years, seven thousand nine hundred ninety six cases of diversion were approved, only nine thousand eight hundred twenty four cases were approved in the previous twenty two years. During the former period pace of diversion was 30, 997.34 hectare per year while during the latter it had been 20,639.99 hectare per year. 10.51 The Committee was of the view that Green Indian Programme may be run separately by the Ministry of Environment and Forests out of the Budget allocated by Planning Commission and if required by mobilizing additional resources by way of assistance/borrowing from financial institutions/international agencies with appropriate legislation in place. The fund collected for Compensatory Afforestation should exclusively be used for that particular purpose only. Otherwise, judicial scrutiny of the diversion of funds for deviation from the direction of the Supreme Court cannot be ruled out. 10.52 The Committee was of the opinion that the establishment of such a fund, in the manner proposed in the Bill, will allow the Central Government to exercise hegemony through concentration of financial power with the Central Government and encroach upon the normal powers and functions of the State Governments. The Committee also expressed its serious concern over the fact that the Central Government may completely by pass the duly elected State Governments and the various State bodies and provide funds directly to the Joint Forest Management Committees, for the implementation of the afforestation programmes of the States, thereby undermining the very concept of federalism which is enshrined in our Constitution. The role of local bodies such as Gram Panchayats/Gram Sabhas etc. has been completely ignored in the Bill. 10.53 The Committee expressed its concern at the fact that the work of afforestation has been entrusted to the Joint Forest Management Committees without any involvement of forest dwellers, etc. The Committee was of the view that diversion of forest land whenever necessary should be done through a democratic process and local people should always be involved in that. The Gram Sabha should be the key body and should be consulted and involved both during forest diversion and during afforestation. The rights of people under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act should be adhered to. 10.54 The Committee strongly felt that States' involvement in the process of formulation of this Bill should have been ensured, so that their interest could have been taken care of. But no such effort seems to have been made by the Central Government. The Committee, therefore, felt that the Bill is an exercise aimed at centralization of power and funds at the cost of the interests of the States and the people.
VIII. Secretariat 10.55 The Committee Section (S&T) headed by an Assistant Director constitutes the Secretariat of the Committee. A Joint Secretary, a Joint Director and a Deputy Director remained in-charge of the Branch. 10.56 To assist the Committee in its work, material received from the Ministries/Departments/various non-Government organizations and individuals was studied from which points were culled out. The questionnaires for written replies/evidence were also prepared for the use of the Committee. 10.57 The work relating to drafting, consideration and approval of draft reports by the Commitee along with their presentation, laying, printing and distributon was undertaken. The Secretariat also dealt with the 201 work relating to the scrutiny of action taken notes received from the Ministries concerned on the recommendations contained in the Reports of the Committee and prepared the Draft Action Taken Reports of the Committee on it. 10.58 The Secretariat also studied material like Parliamentary Debates, Answers to Parliamentary Questions, Budget Estimates, Five Year Plan Documents, Books, Journals, CAG reports, newspapers etc. relevant to the subjects under examination of the Committee. ANNEXURE-XII (See Para 10.5) Details of the sittings of the Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests during the year 2008 Sl. Date of Duration Subject No. Sittings Hrs. Mts. 12 3 4 1. 04.01.2008 2 Oral evidence of Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, on the ‘Global Warming and its impact on India. 2. 22.01.2008 01.50 Oral evidence of Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests on the ‘Global Warming and its impact on India. 3. 30.01.2008 02.15 Oral evidence of Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests on the ‘Global Warming and its impact on India’. 4. 07.02.2008 02.15 Meeting with Sweedish delegation headed by Mr. Andreas Carlgren, Minister of Environment, Sweden. 5. 14.02.2008 02.00 Oral evidence of Former Secretary and Distinguished fellow, TERI, Dr. Prodipto Ghosh on Global warming and its impact on India. 6. 04.03.2008 01.00 To consider and adopt the draft 184th Action Taken Report on Miistry of Environment and Forests. 7. 24.03.2008 01.50 Oral evidence by Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests on Demands for Grants (2008-09). 8. 25.03.2009 05.15 Oral evidence by Secretaries of Department of Science and Technology and Department of Scientific and Industrial Research on Demands for Grants (2008-09). 9. 01.04.2008 05.15 Oral evidence by Secretaries, Department of Biotechnology and Department of Atomic Energy on Demands for Grants (2008-09). 10. 02.04.2008 02.55 Oral evidence by Secretary, Ministry, of Environment & Forests on Demands for Grants (2008-09). 11. 03.04.2008 01.25 Oral evidence by Secretary, Department of Space on Demands for Grants (2008-09). 12. 09.04.2008 01.55 Oral evidence by Ms. Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi on Global Warming and its impact on India. 13. 23.04.2008 00.35 Consideration and adoption of Reports 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th 190th and 191st pertaining to Demands for Grants (2008- 2009). 14. 15.05.2008 01.55 Oral evidence by Shri Srinivas Krishnaswamy, Policy Adviser, Green Peace, New Delhi on Global Warming and its impact on India. 15. 23.05.2008 02.25 Oral evidence by Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India on Global Warming and its impact on India. 16. 30.05.2008 01.40 Oral evidence by Additional Director General of Forests, Ministry of Environment and Forests on the aspects related to the ‘The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008.’ 17. 06.06.2008 01.40 Oral evidence by Shri Shankar Gopalkrishnan, Secretary, Campaign for Survival and Dignity on the aspect, related to the “The Com- pensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008”. 18. 13.06.2008 01.15 Consideration and Adoption of 192nd Report on Functioning of Central Pollution Control Board. 202 203
1 2 3 4 19. 03.07.2008 01.20 Oral evidence by Shri Amar Prasad, CEO, Gramin Vikas Trust on the aspects related to the “The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008”. 20. 14.07.2008 00.50 Oral evidence by Dr. Archana Prasad, Reader, Centre for Jawahar Nehru Studies, Jammia Millia Islamia, New Delhi on the aspects related to the “The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008”. 21. 29.07.2008 01.40 Oral Evidence by Shri N.S. Adkoli, Chairman, Treelands Develop- ment Services Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore on the aspects relating to the “The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008”. 22. 12.08.2008 02.30 Oral evidence by Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests on the aspects related to the “The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008”. 23. 21.08.2008 02.00 Consideration of “The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008”. 24. 29.08.2008 01.25 Consideration and adoption of 193rd Report of the Committee on Global Warming and its Impact on India. 25. 05.09.2008 01.10 To Consider and adopt the 194th Report on “The Compensatory Afforestion Fund Bill, 2008”. 26. 12.09.2008 00.45 To decide the future programme of the Committee. 27. 03.10.2008 00.45 To Consider and adopt the 194th Report on “The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008”. 28. 13.10.2008 00.50 To Consider and adopt the 195th, 196th, 197th, 198th,199th and 200th Action Taken Reports 29. 04.11.2008 00.50 Consideration of “Coastal Management Programmes”. 30. 11.11.2008 01.50 Oral evidence by Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests on “Coastal Management Programmes”. 31. 26.11.2008 01.00 Oral evidence by Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, M.P. on “Coastal Man- agement Programmes ”. 32. 30.12.2008 01.20 Oral evidence by Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences on the “Coastal Management Programmes”. CHAPTER-XI
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE
I. Composition of the Committee
11. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture was consti- tuted on 5th August, 2007 and continued upto the 4th August, 2008. The Committee was again reconstituted on 5th August, 2008. The total number of the Members of the Committee was 31 out of which 10 Members were from Rajya Sabha and 21 Members from Lok Sabha.
11.2 The Committee consisted of following Members: -
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE (Constituted on the 5th August, 2007)
1. Shri Sitaram Yechury — Chairman
RAJYA SABHA
2. Shri Satish Kumar Sharma 3. Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan 4. Prof. Alka Balram Kshatriya 5. Shri Shanta Kumar 6. Shrimati Hema Malini 7. Shri Shahid Siddiqui 8. Shri Naresh Gujral 9. Shri Birendra Prasad Baishya 10. Shri Biswajit Daimary LOK SABHA 11. Shri Anandrao Vithoba Adsul 12. Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal 13. Shri Joachim Baxla 14. Shri Sartaj Singh Chhatwal 15. Shri N.S.V.Chitthan 16. Shri Adhir Chowdhury 17. Dr. K. Dhanaraju 18. Shrimati Priya Dutt 19. Shri Dip Gogoi 20. Shri Prahlad Joshi 21. Shri P. Karunakaran 22. Dr. P.P. Koya 23. Dr. Ramkrishna Kusmaria 24. Shri Samik Lahiri 25. Shri Alok Kumar Mehta 26. Shri Hemlal Murmu 27. Shri Madan Lal Sharma 28. Shri Akshay Pratap Singh 29. Shri Dushyant Singh
204 205
30. Shri Rakesh Singh 31. Shri Suraj Singh COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE (Constituted on the 5th August, 2008) 1. Shri Sitaram Yechury — Chairman RAJY A SABHA 2. Shri Satish Kumar Sharma 3. Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan 4. Prof. Alka Balram Kshatriya 5. Shri Shanta Kumar 6. Shrimati Hema Malini 7. Shri Shahid Siddiqui 8. Shri Naresh Gujral 9. Shri Birendra Prasad Baishya 10. Shri Biswajit Daimary LOK SABHA 11. Shri Anandrao Vithoba Adsul 12. Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal 13. Shri Joachim Baxla 14. Shri Sartaj Singh Chhatwal 15. Shri N.S.V.Chitthan 16. Shri Adhir Chowdhury 17. Dr. K. Dhanaraju 18. Shrimati Priya Dutt 19. Shri Dip Gogoi 20. Shri Prahlad Joshi 21. Shri P. Karunakaran 22. Dr. P.P. Koya 23. Dr. Ramkrishna Kusmaria 24. Shri Samik Lahiri 25. Shri Alok Kumar Mehta 26. Shri Hemlal Murmu 27. Shri Madan Lal Sharma 28. Shri Akshay Pratap Singh 29. Shri Dushyant Singh 30. Shri Rakesh Singh 31. Shri Suraj Singh
II. Subjects selected for examination 11.3 The Committee considered the following subjects namely— 1. Closure of Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports and matters related thereto; 2. Promotion of Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir; 3. Modernization of Airports; and 4. Functioning of Private Airports and related issues. No Bill was referred to the Committee by the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha/Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha for examination and report in the year 2008: 206
III. Review of work done (a) Sittings of the Committee 11.4 During the year the Committee held 21 sittings for 43 hours and 50 minutes. A Statement showing the dates of sittings of the Committee held during the period under Review, the duration of the sittings and the subjects discussed are given in Annexure-XIII. (b) Study Visits 11.5 The Committee undertook two study visits for a total number of thirteen (13) days. Officers/Staff of the Secretariat accompanied them. The Committee presented 140th and 141st Reports on the subject. The details of the visit are given below:— Destination Date Organisation Examined Subject Srinagar, Kargil 1st to 6th Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Development of tourism in and Leh June, 2008 Government of J&K and Travell/Hoteliers Jammu and Kashmir, Association, Ministry of Road, Transport Development and and Highways, Border Roads Development Maintenance of National Board, National Highways Authority of Highways in J&K, India, Government of J&K, Autonomous Development of the Airports Hill Development Council, Airports and air connectivity in J&K. Authority of India, Ministry of Civil Development of Tourism, Aviation. National Aviation Company of Airport and air connectivity India Limited (NACIL), Ministry of Tourism, in Leh. Conservation and Government of India, Government of Jammu Maintenance of and Kashmir. Monuments. Bangalore, 14th to 20th Department of Shipping and Mangalore Functioning of the Hyderabad and September, Port Trust; Ministry of Culture Government Mangalore Port Trust, Mumbai 2008 of India, Archeological Survey of India, Development and State Government of Karnataka, Ministry maintenance of monuments of Tourism Government of India, Department in the State. Development of Tourism, Government of Karnataka and and Promotion of Tourism in local representatives of Tour, Travel and Karnataka. Problems being Hotelier Association, Ministry of Civil faced by Passengers and Aviation, Airports Authority of India, State tourists at the new Bangalore Government of Karnataka and CEO of BIAL, Airport, Development and Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Promotion of Tourism in Department of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Promotion Andhra Pradesh and local representatives and strengthening of of Tour, Travel and Hotelier Associations, Museums and Monuments Ministry of Culture Government of India, in the State. Problems being Archeological Survey of India and State faced by the Passengers and Government of Andhra Pradesh, Ministry tourists at the new of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, Hyderabad Airport. Cargo State Government of Andhra Pradesh and Handling on the problems CEO of HIAL, Department of Shipping and faced by them in JNPT, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Ministry of Tourism, Development and Promotion Government of India, Department of of Tourism, Development Tourism, Government of Maharashtra and and Management of Mumbai local representatives of Tour, Travel and Lighthouse, Problems being Hotelier Associations, Department of faced by the passengers and Shipping and Director-General Lighthouse tourists at the Chhatrapati and Lightships, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shivaji International Airport, Airports Authority of India, State Mumbai, problems faced by Government of Maharastra and CEO of them in the airline industry, MIAL, Private Airline Operators, Ministry Functioning and of Civil Aviation, NACIL and Employees’ performance of NACIL Union (Erstwhile Air India) 207
IV. Reports presented 11.6 During the year under review, twenty one (21) Reports of the Committee were presented to both the Houses of Parliament as detailed below:—
Sl. Report Title of the Report Date of Date of No. No. Adoption Presentation 12 3 4 5 1. 127th Action taken by the Government on the recommendations/ 18.1.2008 4.3.2008 observations of the Committee contained in its One Hundred and Eighteenth Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Department of Road Transport and Highways 2. 128th Action taken by the Government on the recommendations/ 18.1.2008 4.3.2008 observations of the Committee contained in its One Hundred and Seventeenth Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of Department of Shipping 3. 129th Action taken by the Government on the recommendations/ 18.1.2008 4.3.2008 observations of the Committee contained in its One Hundred and Twentieth Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of Ministry of Culture 4. 130th The National Waterway (Lakhipur-Bhanga Stretch of the 31.1.2008 4.3.2008 Barak River) Bill, 2007 5. 131st Closure of Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports and matters 4.3.2008 5.3.2008 related thereto 6. 132nd The Indian Maritime University Bill, 2007 15.4.2008 17.4.2008 7. 133rd The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 15.4.2008 17.4.2008 2007 8. 134th Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Department of Shipping 15.4.2008 17.4.2008 9. 135th Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Department of Road 24.4.2008 28.4.2008 Transport and Highways 10. 136th Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Tourism 24.4.2008 28.4.2008 11. 137th Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Culture 24.4.2008 28.4.2008 12. 138th Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Civil 24.4.2008 28.4.2008 Aviation 13. 139th The Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2007 24.4.2008 28.4.2008 14. 140th Promotion of Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir 11.8.2008 20.8.2008 15. 141st Modernization of Airports 11.8.2008 20.8.2008 16. 142nd Functioning of Private Airports and the related issues 20.10.2008 23.10.2008 17. 143rd Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/ 18.12.2008 19.12.2008 observations of the Committee contained in its One Hundred and Thirty Fourth Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Department of Shipping. 18. 144th Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/ 18.12.2008 19.12.2008 observations of the Committee contained in its One Hundred and Fifth Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Department of Road Transport and Highways. 208
12 3 4 5 19. 145th Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/ 18.12.2008 19.12.2008 observations of the Committee contained in its One Hundred and Sixth Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of Tourism. 20. 146th Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/ 18.12.2008 19.12.2008 observations of the Committee contained in its One Hundred and Thirty Seventh Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of Culture. 21. 147th Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/ 18.12.2008 19.12.2008 observations of the Committee contained in its One Hundred and Thirty Eighth Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
V. Summary of Recommendations (a) 127th Report 11.7 The Committee noted the reply of the Department. The Committee felt that though the expenditure level of funds stood at 91.47% of the total allocated fund, there was a scope for further improvement to ensure that there was uniformity in the expenditure pattern during the 11th Plan period. 11.8 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and hoped that the works would be completed as per schedule drawn by the Department. The Committee recommended that the Department should take up with appropriate authorities the factors delaying the projects and convince them the need for streamlining various procedures in such a way that it should not become an impediment in timely execution of projects. 11.9 The Committee noted the reply of the Department. The Committee hoped that the Badarpur flyover project may be completed by 2010 as per schedule so that the traffic congestion at Badarpur was eased drastically. The Committee noted that a project needs almost three years to get an approval from the competent authority from the date of conception of the project. The Committee believed that many of the stages of approval could be done away with if a single high powered agency was constituted to give approval of all stages from conception to final approval of the project. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department should take up with the Cabinet the need for creating a single high powered agency for approval of such project. 11.10 The Committee noted the reply of the Department. The Committee, however, was constrained to note that the projects which were sanctioned under this head in 2005-06 and 2006-07 were progressing very slowly. The Committee recommended that the Department should monitor these projects as these roads were important for providing connectivity to important tourist destinations and also cities of economic importance. 11.11 The Committee appreciated the decision of the Department to appoint third party independent quality auditors for National Highway works. The Committee hoped that this measure may help in ensuring qualitative execution of National Highway works. 11.12 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and desired that the process of appointing the Presiding Officers need to be expedited to ensure that all the Tribunals got their Presiding Officers at the earliest in any case not beyond the date fixed by the Government i.e., July, 2008. The Comittee hoped that the appointment of Presiding Officers in the National Highways Tribunals would help to enforce the law regarding removal of encroachments on National Highways in both letter and spirit. The respective State Governments may also be consulted in the functining of the Tribunals. 11.13 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and hoped that the allocation of additional funds from CRF for the States was pursued with the Ministry of Finance so that the fund legitimately due for works of development and maintenance of roads were available to the Department. 11.14 The Committee was disappointed to note that the Government initiatives did not yield much result in the development of road projects in North-Eastern States. The Committee recommended that the Department 209 undertook a proper scientific study and took the consequent measures to modify the rules and procedures if necessary for appropriate participation of the private sector in road projects in North-East. This need to be undertaken in a specific time and report may be submitted to the Committee. 11.15 The Committee noted the reply of the Department. The Committee was however constrained to note that the matter was not receiving the attention of the Government that it merits given the extraordinarily high rate of mortality in road accidents. The Committee recommended that in all future projects allocation for trauma centres must be an integral part of the project proposal. 11.16 The Committee was cosntrained to note that only a few States had started issuing smart card based driving license and registration certificates. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should pursue with the remaining States to implement smart card based DL and RCs. 11.17 The Committee was not convinced by the reply of the Government that there were no suitable consultants to carryout study on road transport sector. If a particular panel of consultants was not competent, the Department should go for a wider search to find out suitable consultants. The Committee recomended that the Department should strive for empanelling consultants for the study of road transport sector at the earliest. 11.18 The Committee noted that the formulation of Road Transport Policy was in its final stages. However, the Committee felt that the formulation of the policy should not be an unending process. The Committee recommended that the Road Transport policy may be formulated at the earliest. 11.19 The Committee was not satisfied with the replies of the Government. The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendations and felt that there was no reason to collect users' fee in perpetuity. Once the capital and interest was recovered, the users' fee must be discontinued. The creation of a revolving fund may be further pursued with the Ministry of Finance.
(b) 128th Report 11.20 The Committee noted that in order to ensure optimum utilization of funds token provision were being kept at the time of preparation of budget estimates for proejcts/schemes for which approval of the competent authority was yet to be received. The Committee recommended that Department should continue to work out strategy for maximum utilization of plan outlays and prioritize the projects in consultation with the concerned agencies for better co-ordination and timely execution of the projects. 11.21 The Committee took notes of the measures proposed by the Department of Shipping to remove the procedural hurdles and administrative delays. The Committee however observed that there were umpteen numbers of agency and procedures to clear a particular project proposal. The existing procedure to be followed for formulation, appraisal and approval of projects took years together for obtaining the approval of the Competent Authority. In the era of communication and information technology, there was a greater need to streamline the procedures to save time, the Committee, therefore, recommended that the various procedures and practices prevailing at present may be done away with and a single agency may be empowered to clear all the propsoals of projects within a prescribed time schedule. The Committee further recommended that the matter may be taken up with appropriate agency to create a single high powered agency for the purpose. 11.22 The Committee noted the efforts made by the Department of Shipping to ensure optimum utilization of funds. The Committee, however, was constrained to note that the full utilization of the budgetary allocation could not be made by the Department in the 10th Plan pleading to delays in execution and non utilization of funds for the projects in the Ports Sector. The Committee felt that any reduction in budgetary allocation would have adverse impact on growth, strengthening of Shipping and Port infrastructure projects in the country. The Committee hoped that the Department would make more demand for allocation of funds for the Port Sector during the 11th Plan and would take remedial measure for maximum utilization of the Plan outlays in a time bound manner. 11.23 The Committee noted the reply and hoped that adequate budgetary allocation will be made to the Department for the entire 11th Plan period as per the projection for the growth and strengthening of the Shipping and Ports sector. 11.24 The Committee noted that the Government had laid down the guidelines for allowing private sector participation in the major ports including construction and maintenance of ports and harbors. The Committee 210 hoped that legislative support, hospitable environment and transparent bidding criteria would not only provide a facilitative and transparent framework but also enhance the role of public-private partnership in the port infrastructure proejcts. 11.25 The Committee noted that reply of Department of Shipping and desired that the matter should be pursued with Planning Commission on regular basis to expedite the proposals, and Committee may be apprised about the decision taken in the matter. 11.26 The Comittee noted that the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) was looking after the implementation of rail/road conectivity projects of the major ports. The Committee appreciated that timely implementation of the rail connectivity projects with the ports and hoped that the Department of Road Transport and Highways would spare no efforts for ensuring timely implementation of road connectivity projects which affected the smooth and efficient flow of cargo in the major ports. The Committee recommended the Department to pursue the matter with the Department of road Transport and Highways for timely completion of the projects. The Committee desired the Department to inform the Committee about the progress made in the matter. 11.27 The Committee noted that the Planning Commission had approved an allocation of Rs. 897.31 crore upto 2008-09 for restoration/rehabilitation works in the A&N Islands and the funds were made available by the Planning Commission from 2006-07. During the year 2006-07 Rs. 89.76 crores was allocated out of which a total of Rs. 44.56 crores was spent on Post-Tsunami works. The Committee was destressed to note that the Department could not utilize the entire approved amount. The Committee recommended the Department to evolve an institutional mechanism for monitoring and execution of projects in a time bound manner. 11.28 The Committee noted that the Department of Shipping had moved a proposal for approval of the Committee of Secretaries for grant of financial assistance on account of payment of arrears of pension and pensionary dues of CDLB. The Committee recommended the Department to impress upon the Committee of Secretaries for taking early decision on the proposal of releasing enhanced grant to CDLB for meeting its pensionary and other statutory liabilities. The Committee may also be apprised about the decision in the matter. 11.29 The Committee was constrained to note that delay in the matter of inclusion of vessels regulated under Indian Vessels Act and Coastal Vessels Act for extension of Tonnage Tax system and desired to know the reasons therefore. The Committee was of the view that to develop the Inland Water transport in the country Government should provide fiscal support to harness its fullest potential. The Committee recommended the Department to pursue vigorously the matter with the Ministry of Finance and keep informed the Committee about the progress. 11.30 The Committee noted with dismay that a draft Cabinet note formulating cruise shipping policy was still under preparation. The Committee disapproved the undue delay in bringing out a comprehensive cruise shipping policy for the growth of the cruise shipping in the country. The Committee was of the opinion that in the absence of the policy, the Department would not be able to popularize the cruise shipping and development of infrastructure and other facilities at the ports in the country. The Committee hoped that the Department would formulate a comprehensive Cruise shipping Policy within a period of two months as informed by the Department. 11.31 The Committee noted that the Department had taken up the matter for rationalization and reduction of taxes with the Ministry of Finance and a study group was constituted to review the tax regime affecting the Indian shipping industry. The Committee also noted that the recommendation of the group was under consideration of the Ministry of Finance. The Committee felt that there should not be multiplicity of taxes for the shipping sector for obtaining desired growth. The Committee recommended the Department to vigorously pursue the matter of rationalization of multiplicity of taxes for the shipping sector which had deterring effects and put extra burden on the ship-owners, with the Ministry of Finance for suitable action. The Committee may be informed of the progress made in the matter. 11.32 The Committee noted that the Department of Shipping was addressing shortage of trained manpower in the maritime sector and a proposal regarding increasing training slots in the Indian Ships to 15% of manning requirement was under active consideration of the Government. The Committee recommended that pending the Indian Maritime University Bill with Parliament, the Department should endeavor to regulate, standardize the quality of maritime educatin and training imparted by the private maritime institutions in the country besides creating additional bearth for on-sea training. 211
11.33 The Committee was happy to note that an amount of Rs. 92.78 crore had already been released to the Seamen's Provident Fund. The Committee recommended that in order to give relief to the Seamen's their due amount of Provident Fund may immediately be deposited in their Account. 11.34 The Committee noted that the Department of Shipping had submitted a rehabilitation package for financial restructuring of Hindustan Shipyard and the proposal was presently being considered by the Group of Ministers. The Committee recommended the Department to impress upon the Government for expeditious clearance of the proposal so as to cash the boom in the ship building industry. 11.35 The Committee noted that the Department had mooted a proposal to the Ministry of Finance for raising a loan of Rs. 5 crore for liquidating the VRS dues of the retired employees of HSL but the Ministry of Finance had declined the proposal before the restructuring package was approved. The Committee recommended the Department to pursue the matter with the Ministry of Finance for restructuring of the yard and ensure the settlement of VRS dues of its retired employees under intimation to the Committee. 11.36 The Committee noted that the proposal of Rehabilitation-cum-Revival package of Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Limited (HDPEL) had been considered by the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) and based upon the recommendations of the BRPSE a draft note had been circulated to the concerned appraising Ministries/Department for comments. The Committee recommended the Department to continue its efforts for expediting package. 11.37 The Committee was not satisfied with the reply that the IWT project were delayed due to procedural requirements causing shortfall in the utilization of outlay. The Committee recommended the Department to do away with the procedural hurdles and maintain close liaison for the purpose of review monitoring, implementation and co-ordination of the projects. 11.38 The Committee noted the reply and recommended the Department of Shipping to vigorously pursue the matter with the Ministry of Defence to ensure absorption of the remaining 57 employees of Rajabagan Dockyard (RBD) with Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) as per the decision of the Cabinet. 11.39 The Committee was not satisfied with the reply of the Department regarding merger of the CIWTC with IWAI or KoPT or Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). The Committee strongly disapproved the fact that till date no report of any study conducted by the Department had been submitted to the Committee. The Committee was constrained to conclude that in the absence of a proper scientific study, the matter cannot be resolved. The Committee, therefore, once again recommended the Government to come out with a complete blue-print for revival of CIWTC as the Committee felt that CIWTC could be viable and played a greater role for development and promotion of IWT activity through NW-1 and NW-2.
(c) 129th Report 11.40 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry. The Committee further observed that the matter of reduction of Annual Plan Outlay at RE stage had been taken up with the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should vigorously pursue the matter and the committee may be informed of the outcome. 11.41 The Committee noted that various organizations were functioning without their CEO/Heads of Attached/Subordinate Offices, and in many cases ad-hoc arrangements had been made to fill up the position. The Committee was of the view that adhocism was not good for the healthy and efficient functioning of the organizations. Hence, in order to achieve better targets some permanent solution was to be found out. The Committee therefore, recommended that vacant posts were filled up without any further delay. The Committee however, appreciated that the Government had finally accepted the recommendation of the Committee and taken decision to adopt the search-cum-selection procedure for filling up vacancies of the Head of the Institutions under the Ministry of Culture which in turn would take the selection process for these posts outside the purview of the UPSC. The Committee recommended that the process of revision of Recruitment Rules be completed expeditiously so that the posts were filled up at the earliest. 11.42 The Committee noted the initiatives taken by the Ministry to finalize the excavation reports in time. The Committee hoped that after implementation of the decision to include the finalization of the reports as part of the excavation/exploration work itself, there would not be delay in bringing out the report in respect of 212 excavations/exploration of new sites. The Committee also recommended the pursue the matter of pending reports in respect of excavations undertaken in the past. 11.43 The Committee was happy to note that the Archaeological Survey of India had been allocated Rs. 933 crore for the Eleventh Plan period and hoped that this plan allocation would be utilized meaningfully by its continuous efforts to conserve, preserve and maintain the monuments of the country so that our cultural heritage is showcased before the whole world. 11.44 The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Culture should vigorously pursue the matter with all State Governments/UTs so that all antiquities in Government and private collections were also documented. The status of implementation may also be reported to this Committee. 11.45 The Committee noted the reply and hoped that the problem of encroachment upon the land of centrally protected monuments could be solved by ensuring the active cooperation of the State Governments and local administration. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Culture may direct its concerned officials to maintain close liaison with representatives of the State Governments/Local Administration to ensure that the encroachments were vacated with minimum resistance. Wherever required an appropriate rehabilitation policy may also be formulated to ensure that encroachment was removed on a permanent basis. 11.46 The Committee was unhappy to note that the Sangeet Natak Akademi could utilize only Rs. 7.34 crore till 28.2.2007 out of the allocated amount of Rs. 9.00 crores. The Committee also noted that even the expenditure upto March, 2007 had not been provided which would had given a clear picture of the expenditure. The Sangeet Natak Akademi was the apex institution for promotion of performing arts which was an area always neglected as a result of which many performing artists were languishing in poverty in this country. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the Ministry of Culture should take steps to remove those obstacles for which the allocated amount could not be spent so that the budgetary allocation to be made in the coming years would be optimally utilized. 11.47 The Committee noted the reply and appriciated the problem of the Ministry of Culture in setting up of Library at District Headquarters. However, as recommended by the Knowledge Commission, the Committee desired that at least one Library should be opened at the level of District Headquarters, either by the Centre or by the State Government so that there was no District Headquarter remained without Library. 11.48 The Committee hoped that the IGNCA would meticulously follow the action plan prepared by the Ministry for utilization of the fund allocated during the year 2007-2008. Regarding the objections raised by C&AG, the Ministry of Culture had no supplied copies of adverse observations of C&AG and Action Taken thereon. It appeared that Ministry had not understood the recommendation of the Committee wherein the Committee had desired to have the objections raised by the C&AG and Action Taken thereon. However, the Committee decided to take up the matter again in future. 11.49 The Committee noted the reply and desired that Ministry of culture should pursue the matter with all attached/subordinate and autonmous organizations on priority basis so that the programmes were implemented in North-Eastern Region without any delay. 11.50 While perusing the information relating to utilization of Annual Plan Outlay sent by the Ministry, the Committee found that the Ministry could not furnish the information about the utilization of Plan Outlay of various organizations within its purview as on 31st March, 2007, though the Action Taken Replies were sent only on 3rd December, 2007. It was a serious matter. Either the Ministry was not taking the Parliamentary Committee seriously or the information had not been updated so far which was again a serious lapse. The Committee recommended that the Ministry must reivew its approach and working while dealing with the Parliamentary Committee.
(d) 130th Report 11.51 The Committee had consistently expressed its concern over the slow pace of development of Inland Water Transport sector in the country. The Committee once again noted that Inland Water Transport is one of the oldest, fuel efficient, cost-effective and environment freindly mode of transport but unfortunately the potential of the sector Inland Water Transport remains largely unexplored due to the indifferent attitude of the Central and State Governments. The Committee observed that although the Department of Shipping was 213 committed to increase the share of Inland Water Transport in the country's total EXIM trade, still the waterways were not being utilized to their potential and remain largely neglected and underdeveloped for want of required infrastructure namely fairways, terminals and navigable aids, as a result, it had not reached at a threshold level to become commercially viable. The Committee was of the view that with adequate investments, policy framework and focused approach, the Inland Water Transport in the country could be developed into a viable mode complementary to the rail and road modes. The Committee was of the opinion that as the Government really intends to develop the Inland Water Transport sector with fast pace to its full potential in the country it should sincerely endeavour to provide institutional framework and minimized the procedural bottlenecks besides providing adequate investments both from public and private partnership primarily public investment in Inland Water Transport and to develop it to a level where private sector felt confident to invest in this sector particularly in ownership and operation of cargo and passenger vessels to Inland Water Transport mode. The Committee, therfore, recommended the Government to provide institutional framework and basic infrastructural facility for accelerated development of Inland Water Transport sector in the country so as to increase the capacity of Inland Water Transport agencies, commercialization of Inland Water Trasnport industries, increased cost recovery through user charges and creation of a vibrant Inland Water Transport sector in the country. 11.52 The Committee noted with concern that Research and Development Studies facilities especially in design of vessels and night navigation facilities and identification of economically viable routes for development of Inland Water Transport sector had not been given due consideration. The Committee had already taken up the matter in its 121st and 122nd Reports dealing with the National Waterway (Talcher-Dhamra Stretch of Rivers Geonkhali-Charbatia Stretch of East Coast Canal, Charbatia-Dhamra Stretch of Matai River and Mahanadi Delta Rivers) Bill, 2006 and the National Waterway (Kakinada-Pondicherry Stretch of Canals and the Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam-Rajahmundry Stretch of River Godavari and Wazirabad-Vijayawada Stretch of River Krishna) Bill, 2006. The Committee again reiterated its view that Research and Development activities was the backbone for success of any sector and recommended the Government to strengthen the Research and Development facilities for the desired development of Inland Water Transport Sector in the country by providing specific budgetary allocations. 11.53 The Committee noted that the proposed NW-6 could offer alternative mode of transport vis-a-vis rail and road modes. The Committee also noted that the proposed NW would also boost the rural economy and provide IWT connectivity for movement of commodities between the Port of Haldia/Kolkata through Inddo- Bangladesh protocol route for transit and trade and various hinterland and Bangladesh besides decongestion of roads and fuel saving, provided port-hinterland connectivity, better environment corridor and generated employment among weaker sections and increased tourism activities in the region. The Committee recommended that the existing Protocol routes connecting NW-1 & NW-6 and NW-2 & NW-6 may be taken up with the Bangladesh on an expeditious way to convert these waterways into international waterways for effective transportation of inter-country movement of goods between hinterland cities and Bangladesh. But in the process the security concern should not be compromised in any way. 11.54 The Committee observed that since waterways did not provide door-to door service independently, it was expedient that the waterways were connected with rail or road modes for total transport linkages to the user. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Government to improve the total modal mix of transport in the country and prepared the road map for integrated transport policy to include IWT, costal Shipping, Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways and Railways. 11.55 The Committee noted with dismay about the inadequate repair facility being available on the national waterways. The Committee felt that IWT vessels once start plying in large number on these waterways would require repair facilities on these waterways. The Committee recommended the Department to prepare an action plan for meeting the growing demands of repair and service facilities of IWT vessels on all the national waterways. 11.56 The Committee noted with anguish that no security personnel was being provided in Sunderbans/ Protocol routes in West Bengal by B.S.F/State Government/IWAI. The Committee was of the opinion that security was a prime concern and looked into seriously by making commensurate security arrangement in Sunderbans/Protocol routes. The Committee recommended the Department of Shipping to take up the matter of beefing-up of security arrangement in the Sunderbans/Protocol routes with the Union Home Ministry so that inadequacy of police deployment could be addressed in a big way. 214
11.57 The Committee was constrained to note that there was no updated Financial Memorandum appended with the Bill and cost projections had been worked out based on the year 2002. The Committee was not satisfied with the reply of the Government that after declaration of NW-6 by the Parliament, the budgetary provision taken place. The Committee was of the view that comprehensive planning and knowing the financial implication was a must for the Government to provide allocation for development of this waterway. The Committee therefore, strongly recommended the Department of Shipping to append the updated Financial Memorandum based upon the individual project component of NW-6 with the Bill.
11.58 The Committee was constrained to note that cargo transportation by Inland Water Transport mode had not shown significant improvement on these National Waterways. The Committee also expressed its displeasure over the fact that no comparative cost-output evaluation for transportation of cargo through this alternate mode of transport had been carried out by the Department. The Committee was of the view that such evaluation would further establish the support of Inland Water Transport over other mode of transports. Therefore, the Committee recommended that a detailed study should be carried out by the Department in this regard and Department of Shipping should fix some realistic physical target for cargo transportation year-wise for entire Eleventh Plan. 11.59 The Committee note with dismay about the discontinuance of the centrally sponsored scheme for IWT development in the country by the Planning Commission. The Committee was of the view that the decision of the Planning Commission to convert the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for IWT development into central sector scheme would adversely affect the pace of development of Inland Water Transport in the country. The Committee recommended the Department of Shipping to impress upon the Planning Commission for the revival of the central sponsored scheme for overall development of the IWT Sector. 11.60 The Committee recommended that the Bill be passed in its present form with formal amendments. However, the Committee hoped that while implementing the provisions of the Bill, the recommendations made by the Committee in the foregoing paragraphs would be given due weightage so that the purpose of declaration of the proposed National Waterway should not be defeated. The Committee also recommended that whenever necessary due consultations and concurrence of the State Government of Assam be also taken in preparing developmental plans and on other related issues for the proposed National Waterway.
(e) 131st Report 11.61 The Committee noted that the estimates and projections regarding closure of existing airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad were made on the basis of the 1999 and 2000 Statistics when the civil aviation sector was growing at 6% per annum, but today it was growing at 20% per annum. It was thus under-estimate of gigantic proportions. If, the present trend continued in a couple of years even the new airports would not be able to handle the rush of passengers and the Government would have to look for other options. This was clear from the fact that the private Greenfield airport at Bangalore was designed to handle passenger traffic of 9 million per year. As noted above in 2007 itself, this figure stood at 9.9 million. As far as Hyderabad was concerned, the initial projected capacity was 7 million. In 2007 itself passenger traffic was 6.8 million. Therefore, the Committee recommended that present airports should be used, given the saturation of passenger traffic, in such a way that the private player made a reasonable profit, while the Government discharged its responsibilities of maintaining public goods and upholding public interest.
11.62 The Committee recommended that the existing airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad should not be closed for commercial operations to make way for the commissioning of the private Greenfield airports. The Committee also left that this was the first time in the country that the Government owned airports built on the tax payers' money were being closed for the commissioning of the private Greenfield airports where profit earning was the main motto rather than the service to the passengers. This was contrary to the Government's policy particularly in a situation where both the airports were required in view of the changing scenario in passenger traffic. This was in complete contravention of the 'level playing field' concept. The Committee failed to understand the logic or rationale behind such drastic step of the Government. The Committee was of the opinion that the Government's reluctance to accept this Committee's earlier unanimous recommendations presented to the Parliament on this subject without giving any reasons negates the very purpose of the 215
Parliamentary Committee system. The Government still had the time to re-negotiate the issue with the concessionaire and could modify or scrap the clause which facilitates the closure of the existing airports. The possible revenue implications of such a renegotiation must not inhibit the Government from proceeding on such a course in national interest. Since the aviation sector was growing in a big way, having two airports in a particular city would have been a commercially viable option for the operators. 11.63 After considering all the facts placed before the Committee and keeping in view the traffic growth in recent year which was even more than three times as compared to the year when the projections were made and agreements were signed, the Committee strongly recommended unanimously and unequivocally to the Government of India that the existing Hyderabad and Bangalore Airports should not be closed for commercial operation. 11.64 The Committee noted that the Airports Authority of India, while taking up the major expansion projects at Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram had envisaged levy of User Development Fee of Rs.300 per passenger as prescribed Initial Rate of Return (IRR) was not being achieved. However, the proposal was turned down by the Government. The Committee observed that the Government which turned down the proposal of Airports Authority of India happily agreed to the demands of the private operators. The Committee recommended that the levy of any User Development Fee would give a negative signal to the upward growth and overall growth pattern of the aviation sector. 11.65 The Committee felt that User Development Fee was illogical and irrational. The same was not allowed in case of Airports Authority of India operated Airports.The Committee deplored it in unambiguous terms and recommended that the user fee might be withdrawn immediately. 11.66 The Committee observed the double standard of the Government in dealing with the Airports Authority of India vis-a-vis private operators in the development of airports in the country. The Committee was not against private companies making profit, at the same time the profit making Public Sector Undertakings should not be handed over to the private players. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should not hand over the profit earning airports to the private sector. The Committee felt that AAI should also be given adequate opportunities and encouragement in modernizing and developing of airports in the country. Airports Authority of India should be given all the financial and operating freedom enjoyed by a private joint venture company for competing with the private players. 11.67 The Committee recommended that the grievances of the employees of both the airports should be well addressed by the Government. The employees should not be put into any hardship due to this decision of the Government. The Committee felt that the Tripartite Committee should meet regularly to remove any uneasiness and settle issues agitating the employees of the Airports Authority of India on various issues. (f) 132nd Report Clause 2(e) 11.68 The Committee was of the view that the definition must be comprehensive enough to achieve the ends of the legislation and recommended that the definition of clause 2(e) may be suitably amended to include the words ‘education and training’. Clause 2(r) 11.69 The Committee observed that the definition of the words “College” and “Institution” did not provide training facilities and there was need to amplify the definition of the term “College” and “Institution” to make it more comprehensive. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the definition of clause 2(h) and clause 2(r) may be suitably amended to include the words “and training” after the word education. Clause 2(I) 11.70 The Committee therefore, recommended that “internet” may also be added as a means for communication through distance education system. Clause 2(m) 11.71 The Committee was of the opinion that the word “Employee” means the existing deputationists and any person appointed by University and other staff of the University. The Committee recommended that the words “existing deputationists” may also be incorporated in the clause 2(m) for the purpose. 216
Clause 2(w) & 2(x)
11.72 The Committee noted that the definition of “recognized institutions” and “recognized teachers” provided in clause 2(w) and 2(x) were not explicit and left some scope for misinterpretation. The Committee was of the opinion that there was need to amplify the terms “recognized institutions” and “recognized teachers” with the view to removing possible ambiguities in these regards. The Committee, therefore, recommended that necessary amendments should be brought in the relevant provision of the Bill for the purpose.
11.73 The Committee observed that there was no mention of the “Student Council”, “Visitors”, “Students”, “Course-curriculum”, “Affiliation”, “Association”, “Alumni”, “Visiting faculty”, “Ship-Owners” and “Recognition” in the definition clause. The Committee recommended that an attempt should be made by the Government to give a precise definition of various terms and expressions, which were used in the Bill to avoid ambiguity and tedious repetitions. The Committee further recommended that provisions be made in the Bill to the effect that such terms which were not defined in the Bill but defined in the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 should had the same meaning as assigned to them in that Act.
Clause 3(2)
11.74 The Committee received a large number of representations having varied viewpoints and opinions on the location of the headquarters of the University and the requirement for more than one University to cater to the needs of the maritime and related sectors. The Committee noted that India is one of the largest maritime country in the world with a strong, dedicated, efficient and reliable reservoir of officers and ratings of the Merchant Navy. However, the Committee expressed its concern over the projected global shortage of maritime manpower. The Committee emphasized the need for augmenting the training capacity and capabilities in the country to meet the projected global shortage of 27,000 Officers by the year 2015 and to achieve the share of India in the world maritime manpower fleet from the current 6% to ateast 20%. The geographical spread of the country and the vastness and variety of the Maritime activity going on in India demanded that there was a need for large number of institutions imparting education, research and training in various fields of maritime and marine activity. The Committee further noted that the different Expert Committees went into the issue of establishment of Maritime Universities and one of such committee recommended setting-up of IMU in the country with headquarter at Mumbai and campuses at Mumbai and Kolkata, and other committee suggested two new campuses at Chennai and Kochi with headquarter at Mumbai may be set up in a phased manner. The Expert Committee also recommended that if sufficient resources were available, the Government may consider opening another University at Chennai at National Maritime Academy campus, since Chennai had an added advantage of land availability.
11.75 The Committee was not convinced about the reasons for establishing a single University for the entire country, when other countries such as Japan,Vietnam, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, China etc. were having more than one maritime University at their credit. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the availability of land should not be the sole criteria for establishing a University. While selecting a particular place for establishing a University, the existence of established institutions imparting training in the field and the other maritime infrastructure available may also be taken into account. The Committee was of the opinion that a single university was unlikely to suffice the needs of education, training and research to meet the growing demand of the maritime human resources in domestic and global markets. After examining all the views of Stakeholders, the Committee felt that one Maritime University was not enough to serve the purpose of martime studies and research. The Committee, therefore, recommended that there must be one Maritime University each in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Kochi with clear demarcated geographical jurisdiction. In case of proposed University at Kolkata, the Indian Institute of Port Management (IIPM), Kolkata may also be subsumed with it. Therefore, the clause 6 should suitable be changed. 217
Clause 4(i) 11.76 The Committee observed that the activities in the maritime domain were extensive and required a specialization to deal with it. However, the Committee noted that the Bill gave an impression that it restricted itself only to shipping related issues/institutions as distinct from the maritime issues/institutions. The Committee, therefore was of the view that the maritime university should have entire gamut of maritime activities and endeavour to deal with an exhaustive range of subjects other than shipping. The Committee also recommended the Government to elaborate the term maritime studies to understood the scope of courses to be offered by the University, viz. maritime security, maritime law, maritime history, ocean engineering, exploitation of resources, ship management, port management, maritime transport and logistics, marine insurance, off shore exploration, naval architecture and ship building in the Bill itself. The Committee further recommended that the clause 4(i) should be amended to include the term "training" in between "maritime studies" and "research" so as to achieve excellence in the maritime sector.
Clause 4(ii) 11.77 The Committee noted that the term " such branches of learning as it may deem fit" appeared to be vague and may be given leverage to the authority concerned. The Committee recommended that the branches of learning may be defined in the Bill suitably to include Marine Science, Marine Biology, Ship building and ship repairs, Underwater Engineering Drilling and Offshore Activities, Logistics, Port Technology, Marine Physics and Metrology so as to made the University to conduct programmes in related field.
Clause 5(iv) 11.78 The Committee was of the opinion that there was no mention about the "boarding and lodging" facilities in the clause. The Committee recommended that the clause 5(iv) may suitably be amended to incorporate the term "boarding and lodging" after the word "hostels".
Clause 5(x)(i) 11.79 The Committee noted that the term "teacher" did not qualify to all its members including Directors, Principal, Professors, Readers, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors. The Committee recommended that the clause be amended suitably.
Clause 5 (xvii) 11.80 The Committee observed that the clause 5(xvii) was silent to the requirement of minimum qualification, experience and age criteria for appropriate rank of teaching staff. The Committee recommended that the approval of teachers and instructors should be restricted to ascertaining that the faculty met the requirements of the university with respect to the qualifications and experience needed for imparting that subject and to his/her meeting the age critera. The Committee also recommended that such details on qualification, experience and age etc. for appropriate rank of teaching staff may be included in the first statutes of the Bill itself.
Clause 5(xxi) 11.81 The Committee recommended that the words "training centre" may also be added in this sub-clause and the clause may be amended suitably.
Clause 5(xxvii) 11.82 The Committee observed that there was no mention of the "determination of standards of admission" to the colleges and institutions affiliated to the University for different courses. The Committee recommended that the term " and colleges and institutions affiliated to the university" may be added after the world "University".
Clause 5(xiv) 11.83 The Committee was of the opinion that the kind of requirements and conditions necessary for making any institution autonomous may be spelt out in the original statutes itself. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Clause 5(xiv) may be suitably amended and the necessary statutes may be incorporated. 218
Clauses 8(1) (c) 11.84 The Committee recommended that the word "offshore construction companies", “diving companies" may also be incorporated with the Shipping Companies.
Clause 8(1) (f) 11.85 The term "any other source" was vague and left ample scope for its misuse by the University for raising funds for arrangement of running and maintenance. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the term "any other source" may be defined in the Bill by incorporating any other "lawful, legal and proper source".
Clause 9(1) 11.86 The Committee noted that the President of India had been named as the "Visitor" of the University. The Committee recommended that the clause may be suitably amended to incorporate the words "or his nominee/nominees" after the words "President of India."
Clause 9(4) 11.87 The Committee observed that the clause 9(4) made reference to caluse 9(2), which appeared to be a typographical error. The Committee recommended that the term "sub-section (2)" appearing in clause (9)(4) may be substituted by the term "sub-section (3)".
Clause 20(1) 11.88 The Committee noted that the composition of the Court had not been defined in the Bill or in the Statutes and recommended that it should be defined in the Bill so as to to incorporate the Workers, Shipping Industry, Shipayard Dredger owners, Offshore Industry, the elected representatives of University community such as teachers, students and non-teaching staff.
Clause 21(2), 22(3), 23(2), 24(3), 25(2) and 26 11.89 The Committee noted that the Executive Council, the Academic Council, the Board of Affiliation and Recognition, the Planning Board, the Boards of the School and the Finance Committee were the important decision-making bodies of the University. The statutes appended to the Bill contain provisions only about the power and functions of these Councils/Boards/Committee but was silent about their constitution and term of the Office. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the provisions for the constitution and term of office of the Executive Council, the Academic Council, the Board of Affiliation and Recognition, the Planning Board, the Boards of School and the Finance Committee be also included within corpus of the first Statutes itself. The Committee also recommended that a representative of the Government of States where the University was located may be inducted into the Executive Council for the purposes of coordination and smooth functioning of the University.
Clause 23(1) 11.90 The Committee observed that the provision of the clause gave unbridled powers to the Board of Affiliation and Recognition for admitting colleges and institutions to the privileges of the Unviersity. The Committee was of the opinion that the requirements and conditions necessary for admitting colleges and institutions may be specified. The Committee recommended that the clause may be suitably amended.
Clause 28(f) 11.91 The Committee recommended that the provision to the effect that the loan facilities, medical facilities, LTC facilities and salary increment would be at par with other institutions, may also be included in the statutes provided with the Bill to avoid any misinterpretation.
Clause 30(1) (i) 11.92 The Committee observed that this sub-clause provides for making special arrangements for the residence, discipline and teaching of women students. The Committee was of the considered opinion that while 219 this was valid in terms of residence and specific courses for women students, the word 'discipline' in this clause appeared to be discriminatory against the women as the matter discipline was applicable equally to men and women. Accordingly the Committee recommended that the word 'discipline' be deleted from clause.
Clause 30(1) (R) 11.93 The Committee observed that there was no mention about the provisions dealing with the remedies/ actions for any misconduct, disparity, abuses and sexual harassment towards the girl's students at campus or college or institute under the university. The Committee recommended that the provision may be incorporated suitably in the Bill.
Clause 35(2) 11.94 The Committee felt that Clause 35(2) gave an impression that the employees were debarred from all other judicial remedies against the decision of the Tribunal. The Committee was aware that no Act can debar the remedies available under Articles 226 and 32 of the Constitution. The Bill also did not intend to do this. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a provision to the effect that 'This did not preclude the employees from availing the remedies provided under Articles 226 and 32 of the Constitution' may be added in the said Clause for removing the erroneous impression in this regard and clause 35(2) may, accordingly, be amended.
Clause 37 11.95 The Committee noted that the term "with in such time as may be prescribed" was vague and left ample scope for the authority concerned to misuse this clause against their employees or students of the University or of a College or Institution maintained by the University. The Committee recommended the Government to fix a definite time frame for making an appeal to the Executive Council in the statutes of the Bill itself. The Committee also recommended that a suitable provision may also be incorporated for disposal of the appeal in a time-bound manner.
Clause 46(a), (b) and (c) 11.96 The Committee was of the considered opinion that since the first officers and authorities of the university were to be appointed or nominated by the Central Government, their term of offices as provided in transitional provisions should not be long enough. The Committee noted that in some cases it was five years and in others it was three years. It, therefore, recommended that the term of office of the first Chancellor, the first Vice-Chancellor as well as other officers and bodies provided in various sub-clauses of clause 46 (a), (b) & (c) should be reduced from five and three years to three and two years respectively.
Clause 49(i) 11.97 The Committee noted that the above discussion was in view of the fact that the proposal was for just one University whereas the Committee in paras 5.12 & 5.13 has recommended that there must be one maritime University each in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Kochi with clear demarcated geographical jurisdiction. In that eventuality, all the existing Government institutions within that geographical jurisdiction may be subsumed with the concerned University.
Clause 50(3) 11.98 The Committee observed that Director General of Shipping, Government of India being statutory authority and being responsible for regulation and maintenance of norms and standards in maritime education and allied subjects in India, should oversaw the functionary programmes related to implementation of University objectives and its development by way of representation in different University Committees/Boards, conducting oral examination part of Certificate of Competency of seafarers and issuance of related certificates, acting as interface with industry/Government of India and through other related means in the manner as prescribed in the Statutes. The Committee expressed its apprehension that this very provision in the Bill would impede the functioning of University as autonomous body and defeat the fulfilment of its objectives. The Committee recommended that the Clause 50(3) may be redrafted and this power may be conferred to the University alone. 220
Schedule I 11.99 The Committee noted that the "Chancellor" should be appointed from among persons in the academic or public life of the country. The Committee felt that given the specialized scope of the proposed IMU, the domain could be expanded to admit persons of eminence from the shipping business and also maritime techno-commercial field. The Committee, therefore, recommended the words maritime field' and 'Public Administration' may also be included in this clause after the word 'academic'.
Schedule 2(1) & 2(2) 11.100 The Committee found that the Statute was silent about the qualifications and experience of the persons to be placed on the panel for appointment as Vice-Chancellor. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the persons having experience in maritime field could be placed on the panel for appointment as Vice- Chancellor of the University and the provision to that effect may be indicated in the Bill itself. The Committee further recommended that a nominee of the Court should also be included in the Selection Committee for appointment to the post of Vice-Chancellor.
Schedule 4(1) 11.101 The Committee noted that the Schedule 4(1) detail the manner of appointment of Pro-Vice Chancellor. It however made no mention of minimum qualifications, experience of personnel qualification, age etc. to hold this position. The Department of Shipping informed that it was for the university to formulate the detailed Rules and Regulations. The Committee was not convinced with the replies given by the Department. The Committee recommended that the manner of appointment and minimum qualification for the post should be clearly stated in the statutes itself.
Schedule 5(1) 11.102 The Committee noted that the schedule 4(1) details the manner of appointment of Registrar. It however, made no mention of minimum qualifications, experience of personnel qualification, age etc. to hold this position. The Department of Shipping informed that it was for the university to formulate the detailed Rules and Regulations. The Committee was not convinced with the replies given by the Department. The Committee recommended that the manner of appointment and minimum qualification for the post should be prescribed in the statutes itself. The Committee also recommended that a nominee of the Court should also be included in the Selection Committee for appointment to the post of Registrar.
Schedule 11(1)(k) 11.103 The Committee recommended that clause 11(1) (k) might be amended to had atleast 3 Principals from affiliated colleges and academic institutions for smooth and effective running of the Maritime University.
Schedule 13(2) 11.104 The Committee noted that the clause 13(2) at an annual meeting of the Court, a report on the working of the University during the previous year, together with a statement of the receipts and expenditure, the balance-sheet as audited, and the financial estimates for the next year should be presented. However, the Committee, found that there was no mention of "Return and Information" of its property and activities in the clause. The Committee recommended that the words "Return and Information" may be included in the clause suitably.
Schedule 20(1)(i),(ii),(iii)&(iv) 11.105 The Committee noted that in case of the 'Finance Committee', while its composition had been given, there was no representation from the University Court in this Committee. The Committee opined that University Court being an important body should have representation in the Finance Committee. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a new sub-clause ‘atleast one person to be nominated by the Court’ may be added in the Statutes of the Bill. 221
Schedule 21(2) 11.106 The Committee understood that the Heads of the Department were appointed generally by seniority and rotation. It could, therefore, be possible that a Reader happened to be the Head of the Department when the process for appointment to the post of Professor was underway. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the term 'if he is a reader' may be appended to (i) of Column 2 of Table against the heading 'Professor'.
Schedule 32(1) 11.107 The Committee felt that the provision of Clause 32(1) of the Statutes and Clause 36(1) of the Bill appears to be contradictory. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the provisions of the Clauses may be suitably re-drafted to remove the inherent contradictions, if any.
Schedule 34(6) 11.108 The Committee felt that the provisions of Clause 34(6) of the Statutes and Clause 36(2) of the Bill appear to be contradictory. The Committee therefore, recommended that the provisions of the Clauses may be suitably re-drafted to provide the similar requirements of a Tribunal Arbitration in case of dispute arising out of the withdrawal of the said college or institution from its privileges.
Schedule 46(1) 11.109 The Committee noted that in view the outstanding nature of qualification in maritime discipline the Government had constituted the Equivalence Committee which had made some recommendation for the existing teaching posts in four government. maritime institutes. The Committee was of the opinion that the Equivalence Committee had considered only the present pay of the faculty while tabulating the scale and post structure for the existing faculties, but had not been considered about the faculty who were in the same scale for more than 8 to 20 years. The Committee, therefore, recommended that clause 46 (1) of the statutes of the Bill should be amended to take care of existing qualified and experienced faculty members and to place them in appropriate position with scale as per UGC and AICTE norms.
General observations 11.110 The Commitee noted that the proposed Bill envisages setting up of just one Maritime University in the country. However, the Committee recommended that the Bill be reviewed by the Government in the light of the recommendations and especially at paras 5.12 & 5.13 and Government should plan for setting up of five maritime universities in the country i.e. one each in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Kochi in view of the increased demand of maritime human resources in the domestic and global markets. The Committee hoped that while implementing the provisions of the Bill, the recommendations made by the Committee in the foregoing paragraphs would be given due consideration for the formation of five Indian Maritime Universities. The Committee also recommended that efforts should be made to increase substantially the presence of highly qualified scientists, technologists and researchers in the various wings of management of the university in order to facilitate proper administration and academic advancement for the benefit of the student community. The Executive Council, Academic Council and Planning Board should include suitably qualified persons from the maritime industry, professional bodies and maritime training institutes. 11.111 In view of the above, the Committee was of the considered view that the present Bill was not sufficient in achieving the desired objectives. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government may consider bringing in fresh comprehensive legislation(s) for the creation of five Maritime Universities, before Parliament as expeditiously as possible.
(g) 133rd Report
Clause 2 11.112 The Committee noted that it would be critical in defining to what extent or what role a ''stakeholder'' such as an airline had in the key decision making processes of the regulatory framework. The Committee felt that it was not clear from the provisions of the Bill that whether the passengers using the airports would presumably be classified as one of the stakeholders so that they had the opportunity to make submission for determination of the quantum of the airport tariffs. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Bill should 222 clearly define as to who were the principal stakeholders and establish unambiguously their role in the functioning of AERA and the consultative process for decision making by AERA. 11.113 The Committee noted that cargo was one of the major components of the civil aviation sector and the omission of cargo from the definition of the Bill needed to be rectified. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the definition 'airport user' in Section 2 (c) should read ''as any person availing of passenger and/or cargo facilities''.
11.114 The Committee was of the opinion that the Members should also have the expertise on competition law and policy as the AERA is created to promote fair competition in the field of aviation. Therefore, the Clause 4(2) may be amended accordingly. 11.115 The Committee wondered whether in the Defence Forces there was any equal post to the Secretary. The literal meaning of the clause did not bar personnel of the Defence Forces being appointed to the Authority. However, in practice, the clause may effectively prevent the entry of experienced and meritorious people of the Defence Forces to the Authority. Moreover, the reply of the Government gave an impression that the Authority could be filled up only by Members of bureaucracy. In fact, in the era of economic liberalization and globalization a lot of talent and expertise was available outside the Government set up. The Committee, therefore, felt that the law should be flexible not only to accommodate the personnel of the Defence Forces but also to accommodate the experts from the private sector. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Clause 4 (2) may be suitably modified.
Clause 6 11.116 The Committee noted the clarification furnished by the Ministry. The Committee, however, felt that to avoid ambiguity and multiplicity of interpretation it was better to define the aspects of reappointment in the clause itself. While drafting the clause the legislative intent should be made amply clear. Theoretically, it was possible that a Chairperson could be appointed as a Member, though normally it was not done. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the clause should be modified in such a way making it clear that a Member could be appointed as Chairperson but a Chairperson could be appointed as a Member.
Clause 13 11.117 The Committee observed that though the basic infrastructure of airport was geared towards providing landing, housing, parking of an aircraft along with supporting ground handling, navigation, surveillance and communication facilities, the airports also provide banks and other office spaces etc. The economies of airport operation depended on both revenue streams i.e. aeronautical revenue and non-aeronautical revenue. Even though the bulk of revenue for Indian airports came from aeronautical services, world over the successful airports got majority of their revenue from non-aeronautical services. 11.118 The Committee further observed that the points raised by the stakeholders need serious consideration in view of the financial implication involved in it and the Government may amended the Bill in order to include non-aeronautical service also in the ambit of the Bill. 11.119 The Committee felt that there appeared to be a gap between the definitions of aeronautical services as defined in the AERA Bill and the coverage of aeronautical services under the concession agreement for airports signed by the Government of India or even the Operations Management Development Agreement, the OMDA signed in the case of Delhi and Mumbai airports. The Committee was of the opinion that while the AERA Bill limits itself to the navigation, surveillance and supportive communication for Air Traffic Management and for landing, housing or parking of aircraft, the OMDA had a broader scope for aeronautical services and it included baggage systems, check-in concourses and hydrant infrastructure for aircraft fuelling services among many others. The Committee recommended that AERA oversight for aeronautical services and their charges should not be restrictive in scope, but should be extended to all other major aeronautical service heads laid out in concession and OMDA agreements as AERA had to ensure a balanced outcome between airports, airlines and also the passengers as many services which had been left out of AERA coverage were essential to passengers and needed monitoring by a regulator. The Committee welcomed the regulation of aeronautical services by the new regulator even though this would be only a small part of the revenue earning however, the 223 non-aeronautical services, which were the large chunk of the earnings would go as un-regulated. The ambit of AERA should be broadened to include regulation of both aeronautical, as well as, non-aeronautical revenue. As per the current proposal, only aeronautical revenues were shought to be regulated through AERA. The Committee recommened that this lacuna should be addressed by the Government and the non-aeronautical services also be brought under the ambit of proposed regulator. 11.120 The Committee strongly recommended that the fuel supply infrastructure should be brought under the purview of AERA Bill and this should be added in the powers and functions of the authority in Chapter 3 of the Bill. 11.121 The Committee observed that the Airports Authority of India, did not have any fixed performance standards to serve the passengers or to that matter for the efficiency of the airports. The Bill presently covered only major airports handling 1.5 million or more passengers per annum. The Committee did not find any reason to exclude about 116 odd other airports from the purview of the present Bill. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the role of AERA and its functions should be expanded to cover all the airports used for the operation of commercial flights irrespecive of the size of the airport or ownership or throughput of passengers. 11.122 The Committee hoped that any amount of development fee which would be fixed by the AERA should not dampen the passenger demand. The Committee is of the opinion that making air travel expensive by such development fees will have a significant impact on the overall economy, especially, on the tourism, commerce and hospitality sectors. The Committee hopes that the proposed regulator will definitely play a positive and cirtical role in determining development fees.
Clause 20 11.123 The Committee observed that while doing so there were chances that the Members might be biased in taking a decision. The Committee also observed that India did not have dearth of any qualified and experienced people to mann the Authority or the Tribunal. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Section 20 may be suitably modified to ensure that those who were Members of AERA, were not appointed to the Appellate Tribunal.
(h) 134th Report 11.124 The Committee observed that the Department had projected a requirement of Rs.68971.48 crore for the entire 11th Plan. Against this requirement, the Planning Commition approved an allocation of Rs. 67173.40 crore to the Department for carrying out major activities i.e. development of Major Ports, Inland Water Transport, procurement of Dredgers and connected activities for the Dredging Corporation of India, Constructions of landing facility in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, post Tsunami rehabilitation works, Ship Building, Rail Connectivity for the ports and Setusamundrum Ship Channel Project etc. 11.125 The Committee strongly deplored the tendency of Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance for imposing cuts on the amount demanded by the Department as per their pressing needs. The Committee felt that if the Department of Shipping had to attain the national growth of 9% in the 11th Plan period, it would require huge and well planned funding. Thus, the Government spending for the Department of Shipping would have to be significantly stepped up from the present level to meet the growth targets. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended that the Department should be provided with Rs. 68971.48 crore by the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance for the 11th Plan period as per their original proposal and ensure that no project/scheme proposed by the Department languished for want of funds. The Committee also recommended the Department to take appropriate caution and remedial action to absorb in time the allocation made to them. 11.126 The Committee was perturbed to note that the Department of Shipping had projected higher plan outlays of Rs.4271.27 crore during the year 2007-08 which was drastically reduced to Rs. 3075.34 crore at RE stage and ultimately, the Department failed to utilize the reduced amount too. The Department utilized Rs. 2517.00 crore during 2007-08 against the budget estimates of Rs. 4271.27 crore and surrendered an amount of Rs. 1754.27 crore as compared to the BE for the year. The Committee observed that the saving affects almost all the major activities of Department of Shipping be it Inland Water Transport, Shipping, Ports, Lighthouses and Lightships, Shipbuilding etc. and the actual expenditure incurred had always been abysmally low compared to the estimated amount. The Committee was not satisfied with the reasons furnished by the Department for 224 non-utilization of the allocations for their being either vague or of routine in nature. The Committee did not approve the practice being followed by the Department which had been asking for higher allocations year after year, but the implementation of projects and schemes were poor as ground realities were not taken into account while formulating and implementing the projects. The Committee was pained to note that although they had repeatedly recommended for formulation of realistic plans and schemes but no action had been taken by the Government on those recommendations. The Committee expected that intensified monitoring mechanism which was being put in place by the Department, would ensure that Budgeted amounts earmarked at the BE stage were fully utilized during 2008-09. At the same time, the Committee recommended that a meaningful and relevant programmes and policies be formulated for regular infusion of funds in various projects and schemes in all quarters of the financial year for total utilization of plan outlays and if required, the Government should review all the on-going schemes periodically for re-allocation of the budgeted amount. The Committee would like to be apprised of the action taken by the Government in this regard. 11.127 The Committee noted that there had been under-utilisation of plan allocation in the port sector and found that in BE 2007-08, an outlay of Rs. 2109.76 crore consisting of GBS of Rs. 498.49 crore and IEBR of Rs. 1611.27 crore was provided to the port sector. As against that allocation, the anticipated expenditure was Rs. 1694.71 crore comprising of Rs. 359.62 crore GBS and Rs. 1335.09 crore IEBR. In the Annual Plan 2008-09, again higher budgetary allocations to Rs. 3650.97 crore had been made in anticipation of modernization of port sector though the actual expenditure had always remained low as compared to budget estimates. The Committee felt that since ports had a crucial role to play in facilitating the India's total EXIM trade, the Department should devise the concrete and concerted efforts for achieving the desired targets. The Committee, therefore, recommended that projections of required fund should be made more realistic so that resources were not unnecessarily kept unutilized and were allocated more judiciously and projects were monitored scrupulously to achieve the envisaged targets. The Committee would also like to be apprised to the achievement of the physical and financial targets in the port sector during the current financial year. 11.128 The Committee further noted that the Department had delegated the financial powers to the port trusts under the instructions issued by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance for timely execution, formulation, appraisal and approval of the projects to be funded through the public investment and also for public private partnership projects. The respective jurisdiction with respect to Standing Finance Committee (SFC), Departmental Expenditure Finance Committee (Departmental EFC), Main Expenditure Finance Committee (Main EFC), Committee of Secretaries (CoS), Public Investment Board (PIB) or Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) was determined on the basis of the total cost of the project, schemes for the entire plan period. The Committee noted with dismay that the preparation and clearance of SFC/EFC/CCEA/ PPPAC proposals required undue long time and in some cases it took precious long time of about 2-3 years. The Committee saw no justification in such a situation wherein many schemes/plans/projects of the Department had an outlay for a period of 5 years mentioned on paper only but actually could be utilized till the approval of the SFC/EFC/CCEA/PPPAC remained pending. The Committee urged the Department as well as the concerned Appraisal Agencies to seriously introspect over the delays which were so detrimental for the progressive functioning of the Shipping and Port Sectors. 11.129 The Committee also desired that steps should be taken will in time by the Department/Planning Commission/Cabinet Committee on Economics Affairs (CCEA) to avoid any such recurrences for the future and a limited stipulated time-frame should be fixed for clearance from the Planning Commission and SFC/EFC/ CCEA/PPPAC approval. 11.130 The Committee took note of the efforts being made by the Department of Shipping in implementing schemes for augmenting the cargo handling capacity and productivity of all major ports under National Maritime Development. Programme to meet India's EXIM trade requirements. The Committee also noted that during 2007-08, the aggregate capacity of major ports was 504.75 mtpa. which was a little over the total traffic of 469.37 mt. upto February, 2008. The Committee felt that the projected increase in the traffic also required increase in capacity in the ports. During 11th Plan period the ports required a projected capacity addition of 1016.55 mtpa. to met the overall projected traffic of 1008.95 mt. of which the share of major ports would be 708.09 mt. The Committee also observed that the bulk of capacity augmentation projected at major ports would be undertaken through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and captive users. The Committee recommended the Department of Shipping to devise plans for holistic and integrated development of major ports and made efforts to encourage 225 the private sector investments including FDI for creation and maintenance of port infrastructure including cargo handling capacity at major ports. The Committee also recommended the Department to provide enabling policies, regulatory framework and institutional monitoring mechanism support to raise port efficiency, productivity, equipment and performance level in order to face global challenges of merchandize trade. 11.131 The Committee noted that containerization of traffic was growing steadily and significantly with dedicated capacity for handling containerized cargo in major ports. The Committee, however, was constrained to note that the major ports did not significantly contribute to merchandise global trade making thereby India's export costlier and imports less competitive. The Committee observed that a high powered committee had been constituted by the Government to report on the matter of creation of infrastructure facilities for handling containers at major ports, identification of problems of congestion and explore areas of improvement in logistics chain and to suggest measures to increase India's share in world maritime trade as in India only two regional hub ports were operational at Jawaharlal Nehru and Chennai Ports for maximizing direct to destination cargo. The report of high powered committee was awaited. The Committee recommended the Department of Shipping to ensure that there was no laxity in its efforts pending report of the high-powered Committee for development of more hub ports in the country for transshipment of containerized cargo for growth of overseas maritime merchandise trade. 11.132 The Committee was perturbed to noted that port efficiency still continued to be impeded mainly because of slow evacuation of cargo from ports. It also noted with dismay that various rail-road connectivity projects in the ports of Haldia, Paradip, Chennai, Ennore, Tuticorin, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugaon, Jawahar Lal Nehru Ports were either lagging behind schedule or not sanctioned for implementation. The Committee felt that the slow progress of projects not only undermines the competitiveness of Indian ports but also vitiated the environment of investment in the country. The Committee recommended the Department to augment the rail-road connectivity of major ports with the hinterland for smooth flow of present as well as future traffic. The Committee also recommended the Department to fix some realistic and achievable targets and put in place institutional monitoring and review mechanism so that projects could be completed in a time bound manner and in case of delay, the responsibility must be fixed. 11.133 The Committee noted that the Department of Shipping was in the process of formulating a Maritime Policy for the maritime sector which sought to ensure a coordinated development of Ports, Shipping, Inland Water Transport, Ship building and Ship repairing with the objective to upgrade and modernize the port infrastructure in India to benchmark its performance against global standards. The Committee also gathered from the replies that the regulatory authority would be setup at an appropriate time. The Committee observed that since must of the activities in the port sector were taking place with private participation, there was need to establish regulatory authority well in time and that too before coming across any problem for better control, co-ordination and monitoring for achieving excellence in the port and shipping sector besides addressing serious security implications. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Department to take steps for setting up of a regulatory authority on the pattern of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for creating a level playing field and foster healthy competition and to encourage investments for the shipping and port sector besides monitoring performance standards and adjudication of disputes and disposal of appeal thereof. 11.134 The Committee also recommended the Department to formulate maritime policy for the private sector participation for improving quality, efficiency and increasing competition for coordinated development of Ports, Shipping, Inland Water Transport, Ship building and Ship repairing. 11.135 The Committee strongly criticized the lackadaisical approach of the Government in releasing the one time grant of Rs. 738.71 crore for financial assistance on account of payment of arrears of pension and pensionary dues of Calcutta Dock Labour Board (CDLB) and setting up of a corpus fund for discharging pension and pensionary liabilities of the employees. The Committee noted with anguish that even after repeated recommendations of the Committee, the Government had not approved any specific proposal to mitigate the sufferings of these poor pensioners. The Committee observed that a scheme for merger of CDLB with Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) and financial restructuring of KoPT was under consideration of the Committee of Secretaries (CoS). The Committee unanimously opined that unless the Government was actually willing and come forward to support the employees and pensioners of CDLB, they would continue to die in harness because of the resource crunch. The Committee, therefore, strongly urged the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance 226 to consider favourably the legitimate and long-felt needs of the pensioners and provide much needed one time grants immediately in order to settle the arrears of pension and pensionary dues of the employees of Calcutta Dock Labour Board, who had rendered their services to the nation. 11.136 The Committee was not satisfied with the repeated replies of the Department. The Committee felt that worthwhile action would have been taken by the Government on the specificd recommendation of the Committee for inclusion of vessels registered under the Indian Vessels Act, 1917 and the Coastal Vessels Act, 1838 for getting tonnage tax benefits for the development of the Inland Water Transport and Coastal Vessel Transport in the country. The Committee apprehended that the Government did not desire to rationalize the fiscal regime for Indian Shipping Industry for facilitating the growth of the Indian tonnage. The Committee disapproved the contention of the Department that introduction of tonnage tax to these vessels would unnecessarily burden the CIWTC. The Committee desired the Department to conduct a feasibility study to know the profit-loss benefits with the introduction of tonnage tax regime to these vessels and submit a report to the Committee. 11.137 The Committee was concerned that despite its recommendations in the earlier reports on Demands for Grants urging the Government to bring out a comprehensive cruise shipping policy, the Government neither complied with its recommendations nor formulated the cruise shipping policy till date although it had been informed by the Department on 09.01.2008 that the comprehensive cruise shipping policy would be formulated within a period of two months. The Committee felt that the absence of a comprehensive cruise shipping policy the Department would not be able to popularize the cruise shipping and address all the aspect of facilitating creation of infrastructure, encourage investments from the private sector and creating a congenial and hospitable environment for growth of cruise shipping in the country. The Committee, therefore, reiterated its earlier recommendation urging the Govenment to brought out a comprehensive policy on cruise shipping without further delay. The Committee had been drawing attention of the Government to the problem of multiplicity of taxes having adverse impact on shipping sector. The Government, however, till date had not come out with a proposal for rationalization and as of now there were twelve different taxes ailing the country's shipping sector particularly the EXIM trade. The Committee felt that Indian shipping would remain uncompetitive unless Government provides the level playing field as available to other maritime nations in the world. Since the shipping was truly international business with no commercial barrier, the Committee recommended that the Government must provide a level playing field by attempting to rationalize the tax structure and eliminate the display in tax treatment which countered the growth of the shipping sector and ultimately tonnage was losing out. The Committee also recommended the Department to continue to make all out efforts at the highest level till the matter was favourably resolved. 11.138 The Committee noted that India had positioned itself as a major human resource supply nation to the Maritime Industry with 130 maritime training institutes at her credit for imparting training in various disciplines. The Committee was, however, concerned about the continuing shortage of about 1015 Indian officers during 2007-08 which was likely to increase further. The Committee was of the view that the problem of trained manpower in the country may further aggravate if the Government did not come forward with concrete plan/ policy to arrest these raising trend. The Committee noted that Government was actively considering proposal for recruitment of foreign officers on Indian flagships and increasing training facilities including capacity building of private sector. The Committee was of the view that the shortage of Indian officers could be better addressed by augmenting existing training facilities in the country besides opening more such training institutes in the private hands. The Committee, however, urged the Department to provide institutional and integrated curricula for creation of maritime human resources in order to standardize the quality of maritime education and training imparted by the private maritime institutes in the country and the Department may continue to act as a nodal agency for co-coordinating, monitoring and controlling maritime training in India pending the decision of setting up of Indian Maritime University in the country. 11.139 The Committee also impressed upon the Department to take into confidence the major trade unions before inducting foreign officers on Indian board but in the process the future prospects of Indian officers should not be jeopardized. 11.140 The matter of Rehabilitation-cum-Financial Restructuring of Hindustan Shipyard Limited had been engaging attention of the Committee for a long time and the Committee highlighted the problem in its 227 various Reports. The Government had, however, not cleared the Rehabilitation-cum-Financial Restructuring proposal and the same was still under the consideration of the Government. The Committee failed to understand the Government policy which on the one hand intends to "capitalize and strengthens the infrastructure of the shipyard by the financial restructuring" but on the other hand it spoke that "it had been decided by the GoM to handover the yard to the MoD and set up another shipyard in public sector." This reflected indecisiveness and ambiguity in Government approach toward Hindustan Shipyard Limited. The Committee, however, might not object the transfer the Hindustan Shipyard Limited to the Ministry of Defence. However, the Committee failed to understand as to what would happen to the projects under execution or promised to be executed by the Hindustan Shipyard Limited. Another thing the Committee, would like the Government to ensure that while transferring the Hindustan Shipyard Limited to Ministry of Defence, all the employees of Hindustan Shipyard Limited also be taken over by the Ministry of Defence without affecting the terms and conditions of service of those employees. The Committee recommended that pension liabilities and pending dues of the retired employees also be taken care by the Government. 11.141 The Committee noted that a final cabinet note for Rehabilitation-cum-Restructuring Package was being finalized for according approval of CCEA. The Committee also noted that a token provision of Rs. 0.50 crore had been kept for revival package during 2008-09. The Committee wished the Government to grant an early approval for revival of HDPEL and write-off the Government loan and interest liability for improving the financial health of the company. The Committee hoped that with the approval and implementation package, the company would achieve a turn around and earn sustainable profits. 11.142 The Committee had consistently expressed its concern over the slow pace of utilization of plan outlays and development of Inland Water Transport sector in the country. The Committee noted with anguish that an outlay of Rs. 158.00 crore was allocated in BE 2007-08 for the IWT sector but it was reduced to Rs. 138.60 crore at RE stage and an expenditure of Rs. 56.53 crore was made only upto February, 2008. The Committee was disappointed to note the continuous under-utilization of funds by the Department of Shipping for development of IWT sector. The Committee expected that the Department would make every endeavour to ensure that the measures adopted for the growth of IWT sector in the country was monitored scrupulously to achieve the envisaged physical and financial targets. 11.143 The Committee noted that the potential of the Inland Water Transport remains largely unexplored due to the indifferent attitude of the Central and State Governments. The Committee observed that although the Department of Shipping was committed to increase the share of Inland Water Transport in the country's total EXIM trade, still the waterways were not being utilized to their potential and remained largely neglected and underdeveloped for want of required infrastructure namely fairways, terminals and navigable aids, as a result, it had not reached at a threshold level to become commercially viable. The Committee was of the view that with adequate investments, policy framework and focused approach, the Inland Water Transport in the country could be developed into a viable transport mode complementary to the rail and road modes. The Committee was of the opinion that to develop the Inland Water Transport sector with fast pace to its full potential in the country, the Government should endeavour to provide institutional framework and minimize the procedural bottlenecks besides providing adequate investments both from public and private partnership primarily public investments in Inland Water Transport and to develop it to a level where private sector felt confident to invest in this sector particularly in ownership and operation of cargo and passenger vessels to Inland Water Transport mode. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Government to provide institutional framework and basic infrastructural facility for accelerated development of Inland Water Transport sector in the country under National Maritime Development Programme. The Committee noted with dismay over the discontinuance of the centrally sponsored scheme for IWT development in the country by the Planning Commission. The Committee was of the view that the decision of the Planning Commission to convert the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for IWT development into central sector scheme would adversely affect the pace of development of Inland Water Transport in the country. The Committee recommended the Department of Shipping to impress upon the Planning Commission for the revival of the central sponsored scheme for overall development of the IWT Sector during the annual plan itself. 11.144 The Committee was constrained to note that cargo transportation by Inland Water Transport mode had not shown significant improvement on the three National Waterways. The Committee also expressed its displeasure over the fact that no comparative cost-output evaluation for transportation of cargo through 228 this inland water transport had been carried out by the Department. The Committee was of the view that such evaluation would further establish the support of Inland Water Transport over other mode of transports. Therefore, the Committee recommended that a detailed study should be carried out by the Department in this regard. The Committee also urged the Department to fix realistic physical target for cargo transportation by IWT mode year-wise for entire 11th Plan period and put in place institutional monitoring mechanism for achieving the desired growth. 11.145 The Committee was pained to note that the Government had decided neither to consider revival of CIWTC nor to amalgamate this Corporation with various Organizations, such as Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) or Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) that too, without getting conducted any scientific study by an expert agency. The Committee was of the view that the matter of revival and amalgamation of CIWTC should be got examined by some high powered expert committee. The Committee once again reiterated its earlier recommendations contained in 117th Report on Demands for Grants 2007-08 of Department of Shipping, which was reproduced below: "The Committee was constrained to note that inspite of its recommendations in the past, the Government had not come out with a complete blueprint for making full use of the existing assets of River Service Division (RSD). The Committee was of the opinion that CIWTC with its infrastructure and expertise could play an integral part for development and promotion of inland water transport through NW-I and NW-II. The Committee recommended that possibility may also be explored to physically amalgamate the remaining CIWTC with Inland Water Transport Authority of India (IWAI) or Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) or Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), so that the infrastructure and expertise of CIWTC can be utilized for development of waterways transport." 11.146 The Shipping Corporation of India with its two owned passenger-cum-cargo vessels and 27 managed vessels operated domestic passenger-cum-transportation services between mainland and Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep group of islands on behalf of the Government of India. Presently, Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration had 22 vessels comprising of 18 passenger vessels and 4 passenger-cum-cargo vessels, Union Territory of Lakshadweep had 5 vessles comprising 1 passenger-cum- cargo vessel, 3 passenger vessels and one bunker barge. The Committee observed that water transport was the life-line of these groups of islands for their interconnection with the mainland and within islands. The Committee noted that this sector had been neglected for so many years without any fund infusion for modernization of the vessels and purchase of additional vessels. Due to this, the populations of these islands were suffering to a great extent. The Committee further noted that in the Demand-for-Grants for the year 2008-09 no financial allocation had been made for improving the interconnectivity and water transport in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep islands. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Government of India to take immediate steps for improving inter-islands connectivity of the islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep for mitigating the problems of connectivity between these islands. The Committee also recommended that sufficient Budgetary Allocation may be provided for augmenting the water transport connectivity in these islands. (i) 135th Report 11.147 The Committee observed that out of the RE (2007-08) Plan allocation of Rs. 14066.00 crore, an amount of Rs. 11887.44 was spent (provisional) up to 12th March, 2008 which stood at 84.5% of RE. The overall expenditure profile of the Department was also not showing any encouraging trends. Out of Rs. 16481.85 crore (RE) for the year 2007-08, a sum of Rs. 13338.03 crore was expended (provisional) till the 12th March, 2008 which stood at 81.0% of the RE. This was very much in contrast to the quantum of expenditure incurred in the year 2006-07 where it stood at a good 97.9% of RE allocated for that year. 11.148 The Committee found that despite its earlier recommendations on the aspect of funds utilization and the need for constant monitoring of projects, the Department of Road Transport and Highways had done precious little to improve the situation. This was evident from the reply of the Department with regard to non- utilisation of funds that the allocation for road sector was based on anticipated implementation of projects every year. The Committee was of the opinion that the road sector plays as vital role in providing good infrastructure in the country. The Committe felt that submission of routine replies for underutilization of funds and poor performance in achieving the physical targets was not going to yield any result. Instead of that the Department may list out the bottlenecks and draw a strategy to overcome such bottlenecks. The Committee 229 was of the opinion that active involvement of project executing agencies such as PWD, NHAI and State Governments would only help the Department in utilizing its funds to the maximum extent. The Committee, therefore, recommended that proper co-ordination with all these organizations should be maintained in order to achieve physical targets satisfactorily. 11.149 The Committee noted that the growth of Motor Vehicles in India was unprecedented. The process of liberalization and globalization augmented the number of vehicles to beyond the imagination of our planners of road sector development. The infrastructure available was not at all commensurate with the growth of vehicles. The Committee also noted that the allocation to the Department was almost static in real terms. There was an increase of 20% in Annual Plan outlay and 7.6% in budgetary support. The above increase in Annual Plan outlay and budgetary support may not be adequate even to meet the increase in cost. Thus, it posed a great mismatch between the availability of the road infrastructure and vehicular population. 11.150 Inadequate development of road sector would result in congested roads, traffic jams, recurring accidents and chaos in the road sector. Moreover, the development of road infrastructure was immensely import to sustain the growth of the economy. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should allot funds to the Department of Road Transport and Highways so as to ensure the development of road infrastructure in proportion to the grwoth of vehicles. The Committee further recommended that demands of the Department may be acceded to at the RE stage. 11.151 The Committee noted that majority of the work of NHDP Phase-II which was conceived in the year 2003 had yet to be completed. The Committee would like to know the reasons for the delay and the agencies/ officers responsible for it. The Committee recommended that the Government may take immediate effective steps to complete the project. The Committee also noted that the NHDP Phase-IV was yet to be approved by the Government however, no reasons therefor have been given. It was pity that 20000 km, a major part of local NH, was yet to brought to 2 lane standards under Phase-IV but the project had not been approved till date by the government. The Committee recommended that NHDP Phase-IV may be considered by the Government for approval immediately. The progress of the projects under other phases may be monitored regularly so as to ensure their timely implementation. 11.152 The Committee noted that there was a gradual decrease in the allocation of funds for improvement of State roads particularly during the year 2004-05 amount of Rs. 101.14 crore for projects under Economic Importance and Rs. 232.94 crores for projects under Inter-State Connectivity has gone down to Rs. 27.53 crores and Rs. 132.66 crores respectively during 2007-08. The Committee hoped that the trend may be reversed and the State Roads may get more and more allocation which may be properly utilized for the improvement of various state roads connectivity. 11.153 The Committee was unhappy with the delay in finalizing the Detailed Project Report on Mughal Road in Jammu and Kashmir as a result of which the competent authority could not sanction the project. The Government, however, had not given any reason as to why there was delay in finalizing the Detailed Project Report. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department to apprise the Committee about those reasons and action taken in the matter. The Committee desired that the Department should fine tune its systems and procedures to avoid such delays. 11.154 The Committee was not happy with the mere 15.90% increase in allocation for the maintenance of national highways. The Committee was informed that an amount of Rs. 2280 crores is required for maintenance and repair of roads annually. The Committee was of the opinion that Government should give adequate importance for the maintenance and repair of non-NHDP highways to ensure that investment made in the NH did not go waste. The Committee recommended that one third of the cess collected for the financing NHDP projects be allocated for the maintenance and repair of highways. The Committee desired that the Department should take up the issue with the Planning Commission for getting one third portion of the cess collected for the maintenance and repair of national highways as these non-NHDP national highways were considered as lifeline of Indian transport sector. 11.155 The Committee noted that the petrol pumps which were collecting the cess, hardly gave any bills for the purchase of petroleum products. In this way, the Committee apprehended that the exchequer may be loosing hundreds of crores of rupees as the exact amount collected may always be under-reported. The Committee, therefore, recommended that it be apprised about the mechanism and procedure available for collection of cess towards Central Road Fund. 230
11.156 The Committee recommended that the Railways which itself capable to undertake developmental works, wherever required, may do so from its own resources/profits instead of seeking allocation from the Central Road Fund. 11.157 The Committee felt that school children were the best messiahs for preaching road safety to their parents. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the road safety campaign gave adequate importance to this aspect and the Department roped in schools and school children to spread awareness for road safety. The work done by the NGOs for raising road safety awareness be given due publicity in media and local newspapers. This would ensure the better functioning of NGOs and the public in general will keep watch on their activities. 11.158 The Committee recommended that the number of organization sponsored by the Ministry was very low and insufficient compared to the vastness of our transport sector. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government may endeavour to finance at least one NGO in each of the districts of the country for imparting refresher course to the drivers of Heavy Motor Vehicles. The Committee also recommended that a proper monitoring mechanism be put in place to ensure that the organizations were actually imparting training to the drivers. 11.159 The Committee noted that the Planning Commission had discontinued the scheme of Model Driving Training Schools. The Committee may be apprised the reasons for the discontinuance of the scheme. The Committee would also like to know whether any alternative schemes are proposed by the Planning Commission to fill the gap of Model Driving Training Schools. 11.160 The States where Model Driving Training Schools were sanctioned may be asked to complete the projects in a time bound manner and funds may be allotted accordingly. 11.161 The Committee appreciated the steps taken by the Department for providing trauma care. At the very same time the Committee felt that the present allocation of fund of Rs. 22.20 crore for the trauma care was too inadequate. The Government should try to augment the funding for trauma care. The Committee was constrained to note the tardy progress made in purchasing cranes and ambulances. The Committee also recommended that the formalities for purchasing cranes and ambulances be completed at the earliest so that the trauma care facilities could be put in place without further delay. 11.162 The Committee recommended that the matters be reviewed at the highest level and steps be taken to remove the bottlenecks. The Committee also recommended that those States which were not implementing the IT enabled Driving Licence and Registration Certificate be persuaded highlighting the benefit and importance of IIT enabled system for DL and RC. The Committee also recommended that some incentive scheme be developed in such a way that those States which were implementing the IT enabled systems got sanction for more projects and schemes. 11.163 The Committee hoped that the steps taken by the Ministry would bear fruits in the near future. The allocation of Rs. 5.80 crores for the year 2008-09 was very meagre compared to the vehicular population of the country. The Committee recommended that more allocation needed to be given to the objective of schemes so that the road safety and pollution control was achieved in its optimum level. 11.164 The Committee welcomed the intention of the Government to set up more inspection and maintenance centres to identify the vehicles which did not meet the mission and safety norms subject to the condition that these new centres should not override the authority of State RTOs. The Committee felt that some monitoring or regulatory authority should be put in place before these centres become operational as there was a possibility that these centres could harass the vehicle owners in connivance with the vehicle manufacturers to change their vehicles by citing one or other reasons. The Committee also recommended that a proper mechanism should also be set up to monitor the allocation was spent meaningfully. 11.165 Strengthening public transport system including introduction of IT like Automatic Fare Collection based on GPS. 11.166 The Committee was very much disappointed over the negligence on the part of the Government in promoting public transport system in the country. The Committee was of the opinion that cities were jammed with rising number of private vehicles and the villages were not even getting adequate public transport facility. The Committee once again reiterated its earlier recommendation that in the absence of user-friendly public 231 transports, the people in the country were resorting to excessive use of private vehicles and this had put the roads under undue pressure. The Committee observed that most of the investment on roads was being extracted from the public itself but the returns accruing to the users were not equitable. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the efforts of the Government should focus on developing public transport, which discouraged excessive use of private vehicles. The Government should adopt a methodology, whereby, in the more densely populated States, the rich and the affluent were asked to pay more for keeping more than one vehicle. 11.167 The Committee felt that the time had come for the creation of the much talked about National Road Safety Board as the number of road accidents on national highways was increasing in an alarming manner. The Committee recommended that the Department should pursue the matter vigorously and took necessary actions to establish this Board at the earliest. 11.168 The Committee once again recommended that once the capital and interest was recovered, the users' fee must be discontinued. The Committee was of the opinion that there was a need for establishment of a regulator to determine the reasonable return to the investor on road projects which was being considered as a yardstick for fixation of toll. The Committee appreciated that in view of the resource crunch being faced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and there was a genuine need for generation of additional revenue by the Ministry. Whenever any National Highway was constructed, it lead to huge value addition to the land adjoining the National Highway and these benefits of addition in value had so far been enjoyed by private agencies only. The Government should also get advantage of the appreciation of land value because it was the taxpayer's money that had led to the value addition of that property. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government might explore the possibility of imposing some cess/tax on land adjoining National Highways which was being utilized for commercial purpose on annual basis. This could serve as a permanent source of income for the Government and the revenue so generated could be ploughed back for the construction and maintenance of National Highway’s in the country. Provision of ducting at the time of construction of National Highway’s for laying telephone and electric cables also lead to value addition and could be explored for generating more funds for the road sector. These measures might go a long way to meet the resource gap for maintenance and construction of National Highway’s in the country. (j) 136th Report 11.169 The Committee observed that the Ministry of Tourism projected a requirement of Rs. 5405.58 crore (10% basis) and Rs. 6569.61 crore (20% basis) for the entire 11th Plan against this requirement, the Planning Commission approved an allocation of Rs. 5156.00 crore for carrying out major activities of the Ministry viz. Augmentation of Tourist infrastructure, Development of Human Resource for hospitality and travel trade, Promotion and Publicity, Creating budget accommodation etc. The Committee also noted that in the Annual Plan 2008-09 the Ministry had projected an outlay of Rs. 1062.85 crore against which an amount of Rs. 1000.00 crore was allocated. The Committee deplored the tendency of Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance for imposing cuts on the amounts demanded by the Ministry. This mismatch between projected amount and sanctioned outlay might result in widening further the gap between the tourism potential and development of tourism synergies for achieving the goals. The Committee felt that in order to attain the national growth targets in the 11th Plan Period, huge planned funding was required. Thus, the Government spending for the Ministry of Tourism would have to be significantly stepped-up from the present level of meet the investment targets. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended that the Ministry of Tourism should be provided with Rs. 6569.61 crore (20% basis) by the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance for the 11th Plan Period as per their original proposal. The Committee also recommended the Ministry of Tourism to take appropriate caution and remedial action to absorb in time the allocation made to them. 11.170 The Committee noted that during 2007-08, the plan outlay of Rs. 996.62 crore of Ministry of Tourism was not subjected to any cut at RE stage. However, the Committee noted that during the year 2007-08, out of the budgeted allocation of Rs. 996.62 crore, the Ministry could spent Rs. 658.55 crore upto December, 2007 which clearly indicated the poor fiscal management in the Ministry of Tourism. The Committee observed that the major portion of the budgetary outlay had been utilized during the last quarter of the financial year. The Committee disapproved the tendency of spending funds desperately towards the end of the financial year especially, in the months of February and March, The Committee expected that the maximum amount of plan outlay would be utilized suitably and substantially during the first two quarters of the financial year so that the Ministry would be in a position to demand for higher allocations of the funds at RE stage for implementation of 232 various projects/schemes of augmentation of tourists infrastructure and promotion and publicity of tourism in the country. The Committee therefore, recommended the Ministry to plan and incur their expenditure uniformly so that funds were utilized appropriately throughout the year and the Ministry should shun the practice of incurring expenditure discriminately towards the last quarter of the financial year. This way no alibi would be provided to the Ministry of Finance to reduce the allocation at RE Stage. The Committee also recommended that the Ministry should do away with procedural hurdles and maintain close liaison for the purpose of review, monitoring, implementation and coordination of projects/schemes to achieve the envisaged targets. 11.171 The Committee noted that one of the reasons for underutilization of allocation was unspent balances with the States and also non-submission of utilization certificates by most of the States on time. The Committee observed that most of the time the Central Government delay release of funds to the State or releases it at the fag end of the financial year and expected the States to utilize it in a very short time. The Committee criticized this practice as obviously the States were not in a position to spent the entire amount and had unspent balance lying with them. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the release of the funds to the States should be made on time so that they could utilize the amount rationally under proper monitoring of expenditure. The Committee also desired that there should be proper coordination with the States Government, so as to obtain utilization certificates and to safeguard that money released was spent only on approved infrastructure development projects. 11.172 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism was making efforts to develop quality tourism infrastructure at major tourist destinations and circuits for developing tourist products and providing better services to both domestic and international tourists. The Committee observed that tourism was one economic sector in the country that had the potential to grow at high rate and could ensure consequential development of the infrastructure of the destinations and circuits. The Committee felt that the infrastructure development hold the key to India's sustain growth in the tourism sector, therefore, tourist sites and destinations needed to be carefully selected on the basis of their potential to provide all infrastructural facilities required by the tourists within such destinations and circuits. The Committee was of the opinion that, if, India had to exploit its vast inherent potential in tourism, then it must provide exclusive quality tourism product and destinations comparable with other Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Maldives, Thailand and China. As tourism could not develop independent of other infrastructure, therefore, a lot of information dissemination was required in addition to hospitality and the scope and reach of the domestic tourism should also be broadened through development of these competitive destinations and circuits. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to develop quality tourism at identified tourist circuits and destinations with focus on mega destinations and circuits that match international standards and satisfy the domestic and international tourists. The aggressive marketing and publicity of these destinations and circuits should also be done to generate a niche market of Indian tourism products. The Committee also urged the Ministry that while selecting a destination or a circuit they should attached priority for harmonious growth and development of all the Regions and States. 11.173 The Committee also recommended that in order to maximize the impact of investment on tourism infrastructure, the Ministry should make efforts for convergence of these mega destinations and circuits and projects with Jawahar lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for integrated development of infrastructure services, urban renewal, asset management and urban governance. 11.174 The Committee noted that the rural tourism projects promoted under the scheme for Product/ Infrastructure Development of Destinations/Circuits targets rural artisans, artists and service providers as primary beneficiaries for increase of tourist traffic to these rural destinations. The Committee was of the view that Rural Tourism, had great potential and prospects in the country as it helped to provide boost to local performing arts and help conserve the local culture apart from preventing rural urban migration. The Committee felt that the Rural Tourism needed to be given impetus by allocating fudns for the Rural Toursim projects for each State and the villages should be identified for priority development involving the local bodies in the management. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to focus development of rural tourism infrastructure involving local community in order to promote tourism in rural area and percolate its socio- economic benefit. 11.175 The Committee noted that to meet the shortage of about 40,000 rooms during the Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi and NCR, the Ministry had mooted a proposal to Central and State Governments for augmenting the accommodation infrastructure for growth and quality of the tourist facilities and to create 233 infrastructure by converting selected Government properties into heritage hotels and making use of the vacant land in Government premises including surplus land available with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Railways and D.D.A. for creation of land banks and development of hotels sites on revenue sharing basis and granting extra FSI/FAR for hotels. The Committee also noted that a capital and interest subsidy schemes for accommodation infrastructure upto 3 star and heritage basic hotels and a tax holiday for five years to budget and upto 4 star category hotels had been introduced as a incentive to combat crisis besides finalization of guidelines for the home stay programme under "Incredible India Bed and Breakfast Scheme". The Committee observed that there was steep escalation of room tariffs in India which was an indication of increasing demand for tourist accommodation. The Committee felt that if such a condition prolongs, the tourists being priced out and might opt for an alternative destination in another country. The Committee of the view that the migration of the tourist might have long-term implications in terms of potential loss of future stream of tourists in favour of competing tourist destinations. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to explore the possibility of constructing of hotels on surplus land with Airport Authority of India, surplus and Ministry of Railways to met the demand for additional rooms in the wake of the Commonwealth Games 2010. The Committee also urged the Ministry to impress upon the Central and State Governments for implementation of single window clearance system for tourism projects in order to encourage the private players to built hotels in the country. This would not only optimize the utilization of infrastructure facilities but also made the future investment viable. 11.176 The Committee also recommended the Ministry to took steps for facilitating additional hotel accommodation through "Incredible India Bet & Breakfast Scheme" and consider extending of tax concession benefits to budget home stay accommodation so as to facilitate availability of rooms at affordable costs for the tourists who desired to stay with Indian families and experience Indian culture and cuisine. An intergrated publicity campaign in domestic and overseas markets should also be carried periodically. 11.177 The Committee noted that India had positioned itself as a major human resources supply nation in the hospitality industry. The Committee was, however, concerned about the continuing shortage of about 191000 trained manpower per annum in the tourism sector. The Committee was of the view that the problem of trained manpower in the country might further aggravate, if the Government did not come foward with concrete plan/policy. The Committee noted that in view of the shortage of trained manpower in the tourism sector, the Ministry was setting up of more Institutes of Hotel Management in the States and providing financial assistance for the modernization and capacity enhancement of the existing ones as also of the Food Craft Institutes. 11.178 The Committee was of the view that the shortage of trained manpower in the tourism sector could be better addressed by augmenting the infrastructure of existing training institutes in the country besides opening more such training institutes in the private hands. The Committee, however, urged the Ministry to provide institutional and integrated curricula for creation of trained manpower in the tourism sector and the NCHMCT should be granted regulatory status to regulate, co-coordinate, monitor, control and standardize quality of the educational institutions affiliated to it. This might helped to achieve excellence in the growing demand of trained manpower in the tourism sector. 11.179 The Committee was perturbed to note that despite its recommendations in the earlier reports on Demands for Grants urging the Government to bring out a comprehensive cruise tourism policy, the Government had not formulated the cruise tourism policy till date. The Committee felt that in the absence of a comprehensive cruise tourism policy the Ministry would not be able to popularize the cruise tourism and address all the aspect of facilitating creation of infrastructure, encourage investments from the private sector and create a congenial and hospitable environment for growth of cruise tourism in the country. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to pursue vigorously the matter of finalization of cruise tourism policy and development of dedicated cruise terminals at important ports with the Department of Shipping without further delay. 11.180 The Committee noted that the concept of Medical Tourism was gaining momentum in the country as it offered competitive cost and quality. The Committee also noted that the Government was facilitating promotion of Medical Tourism and had introduced a new category of medical visa for foreign tourists visiting India for medical treatment. The Committee felt that if, the country had to become a major medical hub it must prepare a road map incorporating all possible challenges and solutions for achieving recognition of the Medical Tourism and a synergy between the hospital and tour operators should be ensured promote this sector. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to prepare a blue print to tap latent potential, quality and standardization of medical services besides promoting India as holistic health destinations globally. An intergrated publicity campaign should also be launched in the overseas markets. 234
11.181 The Committee noted that the Adventure Tourism was India's relatively new segment althrough it offered a perfect playing ground for development of adventure sports like white water river rafting, paragliding, hot air ballooning, skiing, mountain biking, scuba diving, hiking-trekking and rock climbing-rappelling etc. The Committee also noted that Ministry of Tourism had formulated a guidelines on safety and quality norms for adventure tourism activities and was providing financial assistance to various States/U.T's for development for adventure Tourism projects and infrastructure facilities required for trekking, rock climbing, mountaineering, aero-sports, winter/water related sports, trekker huts, wildlife viewing facilities, etc. The Committee recommended the Ministry to attach priority to this special interest toursim and promote it with renewed zeal and vigor across the globe. 11.182 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism was in constant touch with Ministry of Home Affairs to relax/abolish the requirement of permit system in the country as the growth of international tourism to a reason was based on development of tourism in that destination. The Committee was of the view that foreign tourists constitute an important component of tourists who wished to visit the country specially the North Eastern States and Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. The restrictions on foreigners to stay beyond permitted period and visiting only selected islands/regions/destination had discouraged the foreign tourists arrival in the country. The Committee, therefore, recommended that in order to optimally exploit the potential of tourism in these islands/regions/destination, the restrictions on the foreigners on visiting the islands/regions might be removed and they might be permitted to stay/enjoy the beauty of the islands/regions/ destination for a longer periods. The Committee also felt that opening up new islands/regions/destination for foreigners also needed to be given priority. The Committee recommended the Ministry of Tourism to vigorously pursue the matter of review of liberalisation of the entire RAP/PAP/ILP regime at the highest level in the Ministry of Home Affairs which act as a hindrance to the growth and development of domestic and international tourism to those regions. The Committee might be apprised of the outcome in the matter from time to time. 11.183 The Committee noted that the Ministry was lauching a multi-pronged promotional campaign in the domestic markets under Incredible India Campaign. The nation wide campaigns "Sare Jahan Se Achcha" and "Atithi Devo Bhava" aroused interest among the masses to travel within the country besides sensitization and educating the public of preservation of monument and places of tourist interests. The Committee felt that despite "Incredible India Campaign" there still persisted a gap in infromation dissemination among middle class domestic travelers especially from rural India about the places of tourist interests in the country. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to print the information brochures in all regional languages including Hindi and English containing all minute details about tourist accommodation, unit rates, bus/taxi fares, climate, seasons and must see places details etc. and these were distributed to the tourists with the help of the States Tourism Departments so that the domestic travelers could largely be encouraged. The Committee also recommended the Ministry to continue to focus on the diverse and varied tourism product of the country and create awareness about varied attractions amongst domestic travelers to tap and achieve the tourist potential available in the country. 11.184 The Committee also desired the Ministry to design intergrated tour packages to suit to the budget and need of the tourists in collaboration with the Tour and Travel Operators to make domestic tourism a viable, popular and comfortable mode besides strengthening tourists' facilities at the tourist destinations, viz. transport, accommodation, catering, hygiene and sanitation etc. 11.185 The Committee noted that the allocation for overseas publicity and promotion had been increased substantially for the year 2008-09. The Ministry through its Overseas Offices endeavours to position India through "Incredible India" campaign as a preferred tourism destination in the major source markets to increase India's share in the international tourist arrivals. The Committee observed that the India with its rich cultural and history, has vast and varied in-built tourism potential and it should be exploited by the Ministry to its full potential. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to promote India as a round the year destination through a 360 degree communication strategy, both in domestic and overseas market through a unique brand line "Incredible India" and reinforce Incredible India campaign as a unique and preferred tourism destination in the tourists generating countries. The Committee also urged the Ministry to regularly review and monitor the functioning of the Overseas Offices in order to ensure effecting marketing and positioning of India as preferred tourist destination in the global markets. 235
11.186 The Committee also recommended the Ministry to take initiatives to promote and marekt 'India' overseas targeting consumers directly through electronic and print media and internet based marketing and dissemination of information. The Committee urged the Ministry to produce publicity material in various foreign languages and regularly launch awareness campaigns to sensitize/educate stakeholders in the tourism industry and general public on various issues pertaining to tourism such as tout menace, sanitation, preservation of monuments and tourist places, treatment of tourists etc. 11.187 The Committee noted there were a number of destinations and circuits have huge tourist potential. The Committee was deeply concerned over the poor road connectivity of these tourism destinations and circuits including cultural heritage sites. It observed that many of tourist destinations were away from the National Highways and lack road connectivity of desired standard. However, the Committee noted that an Inter-Ministerial Group of Secretaries was looking after the road connectivity projects to identify the road links to tourist destinations, assess their present condition and suggested measures to improve connectivity to all major destinations/heritage sites with the National Highways. The Ministry of Tourism had provided a list of 11 roads to the group for improvement and upgradation which connected the tourist destinations and curcuits including heritage sites. The Committee was aware that improvement and up gradation of States roads, was the responsiblity of States Government. Therefore, the Ministry of Tourism should impress upon the respective States Government/U.T's to improve the condition of such roads. The Committee also recommended that the Government of India should consider the proposals for improvement of States roads under Central Road Fund Scheme. 11.188 The Committee was perturbed to note that lack of connectivity was the major impediment for the growth of tourism in Idnia. The Committee felt that there existed a large domestic tourist movement in the country but in the absence of poor access to the places of tourist interest, the tourist cannot be encouraged to visit such places. The Committee was of the view that domestic tourism cannot be promoted unless air, rail and road links across the country and especially the places of tourist interest were improved to desired level. The Committee recommended that tourist destinations in the country should be well connected with the rail, road and air to ensure the easy accessibility to these places. In order to improve the connectivity to tourist sites, the Ministry of Tourism should have done coordination with Ministry of Railways and Civil Aviation for promotion of tourism in the country. The Ministry of Railways should provide better quality of rail services to encourage tourists to travel by train. The basic amenities like drinking water, toilets, tea-coffee, parking facilities and well- maintained clean waiting rooms and potters with trolleys should also provided at the railways stations connecting these mega destination. The Ministry of Civil Aviation should develop infrastructure facilities at Airports to meet the rising air traffic requirements and quality of service at the airports connecting mega destinations. The domestic and foreign carriers should also be encouraged to increase air seat capacity from overseas markets. The helicopter services for remote areas, like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and North-eastern region may also be initiated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation as a measure to promote tourism in a big way. 11.189 The Committee was constrained to note that luxury tax on hotel, VAT on food and beverages and on Airlines Turbine Fuel (ATF) and higher rate of taxes on tourist transport vehicles in the States had adverse affect in the growth of tourism. The Committee, however, was perturbed to note that even after repeated recommendations of the Committee, the Government had not been able to do much to rationalize tax regime, which was ailing the tourism sector at large. The Ministry of Tourism had forwarded two proposals for consideration of Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers and Department of Road Transport and Highways respectively, in this regard and a decision was awaited. The Committee strongly criticized the lackadaisical approach of the Government in the matter which had adversely affected the growth of tourism and hospitality sector in the country. The Committee reiterated that the Government must provide a level playing field to the tourism and hospitality sector including tourist transport by attempting to rationalize taxes or eliminate the disparity in tax treatment as levied by the different States and Union Territories. The Committee recommended the Ministry to pursue vigorously the matter of rationalization of taxes with the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers till the matter is favourably resolved. The Committee also recommended the Government to set up an Empowered Group for rationalization of roads and transport taxes on tourist vehicles. 11.190 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism had taken up the matter of the issue of visa on arrival facility on pilot basis to tourists with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs for 18 236 select countries. The Committee welcomed that the Ministry of Home Affairs had taken a decision to grant long term tourist visas 5 years duration with Multi-entry facilities to the nationals of the 18 countries and introduction of Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS). However, the step was not sufficient to achieve the objective. The Committee felt that with the liberalization of visa regime and introduction of mulitiple entry long term tourist visa for tourist and implementation of APIS would facilitate tourist arrival in the country and would increase India's share in global tourism markets. The Committee recommended the Ministry to pursue the matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs for expediting introduction of multiple entry long term tourist visa, provide visa on arrival facilities on pilot basis to the nationals of 18 countries and implementation of APIS. The Committee also cautioned the Ministry that in no way the security considerations of the country be compromised. 11.191 The Committee was constrained to note that incidents of cheating, fleecing, criminal acts and harassment of foreign tourists including gender abuse mar the image of the country and have an adverse impact on the foreign tourists arrival. The Committee felt that the issue related with safety and security was paramount and needs to be looked into seriously. The Committee was aware the linkages between Centre and States in the federal set-up and appreciated the efforts of the Ministry in persuading the States for creation of tourist police force for ensuring the safety and security of the tourists. The Committee also noted that the Ministry of Tourism was formulating guidelines regarding formation of tourist police force and had taken several steps to curb the menace of cheating, over charging and victimization of tourists. The Committee felt that in the critical situations, the role of media, travel agents and tour operators was crucial in establishing goodwill and image of that country. The Committee recommended the Ministry to take initiatives for deployment of special Tourist Police in the remaining States and bring out a guidelines on the formation of tourism police so as to address the safety and security related issues in a big way. The Committee also desired that the police personnel of the States should also be provided special tourist oriented training. 11.192 The Committee noted that the tourism was multi-disciplinary activity and could not be developed at its own. The Committee also noted that there existed a Committee of Secretaries for effective coordination and making decision on the policy matter among different Ministries. The Committee felt that there was a need to strengthen the system for effective function and close coordination amongst various Departments and Ministries of the Government i. e. Railways, Urban Development, Civil Aviation, Shipping and Road Transport and Highways, Home, Finance etc. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to set in place institutioal arrangement for better linkages, interface and coordination amongst various Developments and Ministries so as to increase awareness about tourism and its social and economic impact of the society.
(k) 137th Report 11.193 The Committee noted that the expenditure trend during 2007-08 was not very satisfactory. For the Plan allocation, expenditure of the Rs. 370.39 crore had been incurred out of the RE of Rs. 520.00 crore. In the non-Plan also, expenditure of Rs. 298.00 crore had been incurred out of Rs. 460.00 crore upto 29th February, 2008. Thus Rs. 149.61 crore in Plan and Rs. 161.28 crore in non-Plan remained to be utilized in the month of March, 2008. 11.194 The Committee was unhappy to note that despite its concern and considered recommendation, the Ministry of Finance had refused to review the budgetary allocations in the month of December instead of in the month of September thereby subjecting the Ministry of Culture to financial cuts at RE stage. The Committee observed that there was a greater need and scope for scrutiny of entire exercise of Budgetary Process beginning from budgetary proposals in September by the Ministry of Finance in respect of Ministry of Culture because of its special needs. The Committee felt that the entire budgetary process and procedure involving about eight months had actually given both to the evil of mis-utilization of funds in a hurried manner and apprehension of losing valuable but scarce financial resources made available to them by Ministry of Finance at the fag end of the financial year. It appeared that given the rigidity in budgetary exercise the Ministry of Finance had failed to assess actual requirements of the Ministry of Culture for funds to be utilized for various developmental purposes. The Committee was of the firm belief that the underutilization to a great extent in the Ministry of Culture was the result of rigid financial practices and procedures. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance for giving an active consideration through a rigorous and rational scrutiny for reforming and rescheduling of the present Budgetary procedures and practice 237 as far the Ministry of Culture was concerned, so that the final Plan and non-Plan allocations were conveyed to the Ministry and to respective Institutions/organizations by the month of December every year for effective and fruitful utilization of scarce financial resources. Alternatively the Committee recomended that the possibility might be explored for provision of budget allocations for various activities may be converted as non-lapsable fund taking into account the seasonal nature of work and activities undertaken by various institutions under the Ministry of Culture. 11.195 The Committee was happy to note that for the first time, allocation for the Ministry of Culture had reached to four figures. The Committee felt that it was a good beginning for this vital sector which had huge potential but yet to be explored. The Committee hoped that all the new schemes and projects taken up by the Ministry during the financial year 2008-09 would be completed in a time bound manner. 11.196 The Committee also recommended that possibility of organizing off-season festivals and organizing Dance/Cultural programmes throughout the year may be explored. The Ministry should also explored for decentralization of some of the schemes which could help the Zonal Centres in expediting their work. This would certainly help in providing much needed relief to the Ministry. The Committee also recommended that in spite of the constraints faced by the Ministry, there was need to spread the expenditure evenly and making efforts for full utilization of the allocated amount through proper planning and monitoring. Only then the desired result for XIth Five year Plan can be achieved. 11.197 The Committee noted the efforts made by the Ministry to imporve its performance. The Committee may be apprised of the findings of the three members Committee and the steps proposed to be taken to improve the performance of various schemes being implemented by the Ministry of Culture. 11.198 The Committee noted that the cases of vanishing of our monuments was a dangerous process which if not controlled in time, might lead to a situation where we would be left with only a few monuments as symbols of our culture and tradition. The vanishing of monuments should be stopped with all the resources at our disposal. The Committee noted that the Ministry had already taken appropriate measures to prevent it. The Committee may be apprised about the finding of the internal Committee to study the problems and the steps taken to implement the finding with the result it achieved. 11.199 The Committee hoped that ASI would learn from its past experience on the reasons for underutilizations of allocated funds and take appropriate steps to utilize the allocated resources. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should take immediate steps to operationalize NMMA and expedite formation of State level implementation Committees so that funds were utilized within the financial year. The Committee may be apprised about the steps taken to operationalize NMMA and the status of its implementation. 11.200 The Committee noted that more than 56 excavation reports were pending with ASI since 2002. The Committee was of the views that this was a serious matter since there was inordinate delay in the preparation of reports. The Committee hoped with the new system in place, there would be no delay in preparation of reports on excavation in future. 11.201 The Committee noted the steps taken by the Ministry to prevent encroachments. The Committee desired that possibility of making financial provision to pay for the rehabilitation of the encroachers who were removed from monuments may also be explored in consultation with Ministry of Finance so that the Ministry was not dependent on respective State Government for rehabiliation of encroachers. 11.202 The Committe also noted that more than 249 centrally protected monuments had been encroached upon by various elements due to multifarious reasons. Some of the reasons were historcial whereas some others were socio-economic in nature. The Committee observed that the problem needed to be addressed on a permanent basis with a lasting solution wherever possible. Appropriate mechanisms might be evolved to rehabilitate the encroachers and the Government should ensure the retrieved monuments were not illegally occupied again. The Committee noted that an appropriate Committee may be constituted to look into the various aspects of the encroachments with the mandate to recommend appropriate mechanism for finding a solution. This may be done on a time bound basis. 11.203 The Committee recommeded that to preserve the national heritage from defacement, penal punishment under the Act should be suitably revised to deter the culprits along with other positive steps like generating awareness towards protection and maintenance of beauty of the monuments as valuable national heritage. 238
11.204 The Committee noted that the advertisement in the print and electronic media to create awareness among the population about bad effects of defacement of monuments was giving an impetus to the tourism sector. The Committee felt, the propaganda mechanism needs to be more strengthened by introducing appropriate curriculum in the school syllabus on the bad effects of defacement of our monuments. Moreover, the Committee noted that a special campaign may be launched to educate the school children for the preservation of our monuments. In addition to this, the media campaigns should also focus the legal punishments involved in defacement of our national heritages. 11.205 The Committee appreciated the efforts of ASI for putting India on the world map by undertaking conservation work in Cambodia and hoped that similar projects would be taken up in other countries also. 11.206 The Committee noted the Plan allocation of Rs. 6.50 crore was reduced to Rs. 6.00 crore at RE stage and enhanced allocation of Rs. 8.50 crore had been made for BE 2008-09. However, the expenditure incurred upto 29th Feb., 08 was Rs. 4.79 crore only. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should take corrective steps to utilize the funds for the Anthropology which was very vital sector in today's world. 11.207 The Committee was not satisfied with the reply of the Ministry for reduction of allocation at RE stage to the tune of Rs. 2.00 crore. The Committee was further distress to note that our of RE of Rs. 2.00 crore only an amount of Rs. 1.44 crore could be utilized upto February, 2008. It seems the Ministry had not properly planned for the utilization of Rs. 4.00 crore in the initial stage. The Committee was of the view that the Ministry should restrain from reducing allocation at RE stage and NAI as the premier organization safeguarding documents of archival value should complete all its schemes and programme within the time specified. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should monitor the progress of ongoing Plan/Scheme of National Archives of India so that it did not suffer for reduction in allocation. 11.208 The Committee noted that IGNCA was allocated Rs. 45.00 crore in BE 2007-08 that was reduced to Rs. 37.00 crore at RE stage. Out of this, the IGNCA could utilize only Rs. 33.00 crore. The Committee has time and again expressed its displeasure on non-utilization of funds even at the reduced RE level. Some initiative was needed on the part of the Ministry to take corrective action and utilize the resources. The Committee may be apprised about the steps taken to utilize the entire budget allocation. 11.209 The Comittee expressed its displeasure to note that the National Museum could not utilize the plan allocation in time resulting in reduction of RE. Provision for critical items such as installation of security gadgets could also not be utilized thus keeping at stake its valuable treasure stored in Museum. The Committee recommended that review of the planning should be done to undertake all the unfinished task in the next financial year and Ministry should try to utilize the maximum amount upto September, 2008 so that in case more funds were required the same may be asked at RE stage. 11.210 The Committee was distressed to note that the Plan outlay of Rs. 8.50 crore was reduced to Rs. 3.98 crore at RE stage because of non-implementation of some schemes like modernization and recoganization of gallery; restoration and maintenance of museum building; strengthening and modernization of security; and programme of education and mass communication. The Committee recommended that corrective measures should be taken by the Ministry for utilization of allocated amount in BE 2008-09 with proper planning and putting monitoring mechanism in place. The Committee may be apprised of the efforts made in this regard. 11.211 The Committee was perturbed to note that Victoria Memorial Hall could incur expenditure of only Rs. 4.90 crore upto February, 2008. Victoria Memorial Hall which was a landmark in Kolkata deserves more efforts to keep its glory. The Committee, therefore, recommended that all out effort should be made to utilize the funds so that Victoria Memorial Hall could retain its grandeur status in Kolkata. 11.212 The Committee noted that drawing any conclusion that no regular smuggling activity of antiquities was taking place on the basis of available data with regard to cases registered, was misleading. The Committe felt that smuggling activities were taking place systematically in connivance of the local people. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the Ministry should take measures to generate sufficient awareness amongst the public as well as the custodians of law to strengthen the mechanism available in the public domain to punish the culprits of smuggline activities. The Committee recommended that Museum security was an important area and it should be given adequate attention. Moreover, stealing and pilferage of important items kept in the museum should also be taken care of by installing latest gadgets and by framing suitable policies in this regard as museums are the treasure of our culture. 239
11.213 The Committee appreciated the decision of the Ministry to open National Gallery at Bangalore and hoped that this would help in spreading the modern art culture of our country. However, the Committee was concerned over the tendency of reduction of the allocation at RE stage and even that allocation remained unutilized as the expenditure upto 29.2.2008 was Rs. 1.66 crore only. This showed the lackadaisical approach of the Ministry. The Committee recommended that the allocated amount should be fully utilized by NGMA so that the Government may not impose cuts in outlays at RE stage. 11.214 The Committee noted that out of the total Plan allocation of Rs. 17.00 crore, National Council of Science Museums could spend only Rs. 13.60 crore by February, 2008. The Committee was of the view that proper planning for utilization of resources and monitoring of the expenditure was the need of hour. The Ministry should take remedial steps accordingly. 11.215 The Committee appreciated the efforts of the Ministry for popularizing science and technology and the course being run on science communication. The Committee might be apprised of the success of the two-years Post Graduate course on Science Communication. 11.216 The Committee was of the view that the art works valuing hundreds of crore should be preserved in an effective manner. Hence it recommended that there was more scope for managing the treasures since a large number of paintings were still to be preserved/restored. State-of-the-art facility may be used for this job and expert guidance from other countries could be sought and if need aroused voluntary organizations may also be engaged to preserve the art works. 11.217 The Committee was surpised to know that there was no inter-ministerial coordination between the Minitries of Culture and Tourism. For the promotion of tourism in India, Culture was an important component and for the development of cultural sites and for spreading our cultural values, tourism was an important component. The Committee was of the view that our Missions abroad had an important role to play in spreading our culture and its values. The Committee recommended that the three Ministries should work together in coordination for better development of culture and tourism sector. The Committee recommended that the Government may constitute an inter-Ministerial mechanism for regular interaction with the Ministries of Tourism, Culture and External Affairs. 11.218 The Committee was of the view that protection and promotion of vanishing folk art tradition was a very important mandate and in order to implement the mandate Zonal Culture Central should enroll artists associated with different folk art tradition and provide them adequate remuneration. For this purpose the amount allocated for the year 2008-09 might be fully utilized and if possible allocation may be enhanced next year for the purpose. The Committee also recommended that the Zonal Cultural Centres should expand their activity to include the use of culture as an effective tool of national integration. 11.219 The Committee noted that ceiling of the project cost fixed for single cultural complex of Category- I was Rs. 5.00 crore and for Category-II smaller version cultural complex was Rs. 2.00 crore. Whereas, the total allocation made for MPCC in the BE 2008-09 was only Rs. 2.00 crore. The Committee was at a loss to understand the rationality behind this less allocations as even for a Category-II MPCC an amount of Rs. 2.00 crore was required. The Committee felt that this kind of approach would promote only adhocism. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the modalities for running the scheme may be worked out and the scheme may be widely publicized for utilization of allocated resources. The Committee may be apprised about the details of the number of MPCCs already established till the last financial year and the details of the proposed MPCCs. The Committee would also like to know the benefits of coverting it into a Central Sector Scheme. 11.220 The Committee rcommended that the Ministry should monitor the utilization of funds more closely for Kalashetra and help the organization in planning/excuting the allocated fund judiciously and evenly throughout the year. The Committee observed that with the increased budgetary allocation the Kalakshetra Foundation and its constituent units would be able to strengthen their activities. 11.221 The Committee noted that the pace of the Mission was very slow. The Committee recommended that the Mission should augment its target to conduct post survey documentation in all the States. The survey and documentation process should be completed in a time-bound schedule. The Committee further recommended that the exhibition of Indian Manuscript at various premier national and international fora should also be given thrust and the mission should initiate proactive measures in this regard. 240
11.222 The Committee recommended that since National Mission of Monuments and Antiquities had been earmarked budgetary allocation of Rs. 10.00 crore during the year 2008-09, the Mission should come up with a detailed proposal immediately while maintaining its confidentiality and further proceeded in its implementation. The Committee would like to know the latest status of the implementation of the decisions taken by the Finance Committee on National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities. 11.223 The Committee recommended that steps might be taken to popularize the activities of Sahitya Akademi among the population and particularly the students of Universities and premier institutions throughout India. At present its existence was known only to the literary circles. More emphasis may be given to national integration and secularism through literature. It had also a role to popularize our democratic values and rids cultural heritage. 11.224 The Committee noted that Sangeet Natak Akademi had been able to spent more than the allocated amount. The Committee recommended that the Sangeet Natak Akademi should endeavour to establish national institutes and centres for each of our dance forms and performing arts, it needed in association with the State Governments. 11.225 The Committee hoped that efforts for securing land would be taken up with Delhi Development Authority in a time bound manner and if the issue needed be taken up at Ministerial level. The Committee recommended to the DDA that they speed up the process of land allotment to the Sangeet Natak Akademi at the earliest. The Committee may be apprised about the any procedural or administrative delay in the allotment of land and construction of the building. 11.226 The Committee appreciated the initiatives taken by the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library for modernization and digitization. The Committee, however, recommended that the award of fellowships by the NMML must be transparent and beyond any criticism as the fellows who apply for the fellowships were eminent scholars who never compromise any type of nepotism or favouritism or procedural irregularities. 11.227 The Committee recommended that adequate Plan outlay should be provided in the Budget to ensure that science cities were set up in all the State capitals of the country and while fixing priority every year parity should be drawn amongst the regions. 11.228 The Committee appreciated the efforts in spreading Indian culture abroad by holding seminars, fairs and festivals. The Committee recommended that the festivals should be highly focussed and highlights every region of the country so as to promote tourism and culture of all the States. The Committee also recommended that some countries should be selected where these festivals should be held continuously for some years so as to make an impact on the population there. 11.229 The Committee noted that inspite of Ministry's attention being drawn to the fact of delay in appointing administrative heads, no significant achievement had been made in most of the organizations under the control of the Ministry. And in many cases, some of the officials of the Ministry had been given additional charges. The Committee was constrained to note that the reply furnished relating to filling up post vacant in various organizations by the Ministry was similar to one which was sent to the Committee at the time of consideration of Action Taken Report which indicates that there was no progress in the matter. The Committee again recommended that process of revision of Recruitment Rules may be completed at the earliest so that the Search-cum-Selection Committee was constituted and vacant posts were filled up. 11.230 The Committee suggested that the framing of the National Culture Policy should not be an unending process. The policy may be framed within the stipulated time-frame. The 18 Member Committee may be asked to meet frequently to finalize the policy. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should ensure the formulation of National Culture Policy by April, 2008. 11.231 The Committee welcomed the steps initiated by the Ministry for setting up the Heritage Site Commission. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should expedite the setting up of the Heritage Site Commission as more and more such sites were being encroached or unauthorizedly occupied. Since the country was having a large number of heritage sites which required immediate attention for conversation. The Commission was an overdue measure. 11.232 The Committee suggested that the PSUs and private industries which were directly or indirectly 241 using the monuments and sites of culture for their commercial motives had an obligation to contribute to the National Culture Fund. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should identify and enumerate those PSUs and private industries which were using the Monuments and Cultural Sites and may be cajoled to contribute to the NCF. The Committee further recommended that more PSUs/Organisations’ Corporate Houses should be approached to donate for NCF. The Committee also recommended that the utilization details of the NCF may be submitted to it. 11.233 The Committee was anguished to note that despite its earlier recommendations, Rs. 20.00 crore of the allocation remained unspent for the North-East Region. This showed the neglected attitude towards the North Eastern region where even the reduced RE allocation remained unutilized. The Ministry should make concerted efforts to utilize the funds by proper implementation of schemes so that the North Eastern region which was still unexplored gets its due share. 11.234 The Committee noted that the Excavation of Branch for the North East States remains unrealized in the Tenth Five Year Plan. The Committee recommended that the Excavation Branch may be included as one of the items in the Eleventh Five Year Plan and implemented within the presumed time-frame. If required this matter may be taken up at the highest level to sort out the issues involved in establishing the Excavation Branch in the North East. 11.235 The Committee noted that lot of initiatives had been taken with huge fund allocation by the Ministry to implement various activities in the North East. It was not clear what were the benefits accrued to the North East due to such enhanced allocations and whether the allocated money was really spent for the purposes it was allocated. The Committee therefore recommended that a study or an inquiry may be conducted to see what were the actual benefits of the enhanced allocation and whether the fund allocated were utilized for the purposes for which these were allocated. The feed back of the study may be furnished to the Committee. 11.236 The Committee however noted that last year almost in all the heads the allocated funds even at RE stage remained under utilized because of one reason or the other. The Committee therefore, strongly recommended that the Ministry of Culture should try to spend the allocated fund to the maximum extent possible so that additional funds may be asked at RE stage.
(L) 138th Report 11.237 The Committee noted that Ministry of Civil Aviation had failed to fully utilize the outlay approved during 2007-08. This looked something strange at time when the civil aviation sector was witnessing an unprecedented growth for past few years. The Ministry anticipated to utilize an amount of Rs. 11211.61 crore only out of the approved allocation of Rs. 12347.09 crore during the year 2007-08, which exemplified the poor financial management in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Committee felt that there was a lack of proper planning in the various organizations of Ministry of Civil Aviation, as a result of which the Ministry was unable to utilize optimally the approved outlays at its disposal. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry of Civil Aviation should impress upon the concerned agencies to make a realistic assessment of their financial requirements so that the allocations made do not remain unutilized. 11.238 The Committee felt that reduction in Budgetary support of the Ministry would definitely have a negative impact on the expansion of aviation sector in North-Eastern region as the approved budgetary support component did not include the outlay of Rs. 45.00 crores proposed to be given as a grant for the setting up of Greenfield Airport at Pakyong, Sikkim. The Committee recommended that the Ministry may take this issue with the Finance Ministry at RE stage and prevail upon them to grant more money to ensure that works for project start well in time. The Committee expected that the Government would ensure that the targets set for internal and extra budgetary resources as well as external commercial borrowings from foreign banks/financial institutions for bridging the gap in budgetary support would materialize. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should take adequate steps during 2008-09 also to ensure optimum utilization of the enhanced allocations made to various organizations. 11.239 The Committee noted that profit of both the erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines had gone down substantially due to varied price of ATF, rapidly declining passenger revenue yields on account of intense competition and deployment of excess capacity in the market, etc. The Committee hoped that merger process of both these carriers would be completed in time and this process would help the national carrier in long run in 242 consolidating its position in domestic and international market. The Committee hoped that the synergisation process would help to improve the operational efficiency of both the carriers. However, the Committee was of the view that NACIL should adopt an aggressive marketing strategy to face the stiff competition at global level as well as domestic level in order to have a level playing field with that of competitors. The Committee appreciated the steps taken by NACIL to increase the market share of Air India with the fleet strength of around 110. The Committee desired that the number of bilateral agreements which were signed during the last year should be materialized to the maximum possible extent. The Committee hoped that with the induction of new aircrafts in its fleet, Air India could regain its glory and Maharaja status. The Committee desired that the NACIL would soar to new heights by optimally utilizing its man power and available resources which was not available with any of its competitors. The Committee hoped to see that NACIL would come out of the red and make profits in near future. The Committee recommended to the Government that they may commission a study to know how the private airlines were functioning including the financial freedom they were enjoying, their efficiency and customer service. The findings of the study may be used for the improvement of NACIL. The Committee may be apprised about the findings of such a study and the steps taken to improve the performance of NACIL. 11.240 The Committee expressed its apprehension over the handing over of Nagpur airport to JVC for a token sum of Re. 1/-. The Committee was not convinced by the reasons given by the Ministry for this whole episode. The Committee felt that this will set a wrong precedent. After investing a large amount of public money for development and modernization of this airport, the Committee saw no logic behind the decision of the Government in handing over the airport to a JVC virtually free of cost. The Committee further recommended a proper valuation of the assets of the Nagpur airport including the land may be made and brought into the Books of the JVC so that the information is available in the public domain. The Committee may be apprised of the further developments in this front and a copy of MOU signed with the JVC may be sent to the Committee for persual. 11.241 The Committee felt that the enhanced annual outlay for Airports Authority of India during this year would help the Authority to complete its ongoing projects in time and match the aviation infrastructure at par with international standards and also with that of boom in aviation sector. The Committee recommended that Airports Authority of India should be given necessary financial freedom in selecting and executing the aviation infrastructure projects with its potential and expertise in this field. The Committee hoped that development of non-metro projects will be completed within the scheduled period as these airports would help in easing the traffic congestion at metro airports. The Committee felt that while the Airports Authority of India would develop, maintain and manage the air-side upgradation and terminal modernization, the issue of city side development of these airports should not become a hurdle in completing these airports. The Committee hoped that in addition to these metro and non-metro airports, small cities having adequate tourism potential should also be brought in the aviation map of the country and this could be only possible by the active role of Airports Authority of India in developing unutilized airstrips in such cities. The Committee desired that ongoing development works in the North-Eastern sector should be given priority by the Airports Authority of India so that necessary aviation infrastructure is developed in this region to give air connectivity to the North-Eastern States. 11.242 The Committee was unhappy to note that the Board of Directors of Pawan Hans Limited decided to stop the purchase of seven helicopters in 2007-08. The Committee observed that this should not happen on the plea that in the coming year a large number of helicopters have to be purchased and all of it can be purchased at one go. The Committee recommended that the Pawan Hans should implement its activities in the relevant year itself instead of postponing it year after year. 11.243 The Committee observed that the services of Pawan Hans were still underutilized. The Committee felt that there was tremendous scope of utilizing the helicopter facility to connect the remote tourist places. The Committee recommended that Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited should prepare specific plans to diversify/ connect to important tourist places as a part of diversification of its operations. The Committee expected that the approved outlay for new fleet acquisition would be fully utilised in the current financial year. The Committee noted that entry of Pawan Hans in smaller aircraft operations would definitely provide air connectivity in North- Eastern region and also to small cities of tourist and commercial importance. The Committee desired to see that Pawan Hans used its resources to the maximum possible extent to make the Year of Helicopters a successful one by expanding its horizon. 243
11.244 The Committee expressed its dissatisfaction over the performance of Centaur Hotel, Delhi which was not noteworthy. The Committee felt that the allocation of meager amount of 6 crores would not improve its ambience which was very pathetic now. The Committee recommended that measures should be taken by the Government to improve the performance of the hotel with that of the other luxurious hotels in Delhi. 11.245 The Committee found no merit in handing over the management of IGRUA to a private organisation. The Committee felt that an institute receiving grants from the Government and also having a good infrastructure which had been developed on public money had been handed over to a private organisation with a simple excuse of professionalisation of its management. This year also an amount of Rs. 1.12 crores was proposed to be provided by Government to IGRUA in the form grants-in-aid. The Committee was of the opinion that simply professionalizing the management of an institute would not give any positive output immediately. The Committee felt that the existing management could had been given extra powers to improve the performance of this akademi. The Committee expressed its displeasure on this issue and recommended that remedial measures should be taken to ensure that the undertaking being managed by the public money was not handed over to a private management on a platter. The Committee also noted that after upgradation of infrastructure of IGRUA, the training period for pilots would be reduced from two years to one year. The Committee hoped that this decision would not affect the proficiency of pilots. 11.246 The committee hoped that DGCA would utilize its annual outlay to the fullest level possible as it played a vital role in regulating air traffic and air safety. The Committee was constrained to note that though civil aviation sector was undergoing a boom in the country, the Government was still in process of identifying the requirement of manpower of DGCA. The Committee recommended that DGCA should address the issue of shortage of manpower with all seriousness and recruitment of manpower should be started well in time so that its core activities did not suffer further. There were media reports that Ministry was finding difficulty to fill up the post of Director-General in DGCA. The Committee would like that the post was filled up with the person having technical experience in the field of Civil Aviation sector. 11.247 The setting up of Headquarters building had been under consideration for quite a long time. The Committee was constrained to note that the matter could not see the light of the day till date for the one or other reason. Delay in construction of BCAS Headquarters building has in turn affected the setting up of Training Academy of the BCAS and restructuring and strengthening of the BCAS. Now the land issue had been settled in respect of BCAS Headquarters building at Delhi, the Committee hoped that the proposal for restructuring and strengthening of BCAS and setting of Training Academy would be finalized without delay. The Committee recommended to the Ministry that all out efforts may be made to utilize the entire money for the purposes to which it was allocated. 11.248 The country was in need of a large number of pilots. The Committee recommended that the Government should adequately strengthen the Aero Club of India to produce and train more pilots. 11.249 The Committee was surprised to note that the much talked National Civil Aviation Policy was not able to see light of the day even after considered discussions by committees after committees. This showed a poor and lackadaisical approach of the Government in announcing an important policy which was so much relevant at the time when aviation sector was witnessing an unimaginable growth. The Committee felt that issues relating level playing field for stakeholders, FDI in aviation sector and other air safety issues could be well addressed by the New Civil Aviation Policy only. The Committee recommended that the Government should come up with the National Civil Aviation Policy at the earliest as a large number of private players entering the aviation sector in infrastructure side as well as in air service side. 11.250 The Committee was constrained to note the matter of modernisation of Chennai and Kolkata had been engaging the attention of the Government for considerably long time but the matter was still under process. The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation that the modernization of Chennai and Kolkata airports should be completed on priority so as to ease the traffic over Delhi and Mumbai airports. The Committee also desired that both these airports may be developed as international hubs to cater to the needs of the people in the Eastern and Southern part of the country. The Committee recommended that Airports Authority of India should be given all the financial and operational freedoms enjoyed by any private player in the field. The procedural wrangled and red tapism should never be allowed to crop up in the functioning of Airports Authority of India. the Committee opined that the modernization and development of Chennai and Kolkata airports were a golden opportunity to prove the efficiency and mettle of the Airports Authority of India and its employees. 244
The Committee hoped that they will stand up to the expectations reposed on them. The Committee hoped that the Airports Authority of India would complete all the modernization and developmental works of Kolkata and Chennai airports within a specified time-frame. The Committee may be apprised about the progress made by Airports Authority of India in modernizing the airports at Chennai and Kolkata. 11.251 The Committee anxiously noted that the vacancy of 576 ATC was overburdening the existing staff monitoring the herculeous task. Moreover, the Government had opened Green Field Airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore. The Committee was surprised to note that the Government had not taken any action in advance to start the recruitment process to meet the operational requirement of these airports. 11.252 The Committee had been drawing the attention of the Government towards the likely shortage of manpower for growing civil aviation sector. The Committee, however, was constrained to observe that the Government had not been serious at all on this issue. There was now shortage of trained manpower in every area of civil aviation sector. There was a shortage of pilots and 576 posts of ATC out of sanctioned strength of 2051 were lying vacant. The matter of setting up of flying training academy at Gondia, establishment of training academy for BCAS, construction of BCAS headquarters building are still under process. In the name of brining in professionalization in IGRUA, the training period pilots had been reduced from two years to one year. Such situation could have been avoided had the Government taken note of the recomendations of the Committee and adopted the proactive approach in the matter. The Committee hoped that in future Government would give necessary consideration to complete the projects in time in a time bound manner. 11.253 The Committee hoped that provision of modern equipment at IGRUA and establishment of new pilot training institute in Gondia would help to meet the shortage of pilots. The Committee recommended that necessary aid/grant should be given for starting flying institutions so that the demand of pilots could be adequately taken care of. However, availability of proper infrastructure for training of pilots and setting up of standards for pilots training should also get proper consideration before giving licenses of new flying institutes. The Committee hoped that initiatives taken by the Government would match the demand and supply of pilots and ATCs in due course. 11.254 The Committee noted that the strength of aerodrome inspectors was much less than the sanctioned strength. The Committee recommended that Government should take necessary steps on priority to fill the vacancies as any shortage of trained man power to inspect the aircraft before its flying will definitely compromise air safety playing with the lives of passengers. 11.255 The Committee while appreciating the steps taken by the State Governments of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in reducing the Sales Tax on ATF from 32% to 4% recommended that the Ministry pursue this long standing issue with other State Governments so that uniformity of tax on ATF could be maintained. Since the Cost of fuel was an important component of cost structure, reduction in taxes on ATF would definitely have a positive impact on the airfares. The Committee once again recommended that Ministry of Finance should sympathetically consider and give approval to the proposal of Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding notifying ATF as 'Declared Good' under Section 14 of Central Sales Tax Act on priority basis to all the aircrafts so that sales tax on ATF could be contained within the maximum rate of 4 per cent. The Committee further recommended that the Ministry of Finance may also discuss the issue with the State Governments and try to pursuade them to reduce the sales tax on ATF. The Committee was of the opinion that the success of the concept of low cost carrier mainly depends on the taxation of ATF which was very much on the higher side. The Committee felt that reduction in airfares would bring more new passengers to the airports. (m) 139th Report Clause 2 11.256 The Committee noted that the term 'physical defect' generally related to a product or a thing but not to a human body. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the reference to the term 'physical defects' may be delected from the Clause.
Clause 3 11.257 The Committee agreed with the view that stringent provision for commercial licence would have a positive effect on the transport sector and it would have a direct impact on reducing the rising number of road 245 accidents The Committee however recommended that for three wheelers and LMV Transport vehicles, the period should be remained one year.
Clause 4 & 5 11.258 The Committee noted that Clause 4 and 5 gave an option to the States where there was lack of adequate infrastructaure and large number of vehicles were registered, to authorize some private entities to discharge some of the functions of Motor Vehicles Department by giving exemption to an applicant from the test to drive a motor vehicle if the applicant posses a driving test certificate issued by an institution or Automobile Association recognised in this behalf by the State Government. 11.259 The Committee, however, recommended that while taking further action on the basis of this Section the State Government must use abundant caution and they should go for privatization only if the government infrastructure or the manpower were inadequate. The main motive should be to provide speedy and efficient services to the people who were approaching the Road Transport Authorities and to provide smooth functioning, speedy clearance of the applications and to maintain the transparency in the working of Road Transport Sector. The Committee also recommended that well defined parameters regarding the qualifications, infrastructure requirements for the private agencies/associations may be laid down and clear cut regulatory provisions may be put in place before invoking the provisions of Clause 4 & 5.
Clause 6 11.260 The committee recommended that the state governments were required to be cajoled into implementing the same in all the offices under them and also provide the outputs like the Registration Certificates, the Driving Licenses, etc. in the Smart Card format only. Further, all such computerized offices be connected electronically so that a State level real time database could be created. Further yet, all the state level databases should then be linked to create the national level database. Thereafter, creation of a central website, maintained by the MORTH, much in the manner of 'National Crime Record Bureau' through which limited query based information access to the central database could be provided to the members of public, interest groups, police and futher, operational access to the central database could also be provided to all the motor vehicles offices in the country with proper authorization, would then solve this problem to a large extent. 11.261 The Committee felt the present day requirement needed involvement of IT sector in all fields. The Committee hoped that issuance of licence in electronic form would help to streamline the procedures involved.
Clause 7 11.262 The Committee, therefore, recommended that the case where the driving licence expired when the person was out of station or settled abroad, need some kind of relaxation and in that circumstances the time limit for renewal of their licences may be extended beyond one year.
Clause 9 11.263 The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government may amend the necessary legislations to include the deaths due to drunken driving as culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The Committee also recommended that if the drunken driver commits an accident his action should not be constructed as mere 'negligence' rather it should be treated as a premeditated commitment of a crime and the drunken driver should be punishable under relevant provisions of IPC depending on the consequences of the accident.
Clause 11 11.264 Give the depth of technique available in the Country for processing the requests for registration of vehicles and quantum of investment made by the owner in the purchasing of vehicle and allowing the same lying waste for one month, the period for issue of certificate by the registering authority appeared on higher side. The committee, therefore, recommended that the period of thirty days may be reduced to fifteen days as mentioned in sub-section (3) to enable the owner of vehicle to get his certificate in time and to make the registering authority responsive. The Committee was also of the view that if the period of issue of certificate 246 was reduce it would encourage the owners to get their vehicles registered in time. However, after the reduction of the above time for issuing the certificate for registering the vehicles by registering authority, if any owner was found operating vehicles without getting the same registered, the higher quantum of penalty may be considered.
Clause 12 11.265 The Committee, therefore, recommended that provision be prescribed so that the current address of any driver was recorded in his driving license.
Clause 15 11.266 The Committee felt that it was reasonable to restrict the right of altering a vehicle by the owner in case the vehicle was held under hypothecation. The Committee, however, would like the registering authority and the financier of the vehicle to be responsive and took action on the application within a specified time and the provision be prescribed in the Bill to that effect.
Clause 24 11.267 The Committee felt that this amendment was a complicated one as an agent had to register in every state where he liked to expand his business. Unless and otherwise States formulated a uniform policy for registration of agents, a lot of constradictions would be there. A uniform condition framed by the Central Government would help in simultaneous implementation of rules. The Committee adopted Clause 24 subjects to the condition that any ambiguity involved in registration of agents should be well addressed by the Central Government.
Clause 26 11.268 The Committee was of the view that there was no doubt that different geographical conditions were prevalent in our vast country, however, it felt that given the quantum of vehicles and their frequent movement from one state to another there was a need for having standards for manufacture and modification of the vehicles and providing for seating capacity of the vehicles at central level.
Clause 27 11.269 The Committee welcomed this amendment as installation of speed governors and fog lights were important safety requirements. The Committee hoped that this Clause once legislated should be implemented systematically and the violators of this provision should be punished heavily as over speeding was one of the main causes for the rising number of accidents on the roads.
Clause 28 11.270 The Committee hoped that the proposed new Clause once legislated would be implemented in good spirit. The quantum of traffic and load decided the life of a national highway. The present scenario of national highways really presented a dismal picture. Overloaded trucks in large number curtail the longevity of the road infrastructure and were a safety hazard for other roads users. The present system of payment of fine for excess load and proceeding with the overloaded trucks was not justified. The Committee felt that problem of overloading should not be restricted to the liability of the consignor only. The implementation of this Clause should include the assessment of liability of driver on such overloading, failure of officials in enforcing provision regarding overloading and approval of tonnage of vehicles. The Committee recommended that Department should draw a road map with the participation of tyre manufacturers, truck body-builders and most importantly the agencies who approved the tonnage of vehicles.
Clause 30 11.271 The Committee suggested that the prescribed format of the receipt must contain the name and address of the authorized officer or authority who seized the driving licence. 247
Clause 34 11.272 An accident was an accident whether it was driven by a person having a valid driving licence or not. Therefore, giving exemption to the insurer on the ground that the vehicle was driven by a person having no driving licence was untenable and the insurer could not escape his responsibility. The non receipt of insurance premium was a valid ground that the insurance could take umbrage. The Committee, therefore, recommended that if an insured vehicle commits an accident, the insurer may be held responsible as per the provision of the insurance policy irrespective of the fact that the vehicle was driven by a valid licence holder or not.
Clause 37 11.273 The Committee recommended that every vehicle must be insured agaisnt third party liability and a fixed amount of the third party liability premium which could be worked out by the Government, must be collected by the insurance agencies towards the corpus of the solatium fund. The Committee noted that in case of hit and run accidents, the victims were common man and in many cases poor people. The Committee also noted that the amount of compensations proposed for in case of death of a person from hit and run accident and in case of grievous hurt, was highly inadequate. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the amount of compensation may be increased to Rs. one lakh in case of death of a person from hit and run accident and Rs. 50,000/- in case of grievous hurt. 11.274 The Committee also recommended that the compensation amount may be made inflation proof i.e., the amount may be revised annually in proportion to the rate of inflation.
Clause 40 11.275 The Committee felt that the present compensation amount prescribed in the second schedule might became insufficient over period of time. Moreover, the Committee noted that the Clause did not fix any periodicity for increasing the amount of compensation to cope up with the prevalent cost of living. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the amount of compensation may be revised every year in proportion to the rate of inflation.
Clause 42 11.276 The Committee noted that the Bill made a distinction between compensation based on no fault basis (Section 163A) and compensation based on fault basis (Section 163B). Further, Clause 42 specifies that a person could claim compensation under either of the two Sections or both the Sections. However, the provision suggested that a claim filed under fault basis should be treated a claim filed under no fault basis if the claimant failed to prove the fault. The Committee noted that this would encourage claimants to inevitably file the claim under no fault basis defeating the very purpose of the provision laid down. The Committee, therefore, recommended that clause 42 may be amended as follows: "Wherein a person was entitled to claim compensation under Section 163A and 163B he could claim the relief only under one of the said Sections and the option once exercised should be final." Clause 44 11.277 The Committee, therefore, recommended that in cases of simple injury wherein there was no permanent partial disability or permanent total disability, claimants should claim compensation within six months from the date of occurence of accidents. The committee felt that this would help victims of road accidents to get early compensation. Clause 46 11.278 The Committee, therefore, recommended that the clause may be modified to the effect that the Insurance company may be permitted beyond three months if valid reasons exist.
Clause 47 11.279 The Committee did not see any merit in the proposal that the time limit of depositing the amount of award as per the direction of claims tribunal had been increased from thirty days to sixty days. The Committee, 248 therefore, recommended that the time limit may be retained as thrity days. The appeal period under Section 173 related to appeal may be fixed as 30 days, so as to bring the section in consonance with this section.
Clause 49 11.280 The Committee felt that the interim compensation as the name suggests was interim in nature and needed to be adjusted from the final adjudicated compensation amount. Therefore, the Committee recommended that to bring clarify and uniformity in the provision the clause may suitably be modified.
Clause 50 11.281 The Committee was also of the view that to restrain dangerous driving which caused human and financial loss the above slab may be suitably formulated for every offence prescribed in the Motor Vehicle Act. The Committee also recommended that the slab may be revised annually in proprotion to the rate of inflation and the clause may be modified accordingly.
Clause 53 11.282 The recommendations of the Committee agaisnt clause 50 may be applied in this Clause also with necessary modifications.
Clause 54 11.283 The Committee, therefore, recommended that a new Section should be entrusted specifically for the usage of mobile phones while driving.
Clause 55 11.284 The Committee felt that a singular penalty in such cases would not serve the purpose. The Committee recommended the following slabs: (i) 30-60 mg per 100 ml of blood—a fine of Rs. 2000/- (ii) 60-150mg per 100 ml of blood—a fine of Rs. 4000/- and/for imprisonment; and (iii) 150mg and above per 100 ml of blood—a fine of Rs. 5000/- and minimum imprisonment with a provision to cancel the driving licence. 11.285 The Committee's recommendations against Clause 9 may be applied in case of this Clause also with necessary modifications.
Clause 63 11.286 The Committee noted that almost all the vehicle manufacturers were having authorized dealerships and authorized workshops in almost all the cities. The Committee therefore recommended that the manufacturers themsleves could be asked to set up shops for this purpose after obtaining the required licenses from the concerned authority. This would be huge step towards safer travel and trasnportation in this country. This would also provide scope for additional business opportunities and scope for fresh jobs and employment opportunities. Adequate staff may be provided for testing the vehicles and the staff may be given periodical training to test the vehicles. Wherever, the Governments were unable to provide adequate staff, entrusting the work to vehicle manufacturers may be thought of. Hence, government must move in this direction immediately. The manufacturers themsleves could be asked to set up shops for this purpose after obtaining the required licenses from the concerned authority. This would be a huge step towards safer travel and trasportation in this country. This would also provide scope for additional business opportunities and scope for fresh jobs and employment opportunities. 11.286 The Committee recommended that the Government may reconsider Clause 63 after carefully scrutinizing the issues involved and addressing the issues raised by the stakeholders since this would authorize the State governments to had a panel of experts in the field of road transport for the purpose of carrying out audit inspection of authorized testing stations set up under section 56(2) of the Act. 249
Clause 65 11.287 The Committee recommended that the maultiplier had to be worked out on the basis of real inflationary rate and the entire scheme of multiplier should be revised accordingly annually in proportion to the rate of inflation.
General 11.288 In view of the above, the Committee felt that the Motor Vehicle Act may be amended in such a way that does justice to both the financiers and the customers. The amendment should also gave option to the motor vehcile administration to overrides the requirement of the no objection certificate after giving both sides a chance to present his case. The Government should also come forward with concrete proposals to stop the financiers from adopting the bullying tactics to recover the vehicle loans. 11.289 The Committee felt that the Road Traffic Law should, therefore, define acceptable standards and behaviours on the road and in doing so should provide guidance for road users. The Committee recommended that the Government should endeavour to implement the spirit of the suggestions made by PACTS in its report on Road Traffic Law and Enforcement. 11.290 Another aspect brought before the Committee by one of the stakeholders was the insufficiency of the road signage. They had stated that the road sign had been updated by the Indian Road Congress in 2001 but the First Schedule to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 had not been amended to incorporate the changers. This had left a major vaccum in road user education, the driver training as well as installation of signage as per law. The Committee felt that if the signages in the Schedule were obsolete or not keeping with the pace of the changing times, naturally there would remain a serious handicap in driver training and education. The Committee also noted that there was no mention of road marking or traffic signals in the first schedule. The Committee felt that this was a major shortcoming and recommended that the first schedule should be amended with comprehensive signs and symbols; road markings and signals as per the recommendations of the Indian Roads Congress. 11.291 The Committee recommended that a high level committee needs to be formed to explore the possibilities and put forward their suggestions in this respect. (n) 140th Report 11.292 The Committee appreciated the efforts made by the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir for development of Tourism in the State. However, the Committee felt that the strategy and initiatives taken by the State required a more focused approach for effective and structured growth. The Committee was informed that there was no "Tourism Policy" for the State. The Committee was of the opinion that the policy supports would certainly helped to achieve goals and targets in this sector more effectively. The Committee, therefore, emphasized the need to have a tourism policy in place. It also emphasized that the strategy for marketing tourism products of the State needed to be revisited for tapping the domestic and International tourism markets. The State should endeavour to assess the market trend and focused on diverse and varied tourism products of Jammu and Kashmir targeting specially the domestic middle class tourists. 11.293 The Committee after visiting many places in an around Srinagar had a sense of satisfaction that normalcy was returning to the valley, as a large number of tourists were seen at different places that included the local people. The Committee viewed this as a postitive development reflecting the existing mindset of the people about the law and order situation of the valley was changing. The Committee felt that this had an impact in increasing the tourist traffic to the valley not only in summer but during the winter season as well. The Committee was of the view that to keep pace with the increasing traffic, efforts be made to develop quality tourism infrastructure and tourism products for providing better servies to domestic and international tourist. The Committee desired that State Government and Central Government need to work together to provide best facilities at most economical prices. They should also sensitize/educate all the stakeholder in tourism industry and the general public about various issues including hygience, sanitation and waste disposal system at monuments and tourist places, treatment of tourist, ensuring safety and security and hassle free comfortable stay for the tourists in the State. 11.294 Isolated cases of harassment of tourists severely undermined tourism. The Committee was concerned to note the recent happenings in Kashmir valley and Jammu regions after visit of the Committee and 250 hoped that the things would improve very soon. The Committee felt that the role of media was very crucial in building public confidence about a place. It needed to be very careful as a report about a small incident may spread scare all over. A reporting should not have a gap between impression that it created and actual ground reality. 11.295 The Committee noted that Adventure Tourism was relatively a new segment and Ministry of Tourism was providing financial assistance to the State for development of infrastructure and other facilities required for trekking, rock climbing, mountaineering, winter sports, skiing etc. The Committee also noted that J&K Tourism Department was able to acquire good quality equipment of international standard for these activities. The Committee felt that the Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh region had immense potential for adventure tourism that largely remained untapped so far, despite Government efforts made for this purpose. It had been found that foreign tourists were more attracted to such tourism and, if, the latest equipments and infrastructure supported by the wider publicity and human resources were provided, the Committee had little doubt that adventure tourist would not be attracted to Jammu and Kashmir in large numbers. The Committee recommended that the Ministry to prioritize the Adventure Tourism projects in the Jammu and Kashmir and gave adequate publicity in India and abroad. 11.296 The Committee also desired the Ministry to identify new/alternate trekking routes with the help of LAHDC and Jammu and Kashmir Government in the Ladakh region. The Committee recommended that while going for construction of roads to new villages, planning may be done in such a way that old and popular trekking route be saved. Granting a special package to Ladakh region for developing new trekking routes may be considered and finalized at the earliest. 11.297 The Committee noted that the construction of building for IISM at Gulmurg had been completed and will be handed over to the IISM by the ITDC. The Committee felt that without proper building, the IISM could not play its role and carry out its activities. The Committee was of the view that up-gradation of the institute will not only result in increment in the tourist traffic to the valley but also promote adventure and sports tourism in particular. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to ensure early transfer of building to IISM at Gulmarg without further delay. 11.298 The Committee felt that the pilgrim tourism had great tourist potential in all the three regions of the State and was one of the major contributors to its economic growth both in terms of employment and other activities. The facilities for pilgrims need to be further expanded and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir should exploit the potential of Jammu as a tourist destination and not just as transit point en route to Kashmir or on a pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi temple. 11.299 The Committee appreciated the efforts of the State Government for encouraging local residents to supplement the availability of accommodation for the comfortable stay of tourists in their homes to experience local customs and traditions and relish authentic cuisine in the natural and affordable manner. This scheme appeared to be working well both for the tourist as well as the local residents. It need to be further strengthened and expanded to many more villages and towns. 11.300 Since, Ladakh had the best route to Kailash Mansorovar via Demchok, the Committee desired that the possibility could be explored for allowing Kailash Mansorovar Pilgrims via Demchok in Ladakh as an alternative route, which was safer dependable and shorter. A special promotion campaign should be made to attract large number of pilgrims to the places of worship in all the region of the State by offering affordable packages. 11.301 The Committee also recommended the Government to provide grant-in-aid to the Centaur Hotel, Srinagar located just on the bank of Dal Lake for its total renovation and restoration and providing other facilities. The portion occupied by the security forces also needed to be vacated by accommodating them elsewhere, except for those needed for its own security. 11.302 The Committee expressed its concern over the fast deterioration of the Dal lake eco-system. The Committee was of the opinion that conservation and preservation of Dal lake should be our priority. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to pursue the matter with the Ministry of Environment and Forest for formulation of Action Plan to control and manage pollution, de-silting, and de-weeding for conservation of the lake eco-system. The Committee also recommended that a proper sewage disposal system should be in 251 place to reduce the organic discharge into the lake the cluster of house-boats. The encroachments also must be removed. 11.303 The Committee understood that the Government, through its own limited resources, had not been able to provide the requisite funds for the development of tourist infrastructure in the country. The Committee was of the opinion that the participation of the private sector could go a long way in supplementing the efforts of the Government in developing the tourist infrastructure in the J and K. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended that the Central/State Governments must try to remove the obstacles faced by the private investors and ensured early implementation of the single window clearnance system for tourism projects. 11.304 The Committee felt that these being symbols of Kashmir and keeping in view large number of people depending on these for livelihood, needed adequate support to keep them running. It, therefore, recommended that suitable assistance and support be given to these Shikarawalas and houseboat owners in the form of soft loans/subsidy for this purpose. 11.305 The Committe found that Leh generally was a long haul destination among adventure tourists who love nature and had variety of accommodation suiting to the requirement of the tourists. The Committee found that there was a lack of good quality hotel with convention facilities in Leh and the hotel staff needed to be trained in the hospitability industry. The share of local people in the hospitality sector in Leh was negligible. The Committee, therefore, recommended that local people should be encouraged and educated by training service providers to take part in the hospitality sector. 11.306 The Committee noted with concern that a large number of tourism projects were sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Tourism for the State of J and K during the last three years, but the pace of their progress had been very slow. The Committee appreciated the constraints faced by the State due to adverse weather, shortage of working days as well as manpower. The Committee recommended that the Government of India should consider modifying the norms for release of funds to the State keeping in mind the topography and difficult terrain of the region and ensured that projects do not lag behind for want of funds at any time during the financial year. The Committee also desired that there should be proper co-ordination with the State Government so as to obtain utilization certificates etc. 11.307 The Committee was informed that posts particularly at key positions were lying vacant for years. The Committee desired that the State Government should be impressed upon to fill up all the vacant posts specially the key-positions, at the earliest so that the infrastructure development projects were not unduly delayed. 11.308 The Committee also recommended that since infrastructure development holds the key to sustained growth in tourism sector, there was a need that the tourist sites and destinations should be carefully selected on the basis of their potential to provide all essential infrastructural facilities required by the tourists. An aggressive marketing and publicity of these destinations and circuits should be made to generate tourism markets across the world. The Committee also recommended that possibility be explored to open "Leh-Pangong- Spangmik-Hanle-Nyoma-Mahe-Leh” as tourist destinations in Ladakh for inbound tourists. The Committee also impressed upon the Ministry of Tourism to identify more such circuits and destinations in the three regions to offer new products to tourists. It would give impetus to the socio-economic development of the people living in the State. 11.309 The Committee was of the view that rural tourism had great potential in Jammu and Kashmir where any village could be developed as a tourist destination. It helped to provide boost to the local arts and conserve the local culture apart from preventing rural-urban migration. the Committee, therefore, felt that the rural tourism needs to be given added impetus in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Committee noted that out of 9 rural tourism projects sanctioned in the State only 5 projects had since been completed. The Committee was of the view that more villages should be identified for priority development involving the local bodies in order to promote tourism in rural areas. All the pending rural tourism projects of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir should be examined and expedited by the Ministry of Tourism at the earliest. 11.310 The Committee was also of the view that normally, any restriction on the number of tourists and the duration would certainly impede promotion of tourism in a region; it was true about Ladakh as well. The issue of relaxation in the existing restrictions needs to be considered in totality by the concerned authorities of 252 the Governments at various levels. Much water had run into river Sindhu since this decision was taken; this was high time that it should be reviewed suitability. 11.311 The Committee desired that the State Government should come forward by way of providing low- interest loans to the private transporters for creating a fleet of super deluxe coaches and luxury cars for the tourist's. Till then outside coaches carried groups of tourists should be allowed to operate in the State without any hassle. 11.312 The Committee felt that the installation of more Gondolas would open up new tourist areas in a sustainable manner without damaging the ecology of the area. The Committee recommended that the booking of tickets of these Gondolas at Gulmarg should be de-centralized through J & K tourism offices in the country to avoid huge rush at the booking counters in Gulmarg and efforts be made to make the visit to Gondolas as the part of the package tour so that the tourists were not harassed at the booking windows. The Committee also desired that online bookings of the tickets should also made permissible and the carriages which were not being used for petty technical repairs should be made functional without further delay in view of the heavy rush of tourist in Gulmarg. 11.313 Special offers from the Government and other agencies for their employees had proved to be successful in the past. The Committee recommended that the LTC packages for Central Government/Public sector employees to visit Kashmir should be re-introduced to promote tourism and to revive the domestic tourist traffic to the J and K region by Air. 11.314 In view of tremendous potential that the tourism industry had for employment generation for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, need for more such training Institutes could hardly be over emphasized. The Committee felt that the existing institutions would not be sufficient for the need of the growing demand of the trained manpower in the hospitality sector. Therefore, the Committee recommended that there should be at least two more such institutes one to be located in Leh. Besides more Food Craft Institutes should also be opened up in consultation with the State Government. 11.315 The Committee also felt that the outlay earmarked for the media campaign and promotional activities for J & K was not sufficient and should be increased adequately so that the State got adequate publicity both in India and abroad. 'Incredible India campaign' should give due prominence to Jammu and Kashmir with increased participation in international tourism marts for promoting brand Kashmir. 11.316 The Committee recommended that the Government of India must put in all possible efforts to advise all countries to co-operate and not issue negative travel advisory for its citizens in the wake of some isolated incidents in J & K. The Committee also desired that the media may be sensitized not to hype the tourist arrivals in the valley and they should project the objective situation about the Srinagar in order to de-link tourism from law and order situation. 11.317 The Committee felt concerned about the private airlines not flying in Jammu and Kashmir region and taking advantages of loopholes in the Route Dispersal Guidelines. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended modifying the Route Dispersal Guidelines in such a way so as to make them mandatory to fly to places like Leh and Kargil also. 11.318 The Committee while appreciating the development works being carried out by the Airports Authority of India in the State, desired that pending work at Jammu & Srinagar airports be completed within the scheduled time frame. The Committee emphasized the need for increasing the international services from the Srinagar airport to attract mainly international tourists. 11.319 The Committee was of the opinion that the Kargil district had not received due attention and the Kargil airport was not being used to its potential. It had caught the imagination of the tourist now. The Committee recommended that till the work of extension of Kargil Airport was undertaken and completed, the Government should operate ATR 42 between Leh-Kargil-Srinagar. The Committee was not quite convinced with the shortage of the ATR pilots as was sought to be made out by the NACIL during the meeting. To begun with this service may be thrice per week, to be made daily later on. The Committee felt that this would not only help promote tourism but also increased economic activity in the region. Kargil was an area with lots of scenic beauty and cultural heritage. The Committee, therefore, recommended strongly that the NACIL must take the necessary steps in this direction and start services in this sector as early as possible. 253
11.320 The Committee was constrained to say that the Leh Airport building did not reflect the local ethnic architecture. In this connection committee would like to invite the attention of the Government to its recommendations contained in the 88th report which is reproduced below:— "….the Committee emphasized that while constructing the terminal building local art and architecture should be kept in mind and building should be designed accordingly. Civil Aviation and Tourism went hand in hand as airport was the gateway for the tourists, which should unveil the rich cultural and architectural heritage of the region. This would also attract more and more tourists and would substantially take care of the capacity under-utilization problem of the airports. The Committee also pointed out that adequate care should be taken with the help of the State Government to open shopping outlets/cafeteria for showcasing local cuisines/handicrafts etc." 11.321 The Committee found that one of the major impediments in development of Leh as a major tourist destination was the non-availability of direct flight service between Leh and other major cities. The existing service between Delhi-Leh by the national carrier should be made daily service. The Committee hoped that development of airports and increased air connectivity to this region would definitely play a significant role in increasing the tourist influx to the State. The Committee expressed its dismay over the fact that NACIL did not have any plan to increase services to/from Jammu, Srinagar and Leh. The Committee also felt that there was no adequate publicity about the special fares being offered by NACIL viz. easy fare, apex fare and flight specific fares and link fares as a result of which most of the tourists were not able to make use of the packages being offered by the NACIL. The Committee was of the view that if 50 seater ATR aircraft were used in this region, the cash losses perhaps may go down. The Committee also recommended that NACIL should ensure due publicity of its special fares. 11.322 Sometimes, due to lack of coordination between Airlines. AAI and Air Forces regular commercial flights were cancelled or delayed leading to avoidable inconvenience to the passengers and loss of revenue. The Committee was of the considered view that under normal circumstances the regular commerical flights should not be disturbed due to Air Force sorties. 11.323 The Committee had learnt that A-320 aircraft flying to Leh had to carry more load than the allowed. The Committee recommended that instead A-320, A-319 aircrafts should be operated in this sector that comparatively had more load capacity. 11.324 It was also brought to the notice of the Committee that during peak season airfare from different stations to Srinagar shoot up and no upper limit had been prescribed for fare. As a result, journey to Kashmir became costlier than going to Singapore, Malaysia, etc. The Committee was of the view that there should be some regulation of fares for this sector and people of the Jammu and Kashmir may be given relaxation in airfare on the pattern of North-East region. 11.325 The Committee found that all these projects were running far behind the schedule, delays being from 2 to 4 years and with this pace, the Committee cannot but apprehend further delays in future. The Committee was of the view that development of National Highways in Jammu and Kashmir was not only necessary for promotion of Tourism in the region but also was of strategic importance for the nation. 11.326 The Committee appreciated the problem encountered in the construction of National Highways in Jammu and Kashmir particularly on account of climatic conditions, topography, hilly terrain including shortage of manpower. Such forced stoppage of work naturally results in under-utilization of funds. It was unfortunate that this in turn lead to reduction of plan outlay by the Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission. The Committee expressed its concern about this and was convinced about the need for providing special guidelines in respect of Jammu and Kashmir in keeping with these peculiar problems to ensure that funds were available in time for the work relating to National Highways in the region. In this connection Committee would like to reiterate its earlier recommendation made in its 84th report on Demands for Grants (2005-06) of the Department of Road Transport and Highways. "The Committee appreciated the concern of the Ministry of Finance for ensuring that the expenditure position in all the Ministries should have an even flow throughout the year. In order to achieve this, Ministry of Finance had issued a direction that only 33% of the BE should be spent in the last quarter of the year. However, so far as Department of Road Transport and Highways was concerned, the working in different parts of the country was affected due to weather conditions and the restriction 254
imposed by the Ministry of Finance creates a setback to the physical activities in the areas of construction of Highways and Bridges by the Department. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry of Finance may reconsider its decision and taking into account the peculiarity of the pattern of utilization of funds due to factors which were beyond the control of the Department, the Department of Road Transport and Highways should be exempted from any such restriction on expenditure and should be allowed to spend their allocated budget on various activities which were required to be carried out during that particular period". 11.327 The Committee was constrained to note that the preparation of DPR for remaining section of Jammu to Srinagar section of NH-1 A was still under process. The Government was still waiting for execution of work under BOT (Toll) mode, which was not a viable proposition as no private agency would be interested to took up the work in that section on commercial grounds. The Committee of the view that the Highway was of vital importance not only for the economy of the State but also for the security of the Nation. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Government should do itself and allocate necessary budgetary provisions for four laning of Jammu - Srinagar Section of NH-1(A) and provide plan outlay. 11.328 The Committee felt that some kind of special procedures may be devised for the State. Funds may be put in non-lapsable category as was being done for other such areas of the country. Cost-norms of the project also need to be made state specific. For land acquisition, environmental and other clearances etc. single-window facility had put in place at the earliest. In view of big contractors not came forward, BRO need to be strengthened in a big way both technically and financially. Adequate security, financial and otherwise needs to be given to the people working on these projects. 11.329 The Committee was also of the view that prescribing the fixed period of 5 years for repair of NH in hilly-terrain like that of Jammu Kashmir were not practicable as the roads there get regularly damaged due to frequent rainfall, snow-fall, poor drainage system, land slide, etc. The Committee, therefore, felt that the concerned guidelines need to be modified so as to ensure that whenever there was damage to the NH, the repair work should be taken up immediately. As regards the damage to the National Highways passing through the towns and villages due to poor drainage, the Committee, recommended that the agencies engaged in planning and development of NH should consult the local bodies to obviate the possibility of any damage to the National Highways due to poor drainage system. 11.330 The Committee recommended construction of roads from Tsomoriri in Leh to Spiti in Himachal Pradesh via Parangla Pass and opening of Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage via Demchok in Ladakh as an alternative pilgrimage route. The Committee found that the budgetary allocation for road projects in Ladakh was given on the basis of being a district which was very meager considering the vast area of Ladakh region for road projects. The Committee recommended that special fund should be provided for road connectivity projects in Ladakh region from the Central Road Fund. 11.331 The Committee noted that all the regions of Jammu and Kashmir have enormous archaeological wealth in different forms that need to be preserved and protected. But only 99 monuments/archaeolgical sites were declared as protected, either by the ASI or the State Archaeology Department. Amongst the remaining ones the Committee felt most of them require to be brought under protected category immediately. The Committee, therefore, recommended that to save the important historical monuments in the State from extinction their conservation and restoration should be given top priority by the ASI and the State Government. To enable the ASI to carry out its activities in a better way, the Ministry of Culture should consider shifting of Circle office from Jammu to Srinagar for administrative purposes. 11.332 It also recommended the Ministry of Culture to examine the proposals submitted by the State Govenment for the protection and restoration of Bhimgarh Fort, Hari Parvat and old nagar city under Centrally protected monument for expeditious disposal. Sanctioning a special grant to ASI for maintaining the monuments which were damaged by the earthquake in the State should be considered and decision be intimated to the Committee. 11.333 The Committee noted that conservation, preservation and maintenance of centrally protected monuments and sites were the prime task of ASI. In spite of all the adversities, the Archaeological Survey of India was doing stupendous task of repairs and conservation of the monuments for maintaining their historical and aesthetic values. The Committee appreciated the ASI for its work particularly in structural repairs, chemical preservation and environmental development works around monuments. 255
11.334 The Committee felt that ASI should conduct preservation, heritage management and exploration of new destinations of historic importance for promotion of tourism in the State especially in Ladakh region. Kargil had tremendous potential for exploring tourism and cultural heritage. The Committee was informed that three rocks carved statues (Bamyan type) of Avalakateshvara from Ghandhara form of art situated at Barsoo Nallah, Appatii in Kargil block and Mulbekh in Shargole block were lying unattended since years and needed immediate preservation. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Culture and the ASI must undertake for maintenance and preservation of these historical/religious place, object and buildings on priority basis. Funds were earmarked for this purpose. 11.335 The Committee noted that ASI was taking up the scientific study and chemical preservation in Ladakh region with a view to identify the conservation problem of various monasteries in the region nemely Shey, Alchi, Hemis, Thiksey Lakir, Phyang etc. The Committee found that most of the monasteries were living monasteries and were at present under religious use and many changes in the original structures and painting were being effected by the Lamas in the monasteries. The Committee felt that this had caused heavy damage and posed great challenges in protecting of these monuments. 11.336 The Committee was anxious to note that ASI was not allowed to take up conservation work at Hemis monastery and Lakir monastery by the management Committee headed by the Lamas. The Committee felt that these monasteries being the treasure house of the Buddhist architecture and literature must be preserved to retain its ancient glory. The Committee recommended that ASI in coordination with the local representatives should make efforts to convince Lamas to persuade them to allow ASI to take up conservation and preservation work at the monasteries in the region so that the glory of ancient Buddhist monastic tradition and cultural heritage could be saved. The Committee saw itself that these monasteries needed urgent help to protect and preserve their rich cultural heritage that were being damaged in various ways. The Committee recommended that the schools run by the monasteries were being given some support by the Ministry of Culture. It was incormed that the help was too meagre to have any impact. The Committee recommended that this cultural support for the schools run by monasteries be enhanced adequately this financial year itself. 11.337 The Committee wanted to put on record its appreciation for ASI's Srinagar circle for conducting archeological excavations and exploration in Jammu and Kashmir resulting in discovery of new sites and structural remains of great cultural and historical importance. The Committee felt these findings helped in understanding sequence of different cultural assemblage of the by gone era in the State. The Committee desired the need for increasing the activities of ASI particularly, excavation and exploration to other important sites in the Jammu and Kashmir. ASI needs to be strengthened adequately for carrying out such activities. 11.338 The Committee appreciated that the ASI was publishing brochures on the ticketing monuments in J&K for information of the tourists. The Committee desired that the brochures should also be published in the regional language besides Hindi and English for wider coverage. 11.339 The Committee was of the considered view the allocation of Rs. 2.38 crore under the plan and Rs. 4.10 crore under the non-plan made to the Circle would not be adequate for carrying out conservation and maintenance activities during the year 2008-09. The Committee felt that apart from on-going projects, a large number of conservation works were yet to be taken up by the Srinagar Circle, which would require more allocation. The Committee recommended the Ministry of Culture to enhance the allocation to the Srinagar Circle for in view of the stupendous task of repairing and conservation of monuments before them. The Committee also recommended that the Government should identify the schemes for conservation and maintenance of monuments for which MPLADS and MLA fund scould be utilized, particularly, in Ladakh region so that the dependence over Government for funds could be reduced to some extent. 11.340 The Committee noted with concern the decline in number of persons visiting the monuments. It, however, recommended that more monuments be brought under the ticketed category but the charges be kept as nominal and the revenue earned should be given to the ASI for the conservation and maintenance of the monuments. 11.341 The Committee noted that besides the conservation and maintenance works, the ASI, Srinagar Circle was also improving to a great extent the environs of the monuments by providing roads, electrification, etc. as also amenities to the tourist including toilet and drinking water facilities at different places. 256
11.342 The Committee however during its visit to Leh noted that Hemis and Thiskey monasteries did not have basic facilities like drinking water and toilets. The Committee recommended that these basic facilities should be provided in all the monuments in the State, especially, the Hemis andThiskey monasteries in Leh that attract largenumber of tourists. 11.343 The Committee noted with concern that large number of group 'D' posts was lying vacant; as a result, the ASI was facing difficulties in ensuring the security of the monuments in the State. The Committee considered this as a major obstacle in the process of maintenance of monuments. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Culture should ensure that the vacant posts in the Circle be filled up on priority and new posts also be created as per the requirements. Steps may also be taken to train the Monuments' Attendants so that they could take care of the monuments more effectively. 11.344 The Committee appreciated tha archeological garden development works in the State especially in the Srinagar and Jammu region. The Committee recommended that more gardens should be developed in the archeological sites in the State. In Srinagar world famous Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh had been the main source of tourists' attraction. The Committee recommended that the 'light and sound' programme which was used to be arranged in collaboration with ITDC in Shalimar Bagh be restarted immediately.
(o) 141st Report 11.345 The Committee on Infrastructure headed by the Prime Minister at its 12th meting on the 8th June, 2006 decided that for 35 non-metro airports, the Airports Authority of India would undertake the airport side development, including terminal building, while the city side development would be undertaken through private public partnership. However, the Committee had been given to understand that the Inter Ministerial Group headed by Secretary Civil Aviation had decided on 6 May, 2008 to deviate from the decision taken by the Committee on Infrastructure headed by the Prime Minister. Now the IMG had suggested that the commercial operations in the terminal building would be done through PPP. The IMG decided that the scope of work of the project would include commercial operation and maintenance of Terminal Building, development and operation of Cargo and real estate development on the land identified for the purpose. Maintenance of the Terminal Building would include maintenance of the building, equipment and utilities. On the basis of this decision, the Planning Commission had prepared a Model Concession Agreement for PPP for 30 years for terminal buildings. 11.346 The Committee felt that this was a deviation from the decision of the Committee on Infrastructure and failed to understand how the IMG headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, could go against or deviate from the decisons/directions of the COI headed by the Prime Minister himself. The Committee, therefore, expected PMO to issue a clarification in this regard, if the IMG had its approval for deviating from the CoI and if not, it must intervene in this matter to ensure that the commercial operation of terminal buildings was done by the Airports Authority of India itself. 11.347 Commercial operation of terminal buildings was a profit making activity which would have generate revenue for the Airports Authority of India to spend on developing airside operations. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the airport side development including the commercial use of terminal building should be entrusted to the Airport Authority of India. The AAI was also of the view that there would be conflict of interests, if private parties and AAI were involved into this simultaneously. 11.348 The Airports Authority of India had been continuously earning profit every year and had proven ability of setting up, maintaining and modernizing airports in India and also abroad. Even the private Cochin International Airport had been developed by it. The Committee was, therefore, against the handing-over of the profit making airports to the private sector in the name of modernization and reconstruction, specially when the Airports Authority of India possesses the proven capability for this task. 11.349 The Committee also learnt that the Government was planning to hand over 15 more profit making airports to private parties in the name of constructing green field airports. The Committee noted that the greenfield airports that were proposed to be handed over to private parties were largely being financed by Airports Authority of India, concerned State Governments and also by Indian Financial Institutions. The Committee wondered, if the private players could manage the necessary resources within India, why could't the Airports Authority of India was allowed to pursue the same business strategy. In 2006, when the Delhi and Mumbai Airports were being allowed to be modernized/expanded through PPP mode, the Airports Authority of 257
India had submitted a plan with lesser time frame for the modernization of these airports. However, these were turned down for unknown reasons. The Committee felt that had the Government agreed to this proposal of the Airports Authority of India, the Mumbai and Delhi Airports would have been completed by this time. The Committe did not agree to the Government's logic that the modernization of airports could be done only through privatization. It was a wrong and misplaced assumption. Airports, assuming important role in our economy as they were, the Committee felt, must be under strong public regulation, if not under direct public control to ensure that unfair monopolistic practices did not become rampant. Internationally, most successful examples of airport management were known to have retained over all public control even while outsourcing some particular activities to private people. For example, many airports had successfully brought in private parties to invest in cargo handling facilities, parking bays, servicing and overhauling facilities, maintaining terminals and so on. However, in India we were handling over the entire airport to the private parties which were in local negation to the best practices available in the world. 11.350 The Committee had learnt that the newly opened Bengaluru and Hyderabad Greenfield airports were reported to have faced decline in short-haul passenger traffic due to the fact that the passengers had to travel a logn distance to reach the airports. the short-haul passengers were opting for other modes of transport like train and road journey. The Committee, therefore, would like to draw the attention of the Government to the recommendation contained in its 131st Report wherein the Committee inter-alia had recommended that the old airports at Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports should be made operational. The Action Taken Report from the Government, however, was awaited. Meanwhile, the Committee came to know that the Ministry of Civil Aviation asked the BIAL to made arrangements to increase its capacity in the next eight months as the construction of the second terminal would take three years. It would, therefore be a better option to augment the capacity by restarting the functioning of existing HAL airport. In order to ensure that the wide winged aircraft be accommodated properly at the Greenfield airports, the Government can take a policy decision to allow the small aircraft and ATRs to operate from the existing airports. The Committee, therefore, once gain called upon the Ministry of Civil Aviation to take necessary steps to ensure that the existing airports at Hyderabad and Bengaluru were kept functional. 11.351 The Committee noted that this approach of the Planning Commission and the Government was privatizing terminal buildings and other airport operations that were being managed, hitherto, by the Airports Authority of India, was knowingly or unknowingly, benefiting the private agencies. The Committee was constrained to say that the Government and the Planning Commission appeared to be least concerned about passenger comfort and the operational efficiency of the airports. The Committee strongly recommended that while modernizing the airports, care should be taken not to involve multiple agencies for maintenance and operations of the terminal building. The Committee was of the view that the leading airport infrastructure provider, the Airports Authority of India, should have a better say in the modernization of airports in the country. Any further move to offer the airport terminals to the private persons through PPP mode would definitely affect the profits as well as the morale of a premier organization like the Airports Authority of India. Another problem would be the fate of the people working in the organization. More than 80% of the employees of Airports Authority of India in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad were waiting for their transfer to some other places due to privatization of these airports, and only a few of them had decided to join the Joint Venture Companies. Though the lease of terminals in the non-metro airports on PPP mode may fill the coffers of Government, it would definitely make a negative impact on the employees of AAI. 11.352 The Committee noted the statement made by the representatives of the Ministry of Civil Aviation that a decision on handling over the terminal buildings in non-metro airports to private parties had not been finalized so far. The Committee, therefore, recommended that in view of economy of scale, operational convenience and as also in national and public interest, the views of the AAI be seriously considered before taking any decision in this regard. 11.353 Aircraft had to hover around due to congestions at the airports; passengers had to face lot of inconveniences due to traffic jam at the airports, lack of basic amenities for the passengers at the terminals; number of accidents reported due to congestion at the runways etc. were some of the problems which came to the notice of the Committee as regards the Mumbai and Delhi airports. The Committee observed that the lack of vision and proper planning were the main causes of these problems. The Committee felt that the lack of coordination between the governmental agencies and the private developers was also largely responsible for 258 aggravating the problems at both the airports. The Committee hoped that the lessons learnt from the experiences of Mumbai and Delhi airports in these regards, would be helpful in ensuring that in future such problems did not recur elsewhere. 11.354 The Committee noted that the decision to modernize/expand the major airports in the country upto 2010 was taken by the Government of India on 10th December, 2004. The Committee found that the modernization of airports at Kolkata and Chennai, and other 35 non-metro airports had been delayed unduly. Certain basic policy decisions were yet to be taken in 2008, not to speak of the final go ahead. In the light of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the Committee noted that approval for Joint Venture Companies or Private Companies, were quick and prompt as compared to these relating to the Public Sector Undertakings. Inordinate delays had happened in the cases relating to the airports to be undertaken by the Airport Authority of India. 11.355 The Committee observed that clearances were to be taken from various agencies at different stages to finalize an infrastructure project. First, there was a Committee on Infrastructure chaired by the Prime Minister to approve various infrastrucutre projects. This Committee was a high powered committee consisting of some cabinet ministers and representatives of Planning Commission. Thereafter, there was the Inter Ministerial Group headed by Secretary Ministry of Civil Aviation to finalize the details of the Projects. The IMG consisted of representatives of various ministries and Planning Commission. Thirdly, there was the Task Force on finalizing Financing Plan for Airports that was chaired by a Member Planning Commission. Then, there was the Public Investment Board, headed by the Secretary Department of expenditure and it consisted of representatives of various Ministries. Then there was a pre-PIB meeting to finalize the proposals. The PIB considered investment proposals of the Central Goverment Ministries in regard to their Public Sector Undertakings. It acted as final "appraisal agency" and processed the notes for the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) that was the final approval authority. 11.356 Till now these agencies could not arrive at a decision on modernisation of Chennai, Kolkata and non-metro airports. Every passing day, the cost overrun of the projects would run into crores and problems of infrastructure squeeze would further aggravate. 11.357 The Committee noted that modernization projects have to go through several stages. While the Committee did not question the involvement of so many agencies in processing the proposals, it felt that the time taken by each one can certainly be cut to a large extent. The persons handling different bodies/agencies were generally officers who were very hard pressed for time and, therefore, more often than not, they were unable to spare time frequently. In this time-taking process, projects got delayed leading to massive cost-time overruns. 11.358 The Committee recommended that final sanction for the modernization of Chennai, Kolkata and the Non-metro airports should be given without any delay. 11.359 In this connection, the Committee would like to refer to 58th Report presented to the Parliament on the 24th April, 2002 in which the Committee had inter-alia recommended that the ongoing and developmental activities at the four metro airports should not be kept in abeyance and should be allowed to proceed as per the earlier time schedule. The Committee, thereafter, repeatedly recommended in its 69th, 78th, 88th and 90th reports that the process of modernization of Kolkata and Chennai airports should be undertaken expeditiously. But sadly, the process of development of airports could be started in the year 2006 and that too by constituting committees after committees to look into the matter. The Government appeared to have adopted a very routine and lackadaisical approach without any sense of urgency in developing airports in the country. In the meantime, it opened the Indian skies to private operators which resulted in chaos and confusion at the existing airports that were not able to meet the spurt in passenger influx. 11.360 The Committee felt that modernization of Chennai, Kolkata and non-metro airports should be completed as per the schedule as any further delay would hamper the development of civil aviation sector. The Committee hoped that the Government would coordinate the activities of various organizations involved in this process to avoid any further blame game on this issue. The Committee also emphasized the greater deal of coordination with the respective State Governments as without their role it would not be an easy task to complete the modernization programme in time. 259
(p) 142nd Report 11.361 The Committee recommended that the Government should ensure that the Greenfield Airports at Bengaluru and Hyderabad should provide basic facilities to the drivers and passengers and stoped the entries from charging exorbitant prices. Private airlines had to cough up hefty amounts for parking bays and aerobridges, security charges, lounge rentals, telephone rentals and other facilities at the new airports. 11.362 The parking charges for vehicles were also quite heavy at the new airports. At Bengaluru, it was Rs. 40/- per hour and Rs. 20/- per additional hours. The Committee was surprised to know that at Hyderabad airport, a vehicle while entering the airport for dropping or picking up a passenger had to pay Rs. 35/- per trip. The Committee noted that space earmarked for passengers seating areas was inadequate and numbers of seats were also not adequate, causing inconvenience to the passengers during peak times. This was to because much of the airport space had been let out the commercial use and given to shopping outlets and F&B outlets. There was conspicuous absence of lounges at therse airports. There was a need for creation of additional reserved longe for VIPs and passengers. To help and guide the passenger at these airports, there should be round-the-clock help service at these airports. There were inadequate facilities provided for free drinking water at these airports. More drinking water fountains should be installed. The emergency medical facilities for treatment of the passengers in case of sudden illness should be in place in all the new airports as had been done at the new Hyderabad airport. 11.363 The Committee recommended that the flight delayed or cancelled must be reported to passengers well in time to avoid hardships to the passengers. The baggage handling process should be strengthened so as to reduce the baggage delivery time and hardship to the passengers. Apron driving discipline should be maintained to avoid any accident on apron and staff should be given proper training for the driving skills and behaviors. There should be integration of air and ground surveillance information along with flight related data to enhance air travel safety and efficient air traffic management. 11.364 The Committee learnt that it was discouraging for the short-haul passengers to take air travel after the new airports. A higher User Development Fee (UDF) was being charged by the new airport developers from the passengers. The user development fee added with high taxi/bus fares due to long distances, compel the passengers to use other means of transport such as road and trains for the short distance destinations. This had, in fact rendered the air travel from these airports added with high ATF prices, just prohibitive. 11.365 The Committee noted that the Task force on Financing Plan for airports (July 2006) had recommended that the users should not be burdened with ADF/UDF for financing at the airport projects. This was particularly important in the context of the policy objective to made civil aviation a mass, rather than an elitist model of travel and to made air travel more affordable. After taking into account various aspects and the above recommendations of the Task Force the Committee felt that the imposition of UDF on passengers was a retrograde step contravening the Task Force recommendations and recommended that the UDF imposed on passengers may be withdrawn immediately and no more UDF may be imposed on passengers in any of the airports. 11.366 The Committee noted that the Government of India appeared to be unconcerned about the obligation of BIAL to construct and provided an airport as per the concession agreement. Even the area and capacity were not verified before permitting to open new and closing HAL Airport. This appeared to be an irregularity committed by Government of India in this matter. 11.367 The Committee noted that hundreds of crores of rupees were spent for developing infrastructure at the old airports at Bengaluru and Hyderabad but it was lying unutilized due to the closure of airports for commercial purposes. Another interesting thing brought to the notice of the Committee was that the old airports, the HAL Airport and Begumpet airport, were being used for operation of VIP flights, Non-schedule Flights. General Aviation. Helicopter-Taxis, etc. During the deliberations of the Committee the Airports Authority of India reported that there was absolutely no problem in opening up two airports simultaneously in a city. The Committee therefore, recommended that the old airports of Hyderabad and Bengaluru may be used exclusively for short haul flights which were operating from the nearby airports. 11.368 The Committee also noted that the closure of HAL airport led to loss of jobs due to reduction of flights and due to closure of airlines operators. Thousands of direct and indirect workers also lost their jobs, 260 this also included trolley retrievers, small time vendors, taxi drivers, auto drivers, loaders etc. Despite the assurances given by the BIAL and HIAL managements, they had not been accommodated in the new airports. The Committee, therefore, recommended that all those people who were directly or indirectly affected due to closure of the HAL airport and Begumpet Airport may be given preference and suitably accommodated at the new Green field Airports. 11.369 The Committee was of the opinion that the HAL Airport was most convenient for common public due to it being situated closer to the City Centre, easy accessibility and availability of multi-mode transport options like Bus, Auto, Taxis, even 2-wheeler, etc. HAL Airport, therefore, would be more convenient and economical for public compared to BIAL due to absence of UDF and less transportation cost due to multiple modes and shorter distance. Less time in coming and going from the airport was also important aspect in this regard. 11.370 The Committee further recommended that the old airports may be made operational for short-haul passengers. Moreover, this was the practice being followed in many of the major cities in the world wherein more than one airport existed. There was no reason or justification for keeping the hundreds of crores of worth infrastructure at the old airports idle just to be used for VIP and other flights. 11.371 The Committee noted that the closure of HAL Airport was not mentioned in the tender for Bengaluru Greenfield Airport. Naturally, all the parties who participated in the tender process would have made their offers on this basis only. Making an offer of Closure of HAL Airport, after the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT), appeare to be a clear violation of the due process. 11.372 As regards the restriction on having another airport within 150 kms of existing airport, granting permission to start a new Greenfield airport within that radium prime facie seems to be in violation of the Government policy on airport infrastructure. 11.373 The pronounced policy also stated that if an airport was allowed within an aerial distance of 150 kms of an existing airport, a passenger sharing formula had to be evolved. In the present case, the Government not only allowed the new airports to come up within a distance of 150 kms but also closed down the existing profit-making airports, not to speak of passenger sharing formula. 11.374 The Committee noted some merit in these arguments made by the representatives of AAEU. It also felt that the closure of old airports at Bengaluru and Hyderabad appeared to have been done in haste. It was no doubt deprives the AAI a good amount of revenue that it needed to cross-subsidize airports in remote areas. 11.375 The Committee noted that commercial civil aviation activities were continuing in the Bengaluru HAL Airport with the consent of the management of BIAL and Government of India, whereas the Concession Agreement and the notification issued by the Government of India clearly prohibited any commercial aviation activity. This showed that if the Government wanted, they could operationalise the old airports notwithstanding the Concession Agreement. The Committee was of the considered view that HAL Airport at Bengaluru and Begumpet Airport at Hyderabad may be made operational for domestic civil aviation. 11.376 The Committee noted that the Government had taken shelter of Section 5A of Aircraft Act 1934 to close down HAL airport. However, Section 5A talked of closing of any airport when there was danger to the aircraft/country. The above reason was totally irrelevant for the instance case. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should revisit various provision of the Concession Agreement to ensure that all the illegalities, etc. were removed from it that were creating all kind of misgivings in the people's mind. 11.377 The Committee noted that the NOC for setting up of Bengaluru Greenfield Airport by Ministry of Defence made it amply cleared that the operations of HAL Airport Bengaluru would continue even after the BIAL becomes functional and the choice of airport to be utilized should be left to the operators/commuters/ general public. Same was true about the license issued to BIAL by the Director-General, Civil Aviation. In terms of Notification dated the 16th May, 2008, the HAL Airport stood closed for commercial operations. However, it was still being used for chartered flights, air taxi services and VIP flights. The Committee failed to understand that in such a situation, how the losses being incurred by the HAL Airport would be compensated as desired by the Ministry of Defence while issuing NOC for the new airport at Bengaluru. 11.378 The Committee noted that the equity contribution of the consortium of private companies in BIAL was only Rs. 240/- crores. The rest of the financing had come from State support, AAI, Government of Karnataka 261 and by way of debt from financial institutions. The land was also given on a concessional rate. The same was the case with HIAL also. The equity contribution of the private companies was around Rs. 330/- crores. The rest of the finance had come from Government agencies and by way of debt from financial institutions. The Committee noted that with the kind of resources and expertise that the Airports Authority of India had, these airports could have been easily developed and operated by the Airports Authority of India itself. 11.379 The Committee was, therefore, of the view that being leading airport infrastructure provider, the Airports Authority of India which had got the resources and expertise should have a better say in the modernization of airports in the country. The Committee recommended that any future Greenfield airports or Brownfield airports project must be done under the management of Airport Authority of India JVCs could be formulated but the Airport Authority of India must have a majority holding in the company and management control must rest with it. 11.380 The Government should take adequate and essential steps to equip the airports which were 30 to 40 minutes flying time from the major airports to meet any exigencies. The Committee was of the view that this problem could be solved if the Government expedites development/modernization of non-metro airports. 11.381 This issue had now become more relevant in the context of current crisis faced by airlines that was largely attributed to high cost of ATF. It was sad that airlines were resorting to retrenchment of their staff. The Committee hoped that Government would take adequate steps to see that civil aviation sector was not affected and young trained manpower did not get desperate. With regard to the problem of high price of ATF, the Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation in its 138 report which inter-alia stated that— "The Committee while appreciating the steps taken by the State Governments of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in reducing the Sales Tax on ATF from 32% to 4% recommended that the Ministry pursue this long standing issue with other State Governments so that unformity of tax on ATF could be maintained. Since the Cost of fuel was an important component of cost structure, reduction in taxes on ATF would definitely have a positive impact on the airfares. The Committee once again recommended that Ministry of Finance should sympathetically consider and give approval to the proposal of Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding notifying ATF as 'Declared Good' under Section 14 of Central Sales Tax Act on priority basis to all the aircrafts so that sales tax on ATF could be contained within the maximum rate of 4 per cent. The Committee further recommended that the Ministry of Finance may also discuss the issue with the State Governments and try to persuade them to reduce the sales tax on ATF. The Committee was of the opinion that the success of the concept of low cost carrier mainly depended on the taxation of ATF which was very much on the higher side. The Committee felt that reduction in airfares would bring more new passengers to the airports." 11.382 The Committee recommended that the women employees should not be relocated to other cities. They may be given employment with the same or better terms and conditions by MIAL as they were enjoying with AAI. AAI may introduce a V.R.S. which is acceptable to the employees. 11.383 The Committee noted with concern that some of the provisions of OMDA appeared to violate Clauses 12 and 18 of the Airports Authority of India Act 1994. The Clause 18 provided that the employees posted at the subject airport would continue to enjoy the same terms and conditions of employment while Clause 12 covered all the services of operations as well as non operations. The Committee understood that the plea of the employees working at these two airports was that they should be allowed to continue their employment at the same station of posting as per the contract of service issued on the date of appointment by AAI without altering any service conditions by the Principal Employer. The provisions framed in the said AAI Act did not provide any option to transfer the employees from one employer to another as such the OMDA executed was not binding upon the employees. 11.384 The Committee was of view that no arbitrary agreement namely OMDA/Concession Agreement could supersede the provisions of the Parliament Act. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Governments to review all the provisions incorporated in the OMDA and made suitable provisions to accommodate all these employees of Airports Authority of India at their respective places of work, as had been done in Delhi Vidyut Board wherein the employees of the organization had been retained in BSES, Delhi on the same terms of employment enjoyed by them prior to privatization. 262
11.385 The Committee recommended that MIAL should give preference to the casual labourers working in the Airport for future employment. In one form or the other, they should be accommodated by MIAL. 11.386 The Committee also desired that a dedicated police post should be stationed at the airport and the members of the police department assigned to the MIAL airport as their normal patrol area for effective security. The Government should ensure that the private operator of MIAL should provide adequate land at suitable locations outside the Airport for construction of Police Post. 11.387 The Committee noted that one of the basic purposes of handing over the modernization task of Mumbai and Delhi airports to the Joint Venture Company was to complete it within the given time limit. However, the Committee felt that JVC had not been able to meet the time frame as mentioned in the agreement to complete various modernization projects (mandatory projects) and such projects were running behind schedule. The Committee recommended, the Government to institutionalize the monitoring mechanism to avoid delays and cost over runs in the execution of the projects at Mumbai and Delhi airports. 11.388 The Committee noted that the airlines and passengers were the main sources of revenues for airport developers at Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi and with rising fares and cost cutting across the sector, developers were pruning infrastructure plan and opting for ways to cut cost and install low priced facilities. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the developers in these airports should be restrained from charging user development fee and the Government should not agree to it. The airport operators may be directed to implement the modernization plan as per the agreements within the scheduled time limit instead of concentrating on revenue earning from commercial activities. 11.389 The Committee while visiting the Mumbai and Delhi airports had noticed the poor state of affairs at the airports as a problem leading to crowded terminal, sitting space was inadequate, passengers were left searching for trolleys, food articles were sold over and above the MRP, lack of basic amenities/canteen facilities, higher charges towards security, lounge rental, aviation services, parking, telephone and other facilities, no residential space for the ATC staff, no co-ordination with the user agencies and airport operators, no round the clock help service was available, delay in execution of building projects at Mumbai and Delhi, inadequate inter- terminal passenger transportation facilities and airlines were not finding space for parking bays in the airport terminal and charges for this were very high. 11.390 The Committee observed that due to lack of adequate civic utilities like toilets, drinking water fountains etc. outside arrival/departure hall of the entire four airports, passenger/tourists experienced difficulties. There was also lack of toilet facility at car/taxi parking area outside the Airports. The Committee observed that Airport Operators should not ignore the needs of such people. The Committee recommended that toilet and drinking water facilities should be provided outside the arrival/departure lounge and parking areas in order to avoid inconvenience to the passengers and co-passengers. 11.391 Some instances of impolite behaviour with the passengers at the airports were brought to the notice of the Committee. This type of behaviour did not go well with the tourists and created an unpleasant atmosphere. The Committee desired that officials deputed at the airport, should strictly be asked to be courteous and polite with the passengers particular, the tourist from other countries. The officials deputed at the airport and dealing with the passengers/tourists should be more careful, polite, helpful and tourist friendly. 11.392 The Committee recommended that a coordination mechanism may be evolved for regular interaction among various stakeholders of Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport with representation from agencies such as MIAL, Airports Authority of India, Employees Unions of Airports Authority of India, various airlines etc. This mechanism would iron out differences among the stakeholders of the Airport and would enable smooth functioning of the airport. 11.393 The Committee, after visiting the airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad and after considering the facts and information made available to it in respect of modernization and development of private airports as well as closure of HAL and Begumpet airports, had gained impression that had all the processes and procedures been done in far more transparent and acceptable manner, most of the objections and controversies could have been avoided. Right from arranging finances for participating joint venture companies, giving thousands acres of land on concessional rates and allowing them to use the land commercially, signing OMDA and Concession Agreements favourable to JVCs and closure of existing airports, etc. were 263 some of the areas about which there were lot of misgivings in the minds of people and media kept writing about these. 11.394 Besides, the Airports Authority of India, advertently or inadvertently, appeared to not being given its due. Even though, ATC operations of all the airports were still with them, the closure of HAL and Begumpet airports and placing Airports Authority of India virtually at the mercy of the management of private airports, spoke a lot about it. The manner in which the Concession Agreement and OMDA were signed had also invited wide criticism and these were alleged to have violated the existing policies, guidelines, norms, rules, etc. The Committee felt that there appears to be some truth in the apprehensions that were being raised against the Government in the entire exercise of privatizing the airports, developing the Greenfield airports and the related matters. The committee expected that the Government of the day to provide convincing explanation to all the points rose in this report to clear the apprehensions that were being flown thick and wide. It was for the Government to clarify the entire matter. (q) 143rd Report 11.395 The Committee noted that as per the recommendations of the Committee, the Department of Shipping had requested the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance for providing Rs. 68971.48 crore as per original proposal for the entire Eleventh Plan. The Committee felt that if the Department had to achieve the growth targets then the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance should consider to allocate the projected outlay. 11.396 The Committee noted the reply and desired to have the expenditure pattern of the Department of Shipping for the year 2007-08 and 2008-09 upto December, 2008 to ascertain the progress of fiscal management, utilization of budgetary allocation and the details of the physical and financial target set for achieving the progress. The Committee recommended that for better physical and financial monitoring of the projects, the Department should strengthen its own monitoring mechanism in a well coordinated manner at apex level to achieve optimum utilization of funds. 11.397 The Committee noted that the Department of Shipping had taken up the matter with the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance for removal of procedural hurdles in the preparation and clearance of project proposals. The Committee did not see any difficulty in the Government establishing a single high powered agency for quick clearance of projects proposals for the Shipping and Port Sectors with a view to address the procedural hurdles and administrative delays. The Committee therefore, recommended the Department to pursue the matter with the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance for setting up of the single high powered Committee for the progressive functioning of the Shipping and Port Sector. 11.398 The Committee noted that as per its recommendation the Department had taken steps for augmenting capacity building schemes at major Ports for the Eleventh Plan. The Committee recommended the Department to remove the bottlenecks and provide facilitative and legislative support to encourage the private sector investments for major capacity upgradation infrastructure projects at all major Ports. 11.399 The Committee was perturbed to note the slow progress of most of the various ongoing/sanctioned railway-road connectivity projects at the major Ports. It also constrained to note that the connectivity projects in the Ports of Paradip, Tuticorin, Kandla, Kolkata, Mormugao, Haldia, Mumbai, Ennore and Cochin were either lagging behind schedule or the work was not awarded for implementation. The Committee recommended the Department to pursue the matter with the Ministry of Railways and the Department of Road Transport and Highways for timely completion of the various projects. 11.400 The Committee noted that the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) was regulating the various activities at the Major Ports only. The Committee however had recommended to set a regulatory authority to regulate the shipping and port sector and not for major ports only and wish to had the opinion of the Government in this regard. 11.401 The Committee noted that the Department had formulated a scheme for clearing the unpaid arrears to pensioners, workers and employees of Calcutta Dock Labour Board on the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries. However, the Committee recommended the Department to release payments of pension and pensionary dues to the employees of the CDLB at the earliest. The Committee of Secretaries should also be pursued to review its decision and allow financial assistance to KoPT in the form of grants instead of loans. 264
11.402 The Committee noted that as per its recommendation the Cabinet approved the Cruise Shipping Policy for the growth of cruise shipping in the country. The Committee hoped that with the implementation of the Policy, a sustained and structured growth for the sector could be achieved. 11.403 The Committee noted that a group was constituted to go into the problems of multiplicity of taxes being faced by the shipping industry and its report had been submitted to the Government. The Committee also noted that based upon the recommendation of the report, the Department was consistently making efforts for extension of fiscal incentives to Indian Shipping Industry which were adversely impacting the growth of the shipping sector with the Ministry of Finance. The Committee recommended the Department to vigorously follow up the matter for rationalization of taxes ailing the shipping sector with the Ministry of Finance at the apex level. 11.404 The Committee noted that the Department was actively considering proposals for enhancement in intake and augmenting existing training facilities to ensure quality in Maritime Education and Training. The Committee recommended the Department to make endeavour to address the continuing shortage of maritime human resources by setting up new institutes in this field. 11.405 The Committee noted that a draft Cabinet Note for Rehabilitation-cum-Financial Restructuring of Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam had been circulated to various appraising Ministries/Departments/ Agencies. The Committee recommended the Department to pursue the matter with all the apprising agencies for obtaining their comments at the earliest for placing before the Cabinet for a final decision. 11.406 The Committee noted the reply of the Department that while transferring Hindustan Shipyard Limited to the Ministry of Defence the interest of the employees of HSL and the pending dues of the retired employees would be taken care of. 11.407 The Committee noted that a final cabinet note for granting Rehabilitation-cum-Restructuring package of Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Limited had been sent for consideration and approval of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The Committee recommended the Department to follow-up the matter for grant of Rehabilitation-cum-Restructuring Package to HDPEL so that the financial health of the Company could be sustained. 11.408 The Committee noted the measure adopted by the Department for the growth of IWT sector in the country. It also noted that a taskforce had been functioning in the Department to review the progress of IWT projects on quarterly basis. The Committee recommended the Department to remove the procedural bottlenecks which causes the delay in approval and execution of the projects so that the physical and financial targets could be achieved in a big way. 11.409 The Committee noted that the Department of Shipping had prepared an Action Plan to make the existing three National Waterways fully functional by providing a threshhold level of required infrastructure namely fairway, terminals and navigational aid and these were at various stages of implementation. The Committee, however, once again recommended the Department to provide institutional framework and basic infrastructural facility for accelerated development of Inland Water Transport sector in the country. 11.410 The Committee noted with dismay that the infrastructure required to make the total transport cost competitive from origin to destination using IWT mode was yet to be developed namely fairway for safe and unhindered navigation, terminals with mechanical loading/unloading and aids for 24 hrs. navigation. It however, noted that the utilization of the National Waterways for transportation of cargo was expected to increase significantly after completion of the implementation of Action Plan and demonstration vessel runs. The targets for cargo transportation on three existing National Waterways had already been envisaged in the action plan. The Committee further noted that a study has been awarded to National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) for comparison of the cost and benefits of inland waterways transportation with the alternative modes. The Committee recommended the Department to provide adequate investment, policy framework and focused approached for development of these existing national waterways for making them commercially viable. The Committee would like to be apprised about the details of study report. 11.411 The Committee noted the reply that the Department had not experienced any problem in respect of security arrangement in the Sunderbans/protocol routes. However, the Committee recommended the Department to took up the matter for strengthening the security arrangements as depth areas which were not under the BSF 265 operations, with the State police, coast guard and custom officials in the Sunderban/protocol routes, for safe transportation of men and material. 11.412 The Committee was perturbed to note that despite being recommended by the Committee a number of times the Government had not taken steps to improve the financial health of the CIWTC. The Committee did not agree with the Government that with the disinvestment of CIWTC, the role and activities of CIWTC would not be affected. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended the Department to conduct a feasibility study for merger of CIWTC with other organizations such as IWAI, KoPT or SCI for the holistic development of inland water transport. 11.413 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and hoped that the process of procurement of additional/new vessels initiated by the A&N and Lakshadweep Administrations would be completed well in time. The Committee recommended the Department to prepare perspective plan for acquisition of vessels for mitigating the problems of connectivity between the mainland and islands.
(r) 144th Report 11.414 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and hoped that the expenditure pattern would be sustained at the same level for this year also. As far as the monitoring of ongoing road projects was concerned, the Committee noted that a Committee of Secretaries had been constituted to address inter-ministerial and Centre-State issues which impede the progress of work. 11.415 The Committee noted that the Department had left the larger issue of huge growth in number of vehicles and poor road infrastructure unanswered. If felt that shortage of funds to the roads sector should not dampen the resolve of the Government to evolve mechanism for reducing the mismatch between the availability of the road infrastructure and vehicular population. 11.416 The Committee was distressed to note that the much publicized NHDP Phase II started in the year 2003 was still lingering on for one reason or the other. Completion of just 1740 kms out of the approved 6161 kms after five years under the phase II present a pathetic picture of this project. The Committee felt that such a slow progress was not going to yield the desired result in the road sector. Due to poor and bad shape, our national highways were not in a position to bear the rising number of vehicles. The Committee also hoped that at least the ongoing road projects of NHAI such as the grade separator at Badarpur Border relaed to Commonwealth Games 2010 in the capital region would be completed in time. 11.417 The Committee noted the reply of the Department. Though the Department had furnished the information on the number of projects approved/sanctioned for the last four years but it had not furnished the information on the status of various ongoing projects under these heads. The Committee desired to have the information on the status of various road projects as these roads play a vital role in providing inter-state connectivity and also link to cities which were economically important. 11.418 The Committee felt that progress of works in North-East should have been furnished to the Committee. It, however, hoped that the the availability of sufficient funds under that head, the executing agencies would be able to complete the projects under thier disposal in time. 11.419 The Committee was at loss to see that the issue of under reporting of cess collected on fuel had not received the importance that was deserved neither by the Department nor by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It was a very serious issue. The Department should submit a note on this issue for its consideration within a month of the presentation of the report. 11.420 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and desired that the requisite additional funds to the States from the CRF may be considered so that maintenance of roads did not suffer. 11.421 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and hoped that the Planning Commission would give timely approval to the scheme of setting up Road Safety Clubs. 11.422 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and recommended that more funds should be allocated for imparting training to drivers. Further, monitoring of NGOs by way of obtaining utilization certificates may be enforced. 11.423 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and hoped that the revised scheme of Model 266
Driver Training School would be formulated on priority and the Committee may be appraised about the new scheme once it was approved. 11.424 The Committee recommended that all the 13 schools should be operational at the earliest and other States may be persuaded to set up the schools. 11.425 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and hoped that the Department would give due importance to road safety equipments and pollution control instruments while finalizing its BE for the year 2009-10. 11.426 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and opined that the National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board was the need of the hour and Department of Road Transport was requested to pursue the case with the EFC and saw that the formalities regarding having such a Board were completed quickly. 11.427 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and desired to know the yardstick with the Department for fixing the user fees on national highways. The Department was also silent on the issue of creation of a revolving fund for financing of major road projects. The Committee expected the Department to came out with some practical solutions to do away with the user fee which was being imposed on the traveling public on the national highways.
(s) 145th Report 11.428 The Committee noted that as per the recommendation of the Committee the Ministry of Tourism had requested the Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission for providing Rs. 6569.61 crore (20% basis) as per original proposal for the 11th Five Year Plan. The Committee again called upon the Ministry to pursue with the Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission for allocating the projected outlay. The Committee hoped that with the allocation of the projected outlay for the Plan, the Ministry would be able to fully exploit the tourism potentials besides developing tourist infrastructure in the country. 11.429 The Committee noted the reply and desired to have the expenditure pattern of the Ministry for the year 2007-08 and 2008-09 upto December, 2008 to ascertain the progress of fiscal management, utilization of budgetary allocation and the details of the physical and financial target set for achieving the progress. The Committee desired that for better physical and financial monitoring of the projects sanctioned by the Ministry, proper coordination with States/Union Territories may also be maintained through review meetings and site visits from time to time. 11.430 The Committee felt that waiting unduly long for utilization certificates would unncessarily delay the infrastructure projects and thereby creation of assets for tourism infrastructure development. The Committee therefore, recommended the Ministry to evolve a more efficient mechanism for the utilization of funds and obtaining the Utilization Certificate. The Committee further recommended that proper coordination with States/ Union territories should also be maintained for the purpose. 11.431 the Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism was making efforts with the State Government to identify the sites/location for the development of mega destination and circuits. The Committee also noted that the Ministry was making efforts for better coordination and convergence of the resources with other Government schemes so as to increase the flow of investment in these mega circuits/destination. The Committee felt that a more consistent and proactive approach in vigorous marketing of product needed to provide quality tourism infrastructure in the country. We would have to give added impetus to this effort which was yet to show the desired impact. The Committee recommended the Ministry to pursue the matter with other Ministries and the State Governments in that regard. 11.432 The Committee felt that the number of sanctioned 128 rural tourism sites in 27 States was very less that needs to be increased to cover all the States/UTs. Besides, the status of these projects, amounts released and utilized so far and number of projects pending and completed were not known to the Committee for each State. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry should furnish those information to the Committee and attach priority by allocating funds for the rural tourism projects for each State and the villages should be identified for priority development. The Committee felt that such a scheme could better work by involving the local bodies and by community participation in the management. 267
11.433 The Committee noted that Ministry of Tourism had been in regular touch with the State Governments and the various Land Owning Agencies to allocate land on joint venture/revenue sharing basis and also to provide incentives and benefits to augment the growth of the accommodation in the country. The Committee also noted that a Task Force on creation of additional accommodation for the Commonwealth Games had been actively pursuing with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Railways for exploring the possibility of construction of hotels on their surplus land. However, the Committee was disappointed to note that nothing had concretized till now and the Committee was not satisfied with the pace of progress for attending to the shortage of accommodation particularly in the wake of the ensuing Commonwealth Games 2010. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry should act fast for creation of additional rooms and pursue the matter with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Railways for construction of hotels on the surplus land. 11.434 The Committee noted with satisfaction that the "Incredible India Bed and Breakfast Scheme" had been launched allover the country and the Government of NCT of Delhi had been providing some concessions and incentives in terms of tariffs and taxes to attract the home owners for joining the scheme. The Committee also noted that the Ministry of Tourism had requested all State Governments and UTs to consider granting similar incentives to Bed and Breakfast establishments. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to pursue the matter with the concerned State Governments for passing similar incentives and concessions to the home owners who joined the Scheme to help solve the accommodation problem. The Committee also desired the Ministry to give adequate publicity with location of the units in the print and electronic media for benefit of the tourists. Efforts be made for creating an electronic database about this having link with the website concerned. 11.435 The Committee noted that the Ministry had sanctioned setting up of 9 new state IHMs and 5 new Food Craft Institutes in the country. The Committee felt that the step taken by the Ministry was not adequate to address the continuing shortage of trained manpower in the tourism sector. The Committee was of the view that till the time these institutes would become functional, the demand and supply gap might further widen. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry to come forward with a comprehensive plan/policy which could adequately address the shortage of trained manpower in the tourism sector. 11.436 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism was augmenting infrastructure of the existing training institutes in the country besides opening more such training institutes in the private hands. The Committee was however, concerned with the quality of the hospitality education imparted by the privately managed institutes and recommended the Ministry to ensure that all these private IHMs were affiliated to the NCHMCT, besides ensuring proper infrastructure and faculty. 11.437 The Committee noted that as per its recommendation the Cabinet had approved the Cruise Shipping Policy for the growth of cruise tourism in the country. The Committee recommended that all efforts may be made for formulation of appropriate fiscal regime at the earliest. The Committee hoped that with the implementation of the policy, a sustained and structured growth for the sector could be thought of. 11.438 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism was pursing the matter with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for achieving reorganization of medical tourism and maintaining synergy between tour operators and hospitals in the country. The Committee recommended the Ministry to frame guidelines at the earliest, in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for standardization of medical services in the country. 11.439 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism was revising the existing safety guidelines on Adventure Tourism for providing the Basic Minimum Standards for Adventure Tourism Activities in consultation with State Governments and other stakeholders. The Committee recommended the Ministry to take early action for revising guidelines to incorporate the safety and quality norms for development of Adventure Tourism activities in the country. 11.440 The Committee noted that although the Government had relaxed the permit system in the Arunachal Pradesh to the visiting foreign tourists but for the rest of the North-eastern region and Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands, it had not undertaken a review exercise as suggested by the Committee. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should consider relaxation/withdrawal of permit system as growth of International tourism in a region is based on the easy accessibility of that area to the tourist. 268
11.441 The Committee noted that the Ministry accepted that recommendations of the Committee. The Committee would also like to know the follow-up actions taken by the Ministry to implement the recommendations. The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism was undertaking promotion campaigns under 'incredible India' for creating interest and awareness about the different tourism products of the country in both, domestic and international markets. The Committee reiterated that the Ministry should continue to promote the diverse and varied tourism products in different locations for making India as preferred round the year destination. The promotional material so prepared should be made available to the tourist for their use. 11.442 The Committee noted that the Ministry had sent a letter to all the Service Providers to design tour packages to make domestic tourism a viable, popular and comfortable mode for the tourists. The Committee recommended that the tour and travel operators should be motivated to come out with a customized tour packages which suits to the budget of the tourists. The Committee desired to know the progress made in the matter. 11.443 The Committee noted the reply and recommended the Ministry to release International campaign in overseas market to project India as preferred tourist destination. 11.444 The Committee noted that the Ministry was undertaking promotion and marketing India through integrated campaigns which included print, electronic and online medium to target the up market segment. However, the Committee found no mention in the reply of any remedy to the problem affecting the tourism sector at large such as, tout, sanitation, preservation of monuments and tourist places, treatment of tourists etc. The Commitee recommended the Ministry to explore the way to sensitize/educate the stakeholders and general public in the tourism industry on these scores. 11.445 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism had mooted a proposal to the Department of Road Transport and Highways for improvement of State Roads under the Central Road Fund Scheme. The Committee expressed its concern about large scale of under utilization of CRF by the States/UTs. The Committee recommended the Ministry to expeditiously pursue the matter with the Department of Road Transport and Highways for improvement and upgradation of State Roads which were connecting the tourist destination and circuits including cultural heritage sites. 11.446 The Committee noted that as per its recommendation, the Ministry of Tourism had taken up the issues related to improvement of road, rail and air connectivity with the Ministries of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Railways and Civil Aviation and Planning Commission. The Committee also noted that an Inter- Ministerial Group (IMG) had been constituted under Committee on Infrastructure to look into the issues of connectivity for the growth of tourism in the country. The Committee recommended the Ministry to impress upon the IMG to come out with a perspective plan for proper connectivity of places of tourist interest across the country so as to encourage the visit of the tourist to such places. 11.447 The Committee noted that Ministry of Tourism had taken up the issue of rationalization of Luxury Tax in hotels and VAT on food & beverages and sales tax or Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) and the high rate of taxation on tourist transport vehicles with Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers through Ministry of Finance. The Committee recommended the Ministry to try to evolve consensus on the subject in order to give a further boost to tourism and promote India as a "Value for Money" destination. 11.448 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism had mooted a proposal of granting visa-on- arrival scheme for 18 designated countries and a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) note to the concerned Ministries on the issue of 'Visa-on-Arrival' and 'Long Term Visa' had already been circulated. The Committee felt that with the liberalization of visa regime and introduction of multiple entry long term tourist visas for tourists and implementation of APIS would facilitate tourist arrivals in the country and increase India's share internationally. The Committee recommended the Ministry to impress upon all concerned Ministries for expediting the issue of 'Visa-on-Arrival' and 'Long Term Visa' facilities under intimation to the Committee. 11.449 The Committee noted that the Ministry of Tourism was consistently following up the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations for deploying tourist police in their States at important tourist centres for safety and security of tourists and guidelines had been formulated in consultation with Ministry of Home, Ministry of Defence to form Tourist Security Organization deploying primarily Ex-servicemen. The Committee recommended the Ministry to persuade the remaining States for the formation of tourism police 269 force for ensuring safety and security of the tourist and to curb the rising incidents of cheating, fleecing criminal acts and harassment of foreign tourists including gender absue. 11.450 The Committee noted the Empowered Sub-Committee of the Committee on Infrastructure was looking into the issues affecting the growth of tourism in the country and effecting co-ordination and making decision on the policy matter amongst various Ministries. The Committee however, recommended the Ministry of Tourism to make some institutional arrangement within the Ministry at apex level for better co-ordination and inter-face with other Ministries/Department for development and promotion of tourism in the country.
(t) 146th Report 11.451 The Committee noted that the total expenditure incurred was 90.47% in the plan and 85.66% in non-plan of RE allocation in the year 2007-08. It, however, emphasized the need for achieving total utilization of funds every year. 11.452 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry and wished to know the reasons Ministry of Finance had given for not agreeing to its proposal. The Committee further recommended that the Ministry of Culture may pursue the matter with the ministry of Finance again and presented the case of the Ministry of Culture in an effective way indicating special nature of requirements and seasonal activities undertaken by various organizations of Ministry of Culture. 11.453 The Committee noted the initiatives taken by the Ministry and desired to know that new plan schemes launched by the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry should also endeavour to launch all the schemes as soon as they were approved. 11.454 The Committee noted the initiatives taken by the Ministry and hoped that the intended objectives could be achieved only by proper planning, effective and close monitoring and judicious utilization of resources. 11.455 The Committee appreciated the efforts made by the Ministry to got its schemes examined and reviewed by an expert Committee. It hoped that the Ministry would take all the approvals etc. well in time so that the recommendations of the Ghose Committee were implemented without losing time. 11.456 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry. It would like to have inspection reports submitted by Delhi Circle made during 2008 and 2008. However, it was not satisfied with the efforts made for controlling the cases of vanishing of monuments. Everyday more news about the vanishing of monuments appears. The Ministry had to take stern action against the culprits and sensitize the police Department also so that the things may be taken care at the initial stage itself. The Ministry should also make more documentaries/Ads and make common man aware of our heritage. A centralized Cell should also be created where people could make complaints in case they saw any encroachment. The Committee further recommended that the Government should undertake a survey and enlist all the existing monuments in the country which were not in the list of ASI and State Government but needed protection as heritage. 11.457 The Committee also desired that the work of the sub-Committee should be completed in a time bound manner so that the problem of non-utilization of funds did not arise. The Committee noted that State Level Implementation Committee had been constituted in 15 States, where the National Mission could take up its activities. The Committee hoped that implementation Committee would soon be constituted in the remaining States also. The Committee noted there was substantial progress in compilation of village-wise data on unprotected built heritage. However, the Committee felt that vigorous efforts were required to cover the entire nation. The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities was a long awaited mission and the Ministry should make all out efforts to attain the objectives of mission, in time. 11.458 The Committee felt that efforts made by ASI in expediting the reports needed further impetus. ASI should continue to make vigorous monitoring in proactive manner to get the reports in time bound manner. 11.459 The Committee after going through the reply furnished by the Ministry of Culture, reached to conclusion that the Ministry/ASI had enough power not only to present encroachments but also to get them removed. Now the question arised, why then we had such a large number of encroachments on our protected sites? The Committee would like to be apprised about this aspect to understand exact problem faced in this regard. 270
11.460 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry. The Committee further recommended that the necessary formalities for amending the Ancient Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules, 1959 may be completed at the earliest. 11.461 The Committee wished all success to Archaeological Survey of India in its endeavour to put India on the world map in the field of conservation of monuments. 11.462 The Committee found the expenditure pattern of Anthropological Survey of India skewed at the end of the financial year. 11.463 The Committee noted the reply. The Committee hoped that the efforts by NAI to plan the expenditure to avoid reduction of allocation of funds at RE stage would yield fruitful result in 2008-09. 11.464 The Committee hoped that keeping in view the 100% expenditure by the IGNCA, the Ministry of Finance would allot more funds in the year 2008-09. 11.465 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry and hoped that with the work initiated in the year 2008-09, utilization of the allocation would improve. 11.466 The Committee noted the efforts of the Ministry in strengthening the security aspect of the Museums and recommended that security need to be updated on regular basis to be a step ahead of the culprits. 11.467 The Ministry should make all out efforts to complete the targets in a time bound manner to help in reaching the noble scheme for all. 11.468 The Committee noted the reply and hoped the National Gallery of Modern Art branch at Bangalore would be functional in time and the utilization of funds was as per schedule. 11.469 The Ministry of Culture should strive to incur the expenditure as per the target so that the rush for year end expenditure was avoided. 11.470 The Committee hoped that the first batch of successful candidates must have got placement. The Ministry should keep a database of the placement and get feedback about the course from the passing out students so that it may be modified to meet the actual requirements. The Committee may be apprised about the placement and other feedback. 11.471 The Committee appreciated the efforts made by the Ministry. However, it felt more measures need to be undertaken to popularize folk art tradition through schools and colleges at the grass root level which would help in popularizing the folk art. 11.472 The Ministry of Culture might further take up the matter with the Planning Commision with convincing arguments to continue the scheme as central sector scheme that helped in setting up of cultural complexes for children. 11.473 The Committee noted the details of Annual action Plan of expenditure for Kalashetra and anticipated that the Foundation would be able to spend the amount in judicious manner. 11.474 The Committee noted the efforts made by the Ministry of Culture for documentation of manuscripts. However, it still felt that the Ministry should make all out efforts to expedite the mission in a time bound manner. 11.475 The Committee noted the steps taken by the Ministry and hoped that the State Level Implementation Committee (SLIC) which had been constituted for the purpsoe would start functioning at the earliest and remaining States may be persuaded to form the SLICs. 11.476 The Committee observed that there was need to create awareness by holding mobile exhibitions at various places/outside offices which were frequented by people. If the books were readily available people would be more than happy to purchase at their doorsteps. Mailing list should also be updated and literature be mailed to them on regular basis. The Committee, however, observed only a few States had utilized the fund allocated under SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN for purchasing the Akademi books. The remaining States may be encouraged in this regard. 11.477 The Committee recommends that more State Governments should be involved to open such Kendra's. 271
11.478 The Committee recommends that through regular interaction and constant persuasion, DDA, may be requested to provide the land at the earliest. 11.479 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry and hoped that the budget allocation would help in spreading the activities in an effective manner. 11.480 National School of Drama was playing a very important role in the field of performing art (Drama). The Committee was optimistic that the allocation would be incurred on making the Institute a better place. 11.481 The Committee desired that a copy of the modified terms and conditions may be sent to it for perusal. 11.482. The Committee hoped that the modification in the existing norms would be taken up at the earliest so that the allocated amount was spent and Science Cities reaches all the States in a time bound manner. 11.483 The Committee recommended that additional requirement of funds should be communicated to Ministry of Finance well in time so that the scheme did not suffer. 11.484 The Committee expressed its satisfaction that its recommendation for revision of Recruitment Rules had been accepted. The Committee hoped that the Ministry would take immediate steps to start the recruitment process. 11.485 The Committee desired the Ministry to speed up the process of setting up of the Heritage Site Commission. The Committee may be apprised of the development taking place. 11.486 The Committee hoped that the fund allocated to the North East region during the year 2008-09 would be fully utilized. 11.487 The Committee recommended that full-fledged Excavation Branch should be set up in the North- East to give more concentration in the North-East States. 11.488 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry and desired that the process of appointing such agency for carrying out the study should be expedited for the proper fund utilization. 11.489 The Committee was concerned over the under-utilization of funds and recommends that steps should be taken to ensure better/optimum utilization of funds in the current year. (u) 147th Report 11.490 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry and hoped that the Ministry would impress upon the Planning Commission to release the additional amount of Rs. 45 crores for the airport project at Pakyong, Sikkim so that the project was not delayed for want of funds as with the construction of the new airport in Sikkim, the north-eastern sector would get boost in tourism and trade sector. 11.491 The Committee felt that there was still some space available for the NACIL to improve its performance. The Committee hoped that with the available fleet strength and market network by the merger of erstwhile AI and IA, NACIL could spread its wings to all the corners of the globe by utilizing the aircraftrs, seat sharing agreements and also code share agreements signed with other major airlines optimally. 11.492 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry and seemed no logic in handing over the Nagpur airport to the JVC for a token annual lease rent of Re. 1/- for a period of 30 years and also waivering of stamp duty payable for transferring airport from AAI to the JVC. The Committee was not satisfied with the reasons submitted by the Ministry for the entire episode. The Committee was surprised to see how an airport having the entire requisite infrastructure was being handed over to a JVC through backdoor by simply stating the airport was a loss making one. 11.493 The Committee hoped that modernization of non-metro and other airports would be completed as per their schedule since these airports play a vital role in air connectivity to medium and small towns and also in sharing the traffic burden of metro airports. 11.494 The Committee hoped that with their ambitious expansion plans, the PHHL would be able to exploit untapped market of helicopter tourism which had not gained much attention in the country so far. 272
11.495 The Committee wanted the Ministry to ensure that any amount of expenditure for the development of Centaur Hotel at this stage, serve the purpose as the hotel was waiting for its moment to be bulldozed in view of the Master Plan of IGI airport as planned by the DIAL. 11.496 The Ministry of Civil Aviation, however, had not offered any comments whether the reduction of training period from two years to one year would have any effect on the efficiency of the pilots. 11.497 The Committee expressed its anguish over the relaxation of certain rules for the appointment of DGCA for the benefit of individuals and not for the benefit of aviation security in the country. The Committee felt that the DGCA played pivotal role in providing aviation safety and securty and the head of such institute deserved to have high professional and technical qualifications in the field of aviation security. 11.498 The Committee had further dealt with the matter in its 141st Report. The Committee hoped that Government would send their reply so that the Committee could take stock of the progress in the matter at the time of consideration of Demands for Grants for the year 2009-10. 11.499 The Committee desired that the recommendation should be taken seriously and reiterated that the Ministry of Civil Aviation should endeavour to focus all the available options to reduce the gap between demand and supply of trained pilot and not to restrict themselves by handing over the management of IGRUA to private body. 11.500 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry and hoped that the Ministry of Civil Aviation should impress upon the Ministry of Finance and State Governments to have a uniform taxation on the prices of ATF across the country and make ATF 'Declared goods' so that the tax component of the airfares saw some further reduction in the near future. Annexure-XIII (See Para 11.4) List of Meetings for the year 2008 Sl. Date of Main Items of Agenda Evidence taken, if any Time No. Meeting Devoted 12 3 4 5 1. 10.1.2008 The Committee heard the views of ——— 4. hrs. 15 min. the Secretaries of Departments of (i) Shipping and (ii) Road Transport and Highways, on the Action taken replies furnished by the Depart- ments on the Recommendations/ Observations of the Committee con- tained in its 117th and 118th Re- ports of the Committee on Demands for Grants (2007-2008) of the De- partments of Shipping and Road Transport & Highways. Therafter, the Committee visited Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi (Domestic and Interna- tional) for an on-the-spot study re- lating to amenities available to the tourists/passengers, progress in construction of new terminal and ATC operations at the Airport. 2. 11.1.2008 The Committee heard the views of ——— 3. hrs. 00 min. the (i) Secretaries, Ministry of Tour- ism, Home Affairs & External Affairs on the problems being faced by tour- ists in obtaining visas at Indian Missions/Embassies and (ii) Secre- tary, Ministry of Culture on the Action Taken Replies furnished by Department on the 120th Report of the Committee on Demands for Grants (2007-2008). 3. 18.1.2008 The Committee considered and ——— 1. hrs. 30 min. adopted the draft Report on the Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/observa- tions of the Committtee contained in its (i) 117th Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Depart- ment of Shipping, (ii) 118th Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Department of Road Transport and Highways, and (iii) 120th Re- port on Demands for Grants (2007- 08) of the Ministry of Culture.
273 274
12 3 4 5 4. 31.1.2008 The Committee considered and Secretary, Ministry of Civil 2 hrs. 00 min. adopted the draft Report on the Aviation; National Waterway (Lakhipur- Chairman, Airports Authority Bhanga stretch of the Barak river) of India; and Bill, 2007. Representatives of Delhi Thereafter, the Committee also heard International Airport Pvt. the views of the Secretary, Ministry Ltd. (DIAL) of Civil Aviation, Chairman, Airports Authority of India and representa- tives of DIAL on the Committee’s visit to Indira Gandhi International Airport which was held on 10th Janu- ary, 2008. 5. 7.2.2008 The Committee heard the following Representatives of the: 2. hrs. 00 min. Stakeholders on the Airports (i) Federation of Indian Economic Regulatory Authority of Airlines (FIA) India Bill, 2007: (ii) Airports Authority (i) Representatives of the Federation Employee’s Union; and of Indian Airlines (FIA) (iii) Air Cargo Agents (ii) Representatives of the Airports Association of India. Authority Employee’s Union; and (iii) Representative of the Air Cargo Agents Association of India. 6. 14.2.2008 The Committee heard the views of ——— 1. hrs. 30 min. the Chairman, Airports Authority of India on the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2007. 7. 22.2.2008 The Committee heard the views of ——— 1. hrs. 30 min. Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation on the proposed closure of Begumpet Airport (Hyderabad) and Bangalore Airports and matters re- lated thereto. 8. 4.3.2008 The Committee considered and ——— 45 min. adopted the draft Report on the ‘Closure of Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports and matter re- lated thereto’. 9. 26.3.2008 The Committee took up the examina- Secretaries of the: 4 hrs. 15 min. tion of the Demands for Grants of (i) Department of the (i) Department of Shipping and Shipping and (ii) Ministry of Culture for the year (ii) Ministry of Culture. 2008-09 and heard the views of the Secretary of respective Department/ Ministry on the subject. 10. 27.3.2008 The Committee took up the examinat- Secretaries of the: 4 hrs. 3.5 min. ion of the Demands for Grants of the (i) Department of (i) Department of Road Transport and Road Transport and Highways and (ii) Ministry of Tourism Highways and 275
12 3 4 5 for the year 2008-09 and heard the (ii) Ministry of views of the Secretaries of the Tourism. respective Department/Ministry on the subject. 11. 4.4.2008 The Committee heard the views of Secretary, Ministry of 2. hrs. 30 min. the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Civil Aviation Aviation on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 12. 15.4.2008 The Committee considered and 1. hrs. 15 min. adopted the following draft Reports: (i) The Indian Maritime university Bill, 2007; (ii) The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Bill, 2007; and (iii) Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Shipping. The Committee also hold a Press Conference after the presentation of the Reports. 13. 24.4.2008 The Committee considered and ——— 1. hrs. 300 min. adopted the following draft reports: (i) 135th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Road Transport and Highways; (ii) 136th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Ministry of Tourism. (iii) 137th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Ministry of Culture. (iv) 138th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of Ministry of Civil Aviation; and (v) 139th Report on the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2007. 14. 22.5.2008 The Committee heard the views of Additional Secretary, 2 hrs. 30 min. the representatives of Ministry of Ministry of Civil Aviation; Civil Aviation, Airports Authority Secretary, Planning of India and Planning Commission Commission; and Chairman, on the status of modernization of Airport Authority of India Airports in the country. 15. 11.8.2008 The Committee considered and ——— 1 hr. 15 min. adopted the draft 140th and 141st reports in ‘Promotion of Tourism in Jammu & Kashmir’ and ‘Modern- ization of Airports’ respectively. 16. 22.8.2008 The Committee heard the views of Secretary, Ministry of Civil 2 hrs. 00 min. the representatives of the Ministry Aviation; and C & MD, of Civil Aviation & National Aviation NACIL 276
12 3 4 5 Company of India Limited (NACIL) on the ‘Functioning and Perfor- mance of NACIL’. The Committee decided to undertake a study visit to Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai airports to assess the situation and to see the facilities available to the passengers/tourists at these airports from 14th to 20th September, 2008. 17. 2.9.2008 The Committee heard the views of Representatives of the Air 2. hrs. 00 min. the following stakeholders on the Corporations Employees ‘Functioning and Performance of Union; National Aviation Company of India Limited’: (i) Representatives of the Air Representatives of the Indian Corporations Employees Union; Commercial Pilot Association; (ii) Representatives of the Indian Representatives of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association; Airlines Officers Association; (iii) Representatives of the Indian Representatives of the Airlines Airlines Officers Association; Radio Officers and Flight (iv) Representatives of the Airlines Operations Officers Association Radio Officers and Flight Operations Officers Association; Representatives of the All (v) Representatives of the All India India Aircraft Engineers Aircraft Engineers Association; Association; (vi) Representatives of the Indian Representatives of the Indian Aircraft Technician Association; Aircraft Technician Association; (vii) Representatives of the Indian Representatives of the Indian Airlines Employees Congress. Airlines Employees Congress. 18. 3.10.2008 The Committee discussed the ———— 1 hr. 00 problems being faced by the min. passengers, tourists and associated agencies at new airports at Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai and desired that a draft Report on the subject may be prepared. 19. 20.10.2008 The Committee considered and 1 hrs. 00 adopted the draft Report on the min. Functioning of private Airports and the related issues. 20. 12.11.2008 The Committee decided to heard the Secretary, Ministry of Culture; 2 hrs. 00 Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Secretary (Culture) Delhi min. other agencies on the Development Government; of Tourism infrastructure and Vice-Chairman, DDA; amenities for the Commonwealth Commission, MCD; Games, 2010 to be held in Delhi. Chairman, NDMC; Commissioner of Police; 277
12 3 4 5 Delhi; and Convenor (Delhi Chapter), INTACH 21. 27.11.2008 The Committee heard the views of Secretary of the Union 1 hrs. the Secretaries of Union Ministry Ministries of— 30 min. of Tourism, Urban Development; (i) Tourism; and Secretary (Tourism), Secretary (ii) Urban Development. (Irrigation), Government of Delhi; Representatives of Delhi and Chairman, Delhi Jal Board on Development Authority; the Development of Tourism (iii) Representatives of infrastructure and amenities for the Government of NCT of Delhi Commonwealth Games, 2010 to be (iv) Tourism and Transportation held in Delhi. Development Corporation 22. 18.12.2008 The Committee considered and 30 min. adopted the draft Report on Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/observations of the Committee contained in its (i) 134th Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Department of Shipping, (ii) 135th Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Department of Road Transport and Highways, (iii) 136th Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of Tourism; (iv) 137th Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of Culture; and (v) 138th Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. CHAPTER-XII COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE I. Composition of the Committee 12. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare was constituted w.e.f. 5th August, 2007 12.2 The Committee consists of the following members:— COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (Reconstituted w.e.f. 5th August, 2007) 1. Shri Amar Singh — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Prof. P.J. Kurien 3. Shri Su. Thirunavukkarasar 4. Shrimati Maya Singh 5. Shri Digvijay Singh 6. Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy @7. Shri Lalhming Liana 8. Shrimati Viplove Thakur 9. Shrimati Kanimozhi *10. Shri Rajeev Shukla LOK SABHA 11. Shrimati Bhavana P. Gawli 12. Dr. Ram Chandra Dome 13. Shrimati Maneka Gandhi $14. Shri B. Vinod Kumar 15. Shri Rajendra Kumar 16. Shrimati Susheela Bangaru Laxman 17. Shri S. Mallikarjuniah 18. Shri Rasheed Masood 19. Dr. Chinta Mohan 20. Shri Nihal Chand 21. Shri D.B. Patil 22. Shrimati K. Rani 23. Shri Pannian Ravindran 24. Dr. R. Senthil 25. Dr. Mohd. Shahabuddin 26. Dr. Arvind Kumar Sharma 27. Shri Uday Singh 28. Dr. Karan Singh Yadav 29. Shri Vinod Khanna 30. Shri R.L. Jalappa 31. Shrimati Yashodhara Raje Scindia
@Ceased to be Member w.e.f. 18th July, 2008 *Nominated w.e.f. 18th February, 2008 $Ceased to be Member w.e.f. 3rd March, 2008 278 279
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (Reconstituted w.e.f. 5th August, 2008) 1. Shri Amar Singh — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shrimati Viplove Thakur 3. Prof. P.J. Kurien 4. Shri Rajeev Shukla 5. Shri Su. Thirunavukkarasar 6. Shrimati Maya Singh 7. Shri Digvijay Singh 8. Shrimati Kanimozhi 9. Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy 10. Shri Lalhming Liana LOK SABHA 11. Dr. Ram Chandra Dome 12. Shrimati Maneka Gandhi 13. Shrimati Bhavana P. Gawli 14. Shri Vinod Khanna 15. Shri Rajendra Kumar 16. Shri R.L. Jalappa 17. Shrimati Susheela Bangaru Laxman 18. Shri S. Mallikarjuniah 19. Shri Rasheed Masood 20. Dr. Chinta Mohan 21. Shri Nihal Chand 22. Shri D.B. Patil 23. Shrimati K. Rani 24. Shri Pannian Ravindran 25. Shrimati Yashodhara Raje Scindia 26. Dr. R. Senthil 27. Dr. Mohd. Shahabuddin 28. Dr. Arvind Kumar Sharma 29. Shri Uday Singh 30. Dr. Karan Singh Yadav 31. Shri B. Vinod Kumar II. Subject selected for Examination 12.3 The Committee on Health and Family Welfare selected the following subjects for examination in 2008; (i) Functioning of certain vaccine producing PSUs, namely, Central Research Institute, Kasauli, Pasteur Institute of India, Coonoor and BCGVL, Chennai; (ii) Functioning of National Board of Examinations; (iii) Medical Education, specially, the issue of feasibility of increasing seats at the PG level and reducing duration of Specialty and Super-specialty courses; and (iv) Public Private Partnership model in Government Hospitals, AIIMS-like Institutions and District Hospitals. 12.4 The Reports on the three Bills which were referred to it during 2007, viz., the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007; the Paramedical and Physiotherapy Central Councils Bill, 2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2007 were presented in the Rajya Sabha and laid on the Table of the Lok Sabha on 21st and 23rd October, 2008, respectively. One Bill was referred to the Committee for 280 examination and report during 2008. The report on the Bill, namely, "The Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Resarch, Chandigarh (Amendment) Bill, 2008" was presented in the Rajya Sabha and laid on the Table of the Lok Sabha on 18th December, 2008. III. Constitution of Sub-Committees of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare 12.5 No Sub-Committee was constituted during the year 2008. IV. Review of Work Done (a) Sittings of the Committee 12.6 During the year, 2008, the Committee held in all, 20 meetings lasting over 32 hours 49 minutes. Statements showing the dates and duration of each sitting of the Committee with subjects discussed during this period are given in Annexure-XIV. (b) Sitting of the Sub-Committee 12.7 No Sub-Committee was constituted during the year 2008. (c) Study visits The Committee undertook two study visits during the year 2008. The first was one to Bengaluru. Thiruvananthapuram Chennai and Hyderabad from 7th to 14th January, 2008 and the second one was to Indore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Goa from 12th to 19th February, 2008 on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. The Committee interacted with a wide spectrum of the stake-holders and the representatives of the associations of drug manufacturers, cosmetics industry, medical devices industry represented by CII and FICCI, pharmacists, experts, chemists, Drug Inspectors' associations, Drug Controllers' associations, State Governments etc., on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007. The Committee also held wide ranging discussions with various stakeholders like the representatives of the associations of various private healthcare establishments, Government Medical Institutes, Organizations, experts, individuals, consumer fora, NGOs and State Governments on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2007. The details of study visits of the Committee are given below:— STUDY VISIT-I
Places to be visited Date Agenda 12 3 Bengaluru 06.01.2008 Assembly at Bengaluru 07.01.2008 Interaction with the representatives of Small and Large Drugs Manufacturers’ Associations and experts/ organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora concerned on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. 08.01.2008 (i) Interaction with the representatives of private/Govt. Clinical establishments/diagnostic centres/hospitals and experts/organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora/State Medical Council concerned on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. (ii) Interaction with the Representatives of State Government and State Branch of IMA on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment Bill-2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. Thiruvananthapuram 09.01.2008 Interaction with the representatives of Small and Large Drugs Manufacturers’ Associations and experts/ organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora concerned on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. 281
12 3 10.01.2008 (i) Interaction with the representatives of private/Govt clinical establishments/diagnostic centre/hospital and experts/organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora/State Medical Council concerned on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. (ii) Interaction with the Representatives of State Government and State Branch of IMA on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. Chennai 11.01.2008 Interaction with the Representatives of Small and Large Drugs Manufacturers’ Associations and Experts/ organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora concerned on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. 12.01.2008 (i) Interaction with the representatives of private/Govt clinical establishments/diagnostic centre/hospitals and experts/organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora/State Medical Council concerned on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. (ii) Interaction with the Representatives of State Governemnt and State Branch of IMA on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation Bill-2007. Hyderabad 13.01.2008 Interaction with the Representatives of Small and Large Drugs Manufacturers’ Associations and experts/ organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora concerned on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. 14.01.2008 (i) Interaction with the representatives of private/Govt. clinical establishments/diagnostic centre/hospitals and experts/organizations/NGOs/Consuemr Fora/State Medical Council concerned on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. (ii) Interaction with the Representatives of State Government and State Branch of IMA on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. Dispersal.
STUDY VISIT-II
Places to be visited Date Agenda 12 3 12.02.2008 Assembly at Indore Indore 13.02.2008 (i) Interaction with the Representatives of Small and Large Drugs Manufacturers’ Associations and (ii) Experts/ organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora concerned on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. 282
12 3 (ii) Interaction with the representatives of private/Govt. Clinical establishments/diagnostic centres/hospitals and experts/organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora/State Medical Council concerned on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. (iii) Interaction with the representatives of State Government and State Branch of IMA on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. Ahmedabad 14.02.2008 Interaction with the representatives of Small and Large Drugs Manufacturers’ Associations and Experts/ organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora cocnerned on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. 15.02.2008 (i) Interaction with the Representatives of private/Govt. clinical establishments/diagnostic centres/hospitals and experts/organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora/State Medical Council concerned on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. (ii) Interaction with the representatives of State Government and State Branch of IMA on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. Mumbai 16.02.2008 (i) Interaction with the representatives of Small and Large Drugs Manufacturers’ Associations and experts/ organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora concerned on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. (ii) Interaction with the Representatives of State Government and State Branch of IMA on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. 17.02.2008 Interaction with the representatives of private/Govt. clinical establishments/diagnostic centres/hospitals and experts/organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora/State Medical Council concerned on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. Goa 18.02.2008 Interaction with the representatives of Small and Large Drugs Manufacturers’ Associations and experts/ organizations/NGOs/Consumer fora concerned on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. 19.02.2008 (i) Interaction with the representatives of private/Govt. clinical establishments/diagnostic centres/hospitals and experts/organizations/NGOs/Consumer Fora/State Medical Council concerned on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. (ii) Interaction with the Representatives of State Government and State Branch of IMA on Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007 and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. Dispersal 283
12.8 No study group was constituted to make on-the-spot study of local offices, institutions, projects etc. on the subjects under examination. 12.9 Study Notes of the visits undertaken by the Committee were prepared. V. Reports Presented (a) Reports 12.10 During 2008, the Committee presented the following Reports to both the Houses of Parliament :— Sl. No. Reports No. and date of presentation/ Reports laying of Reports 1. 27th Report on Demands-for-Grants (2008-09) of Department 30.04.2008 of Health and Family Welfare (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) 2. 28th Report on Demands-for-Grants (2008-09) of Department 30.04.2008 of AYUSH (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) 3. 29th Report on Demands-for-Grants (2008-09) of Department 30.04.2008 of Health Research (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) 4. 30th Report on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 21.10.2008 2007. 5. 31st Report on the Paramedical and Physiotherapy Central 21.10.2008 Councils Bill, 2007 6. 32nd Report on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and 24.10.2008 Regulation) Bill, 2007. 7. 33rd Report on the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education 18.12.2008 and Research Chandigarh (Amendment) Bill, 2008. 12.11 Minutes of the meetings of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare were prepared and enclosed with the reports presented to the House. VI. Summary of Recommendations (a) 27th Report Budgetary Allocation 12.12 The Committee observed that Oversight Committee had been granted only Rs. 100.00 crores against last year’s approved outlay of Rs. 600 crores, which, however, could not be utilized, In the light of the recent Supreme Court’s judgment and the Government’s propensity towards implementing it from this year itself, the Committee opined that the funds would not be sufficient. Similarly against proposal of Rs. 453.00 crores, only Rs. 329.00 crores had been provided to CGHS; against projected requirement of Rs. 87.88 crores, Safdarjung Hospital had received Rs. 50.00 crore; Dr. RML Hospital had been allocated Rs. 59.20 crore against projected Plan requirement of Rs. 72.11 crore and Rs. 68.95 crore against Non-Plan requirement of Rs. 71.88 crore; AIIMS had been granted Rs. 452.00 crore in Grant-in-Aids against projected requirement of Rs. 753.00 crore and against the projected total requirement of JIPMER for Rs. 150.80 crore, it had received only Rs. 98.00 crore. The Committee observed that underprovisioning in many of the Institutes were likely to adversely affect the completion of construction and developmental activities undertaken by them and in the process the Institutions. 12.13 The Committee noted that the overall allocation for the health sector (outside NRHM) had been on the higher side. Still, the Committee was constrained to note that the Department had failed to project its budgetary requirements in an effective way for the simple reason that the utilization of funds during the Tenth Plan was far from satisfactory which was evident from the fact that the sanctioned BE for 2005-06 and 2006-07 was Rs. 4253.84 crore and Rs. 3564.95 crore, respectively, which was reduced to Rs. 4096.25 crore and Rs. 3433.02 crore, respectively at the RE stage. The actual expenditure figures of Rs. 2907.96 crore and Rs. 3377.34 crore were even less than the budgeted allocations at the RE stage. The Committee noted that this trend 284 had continued during 2007-08 also. This illustrated that the Department’s record in utilization of the allocated funds were below par. The Committee would, therefore, recommend to the Department to first ensure optimum and judicious utilization of the funds allocated instead of highlighting the reduced budgetary allocation. The Committee also recommended to the Department to take substantive steps so that the stumbling blocks in the utilization of sanctioned funds for 2008-09 for a crucial sector like health, were removed. 12.14 The Committee pointed out that expenditure reported upto 29th February, 2008 was only Rs. 1608.59 crores and within a span of three weeks it had reached to Rs. 2121.24 crores. This clearly indicated that major utilization was taking place in the last quarter of the year. 12.15 Committee observed that in spite of its raising concerns over this trend of under utilization of funds year after year, there did not seem to be any noticeable improvement in this regard. Time and against the Committee had been advocating for higher allocation of funds for this sector and this time the Committee was happy to note that the approved outlay had seen a 32% hike over the last year’s Revised Estimate. The Committee reiterated its concern and recommended to the Department to play a more proactive role in identifying the problems afflicting the utilization of funds in the Health Sector and initiate remedial measures from the very beginning of the current financial year so that the old story of revising estimates downwards and subsequent underutilization did not recur. 12.16 The Committee viewed with serious concern the under utilization of funds on account of slow pace of expenditure on implementation of schemes like Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY), Cancer, Mental Health, Capacity Building Project for Food and Drugs, non implementation of the recommendations of the Over-sight Committee, New Initiatives, and also non-finalizations of proposals relating to procurement of various equipment, non filling up of vacant posts, non receipt of proposals from State Government/Implementing Agencies etc. The Committee recommended to the Department to keep the activities of these schemes/institutions under constant monitoring so as to arrest this trend of underutilization. 12.17 The pendency level of Utilization Certificates had been engaging the attention of the Committee for the last few years. According to latest figures as on 1st March, 2008, there were as many as 1318 Utilization Certificates in respect of Health Sector amounting to Rs. 677.61 crores for the grants released upto 2005-06. On a specific query regarding any plans of the Department to reach a justificable level of pendency, the Committee was given to understand that a communication was sent by the Chief Controller of Accounts (CCA) to all the States through Resident Commissioners on this issue giving full details of pending UCs in respect of the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The Committee was dismayed to note that in the name of efforts; only a letter had been issued. The Committee felt that spirited efforts, which were apparently lacking, need to be made on priority basis to clear the UCs which were pending for the last three decades or so. The Committee also recommended to the Department to take up the case with concerned State Governments at the highest level so as to assess whether the funds had been utilized properly or not. 12.18 The Committee welcomed the proposal of the Department to introduce a provision in the Sanction itself regarding audit of all centrally sponsored programmes, PSUs under the Department and autonomous bodies which were receiving Grant-in-Aid. The Committee recommended to the Department to expedite the same and intimate the progress made in this regard. 12.19 Besides the names of Bodies/Programmes which would be covered during 2008-09, the Committee sought to be informed about the centrally sponsored health programmes, PSUs and autonomous bodies which were audited during 2007-08 alongwith the adverse audit finding and the action taken by the Department thereon. 12.20 Committee’s attention had been drawn by high level of pendency of Audit paras contained in CAG Report and Internal Audit on matters relating to the Department. The Committee was surprised to note that there were 62 pending Audit paras dating back from CAG Report No. 2 of 1998 to the latest CAG Report No. 20 of 2007 on the Performance Audit of procurement of medicines and medical equipment. The Committee failed to understand the reasons for such high level of pendency. The very fact that such a large number of Audit paras remain to be reconciled indicated that internal financial management of the Ministry was weak. The Committee would like to be apprised about the corrective measures taken in the light of the pending Audit paras. 285
Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) 12.21 The Committee noted that Plan allocation for 2008-09 was at an enhanced level when compared with provision of Rs. 40.00 crore made for 2007-08. As per the Outcome Budget (2008-09), against a Plan allocation of Rs. 40.00 crore for 2007-08 under CGHS; expenditure reported upto 29.02.08 is only Rs. 19.08 crore. The Committee was, however, surprised to note that in response to a specific query made by it, utilisation of Rs. 32.16 crore was reported upto February, 2008. The Committee was unhappy with the conflicting figures of utilization of plan funds. Either the information published in the Outcome Budget was incorrect or inaccurate status report had been furnished to the Committee, that too on a spectific query made by it. Both the positions compelled the Committee to conclude that there was a need for better management at the Department level. The Committee apprehended that chances were there that major utilization under CGHS had taken place during the last quarter of the year. If it was true, this indicated improper handling of the funds. The trend of utilization of major chunk of funds during the last quarter was not a health sign. The Committee sought to be apprised about utilization of Plan and Non-Plan funds (quarter-wise) during 2007-08. In the light of last year’s experience of utilization of funds, the Committee recommended that concerted efforts need to be made for optimum and judicious utilization of enhanced allocation made for 2008-09. 12.22 The Committee, therefore, recommended that allocation of funds under Non-Plan be enhanced adequately so that the services available to the CGHS beneficiaries were not affected. 12.23 The computerization of CGHS dispensaries and offices in Delhi was taken up at an expenditure of Rs. 8.74 crores. The Committee was informed that as on 26.3.08, 83 dispensaries in Delhi had been fully computerized and the process of computerization of remaining 4 dispensaries was under way. The Committee pointed out that computerization process of CGHS dispensaries in Delhi could not be completed as scheduled. Originally targeted to be completed by 2006-07, revised date of 17th August, 2007 could also not be adhered to. By the end of financial year, 2007-08, 4 dispensaries in Delhi still remained to be computerized. Computerization of CGHS dispensaries located in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Pune to be taken up in 2007-08 as scheduled was yet to start. The Committee could imagine the status of third phase slated to be completed in 2008-09. The Committee, keeping in view the past experience in respect of Delhi dispensaries, could be only emphasized that all steps need to be taken to complete the computerization of dispensaries outside Delhi at the earliest. Corrective measures based on the problem areas noticed in the computerization of dispensaries in Delhi need to be taken. 12.24 The Committee pointed out that situation was some what different. Problems were being faced both by the CGHS functionaries and beneficiaries. Technicians, junior staff manning counters in dispensaries and attending doctors need to be fully trained. Practical problems like internet and electricity failure had to be tackled by having an alternative arrangement. These initial teething problems should not be allowed to be prolonged. At present, beneficiaries which include senior citizens also were being made to wait for hours at the dispensaries. Their ordeal started right from the registration countrer and continues upto delivery of medicines. The Committee would appreciate if all the measures including training, smooth running of computers with full connectivity, backup for power failure were taken at the earliest and also closely monitored. 12.25 The Committee had been emphasizing for long for introduction of two shift system in CGHS. The Committee did not appreciate the contention of the Ministry that a large number of private hospitals and diagnostic Centres had been empanelled under the CGHS and in case of emergency, beneficiaries could go there for treatment and claim re-imbursement later. The Committee drew the attention of the Ministry once again to the fact that idea behind having two shifts in CGHS dispensaries was the inconvenience being faced by the CGHS beneficiaries majority of them office goers in going to the dispensaries in the morning hours. The Committee was disturbed by the element of helplessness shown by the Ministry in their candid admission of staff side vehemently opposing the move. In this era where the service providers like banks etc. were opting for flexible timings to give their customers maximum possible services, at least the Ministry could had come forward with a positive and proactive approach. The Committee reiterated its recommendation made last year for starting two shifts in a few dispensaries as a test case. One must not forget that CGHS was a service oriented scheme, supposedly providing health care mainly to our serving employees and pensioners. It was the responsibility of the Ministry to make the CGHS employees understand and not to be pressurized by them. 12.26 The Committee recommended that construction of dispensary in Dwarka where land was already available should start at the earliest. All procedural formalities should be expendited and completion of project stricitly monitored. 286
12.27 The Committee was surprised to note that even after two years, suitable accommodation for housing the dispensary in Sector 82, Noida and Gurgaon could not be managed. Secretary (Health) Government of Haryana was now being requested to allot a building for CGHS Dispensary in Gurgaon. Proposal for housing the CGHS Dispensary in Community Centre, Sector 82, Noida on rent-basis was under consideration. The Committee strongly felt that the Ministry should pursue the two proposals in hand so that large number of CGHS beneficiaries residing in these two areas did not continue to remain deprived of healthcare any more. 12.28 The Committee recommended to the Department to take the issue on priority with the Ministry of Finance to complete all the procedural formalities, so that necessary posts were created and subsequently filled up. The Committee would also like to be apprised about the cadre strength created as a result of implementation of SIU report and the efforts taken so far to fill up the vacant posts. 12.29 The Committee understood that third party administrators for processing of claims and medical audit were also proposed to be introduced. The Committee had been given to understand that as recommended by SIU, Department of Expenditure, vacancies arising in Group ‘D’ posts were to be progressively outsourced. 12.30 The Committee viewed with serious concern the growing number of vacancies in different categories of posts in CGHS dispensaries. The Committee understood that all surplus posts identified in cities outside Delhi had been abolished. It had also been informed that the staff strength in the dispensaries was decided as per the workload. The very fact that at the present juncture, no CGHS city could be stated to have full complement of the staff strength as per the SIU norms established that the existing dispensaries were not functioning as envisaged. The Committee also strongly felt that outsourcing/hiring of staff on contract-basis on a big scale was a remedy worse then the disease. The concept of public private partnership could not be applied across the board specially in a set-up meant for providing healthcare. The Committee sought to have a status note on the sanctioned posts and vacancies category-wise and region-wise in CGHS dispensaries. 12.31 The Committee recommended that all out efforts be made for reduction in the consultation fees to 2% for procurement of drugs/medicines for CGHS as assured by the Ministry and the Committee be informed accordingly. 12.32 The Committee was happy to note that these adhoc arrangement would continue until further orders. The Committee however, sought to emphasize that empanelment of these hospitals on permanent basis should be made, specially in view of cancer patients undergoing prologned and costly treatment. The Ministry have to play a proactive role in such matters. 12.33 The Committee noted that under the revised exercise, rates in respect of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune had been issued. The Committee hoped that rates for the remaining cities would be issued at the eariest. The Committee sought to be apprised about the level of differece in the rates for major hospitals/diagnostic centres in the metro cities. Safdarjung Hospital and Vardhman Mahaveer Medical College, New Delhi 12.34 The Committee, however, noted that upto 29.02.2008 expenditure of only Rs. 53.77 crore could be reported. 12.35 The Committee apprehended that the present allocation of funds to the Hospital might adversely affect its services and in the process, the large number of patients. While cautioning the Hospital to utilize its allocated funds judiciously and optimally, the Committee recommended that it should be granted adequate funds to meet its functional requirements. 12.36 The Committee observed that procedures and rules were made to streamline, strengthen and facilitate a process and not create hurdles and bottlenecks. The Committee, therefore, recommended that effective coordination between the Department and the Hospital authorities was required in this regard. If required, suitable steps for improvement in the procedural aspect might be initiated so as to provide better healthcare delivery system. 12.37 The Committee was happy to note that scheme of redevelopment of hospitals including redevelopment of Safdarjung Hospital with the proposal to increase its bed strength from 1531 to 3000 had finally been included in the approved schemes for the Eleventh Plan. HSCC had submitted a final report on ‘Redevelopment Plan of Safdarjung Hospital’ to the Department for consideration. The Department had started 287 work for engaging consultants for preparation of DPR for the detailed redevelopment plan. The Committee pointed out that ‘in principle’ approval by the Planning Commission had already taken considerable time. The Committee therefore, urged the Department to make wholehearted efforts to expedite the procedural formalities at the earliest. The redevelopment plan was required to be started without any further delay, keeping in view the ever-increasing patient load on the Safdarjung Hospital. The Committee recommended that scarcity of funds and lack of coordination should not come in the way of its timely completion and the Department should make every conceivable effort in this regard. 12.38 The Committee expressed its serious concern on the slow progress made with regard to setting up of Rural Transplantation Unit. Status of the project for IVF unit was more discouraging as 'in principle' approval was yet to come. The Committee could only emphasize that the Renal Transplantation Unit should be made functional by the year end by closely monitoring the progress of the same. Procedural formalities with regard to IVF unit also need to be completed at the earliest. 12.39 The Committee's attention had been drawn by a large number of vacanices in different categories of posts in Safdarjung Hospital. Out of the total sanctioned staff strength of 4781, there were 1054 vacant posts in different categories as on July, 2007. The Committee had been given to understand that workload of the Hospital had progressively increased manifold in the past few years. The doctor patient ratio had inversely grown, there was an acute need of more doctors per patient and related infrastructure including sub-staff. In such a scenario, with the redevelopment project of Safdarjung Hospital likely to take off at the earliest, additional staff strength of all the categories would be required. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the Department in co-ordination with hospital should chalk out an action-plan for acquiring the required manpower. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi 12.40 The Committee was constrained to note that inspite of an assurance that each Central Institute would have a separate monitoring Committee, given by the Secretary, H&FW before the Committee last year, no action seemed to have been taken. The Committee, therefore, reiterated that a proper monitoring mechanism needs to be put in place so as to arrest this trend of sub-optimal utilization of the funds. 12.41 The Committee had been observing that a number of projects - big and small envisaged for strengthening and augmenting the existing services in the premier hospital continue to remain in the implementation status with very little progress being made. The Committee had been constrained to point out that the year 2007-08 was also no exception. Funds allocated remained under-utilised with the following three major projects running behind schedule:— * Strengthening of Accidents and Emergency Department and setting up of Trauma Care Centre * Setting up of PGIMER at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital * Upgradation of School of Nursing into College of Nursing 12.42 All these projects were to be completed in 2007-08 only. The Committee noted that academic session for PG Courses in Medicine, Paediatrics and Anesthesia was to begin in 2008-09. While welcoming the starting of PGIMER at Dr. RML Hospital, the Committee would appreciate if the PGI became fully operational running all the courses with the required infrastructure and regular staff in place. The Committee apprehended that there was little chance of Trauma Care Centre becoming operational in 2008-09 with appointment of 178 additional staff yet to be made and process of purchase of equipment and consumable going on. The Committee also found that not much progress seemed to have been made in the upgradation of School of Nursing into College of Nursing. The target remained the same in 2008-09 also as in the previous year. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) 12.43 The Committee was informed that the allocated funds would not be sufficient for maintaining the infrastructure and patient care services of the Institute. The Committee felt that the decrease in non-Plan from Rs. 310.00 crores in 2007-08 to Rs. 290.00 crores was surely going to affect the patient care services offered by the Institute. The Committee apprehended return of the 'user charges regime' in AIIMS because consumables were the only negotiable component of the non-Plan budget as salary and bills had to be paid any way. 12.44 The Committee was constrained to observe that enhanced outlay for the Eleventh Plan period did not seem to have any visible impact. Plan provision of Rs. 200.00 crore for 2007-08 not only remained at the same 288 level as in the previous plan period but had also been brought down to Rs. 160.00 crore at the RE stage with actual expenditure reported up to 29.02.2008 being only Rs. 113.33 crore. The Committee was not able to comprehend the reasons for under-utilization of funds duly allocated for specific purposes. Failure on the part of a premier institute like AIIMS to utilize the funds as targeted indicated that problem areas continue to persist both in the co-ordination between the administrative Ministry and the Institute and its functioning. 12.45 The Committee hoped that position would improve now. 12.46 The Committee would emphasize that procedural formalities for the centre should be expedited so as to complete it by the targeted date. 12.47 The Committee also took note of major new initiatives for which plans were under preparation during 2007-08 as listed below:— - Construction of new PC Block - Advance facilities for Paediatrics (Medical and Surgery) - Advance facilities for Geriatrics - Facility for Family Medicine and Public Health 12.48 The Committee found that another set of new projects had been listed to be taken during 2008-09. The Committee strongly felt that new initiatives should be taken up with priority being fixed for the most needed ones. The Committee would appreciate if these initiatives did not continue to be on proper during 2008-09. The Committee recommended that funds provided for the AIIMS in the Eleventh Plan show both optimum and judicious utilization as per the action plan with additional provision as and when required. The Committee was of the view that an effective monitoring mechanism to be effected by all concerned both at the institute and the Ministry level needs to be in place for the purpose at the earliest. 12.49 The Committee expressed deep concern that in the premier institute of the country like AIIMS so many posts were lying vacant. In the opinion of the Committee, this was definitely bound to affect the quality of services rendered by the Institute. The Committee, therefore, recommended immediate action to fill up the vacant posts. 12.50 The Committee strongly felt that position was bound to aggravate further specially in view of increasing number of doctors and nurses leaving the institute in the recent years. The rate of exodus of doctors and nurses from the Institute was a cause of serious concern. The Department needed to devise a strategy immediately to arrest this trend. The Committee would like to be informed of the remedial steps taken in this regard. 12.51 The Committee was deeply concerned about the matter as the Institute was one of the best training grounds for the doctors and that too at highly subsidized rates involving precious tax payers' money. The Committee was of view that this brain drain was on two counts - higher studies and lucrative should be made so that tendency of leaving the Institute by doctors/nurses could be minimized. This could be in the form of a monetary bond or post qualification compulsory service. The Committee strongly felt that urgent steps were required to be taken so as to ensure ideal working environment for our young talented doctors along with all the incentives comparable to those enjoyed by private sector doctors to the extent possible. The Committee sought to be apprised of the steps taken in this regard which should not be only AIIMS specific but should also cover all the Government medical institutions. 12.52 The Committee was given to understand that the Valiathan Committee had submitted its report on the functioning of AIIMS more than a year ago. The Committee was surprised to note that only follow up action taken so far was a meeting held under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) with Director, AIIMS on the 1st March, 2008. The Committee was informed that the matter was now under Government's consideration. The Committee was not happy with the undue delay in the implementation of Valiathan Committee recommendations. Any further delay would simply negate the very purpose for setting up such a Committee, that too at the directive of the Prime Minister. The Committee, therefore, urged upon the Department to expedite the implementation of the Valiathan Committee Report. 12.53 The Committee could only hope that the Burns Unit duly approved would be made operational by the targeted date. 289
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh 12.54 The Committee was of the opinion that PGIMER was amongst India's premier institutes and its development plans should not be affected in any way due to scarcity of funds. While recommending that adequate funds should be made available to the PGIMER, Chandigarh to meet its requirements for development works, the Committee also recommended judicious and optimum utilization of the allocated funds. 12.55 The Committee took a serious note of the following projects originally scheduled to be completed during the Tenth Plan, which were not seeing light of the day and were continuing in the Eleventh Plan also with their scheduled dates of completion being revised once again:— Project Status Revised Sanctioned Cumulative Expenditure scheduled Cost Expenditure Planned in date of upto end of 2008-09 completion 2007-08 Advaned More than 95% March, 2008 Rs.46.43 crore Rs. 43.10 crore Rs. 10.00 crore Cardiac work was Centre completed. And most of the equipments had been procured. Seeting up The work had December, 2008 Rs. 11.74 crore Rs. 9.00 crore Rs. 2.74 crore of additional been allotted to 66KV sub- the BBMB with an stations outlay of Rs. 1174 lacs for which BBMB had further awarded the work. Advanced The construction December, 2008 Rs. 22.37 crore Rs. 17.45 crore Rs. 3 crore Trauma work had been Centre started and the expected dated of commissioning was by December, 2008. 12.56 The Committee was of the view that there was some inherent problem in the implementation of projects namely the Advanced Cardiac, Setting up of additional 66KV sub-stations and Advanced Trauma Centre. The Committee in its earlier Report had critically reviewed implementation of these projects but it apeared that no concrete steps had been taken so far. The projects continued to remain behind schedule with the final expenditure going beyond the sanctioned cost. The Committee sought to be informed about the remedial measures taken by the Institute in this regard. 12.57 The Committee felt that with an allocation of only Rs. 50.00 crores, majority of the projects would remain on paper only. Past experience of even allocated funds inspite of being much below the projected requirement remaining under utilized did not indicate any noticeable improvement in 2008-09 also. The Committee strongly felt that setting targets and time-frame just for the sake of formality was not the proper strategy. Not only does it result in escalation of projects costs but it would also affect the overall development plans of the Institute. The Committee sought to be informed of the initiatives taken by the Institute for timely completion of these projects. 12.58 The Committee observed that vacancies in a premier medical educational institute like PGIMER, Chandigarh would affect the quality of medical professionals passing out from there. The Committee urged the Institute to take all conceivable measures so as to fill up the vacant posts at the earliest. The Committee also impressed upon the Institute to augment the staff strength by providing better perks/salary and incentives along with conducive working environment for them. 290
North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Shillong 12.59 The Committee was happy to note that considerable progress had been made in operationalization of NEIGRIHMS during 2007-08. The Committee was, however, perturbed to note that no improvement could be made so far as manpower required for the Institute was concerned. Like 2006-07, position remained unchanged during 2007-08 also. 12.60 The Committee pointed out that efforts made by the Department for getting the teaching/specialists faculty posted/deputed from Armed Forces Medical Services had not been successful due to shortage of senior faculty in the AFMS cadre also. The Committee again emphasized that it did not have much faith in the collaboration measures reported to have been made with Institutions like NIMHANS and Dr. Cherian's Frontier Lifeline. The Committee was not aware how far the efforts for clinching similar agreements with CMC-Vellore, CMC-Ludhiana, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, AIIMS and PGIMER would prove to be successful. The Committee failed to comprehend how the Department of Neurology, Neuro-Survery and Cardiology could be made operational at the Institute located at Shillong by hiring the services of faculty of NIMHANS located at the other corner of the country. Same would be the position with the proposed tie-up with other Institutes. The Committee pointed out that the Department must be fully aware about the shortage of faculty at these premier Institutes also The Committee strongly felt that such stop-gap arrangements, even if made could not make the Institute fully functional. Target of making 500 bedded hospital and teaching institute at Shillong was thus likely to remain on paper only for considerable time. The Committee reiterated that the Department had to make all conservable efforts for having permanent faculty at the Institute. Speical incentives and extra facilities had to be worked out for attracting the required manpower to the Institute. Collaboration with leading Institutes/ public private partnership could be feasible for limited number of posts and period only. The Committee sought to be apprised about the present status of phase-I of filling up of 725 posts and phase-II of filling up of 794 posts. Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi 12.61 The Committee noted that against a provision of Rs. 10.00 crore in 2007-08 only an amount of Rs. 3.86 crore could be spent upto 29.02.2008. The Committee was constrained to observe that position had been the same during the entire Tenth Plan period. Out of total provision of Rs. 62.20 crore, utilization of only Rs. 30.17 crore could be reported by the end of the Plan period. 12.62 The Committee was disturbed by the continuance of such a position that too in a premier Institute of the country, inspite of availability of funds. The Committee had been informed that an Expenditure Finance Committee proposal for re-development of the Institute during the Eleventh Plan was under consideration which includes additional manpower requirement, construction of OPD, Neurology Block, Casualty and Services Blocks, Hostels and residential quarters as well as procurement of equipments. The Committee found that the High Court of Jharkhand was monitoring the development of the Institute on the pattern of NIMHANS. The very fact that the High Court was monitoring the development programme of the Institute confirmed that all was not well with its functioning. The Committee sought to be informed about the progress made w.r.t. the proposed re-development plan and the circumstances leading to the monitoring of the development of the Institute by the Jharkhand High Court. Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, Delhi 12.63 The Committee was not aware about the details of developmental projects - both ongoing and proposed, to be taken up during the Eleventh Plan period. The Committee sought to be informed of the activities along with the developmental plans of the Institute for which the funds had been proposed for the Eleventh Plan. 12.64 The Committee observed that the reply seeking for the details of the short-term training courses/ workshops in respiratory diseases for faculty members and medical practitioners conducted by the Institute during 2007-08 was not very specific. The Committee sought to be informed of the same along with proposed workshops, courses etc. in 2008-09. Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) 12.65 The Committee in its 22nd Report on the Demands for Grants (2007-08) presented on 3rd May, 2007 had expressed its apprehension that it would take at least another plan period before the six AIIMS like 291
Institutions would start functioning in the real sense. The Committee was constrained to modify its assessment. From the details made available to the Committee, construction work on the Six AIIMS like Institutions was expected to start by August-September, 2008 and would be completed in 24 months. Thus, it was more than clear now that only buildings would be ready by the end of Eleventh Plan. The real target of making available best healthcare services to public through these institutions seemed to be a distant dream even now. The Committee found that tendering process for procurement of medical equipments was at an initial stage. Process for other allied infrastructure facilities and manpower—both highly qualified/technical as well as non-technical was yet to start. With regard to upgradation of 13 Medical College Institutions, the Committee could only hope that work would be completed within the targeted date of 20 months. The Committee was, however, worried about the fate of upgradation of Grants Medical College and JJ Hospital, Mumbai due to a court case pending in Nagpur High Court in the matter. The Committee was of the view that the Department should take up other linked activities like arranging for the faculty and the other requisite infrastructure simultaneously so that no delay takes place in operationalization of the Institutions once the construction activity was completed. 12.66 The Committee also recommended that funds as and when required should be made available to the Department. The Committee, however, pointed out that though funds had never been a problem for this ambitious project of national importance, utilization thereof had been far from satisfactory level. The Committee, accordingly, recommended setting up of a joint mechanism of Centre and the concerned States so that greater coordination was achieved and effective monitoring of the ongoing projects was done. The Committee also called for greater emphasis on adhering to the time lines so that the overall cost of the project was not escalated further. 12.67 The Committee, during the oral evidence of the Secretary had taken a serious view of the delay in implementation of the project. The Committee, therefore, desired the Department to apprise it of the progress made in implementation of the project, after every two months. Improvement of Nursing Services 12.68 However, the Committee was surprised to observe unsatisfactory level of achievement under the quantifiable deliverables/physical outputs set for 2007-08. The first target set was training of 8000 nursing personnel through 48 identified Nursing Institutions. By the end of the year, no progress seemed to have been made from the details made available to the Committee. Proposal for conducting 78 courses for training of 2340 nurses was under process. Training of additional 1600 nurses depended upon proposals to be received from the Institutions. The Committee had been informed that out of 30 institutions, funds could be released for strengthening of 23 institutions. Status of these institutions was, however, not-known. The Committee would also like to point out that projects like upgradation of RAK College of Nursing into Centre of Excellence, upgradation of School of Nursing into College of Nursing at Dr. RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Harding Medical College and establishing a College of Nursing in JIPMER, Puducherry had been there for the last few years with no evidence of progress being made. Only exception was College of Nursing at Lady Harding Medical College reported to have started functioning in 2007. The Committee hoped that required manpower and infrastructure had been made available there. 12.69 The Committee was not very hopeful as upgradation of School of Nursing at Dr. RML Hospital had also been listed as one of the targets to be achieved during 2008-09. The Committee reiterated that all these projects need to be closely monitored so as to ensure their completion within the time schedule without any cost escalation in the original estimate. The Department should not be a mere spectator, it should devise some mechanism for proper utilization of the funds and its repeated contention that the utilization/grants of funds depends upon receipt of SOE/UCs was not acceptable to the Committee. The Department had to play more proactive roles in co-ordination with the hospital/college authorities. The problem areas wherever noticed need to be removed at the earliest. 12.70 The Committee was not aware about the existence of any Monitoring Committee for such projects. The Committee was of the view that such a mechanism would prove to be very useful, especialy in view of Rs. 198.00 crore allocated for strengthening/upgradation of Nursing Services. The Committee welcomed the enhancement in the assistance to be provided to Nursing Institutions from Rs. 10.00 lakhs to Rs. 25.00 lakhs. Such a move was overdue. The Committee, however, wondered whether any exercise had been initiated for identification of locations of all the proposed Centres/Schools/Colleges so far. The Committee would appreciate 292 if implementation of all these projects was carried out in a time-bound manner. The Committee was not aware about any assessment/review made recently about the (training both pre and in-service) programmes for nurses and also functioning of Training Institutions for nurses. The Committee was of the view that such an exercise was necessary for strengthening the Nursing Services which was a very crucial component of health care. 12.71 The Committee was happy to note that the National Awards for Nurses, given as a mark of highest recognition for the meritorious services of the nurses and nursing profession in the country, which continued up to 1989, had been revived and named as the National Florence Nightingale Award from 2007 with the consent of the President of India. 17 Nursing personnel had been awarded with this prestigious award during the year 2007. 12.72 The Committee recommended that a suitable mechanism should be evolved for maintaining a live register of nurses so as to enable the Department for formulating appropriate policy pertaining to nurses. 12.73 The Committee recommended that the Department should make all out efforts including effective co-ordination and close monitoring so that all the proposals for strengthening of nursing education were implemented properly and desired results were achieved for getting adequate number of qualified and trained nursing personnel. 12.74 While appreciating the initiatives, the Committee pointed out that out of total nursing strength of 3015 in Central Government Hospitals in Delhi, only 795 nursing personnel had been provided with accommodation. If such unsatisfactory conditions were in Delhi, the Committee could well imagine the conditions in State Government Hospitals. The Committee strongly felt that residential facilities for nurses need to be augmented at the earliest. The Committee recommended the Department to formulate a comprehensive policy to stop exodus of nurses as also to offer more incentives so as to make the profession more attractive for arresting this trend. Upgradation of District Hospitals 12.75 The Committee welcomed the initiative of the Department for upgradation of the District Hospitals. While recommending priority to the remote and rural area hospitals and those States where MMR and IMR were high and where maternity facilities were not up to the mark, the Committee recommended formulating a mechanism so as to facilitate early selection, granting and overseeing proper utilization of funds. The Committee would also emphasize that all efforts should be made to fully utilize the approved outlay of Rs. 1500.00 Crores for the Eleventh Plan. For this, targets need to be set and all hurdles in implementation need to be removed. The Committee had in the past witnessed that funds could not be utilized optimally and many schemes could not achieve desired success for want of proposals, submission of utilization certificates from State Governments etc. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Department to expedite scrutiny of the proposals received from the State Governments from the beginning of financial year 2008-09 itself. Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi 12.76 The Committee observed that even after more than a decade of setting up of the Fund with 50% of the contribution made by the State/UT to be provided by Central Government, there were still several States/UTs which had not set up the State Illness Assistance Fund. Every States/UTs should have such a fund. The Committee would appreciate if this matter was taken up at the highest level in all such States/UTs. 12.77 The Committee felt that in order to facilitate easy access to quality health care to the poor and downtrodden strata of our society, the limit of Rs. 50,000 under immediate financial assistance funds, per case, for which funds were placed at the disposal of Medical Superintendents of above hospitals, need to be enhanced realistically for treatment of dreaded disease like AIDS, Cancer etc. Some of the major states like U.P., Assam, Karnataka, Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir did not have such a fund. With only a very few major hospitals located in metros having extended facility under the fund, people of such States/UTs were being deprived of medical care for no fault of theirs. From the details of funds released to States/UTs during 2005-08, it was very clear that such States were having negligible funds at their disposal. The Committee wondered about the adequacy of such State Funds. The Committee was of the view that with the increasing rate of inflation and also increasing number of patients suffering from major diseases, an assessment of the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi should be made at the earliest. Necessary changes might be made thereafter. The facility of 293 financial assistance should be extended in more hospitals so as to cover the geographical limits of the country. The Committee also recommended to the Department to give wide publicity to the scheme specially in the hospital campuses to generate awareness so that the same could be utilized by the needy and poor patients. National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) 12.78 The Committee observed that NUHM was one of the most ambitious projects after National Rural Health (NRHM). Objectives of the Mission were laudable and were according to the requirements of the present scenario. The Committee cautioned the Department to take all necessary steps so that the problems afflicting the implementation of NRHM like those related to ground level healthcare functionaries, availability of doctors, paramedics and infrastructure did not recur and interfere in the implementation of parallel scheme meant for urban areas. For achieving the targets proposed under mission the Department should do proper homework and work out modalities for their implementation. The Department should start coordinating with the States right from the beginning of the project. The Committee sought to be apprised about the progress made in this regard. National Aids Control Programme (NACP) 12.79 The Committee was constrained to note that against a Plan provision of Rs. 815.00 crore which was increased to be Rs. 953.89 crore at the RE stage during 2007-08 for NACP, expenditure reported upto 13th March, 2008 was only Rs. 767.34 crore. The Committee observed that optimum utilization had not been achieved in any of the components of NACO. The Committee noted that the Department had not been able to achieve optimum utilization of funds during 2006-07 also. The Committee was given to understand that procedural delays in the procurement of equipment and non-utilization of funds placed at the disposal of other Ministries like Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Information and Broadcasting were the main factors for under-utilization of allocated funds during 2006-07. The Committee was afraid that similar reasons would be given for 2007-08 also. It seemed that weekly monitoring meeting at NACO level and quarterly monitoring meetings with the State SACs followed by visits of teams of officers to the States to ascertain the progress of work and level of expenditure had failed to make any noticeable improvement. In view of enhanced allocation of Rs. 1100.00 crore made for 2008-09, the Committee recommended to the Department to take immediate corrective measures and made every conceivable effort so as to ensure optimum and judicious utilization of funds. 12.80 The Committee was dismayed to note that progress made under several components of the programme was abysmal and the trend had been continuing irrespective of the issue being raised again and again. The Committee had been viewing with serious concern the trend of targets remaining under-achieved in the past few years. Last year, the Committee was given to understand that non-procurement of blood bank equipment seriously hampered the modernization of District Level Blood Banks. Non-availability of STD specialists and specialized STD services were held responsible for target set for STD clinics. The Committee had been given to understand that instead of the previous emphasis on opening of STD facilities, now targets were being set for the number of STD cases treated. The Committee pointed out that readjustments of targets would not result in having the required STD specialists and services. The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation of formulating a comprehensive plan for the training of doctors in handling AIDS cases. The Committee recommended to the Department to inform it about the major problem areas in the implementation of National AIDS Control Programme and the corrective measures taken/proposed by the Department to overcome the same. 12.81 The Committee recommended to the Department to continue its consultations with the states that had either suspended or banned the programme and achieved consensus in implementing the scheme. 12.82 The Committee appreciated these priorities of the Department and recommended to the Department to inform it about the specific steps to be taken by it for achievement of the same. 12.83 The Committee was happy to note that though delayed, the Department had taken the desired step towards starting the second line of treatment to lessen the sufferings of drug resistant patients. The Committee would like to recommend to the Department to put in place an effective mechanism so that no patient in need of second line ART was deprived of it. 294
12.84 The Committee was not fully inclined to agree with the contention of the Ministry. Some of the corrective measures in centralized procurement as mentioned below clearly indicate that besides deficiencies at the state level, implementation at the Central level was also not upto the mark:— * Procurement responsibility shifted from Procurement Support Agencies to the United Nations Office for Project Services for Bank supported operations. * Creation of Financial Management Group at the Health Ministry. * Development of detailed guidelines and operational manuals for procurement of NGOs and Public Private Partnerships. * Introduction of evaluation of NGO performance by Committee having one external evaluator. * Termination of contracts of about 25% NGOs. * Pre-award validation/certification of WHO GMP made mandatory in all cases. 12.85 From the information available with the Committee, it noted that services of as many as 177 NGOs had been discontinued. Besides that 48 Community Care Centres being run by NGOs had been discontinued after on site evaluation. The Committee was dismayed at the fact that an alarming percentage of NGOs were blacklisted and had to be removed. The Committee was not inclined to admit that the whole problem was at the district level of officials. The Committee opined that either this was a case of poor monitoring mechanism at the Department level or there was more to the matter than what was visible. The Committee called for a Status Note on the performance of NGOs, unspent balances available with the blacklisted NGOs and action taken for the recovery of the same. Details of all similar cases/discrepancies related to NACO and the action taken by the Department/CBI in that regard was also required to be furnished to the Committee. National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) 12.86 Against a Tenth Plan allocation of Rs. 333.00 crore, enhanced provision of Rs. 2871.92 crore including a provision of Rs. 471.92 crore for Tobacco Control have been made for the Eleventh Plan. While welcoming this initiative of the Government, the Committee was constrained to point out that level of utilization have to keep pace with the enhanced provision. The Committee had been persistently highlighting the need for better management and co-ordination of all concerned. However, the position remained unchanged. Against the Tenth Plan allocation of Rs. 333.00 crore, utilization reported at the end of the year was only Rs. 252.95 crore. The Committee found that year 2007-08, which was the first year of the Eleventh Plan failed to bring any improvement. Plan allocation of Rs. 140.00 crores for 2007-08 for the NCCP was reduced to Rs. 70.00 crores at the RE stage. The expenditure reported upto 29.02.08 was only Rs. 40.31 crores. Similarly, plan provision of Rs. 40.00 crore for Tobacco Control had to be brought down to Rs. 29.00 crore with utilization of only Rs. 7.63 crore by 29.02.2008. 12.87 The Committee took a serious view of total lack of initiative on the part of the Department so far as implementation of National Cancer Control Programme was concerned. The Committee strongly felt that its following observations made in the 25th report had failed to make any impact on the Department:— "The Committee is not satisfied with the citing of a number of procedural formalities as the major factor for undue delay in the release of funds by the Department. It is for the Department to take a pro-active role by pursuing with State Governments for sending viable proposals. As admitted by the Department, the proposal for up-gradation of nine existing RCCs into Centre of Excellence was considered only during the last quarter of the year and five institutions were approved for funding. However, due to non-availability of required funds, only four institutions could be funded. What is more disturbing is that the entire allocation of Rs. 8.70 crore earmarked for NE Region remained unutilised for want of complete proposals. Keeping in view the experience of 2006-07, the Committee recommends to the Department to put in place an effective monitoring mechanism for implementation of Cancer Control Programme." 12.88 It is a sorry state of affairs that at the end of the year, a large number of proposals received for different components are at a ripe stage but due to paucity of time and some technical deficiency found in the proposals, the same could not be materialized. It is high time that an effective monitoring mechanism in co- ordination with all the implementing agencies is put in place without any further delay. 295
12.89 The Committee observed that achievement of these targets would depend to a large extent on the finalization of EFC for the Eleventh Plan which proposed substantial increase in the grant-in-aid. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that efforts might be made to obtain the EFC approval at the earliest. It had also been proposed to enter into new phase of Public Private Partnership which also required enhanced grant-in- aid. The Committee sought to be apprised about the details of that new component. As commented in the previous para, the Committee once again enjoined upon the Department to enhance its efforts from the beginning of this financial year and take suitable corrective measures including strict monitoring so that the approved outlay for NCCP was properly and optimally utilized. 12.90 The Committee recommended to the Department to take up its case more vigorously and with sound reasoning with the State Government of West Bengal for early handing over the piece of land for early construction of the campus of CNCI, Kolkata. 12.91 Committee felt that some corrective measures need to be taken by the Department for submission of UCs by the State Governments under NCCP. Department being a nodal agency, should make all efforts so that funds allocated were in no way allowed to go unutilized for want of proposals and submission of UCs. As far as non submission of utilization certificates was concerned, the Committee felt that there could be possibilities of diversion of the funds. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department had to ensure timely submission of UCs. The Committee would appreciate if a Status Note on pending UCs (State/NGO-wise) was submitted to it. 12.92 The Committee recommended to the Department to give utmost priority to evaluation of the National Cancer Control Programme by a premier agency having experience of work in such Disease Control Programmes. Proper evaluation would help in identifying weak links and result in effective implementation of various components of the programme. National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) 12.93 The Committee was informed last year that the 'in principle' approval of the Planning Commission for setting up of the National Regulatory Authority and Referral Labs for testing Tar and Nicotine content in various tobacco products had been obtained. Process for seeking approval of the competent authority had already begun at that time. The Committee, however, noted that no progress seemed to have been made in this regard thereafter. Keeping in view the prolonged process of getting the approval of the competent authority, the Committee did not have much hope about the same being obtained by June, 2008. The Department have to make concerted efforts so that approval of the competent authority for setting up of the National Regulatory Authority, backbone of the entire programme is obtained at the earliest. 12.94 More than one million people were dying due to consumption of tobacco in the country. The Committee, therefore, strongly felt that the Ministry needed to bring up sustained Mass Media/IEC campaign regarding the adverse and harmful effects of tobacco consumption immediately, as also when NTCP was launched. Sufficient funds should be made available for the same. National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) 12.95 The Committee was constrained to note that in spite of approved outlay being drastically reduced to nearly half for the National Mental Health Programme, the expenditure reported upto 29th February, 2008 was a meager Rs. 14.13 Crores. A proposal for releasing funds to the extent of Rs. 22.165 Crore (including Rs. 4.71 Crore for NE) was stated to be under consideration. The Committee took a serious view of the continuing trend of poor utilization of funds earmarked for the programme. 12.96 Committee was dismayed at the fact that the expansion of the National Mental Health programme envisaged for the Eleventh Plan was yet to be approved. The Committee recommended to the Department to present its case strongly and effectively so as to get necessary approval without further delay. Further, the Department could not simply shy away from its responsibility by stating that progress of the events in these scheme depends on the active cooperation of the State Governments and other stake holders. The Committee, accordingly, recommended to the Department to approach and had regular interactions with the State Governments concerned and identify and problem areas which needed to be addressed. The Department should be proactive so as to motivate the State Governments to participate in the programme actively and furnish proposals with all requisite information to enable release and utilization of the funds optimally. The Committee sought to be informed of the remedial measures taken by the Department in this regard. 296
12.97 The Committee pointed out that majority of districts in the country continue to remain outside the purview of District Mental Health Programme. Only 100 districts had been covered so far, with another 125 new districts proposed to be brought under the programme during 2008-09. The Committee emphasized that all the districts needed to be covered at the earliest. All efforts needed to be made in this direction. National Programme for Prevention and Control of Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases Stroke (NPDCS) 12.98 The Committee was happy to note that the pilot phase of the programme had finally taken off during 2007-08. 12.99 The Committee noted that out of an approved outlay of Rs. 1660.50 crores for the Eleventh Five Year Plan, only Rs. 30.00 crores had been earmarked for 2008-09. This, when taken into account along with last year's utilization of Rs. 4.42 crore, leaves behind a whopping amount of Rs. 1625.50 crores for the last three years of the plan. The Committee was given to understand that a steering Committee had been established to review and expedite the Programme. A meeting of the State participating in the pilot project was held on 17th October, 2007. Appreciating this initiative, the Committee recommended to the Department to carry forward the programme vigorously during the remaining period of the Plan so that the set targets were achieved with the optimum utilization of funds available for the programme. Medical Education 12.100 The Committee was aware that keeping in view the shortage of doctors and existing medical institutions not being adequate enought, MCI norms for opening of colleges/increase of seats need to be reviewed. The Committee, however, felt that this exercise should be undertaken with extreme caution and objective of imparting quality medical education should remain intact. Relaxing norms by allowing private promoters to have land in two pieces within 10 Kms. of each other and allowing corporate entities to set up medical colleges were initiatives which should be implemented after examining all pros and cons. The Committee was of the opinion that in the exercise of relaxation of existing norms, assessment of those experts having the experience of this field should be given due weightage. 12.101 The Committee also took note of the suggestion of the Department to MCI for relaxing the age of retirement of staff of private medical educational institutes from 65 to 70 years, subject to their physical ability, in order to fill up the acute shortage of teaching staff in the sector. Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare had also informed the Committee that a Cabinet Note had been prepared for increasing the age of retirement to 65 years in Government Medical Educational Institutes. Committee was also given to understand that PG degrees of USA, UK, australia, New Zealand and Canada had been recognized and for other countries like Germany and France the matter was under consideration. The idea was that they could come and settle here or they could come as visiting faculties. The Committee welcomed these steps. 12.102 On being asked as to whether any mechanism was in place to check this, the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare stated that at present there was no mechanism to prevent Indian students from going abroad to study. The Committee was of the view that the Department needs to devise an effective mechanism, which could include a legislation, so that Indian medical students could be prevented from going to such places whose educational system did not match with ours. The Committee sought to be informed about the steps taken by the Department in this regard. 12.103 The Committee was anguished to note that the fate of so many students of the remaining 18 medical colleges, who had already appeared in their final examination, remains undecided. The Committee was of the view that the students should not suffer due to such technicalities and bureaucratic hurdles. A decision without any further delay might be taken in the matter. A Status Note on such colleges might also be submitted to the Committee. 12.104 The Committee opined that if implemented, the recommendations of the Commission would be a milestone in improving the standards and quality of medical education in India. The Committee recommended action might be initiated in this regard and Committee apprised accordingly. Vacancies in CHS cadre 12.105 The Committee was constrained to observe that the Department was able to achieve little progress in filling up the vacant posts during the last one year. As informed to this Committee the joining rate of the 297
GDMOs was very less. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Department to enhance its efforts in the right direction by identifying the problem areas and devising a strategy to counter such problems in all sub- cadre posts at the earliest. The Committee would like to be informed about the steps taken by it to fill up vacancies in the different sub-cadres. 12.106 Now that the Sixth Pay Commission had submitted its recommendations, the Committee would recommend to the Department to expedite the implementation of the Javed Chaudhary Committee recommendations. The Committee would like to be informed of the progress made in this regard. 12.107 The Committee viewed with serious concern the grave injustice done to the GDMO cadre for no fault of theirs. Inspite of their being eligible for specialist post, continuance of such doctors in GDMO cadre was indeed against all principles of natural justice. Non-implementation of Fifth Pay Commission recommendation of SAG level positions in All India Service to be 17% of total cadre had created another hurdle in their career progression. The Committee found that Sixth Pay Commission recommendation of filling up the additional posts to be created for fulfilling any gap by direct recruitment would make the position of GDMOs very vulnerable. The Committee was of the firm opinion that the Department should take up this issue immediately with the Ministry of Finance. Every attempt should be made to remove the grave injustice done to the GDMO cadre so that this sub-cadre of professionals gets due recognition and morale boost like others in All India services. New Schemes 12.108 The Committee was dismayed to note that every year the Department announced new schemes/ programmes, many of which were without finalizing the modalities and proper ground work, thereby resulting in under or no utilization of funds. The Committee recommended to the Department to enhance its efforts to complete all necessary formalities and launched the programmes at the earliest so that funds did not get blocked in such schemes. Miscellaneous 12.109 The Committee recommended to the Department to take care of the eco-friendly part of the whole exercise. 12.110 The Committee recommended to the Department to work out modalities for establishing specialized kidney centers immediately and in the meantime approach the Planning Commission for funds with a proposal to improve dialysis facility in the country. In view of increasing gap in demand and supply, at least the well known Institutes across India should be provided with the dialysis machines during the current financial year. The Committee sought to be informed about the steps taken by the Department in this regard. PART-B NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH MISSION (NRHM) AND FAMILY WELFARE PROGRAMMES Budgetary Allocation (NRHM) 12.111 Committee’s attention was drawn to the quantum of allocation that was made during 2007-08 under the Family Welfare/NRHM programmes and the utilization thereof. While an amount of Rs. 10,890 crores was allocated last year, the Department could utilize Rs. 8800.88 crores only uptill 29th February, 2008. The funds utilization position under different heads against the approved Outlay for the year 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 was given below:—
Schemes 2006-07 Expndt. 2007-08 Revised Expndt. 2008-09 Approved Approved Estimate upto Approved Outlay Outlay 29.02.08 Outlay Disease Control Programmes 721.00 695.03 882.00 899.92 685.09 1086.25 Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme 102.00 12.93 80.00 55.00 33.11 72.00 (i) RCH Flexible Pool 1705.72 1427.03 1725.00 1928.58 1643.62 2535.00 Routine Immunisation 345.00 228.83 317.00 260.00 171.88 615.00 Pulse Polio Immunisation 1049.00 1064.60 1341.48 1146.48 930.65 1068.43 (ii) Mission Flexible Pool 1943.18 2069.36 3155.32 3155.32 2505.05 2285.00 Grants to State Training Institutions 91.15 52.07 92.07 93.65 86.00 105.49 Free Distribution & Social Marketing of 200.00 267.48 275.00 294.00 221.80 300.00 Condoms for NACO Free distribution of contraceptives 100.00 91.25 60.00 36.98 30.27 65.00 Area Projects 202.77 120.59 50.01 50.01 42.41 50.01 NGOs (Public-Private Partnership-PPP) 32.91 3.68 20.50 20.50 16.85 20.50 FAMILY WELFARE 218.88 123.11 235.00 200.16 142.31 278.00 Social Marketing of Contraceptives 49.50 20.30 50.00 28.42 15.16 30.00 Other Schemes 43.19 23.24 61.84 68.08 36.79 163.15 (a) Research & Study 8.00 6.23 8.00 6.00 3.60 6.00 (g) MIS 22.07 8.87 29.56 48.00 24.49 137.00 Overall allocation/ Expndt. 8985.48 7485.06 10890.00 10668.61 8800.88 11930.00 The Committee was not satisfied with the present utilization status as indicated above. The fact remains that about Rs. 1900 crores were still left to be spent in the later half of the last quarter of the financial year 2007-08. During 2006-07 also, the funds amounting to Rs. 1500 crores could not be utilised.
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12.112 A perusal of the funds allocation/utilization table referred to above revealed that there had been instances of persistent under utilization of funds as well as steady decrease in allocation of funds during the years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 in case of various schemes like Grants to States Training Institutions, Free Distribution of Contraceptives, Routine Immunization, Area Projects NGOs.—Public Private Partnership and Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project. The Committee was unable to understand this trend of steady decrease in funds allocation/utilization. It failed to comprehend whether it was due to the States' incapacity to make optimum utilization or due to complicated procedural formalities involved in release of the Central assistance. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department should get conducted an analytical study to find out the factors leading to steady decrease in allocation of funds as well as the under utilization thereof year after year. The Committee sought to be informed of the findings of the above study as well the remedial measures proposed to be taken for optimum utilization of funds for the schemes referred to above. 12.113 The pendency level of Utilization Certificates had been engaging the attention of the Committee for the last few years. According to latest figures as on 1.02.2008 there were as many as 1458 Utilization Certificates in respect of Family Welfare Sector amounting to Rs. 2575.02 crores for the grants released upto 2005-06. The Committee failed to understand the reasons for pendency of UCs continuing for such a long period. As per records made available to the Committee, States like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, M.P., Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, U.P. had the maximum number of pending UCs. On a specific query regarding plans of the Department to reach a justifiable level of pendency, the Committee had been given to understand that a communication was sent by the Chief Controller of Accounts (CCA) to all the States through Resident Commissioners on this issue giving full details of pending UCs in respect of the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The Committee was dismayed to note that in the name of efforts, only a letter had been issued. The Committee felt that spirited efforts, which were apparently lacking need to be made on priority basis to clear the UCs which were pending for the last three decades or so. The Committee also recommended to the Department to take up the case with concerned State Governments at the highest level so as to assess whether the funds had been utilized properly or not. 12.114 The Committee asked the Department to provide it with the latest status on the matter at the earliest. Infrastructure Strengthening 12.115 The Committee welcomed the modification in the criteria for assessing the requirement of health infrastructure in the country. In a vast country like ours, rigid norms based on population only and made uniformly applicable were perhaps not proving to be justified and not based on ground realities. The Committee was also of the view that change in the norms for health infrastructure proposed by the Planning Commission was called for. The Committee was, however, not aware whether any preparatory exercise had been initiated for conducting surveys as per the revised norms. The Committee was afraid that if this issue was allowed to linger on for long, the very objective of NRHM of bridging gaps in the health care would continue to be a distant dream. The Committee, accordingly, impressed upon the Department to initiate action at the earliest. 12.116 The Committee was happy to note that the situation in this regard had improved over the past year's figures but at the same time its attention was also drawn to the number of facility survey reports received from the following States:— States CHCs Facility surveys conducted Uttar Pradesh 386 169 Madhya Pradesh 270 96 West Bengal 346 211 Maharashtra 407 145 Andhra Pradesh 167 117 Karnataka 254 54 Tamil Nadu 236 20 Haryana 86 31 Himachal Pradesh 71 15 Goa 5 0 300
12.117 The Committee was dismayed to note that facility surveys in States like Karnataka. Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra had not been treated with the earnest it deserved. Except for West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, not even one State mentioned above had been able to reach the 50% mark in furnishing the facility survey reports. What was more disturbing was the fact that not one report had been received from Goa. Though the Department had given that the States were doing extremely well in the progress in work, the Committee was constrained to note that the data cited above did not support the above stand. It urged the Department to impress upon the State Governments the need to focus their attention on submitting the survey reports on time and thereby meet the timelines for their upgradation by 2010, the realization of which would otherwise remain a far cry. 12.118 The Committee understood that preparation of IDHAP by the districts had begun more than a year before. Reasons for these States falling behind were not known to the Committee. The Committee emphasised that Integrated District Health Action Plans were the very basis for improving the availability of healthcare facilities in a district. Failure of a State to draw such Action Plans leaves very little hope of providing basic healthcare facilities to people residing in such districts. The Committee, therefore, impressed upon the Department to vigorously pursue this issue with concerned State Authorities. 12.119 The Committee hoped that construction work of such Sub-Centres must have been completed. Committee's attention had also been drawn by 66,382 Sub-Centres whose buildings were required to be constructed with 12,247 buildings to be constructed in U.P., followed by A.P. (8301) and West Bengal (7120). The Committee hoped that these States must have availed of financial assistance for construction of SC buildings. The Committee would appreciate if regular monitoring of such SCs was undertaken. 12.120 The Committee had been given to understand that an ANM had been entrusted with the following responsibilities:— * To assist in births at homes in rural areas * to locate pregnant women and take them for Ante Natal Check-ups and at least three Post Natal Check-ups to refer complicated pregnancy cases * to immunize the pregnant women and oversee the administration of folic acid pills etc., * to immunize the new born and oversee the checkup and timely immunisation of the infant * after the introduction of the NRHM, in some of the States she had also undergone three weeks of training in contraception methods/techniques such as insertion of IUDs, administration of oral contraceptive pills, counselling etc. 12.121 From the above information, the Committee understood that the ANM played a very crucial role in the rural areas because of her skill and training in safe deliveries and therefore her contribution to the RCH programme was very vital. Her presence was even more important in those States that had very high MMR and IMR. This presence of ANMs in sub-Centres was essential where proper access to institutional healthcare was not available. ASHA 12.122 The Committee was happy to note the progress made by the Department on the ASHA initiative under NRHM. It was also happy to note that 86.41% ASHA had been trained in their first module post induction training till 12th March, 2008. The Committee observed that ASHA had to undergo three more rounds of training. So far, only 27% ASHAs had undergone 2nd round of training. The Committee was of the view that every effort needs to be made to ensure that second round of training of all the ASHA was completed at the earliest. 12.123 The Committee had its apprehensions regarding the effectivity of ASHA as a multipurpose social health activist, as envisaged under the NRHM. The Committee observed that job responsibilities of ASHA were manifold as indicated below:— — awareness generation—Health, RCH, HIV/AIDS — advising newly married couples for their special needs — guiding pregnant women for availing of institutional facilities for Anti-Natal, Natal and Post-Natal needs 301
— counselling on nutrition, pregnancy, breast-feeding, immunization and family planning — establishing link with PHCs, private providers and others for service requirement of beneficiaries — mobilising parents for child survival interventions — promoting basic sanitization — provision of non-clinical spacing contraceptives — surveillance of communicable diseases. 12.124 ASHA is also the primary provider for National Health Programme. She is the Depot Holder for health commodities like Vitamin A, Impregnated bed nets, ORS etc. She is also supposed to handle treatment of minor ailments. Another major task assigned to ASHA is to provide escort services for women seeking delivery services at institutions, requiring emergency care and MTP services, women and men for clinical contraception services and VCTC. The Committee had been given to understand that States had also taken up the training of ASHAs on diagnosis of malaria cases. For being eligible for ASHA, a woman had to be 25 to 35 years of age, married, resident of the village, acceptable to the village and community and proficient in reading and writing. The Committee failed to understand as to how a single woman, who was a simple villager could take care of one thousand population by performing such wide-ranging tasks. Situation became more complex and well away from ground realities when one found that only remuneration payable to ASHA was for providing Escort Services. Instances of Escort Services might not be very frequent some times. The Committee strongly felt that ASHA was supposed to play a very challenging role. 12.125 The Committee was of the view that with the passage of time, the number of responsibilities of ASHA would itself became a challege for her to cope up with. This would not only reflect in the quality of her work and performance but ultimately fail in fulfilling the very objectives with which the initiative was initially conceptualized. As the initiative was still in the early stages, the Committee suggested that the Department should review the responsibilities entrusted to the ASHA. As the initiative was still in the early stages, the Committee suggested that the Department should review the responsibilities entrusted to the ASHA. Committee's attention had been drawn by the findings of Common Review Mission which conducted appraisal of NRHM in November, 2007, 16 months after NRHM got final Cabinet approval in July, 2006. Appraisal was based on one- two districts in A.P., Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, M.P., Gujarat, J&K, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, UP and West Bengal. The Committee noted that performance assessment of ASHA had led to mixed findings in different States. Non-payment against activities/conflicts regarding compensation money and lack of role clarity between ASHA and AWWs were two major problem areas identified. The Committee apprehended that the situation might worsen with more complexities arising in future. The Committee was, therefore, of the view that role of ASHA needs to be reassessed and reformulated. Rural Health Functionaries 12.126 The Committee observed that the recommendation of Task Force like local preference, contractual appointments for filling short-term gaps, convergence with AYUSH for overcoming the constraints of shortage of health manpower programme did not seek to have made much impact. The Committee found that the apraisal of Common Review Mission conducted in November, 2007 had highlighted the shortage of manpower at all levels in Sub-Centres/PHCs/CHCs in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, J&K, M.P., Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, U.P. and West Bengal. The Committee was of the view that it was high time that this critical appraisal was followed by an action plan for making available the required manpower in these States. The Department had to play a pro-active role without any further delay. One must not forget that the very objective of NRHM of strengthening of primary health infrastructure rests on the availability of key health functionaries at the right places. Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) 12.127 Against such a backdrop, chances of improvement did not seem to be possible in the near future. The Committee understood that many States were having their own set-up of ambulances which seem to be functioning well. There were also States where NGOs were involved in providing this service. The Committee felt that based on the findings of Common Review Mission in respect of some States, steps might be taken for strengthening the facility of MMUs. 302
12.128 The Committee had the opportunity to apprise itself about the key findings of the appraisal conducted by the Common Review Mission in November, 2007. The study was based on team visits made to one or two districts in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, M.P., Gujarat, J&K, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, U.P. and West Bengal. The Committee found that assessment of NRHM on 24 parameters had been made through this appraisal. The Committee took note of the constraints being faced by these States in the implementation of NRHM and the recommendations on the areas that need strengthening and course correction. While appreciating this initiative, the Committee was of the view that such an appraisal needs to be followed by intensive interaction with all the implementing agencies in the States at the earliest. Otherwise the very purpose of undertaking such an exercise would be defeated. The Committee also strongly felt that such Common Review Missions should be conducted in all the States, with one region being taken at a time. It would also be a good idea if two-three performing and non-performing districts in each State were taken together for making an comparative analysis. Incorporation of surprise visits would make the assessment more realistic. National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) 12.129 The Committee noted that like in the previous years, funds provide in 2007-08 remained under- utilised. Expenditure reported upto 29.02.08 was Rs. 283.74 crore. Secretary, while deposing before the Committee had mentioned that by 31.03.2008, expenditure figures stood at Rs. 385.38 crore, indicating 96.46% utilisation of allocated funds of Rs. 399.50 crore. The Committee was constrained to put out that instead of there being an improvement, position had worsened in 2007-08. An amount of Rs. 102.00 crore being spent in the last month of the financial year calls for serious introspection. The Committee had been repeatedly impressing upon the Department for initiating corrective measures in this regard. Reasons like delay in procurement process, submission of SOE/UCs by States/UTs and non-recruitment of required staff seem to have persisted in 2007-08 also. 12.130 The Committee strongly felt that mere chalking out an elaborate Action Plan and allocation of funds for control of a major disease did not seem to make any sense if year after year same constraints seem to persist. The Committee once again tried to impress upon the Department to take immediate steps for removal of bottlenecks in the successful implementation of Malaria Control Programme. The Committee would like to mention that under the National Vector Borne Desease Control Programme, major component was Malaria Control having the maximum allocation of Rs. 351.68 crore out of a provision of Rs. 440.03 crores for the entire programme in 2008-09. Therefore, it is in the fitness of things that concerted efforts are also made for optimum and judicious utilisation of allocated funds. 12.131 The Committee was alarmed by the trend of Pf cases reported from these States. Committee's attention had also been drawn to quantum jump of number of malaria deaths reported in the country. In 2006, 1639 deaths were reported against 963 deaths occuring in 2005. By November, 2007, this figure had already reached 807. The Committee had every reason to apprehend that actual figures of deaths might be higher than what was officially recorded. Reason being there was no mechanism at present to independently verify the field level figures for any State. 12.132 The Committee had been persistently drawing the attention of the Department to the urgent need for implementation of all malaria control measures in Malaria endemic States of NE Region, Orissa and West Bengal. The Committee was well aware that NE States together contribute 4% of the country's population, 12% of malaria cases, 18% of Pf cases and 54% of the total malaria related deaths reported in the country during 2006. Figures must have remained unchanged in 2007 also. Another cause of concern was increasing trend of resistance to conventional anti-malarial drug Chloroquine noticed in N-E States. The Committee noted that Global Fund supported Intensified Malaria Control Project in NE States being implemented since July, 2005 with a contribution of US $ 30 million for the first two years of the project also seemed to have failed to have the desired impact. 12.133 The Committee noted that increased supervision and monitoring was one of the main strategies adopted for effective control of malaria. The latest figures made available to the Committee revealed continuance of shortage of surveillance and supervisory staff in NE States. In Assam, the biggest State of NE Region, against the sanctioned posts of 694 Health Supervisor (Male) only 570 were in position, against 343 Health Supervisor (Female), there were 316 and only 1646 MPW(M) against 3080 sanctioned posts. What was more 303 disturbing was that while Tripura failed to furnish the data, Meghalaya and Nagaland had provided incomplete information. The primary role of MPW(M) and MPW(F) is door to door surveillance and detection of communicable deseases and it's reporting. The fact that these functionaries play a vital role in disease detection and surveillance cannot be ignored. By not appointing these functionaries, the States left a big gap at the field- level disease surveillance, detection and treatment. This vital issue needed to be pursued at the highest level in the concerned States. The other strategy adopted was use of Rapid Diagnostic Kits by ASHAs. The Committee did not have high expectation from this initiative as firstly required number of ASHAs had to be in place in malaria endemic States and even if they were there, they would be over-burdened with the various tasks already assigned to them. The Committee failed to comprehend the continuance of such a discouraging situation inspite of special dispensation of NE States. The Committee could only reiterate that there was need for drastic measures and extensive monitoring under the supervision of State Nodal Officers. Kala-Azar 12.134 The Committee strongly felt that effective surveillance, timely treatment and compliance of treatment regimens in all PHCs would lead to better reports in 2008. The Committee was of the view that only if intensive monitoring at all levels was caried out, the goal of elimination of Kala-azar by 2010 could be made achievable. Situation till then had not been very encouraging. All the quantifiable objectives listed in the Action Plan for 2008-09 needed to be closely monitored on monthly basis. Japanese Encephalitis 12.135 The Committee was dismayed to note that despite various methods adopted by the Department over the past year to contain the disease, the number of cases reported to be suffering from JE/AES had shown an increase over the previous year figures. The fact was evern more disturbing that though the Department claims to have completed 99.97% immunization in the past year in 7 worst affected districts in Uttar Pradesh, the situation there had worsened with 2675 cases and 577 deaths in 2007 (till December) over the 2006 figures of 2320 cases and 528 deaths. The Committee failed to comprehend as to why inspite of a number of preventive measures taken by the Central Government in co-ordination with the State Government of Uttar Pradesh, the JE/ AES related cases and deaths continue to be high in the State. The Committee apprehended that the actual figures would increase the tally much further. The Committee stated that though the data for Assam had not been made available by the Department, going by the fact sheet of 2006, it was apprehensive that the situation in Assam would also show a similar trend as that of U.P. 12.136 The Committee drew the attention of the Department to the fact that the year 2006 had reported a visible impact of preventive measures initiated by registering a declining trend when compared with 2005 figures. Quantum jump in the first three quarter of 2007 calls for a serious review with special focus on Assam and U.P., the two main endemic States. The Committee impressed upon the Department that analysis of epidemiological and entomological data for epidemic outbreak prediction and timely remedial measures was required to be carried out on an urgent basis. 12.137 The Committee felt that perhaps the precautionary methods adopted by the Department had not percolated properly to the affected population because of which the disease had once again registered an increase. The Committee added that lax monitoring of the disease by the Central as well as the State Government could aggravate the situation further unless it was dealt with a sense of urgency. It suggested the Department to undertake on-the-spot review of the situation as to the possible causes for upsurge in the reported cases. The Committee urged the Department to set up the ongoing IEC activities in the endemic States so that the desired objective was reached soon. Dengue/Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever/Chikungunya 12.138 Incidence of Chikungunya cases in the country during 2006 and 2007 had led the Committee to the conclusion that various intiatives taken by the Department had so far failed to yield any desired results. The Committee strongly felt that with the enhanced allocation of Rs. 14.59 crore in 2008-09. For Dengue and Chikungunya, effective measures were required to be undertaken in the affected States. Mere circulation of detailed guidelines and advisories for prevention and control of these diseases to all affected States would not serve any purpose. What was required was to identify the affected districts and went for regular fever surveillance in such endemic areas to detect an unusual trend. The Committee was of the view that if this analysis of ground reality was followed by IEC activities and strengthening of apex Referral Institutions for 304 diagnosis and treatment, number of Dengue/Chikungunya cases would show a declining trend. The Committee apprehended that unless adequate remedial mesures were taken, sporadic outburst of these diseases would continue to be reported from different States every year. National T.B. Control Programme 12.139 The Committee appreciated the successful implementation of RNTCP Phase-I and ongoing Phase-II. Several initiatives/interventions taken at different levels and variety of implementing agencies had contributed to the increasing population coverage and 85% cure rate. However, India still contributed 20% of TB cases reported in the world. Out of 8.8 million cases per annum, 1.8 million cases were from India alone. New complex off shoots of TB also kept on emerging, the most visible being worsening HIV epidemic increasing the number of TB cases. The Committee noted that HIV was the most potent risk factor for progression of TB infection to disease form. HIV-TB patients detected in 2005 were 12,062, 13,614 in 2006 and 18,559 in 2007. The Committee was aware that increase in number of co-infected (HIV-TB) patients being detected over the last three years was a result of innovative and co-ordinated measures taken by the Department. But the other dimension of this trend was increasing complexities involved in treatment of such cases. The Committee hoped that the National Framework formulated by RNTCP and NACP for joint TB/HIV collaborative activities would lead to better and effective control of this emerging problem area. 12.140 The Committee observed that the other major challenge to TB control in the country was increasing number of MDR-TB cases. The Committee was aware the such cases were bound to increase the magnitude and severity of TB epidemic and pose a major threat to TB control. The Committee in its earlier Report had pointed out that 7% defaulters in a year was quite a significant number of cases remaining untreated or half- treated. With a single TB patient infecting 10-15 persons in a year, rate of infection was bound to increase. The Committee pointed out that formulation of guidelines for management of MDR-TB cases and publication thereof would not prove to be sufficient enough. The Committee had given a simple suggestion for identifying the defaulter TB patients from the records being maintained at centres/hospitals with the help of NGOs/Social works and Private Practitioners. Intention of the Committee was to identify such cases at the first default stage itself. The Committee found that under a new initiative a total of 50 MDR-TB patients were to be registered for treatment in Gujarat and Maharashtra during 2007-08 to be doubled every year subsequently and ultimately in the entire country. While welcoming this initiative, the Committee also pointed out that cost of MDR-TB treatment was 300 times more than non-MDR-TB. The Committee could only say that preventive measures would be both cost-efffective and helpful for the patients. The Committee was of the firm opinion that through effective IEC activities and alertness of health workers regular intake of medicines could be easily monitored. The Committee, therefore, suggested that monitoring of TB patients - the most vital aspect, should not be ignored at any cost. 12.141 The Committee was disappointed to note that in spite of repeated cautioning by it regarding the issue of unspent balances being carried forward to the next year there had been no improvement in the situation. Despite various measures like training of Accountants, adherence to financial norms through inspection of records and visits taken by the Department, the expenditure figures in respect of many of the States revealed that huge amounts had been lying unutilized. The Committee had in its 22nd Report, emphasized the need for streamlining the utilisation pattern of States/UTs. However, the situation had seen little change over the past year. From the information provided by the Department to a specific query regarding allocation and utilization of funds for the year 2007-08 a very gloomy picture was revealed. Many States as indicated below did not have the capacity to make optimum utilisation: (Rs. in crores)
States Opening Funds Total Funds Expenditure Closing balance balance as released upto as on on 1st April (2007-08) 31st December 31st December 2007 2007 2007 123456 Bihar 3.06 6.55 9.61 6.08 3.52 Gujarat 1.14 9.27 10.41 6.89 3.51 305
123456 Jharkhand 1.91 3.60 5.51 2.42 3.09 Karnataka 1.52 7.10 8.62 6.54 2.07 Madhya Pradesh 1.23 8.77 10.00 6.57 3.42 Tamil Nadu 1.11 9.25 10.36 6.07 4.28 Uttar Pradesh 2.75 25.25 28.03 17.30 10.72
TOTAL: 23.88 170.11 193.99 118.52 75.47 The Committee was apprehensive that the trend of under utilisation during this year must have worsened even more. The Committee had been time and again emphasizing that availability of unspent balances and under-utilisation of funds was tantamount to persisting flawed in implementing the Programme. The Committee, at the risk of being repetitive, impressed upon the Department that it should discuss the problems with the programme directors and evaluate as to why the programme did not take off at the required tempo and what possible steps could be taken to bring about better implementation of the programme. 12.142 The Committee asked the Department to furnish details of the evaluation reports as stated above with respect to utilization of funds and activities undertaken by the NGOs. The Committee also suggested some measures for increasing advocacy, communication and social mobilisation. It recommended that the Department should sit with the Private Print and Media sector and should work out modalities as to how they could be involved in the IEC activities for the programme. 12.143 The Committee was happy to note that the pharma company Johnson & Johnson had undertaken the responsibility for developing a drug for treatment of patients with Multi-Drug Resistant TB. The Committee had been given to understand that the cost of treatment of MDR-TB patients was very high. The Committee felt that the issue of cost effectiveness of the drug needs to be examines simply because patients in India are generally poor and lack means to afford the drugs. Under the circumstances, the affordability of the drug could be construed as a blessing for the poor and downtrodden. 12.144 Committee's attention had been drawn to Studies like Social Assessment Study, Institutional Assessment Study in respect of TB Control measures undertaken so far. The Committee pointed out that TB infection was no more confined to poor and marginalised sections of the society. Growing number of patients now belong to middle class and also affluent population. There was a urgent need for making an analysis of basic factors behind this emerging situation which could ultimately reach to alarming proportions. The Committee hoped that with the availability of both funds and manpower, the Departrment would take up such an exercise at the earliest. National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) 12.145 The Committee in its 22nd Report, had voiced its serious concern for under-utilisation of allocated funds in 2006-07 due to unspent balances in majority of the States. The Committee took note of detailed analysis of actual expenditure patern in 2006-07 carried out by the Department. The Committee was surprised to observe that even this detailed analysis indicated provisional figures of 77.59% of utilisation of allocated funds by the States. The Committee's concern was further deepned by the fact that the two major States Bihar and Jharkhand could utilize only 33.9% and 30% of the allocated funds during the year 2006-07. Creation of confusion due to merger of the leprosy society with the State Health Society under NRHM had been cited as the main reason for this position. The Committee had been given to understand that a number of measures like review of programme performance and expenditure pattern in the quarterly review meetings of District Leprosy Officers streamlining of procurement procedure and monitoring at the central level were initiated during 2007-08. The Committee also noted that more focus was given on implementation of Action Plan during annual meeting and quarterly review meetings of State Programme Officer. Not only this the States were also instructed to prepare a month-wise Action Plan of IEC and Training from July, 2007 onwards and submitting the monthly implementation reports of these activities. The Committee was however, constrained to observe that these elaborate measures initiated by the Department failed to make any visible impact as the ground realities continue to remain unchanged. Drastic reduction of allocated funds had to be made at RE stage in 2007-08 with even that provision remaining under-utilised upto 29.2.08. 306
12.146 The Committee was apprehensive that an enhanced allocation during 2008-09 might also face similar outcomes. The Committee felt that though the plan of action under the programme was well prepared, monitoring the timely and proper utilization of funds needs to be taken on a more serious note. Mere advisories to the State Implementing Agencies would not serve the purpose. It, therefore, recommended that the Department took up the issue with the State Programme Officers especially of Bihar and Jharkhand in an emphatic manner during its quarterly review meetings. 12.147 The Committee welcomed the initiatives taken by the Department to provide reconstruction treatment to leprosy disabled person. The Committee would appreciate of modalities for implementing this new scheme were finalised at the earliest. The Committee would appreciate if this scheme took off at the earliest. The Committee however, emphasized that strict monitoring should be ensured so that really needy persons were benefited. Adequate publicity also needed to be given. All the stake-holders both implementing agencies and targeted beneficiaries, need to be made aware of this new initiative proposed under the programme. National Programme for Control of Blindness 12.148 The Committee, was, however, surprised to find that implementation of new initiatives depended on the approval of EFC Memo by the Ministry of Finance and CCEA. Till then, the funds allocated for 2008-09 would continue to be utilized as per the existing scheme approved for the Tenth Plan. The Committee was not happy with this state of affairs. Second year of Eleventh Plan had already started and by the time approval of the competent authority was finally received, the year 2008-09 would be nearing its end. The Committee pointed out that some of the new initiatives like construction of dedicated Eye Wings/Eye OTs in District Hospitals, appointment of manpower, development of mobile ophthalmic units in NE states would have to undergo a number of procedural formalities before their actually taking off. The Committee accordingly recommended that concerted efforts need to be made for getting the formal approval at the earliest. The Committee would appreciate if simultaneously preparatory activities were also started. 12.149 The Committee had been taking note of instances of malfunctioning of Eye Camps reported in the Media in the different states. The Committee felt that monitoring of Eye Camps was being exclusively done by the District Blindness Control Societies. Department's role started as and when reports regarding malfunctioning of Eye Camps held in states were brought to the notice of the Ministry. Corrective measures were accordingly taken by the Ministry. The Committee, however felt that the Department needs to be more pro-active in such cases. One corrective measure which could be initiated by the Department without any special efforts involved was to review the performance of such Eye Camps in the state level meetings, with required follow-up action taken on the reported incidents of malfunctioning of Eye Camps. The Committee was also of the view that follow-up treatment after Eye Camps should be made mandatory and strictly enforced. District hospital authorities also needed to be involved in the conducting of such Eye Camps by introduction of compulsory, pre-checks in Eye Camps before start of Eye surgery and other treatment. The Committee added that the Department should also devise some method of surprising inspection of such eye camps organized by the NGOs to facilitate cataract operations. This, the Committee felt, wouldensure stricter compliance by all the concerned entities and help reduce eyes mishaps. The Committee noted that the process for independent evaluation of NPCB including evaluation of work being done by NGOs had been initiated. The Committee would appreciate if this exercise was expedited so that corrective measures were taken at the earliest. 12.150 The Committee was not convinced that the IEC activities were being carried out as intensely as was started by the Department. The Committee had been given to understand that out of the total allocated budget under National Programme for Control of Blindness, around 7% had been spent on IEC, which according to the Committee, was quite a sizable amount. The Committee strongly felt that public awareness about the noble cause of eye donation for blind persons continues to be very low. The Committee was of the view that a review of IEC activities on this aspect need to be made in consultation with all the stake-holders, specially reputed Eye Hospitals/NGOs doing commendale work in this area and also both government and private ad agencies. The Commitee also to emphasized that the functioning of Eye Banks in the country requires to be reviewed in view of reported lac of logistic support for timely collection of eyes by the Eye Banks. Steps also need to be taken for increasing the number of Eye Banks in the country. 12.151 The Committee noted with disappointment that the target to bring prevalence of blindness to 0.8% by 2007 had not been reached. The Department had informed that as per the report of Rapid Survey on 307
Avoidable Blindness (2007), the prevalence of blindness had come down to 1% and that Cataract remains the single largest cause of blindness, low vision and one eye blindness in India. The Committee also inferred from the above study that the prevalence of blindness due to Trachoma also continues to be there. It was a well known fact that blindness was a bane of nature. The Committee believed that most of the people in smaller towns and rural areas were not aware of the symptoms of the above ailments, and the methods to manage eye care, their eye-care service seeking behavior pattern did not change. The Committee exhorted the Department to take all possible necessary steps to devise IEC activities in local media and television channels so that awareness among the people was increased. The Committee believed a lot of cases of blindness could be checked by such a measure and would in the long run help to achieve the targeted goals under the programme. National Iodine Deficiencies Disorders Programme 12.152 The Committee noted with dismay that not even one of the targets set under the Programme could be achieved during the past year by the given time line. Moreover, uptill 28.2.2008, only Rs. 13.13 crores of the funds released, could be spent. The Committee considered such a trend highly unsatisfactory. The Committee remarking on the under-utilisation of funds during 2006-07, had expressed its apprehension on proper utilisation of funds allocated under the programme for 2007-08 in its 22nd Report. The Committee was given to understand that a provision of Rs. 4.30 crores had been made for States and UTs to meet the expenditure on the following components for the same year. 1. Establishment of an IDD Control Cell 2. Establishment of an IDD Monitoring Lab 3. DD Surveys/resurveys of districts 4. Health Education and Publicity 12.153 To the utter dismay of the Committee, the States could not set up even one IDD Control Cell or IDD Monitoring Lab. Not only that, of the 20,000 salt samples the Department had planned to analyse from 40 districts at the rate of 500 samples per district, not even one sample had been analysed. The Committee took a serious view of this. 12.154 The Committee's attention had also been drawn by enhanced allocation of Rs. 32 crores in 2008-09. The Committee emphasized once again that all conceivable efforts should be made so as to ensure optimum and judicious utilization of allocated funds. Reproductive and Child Health Programme 12.155 The Committee, however, noted that under RCH Flexible Pool expenditure reported upto 29th February, 2008 was only Rs. 1643.62 crore. Similarly, under the Mission Flexible Pool, Utilisation status as on 29th February, 2008 as reported in the Outcome Budget was Rs. 2505.05 crore. Spending of major portion of the allocated funds during the last quarter clearly indicated that both the major programmes continue to have some inherent problem areas. The assessment of the Committee was confirmed by the performance of High Focus States during 2007-08 as indicated below: (Rs. in crores)
Sl. State Opening Balance as Fund releases by Utilisation by No. on 1.4.07 Dec. 2007 Dec. 2007 12 3 4 5 High Focus States 1 Bihar 112.63 0.00 87.40 2 Chhattisgarh 10.12 35.76 19.39 3 Himachal Pradesh 8.02 4.21 4.48 4 J&K 7.34 3.75 7.29 5 Jharkhand 43.78 22.15 11.76 308
12 3 4 5 6 Madhya Pradesh 46.04 230.65 196.83 7 Orissa 42.16 103.73 62.86 8 Rajasthan 49.73 116.44 103.77 9 Uttar Pradesh 212.39 129.75 119.70 10 Uttarakhand 9.86 6.68 8.73
TOTAL: 542.12 653.12 622.24 12.156 The Committe pointed out that in view of increased demands from the States for various activities under RCH Flexipool, allocation was enhanced to Rs. 1928.58 crores at the RE Stage from Rs. 1725.00 crore provided in BE 2007-08. Availability of opening balance of Rs. 542.12 crore at the beginning of the year with additional increase at the RE Stage clearly indicated that there was no shortage of funds. It seemed that either the States did not have the capacity to take the maximum benefit of different components of the programme or rigid procedural formalities for release of funds were coming in the way of optimum utilization of funds. The Committee had been given to understand that with regard to Mission Flexible pool allocation of Rs. 2285.00 crore in 2008-09 fell short of the requirements envisaged under different components. Additional funds under the Mission Flexible Pool would be provided during the course of the year. Janani Suraksha Yojana 12.157 Under the Mission Flexipool during 2007-08, 17% of allocated funds were used for upgradation of CHCs to IPHS followed by 15% towards procurement of ASHA Drug Kit. Among EAG States, Rajasthan, U.P. and M.P. and among non-EAG States, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Gujarat were reported to be performing well during 2007-08. The Committee however noted that 25% of Rs. 793 crores utilized under Mission Flexipool were used for other activities under NRHM. The Committee wanted to have an idea about the details of such activities. 12.158 Reports were being received from various sources that there was a lot more to the compensation received under the programme than was visible to the naked eye. There were instances when institutional deliveries were being falsely reported and the entire compensation package was being misused/misappropriated. 12.159 The Committee felt that monitoring mechanism for such Schemes needed to be very effective so that no grey areas were there to be misused by unscrupulous persons. The Committee called for a Status Note on the procedure of verification of claims and release of compensation package under the programme. The Committee also strongly felt that community participation was encouraged so as to keep a watchful eye on the activities of implementing agencies under the Scheme. The Committee desired that an assessment be made about the impact of JSY on the lowering of Maternal Mortality Rate in the crucial States. Routine Immunisation Programme 12.160 The Committee had been observing that State specific problems specially in the low performing States continue to persist. Shortage of Health Workers, lack of awareness and laxity in monitoring and supervision of the programme were some of the problems being noticed in such States. Reported coverage of different vaccines under the Routine Immunization Programme confirmed the Committee's apprehensions that in some of the States like Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur Position was very unsatisfactory. The Committee pointed out that the steps taken for strengthening the Routine immunization Programme like recruitment of health workers, regular reviews at all levels and catch up rounds in poor performing States did not seem to have yielded the desired results. The Committee could only say that catch-up rounds in poor performance States with the districts identified beforehand was the most important step for effective reduction in the number of un- immunized and partially immunized children. Entire focus of the Implementing agencies should be on this alone. 12.161 The Committee understood that the three pioneer institutes namely Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, Pasteur Institute of India (PTI), Coonoor, Tamil Nadu and the BCG Vaccine Laboratory (BCGVL) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu had been directed to stop vaccine production. The Committee strongly felt that these vaccine production units should not be converted to only testing laboratories. The Committee accordingly recommended that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should withdraw the 309 order without delay. (b) 28th Report Budgetary Allocation 12.162 The Committee welcomed the enhanced allocaton for AYUSH Sector in the Eleventh Plan. The Committee, however, observed that Tenth Plan provision of Rs. 1194.60 crores although less than one-third of Eleventh Plan allocaton remained under-utilised with an expenditure of only Rs. 1030.15 crores reported at the end of the plan period. BE allocation in the last three years of the Tenth Plan had to be brought down at the RE stage, with the reduced allocation too remaining under-utilised. The Committee viewed with serious concern the continuance of this trend in the Eleventh Plan also. 12.163 The Committee was also disturbed to note that provison of Rs. 40.18 crores meant for 'Other Miscellaneous Schemes' had to be brought down to Rs. 27.27 crores at the RE stage with only Rs. 7.56 crores being spent till February, 2008. Schemes like programme for Training/Fellowship/Exposure Visit/Upgradation, TKDL and ISM&H Intellectual Property Rights, North East Institute of AYUSH/Folk Medicine had shown nil expenditure. 12.164 The Committee deplored the fact that the BE 2007-08 had to be revised downward in some of the most important schemes/projects of the Department. The Committee felt that had the projects/schemes under reference, been monitored every quarter, the funds allocated could have been put to more gainful use. The Committee, therefore, directed the Department to be more vigilant in future so that such delays did not recur and the bottlenecks could be taken care of at the initial stage itself. Last year, the Committee had observed that most of the States were not having an effective Commissionerate/Directorate of AYUSH for proper planning, implementation and monitoring of AYUSH Schemes. The Committee hoped that most of the States must have taken the required steps by now. The Committee sought to be apprised of the specific action taken including setting up of a monitoring mechanism to ensure optimum and judicious utilization of the funds allocated for 2008-09. 12.165 The Committee was distressed to observe that out of the above eight schemes launched for implementation during Eleventh Plan period, financial achievement in respect of as many as six schemes was much below the desired level in the first year of their implementation and two were yet to be sanctioned. As could be seen from the above table, BE in respect of three schemes, namely, Upgradation of Centres of Excellence, Revitalization of Local health Traditions and Development of AYUSH industry clusters had to be drastically reduced at the RE stage and even this reduced RE allocation could not be utilized fully in respect of revitalization of Local health Traiditions and Development of AYUSH industry clusters. Similarly, provisions made in RE 2007-08 in respect of other schemes, except Upgradation to Centres of Excellence, could not be utilized optimally. The Committee felt that had the Department done the proper planning and preparatory exercise in respect of these new Schemes, the utilization status would not have been so discouraging. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Department to ensure that such a situation did notarise in 2008-09 and the funds earmarked for the intended purposes were fully utilized during the current fiscal year. 12.166 The Committee was happy to note that the Department had put in place a rigorous monitoring mechanism to tackle the problem of high pendency of Utilization Certificates and some procedural changes had also been effected with a view to expediting submission of UCs. Though the above measures had borne fruit, liquidation of UCs still left much to be desired. The Committee noted that as on 29-02-2008 UCs amounting to Rs. 163.51 crores under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes and Rs. 59.00 crores under the Central Sector Schemes were still outstanding, which went against the canons of financial prudence. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the progress made towards liquidation of UCs and the outstanding amount involved therein be reviewed on a periodic basis by a senior officer of the Departmet. 12.167 The Committee was not happy about the dismal performance of the Department in utilization of the allocated funds for the North East. It was very disturbing to note that the provisions made could not be utilized fully even in respect of a single scheme. Keeping in view the fact an efficient and affordable health care delivery system had a key role to play in the socio-economic and political integration of the people of North East, the Committee recommended that the Department should work out modalities in consultation with all the stakeholders including the concerned State Governments to ensure that the utilization of funds in 2008-09 did not suffer from the same inadequacies as faced in 2007-08 and registers a marked improvement during 2008-09. 310
Educational Institutions National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur. 12.168 The Committee noted from the Outcome Budget that construction of an auditorium was planned during 2006-07. However, the work on the project was yet to start. The Department had attributed the delay to non-finalization of construction works by CPWD. The Committee would like the Department to appraise it of the stumbling blocks in the way of finalizing the construction works of the auditorium, explain the shortfall in achievement of the SC/ST medical mobile camps and specify the contributory factors for the reduced number of the patients. The Committee also sought to be intimated about the corrective measures taken by the Department to address the above issues. 12.169 The Committee noted that the issue of reservation for OBC had since been cleared by the Supreme Court and now the NIA, Jaipur would have to implement the reservation for OBC from the ensuing academic year by increasing seats at both UG & PG level. The Committee, therefore recommended that adequate funds were made available for the purpose so that financial constraints did not come in the way of implementation of reservation for OBCs. The Committee was also not aware about the status of approval of the competent authority for the payment of arrear NPAs to Faculty. The Committee would appreciate if the pending projects as well as the new projects to be taken up were completed in a time-bound manner. 12.170 The Committee noted that there had been considerable progress in the filling up of the vacant posts in NIA, though a few posts of Professor, Associate Professor and Lecturer were yet to be filled up. The Committee was, however, surprised to note that inspite of efforts, suitable candidates for the post of Professor was yet to be found and as a result, posts were being re-advertised. The Committee was of the view that a review of selection procedure including the eligibility criteria for the posts of Professor and Assistant professor needed to be made on an urgent basis. The Committee was afraid the situation was bound to worsen with the implementation of Supreme Court judgment on OBC reservation. The Committee hoped that all the 15 successful candidates for the post of Lecturer must have joined the institute by now. National Institute of Homoeopathy (NIH), Kolkata 12.171 In its 23rd Report on Demands for Grants (2007-08) of the Department presented on the 3rd May, 2007, the Committee had noted with a sense of dismay that the target of completion of the expansion of existing 60 bedded hospital to a 100 bedded hospital at NIH, Kolkata during the Tenth plan could not be achieved. The Committee was given to understand that instead of 100 bedded hospital, NH was envisaged to have a 250 bedded hospital in view of increase in the number of seats on account of 27% reservation for OBCs. In view of the tardy progress noticed during the Tenth Plan, the Committee had tried to put in a word of caution. The Committee was of the view that this long pending project needed to be completed in a time-bound manner under close monitoring by the Department as well as the institute authorities. Apprehension voiced by the Committee had proved to be more than true. Utilisation of only Rs. 48.00 lakhs against a non-plan allocation of Rs. 1.50 crores clearly indicated that the expansion project was yet to see the light of day. Serious reservation expressed by the Committee in its 26th Report presented on the 7th December, 2007 had also failed to make any impact on the Department. The delay was certain to cause cost overruns. Apart from it, the Committee was seriously concerned about the fact that if the upgradation to 100 bedded hospital could not be squeezed within the Tenth Plan, then what was the guarantee for completion of the upgradation to the 250 bedded hospital by 2009 and that too out of the meagre allocation of Rs. 17 crores for 2008-09. The Committee failed to comprehend the reasons for there being no mention about this major project in its Action Plan for 2008-09. It seemed that NIH would continue to function with a 60 bedded hospital only at least for another plan period. The Committee, emphasized that Department needs to constitute a monitoring group consisting of both the representatives of the institute and the Department to not only monitor the progress of work on a periodic basis, but also to iron out any procedural or administrative issues that might crop up during the course of implementation of the project. 12.172 The Committee also noted that the Commencement of certificate courese, opening of two more peripherals OPD, and development of Green House land Laboratory, which were targeted to be achieved during 2007-08 could not materialize. The Committee observed that non-achievement of the above targets reflects poorly on the existing implementing mechanism and calls for immediate remedial measures. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Department to identify the underlying causes of under-achievements in this regard and take the corrective measures accordingly so that this National Institute could live upto its reputation. 311
12.173 The Committee expressed its concern over such a large number of vacant posts both in teaching and non-teaching cadres. Not only this, percentage of Guest-Faculty and contract appointments was also quite high. The Committee observed that the shortfall would be further accentuated as a result of the latest Supreme Court judgment upholding 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The Committee felt that the steps taken to tide over the problem of shortfall in the teaching and the non-teaching cadre posts by way of engaging guest faculty, outsourcing etc. was a short-term measure which could never be a substitute for filling up the posts on a permanent basis. Since the amended Recruitment Rules had been submitted to the Minister of H & F W for his approval, the Committee was hopeful that these would be notified shortly. However, the Committee observed that the NIH was an autonomous organization of national importance and all care needed to be exercised to ensure that its autonomy did not get eroded in any way by the revised Recruitment Rules. The Committee also recommended that the Department set in motion the process of completing other remaining formalities so that the recruitment did not only get started immediately after notification of the Recuritment Rules but was also taken to its logical conclusion within a specified time frame. National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM), Bangalore 12.174 The Committee deplored the fact that due to a combination of factors involving the slow progress of construction work, non filling of vacant posts and under achieved targets for purchase of machinery and equipments the sanctioned funds could not be utilized optimally. The fact that the estimate submitted was reduced based on the progress of work was a clear indication that the pace of work was tardy. The Committee was convinced that had the monitoring mechanism for the construction work been streamlined, the progress of the construction work would had been far better leading to optimal utilization of the funds. The Committee, therefore, recommended that henceforth the Department should review the progress of work on a quarterly basis so that the corrective action for overcoming the stumbling blocks, if any, could be taken timely. 12.175 The Committee was also not satisfied with the explanation that the sanctioned budget for purchase of machinery and equipments could not be fully utilized due to poor response to the tender notification by the firms supplying Pharmacy equipments. In this era of global competition when firms were vying to go the extra mile to bag a contract, such a reasoning did not carry much conviction. The Committee was reasonably convinced that had the Department re-advertised the tender notification with suitable terms and conditions, it would have been able to get the desired response. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department should devise a fresh tender strategy, offering the permissible flexibility vital for attracting interests of supplying firms so that with necessary flexibility it could quicken the process of procurement of machinery and equipments. 12.176 The Committee was dismayed at the fact that so many targets had not been achieved, which would not only have an adverse impact on the vision of developing the NIUM as a modal Post Graduate Teaching Training and research institution in the Unani System, but also undermine the Institute's future demand for enhanced allocation. 12.177 The Committee was all for the enchanced allocation but at the same time, it exhorted the Department to ensure that the monitoring mechanism was streamlined in such a way that the possibility of unspent funds was obviated in 2008-09. 12.178 The Committee noted that the NIUM had projected a number of very important outcomes for 2008-09, which inter-alia include creation and recruitment of staff for 2nd phase of new PG courses, starting of an OPD at PHC in Bangalore, establishment of an Endoscopy unit; establishment of specialized wards on nominal payment basis; establishment of 3rd IPD ward; making the existing OT functional etc. The Committee apprehended that the above targets might also meet the same fate as those set for 2007-08, if sustained and vigorous efforts were not made towards their implementation. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Department to communicate to it the roadmap for achievement of targets set for 2008-09 and also the steps taken to rectify the deficit in targets for 2007-08. Statutory Institutions Central Council of Indian Medicine, New Delhi 12.179 A perusal of the above table revealed that out of 21 States, only five States had informed about updation of their register upto 31-3-2007 and one State had intimated about updation of its Register upto 31-12-2007. 312
In respect of remaining States, either pendency was more, or status not known. Another disturbing aspect noticed was that although State Registers had been updated, information in this regard was either reaching CCIM after considerable time or simply not received. Inclusion of information from State Register in the Central Register also seemed to be a very time-consuming process. The Committee was unable to reconcile itself with this state of affairs and advised the Department to take up the matter with the concerned State Councils and State Governments. Though the Committee noted that at least some forward movement had been reported in the matter but urged upon the Department not to be complacent and continue its efforts towards expediting the process of updation. Central Council of Homoeopathy, New Delhi 12.180 The Committee noted that Health is a State subject and the State Boards have been constituted as per the State Acts and they does not come under the administrative control of the Department of AYUSH. However, since the CCH was mandated to maintain the Central Register of Homoeopathy, the Department was duty bound to leave no stone unturned to persuade the concerned State authorities to take steps for updation of the State Registers, which would ultimately have a bearing on the updation of the Central Register. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department should have an interface with the State authorities at regular intervals for the timely submission of the State Registers which would result in updation of the Central Register. 12.181 The Committee observed that despite there being a provision in the IMCC Act, 1970 mandating the State Boards to submit updated register of practitioners as on 1st April every year, there had been delay in submission of the State registers. This clearly indicated that the existing legal provisions suffer from certain inadequacies. The Committee was therefore, of the view that the proposal mooted by the CCH to make the State Registration Regulations in conformity with the Central Registration Regulations deserves serious consideration. The Committee, therefore, recommended the Department to deal with the proposal submitted by CCH with a fair amount of promptitude and report to it the progress made in the matter. 12.182 A perusal of the above table revealed that there was a gap between States updating their registers and the Central Council of Homoeopathy updating the Central Register of Homoeopathy of the concerned States on that basis. The Committee also found that though Delhi, Karnataka, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya had furnished the updated State Registers, the same was not reflected in the Central Register. 12.183 The Committee was constrained to observe that though the Department had been arguing that the delay in updation of the Central Register was occasioned by its inability to procure the requisite information from the State Councils/Boards timely, the facts and circumstances of the case led the Committee to the inescapable conclusion that the CCH had also not shown the requisite urgency in updating the Central Register incorporating the information already furnished by some of the State Councils/Boards. Committee's attention had been drawn to the following physical achievements with regard to maintenance of Central Register of Homoeopathy during the Tenth Plan. * 4th CRH containing the name of 14228 practitioners from U.P. (Part A), Karnataka (Part I+II), Chandigarh (Part II) and Haryana mainly were sent to the press for publication in Gazette on 21.6.2004. Though it was published on 9.10.04 but received in the Council only in October, 2006. * The renewal work of CRH published in 1996 was started in 2004 which was still continuing. * Central Register Published in 1993 was updated and renewed Central Register of Homoeopathy sent to Govt. Press for publication on 8.9.06. * 5th Part of Central Register of Homoeopathy containing the names of 4262 practitioners from Gujarat, U.P. and Karnataka sent to Govt. Press for publication. * The names of about 43,500 practitioners published in 1993 were to be removed from the Central Register of Homoeopathy and particulars of these names had been given to computer agency for feeding data entry in computer before sending them to Press for publication. 12.184 The Committee, therefore, urged upon the Department to expeditiously incorporate the available information in the Central Register for the purpose of its updation and apprise it of the measures taken to rectify the mismatch referred to above. 313
12.185 The Committee noted that the work of renewal of 43500 names of practioners published in the Central Register of Homoeopathy was targeted to be achieved during 2007-08. However the same could not be achieved during the said period. The timeline for achieving the above target had now been shifted to 2008-09. However, the Committee was not sanguine about the Department's ability to meet the targets even during 2008-09 in view of the Department's own admission that the Council had just 3-4 employees working on the Central Register including its maintenance/renewal and that despite IWSU's recommendation for additional staff, the Central Government had not sanctioned it. 12.186 The Committee was constrained to observe that this was typical case of procrastination. In this era of outsourcing, such reasoning was not acceptable to the Committee. The Committee, therefore, urged upon the Department with all the emphasis at its command to explore all ways and means of achieving the targets of renewal of names of 43500 practioners published in the C.R.H. Research Councils 12.187 There were 55 ongoing Projects under Extra-Mural Research Scheme, out of which 19 relate to Homoeopathy, 18 relate to Ayurveda, 9 relate to Yoga and 10 relate to Unani Medicine. The Committee noted that these Research Projects were being handled by different agencies/individuals. Varying amount of funds had been released to all of them. The Committee observed that these Research Projects deal with efficacy of AYUSH drugs and line of treatment/therapy of major diseases and also mental health/disorder. The Committee was aware that findings of these Research Projects could prove to be very beneficial in control of increasing problem areas of physical and mental health in the modern world. The Committee hoped that there was an effective monitoring mechanism in place for ensuring timely completion of such projects. The Committee also strongly felt that there was a need for a centralized cell working in co-ordination with all the Research Councils for propagating the positive impact of such research studies. The Committee also recommended that adequate financial allocation be extended to the four Research Councils to equip their research labs and if need be, more funds be allotted to them at RE 2008-09 stage. 12.188 The Committee also recommended to the Department to streamline functioning of the Extra Mural Project Screening Committee comprising the experts and Scientists from different streams so that evaluation of the projects was done on their merits. Besides there should be a close monitoring of the progress of all the sanctioned projects for getting the desired results as well as to avoid misuse of funds. 12.189 The Committee commended the initiative taken by the Department to review working of the Research Councils. The Committee sought to be informed of the major findings of Dr. Nityanand Committee and the extent of their implementation till date. The Committee also sought to be apprised of the recommendations of Dr. Qazi Committee in due course and the action taken thereon by the Department. Yoga and Naturopathy 12.190 The Committee expressed its displeasure over under utilization of the funds allocated for Yoga and Naturopathy particularly by the MDNIY. The Committee sought to be apprised of the underlying causes for the under utilization. The Committee also to impressed upon the Department the imperative need for optimal and judicious utilization of funds allocated for a crucial sector like health. The Committee had always been responsive to the genuine needs of the Department and had been supporting its case for higher allocation in terms of the inherent powers of the Committee. However, if the Department time and again defaults in ensuring optimal utilization of the allocated funds, it would weaken its own case. The Committee, therefore, even at the cost of repetition, stressed that the Department take necessary remedial measures to ensure that the funds allocated in BE 2008-09 were utilized optimally and strictly as per the action plan. 12.191 The Committee was happy to note that the MDNIY and CCRYN, which were premier institutions of the country operating in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy, had started research projects in collaboration with the private sector for the benefit of the common people. However, taking into account the fact that private firms were largely driven by profit motive, the Committee had a word of caution for the Department. The Committee was of the view that since these research projects were being financed by taxpayer's money, it should ensure that the health benefits ensuing from them percolate down to the lowest rung of the society in terms of cheaper and viable health care alternatives. The Committee also recommended that MDNIY should make more sincere efforts for undertaking more research projects on various aspects of Health Care so that the infrastructure available with the institution and the funds allocated to it could be utilized optimally. 314
12.192 The Committee observed that one of the basic objectives of the National Policy on Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy 2002 was to promote good health and expand the outreach of health care to the people through preventive, promotive and curative interventions through ISM & H. Yoga and Naturopathy, being cheaper and traditional curative systems, had to play a vital role in translating the above vision into a reality. It was in this context that the Committee lauded the role of CCRNY and the MDNIY in running the Yoga Therapy Centres in tertiary care institutions in Delhi. At the same time, the Committee sought to be enlightened as to whether the Department had any plans to extend the Yoga Therapy Centers to tertiary care institutions situated in other parts of the country. 12.193 The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation, of taking steps for regulating the Yoga and Naturopathy courses and accreditation of Institutions in these two areas. The Department also needed to explore the possibility of setting up of a Regulation Council for Yoga and Naturopathy. The Committee noted that some initiatives had been taken by the Department which needed to be pursued by the Department with all concerned. Only then, the real objective of extending the benefits of these two therapies to the needy would be achieved. 12.194 The Committee was happy to note that some headway had been made in the direction of regulation of Yoga and Naturopathy, though a lot still remained to be done. The Committee recommended to the Department to continue to pursue with the State Governments the implementation of all the model guidelines for regulation and standardization of naturopathy courses that had been circulated to them. 12.195 The Committee was informed that a naturopathy centre at Vaidyanath Dham, Deoghar, which was started by Gandhi Ji, was presently not operational. The Committee recommended to the Department to get the above centre revived in consultation with its management and with the local authorities. The Committee sought to be informed of the progress made in the matter. 12.196 The Committee felt that the Department had to play a pro-active role in such matters. A Grievance Redressal Cell could be activated at the Department to which wide publicity might be given. In this way, victims of so called 'Yoga Camps' could be compensated. Such a move would also indirectly lead to curbing of such activities. At the same time, there was also a need for verifying the good work being done by genuine Yoga practitioners and giving wide publicity to their work so as to extend their reach to general masses. All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi 12.197 The Committee observed that the Institute was visualized as far back as February, 2004. More than four years had elapsed since then but the operationalization of the Institute still remained a far cry. As per the Department's own admission, it would still take almost three more years before its operationalization could see the light of the day. Now that the Cabinet had approved the proposal, the Committee exhorted the Department to pursue the project within a time-bound Action Plan closely monitored by it. Every conscious effort needed to be taken so that this project did not spill over beyond the designated time line. The Committee sought to be apprised of the progress made in this regard on a six-monthly basis. North-Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy in Shillong and North-Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine, Passighat, Arunachal Pradesh 12.198 The Committee had been informed that the EFC approved for both the Institutes was obtained in June and July, 2008. As per the Outcome Budget (2008-09) Cabinet approval on both the projects had also been received. The Committee noted that a provision of Rs. 10.50 crore and Rs. 6.69 crore had been made in 2008-09 for the NE Institute of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy, Shillong and NE Institute of Folk Medicine, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, respectively. The Committee hoped that specific time-lines are fixed for completion of these projects without any further delay. The Committee also pointed out that simultaneously, the exercise for procurement of required infrastructure and equipment and recruitment of manpower might also be initiated. Expansion of Ayush Dispensaries in CGHS 12.199 The Committee welcomed this development and urged upon the Department to vigorously pursue filling up of the vacant posts of Ayurveda doctors and communicate to it the efforts made and the progress achieved in the matter. 315
12.200 The Committee observed that though the Department claimed that with the appointment of the Nodal Officer, some headway had been made towards opening of new AYUSH dispensaries, the ground realities did not reflect the claims of the Department. 12.201 Establishment of AYUSH dispensaries at Delhi, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Jabalpur and Bhopal was originally targeted to be achieved during 2006-07. Two years had elapsed since then, but no tangible progress had been reported in the matter. The Committee, felt that more vigorous efforts on the part of the Department were called for in materializing the establishment of AYUSH dispensaries at the designated places. The Committee, also, urged upon the Department to take urgent steps to get the proposal of creation of additional posts approved by the Cabinet at the earliest. Ayurveda Hospital, New Delhi 12.202 The Committee was not satisfied with the languid pace of the progress made in the matter. The Committee observed that more the delay, more would be the cost escalation of the project. The Committee, therefore, urged upon the Department to ensure that the timeline for completion of this project should not spill over into the next financial year and the project was operationalised within the shortest possible time. 12.203 From a scrutiny of the sanctioned strength and vacancy position it was crystal clear that the ratio between the sanctioned strength and the vacant posts was too alarming to be ignored. Now the duality of control of the Ayurveda Hospital had been removed. The Committee, therefore, hoped that it would provide a fillip to filling up of the vacant posts at the earliest. The Committee sought to be enlightened about the progress made in this regard. National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) 12.204 The Committee noted that actual expenditure upto February, 2008 was Rs. 4.01 crore only, which was well below the level of allocated funds. The Committee found that the under utilization of plan funds allocated for NMPB during 2007-08 had been attributed to non approval of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on medicinal Plants Processing Zone. The Committee, however, pointed out that the components of the new scheme were approved by the Board on the 10th July, 2007. Approval of the Expenditure Finance Committee was, however, yet to come. The Committee was afraid that completion of all the procedural formalities was going to take considerable time. From the past experience, the Committee could only infer that chances of the scheme taking off in 2008-09 were quite dim. The Committee was of the considered view that the Department needed to pursue the approval of the above centrally Sponsored Scheme with greater vigour, so as to ensure its implemntation at the earliest. 12.205 While appreciating the above steps, the Committee emphasized that these measures need to be backed by action at the ground level. Only then it would be possible to achieve the mandate of the Board. 12.206 The Committee was well aware that process of filling up recently created 11 posts would be a long drawn affair. In the meantime the Board would continue to be managed by temporary posting of technical and ministerial staff from the Department of AYUSH and the Research Councils. The Committee observed that sound recruitment policy was the corner-stone of success of any organizational set up and, therefore, parallel forward movement should have been planned in the matter of recruiting the required manpower, both technical and non technical for NMPB. The Committee's attention had been drawn by the Report of M/s JPS Consultants engaged for undertaking study of status, organizational structure of the Board. The Committee noted that the Consultants had recommended staff strength of 38 for the Board for the Eleventh Plan if the Board continues to be part of the Department. The other option suggested was to convert the Board into a Registered Society with strength of 73. The Committee desired that follow-up action on the aforesaid study be initiated at the earliest. In the light of the study and also targets set for 2008-09, creation of mere 11 posts could not be considered sufficient enough. The Committee hoped that a final view on the actual requirement of manpower for the Board would be taken at the earliest and steps taken for creation and filling up of the same. The Committee welcomed the following initiatives taken by the Board. * Nation-wide survey-cum-study on the demand and supply of medicinal plants. * Draft notification under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1990 requiring the Pharmaceutical Industries to maintain and furnish information on the raw material used by them and source thereof. 316
* Besides SMPBS, the work of monitoring and evolution of all projects outsourced to M/s Agriculture France Corporation Ltd. 12.207 The Committee felt that these measures would be very useful in strengthening the NMPB so as to enable it to carry out its mandate successfully. The Committee would appreciate if action was initiated at the earliest for restructuring of the five Committees of the Board on the subjects of cultivation, research, demand and supply, patent/IPR and import/export as suggested by the M/S JPS Consultants. 12.208 The Committee was informed that above 200 and odd different Jari butis were available in the forests of Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh which were presently being exploited by the Adivasis. But they were not getting their due share due to nexus of middlemen. The Committee therefore recommended to the Department to send its task force to that area to work on it in consultation with the local M.P. 12.209 The Committee also felt that the condition specified for farmers to submit their UCs after verification by CAs as required under the general Financial Rules needed to be looked into, as it seemed to be a very impractical proposition. Some alternative mechanism needed to be put in place. The Committee, accordingly, recommended to the Department to take up the matter with the Ministry of Finance with a view to evolve a more practicable provision and communicate to it the decision taken in the matter. 12.210 The Committee appreciated the efforts made by the Department in pursuing liquidation of UCs with sincerity and the Department's efforts in this direction had borne fruit which was reflected in the liquidation of UCs gaining some momentum during the years 2006-07 and 2007-08. The Committee exhorted the Department to continue to pursue the matter without any let-up. Mainstreaming of AYUSH in National Health Care 12.211 While welcoming the measures taken by the Department, the Committee took note of the Secretary's submission that Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu had taken innovative measures for propagating AYUSH health delivery. The Committee desired the other States to emulate these innovative measures. The Committee accordingly suggested the Departments to circulate the AYUSH health care delivery models adopted by Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu to the other States so that AYUSH could be integrated at tertiary health delivery level all over the country. 12.212 The Committee had been given to understand that the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Hospitals and Dispensaries was being revised in the light of an evaluation study conducted by M/s A.F. Ferguson & Co. The Committee welcomed the step and hoped that the difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Scheme would be ironed out by the Department within a short span of time. The Committee, however, asked the Department to expedite revision of the Scheme in the light of the recommendations of M/s. A.F. Ferguson & Co. 12.213 The Committee observed that mainstreaming of AYUSH was of immense importance in the sense it would help to deliver health care facilities to the most marginalized and impoverished households in the rural areas of the country. Given the enormous shortfall in health facilities and the pathetic condition of public health utilities in rural areas, this Scheme was a sterling initiative, though it would only address a miniscule part of the health needs of the rural poor, leaving out large swathes of India. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department should draw an action plan to ensure that the targets set for 2008-09 were achieved fully. Standardisation and Quality Control of ASU&H drugs Standardisation 12.214 The Committee welcomed that initiatives of the Department. The Committee felt that integration of the development of science and technology with ASU drugs would go a long way in popularizing them globally. The Committee, therefore, sought to be apprised of the quanitifiable outcome of that initiative. 12.215 The Committee appreciated the Department for its achievements of targets of pharmacopoeial work and hoped that area of critical importance would continue to attract focused attention of the Department. 12.216 The Committee was happy to note that that Scheme aims at establishing synergy between the traditional medical knowledge and science. The Committee was convinced that this Scheme would produce results of immense value in the long run. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the financial constraints should not be allowed to come in the way of operation of that Scheme. At the same time, the Committee would like to impress upon the Department to see to it that the standardization/safety/toxicity studies of the remaining 18 formulations are got completed by the CSIR within the shortest possible time. 317
Quality Control of ASU&H Drugs 12.217 The Committee welcomed that new initiative of the Department because lack of adequate number of AYUSH drug testing laboratories had been a big impediment in ensuring quality AYUSH drugs in the country. The Committee sincerely hoped that this revised scheme would not only lead to improvement in safety and quality standards, but also encourage more and more drug manufacturing units being Good Manufacturing Practices compliant. The Committee sought to be enlightened about the impact made by the revised Scheme. 12.218 The Committee was concerned over the fact that State Drug Testing Laboratories had not become functional in many major States as pointed out by the Secretary. The Committee observed that drugs were used for saving valuable human lives and if adequate mechanism was not available with the State Governments to regulate quality of ASU&H drugs, then it was a very serious situation. The Committee had been given to understand that the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare comprising Chief Ministers of all the States and chaired by the Health and Family Welfare Minister, had passed a Resolution on the need for the States to utilize the assistance given by the Central Government for upgradation of State Drug Testing Laboratories and strengthening of the drug enforcement machinery. The Committee, therefore, desired the Department, to once again took up the matter with all the Chief Secretaries of the States apprising them of the Committee's concern in the matter. 12.219 The Committee supported the budgetary provisions made for the Scheme. However, the Committee had no idea whether any monitoring mechanism was in place to ensure that the funds placed at the disposal of the States and the ASU&H manufacturing units would be spent for the specified purposes. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Department to devise an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure proper utilization of funds allocated for the purpose. The Committee also sought to be apprised of the number of UCs pending under this Scheme and the amount involved therein. Development of Common Facilities for AYUSH Industry Clusters 12.220 The Committee observed that as per the Department's own admission, development of common facilities for AYUSH industry clusters was of immense importance as it was envisaged to fill in the critical gaps in the AYUSH Sector, especially raw material standardization, quality control and productivity improvement compliances etc. However, the progress made in the matter was not commensurate with the expected results. The Committee was pained to observe that due to languid pace of approval of the Scheme, budgetary provisions made in BE 2007-08 could not be utilized, which had resulted in reduced allocation in BE 2008-09. 12.221 The Committee observed that owing to prolonged procedure of approval, a scheme of such vital importance had been delayed by almost a year. The Committee, therefore, recommended that now that the Scheme had been approved, the Department dealt with the matter with a sense of urgency and the proposals received under the scheme be scrutinized in a time-bound manner and the grants were released promptly. Development of AYUSH Institutions 12.222 The Committee observed that without maintaining high standards of AYUSH education, quality education would continue to languish, which would ultimately impinge on efficacy of AYUSH in health care delivery system. The Committee, therefore, supported the enhanced allocation for development of AYUSH institutions in BE 2008. However, the Committee was constrained to observe that 70 to 80 Government/Government aided teaching hospitals of ISM & H targeted to be renovated and strengthened during the Tenth Plan period but only 35 could be renovated and strengthened during the said Plan. the Committee sought to be apprised of the reasons of the shortfall in that regard. The Committee recommended that the remaining hospitals should be renovated and strengthened at the earliest and it might be apprised of the progress made in that regard. 12.223 The Committee was given to understand that Sowa-Rigpa (Amchi System of Medicine) was not only being practiced in Trans Himalayan region but also in other parts of the country. Department had got some scheme in place for strengthening of local health traditions under which the Sowa-Rigpa would be taken care of. Besides, the proposal for recognition of Tibetan system of Medicine is also under consideration of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Committee recommended that all possible support/assistance should be provided to such traditional system of medicines. 12.224 The Committee welcomed the new intiatives for development of institutions and fully concurred with the Department's view that the proper development of the AYUSH systems would not be possible without 318 creation of Centres of Excellence. The Committee noted from the Outcome Budget-2008-09 that 80 Colleges had been targeted to be benefited under this Scheme during 2008-09. The Committee further noted that the new Scheme also envisaged financial assistance to private AYUSH institutions. 12.225 The Committee, therefore exhorted the Department to put in a place a transparent, accountable and effective mechanism to ensure that not only were the targets for the year 2008-09 met substantially, but the financial assistance provided to both the Government as well as to private institutions, was also utilized judiciously. The Committee also sought to be apprised of the findings of the Expert Committee on AYUSH education and the Department's reaction thereto and also the number of UCs pending and the amount involved therein under this Scheme. Information, Education and Communication 12.226 The Committee found that the seminars/Exhibitions/Melas/Camps, audio/video campaigns and the publications had so far not been fully successful in spreading the positive impact of AYUSH systems of medicine. The Committee was of the view that vigorous and sustained campaign was required to be carried out at different levels. The Committee hoped that in the revised scheme, all the problem areas must have been taken care of. The Committee also strongly felt that alongwith propagation of positive impact of AYUSH systems, public should be cautioned about the quacks posing as votaries of the age-old systems of medicine. Rule of NGOs 12.227 The Committee strongly felt that an analysis of performance of NGOs assisted under all the schemes needs to be made so as to identify the underlying factors behind unspent balances lying with NGOs, and a large number of proposals being returned. The Committee was also of the view that a monitoring mechanism should be in place so that non-performing NGOs could be checked. 12.228 Committee's attention had been drawn to a new scheme, 'Funding of NGOs for revitalization to local health tradition midwifery practices/bone setters/veterinary care etc.' launched in 2007-08. Against an allocation of Rs. 5.00 crore, Rs. 54.00 lakhs could be released upto February, 2008 due to delay in the approval of the scheme. The Committee noted that the same provision had been kept for 2008-09. The Committee sought to have an idea about the modalities of this NGOs-specific scheme. Miscellaneous 12.229 The Committee noted that a panel of Experts under the Chairmanship of Director, Institute of High Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, Varanasi had been constituted for examination of the status, strength and association of Tibetan system of Medicine with Ayurveda. The expert panel had also been requested to examine the contribution of different institutions under the Tibetan system of Medicines in the country and the necessity of funding them for their further development. The Committee would appreciate if the Report was expedited and follow-up action taken thereon. (c) 29th Report Introduction 12.230 The Committee felt that appointment of a full-fledged Director General, ICMR-cum-Secretary, Department of Health Research was very important, for, the Department, being the nodal agency for promotion of Health Research, should be headed by a scientist of repute and perpeturation of bureaucratic hold over the Department would defeat the very prupose for which the Department of Health Research, had been created. The Committee, accordingly, urged upon the Department to finalise appointment of DG, ICMR-cum-Secretary, Health Research at the earliest. 12.231 The Committee was, however, not inclined to agree with the contention of the Department. The Committee pointed out that both agricultural education and agricultural research had been placed under one Department i.e. the Department of Agricultural Research and Education in the Ministry of Agriculture. On the same analogy there should not be any difficulty in placing both medical education and health research under the same Department. The Committee strongly felt that this arrangement would be necessary for the sake of better coordination between the different agencies involved in research work and medical educational institutions not only providing clinical material for research but also engaged directly/indirectly in such projects. Duplication of work undertaken by the different institutions/agencies in the field of medical education and health research 319 could also be made easily avoidable. The Committe was of the view that medical education and health research could not be placed in two distinct areas. Instead both were complementary to each other in many ways. The Committee also felt that with the merger of two separate Departments of Health and Family Welfare, the jurisdiction of the Department had been expanded manifold. Besides, many Central Government Hospitals, Premier Medical educational institutions and autonomous bodies, a very large number of central and centrally sponsored schemes were being administered/supervised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare. 12.232 The Committee, therefore, recommended that both the medical education and Health Research should be kept under one Department i.e. the Department of Health Education and Research on the lines of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education for better coordination and also for avoiding duplication of work amongst various institutions/agencies engaged in Medical Education and Research. Budgetary Allocation 12.233 The Committee was not convinced with the clarification given by the representatives of the Department. The Committee was unable to understand that in which manner the Department would manage the expenditure on various activities out of meager allocation of Rs. 420 crores against the projected demand of Rs. 1613 crores. The Committee had all reasons to apprehend that the proposed major infrastructure upgradation as well as the new activities proposed to be started by the Department were going to be affected badly. The Committee desired that constraints of funds should not come in the way of the infrastruture upgradation as well as the proposed new activities. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department should not hesitate in asking for an enhanced allocation at R.E. stage so that the Research and Development activities were not affected for want of funds. 12.234 The Committee observed that the allocation for 2008-09 under Plan would be fully utilized by the Indian Council of medical Research. The actual expenditure under Non Plan was likely to exceed the sanctioned Budget Grant. The Additional expenditure would be met from the Council's Miscellaneous Receipts. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) 12.235 The Committee noted that management of communicable diseases, fertility control, maternal and child health care, nutritional deficiencies and disorders, environmental and occupational health problems, non- communicable diseases like cancer, AIDS etc. had been a serious cause of concern in the health sector. Some of the above problems had posed a serious threat to a larger section of population of the country. This was the right time that the ICMR should gear itself for a greater role in undertaking and coordinating the health research undertaken by the different institutes/agencies as also it should take all out efforts for minimizing the casualties as a result of the diseases referred to above particularly due to the non-communicable diseases, nutritional deficiencies, maternal and child mortality etc. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the ICMR should not leave any stone unturned in the matter of management and control of the above diseases. 12.236 The Committee was hopeful that the set targets would be achieved by ICMR and there would be optimum and judicious utilization of funds allocated for the above mentioned purposes. The Committee recommended that the additional funds, if any, required for achieving the set target should be made available to the Council at the R.E. stage. 12.237 The Committee appreciated the achievements of the ICMR in the field of health research. However, the Committee felt that this was an area of immense possibilities. A lot remains to be done to fully tap the health research sector. The Committee sought to have an idea about the ongoing research projects under ICMR, alongwith their present status, funds allocated/utilised. The Committee also sought to be apprised about the number of persons including doctors from different medical colleges, working on research projects who had approached ICMR for financial support during the last three years alongwith details of those who had been denied financial support and the grounds therefor. Promotion, Co-ordination and Development of basic Applied and Clinical Research 12.238 The Committee felt that promotion and co-ordination of basic, applied and clinical research was one of the very important activities of the Department. The Committee impressed upon the Department that any financial/procedural constraints should not hamper, in any way, this activity of the Department. The Council should make all possible efforts for better monitoring and co-ordination of health research. The Committee also 320 sought to be apprised of the break-up of the funds released and utilized and the achievements made under this Scheme. The additional funds, if any, required for this activity should be made available at R.E. stage. Promotion and Guidance on Research Governance Issues 12.239 The Committee noted that though an amount of Rs. 20.00 crores had been allocated for establishment of Tripartite Research Policy and implementation/co-ordination mechanism, the modalities were yet to be worked out. The Committee urged upon the Department to expedite the finalisation of the modalities so that the allocation made for various activities under this scheme could be utilized optimally and judiciously Inter-Sectorial Co-ordination in Medical, Biomedical and Health Research 12.240 The Committee hoped that all the activities falling under the Inter-sectorial co-ordination in Medical, Biomedical and Health Research would be well taken care of by the Department. The Department should ensure that any administrative/procedural formalities would not affect, in any way, proper and optimum utilization of funds allocated for the purpose. The Committee also sought to be apprised of the activities undertaken under this Scheme during 2008-09 and the extent of their success vis-a-vis their envisaged targets. Advanced Training in Research in Medicine and Health 12.241 The Committee noted that some very important activities were envisaged to be undertaken under the above Scheme of Advanced Training in Research in Medicine and health. However, only Rs. 5.50 crores had been earmarked for the purpose. The Committee impressed upon the Department to ensure proper implementation of all the activities referred to above. The committee apprehended that this meager allocation of funds to the tune of Rs. 5.50 crores would not be sifficient to meet the requirement of this scheme and in that case the Department should go for enhancement of the funds at R.E. stage. International Co-operation in Medical and Health Research 12.242 The Committee observed that International cooperation in Medical and Health Research was a very important activity to be undertaken by the Department. Exchange of information and research work at international level would boost health care services of the country as also help in tackling health related problems. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Department should not lose any opportunity in this direction. The Committee sought to be intimated about the activities undertaken as well as the break-up of funds spent thereon under this Scheme during 2008-09. North-Eastern Areas and Sikkim 12.243 The Committee observed that as per the policy of the Government of India 10% of the budgetary allocations had been earmarked for NE Region and Sikkim. The Committee supported this policy thrust. However, the Committee had noted from its past experiences that utilization of funds earmarked for the N.E. Region and Sikkim left much to be desired. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the funds allocated for taking care of health services/research in Norh-eastern Region and Sikkim should be utilized properly and optimally. The Committee also sought to be enlightened as to what specific measures had been taken by the Department to ensure optimum and judicious utilization of allocated funds. Coordination in the Field of Health Research with Governments, Organisations and Institutions 12.244 The scheme seeks to coordinate between organizations and institutes under the Central/State Governments in the areas of promotion of special studies in medicines and health. For this purpose the Department would have to coordinate with a number of Departments like Department of Science and Technlogy, Department of Bio-Technology, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Department of Space, Department of Envirionment and Forests, Disaster management Authority etc. The Committee felt that coodination with various Government Departments/agencies in the field of health research was the most important activity entrusted to the Department. A number of Government Departments/agencies were engaged in research activities in the field of health care and for getting better results and health care facilities, proper coordination and exchange of information with the Government Departments/agencies was a must. The Department would have to make all out efforts for effective coordination and monitoring with all the Government Departments/agencies engaged in the field of health research. The Committee sought to be informed of the efforts made by the Department in this regard as also the outcome of such efforts. 321
Miscellaneous 12.245 The Committee sought to be apprised about the reaction of ICMR on the above-mentioned observations of CAG and follow-up action thereon. (d) 30th Report 12.246 The Committee, after analysing the opinion of the stakeholders, was of the view that even though AUS drugs were formulated by methods different from that used for modern allopathic drugs, the chances of harm that a drug-either modern or ASU, might likely cause were similar and could not be ruled out. The Committee also sought to point out that definition of 'drug' as given in the Act was applicable to both Allopathic and ASU drugs. The Committee, therefore, opined that Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha drugs should not be excluded from the scope of definition of clinical trial of drugs. 12.247 The Committee was inclined to agree with the contention of representatives of the cosmetics industry that physiological and thereapeutic impact of drugs and cosmetics on human body is completely different. Therefore, there was a need to separate trials of cosmetics from drugs so far as the case of ascrertaining their safety and efficacy is concerned. Such a study might be carried out on human volunteers under pre- defined test conditions as per standard industry protocol to ascertain the performance safety and efficacy of a cosmetic. The Committee's attention had also been drawn by ever-increasing number of cosmetic products including Ayurvedic and herbal products flooding the market-both domestic and international. Reports indicating harmful effects of some of such products on consumers also continue to be received. Main reasons for such a situation was lack of any effective mechanism to check such products. The Committee, therefore, strongly felt that like clinical trial envisaged for drugs, similar provision should be there for regulating the dermatological safety studies for cosmetics, Necessary modification in the Bill might, accordignly, be made. 12.248 The Committee felt that the issue raised by the medical devices industry for having a separate definition of clinical trial for medical devices was very pertinent. It was convinced that owing to the distinct nature and functions of medical devices from that of the drugs, a separate definition of clinical trials for medical devices would be necessary. The Committee also took note of the clarification given by the Ministry that medical devices are a separate and distinct category. Due to exigency, a few medical devices are being treated under the category of drugs. Now suitable amendment would be made to put these under the category of medical devices, to be defined separately in the Act. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that a separate definition of clinical trial for medical devices might be included in the Act. The Committee was also of the opinion that the definition of clinical trial for medical devices might be formulated in such a manner that it was consistent with the international standards which might read as follows:— "Any systematic investigation or study in or on human subjects, undertaken to assess the safety and/or performance of a medical device". 12.249 The Committee was inclined to agree with the suggestion in view of the fact that all substances intended for use as components of a drug were included under the definition of 'drug' given in the Principal Act. Thus a product with a marketing authorization, when used or assembled in a different form, could be considered a new drug. 12.250 Therefore, the Committee recommended that the words "any drug" in Clause 2 (i) (aaii) be replaced with the words "any new drug". The Committee also observed that with the definition of 'clinical trail' being included in the Act, there was no need of having the same in the Rules. 12.251 The Committee found logic in the views aired by the medical devices industry that the current system was inadequate in regulating certification, quality assurance and post marketing surveillance of both imported and locally made medical devices. Given the fact that use of medical devices in healthcare was increasing day by day and also the fact that the industry was at a growing stage, proper regulation was required to meet safety and efficacy norms as also to meet global standards and competitiveness of the medical devices products. The Committee also observed that the Mashelker Committee, in its Report, had dwelt at length on the issue of regulation of medical devices in the country. It was emphasied therein that the medical devices should be specifically defined and relevant rules and guidelines framed for their proper regulation. The other two major recommendations of the Committee were (i) the setting up of a specific Medical Devices Division for proper management of approval, certification and quality of medical devices and an appropriate regulatory mechanism 322 for certification, quality assurance and post-marketing surveillance of both imported and indigenous medical devices. The Committee was, however, surprised to note the only action proposed in the Bill was substitution of existing definition of medical device by a more detailed definition. Another disturbing feature was continuance of medical devices under drugs. The Committee also felt that mere inclusion of medical devices in the pharmacopeias mentioned in the Second Schedule of the Act alongwith drugs would not serve the purpose. 12.252 On being asked about the appropriateness of making separate provisions for the regulation, surveillance and monitoring of medical devices, the Ministry had replied in the affirmative. It was assured that keeping in view the distinct nature and functions of medical devices, the same would be defined separately with specific provisions for their regulation, surveillance and monitoring. The Committee, therefore, recommended that suitable modifications might be made in the Act with a separate chapter covering all the related aspects of regulation of medical devices. The Committee also strongly felt that a dedicated division as recommended by the Mashelkar Committee might be set up to deal with regulation, licensing, surveillance and monitoring of uniform implementation of the laws on medical devices in the country. The Committee also recommended that a comparative analsis of the GHTF definition of medical devices and the proposed definition in the Bill might be made and should be followed by necessary modifications in the definition of 'medical device’. 12.253 The Committee failed to understand the circumstances leading to such an initiative by the Department of Science and Technology with the nodal Ministry obviously being taken unaware. The Committee could only hope that this issue was resolved at the earliest. 12.254 Committee's attention was also drawn, both during its study visits and meetings at Delhi, with all the witnesses representing different categories of stakeholders — be it small and big pharma industry associations, various State Governments, Drugs Controllers/Inspectors/Associations/bodies/associations from ASU sector — that recommendation of the Mashelker Committee was for a strong, well-equipped and professionally managed CDSCO, to be given the status of Central Drugs Administration and not creation of a Central Drugs Authority. After making a comparative analysis of Mashelker Committee recommendations and the different provisions of the Bill, the Committee was surprised to note that the contention of various witnesses was justified. The Committee pointed out the following specific recommendation made by the Mashelker Committee. "The existing infrastructure at the Centre and States was not adequate to perform the assigned functions efficiently and speedily. Creating another authority such as a National Drug Authority (NDA) will not solve the problem at hand. It was essential to strengthen the existing organisations to enable them to undertake all the functions envisaged for NDA. A strong, well equipped, empowered, independent and professionally managed CDSCO, which could be given the status of Central Drug Administration (CDA), reporting directly to Ministry of Health would be most appropriate solution." 12.255 The Committee observed that the Mashelkar Committee was an Expert Committee constituted by the Government in 2003 to examine all the aspects relating to quality control of drugs and their regulatory mechanism. The Committee also noted that the aforesaid conclusive recommendation made by the Mashelkar Committee had been arrived at after very intensive consultations with all the stakeholders. Not only this, in the Questionnaire sent to all the State Drug Controllers by the Mashelkar Committee, one of the questions asked was if CDSCO was to be strengthened, then would there be still a need for a National Drug Authority. In response, 19 out of 31 States (with 4 no comments) stated that there was a definite need to strengthen the Central Administration and if CDSCO could perform the statutory functions efficiently, there is certainly no need of NDA. The Committee also took note of the fact that out of the 19 States which responded, five were Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu which belonged to the seven States having more than 75 per cent drug manufacturing units in the country. 12.256 In order to have first-hand information at the ground level, the Committee had undertaken study visits of all the States having 75 per cent of drug manufacturing units in the country. The only exception was West Bengal. This exercise of the Committee was supplemented by extensive discussions in a series of meetings held at Delhi and also feedback received in response to the press release. It would not be wrong to conclude that Committee's experience had also matched with the Mashelker Committee's findings. In view of the above assessment, the Committee was not inclined to accept the reasoning offered by the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for making such a major departure from the recommendations made by an Expert Committee. 323
12.257 The Committee also drew attention to the following statement made in the Pharmaceutical Policy, 2002:— "The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would set up a world class Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) by modernizing, restructuring and reforming the existing system and establish an effective network of drugs standards enforcements administrations in the States with the CDSCO as a nodal centre, to ensure high standards of quality, safety and efficacy of drugs and pharmaceuticals." 12.258 The Committee failed to understand as to why, instead of implementing the recommendations of the Mashelkar Committee for strengthening, modernizing, restructuring and reforming the existing Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) into a world class system, the Government had entered into a rigmarole of setting up a new Authority. Central Drugs Authority, a small body primarily having members with administrative background taking the place of the two Drug Technical Advisory Boards having technical expertise from allopathic and ASU drug sector, was simply not acceptable to the Committee. The Committee, accordingly, recommended the setting up of a "Central Drug Administration" as an independent body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with its headquarters at Delhi, with its Zonal and Sub-zonal offices at State level, by strengthening, modernizing and restructuring the CDSCO. 12.259 The Committee observed that broadly-speaking, the proposed set up under the Central Drugs Authority was based on the set-up of Central Drug Administration proposed by the Mashelkar Committee. Ten Divisions were proposed under both the set-ups, the only difference being a separate division of Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy under the Ministry set-up. Another major difference between the two set-ups was that the Central Drugs Authority would be replacing the two drugs Technical Advisory Boards and performing their functions and also advising the Drug Controller General (I), who would be the Member- Secretary of CDA on all matters relating to drugs and cosmetics. Since the Committee was not in favour of creation of a separate "Central Drugs Authority", and had recommended the restructuring of CDSCO as "Central Drug Administration" — an independent body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Central Drug Administration as suggested by the Mashelker Committee might be brought into effect as early as possible. 12.260 Representatives of the organisations from AYUSH-sector strongly advocated the need for having an Additional Drug Controller (AYUSH), keeping in view the ever increasing acceptance of AYUSH drugs. The Committee was inclined to agree with this view point. The Committee found that the Ministry, while elaborating the proposed plan of expansion of the offices and the necessary expansion in the number of senior-level officers and supporting staff that would be required for its efficient functioning under the CDA, had stated that the post of Drug Controller (India) would be raised from the present level of the grade of Joint Secretary to Government of India to that of the grade of Additional Secretary to Government of India. It was also proposed to revive one post of Additional Drugs Controller (AYUSH) to asist DCG(I) in the quality control and regulation of ASU products, and along with it, one more post of Additional Drugs Controller (India) was proposed to be created for assisting DCG(I) in all other matters. 12.261 The Committee observed that in view of the wider mandate of a "Central Drug Administration" necessary expansion in the number of senior-level officers and supporting staff would be required for its efficient functioning. The Committee had been informed that an elaborate plan of expansion had been approved and being brought into shape. A special drive to fill up all the vacant posts in the CDSCO and the Drug Labs was already underway. 62 new posts of Drug Inspectors and 10 posts of Technical officers had already been created for strengthening of CDSCO and mitigating the problem of shortage of Drug Inspectors to some extent. The Committee observed this as a welcome measure. 12.262 Under new chapter 1A, Section 5B speaks of the term of office of Chairperson and Members, of Central Drugs Authority; Section 5C relates to salaries, allowances, pensions and other conditions of service of Members, Section 5D is regarding vacancies, etc. not to invalidate proceedings and Section 5 E refers to staff of the Central Drugs Authority. 12.263 In view of the Committee's disagreement with the Ministry's proposal for creating a separate Central Drugs Authority, Sections 5B, 5C, 5D, and 5E mentioned above stand void. 12.264 The Committee found that it was a general perception among majority of the stakeholders that with the Centralized licensing coming into effect, every activity including procedural formalities would be centred in 324
Delhi leading to number of hurdles being faced by the drug manufacturing units, specially small units. The Committee, however, observed that the apprehension stands suitably addressed, keeping in view the fact that CDA through its network of Zonal and Sub-Zonal offices and port offices would have its presence in most of the States where there was significant concentration of drug manufacturing activity. This would also facilitate Centralized licensing and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification. Besides, these offices would also take care of concerns regarding inordinate delays in issuance of licenses etc. raised by the stakeholders subsequent to centralized licensing coming into force. The Committee was of the view that in this age of IT advancement, the restructured CDSCO with its ten divisions having a well-defined jurisdiction and network of subordinate offices spread across the country, apprehension about delay factor did not seem to be genuine. The notion of the States that the existing system was superior to the proposed central licensing on the grounds that it offered better control by the States pre-supposes the existence of an efficient infrastructure and quality of enforcements in every State. The Committee observed that this assumption was far removed from the ground realities in majority of the States. 12.265 In this regard, the Committee took note of the specific recommendation for licensing of drug manufacturing units by the Central Drug Administration made by the Mashelkar Committee after a detailed analysis of ground realities, recommendations of earlier expert Committees and views of all the stakeholders. Issue of non-uniformity of enforcement at the State level with regard to quality control of drugs was the main factor behind such a recommendation made by all the bodies like NRHC, Hathi Committee, Estimates Committee (Seventh Lok Sabha) and Mashelkar Committee. Committee's attention had been drawn by the guiding principle driving this suggestion, aptly summarized in para 33 of the Hathi Committee Report quoted below:— "Quality control of products manufactured anywhere in India was not solely the responsibility of the state in which the manufacturing unit is located, since the product is sold all over the country. If a unit in one state was allowed to manufacture and market a product of substandard quality, this would nullify the measures taken by other States. It was essential that the Central Government should assume responsibility for ensuring statutory enforcement and control over the manufacture of drugs all over the country." 12.266 The Committee agreed with the assessment made by all the earlier Committees that there was an urgent need for having a world class drug regulatory system in the country which could effectively handle the health concerns of one sixth of humanity. The Committee could only reiterate that wherever the health and safety of life of the people was concerned, cutting across regional/State specific interests/issues, the emphasis should be protecting the same. 12.267 The Committee's attention had been drawn to the following specific excerpts from the Mashelker Committee Report:— "The matter of licensing of manufacturing units by Central Government has been considered on several occasions in the past. During 1988-89, the reports of poor quality of IV fluids and substandard blood made the Central Government focus on the issue of having a stricter control on these products. This resulted in the amendment of Rules to provide for dual licensing mechanism in December, 1992, the Central authority being the License Approving Authority (CLAA) and the States being the license giving authorities. The India was to improve the quality and implement uniform norms but the experience has not been encouraging. The change, however, has not made the desired level of impact." "The National Human Rights Commission in their order of 1999 clearly stated that: the present dual system of control does not appear to have achieved desired effectiveness, therefore, Central Government must immediately take steps to examine the entire system of Licensing (including loan licensing), Certification and Complaint handling under effective Central Government control through CLAA or other suitable means". 12.268 The Committee observed that though the method of progressive increase in the number of items under CLAA seemed to be a good measure aimed at smooth transition of the licensing activity from the States to the Centre, it had its own apprehensions regarding the timely disposal of applications, effective co-ordination with the industry, interpretation of law under the CLAA system. The facts stated above by the witnesses and supported by the findings of the Mashelkar Committee all point out that the present mechanism under the CLAA system was far from satisfactory. The Committee was also given to understand that the number of units involved was very large, volume of records needed to be handled was also enormous and every unit would 325 have to be inspected after one year. Keeping in view the tremendous strain the above-mentioned exercise was likely to have on the Central Government; transition period from State licensing to centralized licensing might be spread over a period of ten years. On Committee's showing its concern on such a long time-span, Secretary, Health admitted that it was too long a period. He assured that every effort would be made to switch over to centralized licensing in six to seven years. 12.269 The Committee was surprised to note that the proposed move was in direct contravention to the roadmap in three phases drawn by the Mashelkar Committee for implementation of centralized licensing. During Phase-I, the manpower was to be strengthened and infrastructure of Central Drug Administration was to be in place. Expansion of zonal and sub-zonal offices, creating of additional infrastructure for new offices in States, creation of considerable number of additional senior level and supporting posts were the specific requirements for implementation of the above recommendation. During Phase-II, the licensing functions of States having minimum concentration of manufacturing units were to be shifted to the Centre, and during Phase-III, licensing in seven States having maximum concentration of drug manufacturing units (75 per cent) of licenses was to be taken over by the Central Drug Administration. All this exercise was to be completed within a span of three years. 12.270 On being asked about reasons for not accepting this specific recommendation of the Mashelkar Committee, the Secretary informed that this issue was also discussed with Dr. Mashelkar who had agreed to the progressive transfer from the State Licensing to the Central licensing rather than going State by State. The Committee had its own reservations on not going for the roadmap having a specific time frame drawn by the Expert Committee for switch-over to centralized licensing which was the outcome of extensive interactions with all concerned based on the ground-realities. The Committee also pointed out that so far no plan of action having a specific time-limit had been drawn by the Ministry. As indicated by the representative of the Ministry, it could be anywhere from five to ten years. Apprehension of the Committee on this vital issue was strengthened by the fact that a reputed consultancy firm/consultant would be engaged by the Ministry for suggesting the roadmap based on the best practices available across the globe. The Committee could only conclude that against such a background, chances of things falling into place in the near future seem to be very dim. The Committee felt that the roadmap drawn by the Mashelkar Committee was backed by sound logic and fully endorsed the line of action pointed out by it for implementing the centralized licensing of drug manufacturing units. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended that every effort should be made for implementing the same within the specified time-frame. 12.271 The Committee was inclined to agree to the view-point of the stakeholders that they would be at a serious disadvantage in terms of undue hardship, wastage of precious time and additional financial burden especially for small scale units located far away from Delhi. Since the Centre would be carrying out its licensing operations from its various zonal and sub-zonal offices placed in each State/UT, the Committee recommended that the appellate authority for grievance redressal of the aggrieved party should be placed in such offices, keeping in mind the comparative disadvantages that the small scale pharma units would otherwise face. 12.272 The Committee noted that the proposed Fund for Central Drugs Authority would be receiving all grants, fees and charges levied for different purposes. Only initial funds were sought to be provided by the Central Government. The Committee apprehended that this would be grossly inadequate. Given the fact that strengthening of the CDSCO as Central Drug Administration would require expanding the Zonal and sub-zonal offices, creation of additional infrastructure for new offices in the States and manpower to match equally, for setting up a world class Central Drug Administration, substantive additional funds would be required for such activities. The Committee strongly felt that the Central Government would have to play a major role. In view of majority of the States facing funds constraints, the required funds would have to be provided by the Central Government. It, therefore, suggested that like major social sector central/centrally sponsored schemes, the task of setting up a world class Central Drug Administration may be taken up in a mission mode. Accordingly, a Central Fund meant for Central Drug Administration with major contribution from the Centre in the form of a Corpus Fund may be set up. 12.273 In view of the Committee's disagreement with the proposal for creating a separate Central Drugs Authority, Clause 5L stands void. 12.274 In the light of observations made by the Committee with regard to the definition of the term 'clinical trial', permission for conducting clinical trials of only investigational new drugs and cosmetics and medical 326 devices might be included. Secondly, under the proposed restructured CDSCO as envisaged by the Mashelkar Committee, out of the ten divisions which would be functioning at the Headquarters, there were two separate divisions one for New Drugs and Clinical Trials, and the other for Medical Devices and Diagnostics. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that these two Divisions might be entrusted with the responsibility for granting permission for conducting clinical trials for drugs and dermatological safety studies for cosmetics, and evaluation of safety and performance of medical devices and other allied issues. 12.275 The Committee, after carefully weighing the contention of the stakeholders as well as of the Department, was of the view that the provisions of punishment, for conducting Clinical trial without permission should be retained. Such a provision would act as a deterrent for violators of law. The Committee was disinclined to agree that academic research would be brought to a halt by such a provision. It contended that that if the punishment norms for academic research were relaxed, chances of drug manufacturing companies carrying out trials through private institutions by financially supporting them could not be ruled out. The Committee suggested that in such cases the onus of proving themselves not guilty should be fixed on the Institutions where the students were conducting academic research. 12.276 The Committee also pointed out that a careful perusal of the clause revealed that the punishment would vary with the degree and nature of violation. Thus the question of this provision being very harsh did not arise. The Committee also felt that punishments for cases related to 'drugs' and those related to 'cosmetics' should be separate and clearly defined. Similarly, those cases related to 'medical devices' should be dealt separately under a chapter concerning regulation of medical devices, as mentioned earlier. 12.277 The Committee was of the opinion that the DTAB was a highly technical body with representation of experts from various fields and whose main function was to advise the Central Government and the State Governments on technical matters arising out of the administration of the Act and to carry out the other functions assigned to it under the Act. Being the most important body under the Central Drug Administration, the Committee felt that DTAB should be retained. The issue had been dealt with earlier also in this Report. Hence, it recommened that Section 5 of the principal Act which dealt with the Constitution and Composition of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) might be retained. 12.278 The Committee observed that, keeping in view the need for quality control of drugs across the country, the proposed move of bringing all the Central Drug Laboratories under the control of one central agency was called for. However, in view of the Committee's recommendation for having Central Drug Administration in the form of re-structured CDSCO, all the Central Drug Laboratories might be placed under the Division of Quality Control Affairs under the Central Drug Administration. 12.279 In view of the Committee's recommendations to retain DTAB at Clause 5, the proposed change at Section 7(a) of the Act stands void. Drugs Consultative Committee as envisaged might continue. 12.280 In view of the Committee's recommendation at Clause 5 to retain DTAB, the provision under Section 33C of the Principal Act for constitution of ASU DTAB might be retained. The proposed clause 19 of the Bill accordingly, stands void. 12.281 In view of Committee's recommendation to retain Drug Consultative Committee as envisaged in Section 7(2)(b) of the Principal Act, the proposed change in section 33D(1) of the Act stands void. 12.282 In view of Committee not agreeing to the replacement of DTAB by the CDA, the consequential changes in the relevant Clauses stand void. (d) 31st Report 12.283 The Committee was of the view that title of an Act needs to reflect the basic objective behind its enactment. It was also not practically possible to include each and every special component in the title itself. However, nobody could also deny the fact that in the case of a particular Bill envisaged for a variety of specialities having distinct identities of their own, specific mention of one speciality and generalization of all the other specialities raises uncalled for complications and resultant controversies. The present Bill before the Committee was one such cases. The Committee pointed out that title of an Act was only meant for indicating its very core content. Proposed legislation before the Committee related to setting up of three separate Central 327
Councils for physiotherapy/occupational therapy, medical laboratory technology and radiology technology. The Committee also took notes of the fact that an enabling provision was to be included in the Bill which would open the way for future induction of other disciplines. The Committee felt that use of a common term in the title of the Bill encompassing all the present disciplines and likely additions in future would be the best option. 12.284 Taking the relative merits of all viewpoints into account, the Committee, concluded that the words 'Paramedical and physiotherapy' in the title of the Bill might be replaced by the words 'Allied Health Professions'. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that clause 1(1) be amended to read as follows:— "This Act might be called the Allied Health Professions Central Councils Act, 2007". 12.285 The Committee also recommended that in the light of its above recommendation the preamble to the Bill be amended to incorporate the consequential changes. 12.286 In view of its observation and recommendation with regard to the title of the Bill, and Clause 3, the Committee was of the view that definition of Central Council might also be modified as follows: "Central Council" meant the Central Council of Medical Laboratory Technology or Radiology Technology or Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy, as the case might be, constituted under section-3". 12.287 In the light of the Committee's observations/recommendations in respect of clause 1(1) and Clause 2(1)(a) above, definition of the term 'education' might be modified accordingly with the words "or occupational therapy" added after "physiotherapy". 12.288 The Committee found substance in the above arguments and recommended that the word "technician" in Clause 2(1)(e) be replaced by "technologist" and the term "Paramedical" be deleted. The Committee strongly felt that the definition should also specifically mention that a medical laboratory technician would be a person who possesses recognized medical laboratory technology qualification. The same might, accordingly be included in the definition of 'medical laboratory technician'. 12.289 The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the definition of medical laboratory might be modified accordingly. 12.290 In the light of its observations/recommendations in respect of Clauses 1(1), and 2(1) and Clause 3, the Committee recommended that in Clause 2(1)(g) after the words "Physiotherapy Central Council" Occupational Therapy Central Council be inserted and the word "Paramedical" be deleted from Clause 2(1)(g). 12.291 In the light of its observations/recommendations in respect of Clauses 2(1)(a) and 2(1)(e) and 3 the Committee recommended that "Physiotherapy Central Council" in the definition be replaced by Occupational Therapy Central Council and the words 'who possesed recognized occupational therapy qualification' might also be added. 12.292 Committee's attention was also drawn to the inclusion of 'occupational therapy' in the definition of 'physiotherapy'. The Committee found it surprising that an independent profession with entirely different course of study, mode of treatment and approach in treatment and rehabilitation of patients had found place under another profession. The Committee was informed that both occupational therapy and physiotherapy having entirely separate curriculum were recognized as separate disciplines in educational institutions, Hospitals and medical institutions across the country had separate departments of occupational therapy and physiotherapy. The Committee strongly felt that reservations were based on valid ground and accordingly recommended the deletion of words 'occupational therapy' from the definition of 'physiotherapy'. 12.293 The Committee noted that inclusion of words "medically directed" was the most contentious part of the definition of 'occupational therapy' as indicated in Clause 2(1)(k). There was no doubt in the mind of the Committee that occupational therapists were responsible for detailed assessment, treatment planning and implementation of treatment regimen. Even the representatives of Indraprastha Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, during the course of their appearance before the Committee, admitted in the context of physiotherapists/occupational therapists that they work independently but according to the prescription of a doctor. Keeping this fact in view and also their training period of four and a half years, the Committee did not subscribe to the view that the words "medically directed" need to be retained in Clause 2(1)(k). 12.294 During the course of its interaction, the Committee's attention was drawn to the definition of 'occupational therapy' given in the Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act, 1997. After 328 comparing the relative merits of the two definitions of Occupational Therapy, i.e. the one given in the Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act, 1997 and the other given in the Bill, the Committee found the definition given in the Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act, 1997 was more comprehensive. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the following definition of 'Occupational Therapy' as given in the aforesaid Act be included in the Bill. "Occupational therapy" means the application of purposeful goal-oriented activity through latest technology with computerized system and the like in the evaluation, diagnosis, and or treatment of persons whose function is impaired by physical illness or injury, emotional disorder, congenital or developmental disability, or the aging process, in order to, achieve optimum functioning, to prevent disability, and to maintain health. 12.295 To allay the apprehensions about the anticipated misuse, the Committee recommended that a specific provision be included in the Bill to the effect that occupational therapists practise their profession within the technical specification stipulated in the definition. 12.296 In the light of its observations/recommendations in respect of Clauses 1(1) and 2(1)(a), the Committee recommended that the word "Paramedic" in Clause 2(1)(I) be replaced by "Allied Health Professional" and the word "Paramedical" be deleted from the said clause. 12.297 In the light of its observations/recommendations in respect of Clauses 1(1) and 2(1)(a) and (g) above, the Committee recommended that the word "Paramedical" be replaced by "Allied Health Profession". 12.298 The Committee recommended that the words 'who possessed recognized physiotherapy education' and migh be added in the definition. 12.299 The Committee found that the issue of definition of physiotherapy had elicited very strong and emphatic views both for and against from physiotherapists and medical practitioners as well as from the Ministry. The Committee was constrained to observe that instead of there being an objective assessment of the definition of physiotherapy, unnecessary and unwarranted controversy on the status of physiotherapists versus medical practitioners had been dwelt upon by all concerned. The Committee was somewhat disturbed by the diametrically opposite stand taken by the physiotherapists and medical practitioners. In the process, the academic exercise of defining a profession had been done away with and element of professional insecurity and rivalry seemed to have become more important. 12.300 The Committee had given deep thought to all views and opinions aired before it by all concerned. Voluminous material relating to both national and international arena placed before it had also received full attention of the Committee. The fact that physiotherapy education over the years had made significant advancements and had evolved as a distinct profession seemed to be well established. This was strengthened by the considered opinion of Ministry of Law that physiotherapy profession should not be equated with the paramedical professions. 12.301 The Committee also took an opportunity to go through the definition of physiotherapy as given in different State Acts of USA, Canada, New Zealand etc. The Committee did not notice the specific use of words 'medically directed' in the definition of 'physiotherapy' given in these Acts. The Committee also pointed out that a definition should only describe the profession enumerating its different characteristics and not its administrative part. The Committee also took note of the fact as mentioned by the representative of the Ministry that in USA, physiotherapy profession had reached a stage where these professionals could practise independently. Not only this, in some of the international Acts, it had been specifically provided that physiotherapists having the required experience could give physiotherapy treatment without a referral. These Acts also confer upon a physiotherapist the right to practise with or without referral governed by the circumstances of the case. The Committee also pointed out that the analogy of including the words 'medically directed' should have been followed in the definitions of medical Laboratory technology and radiology technology also. The Committee was however, surprised to note that definition of these two professions to be governed by separate Central Councils was completely ignored by making a mere mention of these two professions under the definition of 'paramedical'. This confirmed Committee's apprehension that the words 'medically directed' had been deliberately used defeating the very basis of defining a profession. 329
12.302 The Committee was not fully convinced by the reservations of the Ministry to the definition of physiotherapy as given in the Delhi Council of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act, 1997. The Committee felt that this definition was more comprehensive and as a whole was confined to the specific role of a physiotherapists. Such a definition did not give the right to a physiotherapist to practise as a doctor. Ministry's objections to the use of words like 'bodily malfunction', 'physical disorders' and 'healing from pain and trauma' did not seem to be very convincing. The Committee pointed out that similar words had been included in the definition of physiotherapy given in the relevant Acts of other countries. 12.303 The Committee also took note of well-founded objection raised with regard to the definition of physiotherapy as given in the Delhi Act. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that this definition might be included with the replacement of the words 'physiotherapeutic system of medicine' by the word 'therapy' or 'health care profession'. Secondly, to set at rest the apprehensions expressed by all concerned about physiotherapists assuming the role of a doctor, following provisions might be added at the appropriate place in the Bill: 'Physiotherapists could not take over the responsibilities of a doctor and could not prescribe drugs. 12.304 The Committee felt that the suggestion seemed to be justified and, accordingly, recommended that necessary modification might be carried out in the definition of ‘radio-diagnosis’. 12.305 The Committee was convinced with the fact that highly skilled work force was required to operate advanced medical equipments under the present health care delivery system. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the words "radiology technician" be replaced by the words 'radiology technologist' and the word "Paramdical" be deleted from this Clause. The words 'who possess recognised radiology technology education' might also be included in the definition. 12.306 The Committee recommended to the Ministry to examine the above suggestion and incorporate the same if it was in consonance with the established scientific principles. 12.307 The Committee noted that as admitted by the Ministry, in the absence of any registering and regulatory body, there was no exact data available about paramedical professionals except pharmacists and nurses. However, the approximate number of physiotherapists and occupational therapists based on their assumption was around 16,000 and 8,000 respectively. 12.308 The Committee felt that the Physiotherapy Central Council as envisaged with two separate registers for physiotherapy and occupational therapy would not serve the purpose. The Committee pointed out that an independent profession with entirely different course of study, mode of treatment and approach in treatment and rehabilitation of patients could not be included under another profession. The Committee also took note of the fact that both the professions having entirely separate curriculum were recognized as separate disciplines by UGC. Committee's contention was strengthened by confirmation of both the professions being entirely different and practitioner of one discipline not allowed to practise the other in reply to a Parliament Question given on the 20th August, 2004. In the light of the above facts and also its observations/recommendations in respect of Clauses 1(1) and 2(1)(a) above, the Committee recommended that Clause 3(1) be amended to read as follows:— * The Physiotherapy Central Council, * The Occupational Therapy Central Council, * The Medical Laboratory Technology Central Council, and * The Radiology Technology Central Council. The Committee also recommended that the consequential changes be made in the Bill to reflect the above proposition. 12.309 The Committee was disturbed by the line of argument offered by the Ministry with regard to the proposed role of the Central Councils. The Committee was of the considered view that in this era of liberalization when the general trend was towards according greater autonomy to institutions for the purpose of making them centres of excellence, approach of the Ministry was not justified. It was in this context that injecting the process of election in the constitution of the Councils acquired added significance. Arming the Central Government with overriding powers in all matters coupled with lack of any mechanism of checks and balances would 330 undermine the very purpose for which the Councils were proposed to be set up. The Committee was appreciative of the fact that the Central Government, by its very nature, was mandated to implement policies of national importance and to that extent it was well within its right to exercise control over the affairs of the Councils. However, that did not warrant giving the Central Government over-riding powers in a way that was prejudicial to their autonomous working. The Committee, therefore, recommended a new clauses be added to the Bill to shield the proposed Councils from undue government interference. 12.310 The Committee observed that though the Bill envisaged to enact an Umbrella Central Councils Act, enabling provision for creation of new councils was missing as conceded by the Ministry also. The Committee was, however, not in favour of creating separate Councils/Sub-Councils for each of the 17 paramedical professionals, as doing that would not only be time-consuming but also cost ineffective. One must also not forget that this list of 17 paramedical professions was not an exhaustive one. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Clause 3(1) be amended and a new Clause be added on the lines as suggested by the Ministry above. 12.311 The Committee appreciated the fact that since there was no Council and no register of members either, the first Council might be a nominated body. However, the Committee was unable to reconcile itself with the fact that the Bill was bereft of any provisions to the effect that after the expiry of the term of the first Council, the next Council would be formed as an elected body. The Committee felt that lack of clarity in this regard might lead to the election of the Central Councils being put on perpetual hold. The Committee felt that the Bill itself must provide that after the term of the first Council runs out, the next Council should be constituted by way of election. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a specific and categorical provision be made in the Bill itself to the effect that after the term of the first Council i.e. two years expires, the next Council coming into existence would be an elected body. 12.312 The Committee noted that the main concern expressed in respect of Clause 3(4)(a) and (b) was that there was no mention of the process of election of the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson after the expiry of the term of the first Council and the Bill was also silent about the eligibility criteria under this Clause. The Committee found the concerns valid and recommended that the said Clause be amended to reflect that the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson of the next Councils should be elected by the members of the respective Councils from amongst themselves and the person so elected and his qualifications should be directly relevant to the discipline of the concerned Council in such a way that he should be eligible to be enrolled on the register of the concerned Council. The Committee also pointed out that election procedure for electing Council Chairman, Vice-Chairman and other council Members on the expiry of the term of the first nominated Council needs to be incorporated in the Act as it was done in the case of other similar Councils. 12.313 The Committee accepted the Ministry's explanation and recommended to modify Clause 3(4)(h) to include one member from the Rehabilitation Council of India. 12.314 To rectify the above position, the Committee recommended that Clause 3(4)(i) be amended to ensure that (i) four members of the first Council should appointed by the Central Government from amongst the teachers of the concerned discipline, of the recognized institutions imparting education in Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy or Medical Laboratory Technology or Radiology Technology, as the case might be. The Committee also recommended that specific provisions be made in the Clause to ensure that after the expiry of the term of the first Council i.e. two years, four members under this Clause should be elected from the amongst themselves by such teachers of the concerned discipline of the recognized institutions imparting education in physiotherapy or Medical Laboratory Technology or Radiology Technology, as the case might be, whose names appear on the register of the concerned Council. 12.315 The Committee observed that Clauses 3(4)(k) and (l) suffer from similar inadequacies as pointed out in respect of Clause 3(4)(i). The Committee noted that apart from absence of any clause providing for election of the Members under this Clause in future, the Clause leaves scope for favouritism and nepotism as any practitioner in the concerned discipline, whether of eminence or not, could be appointed under this clause. 12.316 With a view to insulating the Central Council from possible favouritism and nepotism, the Committee recommended that under Clause 3(4)(k), four members of the first Council should be appointed by the Central Government, from amongst the practitioners of eminence in the concerned discipline, from the Institutes and Hospitals of repute and after the expiry of the term of the first Council, four members under this clause should 331 be elected from amongst the practitioners of repute of the concerned discipline, from Institutes and Hospitals of repute, by members of the Institutes and the Hospitals, whose names appeared in the register of the concerned Council. The Committee also recommended that out of the four members so elected, two should represent the public sector Hospitals/Institutes and two should represent the private sector Hospitals/Institutes. 12.317 The Committee observed that the term "Organizations" occurring in Clause 3(4)(l) is vague and could be misinterpreted to mean any hospital or medical institution. The Committee therefore, recommended that the word "Organization" be defined clearly. 12.318 The Committee observed that clause 3(4)(l) also lacks provisions ensuring electoral process in the constitution of the Councils formed subsequent to the first Council and therefore recommended that four members of the first Council under Clause 3(4)(l) should be appointed by the Government to represent such national/state level organizations which could represent the interest of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, medical laboratory and radiology technology and after the expiry of the term of the first Council, four members under the said Clause should be elected from amongst themselves by such professionals of national/state level organizations, whose names appeared in the register of the concerned Council. 12.319 The Committee felt that the criterion adopted in clause 3(4)(j) for the appointment of three members to represent the States and one member to represent the Union Territories was not fair in the sense that in a vast country like India, rotational appointment in the alphabetical order might result in the skewed representation of the States and Union Territories as it would take years before many of the States got their representation in the Councils. The Committee therefore felt that the zonal grouping of the States for the purpose of their representation in the Councils would be a better option. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that clause 3(4)(j) be amended in such a way that four members should be appointed by the Central Government by rotation in the alphabetical order from within the zone to represent the States, i.e. North, South, East and West and one member should be appointed to represent the Union Territories. 12.320 To ensure that the Council was manned mostly by professionals, the Committee recommended that the proviso to Clause 3(4)(j) be amended to ensure that the members of the first Councils appointed under this clause should be from amongst the qualified professionals of eminence and after the expiry of the term of the first Councils, appointments under this Clause should be made from amongst the qualified professionals of eminence, who were enrolled on the register of the concerned Council. 12.321 The Committee was not inclined to agree with the contention of the Ministry that MPs having qualification or experience relevant to the discipline of the Council could only be in a position to make fruitful contribution. The Committee pointed out that Members of Parliament represent the will of the people and their representation in the Councils would ensure that the popular aspirations were reflected in the policies and programmes of the Council. The Committee noted that AICTE and Nursing Council of India had two members each from Lok Sabha and one member from Rajya Sabha elected by the respective Houses. The Committee in its 19th Report on the Indian Medical Council Bill, 2005 presented to the Rajya Sabha on 19th December, 2006 had recommended representation of MPs in the Medical Council of India in the same proportion as in AICTE and Nursing Council of India. Taking a cue from its above recommendation, the Committee recommended that a provision be made in the present Bill to nominate two MPs from Lok Sabha and one M.P. from Rajya Sabha elected by the respective Houses. 12.322 The Committee noted that though the tenure of elected Councils like Medical Council of India, All India Council of Technical Education was of five years, it would not be in the larger public interest to allow a wholly nominated body to continue for five years. The Committee was of the considered view that tenure of two years should be sufficient for the first Council to lay down and frame requisite rules and regulations. Thereafter, the tenure of an elected Council could be on the lines of other statutory Councils. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that Clause 4(1) be amended to the effect that a member of the first Council should hold office for a term of two years and thereafter the term of Member of an elected Council should be five years. 12.323 The Committee also noted that Clause 4(3) which related to filling up of a casual vacancy did not lay down any time frame for the same. The Committee felt that such a deficiency might be exploited to keep the filling up of a vacancy on perpetual hold. The Comittee, therefore, recommended that Clause 4(3) be amended to ensure that a period of three months was prescribed for filling a vacancy. 12.324 The Committee recommended that Clause 6 might be modified accordingly. 332
12.325 The Committee noted that the Bill prescribed that rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at the meetings of the Central Councils including the quorum at such meetings, might be determined by regulations. The Committee felt that in view of the critical role envisaged for the Central Councils in formulating standards of education and training, quorum of meetings of the Central Councils should be spelt out in unambiguous terms in the Act itself. The Committee observed that such a provision was there in all the Acts relating to similar bodies. The mandatory condition was required to be there from the very begining due to the protracted regulation rule making exercise. The Committee, accordingly,recommended that Clause 8 be amended to indicate the quorum required for the meetings of the Central Councils. 12.326 The Committee was of the considered view that contours of the composition of the Executive Committee under clause 11 must be specified in the Bill. Making allowances for the fact that the first Central Councils under the Bill were envisaged to be wholly nominated bodies, the Committee could well understand the compulsions behind not adopting the electoral process for the purpose of the constitution of the first Executive Committee. However, what the Committee was unable to reconcile itself with, was that there was no mention at all either of electoral process in the constitution of the future Executive Committees or of the number of members required for constituting such a Committee. The Committee was also surprised by lack of any provision concerning the functions of the Executive Committee, presumably the most powerful Committee. 12.327 Taking all factors into account, the Committee recommended that Clause 11 be amended so as to include specific composition of the Executive Committee and the Disciplinary Committee. The Committee also pointed out that normally the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of a Council are the ex-officio members of the Executive Committee and automatically become the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Executive Committee. The Committee found no justification for not adhering to this time-tested convention. The Committee, therefore, recommended that clause 11 might be modified accordingly. 12.328 The Committee also recommended that provisions be made in the Bill, specifically indicating the powers and duties of the Executive Committees, so that there was complete clarity about the role of the Executive Committee and occasions for overlapping of powers and duties of the Executive Committee with other Committees of the Council did not arise. 12.329 The Committee noted that the Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Council Act, 1997 mandated the Delhi Council to inter alia advised the Government in matters relating to the requirements of manpower in the field of physiotherapy and occupational therapy. In view of the yawning mismatch between demand and supply of health care services in the country, the Committee felt that the Central Councils could play a vital role in terms of acquainting the Government with requirements of allied health professionals in the country. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Clause12 be suitably amended to include therein the above referred function among the functions of the Central Councils. 12.330 The Committee, therefore recommended that Clause 13 be amended so as to specify the exact duties to be performed by the Secretary, on a similar pattern an envisaged in the Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act, 1997. The Committee was also of the opinion that the Secretary so appointed besides possessing qualification in public administration or law, might also be well-conversant with the background and technicalities of the concerned profession. 12.331 The Committee observed that this provision was too general and did not give any idea as to what would be the procedure for seeking permission for establishment of a new institution, introduction of a new course of study or increase in the admission capacity of a particular course. The Committee strongly felt that in the absence of specific provision on the above-mentioned aspects, there was every possibility of emergence of element of arbitrariness. The Committee emphasized that this would go against the very objective for which the Central Councils were envisaged to be set up. 12.332 The Committee failed to understand as to why the detailed provisions as made in the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and the Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act, 1997 regarding establishing an institution, opening a new or higher course of study or training, increasing admission capacity in any course of study or training, procedure for submission of an application for grant of permission etc. had not been suitably incorporated in the present Bill. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Clause 16 be suitably and comprehensively amended to incorporate detailed provisions on the pattern of Section 10A 333 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and Section 18 of the Delhi Council for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act, 1997. 12.333 The Committee noted that the proposed provision in the Bill did not make any reference to a schedule where-under all the recognized qualifications of relevant professions were to be included. The Committee was of the opinion that in the absence of such a provision, it would not be possible to identify the recognized qualifications at a glance. Schedule was the right mechanism for this purpose. The Committee pointed out that the proposed legislation is envisaged for four categories of allied health professions having variety of degrees with an enabling provision for future expansion. Provision of a schedule as indicated above noted to be an essential feature. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that necessary modifications in this regard might be carried out. 12.334 Committee's attention had also been drawn by the absence of two very important provisions covering very vital aspects, like non-recognition of qualification in certain cases, time for seeking permission for certain existing colleges/institutions in the Bill. The Committee failed to understand the rationale for non- inclusion of such provisions. The Committee pointed out that an enabling provision taking care of existing institutions with all the required precautions along with powers to take action against institutions coming up against the prescribed norms could not be ignored. Such provisions were required for safeguarding the interests of both students and institutions. The Committee, accordingly, recommended the incorporation of such provisions in the Bill. 12.335 The Committee fully appreciated the fact that allied health professions reflect a rapidly changing field and if there was no mechanism for upgrading the skills of professionals, it would deal a big blow to the advanced health care delivery system in the country. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a provision be made in the above clause for a mechanism to be put in a place for the purpose of upgrading the skills of professionals through in service/education/training programme. The Committee also found the suggestion regarding periodic review of minimum standards valid and recommended that provisions for a mechanism for reviewing the minimum standards periodically be made in the Bill. 12.336 The Committee felt that since India was a signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the above suggestion needed to be examined with an open mind. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Central Councils for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, once it was formed, might keep in mind the U.N. Convention on Rights of Persons with Disability while formulating minimum standards of education for Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists. 12.337 The Committee felt that in a vast country like India utmost care needed to be exercised while formulating the minimum standards of education so that the interests of the students of allied health professions and physiotherapy/occupational therapy all over the country were accommodated and the widest possible consensus on the curriculum was reached. The Committee therefore, recommended that the draft minimum standards of education prepared by the Central Councils be circulated to the States and all efforts be made to address the genuine concerns, if any, of the State Governments. 12.338 It was pointed out to the Committee that the word "Inspector" was not in tune with the modern times as it reminded people of Inspector Raj of the olden days and should therefore be replaced by a more gracious and modern terminology like "expert" or "assessor." The Committee was in agreement with the above suggestion and recommended that the word "Inspector" in the above clause be replaced by "expert" or "assessor." 12.339 The Committee was also of the opinion that leaving the job of inspection to a single inspector might breed corruption in the name of regulation. The Committee, therefore, recommended that provisions be made in Clause 21 to entrust the job of inspection to a team of experts/assessors consisting of experienced professionals. 12.340 The Committee noted that Clause 22 was deficient to the extent that neither did it speak of the action in terms of a decision on the part of the Central Government nor did it lay down any time frame for such an action. The Committee therefore recommended that the following expression be added at the end of Clause 22:— "which shall take final decision on the matter within a period of three months from the date of receipt of the representation." 334
12.341 The Committee found no merit in the suggestion of the Ministry that the appellate authority might consist of two senior members of the Council and one senior officer of the Ministry. The Committee felt that if the representatives of the very dispensation which had recommended the withdrawal of recognition were allowed to become a part of the appellate authority such an arrange would run counter to the established principles of natural justice. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a mechanism might be evolved to ensure that the appellate authority consisted of independent persons of impeccable credentials. 12.342 The Committee noted that 30 days' time had been allowed to a person to appeal against any refusal to enter his/her name in the register or removal of his/her name from the register of the concerned Council. The Committee observed that 30 days was too short a period for the purpose and should be increased to 60 days. The Committee therefore, recommended that Clause 28(b) be amended to increase the period of appeal from 30 days to 60 days. The Committee adopted the remaining Clauses of the Bill without any amendment 12.343 The Committee drew the attention to non-inclusion of three very crucial provisions in the Bill. These related to 'Professional Conduct', 'Renewal of registration' and 'Rights and privileges of the registered members'. The Committee was of the opinion that all the three provisions need to be included in the Bill on the pattern of similar provisions in the IMC Act, 1956 and the Delhi Council of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act, 1997, subject to required modification. 12.344 The Committee observed that at present para-medical profession was being regulated in only six States. Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh had para-medical Council, Delhi and Maharashtra had Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Council and Andhra Pradesh had a Paramedical Board. The Committee was given to understand that there was lot of disparity in the working of the said Councils/Boards and hence they did not offer even ground for professionals from other States to work in such States. However, with the Central Act coming into effect, State Councils/Boards were expected to follow suit. 12.345 The Committee observed that the proposed Bill was silent about the fate of the Councils/Board in existence in the States. On a specific query about the status of professionals registered in their State Councils/ Board, it was clarified that every professional in any part of the country, would have to be registered in the Central Council register. A person registered in the State Council would have the license to practise only in that State. It was also informed that the Central Councils might later develop their own mechanism/rules to merge the State registers with the Central Register provided the State Councils made amendments in accordance with the Central Act. 12.346 The Committee was of the view that the Centre must work for the removal to the existing disparities in different State Councils/Board and devise a mechanism so as to entrust these State Councils/Board the responsibility of maintenance of uniform standards of education in the respective States as per the guidelines formulated by the Central Councils. The Committee also strongly felt that it would not be practical to restrict the registration of professionals at the central level. The Committee drew the attention of the Ministry to the existing mechanism for registration at the State level and inclusion of the same in the Central Register in respect of other similar bodies for allopathic and Indian Systems of Medicine. The Committee also understood that the Planning Commission had suggested that State level para-professional Councils could be established for maintenance of professional standards at State level. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that suitable modifications might be carried out in the Bill. 12.347 During the course of interactions, the Committee observed that there was a lot of dissatisfaction among the allied health professionals particularly physiotherapists and occupational therapists with regard to their pay scales. It was brought to the notice of the Committee that their entry into Government service after completion of four and a half years degree course in the respective profession was not being addressed properly. The Committee was given to understand that their recurrent demands for bringing parity in the pay scales had yielded no results so far. General perception was that discriminatory treatment was being meted out to them as their pay scales did not commensurate with their status and responsibility. 12.348 The Committee felt that all the allied health professionals including physiotherapists and occupational therapists play a crucial role in the field of medicine and physical rehabilitation. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommended that their legitimate interests should be taken care of and their existing pay structure might be revised according to their qualifications and duration of the course they had to put in before entering into a Govt. job. 335
(f) 32nd Report 12.349 The Committee, after going through the objections and suggestions, observed that contrary to some of similar existing State laws, this was a comprehsnsive Central Legislation aimed at not only covering all categories of healthcare establishments but also practising all the recognized systems of medicine. Therefore, its title should be such which covered all the desired entities or reflected them through some common term. The word clinical, though it meant related to medical, appeared to be restrictive to allopathic clinics only. 12.350 In the opinion of the Committee, the world 'healthcare' took care of most of the objections. Healthcare meant related to health and it might be though any system of medicine and included laboratory and diagnostic services also. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the title of the Bill might suitably be changed as "The Healthcare Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2007" and the consequential changed be made in the Bill as well. 12.351 The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should make all out efforts in persuading all the States to adopt the Central Legislation so that uniformity in health standards was maintained across the length and breadth of the country. For this, financial as well as other infrastructural support, as and when required, might also be provided to the States to motivate them in adopting the same. 12.352 The Committee was, however, of the opinion the lack of categorical provision, further made ambiguous by another contradictory provision on this count did not substantiate the Ministry's claim. The Committee pointed out that the very purpose of the legislation would be diluted and defeated if the OPD services were not brought within its ambit. One must also forget that with the significant advancements made in medical sciences and healthcare, even many surgical interventions did not require patient's stay in the hospital/nursing home. The Committee, therefore, was of the view that definition of 'clinical establishment' under Clause 2(c)(i) and also the explanation given in clause 11 need to be suitably modified to remove the ambiguity. 12.353 Committee observed that many Healthcare Establishments were nowadays also involved in independent Research & Development activities specially in the context of research in new drugs/drug combinations followed by their clinical trial on patients. The Bill in its present form did not categorically provide for inclusion of these establishments under the definition of clinical establishments. The Committee strongly felt that their exclusion would be detrimental to the rights of the patients who form part of the experiments/ research studies undertaken by such establishments. In view of this, the Committee recommended inclusion of R&D establishments in the definition of Healthcare Establishments. 12.354 The Committee was, however, not convinced by this line of thinking. Ground realities existing in our country in the context of health care facilities for general public need to be taken into account. A very high percentage of our population was dependent on the services provided by 'single doctor establishments' whether run from residences or other places. The implication of not bringing such establishments under the proposed legislation would prove to be detrimental to the interest of common man, the most vulnerable segment of our society. The registration was a one time activity and it would be renewable after a sufficient gap. The Committee also pointed out that such a move would be renewable after a sufficient gap. The Committee also pointed out that such a move would also prove beneficial in the context of collecting vital and complete data regarding health scenario in the country and the statistics could be utilized in National level Planning. The Commitee, therefore, was of the firm opinion that single doctor establishments need to be covered under this Act. 12.355 The Committee also found no valid reasons for keeping establishments set up by partnerships, run by societies (other than co-operative), Charity/Missionary, mobile units out of the ambit of the Bill. The Committee, therefore, recommended that such establishments might also be included in the definition of 'Healthcare Establishments'. 12.356 The Committee found that under Clause 2(d) "National Council" was a very general nomenclature for the proposed Council and did not reflect the entire spectrum of the issue covered under the Bill. In consonance with its suggestions regarding the title in Clause 1, the Committee recommended that the National Council referred to in clause 2(d) and subsequently in other provisions, be changed as "National Council for Healthcare Establishments." 336
12.357 As regards appropriateness or otherwise of the applicability of the Bill to Defence Forces Establishments, the Committee respected the security concerns arising out of their inclusion under the ambit of the Bill. The Committee fully understood that parting with the details related to Army Health Establishments could be detrimental to nation's security. The Committee was also aware that military medical establishments and the medicare provided by them was subjected to internal checks and inspections by administrative and technical experts on a regular basis. The Committee, however, strongly felt that a feasible mechanism could be easily worked out whereunder all the armed forces medical establishments could be registered by maintaining secrecy/confidentiality aspect also. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Act should invariably be applied to all the Army Health Establishments except those based in the forward/combat areas. 12.358 The Committee did not find any substance in exclusion of Government/Public Health Institutions/ Autonomous Institutions from the purview of the Act as put forth before it through some representations. The Committee had taken note of the fact that several of the existing laws in various States did not cover such institutions, thereby inviting criticisms for giving undue advantage to them. The Committee fully understood that the Public Health Institutions had some social obligations. They were also doing commendable job by handling tremendous patient load under very demanding ground realities. It, however, did not favour their exclusion simply because such a move would lead to depriving the majority of the people having access to such establishments only, from the benefits of this Act to which they were rightfully entitled. The Committee also emphasized that element of accountability which was not visible so far needs to be made applicable to all categories of medical establishments-whether Govt. or private. One must not forget that ultimate goal was 'Health for all". 12.359 There was a drafting slippage in Clause 2(f) which might be modified as:— "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the Central Government or, as the case may be, by the State Government; 12.360 The Committee, however, was not convinced by this line of thinking. The Committee pointed out that the mere fact of there being no statutory regulatory authority at present did not mean that a well-established system having a wide acceptability increasing day-by-day among the masses could not be considered a recognized system of medicine. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the definition of 'recognised system of medicine' might remain unchanged. 12.361 The Committee noted that the National Council had to perform very crucial functions which included determination of standards of health care to be provided by the healthcare establishments and classification thereof. Not only this, the Council was also entrusted with the routine work of compilation, maintenance and updation of the national register of such establishments and collection of statistics likely to be used for future planning and corrective measures. The Committee strongly felt that the DGHS in his capacity as the Chairperson of the National Council would not be in a position to carry out its mandate. Reason being that as the Director General of Health Services, he had to take care of entire country in all the conceivable health related matters. The Committee was, accordingly, not in favour of a part-time Chairperson for the proposed National Council because the work relating to the National Council would be very demanding, especially at the initial stage of determining and developing minimum standards. The Committee was of the firm view that DGHS, who was already overburdened with official work, would not be able to do justice with this dual responsibility. Further, the Committee also pointed out that such an arrangement was also likely to impinge upon the autonomy of the Council. Taking the above factors into consideration, the Committee recommended appointment of a full time Chairperson, who have the required experience specially of hospital administration and have the rank and qualification equivalent to that of DGHS. 12.362 The Committee also felt that presence of representatives of reputed NGOs and consumer protection associations working in the health sector was very much required in such a body. The Committee, therefore, recommended that composition of the National Council might be modified accordingly. 12.363 Committee also took note of the role of private sector in providing health care in the country. The Committee was well aware about the increasing involvement of hospitals/institutions run by private management across the country. Nobody could deny the fact that with the limited resources available with the Govt., in the enormous task of providing health care to the general public, contribution of private sector was bound to become more visible with passage of time. In such a scenario, with all the stakeholders being part of the 337
National Council, representation from eminent medical professionals from the private sector, preferably from the associations/bodies of private hospitals/nursing homes was very much required. The Committee, accordingly, recommended representation from the private sector. 12.364 The Committee felt that the National Council could draw useful inputs from QCI as it has a number of health professional including assessors and experts on developing standards. Therefore, the QCI deserved to be represented in the proposed council. Composition of the National Council might be modified so as to include one representative from the Quality Council of India. 12.365 Clause 3(2)(e)-The Committee noted that the sub-clause suffered from a factual deficiency under clause 3 which specifies the representation from the Central Council of the Indian Medical Association constituted under MCI Act, 1956. As was well known, IMA was private association of allopathic doctors and not a statutory body created by legislation. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the sub-clause might, accordingly, be modified. The Committee also recommended inclusion of at least one representative from similar Association representing Indian systems of medicine on a rotational basis. 12.366 In view of one representative each from Nursing Council of India and Pharmacy Council of India given representation vide clause 3(2)(b), it should be suitably modified to exclude representation from these two paramedical fields. The Committee was also surprised to note that with all categories of laboratories being covered under the proposed legislation, their representative not finding a place in the National Council could not be considered a justifiable move. The Committee could only emphasise that instead of there being a general provision, specific nomination from medical lab fraternity might be included under clause (3)(2)(j). 12.367 Clause 3(2) (j)-The Committee noted that under Clause 2(g) Yoga and Naturopathy had been recognized as systems of medicine. However, there was no specific clause providing for their representation in the Natioal Council under Clause 3. Keeping in view the fact that Yoga and Naturopathy providing efficacious, promotive, preventive and curative interventions were getting wider popularity among all classes of the society, the Committee found absence of any clear mention of their representation in the proposed National Council untenable. The Committee, therefore, recommended that Clause 3(i) be amended to categorically mention that out of the three representatives proposed, one each from Yoga and Naturopathy should find place in the Council. 12.368 The Committee was not in agreement with providing a shorter term of one year for the nominated members as against three years for elected members. The Committee was of the view that there should be uniform term for both the categories of members so as to enable them to have greater co-ordination and also to give adequate time to the nominated members to understand the nitty-gritty of the working of the Council and make meaningful contribution. The Committee, therefore, recommended a term of three years for the nominated members as well. 12.369 Clause 3(6) - The Committee favoured giving full functional autonomy to the National Council. The Committee, therefore, recommended deletion of the words "subject to the previous approval of the Central Government" from this clause. The Committee also felt that quorum for the meetings of the National Council should be spelt out in unambiguous terms in the Act itself to strengthen the autonomy of the proposed Council. The Committee, therefore, recommended Clause 3(6) be amended to incorporate the quorum required for the meetings of the Council. 12.370 The Committee noted that the two main functions of the Council were to determine the standards for ensuring proper healthcare by the clinical establishments and also to develop the minimum standards and their periodic review. The Committee also took note of the fact that minimum standards of the facilities and services were to be prescribed for registration and continuation of clinical establishments. The Committee was, however, surprised to note the absence of any time-span for accomplishment of this crucial mandate in the Bill. The Committee could well imagine the situation emerging after the enactment of this Bill. The Committee could only conclude that fulfillment of the mandate of this Bill would continue to remain on paper for quite some time. The Committee would have appreciated if some basic minimum standards had been specified in the Bill itself which would have evolved and expanded as per the demand of the time. The Committee understood that some of the State Acts such a provision of minimum standards. The Committee failed to understand the reason for not adopting the same. The Committee could only emphasise that this was very much required in such a legislation which was expected to be adopted by other State Govts also. The Committee also drew the attention 338 of the Ministry to the pioneering work accomplished by the two Boards of the Quality Council of India and the Bureau of Indian Standards. Norms and guidelines prescribed for health care by these bodies could easily become the base for laying down of minimum standards for health care. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that the Department might take necessary action in this regard by prescribing the minimum standards for health care. 12.371 The Committee fully agreed with the objections that appointing the DHS or an officer subordinate to him as the registrar would create a conflict of interest in view of the fact that Public Health Institutions were also required to be registered and regulated under the proposed legislation. This legislation was aimed at having far reaching consequences in the healthcare delivery system in India. A person could not be a judge of his own case. Therefore, there was justified apprehension that the Registrar might be biased while exercising his authority in respect of the Public Health Institutions. Further, it would not be proper to vest the sole power into a single member authority. The Committee, therefore, recommended constitution of a multi-member autonomous authority with a lean structure, consisting of representatives drawn from all recognized system of medicine from the state services. This authority could be set up on the pattern of TRAI. Pollution Control Board and similar bodies. The authority might be headed by an officer of the rank and qualification of DHS drawn from any recognized system of medicine. Further, two representatives each of reputed state level consumer fora working in the field of healthcare for at least five years and registered association of private healthcare establishments might be included in the authority to have transparency. Such authority might be provided functional autonomy, staff and infrastructural requirement and could also be entrusted with appellate powers. The tenure of the members of the Authority might be for a period of five years. 12.372 The Committee, therefore, recommended replication of the model of Authority under clause 8 at the District level also. 12.373 The Committee was of the opinion that clause 11 required redrafting in the following manner. "No person shall run a clinical establishment unless it has been duly registered in accordance with the provisions of this Act." 12.374 With the redrafted clause 11, there was no need for adding an Explanation to it which was resulting in unnecessary complications and apprehensions. 12.375 The Committee accepted the need for adherence to the minimum standards by the clinical establishments as prescribed by the National Council. The main objective of the legislation is to have a regulatory body so as to make available quality health care to the people. The Committee, however, pointed out that the task of prescribing minimum standards had to be accomplished in a time-bound manner. Secondly, the Committee failed to comprehend the need for prescribing the minimum qualifications for the personnel working in the clinical establishments. The Committee pointed out that minimum qualifications for both medical and para-medical personnel are already duly prescribed by the concerned regulatory bodies and authorities. Clause 12 may be modified accordingly. 12.376 While accepting the need for taking care of local conditions while prescribing standards for clinical establishments, the Committee had a word of caution. The Committee strongly felt that this prerogative needs to be in the hands of the National Council only. Otherwise there was every chance of standards getting diluted, thus defeating the very objective of bringing this legislation. Once the initial action as enumerated in clause 5 had been completed by the National Council in a time-bound manner, the power for periodic review and resultant modifications should continue to be vested with the National Council. Element of any change in the context of local conditions should also be the responsibility of the National Council only. 12.377 Committee believed that the purpose of this provision was to provide sufficient time to the existing healthcare establishments, which might or might not be registered under other state legislations, to comply with the new standards under this new legislation. The Committee welcomed the same and suggested that the procedure application proforma should be made simple along with nominal fees in order to encourage/motivate healthcare establishments to get them registered. 12.378 The Committee also apprehended the misuse of the facility of provisional registration. Implementation of clause 16(1), would mean that no preliminary enquiry was required to be conducted by the authority for granting of provisional registration and thereby legally enabling an establishment to run without any check and accountability. Thus the offenders could take advantage of this by shifting their base after every three 339 years and avoid a permanent registration altogether. Clause 16 when interpreted along with clause 17 regarding validity of provisional registrations and claue 23 relating to time-limit for provisional registration would literally mean that any clinical establishment could continue to function without any enquiry whatsoever on the basis of provisional registration for years together. The Committee could well imagine the time likely to be taken for the clinical standards to be notified. A clinical establishment continuing to function for three years after notification of standards without undergoing any kind of verification could not be considered justifiable from any quarter. The Committee was of the firm view that provisional registration should be a one time after given for the minimum possible time, maximum for one year with no facility for further extension of time. Therefore, the Committee recommended that provisional registration should be allowed till the standards were made and once these standards were fixed, no provisional registration should be allowed. The facility of provisional registration should be aimed at/confined to the existing establishments in order to enable them to adhere to the new standards. Any new establishment that came up subsequent to fixing and notification of standards should not be subjected to the process of provisional registration. Therefore, Clause 14(1) should categorically state that provisional registration was meant for establishments at the time of enactment of the legislation and till the standards were notified, whichever was later. Similar facility might be given to all the establishments of a State which adopts this legislation on a latter date. 12.379 Several stakeholders advocated for a compulsory online procedure for registration, which, in the opinion of the Committee, was not practical due to ground realities like non-availability of infrastructural support etc. across the length and breadth of the country. 12.380 The Committee after carefully examining the matter concluded that the very purpose of legislation was to have uniform health standards throughout the country. Moreover, it is up to the State Governments to align with the proposed legislation. The Committee, accordingly, recommended no change in clause 14(5). However, the Committee had some reservations about clause 14(4) as per which any clinical establishment in existence at the time of the commencement of the Act, should have to apply for registration within one year. The Committee strongly felt that giving of one year's time for simply filing an application was not justified. It would have been appropriate if it had been made mandatory for clinical establishment to apply for registration within the minimum required period; one month of commencement of the Act. The Committee, therefore, recommended that clause 14(4) may be modified accordingly. 12.381 The Committee was fully inclined to agree with the view that there should be no requirement for applying afresh in case of a mere change of ownership or management. However, there should be provision whereunder prior intimation might be made mandatory for such a change. With regard to the change of category, location of clinical establishment or ceasing of its functioning, the matter had to be dealt with on a different footing. The Committee felt that such structural changes were required to be looked into afresh. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that clause 20 might be modified so as to provide for surrender of the certificate of registration followed by grant of fresh certificate in case of change of category of clinical establishment or on its ceasing to function as such an establishment. 12.382 The Committee felt that the expression "within next 45 days" was difficult to comply with as it means the list would be updated on a daily basis and therefore complying with such a provision was not practicable unless the list was published on the Net through a computer programme. The Committee felt that the provision needed further elaboration for the sake of clarity. 12.383 In view of Committee's observation with regard to clauses 14, 16 and 17, Clauses 22 and 23 need to be deleted. 12.384 The Committee was of the view that there was no harm in displaying the information pertaining to the healthcare establishments, on the contrary in this era of transparency and accountability, it was the need of the hour. The Committee, therefore, recommended that such information pertaining to the establishments should be displayed on a dedicated website. Further, after registration also, such details might be kept updated on net regarding all establishments for public display to ensure transparency. 12.385 The Committee, however, did not agree with the view of not having any obligation on the part of the Authority to conduct any inspection prior to grant of permanent registration. The Authority could not shy away from its responsibility. Further, in the opinion of the Committee, it might lead to corrupt practices. the Committee, accordingly, favoured and strongly recommended that no permanent registration should be granted 340 unless inspection had been carried out by the authority. Moreover, the inspection report should be made public through net alongwith the details of the inspecting personnel. The status related to the follow up action should also be made available on net alongwith usual procedure. This would allay fears of the private medical practitioners that the inspection clause would lead to corruption and bias. It would further strengthen their accountability. 12.386 A point of view placed before the Committee to check frivolous, motivated and baseless complaints was to have a penalty clause against those who file such complaints. The Committee fully supported the apprehensions raised. However, the Committee was of the view that such cases might be covered under other provisions of IPC Act or Cr. PC. The committee, therefore, recommended to the Department to take up the case with the Law Ministry and explore possibility of a penalty clause in the Act. 12.387 In this clause it had been stated that objections should be communicated to the clinical establishment for response within a period, as might be prescribed. The Ministry was of the view that such period should be provided in the rules. The Committee recommended that in order to have clarity and for leaving no scope for ambiguity or manipulation, such details should be provided for in the Act itself. Consequential changes in other clauses might be made accordingly. 12.388 The Committee recommended that as given under various clauses for provisional registration, clauses or sub-clauses on similar lines relating to validity of the permanent registration certificate, display of registration certificate, its non-transferability and publication of expiry of registration should be provided in the Act itself. 12.389 The Committee also strongly felt that no registration could be for an indefinite period. Mechanism for renewal of certificate of registration had to be incorporated specially in the Act itself. On a specific query in this regard, the Ministry clarified that such a mechanism would be included in the Rules. The Committee was not inclined to agree with the view of the Ministry in this regard. The Committee was of the view that such a provision should be part of the Act itself. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a provision regarding period of five years for renewal of the permanent registration certificate might be inserted at the relevant place in the Bill. 12.390 The Committee was of the view that no single time limit could be fixed for all types of cases where the establishments were required to respond to the show cause notice of the Authority, which could very from 2-3 days to say a month. The Committee, accordingly, recommended insertion of suitable timeframe in the rules to be made in this regard alongwith safeguard from its possible misuse by the habitual offenders. 12.391 The Committee also found an important ommission in the clause. The present provision of the clause calls for action only after a due process is followed. There might be a situation when the situation demands immediate action on the part of the Authority even before following the due procedure. Therefore, some kind of enabling provision should be there for temporary suspension which could be applied under grave situations to Public Interest. 12.392 In view of the above, the Committee recommended inclusion of provsions for immdiate temporary suspension which could be applied by the appropriate authority under grave situations in Public Interest, without following the due procedure. 12.393 The Committee was of the opinion that instead of single person/authority, an inspection team comprising of experts well-versed with all aspects of healthcare needs to be involved in the task of inspection of clinical establishments. The Committee understood that for inspection of medical colleges, inspection teams were sent. Position must be the same in respect of other similar areas also. The Committee, therefore, recommended that clause 33(1) might be modified accordingly. If need be, appropriate provision in the rules might also be made. 12.394 As the Act did not put liability on the Authority to carry out inspections, the Committee favoured introduction of a sub-clause to incorporate a provision for some periodic inspection by the authority being made mandatory. This will help in keeping a check on the establishments. The Committee, accordingly, recommended inspection of all healthcare establishments prior to giving permanent registration and subsequently at least once in a period of two years. 341
12.395 Under clause 33(4), it was not mentioned that in what time-frame the establishment was required to comply with the directions of the Authority. Therefore at the end of this para of the sub-clause "within such time as indicated in the direction" might be added. This would remove any ambiguity in this regard. 12.396 The Committee after careful deliberations was of the view that this clause was necessary to have a check on the establishments running without proper registration certificate. Therefore, the Authority needed to be provided with power to enter and search such establishment which were suspected to be running without registration. As regards provision of notice, it was necessary in order to allay fears among genuine healthcare establishements of any misuse of power by the Authority. The Committee also recommended to include the various powers like that of search, seizure etc. in the Act itself so as to make the powers comprehensive and effective and not subject to litigations and interpretations. 12.397 The Committee opined that it was for the National council to examine the issue of classification of different healthcare establishments with due care for the local conditions. However, the Committee was aware that the Department might have carefully arrived at the figure of two percent for remittance to the National Council. Therefore, there was no need to comment on its appropriateness. The Committee also felt that the issue of fees should be taken care of in the right earnest so that the cost of treatment did not escalate, especially in case of small establishments which were catering to the healthcare requirements of the masses in rural and remote areas. The Committee, accordingly, recommended that feasibility of suitable fee relaxation to be given to the establishments being set up by the Charitable institutions, establishments providing free treatment to poor patients and establishments being run in rural and remote areas, might be examined by the Department and necessary modifications be carried out accordingly. 12.398 The Committee noted that under clause 35(3) it was written that "it should.....on time." The word "on time" meant that fees should be remitted to the National Council on a specific day the clauses however aimed at remittance of fees within due time. Therefore, the sub-clause might be modified as— "It ...... that the amount referred to in sub-section (2), was remitted to the National Council, in time." 12.399 After a close scrutiny, the Committee found that the clause needed drastic modification. The Committee observed that there was no logic in making the State Government as the appellate authority when there was next higher authority in the form of State Registrar. Further, the important omission was timeline for preferring an appeal. Besides, the provision for appeal under clause 36(1) did not cover other powers of the authority like for enquiry, inspection etc. and also did not cover any other entity like patients, NOGs etc. other than aggrieved by the order of Registering Authority. Moreover, Committee noted that no appeal mechanism in respect of these penalties arising out of the provisions from clause 40 to 46 had been provided. 12.400 The Committee strongly recommended that in view of its recommendation that the State Registrar should be a multi-member body having Appellate powers; all the appeals should be made to the State Registrar in place of the State Government. The Committee recommended that besides cases pertaining to persons aggrieved by the order of Registering Authority regarding refusal to grant or renewal or revoking of the certificate of registration, the clause should be suitably modified to include provision of appeal from the NGOs/ Public/Local resident etc. who had filed their objections under clause 26. The Committee also pointed out that patients/their care takers might also be allowed to have the right to appeal in case of medical negligence on the part of clinical establishment. Necessary modification in clause 36 might, accordingly, be made. 12.401 The Committee also recommended that the procedure for appeal should also be available for penalties arising out of the provisions under clauses 40 to 46. In order to have transparency in the system, the Committee also recommended that the period of preferring an appeal should be one month from the date of order of refusal to grant, renew or revoke certificate of registration to a healthcare establishment or, in case of patients or NGOs etc. the verdict of the Registering Authority. Further, the appeals filed with the State Registrar should be disposed of within a period of two months from the date of such filing. 12.402 In the opinion of the Committee 'without delay' left scope for personal interpretation. It should be specific. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the sub-clause should be modified suitably as under:— "(2) Every State shall supply in digital format to the Central Government, a copy of the State register of healthcare establishements and shall inform the Central Government, all additions to and other ammendments in such register made for a particular month, by the 15th day of the following month." 342
This would ensure timely updation of the National Register and proper compliance by the State Registrars. 12.403 The Committee recommended that the National Register of the entire healthcare establishments should be displayed on the dedicated website for the purpose, State-wise. This would enable the general public to have an idea about the genuine establishments in their area. 12.404 The clauses 40—46 deal with the penalties. These were dealt with under the chapter V- "Register of Clinical Establishment". In the opinion of the Committee, penalties should be dealt with under a separate chapter. 12.405 The Committee during its course of deliberations with various stakeholders had discussed the issue threadbare and had reached to the conclusion that the purpose of penalties should be to ensure strict compliance of various health standards along with other provisions of the Act. At the same time, the Committee also aligned with the apprehensions of various stakeholders that the penalties could not be made applicable on a uniform basis in respect of all categories of clinical establishments. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that the Ministry while framing rules in regard to penalties, should come up with detailed provisions varying the monetary penalties according to size, type and local conditions of the area in which the healthcare establishment were situated. 12.406 The Committee was of the opinion that sufficient provisions have been incorporated under Clauses 32 and 33 for providing appropriate opportunity to the healthcare establishment to rectify their shortcomings. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the penalty provisions should be invoked only after giving them the appropriate opportunity to rectify in case of registered healthcare establishments. 12.407 On a specific query on not having penalty of imprisonment, the Department responded that this had been done to assure the medical fraternity that the Bill would not be having an Inspector-Raj and would not be an impediment to their functioning. However, in view of the aforesaid fact that the penalties would be applied only after giving sufficient opportunity for rectification, the Committee differed with the view of the Department. Suitable penalties were must in the form of imprisonment for habitual offenders in order to install sense of adherence to the provision of the Act. According, the Committee recommended enhancement of penalty for second offence as "upto 1 lakh rupees" and for the third offence "upto 3 Lakh rupees alongwith imprisonment upto six months" and for subsequent offence. "upto Rs. 6 Lakh alongwith upto two years of imprisonment". 12.408 In the opinion of the Committee, the clause only provided for penalty that too monetary in nature. It did not have any provision so as to ensure registration subsequent to the detection of an unregistered establishment. The Committee accordingly recommended that alongwith penalty of fifty thousand rupees at first conviction, a time limit of one fortnight might be provided to the establishment to apply for registration under the Act. If the establishment did not apply for registration during the said period and still continue to function, it might be subjected to penalty for second offence which might include "upto two lakh rupees alongwith seizure of equipments and machinery etc. and upto six months of imprisonment" and for subsequent offence, "upto five lakh rupees alongwith seizure of equipments and machinery etc. and imprisonment upto two years". The Committee's recommendation under clause 40 regarding varying the monetary penalties according to size, type and local conditions of the area in which the healthcare establishments were situated and the imprisonment according to the gravity of the offence, might also be applied here. 12.409 In the opinion of the Committee clause 41 (2), in its present form, would also be applicable to the supporting staff like peons, sweepers and other staff providing non-technical services that were generally illiterate or comparatively less educated. Therefore, in order to save such staff from harassment, the Committee recommended exclusion of such staff from the purview of this sub-clause. Further, the amount of penalties might be varied according to the responsibility/position held by the staff in the healthcare establishment. 12.410 The Committee was of the opinion that recovery of fine as arrears of land revenue would be a long process. This would provide sufficient time to the establishment to shift its base to some other place and start its activities afresh, thereby defeating the purpose of immediate results. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that recovery might also include forfeiture of assests of such Healthcare Establishment. 12.411 the Committee observed that several state laws on healthcares subject were enacted but their relevant rules were framed after quite some time. The Committee, therefore, recommended to the Ministry to frame the requisite rules pertaining to the Act, within a period of six month from the date of its enactment. 343
12.412 In view of the role of the National Council, it was recommended that all rules to be framed by the Government should be in consonance with the functions carried out by the National Council. 12.413 The Committee, during its interaction with various stakeholders had received a lot of positive feedbacks. After extensive deliberations, the Committee was of the view that the under mentioned provisions need to be examined in depth by the Department and wherever feasible, inluded in the Act and Rules thereunder:— * A chapter on provision for patients' rights and duties of healthcare establishment should be there. * The information acquired in the course of enforcing this Act might be privileged and confidential. Hence, in order to protect the interests of the patients and the establishment, a confidentiality clause needed to be incorporated in the Act. Any information which had been obtained from any hospital, medical clinic, clinical laboratory or healthcare establishment in the course of carrying out any investigation or performing any duty or function under this Act should not be disclosed unless required to do so in case of a prosecution for an offence under this Act or any regulations made there under. * All the procedure with respect to application for registration, inspection and its follow-up, complaint mechanism and its follow-up, National Register etc. might be put on a dedicated website. This would make the entire process of registration, inspection and complaint transparent. * Committee noted that many tax exemptions were being provided to corporate and business entities that were setting up their business establishments under Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Similarly, in order to make health reach across the length and breadth of this vast country, motivation in the form of tax exemptions might be provided to healthcare establishments being opened in remote, backward and rural areas. the matter, therefore be taken up with the Finance Ministry. * Maximum charges regarding the facilities available in the healthcare establishment alongwith contact details of the authority members to which any complaint might be made regarding non-adherence of the provisions of the Act, might be made mandatory to be displayed prominently at a conspicuous place preferably at the entrance of the establishment. Fututher, provision should be made to supply receipts of payments received of payments received alongwith the treatment/diagnosis details to the patients. (g) 33rd Report 12.414 The Committee found merit in the argument that at present there was duality of control inasmuch as the students of the dental and nursing courses trained at the PGIMER, Chandigarh were not only required to appear in the examinations conducted by the Punjab University, but were also subject to regulations of the statutory bodies like the Dental and Nursing Council. Such a situation was uncalled for not only in view of the status of the Institute being of national importance like AIIMS and JIPMER, Puducherry but also due to the inherent powers of establishing the dental and nursing colleges envisaged under Section 13 of the PGIMER, Chandigarh Act, 1966. The Committee observed that the proposed amendments under Section 23 and 24 would empower the Institute by enabling it to grant the dental and nursing degrees, diplomas and other academic distinctions and titles under the PGIMER Act, 1966 along with the medical degrees. The Committee, therefore, welcomed the proposed amendments. 12.415 The Committee expressed its disappointment and was not convinced by the 'autonomy factor' reasoning of the Department. The Department could not shy away from its responsibility as a coordinating agency. It showed not only lack of planning and foresight on the part of the Department but also lack of coordination between it and the autonomous Institutes of the country. The Committee strongly felt that the Department had to play a more proactive role in such matters. 12.416 The Committee was not inclined to agree with the justification given by the Department and the Director, PGIMER regarding not having MBBS course at PGIMER, Chandigarh. The Committee did not find any logic in the argument that running MBBS course would in any way have a bearing on the profile of the Institute, especially in view of the fact that the undergraduate courses in paramedical sciences were already being run by the Institute. This reasoning of the Committee further got reinforced by the fact that AIIMS, the most reputed Institute in the country, was already providing undergraduate medical course without compromising with its postgraduate and referral status. 344
12.417 The Committee did not find any merit in the contention of the representatives of the Department during the course of deposition before it that AIIMS being a hi-tech hospital of a very high level, majority of undergraduate students got the opportunity to learn only on highly sophisticated modern equipment and were therefore not very well-equipped to practice in the country and prefer to go abroad. The Committee strongly felt that having both undergraduate and postgraduate courses led to enhanced standards of the undergraduate courses. Further, in a developing country like ours where there was resource crunch, the available resources can not be left unutilized citing the reasons like availability of other colleges nearby. India is a vast country and due to its demography and uneven economy of various States, it is not possible to have colleges uniformly scattered. The Committee also took cognizance of the reported move of the Government for having Public- Private-Partnership in the field of medical education whereby citing the resource crunch, private players were being invited to use the Government Hospitals as the training grounds. In sharp contrast, available resources with premier Institute like the PGIMER, Chandigarh were being allowed to remain under-utilized. The Committee understood that with very little investment, quite a few medical graduates could be groomed by the Institute. Further, technically, there was no problem for the Institute in this regard, as the Act already permits the Institute to award medical degrees or diplomas etc. Therefore, the Committee strongly remmended the Department to take necessary steps to start MBBS course in the PGIMER, Chandigarh at the earliest so that precious tax- payers money, in the form of existing infrastructural facilities, was optimally utilized. Interaction with Foreign Delegations 12.418 The Committee interacted with the Irish delegation, the Danish Parliamentary Committee for Health and the Indonesian delegation on 11th March, 11th September and 30th September, 2008, respectively. VII. Secretariat 12.419 The Committee Section (Health and Family Welfare) headed by a Assistant Director constitutes the Secretariat of the Committee. Joint Secretary, Director and a Deputy Director remained incharge of the Section. 12.420 To assist the Committee in its work, material received from the Ministries/Departments as also from other organizations and individuals was studied, and relevant points were culled out. Questionnaires for written/oral replies were prepared for use of the Committee. 12.421 The Committee also studied material like Parliamentary Debates, answers to Parliamentary Questions, Budget Estimates, Economic Survey, Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, Books, Journals, and Newspapers etc, relevant to the subject under examination of the Committee. The Committeee sent questions based on newspapers report/articles alongwith the questionnaire based on Expenditure Budget and other relevant documents. The Committee also downloaded study material from websites on various subjects for preparation of reports. 12.422 The work relating to drafting, consideration and approval of draft reports by the Committee alongwith their presentation/laying, printing and distribution was undertaken. ANNEXURE-XIV (See para 12.6) Details of the sittings of the Committee on Health and Family Welfare during the year 2008. Sl. Dates of Duration Purpose (Subject discussed) Institution visited/oral Examination etc. No. Meeting 12 3 4 1. 25-1-2008 2 hrs. (i) The Committee heard the representatives of the CII & SME on the Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007; and (ii) The Committee also heard the representatives of IMA & Quality Council of India on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007. 2. 11-3-2008 1 hr. 2 min. (i) The Committee decided to seek extension of time, till the first week of Monsoon Session, 2008, for the presentation of its Reports on the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill-2007 and the Paramedical and Physiotherapy Central Councils Bill-2007; and (ii) The Committee also held an interactive session with Irish delagation consisting of Members of Irish Parliament. 3. 2-4-2008 3 hrs. 09 min. The Committee considered the Demands-for-Grants (2008-09) of the Department of Health and Family Welfare and heard the Secretary of the Department in this regard. 4. 3-4-2008 3 hrs. 12 min. The Committee considered the Demands-for-Grants (2008-09) of the 5 hrs. 45 min. Department of Health and Family Welfare and heard the Secretary of the Department in this regard. 5. 8-4-2008 3 hrs. 15 min. The Committee considered the Demands-for-Grants (2008-09) of the Department of AYUSH and heard the Secretary of the Department in this regard. 6. 25-4-2008 1 hr. 30 min. The Committee considered and adopted the 27th, 28th & 29th draft Reports on the Demands for Grants (2008-09) relating to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Department of AYUSH and Department of Health Research respectively. 7. 07-05-2008 1 hr. 16 min. The Committee heard the representatives of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the representatives of Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumers Education (VOICE) on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill-2007. 8. 27-05-2008 2 hrs. 03 min. (i) The Committee heard the views of the representatives of Medical Council of India (MCI) on the Clinical Establishments (Registration & Regulation) Bill, 2007. (ii) The Committee also heard the views of the representatives of Ayurveda, Sidha & Unani Drug Technical Advisory Board (ASUDTAB) on the Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007; and (iii) The Committee heard the representatives of Physiotherapists Forum of AIIMS; the Indian Association of Physiotherapists (Delhi Board); the All India Occupational Therapists Association; the Physiotherapy Forum for Physiotherapist on the Paramedical & Physiotherapy Central Councils Bill, 2007.
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12 3 4 9. 9-6-2008 1 hr. 55 min. (i) The Committee heard the views of the representatives of the Bureau of Indian Standards and Dental Council of India on the Clinical Establishments (Registration & Regulation) Bill, 2007; (ii) The Committee heard the views of the Pharmacy Council of India on the Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007; and (iii) The Committee heard the views of the representatives of Indraprastha Association of Rehabilitation Medicine on the Paramedical & Physiotherapy Central Councils Bill, 2007. 10. 1-7-2008 2 hrs. 15 min. The Committee heard the views of representatives of Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences (SIHS); Rehabilitation Council of India; the Indian Society of Extra Corporeal Technology; the Central Government Hospitals Radiographers Welfare Association (Regd.); the AIIMS O.T. Technologist Association (REGD); the All India Medical Laboratory Technical Staff Association, Dr. RML Hospital; Joint forum of Medical Lab Technical Staff; and the Paramedical Staff Association of India on the Paramedical & Physiotherapy Central Councils Bill, 2007. 11. 29-7-2008 1 hr. 20 min. The Committee heard the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and held clause-by-clause discussion on the Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007. 12. 12-8-2008 2 hrs. The Committee heard the views of Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, Rtd. D.G., ICMR, on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007. 13. 20-8-2008 2 hrs. 25 min. The Committee considered and adopted the 30th Report on the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2007. Thereafter, the Committee heard the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Director (AIIMS) on the issue of feasibility of increasing seats at PG level in medical education, as well as rationalizing the duration of PG and Super-Specialty Courses for MBBS doctors. 14. 10-9-2009 1 hr. 32 min. (i) The Committee heard the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the Paramedical and took up Physiotherapy Central Councils Bill, 2007 and clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill. (ii) The Committee took three subjects for examination viz. (a) Functioning of certain vaccine producing PSUs, namely, Central Research Institute, Kasauli, Pasteur Institute of India, Coonoor and BCGVL, Chennai; (b) Functioning of National Board of Examinations; and (c) the medical education specially the issue of feasibility of increasing seats at the PG level and reducing duration of Specialty and Super-specialty course. 15. 11-9-2008 1 hr. 12 min. The Committee interacted with the Danish Parliamentary Committee for Health headed by Mr. Preben Rudiengaard, M.P. 16. 30-9-2008 1 hr. 48 min. (i) The Committee considered and adopted the draft Report on the Paramedical and Physiotherapy Central Councils Bill, 2007; (ii) The Committee heard the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare on the issues of (a) Public/Private Participation in AIIMS like institutions (b) increasing seats at PG level and reducing duration of Specialty/Super-specialty courses; and (c) US Food and Drug Administration ban on certain drugs exported by Ranbaxy. 17. 13-10-2008 1 hr. The Committee interacted with the Indonesian delegation from Commission IX (Health & Labour) of Indonesia's House of Representatives. 347
12 3 4 18. 23-10-2008 15 min. The Committee considered and adopted its 32nd Report on the Clinical Establishment (Registration & Regulation ) Bill, 2007. 19. 14-11-2008 50 min. The Committee heard the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare on the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research Chandigarh (Amendment) Bill, 2008. 20. 17-12-2008 30 min. The Committee considered and adopted its Report on the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (Amendment) Bill, 2008. CHAPTER-XIII COMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES, LAW AND JUSTICE 1. Composition of the Committee 13. The Committee was re-constituted on 5th August, 2007 with 10 Members from Rajya Sabha and 16 Members from Lok Sabha with five vacancy of Lok Sabha Members for a term of one year (2007-08). On 5th August, 2008 the Committee was re-constituted with 10 Members from Rajya Sabha and 20 Members from Lok Sabha with one vacancy of Lok Sabha Members for the subsequent one year term of 2008-09. 13.2 The composition of the Committee during the terms 2007-08 and 2008-09 consisted of the following Members:— COMMITEE ON PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES, LAW AND JUSTICE (re-constituted on 5th August, 2007) 1. Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan— Chairman RAJYA SABHA *2. Dr. Radhakant Nayak **3. Dr. Prabha Thakur ^4. Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan 5. Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi 6. Shri Balavant alias Bal Apte 7. Shri Virendra Bhatia @8. Smt. Brinda Karat 9. Shri Tariq Anwar 10. Shri Ram Jethmalani 11. Sardar Tarlochan Singh $12. Dr. (Shrimati) Najma A. Heptulla £13. Shri Suresh Bhardwaj •14. Dr. P.C. Alexander LOK SABHA 15. Shri Raj Babbar 16. Dr. Shafiquar Rahman Barq 17. Shri N.S.V. Chitthan 18. Shri Chhattar Singh Darbar #19. Smt. Tejaswini Seeramesh Gowda 20. Shri N.Y. Hanumanthappa 21. Shri S.K. Kharventhan 22. Shri A. Krishnaswamy 23. Dr. C. Krishnan 24. Shri Shailendra Kumar #25. Smt. Kiran Maheshwari 26. Shri Harin Pathak #27. Smt. Krishna Tirath 28. Shri Dahyabhai Vallabhbhai Patel 29. Shri Varkala Radhakrishnan 30. Prof. M. Ramadass
* Ceased to be Member w.e.f. 14th May, 2008. ** Nominated w.e.f. 14th May, 2008 and ceased to be Member w.e.f. 24th May, 2008. ^ Nominated w.e.f. 24th May, 2008. @ Nominated w.e.f. 21st May, 2008. $ Nominated w.e.f. 14th May, 2008. £ Resigned from Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 9th January, 2008. • Retired from Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 2nd April, 2008. # Nominated w.e.f. 30th May, 2008.
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#31. Adv. P. Atteedevi 32. Shri Bhupendrasinh Solanki #33. Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav 34. Shri Vishvendra Singh ##35. Shri Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav 36. Shri Devendra Prasad Yadav COMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES, LAW AND JUSTICE (re-constituted on 5th August, 2008) 1. Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan — Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan 3. Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi 4. Shri Balavant alias Bal Apte 5. Dr. (Shrimati) Najma A. Heptulla 6. Shri Virendra Bhatia 7. Smt. Brinda Karat 8. Shri Tariq Anwar 9. Shri Ram Jethmalani 10. Shri Tarlochan Singh LOK SABHA 11. Shri Raj Babbar 12. Shri N.S.V. Chitthan 13. Shri Chhattar Singh Darbar 14. Smt. Tejasvini Gowda 15. Shri N.Y. Hanumanthappa 16. Shri S.K. Kharventhan 17. Shri A. Krishnaswamy 18. Dr. C. Krishnan 19. Shri Shailendra Kumar *20. Smt. Kiran Maheshwari 21. Shri Harin Pathak 22. Shri Dahyabhai Vallabhbhai Patel 23. Shri Varkala Radhakrishnan 24. Prof. M. Ramadass 25. Adv. P. Sathedevi **26. Shri Vishvendra Singh 27. Shri Bhupendrasinh Solanki 28. Smt. Krishna Tirath 29. Shri Devendra Prasad Yadav @30. Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav @@31. Shri Dharmendra Yadav
# Nominated w.e.f 30th May, 2008. ## Ceased to be Member w.e.f. 8th May, 2008. * Ceased to be Member of the Committee on being elected in State Legislative Assembly w.e.f. 22nd December, 2008. ** Resigned from Lok Sabha w.e.f. 14th November, 2008. @ Ceased to be Member of the Committee on being elected in the Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 14th November, 2008. @@ Nominated w.e.f. 5th December, 2008. 350
II. Subjects selected for examination 13.3 During 2008, the Committee considered for detailed examination, the following subjects identified in the previous years:—
Sl. Ministry/Department Subject Status of No. examination 1. Ministry of Personnel, Implementation of Citizens’ Charter. Inconclusive Public Grievances and Pensions 2. -do- Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism. Reported 3. -do- Implementation of Right to Information Act, 2005. Inconclusive 4. -do- Backlog of reserved vacancies of Scheduled Inconclusive Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes and Persons with disabilities. 5. -do- Stagnation in Promotions in the Ministries/ Inconclusive Departments, Organisations, Public Sector Undertakings etc. 6. -do- Administrative Reforms. Inconclusive 7. -do- Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism. Reported 8. -do- Civil Services Reforms. Inconclusive 9. -do- Working of Union Public Service Commission. Inconclusive 10. -do- Working of Central Bureau of Investigation Reported 11. Ministry of Law and Judicial Impact Statement. Inconclusive Justice -do- Electoral Reforms. Inconclusive -do- Judicial Reforms. Inconclusive -do- Legal Reforms. Inconclusive
13.4. In addition to the above subjects, the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha referred the following Bills:— (i) Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2008; (ii) The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008; (iii) The Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2008; and (iv) The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Condition of Service) Amendment Bill, 2008. III. Constitution of Sub-Committees 13.5 During 2008, no sub-Committee was constituted. IV. Review of work done (a) Sittings of the Committee 13.6 The Committee held 26 sittings lasting for 42 hours and 17 minutes during the year 2008. State- ment showing the dates of sittings of the Committee held during the period under review, the duration of the sittings, the number of Members present and the subjects discussed are given in Annexure XV. 351
(b) Materials and Memoranda furnished to the Committee 13.7 Voluminous notes/documents were received from the concerned Ministries/Department on the subjects/Bills examined by the Committee during this period. 13.8 A large number of memoranda were received from the non-official organizations and individuals on different subjects/Bills examined by the Committee. (c) Study Visits 13.9 During the period under review four study visits were undertaken by the Committee. The Committee visited Hyderabad, Mumbai and Goa from 6th to 12th January, 2008, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai from 22nd to 28th June, 2008, Lucknow and Patna from 28th to 31st July, 2008 and Bhopal, Mumbai and Bhubaneshwar from 7th to 12th September, 2008 in connection with consideration of subjects such as “Reservation Policy in Appointments and Promotions and Implementation of Right to Information Act, 2005”, “Vigilance and Containment of Corruption, the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Bill, 2008 and the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008” respectively. V. Reports Presented (a) Reports 13.10 During 2008, the Committee presented the following Reports:—
Sl. Dates of Presentation/Laying Subject No. Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha 1. 11.03.2008 11.03.2008 24th Report on Working of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 2. 19.04.2008 19.04.2008 25th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. 3. 19.04.2008 19.04.2008 26th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Law and Justice. 4. 19.04.2008 19.04.2008 27th Report on Action Taken Replies on Law’s Delays: Arrears in Courts. 5. 22.10.2008 22.10.2008 28th Report on the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2008. 6. 23.10.2008 23.10.2008 29th Report on Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism. 7. 23.10.2008 23.10.2008 30th Report on Constraints being faced by Kendriya Bhandar. 8. 19.12.2008 19.12.2008 31st Report on Action Taken Replies of the Government on the Recommendations/observations contained in the 25th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. 9. 19.12.2008 19.12.2008 32nd Report on Action Taken Replies of the Government on the recommendations/observations contained in the 26th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Law and Justice.
(b) Action Taken Reports 13.11 Three Reports on Action Taken by Government on ealier Reports of the Committee were presented to the House during the period under review and listed at Sr. Nos. 4, 8 and 9 of the table above. 352
(c) Analysis of Action Taken by Government on the recommendations of the Committee in its earlier Reports: Action taken by the Government on four Reports were analysed and three reported upon. One analysis remained inconclusive. 13.12 Minutes of 26 sittings of the Committee relating to all the Reports presented to the House were prepared. VI. Summary of Recommendations
(a) 24th Report
Working of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (Department of Personnel and Training) 13.13 The Committee felt that these attribute to increase in the workload of the already overburdened CBI. The Committee noted that the expansion of CBI mandate has not been accompanied by commensurate expansion and augmentation of the infrastructure and resources within CBI. Therefore, the Committee strongly felt that strengthening the CBI in terms of resources and legal mandate was the remedy to this problem. 13.14 The Committee was of the opinion that creation of more and more agencies would, apart from involving more resources which were already scarce, lead to overlapping of jurisdictions, conflict of interests, underutilization of human resources and lack of synergy, which would be detrimental to the cause of our criminal justice system. Furthermore, huge expenditure which will be incurred for creation of massive infrastructure and allied facilities all over the country may not give the desired results. 13.15 In view of the above, the Committee was of the unanimous opinion that the need of the hour was to strengthen the CBI in terms of legal mandate, infrastructure and resources. 13.16 In this backdrop, the Committee did not agree with the proposition/argument that deputation was encouraged in CBI in order to prevent vested interests. It was of the considered opinion that this was devoid of justification and felt that in an organisation like CBI, esprit d’ corps and departmental loyalty are indispensable. 13.17 The Committee observed that deputation at the inceptional stage of the CBI was an unavoidable necessity owing to shortage of officers. Its continuation today was an avoidable luxury owing to availability of adequate numbers of competent departmental officers, whose numbers can be replenished through recourse to direct recruitment. 13.18 The Committee understood that officers coming on deputation from the States may not be aware or be familiar with the nuances of specialized investigation which CBI personnel engage in. This leads to logjams in decision-making inasmuch as a lot of time gets consumed in the process of deputationist officers getting familiarized with the various methods of investigation adopted in CBI. 13.19 The Committee also noted that the departmental officers were not the decision-making class within the CBI and that all important posts within the CBI are manned by IPS deputationist officers. Further, the promotional prospects for departmental officers have been progressively worsened over the last three decades to make the CBI the least attractive option for potential young officers in the open market. 13.20 The Committee observed that while departmental officers have acquired commendable professional competence, even expertise in niche areas like securities and finance transactions, defence purchase-related transactions, abuse of official position-related decision, custodial death-related cases, fake encounter-related matters, most of the officers on deputation, to some extent, lag behind in dealing with such matters. It also came to the notice of the Committee that officers without sufficient experience of service and knowledge were inducted on deputation for complicated job in CBI. 13.21 The Committee noted that at present there are prospects of absorption into CBI for deputationist personnel. This results in junior deputationists, on absorption, being promoted to higher ranks while the direct recruits continue to stagnate at much lower ranks, resulting in consequential demoralization. Furthermore, there were high chances of the deputationists resorting to the policy of appeasement in order to be absorbed into the organisation. The Committee apprehended that such tendencies may divert the attention of the officers from their job on hand, since they were more prone to giving greater attention to their personal career gains. 353
13.22 The issue of deputation in CBI repeatedly came to the centre stage during the deliberations of the Committee. The Members of the Committee were of the opinion that the deputation quota should be prescribed with reference to the nature of the job and that the number of deputationists at the junior levels particularly, should be relatively small, so that the interests of the cadre officers would not be detrimentally affected. 13.23 Taking into account the abovementioned aspects, the Committee is of the opinion that the deputationists bring in varied experience with them because of their exposure to different kind of situations in their parent department. At the same time, the Committee strongly felt that less dependence should be placed on deputation and that the deputation policy should be so framed that it does not adversely affect the promotion prospects of direct CBI officers. 13.24 The Committee recommended that in the event of vacancies not being filled up in the deputationists cadre, those vacancies should be filled up by seeking recruitment from the permanent cadre of CBI. The Committee further recommended that the deputationists who were serving in CBI at present, or till a particular time limit to be fixed by the Government, should be given the option to be absorbed in the organisation. 13.25 The Committee was of the view that while appointing the Director, CBI, all things being equal, preference should be given to the person with the prescribed qualifications and who has experience working in the organization. It was of the opinion that such a person will be well conversant with all the departments and wings in the organisation and will be able to address day to day problems arising in the organization, render effective leadership to the personnel and the organization and mould CBI into a specialized agency. 13.26 The Committee expressed deep concern over the prevailing vacancies in CBI. It was of the opinion that the large number of vacancies was bound to result in severe strain on the existing manpower who are hard pressed to deliver positive results and that it was detrimental to professional excellence and efficiency. The Committee felt that despite repeated recommendations by this Committee in its pervious Reports on the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, adequate steps have not so far been taken to overcome this persisting problem. It was of the view that if this situation is allowed to continue for long, there could be serious repercussions on the functioning of CBI and that this needs a serious and positive thinking on the part of Central Government. 13.27 The Committee recommended that the Government should augment its efforts to make suitable amendments in the revelant Recruitment Rules and that steps should be taken on a war footing basis to fill up the vacancies within three months. The Government should also take necessary action for need-based augmentation in staff strength in the CBI so that it can rise up to the people's expectations. 13.28 In view of the serious manpower problem in the CBI, the Committee recommended that the requirement of prior approval of the Screening Committee constituted by the Government, for filling of direct recruitment vacancies should be waived for CBI as a special case. 13.29 The Committee recommended that the Director, CBI, being the head of the organisation should be made a full-fledged member of the CBI Selection Committee for choosing all officers for induction into the CBI. As he was fully aware of the requirements of the organisation, he can be the right person to assess the suitability of an officer for the CBI. 13.30 The Committee noted that revival of such posts was a very lengthy process. It recommended that reduction of staff strength at any level on ground of austerity measure should not be resorted to in this premier investigating agency of the country. 13.31 In view of the above, the Committee was of the opinion that general recruitment by UPSC and allotment by option of residuary personnel makes the status of CBI reduced to an ordinary policy force. It strongly felt that CBI needs professionals and experts in various fields and not the general category of personnel who were recruited by the colonial mode of recruitment. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the recruitment at various cadres/levels should be made by CBI itself based on the requirements of the organization. 13.32 The Committee recommended that the Government may consider to amend the recruitment rules of CBI so as to delink the consultations in respect of DPCs with the UPSC for speedy filling up of the vacancies. It was of the opinion that an officer each of the UPSC and DoPT can be included in the DPCs. Till such a method 354 was put in place, an effective mechanism should be chalked out in order to ensure that DPCs of CBI personnel were not delayed in UPSC. This was needed to ensure quick career progression in CBI. 13.33 The Committee recommended that the Ministry should examine this proposal in all seriousness and adopt necessary steps to implement the proposal of CBI. 13.34 The Committee was of the opinion that the unfailing strength of CBI has been, and will always be, its personnel. It felt that specialised investigation and professional upgradation of skills was the need of the hour. Therefore, it was of the opnion that holistic development and quality upgradation of human resources should be given utmost priority while defining institutional priorities, goals and objectives. 13.35 The Committee was of the opinion that long term planning should be envisaged to ensure that each and every personnel in CBI was trained to realize their full potential and to ensure that they were capable of rendering their duties effectively. The Committee recommended that the Training Centres in CBI should be given adequate funds and all facilities and attemtps should be make to increase the number of such centres and resource crunch should not be a reason to affect the training aspect of the CBI personnel. 13.36 The Committee recommended that training should not only be confined to entry-level personnel, rather it should be expanded to middle and senior level officials also. Training module should be upgraded and modernised taking cue from the best in the world, and a sound research base should be developed in this regard. The Committee further recommended that mandatory in-service training should be laid down as precondition for promotion. It recommended that adequate funds should be granted without fail for training purposes and that zealous steps should be taken to development the CBI Academy into a training centre of exellence in the world. 13.37 The Committee further recommended that as regards training in technical field, the inputs from experts in the respective fields should be made use of, by utilizing their expertise as guest faculty. This would enable the CBI personnel to be updated to the latest technological advancements and innovations. Moreover, the Committee recommended that the permanent faculty in CBI should be periodically sent for systematic specialized training to enhance their knowledge. 13.38 The Committee was of the view that since the defence counsels are paid exorbitant fees by the accused who were wealthy and mighty, the CBI counsels should also be paid the best incentives so that they too are motivated to put in their expertise and knolwedge and maintain high professinal standards. 13.39 The Committee recommended that Special Incentive allowance should also be granted to the prosecution and technical staff so as to attract best talent. This would ensure that finest talent is attracted to its fold and that the motivation levels of the staff are kept high. It also recommended that Training allowance should be granted to all ranks of the staff in the CBI Academy. 13.40 The Committe recommended that an enabling mechanism should be put in place for periodic review of applicable TA/DA rates on a six-monthly basis to preclude incurment of losses by CBI officers in the course of their duties on outstation visits. 13.41 The Committee endorsed the recommendation made by the Committee set up in CBI to study "Empowerment of the Investigating Officer" in 2005, that a suitable method should be found to reimburse the Investigation Officers (IOs), the expenditure incurred by them on local transport utilized for performance of official duty and that on submission of TA bills along with Case Diaries, the Branch SP may satisfy himself about the correctness of the claim made and then reimburse the expenditure incurred on local transport by the Investigating Officer. The Committee also concurred with the recommendations of the abovementioned Committee regarding the perks to be granted to the IOs. 13.42 The Committee was of the opinion that in order to ensure optimum productivity in an organisation, efforts should be made by the organisation to ensure that there was a well thought out support network within the system. This includes providing basic amenities to the personnel and their families. This would ensure maximum workforce satisfaction and less stress levels. The Committee recommended that since the personnel in CBI investigate and prosecute high profile offenders who were resourceful and mighty, at the risk of their life and their families too, steps should be taken to ensure that their families have a roof over their heads and are well protected. This was more so important because the job nature of the CBI personnel demands frequent outstation travels for long duration. 355
13.43 The Committee noted that the satisfaction level in terms of residential accommodation in CBI was about 27 per cent and feels that it needs to be raised to atleast 60-70 percent. It observed that the initiatives taken by the Government in this regard were inadequate and adhoc and falls for shot of a holistic situation. 13.44 In view of the above, the Committee recommended the following: (i) CBI may be allowed to purchase ready built flats in all metropolitan cities where the satisfaction level is below the prescribed norms and requisite funds for the same should be provided; and (ii) Budget allocation under this Head should be enhanced considerably and all proposals forwarded by the CBI should be expeditiously processed. 13.45 The Committee strongly recommended that serious efforts should be made in a time bound and systematic manner in this regard. 13.46 The Committee felt that postings and transfers have an important bearing on the morale of personnel and was of the opinion that the welfare of the staff and their families should also be kept in mind while effecting the same. Since unfair postings and transfers have a demoralizing effect on the personnel, the transfer policy of the organisatin should be transparent and should be applied without exception. The Committee endorsed the recommendation made by the Committee formed in CBI to study the "Empowerment of Investigating Officer" in 2005, that while transferring officials, academic session should always be taken into consideration so that the academics of their children do not suffer at any cost. 13.47 The Committee felt that this problem should be addressed in a holistic manner and recommends that the Government should chalk out an effective solution to this problem, by granting special financial packages/ facilities etc. to the personnel who are posted in such areas/terrains. The Committee recommended that the policy of compulsory rotation should be implemented to tackle this problem. 13.48 The Committee opined that keeping in view the hectic job nature of the CBI personnel, proper recreational facilities and library services should be provided to them. 13.49 The Committee recommended that serious thought should be given to grant the CBI personnel and their families multi-utilitarian insurance policies on a Group Scale and greater medical and clinical access, keeping in view their hectic job profile and work related stress characteristic to their job. The Committee felt that this would go a long way to incentivize and galvanize the proactive performance of the personnel in CBI. 13.50 The Committee recommended that such gadgets should be made available to them to ensure smooth, timely and proper execution of their delicate work which was usually on a 24X7 basis. 13.51 The Committee recommended that CBI should have a strong in-house Research and Development Wing. The Committee was not in favour of outsourcing any job entrusted to CBI, keeping view the confidential nature of the work done in the organization. It recommended that specialized departments consisting of specialized professional personnel should be created in the organization itself to dealt with specialized sector such as banking, airlines, insurance, revenue, terror etc. 13.52 As far as forensic support was concerned, the Committee felt that there was an urgent need to provide forensic support exclusively to the CBI. Moreover, the technical staff should be granted special incentives because the Committee noted that they were engaged in highly technical assignments which involve analyzing every minutest detail in a case and arriving at logical conclusions. 13.53 The Committee noted that at present, the CBI is dependent on Forensic labs which were established and controlled by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Committee could gather that this results in delay in procuring scientific verdict in the cases which were referred to these labs by CBI, thereby resulting in piling up of cases. The Committee was of the opinion that quick disposal of cases referred to the labs has to be ensured stringently and that it is more so important because without scientific evidence to substantiate the case put forward by the prosecution, conviction cannot be ensured. Therefore, the Committee strongly recommended that the CBI should be equipped with Forensic labs which were exclusively at the disposal of CBI and which were manned by the CBI personnel, who were technically trained for the same. This will ensure effective monitoring of the progress of the forensic cases referred to it and thereby, quick disposal of cases. 13.54 The Committee recommended that concrete steps should be taken to attract highly qualified technical staff to the organisation, for whom there was no dearth of employment opportunities in the private sector or 356 abroad. Furthermore, adequate training should be given to them so that they can hone their skills in such a way that it aids in effective investigation and successful procecution. 13.55 The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation that the Ministry should ensure that construction of CBI Head Quarters Building takes place within the stipulated period. 13.56 The Committee was of the opinion that cyber crimes breach boundaries of States and that it was very difficult, rather impossible to fix the jurisdiction of an individual State to take cognizance of the matter. Moreover, the nature of cyber crimes was very complex and technical and the State police personnel may not be fully equipped to dealt with them. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the existing law should be amended to enable the Central Bureau of Investigation to undertake investigation into cyber crimes without going for the lengthy process of obtaining the sanction of Governments of the States in such cases. 13.57 The Committee further recommended that the Cyber Crime Unit which was presently functioning in CBI should be adequately supported by a well equipped technical unit with adequate cyber investigation/ forensic tools and related infrastructure. Further, prevention of cyber crimes should also be given top priority. In order to ensure prevention of such intrusions, the Committee recommended that CBI should be given the requisite legal mandate and should be equipped to monitor the cyber traffic traversing through various gateways in the country. 13.58 The Committee felt that in this era, in depth knowledge of international law, procedure and various treaties is inevitable. In this background, the Committee was of the view that CBI failed in obtaining successful conviction in many cases having international ramifications because of non-expertise of CBI in such cases. In order to achieve this objective, the Committee recommended that a separate wing i.e., "International Crimes Division" should be carved out in CBI with well trained personnel which would cater to matters connected with INTERPOL, extradition and international crimes. 13.59 The Committee further recommended that separate wings should be created in CBI to deal with mater in specialised sectors such as Banking, Insurance, Airlines, Revenue etc. Such wings should be comprised of competent personnel who are professionals in their respective fields. They should be granted pay and emoluments commensurate to their knowledge and expertise. 13.60 The Committee felt that in the present scenario when India faces the grave challenge of terrorism, proper attention should be given to the prevention and management of terrorist threats/attacks. This would also involve ensuring conviction in such cases without delay. The Committee strongly felt that CBI was the organization which was well equipped for such operations, investigation and prosecution. Therefore, the Committee recommended that a separte Anti terrorism Division should be created in CBI and that highly advanced training and infrastructure/equipments should be provided to them. 13.61 The Committee recommended that latest gadgets and equipments should be procured to ensure efficient and effective functioning of the organisation. It felt that fine tuning between man and machine would definitely enhance the technical capability of the organisation. 13.62 The Committee recommended that adequate facilities and amenities should be provided to the CBI personnel so that they can put in their best in the discharge of the onerous responsibilities. More funds should be allocated for modernization and proper review of the work done in this regard should be taken up on a regular basis. Stress should not only be limited to allocation; rather optimum utilisation of the available funds needs to be ensured. Proposals for modernisation should be worked out and if needed, experts in these fields should be involved in framing such projects/proposals. 13.63 The Committee was happy to note that such proactive steps have been taken in this regard and recommends that its findings should be thoroughly examined and implemented in a time-bound manner. 13.64 The Committee was of the opinion that if we aspire to raise CBI to international standards, world class gadgetry should also be provided to the personnel. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Investigating Officers in CBI should be given latest equipments such as Blackberry type (Broadband) mobile phone which were the latest for the time being, laptop with internet mobile connectivity and pendrive etc. so that they were equipped with sufficient ammunition to improve their work performance and output. 13.65 The Committee recommended that the consolidated plan document for modernization of CBI, which 357 was awaited, should be prepared and implemented at the earliest. The Committee was of the opinion that much more needs to be done regarding modernization in terms of investigation, interrogation and training. It recommended that advanced logistics and support facilities should be made available to the personnel without delay. The Committee recommended that steps should be taken to establish a paperless environment and was of the opinion that utilizing automated work flow systems would improve job efficiency. 13.66 The Committee recommended that keeping in view the need for functional independence of the CBI, it was imperative that financial powers were commensurate with the requirement of efficient and smooth functioning of the organisation. 13.67. The Committee could gather that this proposal has been implemented. The Committee recommended that more financial powers should be vested with the Director, CBI so that expenditure incurred on activities such as training, purchase of computers etc. do not suffer, owing to lack of funds. 13.68. The Committee strongly felt that the Director, CBI should be given the same status as that of his counterparts heading similar international organisations such as FBI. It was of the opinion that it was but inevitable that the Director of the premier investigation agency in the country should exercise powers and autonomy which were at par with those exercised by his counterparts. The Director, CBI should be given appropriate powers and discretion to take on the spot decisions regarding vital proposals for improvement of infrastructure, methods of investigation etc. 13.69. The Committee noted that the sad state of affairs which is prevalent now was that cases were being referred to CBI without granting adequate funds required to meet the investigation and prosecution expenses. The Committee was of the opinion that it was high time that concrete steps were taken to ensure that in the Ministries/Departments of the Central Government, annual projections/estimates should be calculated/made as to how many cases are likely to arise which may be referred for investigation by agencies such as CBI. Thereafter, in accordance with the projections, adequate budgetary provisions should be made and such amount should be made available to the investigation agency as and when cases were referred to it. The Committee recommended that a separate budgetary head should be provided for such expenses. 13.70. The Committee was also of the view that the expenses incurred by the investigation agency in the investigation and prosecution of a case should be met by the concerned Department/Ministry. Such a system will ensure that the investigation and prosecution will not suffer on account of shortage of funds and that the targets are achieved within the prescribed time-limit. 13.71. The Committee felt that independence and accountability were two sides of the same coin. Therefore, it was of the opinion that while there was a need to grant greater autonomy to CBI, proper care should be taken to ensure accountability also. The Committee recommended that an effective and stringent vigilance machinery should be envisaged and set up in CBI to ensure that incidents of abuse of power do not occur in future. It further recommended that stringent punitive action should be taken against the delinquent personnel. 13.72. The Committee endorses the observation of the Hon'ble Court and recommended that steps should be taken to ensure effective implementation of the same. 13.73. The Committee recommended that the information displayed in the website of CBI should be updated periodically in spirit with Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. 13.74. Some Members of the Committee raised concern over the publicity resorted to by CBI at the initial stages of investigation of cases. They opined that such publicity tarnish the image of the accused, especially in case of political persons and innocent persons, ruining their public image forever, though ultimately they may be acquitted. The Committee was of the opinion that utmost care and caution should be exercised in such cases to avoid media trial. 13.75. The Committee was of the view that efficient prosecution was sine qua non for proper administration of justice and that there was requirement of seamless co-ordination between the prosecution and investigation wings. The Committee felt that the Head of the Directorate of Prosecution should invariably be a lawyer who was well versed in the various nuances of substantive and procedural law and who has practical knowledge of arguing cases in a Court of law. 13.76. The Committee was of the opinion that the decision maker in regard to the issue as to whether a case was fit for prosecution or not should be the Director of Prosecution and not an executive person. It was of 358 the view that this would ensure successful prosecution thereby, resulting in better conviction rate. The Committee felt that the Director of Prosecution should be well conversant with each and every step of the conduct of the trial and should be accountable for the same. Thus, alongwith ensuring his independence and autonomy, greater accountability was expected from him. The Committee observers that autonomy of the Directorate of Prosecution will guarantee independence of the prosecution, thereby clearing out many bottlenecks existing in the present system which result in acquittal in many cases. 13.77. The Committee strongly felt that the decision as to whether prosecution should be initiated against the accused on the basis of evidence gathered during the investigation and whether the case under consideration was sustainable in Court of law should be left solely to the Directorate of Prosecution. The Committee was of the view that the Prosecutors were the best judge in this regard and any interference in this process should be avoided to the extent possible. 13.78. The Committee recommended that the observation of the Supreme Court in Vineet Narain's case that a panel of competent lawyers of experience and impeccable reputation shall be prepared with the advice of the Attorney General and that their services shall be utilised as Prosecuting Counsels in cases of significance and that even during the course of investigation of an offence, the advice of a lawyer chosen from the panel should be taken by the CBI/Enforcement Directorate, should be examined by the Government and appropriate action should be taken in this regard. 13.79. The Committee took note of the submission made by CBI that there was procedural delay in appointment of judges for CBI Courts. The Committee strongly felt that such delays fatally affect the effective administration of justice. The Committee recommended that timely appointment of Judges should be made in exclusive CBI Courts and that a time bound strategic plan should be envisaged and implemented to minimize pendency of cases. 13.80. Taking into account the number of cases pending disposal, the Committee also felt that there was an urgent need to significantly increase the number of exclusive courts for conducting trial of CBI cases, or else the number of pending cases would accumulate. 13.81. The Committee took serious view of the submission made by CBI that in 438 cases, charges have not been framed even after 10 years. The Committee recommended that targets should be fixed on a time to time basis, and that whole hearted efforts should be made to meet the targets. The Committee was of the considered opinion that the maximum time limit for disposal of a case should not be more than one year in ordinary circumstances. 13.82. The Committee was also of the opinion that the provision for prosecution sanction was one of the bottlenecks in providing autonomy to CBI. It was of the view that the need for prosecution sanction weakens the process of prosecution and notes that there have been many instances wherein prosecution sanction was denied and Courts stepped in to give a go ahead for the prosecution. The Committee felt that such instances bring CBI to disrepute and was of the opinion that concrete steps should be taken to prevent such embarrassments. It was of the opinion that if the procedure for initiating prosecution was foolproof, the need for judiciary stepping in will not arise in the first place and therefore, recommends that wholehearted efforts should be made in this direction. 13.83. The Committee felt that once the investigating agency comes to the conclusion that prosecution was necessary and Director of Prosecution also concurs, there should not be any delay for any reason, other than the merits of prosecution itself. The Committee accordingly desired that the Ministry should make all concerted efforts to ensure that the concered Departments, Ministries of the Central Government or State Government accord necessary sanction for prosecution within a period of 15 days. The Committee was of the considered opinion that if the sanction was not granted within a period of 15 days, it should be "deemed sanction" and the CBI should file the chargesheet in the Court and proceed further according to the law of the land. 13.84. The Committee was pleased to note the positive output, but was of the opinion that efforts should be made to improve the infrastructure, incentives and facilities available to the investigation officers and prosecutors which would improve the functioning of CBI and result in higher rate of conviction. 359
13.85. The Committee felt that Section 6 of the DSPE Act clips the wings of CBI and due to this legal hurdle, CBI cannot be the first responders in case of crimes which even threaten the security of the nation such as a terrorist attack. By the time the CBI is handed over the case, precious time was lost which not only results in loss of crucial evidence, but also provides ample time for criminals who operate at electronic speed to escape or move the ill-gotten wealth in safe havens across the globe. Moreover, the CBI does not get an opportunity to build required data base and collate intelligence absolutely essential for successfully investigating such type of cases, more so in the present era wherein the danagerous convergence of terrorism and traditional crimes presents obvious and acute dangers. 13.86. The Committee strongly opined the CBI should evolve into an organisation which maintains a robust incident response capability and having ability to adjust to emerging and evolving circumstances created by new threats. In order to ensure this, it should be supported by an infalliable legal fabric. The Committee felt that it was high time crime scene management was given topmost priority and that in cases of terrorist attack and such other serious cases wherein the whole nation was affected, CBI should be given the power to investigate the cases without any hurdles. The Committee was of the view that CBI has acquired sufficient expertise in investigation of cases having inter-State and international ramifications and organized crimes and that what was needed urgently in public interest was adequate statutory support to CBI. 13.87. The Committee was of the view that CBI can also be granted powers of investigation and prosecution in the same manner. 13.88. The Committee was of the opinion that regardless of his location in any State in India, every Indian citizen, whether he was a native of that State or not, has, by virtue of his citizenship, a right to protection by the Government of India of his life, liberty and property, and that the Government of India has a corresponding obligation. Hence, the Committee felt that vesting CBI with appropriate statutory backing to a take suo-motu cognizance of crimes would in no way affect the essentials of our federal structure. This would not only enable the CBI to dealt with such investigation with due promptitude, but also play a pro active role in collection of intelligence, creating institutional memory and capacity building. It was felt that a proactive and holistic approach is required to deal with threats thrown up, by the linkages between organised crimes and terrorists, to the national security and localized and piecemeal battles against such crimes cannot be successful. 13.89. The Committee was of the opinion that in the present era, incidents such as terrorist attacks which occur in States have an impact on the entire country and that traditional methods of intelligence, investigation and prosecution were structurally and functionally inadequate to effectively counter transnational offences like terrorism, organized crime and high tech crime. The role of the Ministry of Home Affairs is confined to passing on the intelligence inputs which they painstakingly gather to the concerned State Government. It was then left to the State Government to take adequate precautionary/preventive measures. But when such incidents occur due to lack of exercise of proper vigilance by the State, the responsibility was cast upon the Central Government for the occurence of the same. The only option left with the Central Government at present was to extend all possible support to the concerned State Government for the post crime investigation. 13.90. The Committee was of the view that the internal threats posed by divisive forces were equally important as external aggressions and that technology has facilitated the exponential escalation of the danger and threat levels posed by organized crimes and terrorism. Therefore, they should be dealt with very stringently and while doing so, prevention of incidents which threaten the security of our nation should be given prime thrust and priority. In this regard, the Committee strongly felt that the Central Government should be given adequate powers to take prompt and effective action on the intelligence available to them. The Committee was of the opinion that in order to ensure proper management and prevention of such incidents which threaten the security of the nation, the CBI should be envisaged as an enforcement agency also which would mean that apart from investigation and prosecution, CBI should be given mandate to ensure prevention of crimes. The Committee recommends that a separate Anti-Terrorism Division should be created in the CBI. 13.91. The Committee regreted to note that no proactive steps have so far been taken in this regard inspite of strong recommendations made by this Committee. The Committee strongly opined that unless CBI is suitably empowered statutorily, it cannot investigate cases and take it to logical conclusion. 13.92. The Committee was of the opinion that though the Constitution granted a unique status to CBI, the powers given to CBI under the DSPE Act were not upgraded or amended after the commencement of the 360
Constitution in tune with the corresponding Entries in the Union List, State List and Concurrent List. The Committee was of the opinion that not granting ample powes to CBI amounts to degrading the status of the investigation agency which was enlisted in the Union List by the framers of our Constitution as "Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation". The Committee was of the view that CBI was the only agency in India which has acquired and accumulated the necessary expertise in successfully investigating wide hues of transnational, terrorist and organised crimes and that enacting an enabling legislation for CBI will be a major step towards evolving CBI into an independent and accountable agency which specializes in prevention, investigation and prosecution of crimes. 13.93. The Committee noted that in the United States of America (USA), the federal States have their own Constitution and yet they have subjected themselves to the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which was a Central agency. It understands that police and public order was a State subject in the USA too and that in all cases involving a federal offence in the USA, the FBI and the local police have concurrent jurisdiction; but the moment the FBI steps in, the local police stops investigation. In India, the situation was different in that its polity was quasi-federal in nature. Therefore, the Committee saw no reason to prevent granting of powers to CBI under a suitable comprehensive legislation. Taking into account these aspects, the Committee found no coherent reason to debar the apposite legal empowerment of CBI. 13.94. The Committee also deliberated upon the nitty gritty of such a legislation and was of the view that the Constitution grants CBI the necessary mandate and empowers the Central Government to enact a statute to this effect. It recommended that this Report may be formulated as the source for "Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation Bill" and that the DSPE Act should be amended to take CBI out of its purivew or it may even be repealed. The Committee was of the opinion that there was a Constitutional direction and mandate that the State police agencies and the CBI are having concurrent jurisdiction. However, when the CBI takes up any case for investigation, or when the Empowered Committee mentioned in para 16.9.8 refers a case to the CBI, the case would become the responsibility of that agency, which may obtain support, as necessary, from the concerned Stage agencies and it would be obligatory for the latter to extend the same when required. The State police agencies, on their part, may also like to refer complex cases to the CBI and the CBI should be seen by the States, in public interest, as supportive and complementary, and not as intrusive. 13.95. The Committee felt that much manpower and finances have been expended till date to conduct studies/debates regarding the feasibility of a Central Law Enforcement Agency or granting powers to CBI. But the Committee was disturbed to note that nothing fruitful has come out so far. It felt that it was high time concrete action was taken in this direction, rather than engaging in further debates/discussion. The Committee was of the considered view that the moot point was not whether CBI should be granted powers under a comprehensive statute; but rather, when it was going to be materialized. The Committee was of the opinion that since the various provisions of the Constitution mandates concurring powers to CBI, it was in public interest that, in this era of successive waves of terrorist attacks and highly technical crimes, a statute was enacted, without much ado, granting to the CBI, powers which were enshrined in the Constitution, so that such crimes were tackled in a more consistent and effective manner. 13.96. The Committee was of the view that such an Act of Parliament will empower Union Government to address the present environment of violence and crimes which threaten the very fabric of Indian democracy, with more powers and accountability. This would rectify the present situation wherein the Union Government is handicapped, in the name of federalism, from making use of the intelligence they gather, thereby failing to prevent the occurrence of crimes and punishing the criminals, while the framers of the Constitution had unambiguously visualized the present need and provided the Concurrent powers as per Entries 1 to 4 of List III of the Seventh Schedule.
(b) 25th Report
Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. 13.97 The Committee observed that the budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has increased from Rs. 366.00 crores in 2007-08 to Rs. 443 crore in the current year, reflecting a hike of Rs. 77.00 crores, i.e., 21.03% increase over the previous financial year, whereas for UPSC, it has increased from Rs. 75.12 crores to 77.81 crore reflecting a hike of Rs. 2.69 crore i.e., 3.58% increase over the 361 previous financial year. The Committee expected that this enhanced allocation would be optimally utilised. Out of the total budgetary allocation of Rs. 443 crore, Rs. 305 crore was devoted to Non Plan expenditure. A minimum sum of Rs. 138 crore has been allocated for various Plan schemes/programmes of the Ministry. The Committee noted that this Ministry was the nodal agency for wide ranging crucial matters like personnel policy, recruitment, training, administrative reforms, public grievances and pensions and in the absence of adequate facilities and infrastructure, it practically becomes impossible to render these services. Hence it was of the opinion that this Ministry has a very vital role to play in formulating as well as implementing the Plan schemes in these fields, for which infrastructure and assets were to be created. Therefore, the Committee felt that more focus should be given on Plan expenditure. 13.98 The Committee desired that since this Ministry was responsible for implementation of major schemes pertaining to training, capacity building, civil services reforms, improvement and upgradation of facilities in CBI, modernization of offices, administrative reforms etc., adequate funds should be allocated to the Ministry, so that developmental activities do not suffer due to lack of resources. The Committee, therefore, recommended that at the RE stage, the Ministry should conduct a stringent review of its expenditure and accordingly make commensurate Estimate and that the schemes and projects should, in no way be affected on account of insufficient funds. 13.99 As regards the proposed new Plan Outlay for the 'Propagation of Right to Information Act', the Committee noted with disappointment that a meager amount of Rs. 10 crore which is less than half expected of the annual liability of the Ministry of Rs. 21 crore has been approved by the Planning Commission. The Committee understood that the beginning of every fresh Plan requires a greater chunk of the proposed expenditure. Furthermore, the effective and immediate propagation of Right to Information Act was the urgent need of the hour and the Government should take all out efforts to implement the proposed scheme at the shortest time possible. The Committee, therefore, recommended that enhancement of this outlay may be proposed by the Ministry to enhance this allocation at least upto 75% of the annual liability of the Ministry in the form of Supplementary Grant in order to enable work in this direction in earnest. 13.100. The Committee appreciated the steps taken by the Government to hasten the services delivery system of the three Departments of the Ministry by way of doubling the provision for Information Technology and equipping its offices with latest and fastest computers and accessories. It, therefore, would appreciate to be apprised of the status of computerization of these offices and utilization of the funds at the time of giving Action Taken Replies. 13.101. The Committee appreciated such initiatives of the Ministry. It was pleased to note that maintaining a healthy working environment and ensuring the welfare of employees were accorded top priority by the Ministry. It hopes that the Ministry would assess the feedback on implementational aspects of the above mentioned initiatives and take necessary follow up action. The Committee recommended that similar welfare initiatives may also be explored by the Government in case of other officers and employees as well. 13.102. The Committee recorded its appreciation on this initiative of the Ministry and was of the opinion that this would increase their self confidence and ensure that the officers get sufficient time to master the situation at the workplace which in turn, would improve efficiency in management. 13.103. The Committee was pleased to note that the Ministry has envisaged such training programmes. It hopes that such training would boost their self confidence and ensure that the trainees hone their skills and capabilities and that modern management techniques were infused into governance by the trainees. The Committee recommended that training programmes should be visualized in such manner that it should enhance the moral, knowledge, accountability, democratic compulsions in delivery system and productivity of the trainees. 13.104 The Committee felt that time was a powerful segmentation variable for the Government service as it was the only 'objective' dimension on which the citizen can gauge quality of goverance. It recommends that punctuality, duration, availability, speed of response and speed of innovation in delivery system were to be inculcated during the in-service training. 13.105. The Committee was perturbed to note the vacancies prevailing in this cadre. Since civil servants form the permanent structure and backbone of administration and were involved in mooting innovative ideas 362 and projects, vacancies in this cadre will certainly hamper administrative efficiency. Therefore, the Committee reiterated its recommendation that all out efforts should be made by the Ministry to ensure that the vacancies in this cadre are filled timely. Moreover, applying the principle of reduction of number of officers/posts should not be applied in the present context. 13.106 The Committee recommended that cadre review should be made in such a way as to remove the deficiencies which exist in the Service and that the Ministry should ensure that it satisfies the functional structural and personnel considerations of the Service. 13.107 The Committee took note of the reply and recommended that the team of officers constituted to look into the issues affecting cadre management of CSS should appreciate the urgency of the issue and arrive at a logical conclusion at the earliest. It also recommended that the terms of reference of the team should be finalized without further delay. The Committee desired that it should be apprised of the outcome of the exercise. 13.108 The Committee was of the opinion that in the modern democratic globalised governance, 'service and delivery system' were time based and that the colonial days of delaying the process are irrelevant in this century. The issue of time can be a threat to a service because a service in this fast changing world has 'no shelf life'. 13.109 The Committee appreciated this policy of the Ministry and recommended that the Ministry should ensure that the policy of compassionate appointment was implemented in all Ministries/Departments in letter and spirit, as recommended by this Committee in its 23rd Report on Government's Policy of Appointment on Compassionate Ground. 13.110 The Committee appreciated this initiative of the Ministry and hoped that the confidence of the public at large upon the administration would be bolstered once the Bill was enacted and its provisions were enforced. It was optimistic that such a legislation would ensure better implementation of popular policies of the Government. 13.111 The Committee desired that the Ministry should put in place an effective mechanism to ensure that State PSCs which were the main recruiting agencies at the State level, should be free from the shackles of nepotism and favouritism and function independently and in a transparent manner. 13.112 The Committee took note of the action taken in this regard and recommends that the recommendations of the Sacchar Committee are analysed in detail and proper Quarterly review mechanism should be chalked out to ensure that the recommendation of the Committee were implemented in letter and spirit. Moreover, the 15th Point programme should be propagated in "minority living habitats" and assembly places. 13.113 The Committee acknowledged the initiative and was of the opinion that the liaison officers should be suitably equipped with the provisions of reservation policy and resources, to ensure due compliance with the policy of reservation. 13.114 The Committee failed to understand why only 87.84% of vacancies which could be filled up so far. The Committee observed that it was a Constitutional obligation and that Ministries/Departments should take up the issue on top priority basis. The Committee holds the view that unless the backlog is nil, the tall claims of benefits of reservation reaching out to the beneficiaries will remain unfulfilled. It strongly felt that administrative lapses/lackadaisical attitude should not be the reason for closing the doors of appointment on the entitled classes. The Committee recommended that the Ministries/Departments should comprehend the gravity of the situation and take affirmative action in this regard. The Secretary, DoPT should supervise the filling up of backlog vacancies of SCs, STs, OBCs and PH annually. If possible, he should take up the matter with his counterparts and report to the Government. 13.115 The Committee felt that due to proper implementation of reservation policy in education, large number of people in the reserved classes are eligible for Government jobs. It was an irony that when they were well educated and competent for Government jobs, doors were closed on them for unknown reasons. The Committee recommended that the roadblocks in the proper implementation of reservation policy should be examined threadbare and measures should be taken on war footing to remove the hurdles. The Committee recommended the Ministry to take all possible steps to indulge co-operation of all Ministries/Departments in this regard, expeditiously. 363
13.116 The Committee desired that it should be informed of the latest steps taken in this regard, particularly the steps taken for monitoring the problem of backlog and clearing the same by respective Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Enterprises and other Organisations of the Central Government. 13.117 The Committee was pleased to note the action taken with regard to filling up of vacancies of OBCs and would like to impress upon the Ministry that concrete steps should be taken to implement the recommendations in the report of GOM and inform this Committee of the outcome thereof. 13.118 The Committee took note of the interest shown by the Ministry in the welfare of disabled employees and welcomes such a step. 13.119 The Committee was deeply concerned about such apathy to the rights of the handicapped people. It took strong exception to such insensitive tendencies. It was of the strong view that in a welfare State like ours, such callous attitude is unpardonable. The Committee strongly recommended that urgent steps should be taken to ensure that the vacancies in the handicapped quota should be identified and filled up within a period of six months, in all Ministries/Departments and their PSEs and Organisations. 13.120 The Committee invited the attention of the Government to certain grievances of the colour blind people, submitted to the Committee, in which they have highlighted the apathy of the Government towards their employment opportunities. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should take note of such cases of persons with uncommon disabilities and take necessary action urgently. It wishes to be apprised of the action taken in this regard. 13.121 While recording its appreciation on the initiative of the Ministry for transparent and efficient 'placement system', the Committee was of the view that the true essence of the initiative will lose its sheen if delayed in its operation, in view of the advancement of technology. The Committee, therefore, recommended that such initiatives should be made workable at least within a quarter of a financial year of its initiation. 13.122 The Committee acknowledged this initiative of the Ministry and desired that transparency should be ensured in the selection and non-selection of a candidate with the specific reasons provided for that. 13.123 The Committee was pleased to note the initiative of the Ministry and opines that in selection and non-selection of a candidate, transparency should be the mode and specific reasons should be given for the same. 13.124 The Committee took note of the activities undertaken under this Project. It was of the opinion that at the stage of formulation/framing of policies, programmes and schemes by the Ministry, women should be given adequate representation. 13.125 The Committee hoped that more Government employees will be benefited by this step and that it will ensure the welfare of those officials who were the back bone of administration. 13.126 The Committee could gather that many Ministries/Departments do not implement judgments of CAT. It was of the view that non-implementation of judgements/decisions of CAT defeat the very purpose for which they were established. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should ensure that the objective of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985 under which the CAT was created is realized through a monitoring mechanism in place which will receive all the judgments/orders passed by CAT and then seek the status of implementation from the respective Ministries/Departments etc. within a time frame and a para thereof shall be given in the Annual Report of the Ministry, so that a clear picture emerges in this regard. 13.127 The Committee appreciated the initiatives and commitment of the Ministry in this regard. It would like to recommend that adequate publicity should be given to the RTI Act and the guidelines issued in this regard in the electronic and print media and more so in regional newspapers, periodicals also so as to create awareness amongst all sections of the society, media and civil society organisations at the regional, grassroot and panchayat level. The Committee hoped that such efforts will give an impetus to the campaign for access to information and will ensure greater participatory governance. At the same time, Committee desired that appropriate steps should be taken to minimize, rather eradicate the chances of misuse of the provisions of the RTI Act, both at the general public and Governmental levels. 13.128 The Committee opined that the application under RTI Act should not be rejected for non-payment of fee at the initial stage and then incur expenditure for defending cases in High Courts. Instead the applications should be entertained and the fee may be added at the time of receiving the information in such cases. 364
13.129 The Committee commended the excellent work done by the Department in this aspect to help the pensioners. The Committee was happy to note that the Department was seeking a security audit for this system and envisaging an impact assessment for its evaluation. The Committee would like to suggest that the service register of each Government employee should be opened in an electronic form and that it should be updated electronically. Also, the concerned employee should be allotted a unique registration code for accessing information in his electronic service register. 13.130 The Committee was pleased to note that the Ministry has acted upon its recommendation made in its 19th Report that the PGRAMS should be introduced in all Ministries and Departments and that the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances may pursue the matter with those Ministries who have yet to install PGRAMS and to take expeditious steps to install the same without further delay. It appreciated that this has led to the birth of Centralized PGRAMS, the implementation of which started in June, 2007. 13.131 The Committee was happy to note that the CPGRAMS has been benefited by many user organisations such as Railways and that its benefits were utilized by even the Zonal Offices of the Railways. 13.132 The Committee was not satisfied with this reply. It was of the opinion that the Ministries/ Departments should keep a close vigil on grievances and that they should be redressed in a time bound manner. It could gather that Government is the major litigant in Courts of law, resulting in vast expenditure of public money, Governmental resources and time. It was of the view that the essence of good governance was defeated in the absence of efficient and timely redressal of grievances. If the grievances were redressed timely at the level at which they arise, the aggrieved will not approach Courts of Law. This will save resources and time, of both the aggrieved and the Government. 13.133 The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should make a study as to the nature of cases pending in Courts mainly because of non-application of in built Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism and make the erring office accountable and punished. This would reduce the number of cases in Courts which arise due to non-application of mind and soul into the dispute. 13.134 The Committee was of the view that public service delivery system was inefficient unless it caters to the needs and issues of the common man. In order to assuage the concerns of the people regarding the efficiency of the public services, it is pertinent that their grievances are redressed promptly. The Committee strongly felt that enacting a statute for PGRM will go a long way in ensuring participatory governance and the Ministry should seriously examine this issue and the Committee be apprised of the outcome therefrom. 13.135 The Committee recommended that the concerned Ministries/Departments should be impressed upon to implement the accepted recommendations and the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances should monitor the progress made in this regard. 13.136 The Committee appreciated this initiative of the Ministry. 13.137 The Committee recommended that the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances should encourage all Ministries/Departments to include Citizens' Charter as an item in their Annual Report and to implement the Citizens' Charter for effective service delivery. They should also provide adequate support to formulate Citizens' Charter and implement the same. Special emphasis should be given to formulate and implement the Citizens' Charter in newly created Ministries/Departments. The Department should encourage other Departments, Organisations and Institutions to coin a "slogan" and to create a "logo", reflecting their role, functions and motto, in the pattern of private companies and corporate houses, and which can be comprehended by the common man. 13.138 The Committee took note of the efforts made by the Ministry in this regard and is of the opinion that it needs time bound implementation. 13.139 The Committee was of the opinion that IIPA has greater role in training the officials in modern administration. But the Committee felt that the works and programmes of IIPA do not meet the required benchmark of appreciation. The Committee was of the view that since the IIPA was unable to fully utilize the earlier Plan Grant, the setting apart of Rs. 5 crore in this financial year is not justified. Further, the Committee wished to be apprised of the details of the proposed utilization of this amount. 365
13.140 The Committee, therefore, felt that the Department of Personnel and Training was the nerve centre of the entire administration of all the Ministries/Departments of the country, and that whatever vibrance and dynamism was imparted by the Department, is reflected on other Ministries/Departments of the Government. Further, the Committee was of the opinion that since the mandate of formulation of policies and programmes were given to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, it should invariably be given powers to implement, monitor and review them and to undertake necessary follow-up action. In view of the above, the Committee observed that the DoPT should be given more powers as regards ensuring implementation of the schemes/policies envisaged by the Ministry and approved by the Cabinet. 13.141 The Committee was of the considered view that the Secretary, DoPT should be empowered to such an extent so as to get replies from all Secretaries of Departments immediately. The Committee was of the opinion that the data collection regarding the reservation policy shows the lack of respect to the Department. The Committee was of the view that the Secretary, DoPT should be treated as Cabinet Secretary manning all the Departments in respect of the schemes/policies envisaged by the Ministry and approved by the Cabinet. 13.142 The Committee recommended that the Ministry should address this issue on priority basis to ensure that whenever there was a Selection Board, there should be one person each from SC/ST/OBC and from minority group. 13.143 The Committee felt that this could be a hindrance to the Department's ability to offer considered advice to client Ministries. Also, there was an imperative need to provide training to staff from various cadres on subjects such as computers, governance, public policy and other soft skills like communication, leadership and personality development. 13.144 Taking the above mentioned facts into consideration, the Committee was of the considered view that since the permanent staff with the Government may not have the requisite expertise to deal with an environment which was undergoing constant mutation, it was inevitable that assistance of experts and expert organizations were made available to this Department. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should explore the possibilities of appointing specialists/consultants/experts for specific assignments in this Department on fixed tenures. It felt that such a step would help to tap the vast reservoir of talent that exists in the country and which could be harnessed for the public good. 13.145 The Committee was of the view that the number of vacancies existing in CBI was alarming. It recommended that the causes/reasons for the vacancies should be thoroughly examined and should be addressed imemdiately. It was of the opinion that such large number of vacancies will affect the operational efficiency of the organisation and the existing staff will be hard pressed to deliver results. The vacancies of 30.8%, 66.2%, 58.8% in the ranks of Prosecution, Technical and Deputy Superintendent of Police were alarming. It strongly observed that when we aspire CBI to evolve into an organisation of international standards, there was no scope for such vacancies which will adversely affect the pace of investigation and trial. 13.146 The Committee failed to understand the total absence of co-ordination and communication between two organisations functioning within the jurisdiction of the same Ministry. It would like to impress upon the Ministry that immediate remedy should be devised to build better co-operation amongst the various organisations and agencies functioning under the Department of Personnel and Training, particularly between CBI and UPSC for that matter. 13.147 The Committee was upset over the vacancies existing in CBI at various grades which it had, on various occasions pointed out to the organisation, but have yielded no results. It recommended that if vacancies are not filled in the deputationist quota, they should be filled by direct recruitment or through promotions. It strongly recommended that stringent plans should be chalked out and the recruiting agency, i.e., the UPSC should be pressed upon to ensure that the vacancies are filled up without delay. While filling up vacancies, CBI should provide more preference to women in various levels of the organisations, atleast to the level of 33%. 13.148 The Committee recommended that in the event of the vacancies not being filled up due to non- availability of officers on deputation inspite of granting such incentives, steps should be taken to fill up those vacancies by seeking recruitment from the permanent cadre of CBI. 13.149 The Committee recommended that the proposal should be considered expeditiously so that the professional efficiency of CBI does not suffer due to vacancies not being filled up. 366
13.150 The Committee appreciated such efforts and was of the opinion that this would maximize the conviction rate and minimize expending of resources and time. 13.151 It observed that pendency was one of the major concerns which should be addressed urgently and recommends that concrete steps should be taken in a time bound manner to minimize the backlog of cases. 13.152 The Committee, however, failed to agree and strongly felt that the absence of a separate statute for CBI was a major hindrance for effective functioning of the organisation. It observes that if we aspire CBI to transform into an organisation of international standards, an effective statutory support was inevitable. The Committee, had time and again, felt the necessity for a separate enactment for CBI. It was of the opinion that the Constitution of India itself envisages the same, as has been observed by this Committee in its 24th Report on "Working of CBI". 13.153 In view of the above, the Committee would appreciate the avoidance of such evasive replies and recommends that this matter should instead be urgently examined at the highest level. The Committee wished to be apprised of the action taken in this regard at the earliest. 13.154 The Committee strongly felt that such shortfall will adversely affect the welfare of the subordinate staff, foreign investigations, special incentives to public prosecutors, IT initiatives etc. It recommended that adequate funds should be provided under these heads so that investigation/prosecution do not suffer for want of technological resources and the morale of the officers and staff are kept high. 13.155 The Committee was of the opinion that a premier investigating agency such as CBI on whom the public, Courts and Governments have immense faith, should not suffer on account of shortage of funds. It was of the view that if perosecutors in CBI are not paid reasonably, or if inadequacy of funds turns out to be a reason for inability to engage a foreign lawyer in cases having international ramifications, the merit of prosecution will suffer drastically. It was of the opinion that in order to attract best talent to its fold, attractive incentives and emoluments should be granted to the officers and staff of CBI. Therefore, austerity measures should not be a road block to ensuring highest professional acumen and operational efficiency in the organisation. 13.156 the Committee also recommended that proper mechanism should be put in place to ensure that 33% of the work force in CBI constitutes women. 13.157 The Committee was of the view that the training curricula for the All India Services Probationers should be designed in such a way the team building, responsive administration, sensitisation to problems and need of the people, right and positive attitude are inclucated in them and they were equipped to discharge their repsonsibilities in a humane way by according top priority to the welfare of the people and to the sentiments of people's representatives. 13.158 The Committee strongly felt that the bureaucrats, and especially the Civil Servants should be sensitized to the needs of the people in this era of transition from the level of Government Servant to the people's servant. They should be groomed in such a way that they not only implement, but also involve themselves in the formulation of the policies and plans. Moreover, they should be able to respond to the aspirations and needs of the general public and fulfill them by maximum utilization of resources at hand. 13.159 The Committee hoped that such visits/interactions have a slautary effect on these officers and that they help them in understanding the social and political milieu in the country. The Committee applauded such steps and feels that active participation of the like as in the drought relief work on the part of trainees was indeed commendable. It appreciated the innovative methods adopted by the Academy in sensitizing the trainees regarding the problems faced by the common man and applauds the schemes adopted by the Academy for upgrading the infrastructure, IT assets, library, academic syllabus etc. It was pleased to note that the Academy has taken steps to strengthen the relations with other training institutions within the country and that regular training programmes, workshop seminars and conference are being held in the Academy. 13.160 The Committee was happy to note that the Academy has been transformed into a Wi-Fi campus and that the Academy is uploading their training material into a common site so that the material was available to all the training institutes. It also acknowledged the steps taken by the Academy to provide on-line administrative training through which the training undergone by each trainee is monitored on-line. The Committee hoped that such initiatives would create tremendous synergy among the institutes and ensure transparency. It recommended the adequate funds and infrastructural support should be given to the Academy to maintain international standards and to transform it into an international centre of excellence. 367
13.161 At the same time, the Committee recommended that a system of ascertaining the results of the various training programmes should be devised in order to tab the impact of the training. The Committee was of the opinion that training should concentrate on the principles of transparency (RTI) and how to handle an irate citizen and how to discover the real reason behind the complaint (by applying the Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism) and solve the problem rather than to allow or pass on the buck to the Courts and to understand that "time" is the essence of management of service and delivery system. 13.162 The Committee took serious note of the enormous time gap between advertising vacancies and declaring results, and recommends that the UPSC should consider the viability of conducting examinations in the format adopted in Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), IIT and IIM. The Committee was of the view that this would prevent wastage of resources and time and would ensure transparency and instill greater confidence of the candidates in the examination system. 13.163 The Committee impressed upon the Ministry to consider this submission in the right earnest and explore the possibilities of implementing the same, in a time bound manner. The Committee was presently making an in-depth study on this aspect for separate Report. 13.164 The Committee took note of the steps taken by SSC to facilitate the physically handicapped people. 13.165 The Committee appreciated the initiatives taken in this regard and recommends that more innovative steps should be adopted to ensure cutting down on time and expenditure. 13.166 It felt that such time such inordinate delays should not take place and that the entire examination system should be reviewed and concrete steps should be taken to minimize such delays. 13.167 The Committee felt that such delays were uncalled for in the present era of technological advancements and recommends that the Ministry should explore steps to tackle this delay effectively. 13.168 In view of the above, the Committee desired that the Ministry should explore the possibilities of holding the preliminary examinations in regional languages also, by setting the question papers in regional languages. 13.169 The Committee was pleased to note that the SSC has taken steps to facilitate the candidates and has undertaken IT initiatives and appreciates the same. 13.170 The Committee was of the opinion that governance improves with greater trust between people and the Government and that trust improves with greater transparency. It was pleased to note the technological initiatives by CVC to improve transparency in governance. 13.171 The Committee was of the view that such steps ensure that those posted to the Vigilance Organisations do not have the fear of returning to their parent cadre with the possibility of facing the displeasure of those against whom they made inquiries. 13.172 The Committee recommended that the issues/concerns raised by CVC and reflected in its Annual Report (2006) should be addressed urgently in order to ensure independence, impartiality and credibility of the Apex Body. 13.173 The Committee would like to impress upon the Ministry to consider these issues which were very important for the effective working of the Commission in checking corruption in Ministries/Departments and maintaining probity and integrity in administration. 13.174 The Committee felt that the prevailing tendency of delaying sanction of prosecution is deplorable and recommends that urgent effective steps should be taken to punish the guilty at the earliest and to clear the innocent of charges/allegation raised against them. 13.175 The Committee deplored occurrence of delay/indifferent attitude of Departments/Ministries in implementation of the advice of CVC and recommends that once the CVC renders advice, it should be implemented without undue delay. The Ministry should, therefore, issue guidelines to all Departments/Ministries to that effect. 13.176 The Committee recommended that the Ministry should consider this and take necessary action in this regard. 368
13.177 The Committee took note of the steps taken by CIC to pursue the Ministries/Departments to provide information to the public. It was of the opinion that such initiatives were indeed commendable. 13.178 The Committee discussed about the interpretation of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act i.e. definition of Public Authority wherein sub clause (a) was very clear that all the Constitutional authorities come under the definition of public authority. This Committee had examined in detail every clause of RTI Bill, 2004 which was referred to it for consideration and report. It was conscious of the fact that all the three wings of State— executive, legislature and judiciary—were fully covered under this Act, since all organs of the State are accountable to the citizens of India in a democratic State. It was more so since the judiciary was having dual role as (i) administrative function; and (ii) judicial decision making. Except the judicial decision making, all other activities of administration and the persons included in it are subject to RTI Act. This is the pith and substance of this enactment. This Committee was also conscious of all the amendments proposed by this Committee which were also accepted by the executive and Parliament. 13.179 The Committee recommended that the Ministry should address the issues highlighted above and take necessary steps to ensure that the fruits of the RTI Act, which is a historic piece of legislation, were enjoyed by the public. 13.180 The Committee was not satisfied with the reply. It noted that accurate data has not been furnished by the Ministry. It wished to be apprised of the latest data. It also recommended that time bound steps should be taken to fill the vacancies so that the pending cases could be cleared to avoid one another institution suffering due to backlog of cases.
(c) 26th Report
Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Law and Justice. 13.181 The anomalies regarding the plan provisions in the printed detailed Demands for Grants were pointed out during deliberations of the Committee. However, the reply given by the representatives of the Ministry was not satisfactory. The Committee noted with utmost concern that certain very basic anomalies have been reflected in the Summary of Object Head-wise aggregate of the total provision under Demand No. 62 in the BE 2008-09 by way of projecting 'Plan' allocations for Object Heads having no scope for Plan schemes such as, 'Domestic Travel Expenses', 'Office Expenses', 'Other Administrative Expenses (Hospitality)', 'Professional Services', and the likes. The Committee, therefore, took serious view of such anomalies and recommends that they should be rectified. 13.182 The Committee noted that the President of India has issued notification specifying the dates of implementation of the Commission's order and the future elections of all the said States will now be held on the basis of new Delimitation Order. The Committee felt that the delimitation work with respect to the North-Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Negaland which was deferred will also be completed as early as possible. The Committee impressed upon the Ministry to submit the status report in this regard at the time of furnishing the Action Taken Replies. 13.183 While applauding the Commitment of the Tribunal in its efforts for reducing the pendency of appeals as highlighted in its Annual Report, the Committee expressed its concern over the wide variation reflected in total number of sanctioned posts and the actual filled up positions in various levels of services of the Tribunal as can be seen in the document 'Detailed Demands for Grants (2008-09)' of the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Committee, therefore, was of the view, that sincere efforts to fill up these vacancies will go a long way in further improvement of the outcomes of the Tribunal. 13.184 Recommended that the Ministry should amend the Recruitment Rules expeditiously to meet the requirement of ACC and fill up the vacancies without any further delay and make concerted efforts to make the additional Benches functional. 13.185 As regard, the filling up of vacancies arising on account of retirement of Members etc, the Committee felt that the Ministry should have anticipated such vacancies and had taken some measures in advance in case of vacancies arising out of retirement of some Members which could have been filled up by the 369 time it arises. The Committee therefore, strongly observed that the process of filling up vacancies is an ongoing process and such anticipation must be there well in advance. The Committee therefore, recommended that such things are unwarranted and should not be repeated again and Ministry should make all out efforts to fill up the remaining vacancies before submitting the Action Taken Replies. 13.186 The Committee was appalled to note that the Ministry's inability to undertake the work of computerisation and interlinking of zonal offices on the lame plea of non-availability of adequate funds while the Ministry has reduced its Demands at the RE stage in 2007-08 and has in 2008-09 sought for a meager amount of Rs. 1.73 Crore. As it appears from the information made available to the Committee, the Ministry has made proposal for the said allocation without working out the likely requirement for the work while proposing its RE (2007-08). It is, therefore, apprehensive that the proposal will also meet similar fate of non-preformance in the current financial year on account of exhaustion of funds. The Committee therefore, recommended that the Ministry should chalk out stringent plans for the works in question and accordingly propose for adequate funds in the RE (2008-09) stage. 13.187 The Committee further recommended that the Department should complete the process of computerisation of ITAT, Delhi in the set target so that the expansion of computerisation in the Tribunal and its interlinking through LAN/Internet with all its Branches takes place as per the target set up by the Ministry. The Committee also recommended that bottlenecks like non-availability of adequate funds should not come in the way of achieving the target. 13.188 The Committee noted that its recommendation in (20th Report) on the Demand for Grants (2007-08), that more and more States and UTs should raise the income-ceiling limit for providing free legal aid under NALSA's Scheme has resulted in 24 States and 4 UTs raising the limit to the prescribed level of Rs. 50,000 per annum. The Committee, therefore reiterated its earlier recommendation (Para 7.7 of the 20th Report) that the Ministry should speed up the entire process so that the income-ceiling limit throughout the country remains uniform and larger number of persons can get benefit under the scheme. 13.189 The Committee appreciated that its recommendation for raising of fee structure of Legal Aid Counsel has resulted in revision of fee structure. The Committee, however, felt the enhancement was not upto the level of competitiveness. The Commitee therefore, recommended that the fee structure of Legal Aid Counsels should be suitably enhanced so that the experienced and competent lawyers are also attracted and motivated to take up/accept the cases of the legal aid beneficiaries with full enthusiasm. The Committee felt that higher fees such as Rs. 20,000/-in the case of Sessions Cases which ended in acquittal, and Rs. 5000/- in the case of conviction, will motivate the counsel to work hard in favour of the accused who cannot afford a lawyer, with all sincerity. Otherwise, a meager amount without accountability, will make the advocate to work mechanically. Moreover, the data on the result of cases disposed through legal aid should be prepared and reviewed as performance report for utilization of funds. 13.190 The Committee noted that NALSA has launched a laudable mission for legal empowerment of all the sections of the society, yet, certain grey areas need to be addressed by the Ministry like non-utilisation of grants by the States Legal Services Authorities therefore the Ministry should effectively monitor not only utilisation of the funds but also implementation of the schemes and programmes of NALSA. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry should send fact-findings teams in the States to have on the spot study of the schemes and programmes of NALSA and why the actual benefit of this scheme was not gaining access to the poor litigants. 13.191 The Committee had been apprised by the Ministry that there was no scope for evolving any Centrally Sponsored Scheme with component to provide hundred percent funding by the Centre for operationalising NALSA's plans since under the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987, the Central Government was releasing grants to NALSA (Section 14 of the Act). The Committee felt that the vision with which the various programmes will be launched by NALSA could be achieved only by way of proper planning. The reason behind stressing cent percent funding by way of Centrally Sponsored Scheme is that the programmes launched can be easily monitored, targets set can be achieved, and the financial crunch should not be a problem. Moreover there will be vision to acheive the set targets in a time bound manner. The Committee, therefore, reiterated its earlier recommendation contained in its 20th Report that if required, necessary changes in the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 may be made for incorporating the idea of evolving any Centrally 370
Sponsored Scheme with component to provide cent percent funding by the Centre for operationalising NALSA's plans. 13.192 The Committee noted with concern that only Fourteen States and two Union Territories have so far established the Permanent Lok Adalats for public utility services and such proposals have been cleared so far by Uttrakhand and National Capital Territory of Delhi only. The remaining States/Union Territories were still in the process of consideration of the proposal. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry should vigorously take up the issue with State Legal Services Authorities for establishing these Lok Adalats and monitor the pace of implementations thereof. 13.193 The Committee noted that some States could not establish permanent Lok Adalats due to paucity of funds and infrastructure. It was of the view that Government should explore the possibility of establishing permanent Lok Adalats in all the States, so that common man has access to speedy, inexpensive and substantial justice. 13.194 The Committee was happy to note that the Ministry has started laying of the statement of pending Law Commission's Reports once in a year in the Parliament. The Committee expressed its unhappiness with regard to pending implementation of 57 Reports of the Law Commission and feels that the reports of the Commission should be implemented in letter and spirit and the Government should make efforts to ensure timely implementation of its recommendations. 13.195 The Committee recorded its appreciation that the Ministry has started working in the direction of giving statutory backing to the Law Commission of India on the pattern of the other countries like U.K. and Canada as recommended by the Committee in its earlier Reports. The Committee expected that the Ministry will soon introduce the proposed Law Commission of India Bill in the Parliament, with the provision that the matters referred to the Law Commission should be substantive and it should be on the basis of Parliament debates and recommendation of Standing Committees, rather than making the Law Commission as parallel Parliament to make its new proposal, but never acted upon by either executive or Parliament. The Committee felt that increasing number of Reports in archives, made by expending people's tax money was totally unwarranted and uncalled for. Hence concerned Departments should also be heard by Law Commission and report should be on the consensus and compelling necessity to the Nation. 13.196 The Committee felt that the grantee institutions should not confine themselves to regular issues rather, they should organise/undertake research programmes or projects to explore new worthwhile areas in their respective fields. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry should form a special audit team to do critical appraisal of working of these institutions. 13.197 The Committee also recommended that Indian Law Institute which is country's premier research institute in the field of law should carry out research on the subjects like needs and difficulties faced by the subordinate judiciary, revamping our legal education, research on Judicial Impact Statement etc. which will not only help the institute to grow but also help their studies to be utilised by others. Regular or short term courses should allow the serious participants rather than casual persons for getting certificates. Quality of faculty, course material etc. should be of international level. The students and in service trainees should be made to do research and give papers, rather than whiling away the time and get certificates. It should work more as think tank to the State. 13.198 The Committee noted with concern that the Ministry was reconsidering the recommendation made by the Committee for the establishment of National Law University and Law Schools in the country, in the light of the recommendation made by the Knowledge Commission. The Committee was not satisfied with the reason advanced by the Government that because of the recommendation of Knowledge Commission they have started re-examing the whole thing. The Committee felt that all the good work done by the Ministry right from the beginning in the establishment of National Law University and Schools has come to naught. From the casual reply received from the Ministry it appears that the recommendation of the Committee was not given due consideration. Instead they would have advanced some solid reasons for such a deviation. The Committee, therefore, recommended that recommendations given by the Parliamentary Committee should be given due attention and the Government should immediately take urgent steps in this direction while also considering the recommendation given by Knowledge Commission. The Committee believed that the Government was seriously examining the issue and this will not be a way to further delay the whole thing. 371
13.199. In the wake of the recommendation of the Knowledge Commission for setting up four autonomous, well networked Center for Advanced Legal Studies and Research (CALSAR) one in each region to carry out cutting edge research on various aspects of law and also serve as think tank for advising the Government for National and International fora, the Committee felt that the Government should immediately take certain steps for the establishment of CALSAR without wasting more time on it. The Committee further recommended that if any decision for establishment of CALSAR is taken due weightage should be given that CALSAR should work under the Ministry of Law and Justice instead of being an autonomous centre of repute. 13.200 The Committee also recommended that in order to check the mushrooming of law colleges coming up in different parts of the country and to maintain the standard of legal education in India, the Bar Council should take immediate steps like uniform system of law examination in the country, etc., with this the Committee believed that the deteriorating standard of legal education in India can be checked to some extent. If possible, the proper training for the lawyers who entered the profession may be given after according degree and after enrolling in the Bar. 13.201 As it appears, there was total lack of co-ordination between the Ministry and the ICPS, which was disappointing. The Committee, therefore, exhorted the Ministry that it should take all out efforts to bridge cordial co-ordination with agencies under its administrative control. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should take up the issue with the concerned agencies and the secretariats of Parliament who were facing space crunch and may share the costs in case some space is provided to them and ensure that the construction work is started at the earliest. The Committee also directed the Ministry to furnish a status report at the time of Action Taken Reply. The Committee further recommended that Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) should regularly organise capsule courses on Parliamentary Privileges, Debates, Questions etc. for the benefit of newly elected Members of Parliament. 13.202 Incidentally, this was the same reply given by the Ministry in the Demands for Grants 2006-07, which actually means that the ICADR was not able to attract or solve any cases of Arbitration/Conciliation during the last financial year. 13.203 The Committee, while expressing its appreciation for the provision of well equipped facilities to ICADR in view of the crucial role it has been assigned in promotion of alternate dispute resolution methods, was perturbed to know that the facts given with regard to cases referred to and resolved by it to the Committee were actually misleading and ICADR has failed considerably in its effort to attract Arbitration/Conciliation cases in the last financial year or rather the information furnished by the Ministry was not correct. The Committee therefore, recommended that necessary instructions in this regard be passed that correct information should be made before the Committee. The Committee also instructed the Ministry to furnish a status note in this regard at the time of furnishing the Action Taken Report. 13.204 The Committee was happy to note that its recommendation for timely audit of accounts of ICADR was now being carried out regularly. The Committee further hoped that ICADR, which was the premier institute in the field of arbitration, should be made fully accountable and transparent in terms of every aspect of its functioning to enhance its appeal to the public and for that matter, every effort should be invested by the Ministry. The Committee further desired that the ICADR should optimally utilize the buidling constructed for the purpose. The Committee also recommended that ICADR, which has the ability to be the best institute of the world, should make all out efforts to attract foreign arbitration cases and try to become the hub of international arbitration. 13.205 The Committee recommended that the ICADR may frame its proposal for devising schemes and work out the required expenditure and the Ministry may seek for the budgetary allocation in the form of Supplementary Demands for Grants so as to enable the ICADR to exploit its utility to the maximum and reiterates its earlier recommendation that necessary Budgetary provisions for grants-in-aid to ICADR be made for setting up of the Regional Centres of ICADR in the States, which in turn would not only facilitate in easing of the arrears in Courts but would also make India the hub of International Arbitration. To start with, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata Regional centres of ICADR should be established to address the need of commerical dispute Resolution. 13.206 The Committee desired that the Ministry may take serious note of the issues highlighted in the excerpt of the Hon'ble Chairman of the Committee reproduced above and recommended that the Government 372 should immediately take some concrete steps to check the mushrooming of Arbitration/Conciliation/Mediator centres coming up in India in order to maintain the quality and standard of Arbitration centres in India by creating statutory regulatory authority of Arbitration. 13.207 The Committee, however, would desire that Minsitry should look into the issue and provide a status report in this regard while submitting the Action Taken Reply in view of the replies furnished by the Ministry being incomplete as the Committee was made to understand that the premises were rented out to various other Governmental organisations as well. Seriously disapproving of leasing out of its building constructed from the Grants of the Government with a view of earning, the Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation that ICADR should take all efforts in attracting more cases of arbitration, both national and international, and make a turn around in evolving itself to be in a position to give financial and strategical support to develop new Centres by Private Participation such as Palkivala Center of Arbitration in Chennai. The Committee, further opined that the Ministry has a strategic role to play in this matter by way of providing adequate funds for the development and upgradation of the infrastructure and facilities befitting international arbitration centres. 13.208 The Government should direct that all departments and PSEs should refer ICADR as arbitrator in the Arbitration clause in the event of dispute between the parties in the commerical contracts entered between them. More so, dual role played by working officials as arbitrators should be converted as reference to ICADR. 13.209 The Committee appreciated that Election Commission has taken many steps like introduction of Booth Level Officers, Computerisation of electoral rolls, introduction of photo electoral rolls etc. to hold free and fair elections in the country. The Committee hoped that with the introduction of these innovative methods the Commission would certainly put a check on number of issues like duplicity, mistaken identity, faulty electoral rolls etc. The Committee further felt that though the Commission has taken some measures but it should also send its team of officers on a surprise visit to cross check the working of BLOs. On computerisation of electoral rolls, the Committee felt that with the computerisation of electoral rolls the Commission would be able to solve the problems of the electorate in a better and efficient manner. 13.210 The Committee appreciated that the Commission has completed the exercise of Photo Electoral Rolls in 11 States and 1 UT. The Committee hoped that the Election Commission will make all out efforts to complete the exercise in the remaining States and UTs within a time frame. The Committee felt that with the introduction of Photo Electoral Rolls it would be easier for the Election Commission to conduct and carry out the exercise in a smooth manner. But, Committee also advises the Election Commission to take extra measures to ensure that the Photo Electoral Rolls were error free and serve the purpose for which it has been made otherwise the whole exericse will be a failure. Each year there were numbers of complaints regarding faulty rolls, missing names etc. In such cases, a person having a bonafide "Voter Identity Card" should have legal rights to vote. 13.211 The Committee, while appreciating the efforts taken by the Commission in computerization of the data for electoral rolls of the entire country, desired that feedback reports on its use by the state CEOs may be procured and the level of satisfaction of the working of the software communicated to the Committee. 13.212 The Committee was perturbed to know that the Election Commission has replied that the Commission does not see the necessity of another office for electoral roll revision at district level. The reason to stress for opening an office of Election Commission at district level was for better monitoring and working as a facilitation centre to the less educated people living in rural areas/villages, for them registering their names means losing one day wages/earning. Every year there has been numerous complaints like missing names wrong entries, different photographs which speak a lot about the working of ERO/BDO. The Committee felt that there was a need for it and to begin with the Election Commission should atleast on trial basis start establishing its offices for the purpose at the district levels and district level officer would be made accountable for revision of the rolls. The Committee further recommended that the Commission should set some target for the purpose of revision of the electoral rolls. 13.213 The Committee was happy to note that the technical committee formed to decide the technical worthiness of the 1989-90 model EVMs has submitted its report to the Government. The Committee therefore, recommended that Government should immediately start the weeding out of old EVMs and chalk out a definite time-frame for upgradation and procurement of new EVMs. The Committee hoped this will help to get the election results early and in a speedy manner. 373
13.214 While taking note of the steps taken by the Commission in educating the people in the use of EVMs, the Committee desired that the Ministry may focus more attention in educating the rural poor and the masses in the far flung interior villages of the country. It further opined that propagation of the usage of EVMs by way of flyers and posters will go a long way for areas that have no access to audio-visual means. 13.215 The Committee was perturbed to know that 28% were yet to be issued/covered under the EPIC programme. The Committee felt that the Election Commission has not achieved the desired goals despite the fact that considerable time has elapsed since the inception of the EPIC scheme. The Committee understood that for being photographed at a particular Centre, only few selected dates are announced and were hardly publicised. If a voter for whatever reasons, fails to get him photographed during that period, he was not issued EPIC. If a provision is made for being photographed on all working days during the revision of rolls, the problem can be solved to a great extent. The Committee, therefore, reiterated its earlier recommendation that the Commission should devise a time-bound programme for achieving 100% EPIC coverage and make a provision for getting photographed of the voters on all working days while revising the rolls. 13.216 The Committee felt that Government should immediately issue directions to mandate EPIC as an all-purpose identify card. The Committee felt that with the introduction of this multi purpose card one can verifty the identity of a person easily. This move would also encourage that class of urban dwellers who have not shown enthusiasm in getting the cards made. This card can carry information like card for identification, proof of residence, citizenship, date of Birth, PAN number etc. The Committee therefore, recommended that Government should mandate either the proposal of Election Commission of India for considering EPIC as multi- purpose card or ask the Home Ministry to immediately expand the working on their ambitious project of Multi Purpose Cards throughout India. 13.217 The Committee was unhappy to note that no concrete decision has so far been taken with regard to construction of building for Institute of Legislative Drafting and Research in spite of the considerable time that has already lapsed. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry should vigorously pursue the matter and ensure that the vacant land in the ICADR premises should be allotted to the ILDR for construction of its building without further delay. 13.218 The Committee was happy to note that ILDR had organised a training programme on Legislative Drafting in which participants from 13 countries of the world participated. Similar courses may also be run for the participants coming from the different States including the officers of both the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures and reiterated its earlier recommendation that the Institute should devise a proper fee structure for running these courses. Also that the Institute should not confine itself to imparting training in the Country only, rather it should think on expanding its area outside India. The Committee also recommended that the Institute should try to explore means by which legislative drafting can be made popular and done in other regional langauges so that it can greatly benefited by the State Governments. 13.219 The Committee was happy to note that the Ministry has taken steps in the direction of simplification of laws. But still the Committee felt that it was an ongoing process and efforts should be made for simplifying the legal language, which is quite often difficult to understand. It felt that, laws should be drafted in national or regional languages to convey the purpose and intent thereof and rightly comprehended by those meant for. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry should find ways and means to simplify laws so as to be understood even by the people having no specialized knowledge of legal formulations. 13.220 The Committee felt that the rationale behind keeping Department of justice under the control of Home Secretary was logical at the time when this decision was taken during the year 1971 but in view and of the drastic changes in last ten fifteen years, the rise in the incidents of terrorism, birth and growth of naxalism in the country; the growing complexity of modern crimes, handling natural calamities throughout India were becoming difficult for the Home Secretary to devote time specifically for the Department other than the Home. In nearly all the Government Departments there was a separate post of Secretary to carry out the work of the Department in an efficient manner. Moreover, the Department of Justice has been assigned a distinct task under the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, and the Department has been performing sensitive functions pertaining to judicial appointments, service conditions of Judges and the administration of justice. Viewed in this context and also of the fact that there are about 3 crore cases pending in different Courts and about 100 High Court vacancies were to be filled and thousands of vacancies exist in subordinate judiciary, thus corroding 374 the faith of the people in the judicial system, it would be more appropriate if the department was accorded a distinct identity including strong administrative structure of its own. It was in this context that the Committee was of the considered opinion that for the sake of administrative efficiency and exigency, the Department is separated from the Home Ministry and provided with a full-fledged Secretary. 13.221 The Committee felt that the Centrally Sponsored Scheme relating to infrastructural facilities though started with zeal has suffered due to lack of planning. Moreover, State Governments have failed miserably to provide their share. The Committee therefore recommended that there should be proper monitoring of the scheme in terms of achievements of the targets, allocation of funds etc. This was because even the basic infrastructural facilities like transport and housing are not available to the Judicial officers at lower judiciary level and they have to face many difficulties. These infrastructural related issues hamper the functioning of the Judicial Officers. The Committee, therefore, reiterated its earlier recommendation that the Ministry should consider all these components seriously and include them in the perspective plan. The Committee opined that the focus should be on achieving targets earmarked and relax the means of achieving them in so much as even funding 100% for the schemes in question and sees no difficulty in development of infrastructure for transport facilities and then handing it over to the administration branch of state government for further regulation so that they can function more effectively. 13.222 The Committee records its appreciation with the pace of computerisation. However, it felt that Ministry should fix a target for completion of computerization in a time-bound manner. The Committee was of the view that computerisation of judiciary would be an effective tool to bring down pendency of cases as has been experienced in the Apex Court. The Committee, therefore, reiterated its recommendation that the Ministry should ensure that necessary budgetary allocations for this purpose should be made and the targets set to computerise the entire judical system are met. 13.223 The Committee expressed its disappointment with the pace of establishment of Family Courts in the country. It felt that the Ministry should take up the matter with State Governments and fix a target for establishing at least one Family Court in each district so as to resolve family disputes and related matters expeditiously and if need be amend the relevant provision of the Family Court Act, 1984 pertaining to eligibility criteria of population exceeding one million for setting up of a family court, so that at least one family court is set up in each district particularly. 13.224 The Committee expressed its anguish that despite its recommendations as contained in its 15th Report and 20th Report, the NJA has so far failed to furnish its comments in respect of the adverse observations/ queries made by the Statutory Auditors in their Audit Report. The Committee reiterated that the NJA should furnish its comments expeditiously. 13.225 The Committee further felt that National Judicial Academy, which imports training to the judicial officers, court administrators and ministerial officers of the Supreme Court, should open its gates/run programmes for Government officers dealing with administration of Justice. 13.226 The Committee was constrained to note that the grants given to the National Judicial Academy were not fully utilised and were kept in a bank. The Committee desired that the grants given in the year for a particular purpose must be utilized to its optimum. 13.227 The Committee noted with concern that year after year, the pendency of cases has been steadily increasing. The trend is continuing even after taking recourse to other alternative measures like setting up of fast track courts, family courts and permanent Lok Adalats. The Committee had also been apprised that the Government has been constantly reviewing accumulation of the arrears in Courts and the problem is sought to be tackled by constitution of specialized benches and organizing Lok Adalats at regular intervals; encouraging alternative modes of disposal, establishing Fast Track Courts even at the level of magistrates Court etc. The Committee found that specialised benches, Lok Adalats and Fast Track Courts, though created as an alternative mode of disposal of arrears of cases, have been suffering due to infrastructural lacunae or financial constraints and thus were not able to meet the desired targets. The Committee hoped that with the establishment of Gram Nyayalayas the pendency will come down drastically. The Committee therefore reiterated its earlier recommendation that the Ministry should carefully analyze the factors responsible and look for viable solutions in addition to the existing arrangements. The Committee further desired that since the pendency was mounting by the day despite various measures taken in that regard, the Government should request the Law Commission of India to look into the whole gamut of the problem in an holistic manner with help of ILI and Research Departments of law Universities and submit its Report as expeditiously as possible. 375
13.228 The Committee noted with concern that there has not been any worthwhile improvement with regard to filling up of vacancies of Judges in Supreme Court and High Courts. The Committee impressed upon the Ministry to immediately take steps to fill the remaining vacancies so that the same can help in reducing the mounting level of cases at various levels. The Committee, therefore, called upon the Ministry to come forward with an alternative like the pre 1993 arrangement by involving the Executive, instead of allowing the judiciary alone to choose the judges. The aspirants of various vacancies should be allowed to apply and appear before the Selection Committee. The closed system prevailing now is not getting meritorious persons called to the Bench. Transparency, inclusiveness and merit should be the way of appointing Judges. Till the warrant of appointment is issued by President of India, it was maintained as secret. It was against democratic principles. The aspirants' names merit and selection process should be made public and transparent, through the High Court and Supreme Court website. The Report at various levels in Departments of Justice and home and other stages, should be on the website of their department till the final stage of issuing warrant of appointment. 13.229 The High Court benches in various places in addition to the State capital was much appreciated by people for easy accessibility to justice to the poor and needy, on reasonable expenditure. The Committee was not happy with the persistent opposition for establishing benches of the Supreme Court in other parts of the country without advancing any convincing reason or justification therefore. Even the Constitution of India makes provisions for it under Article 130 of the Constitution. The Committee, therefore, endorsed its earlier view that establishment of benches of the Supreme Court atleast in Chennai on trial basis and then in other parts of the country would be of immense help to the poor who cannot afford to travel from their native places to Delhi. The Committee, therefore, felt that the Ministry should come forward with a necessary Constitutional amendment to address this deadlock. 13.230 In that backdrop, the Committee felt that there was a valid justification for each of the North Eastern States for a separate High Court in each States. The Committee also felt that when re-organization of the North-Eastern region by the North Eastern Area (Re-organization) Act, 1971 was passed, a common High Court was established for the five North-Eastern States, i.e., Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura and the two Union Territories (Union Territory of Mizoram and the union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh) and called as the Guwahati High Court which was established for administrative convenience. Though, six outlying benches of the Guwahati High Court were also established in the other States they are but benches of High Court. Moreover, nearly 3 crore of cases are pending in different courts of the country which need immediate attention which has in turn diffused people's faith in the judiciary. The law prevailing in the north Eastern States was mainly the tribal laws existing in that area and mostly uncodified. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government may, after thoroughly studying all the issues, explore the possibility of establishing separate High Courts for each of the North Eastern State which will, in turn play the role of evolving codification of the tribal laws existing amongst the people of those States. It further felt that such a step would ensure that the judgments of the High Courts will be treated as precedents, which with passage of time, can evolve into written law. The interpretations given to the existing uncodified rules/laws by the High Courts, can in future, be consolidated and this will result in codified laws and uniformity of judgments. 13.231 The Committee was of the opinion that, the Department of Justice should devise concrete ways and means to increase the efficiency of Fast Track Courts. It has come to the notice of the Committee that Fast Track Courts are very often criticized for taking decisions in a hurried manner, the Committee impressed upon the Ministry to monitor performance of Fast Track Courts so that innocent persons are not convicted for the offences not committed by them. The Committee also recommended that necessary Central financial support may be accorded to the Fast Track Courts and their numbers may also be augmented for speedy dispensation of cases. The Committee further exhorted the Ministry to ensure that the FTCs resort more to fair trials and judgments and not only focus on raising the statistics of disposal of cases. 12.232 The Committee expressed its disappointment that the Fast Track Courts which were made functional as a major reform initiative to lessen the burden on the already overburdened Judiciary were not fully functional. The Committee felt to comprehend that on one hand the Government has made tall claims that the FTCs have played a vital role in reducing the ever mounting pendency of cases and on the other hand it has allowed some functioning FTCs to dwindle out to the status of being non-functional and opines that if the pillars of justice were shaken like this what would be its impact on the over all judicial system. The Committee directed the 376
Ministry to immediately look into the matter and ensure that by the time of furnishing the Action Taken Reply all the non-functional FTCs should start working. The Committee also recommended that in order to make these FTCs functional, the Government should immediately start providing infrastructure, lucrative salaries, permanent posts of Judges etc otherwise the purpose with which it was established would be defeated. 13.233 The Committee therefore, reiterated its earlier recommendation that Government should immediately bring forward a Constitutional Amendment Bill to raise the retirement age of Judges of High Courts from 62 to 65 i.e., at par with the retirement age of a Judges of the Supreme Court without any further delay. 13.234 The Committee felt that the Chief Justice of India had rejected the proposal without considering the benefits for those people who are poor, living in rural areas and who cannot afford education and cannot speak any language other than their mother tongue. The Committee felt that these factors should be borne in mind while making any observation. Even Tamil language also contains legal terms/terminologies and the Constitution of India has been translated in Tamil. Since the matter has been referred to the Law Secretary for his comments, the Committee would appreciate if the Ministry would furnish details thereof at the time Action Taken Reply by implementing the recommendation. 13.235 The Committee recommended that Registry, Supreme Court should work out some mechanism like annual conference/forum where Registries of High Court and Administrative Head of Subordinate/Lower Courts can participate to ventilate and narrate the problems faced by them. 13.236 The Committee also recommended that some mechanism should be worked out or developed so that some kind of control over the District, Subordinate and High Courts in the states should be there. Mere acknowledgement that the Registry doesn't exercise or have any control on the working of other Courts would not serve the purpose but rather complicate the whole issue. The Committee therefore recommended that the Ministry of Law and Justice in consultation with the Chief Justice of India should try to formulate some means/ mechanism to exercise some control over the Munsif, District, Subordinate Judiciaries and High Courts in the States which would work as a watchdog and keep tab on their functioning. 13.237 The Committee noted the views of the States for establishment of All India Judicial Service as furnished so far. However, the Committee was of the view that creation of All India Judicial Service on the line of Civil Services Examination in the country will attract the best of talent in the country to join the prestigious Indian Judicial System and will naturally improve upon the deteriorating quality of language used in judgments delivered these days by the Courts excluding the Apex Court. The Committee also noted that the Law Commission of India had in its 1st, 8th and 11th Reports had inter-alia recommended the formation of All India Judicial Service and even the Supreme court of India had also recommended vide its judgments delivered on 13th November, 1991 in W.P. No. 1022 on 1989 and 24th August, 1993 in Review Petition No. 249/92 in the matter of All India Judges Association for setting up of an All India Judicial Service in the country. The Committee reiterated its earlier recommendation that all out efforts, including an amendment in the Constitution, if necessary, may be taken up expeditiously to set up All India Judicial Service. Till the consensus is arrived by the States and High Courts, the selection at State level by the participation of Judicial Member, Pradesh Public Service Commission Member and State should be formulated and followed uniformly in all States. The State Judicial Services would further blossom as National Judicial Services for all National, Regional Tribunal Chairman and Member appointments of various discipline. 13.238 The Committee was happy to note that to begin with the name of atleast one court has been changed according to the name of the State. The Committee therefore impressed, upon the Ministry to consider initiating necessary action for bringing about changes in the names of the Madras, Calcutta, Bombay High Courts in line with the official names of these metropolitan cities or States. The Committee felt that this is an administrative matter and must be carried out as early as possible, as recommended by the Committee in its previous Report. 13.239 The Committee also felt that the Supreme Court Journals, containing all important judgements and cases should be publicized and commercialized to get wider publicity and even unreported cases should also get references in the journals. In the same way, different High Courts of the country could also publicize and commercialized their judgment and cases through their journals and can make reference of unreported cases. 377
(d) 27th Report
Action Taken Replies on Law's Delays: Arrears in Courts 13.240 While placing on record its appreciation on the various steps taken by the Government in the matter, the Committee reiterated its earlier view that non-Governmental Organisations should be roped in to spread awareness to all strata of society and to every rural and urban area covering the length and breadth of the country regarding arbitration, conciliation and out of court settlements. 13.241 The Committee noted the reply of the Department and would appreciate if the decision of the National Judicial Academy on the issue of establishing a Research Centre on Judicial Reforms is communicated to it for its consideration. 13.242 The Committee, while endorsing the establishment of Fast Track Courts, would like to suggest that the Government should keep track of the disposal rate of the Fast Track Courts and closely monitor their effective functioning as well. 13.243 The Committee reiterated its recommendation on the issue and suggest the Government to earnestly consider the Constitutional provisions in this regard. The Committee was of the firm opinion that the provisions of the Constitution accord primacy to the Executive in the matter of appointment of the Judges, which was taken away through a judicial interpretation. The Committee was of the considered opinion that the earlier system of consultations with the judiciary and the primacy of the Executive in the appointment of Judges worked well and was in consonance with the Constitutional intent and provisions and there were no delays in judicial appointments. The Committee also felt that Judicial independence in appointment of judges has gone through the tests of time and has proved futile in expeditiously filling up vacant posts and thereby checking the ever increasing pendency of cases. In the light of the above, the Committee strongly recommended the restoration of the primacy of the Executive in the matter so that judicial vacancies are filled up promptly and expeditiously. 13.244 The Committee noted that a time span of over 2 (two) decades has elapsed since the recommendation regarding increasing the judge population ratio to 50 Judges per million to be effected and implemented in a phased manner within a period of five years. However, there has been minimal result in this regard. Therefore, the Committee desired the Government to devise ways to accelerate the implementation of the said recommendation in order to restore the faith of the public on the judiciary, which has eroded to near irrepair. 13.245 The Committee noted the reply of the Department of Justice in the matter. However, it recommended that the remaining 52 Reports of the Law Commission of India should also be considered for implementation within a stipulated time period. The committee recommended for an early affirmative action on the part of the Government in this regard. 13.246 The Committee took note of the reply of the Department of Legal Affairs in the matter. The reply appeared to be untenable in as much as for imparting quality legal education physical infrastructure should not be the sole starting point. As for revision of curriculum the reply simply states that the Bar Council of India has circulated the same in the year 1996 to all the universities. It is a matter of serious concern that the new curriculum is still to be finalized. Further the reply of the Department of Legal Affairs at para (4) above is factually contradictory with the information furnished by the Department to this Committee on 20th March, 2008 as part of consideration of Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Law and Justice wherein it has informed that the National Knowledge Commission headed by Shri Sam Pitroda has recommended setting up four autonomous, well networked Center for Advanced Legal Studies and Research (CALSAR) and the proposal to establish the National Law University is being re-examined. The Committee, therefore, would appreciate if the factual proposition of the Government is conveyed to the Committee for its consideration. The Committee, further, reiterated its recommendation for taking steps for imparting quality legal education in India in consultation with the Bar Council of India especially in the revision of curriculum, which is long over due in view of the current curriculum, as stated in the reply of the Government, being framed in 1996. The Committee further impressed upon the Government to prevent mushrooming of incompetent Law Colleges/institutions in the country by framing stringent rules. 13.247 The Committee noted that after a lapse of 2(two) years the progress of action taken in implementing the recommendations of the Malimath Committee Report is appalling that only 35 recommendations out of the 378 total 158 recommendations have been implemented so far and the remaining recommendations are in various stages of implementation i.e. requiring legislative changes, consultations with the State Governments and action on the part of the High Courts etc. The Committee recommended that the Government should devise ways and means to speed up the process of consultations with the State Governments and the matter should be expedited in urgency especially in the cases where the Malimath Committee has recommended changes in the substantive laws viz. the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. In the light of the above the Committee desired for a time bound implementation of the Malimath Committee Report and now allow the implementation process to linger on much longer. The Committee may accordingly be apprised of the such a time bound plan and the steps taken by the Government in this regard. 13.248 While acknowledging the initiatives taken by the Government to combat pendency of cases in High Courts and Subordinate Courts, the Committee expressed its concern over the huge pendency of cases in these Courts inspite of the initiatives taken. The highest pendency, as per the data provided by the Department of Justice, is at Allahabad High Court followed by Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Pubjab & Haryana, Orissa and Rajasthan High Courts. These seven High Courts have more than 25 Lakh cases pending with them. Six High Courts viz. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Patna have more than seven lakh cases pending with them. Though the rest of the High Courts have less pendency as compared to the above stated High courts nonetheless pendency exist at each High Court. The situation is far worse at the Subordinate Courts level. Huge arrears of pending cases are in U.P., Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Rajasthan. Uttar Pradesh alone has 48,17,554 cases pending at the subordinate courts level. The Committee felt that the arrears of cases is a serious malady requiring immediate corrective steps. Further, the huge arrears are a poor reflection on the working of the judicial system. In the light of the above the Committee further recommended for concerted and need specific plans for the High Courts and Subordinate Courts to clear the backlog of cases in addition to their computerization. The Committee, therefore, recommended improvement of judicial infrastructure and adequate budget allocation for the subordinate judiciary. The Committee also recommended for appointment of ad-hoc Judges for the High Courts especially to clear the pendency and sitting up of fast track courts at subordinate level. The Committee further suggested that a Monitoring Committee be constituted at each High Court to devise specific plans to clear the backlog of cases. 13.249 The Committee took note of the steps taken by the High Courts of Kerala, Madras, Allahabad and Bombay to reduce the pendency of cases. However, as per the information provided by the Department of Justice the High Courts of Allahabad, Bombay and Madras still have huge pendency. The Committee desired that the steps taken by the High Courts in reducing backlog of cases be practical and feasible and must result in reduction of arrears. In this context, the Committee recommended that the Government may take upon itself to make an assessment of the various steps taken by the various High Courts to reduce pendency and identify the measures that have had substantial impact. This assessment can pose a guideline to all High Courts and Subordinate Courts in combating the huge pendency lying with them. 13.250 The Committee noted the reply of the Ministry. The Committee recommended that the Government should pursue the matter vigorously with all the High Courts so that vacant posts are filled up expeditiously. As for the allocation of funds, in the 11th Five Year Plan to the judiciary for creating infrastructural facilities and computerization etc. the Committee recommended that the allocation should be made in proportion to the number of cases pending. The Committee recommended working out a formula for matching demands to the judiciary as it strongly feels that the judiciary is provided with insufficient funds invariably. The Committee opined that insufficiency of funds has played a major factor in contributing to arrears. The increase in the Eleventh Plan for the judiciary works out to Rs. 770 crore only which, in the opinion of the Committee, is meager in comparison to the huge pendency of cases at various levels. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should allocate enough funds to the judiciary. 13.251 The Committee would like the Ministry to pursue the matter with the High Courts and the respective State Governments in all sincerity and not merely play a role of the post-office, but earnestly monitor the implementation process of the States by seeking their periodic status. 13.252 The Committee noted the reply of the Government and desired that the reply of the Ministry of Human Resource Development with regard to setting up of Tribunals with jurisdiction on various educational malpractices is obtained and forwarded to this Committee for its consideration. 379
13.253 The Committee noted the reply and impressed upon the Government that stringent monitoring of the schemes of the Government, especially the scheme of computerization of Subordinate Courts and electronically linking of the lowest court to the highest court and the progress made with regard to construction of court buildings and residential accommodation for the judges in the States/UTs including the initiatives taken in the North-Eastern States and UTs should be in place. The Committee further desired that the periodic progress made in this regard be furnished to it for its consideration.
(e) 28th Report
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2008 13.254 The Committee approved the Bill and recommended that while passing the Bill due consideration be given by the Government to the suggestions of the Committee on the issues discussed in the succeeding chapters. 13.255 In the light of the foregoing the Committee strongly felt that the Government should take every conceivable step/measures to reduce the pendency of cases not only in the Supreme Court but also in the High Courts and the subordinate courts so that delays occurring due to pendency of cases in the dispensation of justice are reduced. 13.256 The other important reason, the Committee felt was the enactment of new legislations by Parliament and state legislatures, in addition to the executive orders which add to the flow of cases. 13.257 The Committee, in the light of the above deliberations was of the opinion that the very purpose of this sanctified institution viz. the judiciary shall be defeated if timely justice is not delivered to the people who look at this institution as a last resort of redressing their grievances and to get justice. In this context, the Committee observed that to reduce pendency in the Supreme Court and to enable the people to get timely and speedy justice, it is absolutely necessary to devise various mechanisms and to take corrective and other measures to ensure timely justice to the people. 13.258 The Committee recommended that the issue by given consideration and the retirement age of the Judges of the High Courts be increased to 65 years. This would also facilitate the availability of experienced Judges for elevation to the Supreme Court. 13.259 "The ordinary citizens, the poor people, who are living on their own income, have to pay more and spend more time and they do not have accessibility to justice when you compare them with corporate bodies or other companies." 13.260 The Committee therefore observed that it is high time that a differential court fees system for the corporate sector is considered on the following lines:- (i) The present system of court fees of Rs. 250/- to Rs. 2000/- for all cases of civil and criminal nature needs to be reviewed urgently. For the poor, illiterate people who have no access to justice the Court fees should be waived altogether i.e. there should be no court fee for such litigants. (ii) Corporate Commercial bodies have huge financial resources at their disposal and invariably their disputes are worth crores of rupees. Accordingly, it would be reasonable if they are required to pay the court fees as per the value of their dispute on ad-valorem basis which should extend from 1 percent to 5 percent of the total value of the dispute. (iii) There are certain Acts which enable the companies to go directly to the Supreme Court for getting their disputes resolved. These Acts include the Customs Act, the Central Excise and Salt Act, the Consumer Protection Act, the Monopolies and restrictive Trade Practices Act, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act and the Income Tax Act. The Committee feels that a maximum fees of Rs. 2000 in terms of the Supreme Court Rules, 1966 is grossly inadequate and should, therefore, be revised accordingly. (iv) The corporate matters going by the very nature of the dispute, the companies desire for early settlement or speedier disposal by the Court, therefore, if they are required to pay higher court fee, it would only be reasonable. 380
(v) It is the common man, an ordinary citizen who waits for justice for years. Early hearing and disposals of cases by the courts in corporate cases only delay the cases of ordinary citizen as they take valuable court time within minimum court fees, therefore, there is a strong case for a differential court fee for the corporate sector. In any case the corporate sector makes use of the legal facilities/judicial infrastructure for which they should be required to pay as the expenses for creating & maintaining the judicial infrastructure are borne by the State. (vi) The differential court fees will only add to the revenue of the Supreme Court which could be utilized for creating further judicial infrastructure for the judiciary. (vii) As per the information furnished by the Supreme Court, the total stamp/court fees collected by the Supreme Court in the years 2006 and 2007 is 1,20,40,382 and 1,17,15,951 respectively. The Supreme Court generates revenue of more than Rs.1 crore by way of stamp/court fee. If the differential court fees is applied for the corporate cases that will only add to the Supreme Court revenue. As per the Constitution of India all moneys and fees collected by the Supreme Court forms part of the consolidated fund of India. Hence, the money so accrued to the consolidated fund of India could be used by the State for fulfilling one of its obligations as envisaged under Article 39A of the Constitution which directs the "State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denies to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities." (viii) The operation of judicial system should not result in any disadvantage to the common man or ordinary citizens. However, the present judicial system operates in such a manner that the citizens have to wait for years to get justice in both civil and criminal matters. Cases linger on for years making public lose their faith in the administration of justice. In criminal matters delay in the operation of judicial system some times renders the appeal against the conviction infructuous as the convict might have completed the term of conviction in prison while his case completes trial. In this scenario when the judicial system is clogged by the huge number of cases, preference to corporate cases that too on minimum court fees may amount to taking away the time mean for the common man who has no other alternative remedy or recourse open to him. This situation also makes out a case for differential court fees. (ix) The corporate bodies could easily get their disputes resolved through the methods of Arbitration and Conciliation. However, Arbitration may involve higher cost. For this reason also the corporate bodies make use of the judicial infrastructure. However, while recourse to judicial infrastructure cannot be denied there is no harm if higher court fees is levied because the state incurs huge expenses in maintaining the entire judicial infrastructure. (x) The Committee therefore drew the attention of the executive and the judiciary to arrive at a decision regarding the differential court fees for the commercial/corporate/company matters immediately; and to amend the Supreme Court Rules, High Court Rules and other court fees Acts accordingly. 13.261 Therefore, the Committee was in favour of levy of differential court fees and recommends that amendments be carried out in the relevant rules in terms of Article 145 of the Constitution of India. 13.262 However, the Committee taking note of the information furnished by the Supreme Court felt that given the huge number of cases pending in the Supreme Court, the system of lengthy vacation is better done away with. Reduced vacations will automatically add to the number of working days. The Committee, accordingly, recommended for increasing the number of working days in the Supreme Court to accord speedy justice to the people and to break the vicious circle of pendency. 13.263 The committee desired that the Supreme Court should explore this possibility in the interest of justice. 381
13.264 In the light of the above deliberations, the Committee, observed that it was not against increasing the number of judges in the Supreme Court but it directs the Governments that issues discussed in the report and recommendations/observations of the Committee thereon should also be given thoughtful consideration so that there is no pendency of cases in future, and the objective of this Bill was achieved.
(f) 29th Report
Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism 13.265 The Committee was of the firm opinion that citizens charters specify standards of services and time limits that the public could reasonably expect from the organization. It also contained the details of grievances redressal mechanism and how it could be accessed. It, therefore, had provided for an independent mechanism with the involvement of citizens and consumer groups. The Committee had noted that in most of the Government organizations, the Charters were in the initial or middle stge of formulation and implementation. These need to be expedited and put in place on priority. Further, in most cases, Citizens Charters were not formulated through a consultative process. The Committee therefore, had recommended that there is a need for citizens and staff to be consulted at every stage of formulation of the Charter and there was a need for orientation of staff about the salient features and goals of the Charter. 13.266 The Committee had also recommended that the Charters so formulated by each of the Minisries/ Departments/State Goverments/UTs should be widely publicized through print/electronic media and displayed at conspicuous places in the organization or establishment. 13.267 The Committee was of the view that charter should be precise and as far as possible simple and spoken language should be used. 13.268 The Committee therefore felt that lack of coordination between various agencies departments were the reasons for delay. The Committee impressed upon them to prepare all the documents through e-governance so that the particulars of the DPC could be formulated electronically. The Committee was pleased and satisfied to note this development, but also felt that things would have been much better if the DPCs would have been conducted at the right time. 13.269 The Committee was of the view that generally, people were not aware that a system of grievance redress exists in many of the Government departments and its subordinate offices where they were required to visit. The Committee, therefore, had recommended that wide publicity through nation, regional and local media as well as through electronic media to create awareness regarding the redressal mechanism among people was the need of the day particularly for the weaker sections of the society, women and those challenged with handicaps and also the people living in remote areas. The Committee also felt that every Government office should not only display its organizational structure at a prominent place, indicating names of officers and their functions with location of their rooms, particularly in respect of the grievance redressal officers but also the wide publicity needs to be given through periodic advertisements, in media, publishing and distributing the bulletins, pamphlets on this issue and putting up relevant information on its website. The Committee felt that such steps would certainly help and depict to the people, friendly interface of the Government. 13.270 The Committee had also recommended that grievance-handling system should be accessible, simple, quick, fair, responsive and effective. It was not uncommon to hear from people complaining against harassment, waste of time and money, repeated visits to offices etc. The Committee, therefore, had recommended that every Ministry/Department in the Union/State Government/UTs should have a dynamic public grievance redressal mechanism in place with special focus on the information delivery system. The Committee further felt that the language and the content of various application/complaint forms should be user friendly, and should be widely available in various outlets, like post offices, on websites for downloading etc. In addition, the applications or petitions should be acknowledged through acknowledgement slips. 13.271 The Committee was of the view that time limits should be fixed for approval or rejection of applications on the basis of well-publicized and uniformly applied criteria. Also, redressal should be done within a reasonable time period as prescribed for each stage of redressal without indulging in lengthy technicalities of the procedure. The Committee, therefore, had recommended that due attention should be given to timely redressal of grievances lodged. It was also of the considered view that officers responsible for delay should be made accountable and suitable action taken against them. 382
13.272 The Committee felt that improvements as suggested in the Committee findings above in the already existing set up of public grievances redressal mechanism could work to the satisfaction of any citizen if we bring about behavioural change in attending to each and every grievance. The work becomes all the more important in those departments which have direct dealing with the public like banks, post offices, passport office, dispensaries etc. The Committee also felt that monitoring was one of the most important aspect of PGR system and there must be a separate unit in each and every department which caters to the needs of the citizens or a computerized system like PGRAMS should be used in each and every departments so that a grievance could also be lodged online and a number should be given to the aggrieved so that he could see the status of its grievance online. 13.273 The Committee further felt that a wrong notion had entered into the mind of the public that the Right to Information Act was an instrument to solve their grievances by giving/providing them information written/oral required by them. The Committee felt that this wrong notion needs to be changed because information seeking was altogether different from the redressal of grievances and need to be looked in a different manner. The Committee, therefore, had recommended that Government should immediately take some urgent steps like taking the help of NGOs working in the field of Right to Information, print and electronic media, organising nukkad natak in the rural and urban area on the subject to educate people about their rights etc. The Committee had also recommended that in order to solve the problems of the people, the Government must give statutory backing to the Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism on same line that of the Right to Information Act, the both would work, parallel to each other and help in solving the grievances. 13.274 The Committee had further recommended that the Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism should be envisaged in a statutory form on the line of the Right to Information Act, 2005 which would make it mandatory on all State Governments/UTs/Ministries/Departments/Organisations to pursue the grievance till their final disposal. The Committee had also recommended that like Right to Information Act in the PGRM system there should be a time limit of 30 days and provision of fine on delay should be there. 13.275 The Committee felt that each Department/PSU/Bank Trust etc. was having their internal system for redressal of grievances of its personnel but it was not working satisfactorily and that was the reason that non settlement of grievances has resulted in filing of petitions in the courts on petty issues. Our Judicial system which had already been overburdened by over 3 crore cases pending in various courts of the country contains a large segment of cases on small and petty issues which could have been settled by the parent Department/ organizations had their been a good and mature internal grievance redressal system there. The Committee, therefore, had recommended that internal grievance redressal methods available in various Ministries/ Departments and the organisations should be strengthened or restructured in a way like both the representative of the organisation and the aggrieved party must be present before the designated authority and the grievance is settled then and there. 13.276 The Committee felt that if the grievance of an individual is settled then and there then one thing is for sure that it would certainly result in decline in filing of cases and there would be a win win situation both for the aggrieved and the organization and resultantly the judicial system will be less burdened. It would automatically reduce a large number of cases and motivate others to settle their grievances through the internal machinery itself. The Committee, therefore, had recommended that innovative methods like settlement of grievance through video conferencing where the officials and the aggrieved both could see and speak to each other could be used in the redressal of grievances. 13.277 The Committee was of the considered view that there was a need to bring about a total change in the attitude/behaviour of public servants or in other words, the mind set towards redressal of public grievances at all levels and to pinpoint responsibility for action against grievances of the people. The Committee also felt that one step towards bringing in attitudinal change lies in improving the motivational levels of public servants through rewarding good work and awarding effective suggestions and punishing the deliberate negligence. The Committee refers to the Himachal Pradesh Specific Corrupt Practices Act which equates omissions on the part of officers to discharge their statutory and bona fide duties with a corrupt practice. The Committee felt that a legal support was an essential requirement to achieve the objective of PGRM. The Committee therefore, had observed if we were able to change our behaviour/attitude we can win hearts and in turn help the banks and the PSUs to be stronger in today's cut throat competition. 383
13.278 The Committee also felt that monitoring was one of the most important aspect of PGR system and there must be a separate unit in each and every Ministry/Department which caters to the needs of the citizens or a computerized system like PGRAMS should be used in each and every Ministry/Departments so that a grievance could also be lodged online and a number should be given to the aggrieved so that he could see the status of its grievance online. 13.279 The Committee was of the opinion that the guidelines issued by the Union Ministry were not properly adhered to in many of the PSUs as well as the Banks. Some of the organizations were not even aware of revised guidelines which were issued from time to time. The Committee felt that such a lackadaisical approach was the main reason behind weak PGR system. The Committee was of the view that here the role of administrative ministries becomes all the more important and they had to see that the instructions, guidelines so issued were properly followed. 13.280 There was therefore a need for monitoring at the level of Administrative Ministry to ensure and strengthen the PGRM in bodies under their control. The Committee had recommended that adherence to the Guidelines/circular issued by the Government must be ensured by both the administrative Ministries as well as the PSU/Bank and a feedback must be obtained by DARPG from each of the administrative Ministries so that a cross check can be there to see that the instructions issued were followed properly. The Committee had observed that this has been a continuous process and yearly report must be sent to the Government of India by the administrative Ministries to check the instructions issued by the Government were complied with. 13.281 The Committee taking into account the huge number of cases, mostly trivial in nature and were pending in the courts in which Government of India was a party and filed by the employees of the Government and the people suffering mainly due to unfair and ineffective service, being provided by the Government departments and its other organizations feels that we still carry the colonial legacy. In colonial days the notion was that if you were not satisfied, go and knock the door of judiciary for the redressal of grievances. This attitude or mind set has to be changed. Otherwise the cases would continue to pile up in courts and people would continue to suffer. The Committee strongly felt that an efficient, quick and fair PGRM would reduce the number of cases being filed in the various courts across the country. The Committee therefore, recommended that the Ministry of Personnel, PG and Pensions (DoPT) should impress upon all the Ministries/Departments etc. to further improve, sensitize and strengthen the internal grievance redressal mechanism so that the grievances could be redressed by the Ministry/Departments and the burden on the courts must also be lessened. 13.282 The Committee had further recommended that Government of India should give rewards to those Ministries/Departments which were least involved in court cases and had taken some good and innovative methods to strengthen the system. The employees working in the Public Grievance office should be suitably rewarded or given promotion if he or she had done a good job in handling grievance cases and making the aggrieved employees withdraw their cases from the court and settling it by arbitration/conciliation methods. 13.283 The Committee was pleased to note that the CPGRAMS had been introduced and was working in all Ministries and Departments. The Committee further felt that the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances may pursue the matter with those Ministries who have yet to fully implement the PGRAMS and take expeditious steps in this regard to install the same without further delay. 13.284 The Committee had also recommended that the Ministry of Personnel, PG and Pensions (Department of Personnel and Training) should impress upon all the Ministries/Departments to issue such guidelines to all the Public Sector Banks/Public Sector Undertakings which falls under their purview to include four items namely Implementation of Right to Information Act, Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism, Citizen's Charter and Reservation Policy under Corporate Social Responsibility in their Annual Report so that one could have the idea about the institution and adherence to all the Acts/Guidelines/Circulars issued by the Ministry from time to time. 13.285 In support of its foregoing recommendations/observations, the Committee, had strongly recommended that the Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism should be envisaged in a statutory form on the line of the Right to Information Act, 2005 which would make it mandatory on all State Governments/UTs/ Ministries/Departments/Organisations to pursue the grievance till their final disposal. The Committee had also reiterated that like Right to Information Act in the PGRM system there should be a time limit of 30 days and provision of fine on delay should be there. 384
(g) 30th Report
Constraints Being Faced by Kendriya Bhandar 13.286 The Committee felt that Kendriya Bhandar retail stores were rendering very useful services not only to the Government employees and their families but also the poor people residing in the periphery of Government colonies and for that purpose, Kendriya Bhandars were allotted accommodations from the Government pool in the residential colonies. These days when the price rise and inflation was at its peak, the Kendriya Bhandars were giving the much desired relief to the Government employees and other common man. The Committee had therefore, recommended that the Kendriya Bhandar should be allowed to continue functioning from their outlets in the Government residential colonies in larger public interest which was the fundamental of a welfare State like ours. 13.287 The Committee also felt that Kendriya Bhandar was providing useful services to its major clientele i.e. Government employees, the products were below market prices and were of highest quality. Hence, effort should be in the direction of promoting and preserving these units rather then closing, because closing will not serve the purpose. The Committee had therefore recommended that Government should make an all out effort in the direction of promotion of these units. 13.288 The Committee had further felt that Kendriya Bhandar was a welfare project of the Central Government and is operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions. It is providing good quality grocery, consumer and household items at reasonable prices to the Government employees and the lower income segment of the society. The Committee, therefore, recommended that such a society which is working for the benefit of the common people should not be asked to vacate their present units rather the Government should provide all necessary assistance to the Kendriya Bhandar since they are fulfilling the daily household needs of thousands of Government employees every month. 13.289 The Committee also recommended that Kendriya Bhandar may be directed to make payment of monthly license fee at flat rates equivalent to that payable by a Government employee occupying the Government residential accommodation plus the average monthly house rent amount (which is otherwise applicable to the Government employees of that category). The market rent should be waived off and instead a monthly license fee at flat rates should be prescribed on Kendriya Bhandar. 13.290 The Committee strongly recommended that the Ministry of Urban Development should either return the 16 nos. of surrendered accommodations to Kendriya Bhandar or alternatively it should immediately provide alternative accommodations to Kendriya Bhandar in lieu of the surrendered accommodations at nearby location. 13.291 The Committee felt that the residential and office accommodations utilized by Kendriya Bhandar have been allotted to them, consequent upon the decision of the Union Cabinet in the year 1963. Moreover, they are not requesting for new allotments rather what they are pleading for is retention of existing retail outlets. The Committee felt that a welfare project run by the Government sustains in today's competitive environment only when the organisation is protected/looked after well by the mother but if the mother start giving step motherly treatment to a child whom it had nurtured for 30 years the survival becomes difficult. The Committee therefore recommended that the Kendriya Bhandar should be allotted land in the Central Government colonies by the Ministry of Urban Development at economical cost for construction of retail stores (on the same lines as Mother Dairy) and after the construction of the retail stores they may be asked to surrender the Government Accommodations in a phased manner. 13.292 The Committee further felt that the Kendriya Bhandar is the welfare face of the government and Government of India is holding more than 78% shares in the society then why not the Kendriya Bhandar should have their own permanent building to carry out day to day office work. It has also come to the notice of the Committee that the Kendriya Bhandar had requested the Ministry of Urban Development to provide land for the construction of its building in the year 2004 and the issue is pending till date. The Committee expressed its displeasure to note that no concrete decision has so far been taken with regard to providing land for construction of building for Kendriya Bhandar inspite of the considerable time that has already lapsed. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry of Urban Development should vigorously pursue the matter and ensure that the vacant Government land should be allotted to the Kendriya Bhandar for construction of its 385 building without further delay. The Committee also recommended that Kendriya Bhandar should be allowed to retain the existing office accommodations by paying rent equivalent to that payable by Post Offices etc. (Public utility departments), till such time suitable land at economical rates is allotted to Kendriya Bhandar for construction of its own office. 13.293 The Committee desired that both the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and the Ministry of Urban Development should discuss the issue threadbare and take necessary steps together so that as a relief Kendriya Bhandars are allowed to function from their existing Government pool residential and office accommodation. 13.294 The Committee felt that the Ministry of Urban Development had taken this step because of the judgement given by the Apex court in the Shiv Sagar Tiwari Case, which laid down the principle that residential units must be used for residential purposes and since the Kendriya Bhandar activities are not of a residential nature this decision had to be taken at the level of the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation. The Committee felt that though the Hon'ble Supreme Court had given its verdict in a particular case. The point that who should be the 'user of premises' is a matter of policy and it is the Government, not the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which decides that policy. So, the Government can certainly take a fresh policy decision that a certain percentage of residential premises can be used for such activities and that policy is final. The Committee therefore recommended that Government should as early as possible bring forward a new policy that a certain percentage of residential premises could be used for such activities as are being carried by Kendriya Bhandar. 13.295 The Committee felt that if these Kendriya Bhandars are closed, the people who are working there will lose their jobs and there will be unemployment. The Government employees are members of the general public who are patronizing the Kendriya Bhandar will be deprived of cheaper quality products and this will be set back to the cooperative movement of the nation. The Committee therefore recommended that the Kendriya Bhandars should be protected and Government should start thinking in terms of extending their services to other areas. 13.296 The Committee also felt that in today's world when things are growing at rapid pace there is an urgent need for the Government to plan/keep enough space for public utility services at residential area/ complex. The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Government should earmark certain space for the public utility services in the upcoming areas/localities/residential complexes so that the people can take benefit of these facilities.
(h) 31st Report
Action Taken Replies of the Government on the Recommendations/Observations Contained in the 25th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions 13.297 The Committee knows the provision and legal frame work of State PSCs. Within the legal frame work, UPSC and DoPT should discharge duties as leaders and guides at the National level and for that, UPSC and DoPT are accountable morally for corruption and inefficiency at State level PSCs. 13.298 The Committee appreciated the efforts and desired quicker implementation for the benefit of efficient personnel and better Governance. 13.299 The mode of reply itself shows the DoPT's mind of shrugging the duty as nodal agency. 13.300 The Committee was happy to note that the CPGRAM software is being used by the Ministries/ Departments of Government of India. The Committee also welcomed the Action Plan drawn to monitor the effective implementation of the system. The Committee was, however, keen to know whether the system is effectively working as the Committee understood that CPGRAM is a devise to redress the grievances and to what extent this objective is being achieved. 13.301 The Committee appreciated the further steps taken by SSC. 13.302 The Committee would like to review the expenditure of the Ministry when it considers the Demands for Grants (2009-10). However, the Committee desired that a note on the measures taken at RE stage may be submitted in their ATN. 386
13.303 The Committee desired that the Department of Personnel and Training continues its efforts to convince the remaining Stages for providing fixed minimum tenure for IAS officers. 13.304 The Committee noted the reply of the Government. The Committee would however, consider the reply in the light of action taken reply to the Committee's recommendations in its 23rd Report. 13.305 The Committee noted the reply of the Government. It appreciated the efforts made by the Department and hopes that the law will be enacted without further delay. 13.306 The Committee noted the reply of the Government and would like to impress upon the Ministry that efforts to fill up vacancies should be continued earnestly. 13.307 The Committee noted the reply of the Government. The Committee however, did not offer any comments right now as the implementation of Right to Information Act is being separately examined and will like to make appropriate recommendation in its report on the subject. 13.308 The Committee noted the reply of the Government and wished that CPGRAMS should be installed in all Ministries/Departments. 13.309 The Committee was constrained to note that the replies to para nos. 39.3, 39.4 and 39.6 do not address the concern the Committee expressed in its recommendation. The concern of the Committee was that the vacancy position in CBI is considerable and the Ministry, the CBI and the UPSC have not been able to fill up the vacancies expeditiously. There have been delays in filling up the vacancies and the Committee's sole intention was how soon these vacancies were filled up. The Ministry, in their reply, has stated that they have decided to amend the recruitment rules for the post of Senior PP, Additional SP and Deputy SP so as to increase the promotion/DR quota, while decreasing the deputation quota correspondingly. But, it has not come forward with the statement saying that how much time they will take in filling up those vacancies. The Committee would like to have a detailed status note from the Ministry while furnishing their Action Taken Note on this report. 13.310 It seems the field level training in villages for all All India Services are reduced which has to reviewed and enhanced. 13.311 The Committee was happy to note that the UPSC has sent a proposal to the Government, in line with the scheme of CAT, GMAT, JEE etc. The Committee hoped that the UPSC will continue its endeavour to cut down the time taken in the Civil Services Examination. 13.312 The Committee took note of the reply furnished by the Ministry in this regard. It hopes that approval of creation of 6 posts of officers shall ensure that the media campaign will not suffer due to shortage of staff. 13.313 The Committee noted the reply and desired that the recruitment Rules for the posts of Registrar, Court Master, Data entry Operator etc. should be formulated without delay and the vacancies be filled up on an urgent basis. 13.314 The Committee noted that in their reply the Ministry has not agreed to enhance the allocation as suggested by the Committee. The Ministry should have categorically stated as to what they are doing with respect to enhancement of allocation. The Committee therefore, impressed upon the Ministry to consider enhancement while finalizing the Demands for Grants 2009-10. 13.315 The Committee was constrained to note that if this trend continues, the positions particularly those to be filled up by officers from State Civil Services are not likely to be filled up in the near future. The Committee desired that the Department of Personnel and Training, in consultation with UPSC, will take up the matter with the State Governments to find a way out so that litigation is avoided and issues are settled out of Court. 13.316 The Committee took note of the replies to para nos. 17.3 to 17.5 furnished by the Department of Personnel and Training. The Committee, however felt that the existing mechanism i.e. launching special drive time to time has not proved effective enough to clear the backlog. The reply, also, did not mention about any new concrete mechanism which has been/is proposed to be evolved for clearing the backlog in the light of Committee's recommendations. 13.317 While interacting with various Governmental organizations/banks and PSUs, the Committee felt that much desires to be done to fill up the backlog of reserved vacancies. The Committee was of the opinion 387 that the DoPT should persuade Ministries/Departments/Organisations to take zealous steps to fulfill this Constitutional obligation. 13.318 The Committee was not convinced by the reply given by the Department of Personnel and Training to the Committee's recommendation and felt that it is against the very spirit of the Right to Information Act, 2005 itself which calls for proactive dissemination of information. The Act does not provide for payment of fee at the initial stage. It provides for the cost of payment towards the procurement of printed copies or information in electronic format. The provision of Rs. 10/- as fee for first entertaining the application has been provided in the Rules made by the Government. Therefore, in the opinion of the Committee, treating an application "invalid" on the basis of Rules, was not justified. 13.319 The Committee's recommendation was based on its experience/input received while interacting with various Governmental bodies/PSUs/Banks. The Committee came across cases where the application was rejected mainly for not paying Rs. 10/-. Later on, such denial, when taken up at the level of Central Information Commission or High Court, considerable money was spent by the organizations/Government department to defend themselves. The Committee felt that the wastage of money and time could have been avoided had the information been duly supplied or the application not been rejected. 13.320 The Committee, therefore, took strong exception to the reply of the Department of Personnel and Training and felt that their reply appears to be based on the Rules and not the Act. The Committee, therefore, observed that if a rule/instruction/order goes against the spirit of the Act, it may accordingly be quashed or amended. 13.321 The Committee felt it important to clarify that in its recommendation, it is nowhere suggested that the cost of printed and electronically formatted information may not be recovered as it has been provided in the Act. The Committee was against the rejection of an application under RTI merely on non-payment of Rs. 10/-. 13.322 The reply of the Government did not refer to OBC representation. This maybe clarified in the ATN. If it is not already provided, the details of action taken in this regard may be furnished. 13.323 The Committee noted that the proposal of CBI to exempt them from the request of prior approval of Screening Committee for filling of direct vacancies, is under consideration of the Government. The Committee further noted that the proposal is under consideration of the Government for a considerably long time and the Committee, in its previous Reports on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions had recommended that the proposal should be considered expeditiously. The Committee failed to understand why the proposal is kept pending for so long. The Committee felt that it is one of the major reasons for hampering the professional efficiency of CBI; it is but imperative that the proposal should be given urgent consideration. The Committee wished to be apprised of the action taken in this regard in the ATN. 13.324 The Committee reiterated its recommendation on the issue and desired that the Government may earnestly consider the independent statutory provision in this regard. The Committee was of the strong view that lack of a separate enactment for CBI is a major hindrance in the effective and impartial functioning of the premier investigating agency in the country. The Committee noted that the Ministry has not even apprised the Committee of the action taken in pursuance of the recommendation of the Committee. The Committee again strongly recommended that the Ministry should explore the possibilities of a separate enactment for CBI and take concrete action in this direction. 13.325 The Committee noted the reply of the Government and directed the Ministry to furnish the recommendations of the Committee constituted on issues affecting the CSS alongwith action taken thereon as soon as possible. 13.326 The Committee desired that a feedback report from the Ministry of Minority Affairs may be obtained with respect to compliance of the Committee's Report. The said Report may be furnished to this Committee at the earliest. 13.327 The Committee took note of the Ministry's reply to para nos. 20.1 & 20.2 and desired to review the implementation of its recommendations later. Meanwhile, it directed the Department of Personnel and Training to furnish the Status Report about the steps taken by them with respect to reducing backlog of vacancies for Persons with Disabilities. 388
13.328 The Committee desired that the Department of Personnel and Training should impress upon the Ministries/Departments to include a paragraph on the subject in their Annual Reports. 13.329 The Committee was happy to note that the CPGRAM software is being used by the Ministries/ Departments of Government of India. The Committee also welcomed the Action Plan drawn to monitor the effective implementation of the system. The Committee was, however, keen to know whether the system is effectively working as the Committee understood that CPGRAM is a devise to redress the grievances and to what extent this objective is being achieved. 13.330 The Committee endorsed the view of the Government that Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism needs to be strengthened. The Committee appreciated the introduction of CPGRAM system enabling the citizens to lodge their complaints online and forwarding the grievance to the respective department electronically for a timely redressal. It is just a begining and the efficacy of the system is yet to be established. The Committee felt that efficiency, fairness and timely redressal of the grievance is the key to the whole issue and hopes that the Government Ministries/Departments and the organizations falling under their administrative control will be able to meet this enshrined objective. 13.331 The Committee also welcomed the view of the DARPG that timely redressal at the level where complaint arises will reduce the burden of the Courts and thereby, save the resources of the Government as well as those of the aggrieved person. The Committee, however, awaited the details of the study undertaken by the Ministry of Law and Justice as to the nature of cases pending in the Courts because of non-application of inbuilt PGRM and making the erring office accountable and punished. The Committee desired that the details may be made available by the Ministry in their ATN. 13.332 The Committee noted that its suggestion regarding enacting a statute for PGRM in the lines of the Right to Information Act is being considered by the Department in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Committee eagerly awaited the details of the Concept Paper alongwith the comments of the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Committee further urged the DARPG to pursue the matter vigorously with that Ministry. 13.333 The Committee took note of the communication dated 4th November, 2008 received from the Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, in which it was stated that there could not be single authority/Act to deal with all the issues that are raised through public grievances pertaining to different Ministries/Departments. 13.334 In this regard, the Committee was of the strong view that enactment of a law for Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism will ensure accountability and lend enforceability to the inherent right of a citizen as a consumer of the services rendered by the Government. The Committee would like to emphasize that the recommendation of the Committee was for an inbuilt Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism for "customer satisfaction", rather than an external mechanism. The Committee recommended that the Government should examine the recommendation in right earnest. 13.335 The Committee had separately examined the Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism existing in the Government in its 29th Report presented to Parliament on 23rd October, 2008. The Committee may like to comment in the light of Action taken Replies by Government to the recommendations contained in that Report. 13.336 The Committee observed that the pace with which the Ministries/Departments of Government of India are formulating their citizens' Charter is not encouraging. The Committee, during its interactions with the Central Ministries/Departments and also with the Public Sector Undertakings and other statutory bodies, noted that many of them were yet to formulate their Citizens' Charter. The Committee, therefore, directed the DARPG to impress upon the respective Ministries to expedite the formulation of the Citizens' Charter. The Committee also directed the DARPG to submit the list of Ministries/Departments and also the Organizations who have not so far prepared their Citizens' Charter. 13.337 The Committee has also been impressing upon the Public Sector Banks/Undertakings and statutory bodies, which it met in the course of its business, to mention the topic in their Annual Reports. The Committee directed the DARPG to impress upon the Ministries to ensure that their Organizations invariably include this as an item in their Annual Report. 13.338 The Committee desired that the recommendation of the Committee with respect to "slogan" and "logo" should be implemented, in the benefit of the common man. 389
13.339 The Committee would like to impress upon the Government to continue its efforts for implementation of Sevottam model in all the Ministries/Departments and apprise the Committee of the updated status in its ATN. 13.340 The Committee would like to offer its comments at the time of examination Demands for Grants (2009-10) of the Ministry. The Committee, however, desired to be apprised of the restructuring proposal, when it is approved. 13.341 The Committee was pleased to note that certain steps have been taken by the Ministry to ensure spcedy filling up of vacancies in different ranks. However, it is of the opinion that a close wath has to be kept on the process of filling up the vacancies and swift effective measures should be taken to remove the stumbling bocks as and when they arise. The Committee would like to be apprised of the success rate of the steps taken to fill up the vacancies and the outcome as regards the reduction in vacancies. 13.342 The Committee was not satisfied by the reply of the Ministry in as much as it does not spell out the steps/measures taken/being taken by them to reduce the pendency. Nor did they explain the strategy i.e. how this pendency is going to be reduced in time bound manner. The Committee therefore, impressed upon the Ministry to furnish a detailed note while furnishing the ATN. 13.343 With regard to para nos. 42.1 and 42.2, the Committee was of the opinion that due the consideration should be given to the budgetary requisites of the premier investigating agency. The Committee was concerned about the shortfall in the budgetary grant, especially under the heads ‘Public Prosecutors’ (36.47%) and 'Information Technology' (66.01). The Committee would like to impress upon the Ministry that emoluments to be granted to the staff in CBI and availability of updated technological resources should not suffer for want of funds. 13.344 The Committee noted the reply of the Government. The Committee would, however, like to express its deep concern over the huge time gap between the date of examination and declaration of results, as stated above in the case of Matric Level (Main) Examination, 2006. The Committee strongly desired that urgent proactive steps should be taken to address this problem. The Committee wished to be apprised of the steps taken in this regard, in detail. 13.345 The Committee noted the action taken in this regard and wishes to be appried of the outcome of the consultation with DAVP and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The Committee would like to impress upon the SSC that innovative methods should be evolved to reduce the delay in the examination process. 13.346 The Committee was of the opinion that appointment of full time CVOs in Ministries/ Departments is a pre-requisite to ensure a robust vigilance mechanism. Therefore, it would like to impress upon the Ministry that the proposal of CVC to appointed full time CVOs should be implemented without further delay. The Committee desired that the Ministry should examine the reasons due to which eligible officers are not available as CVOs and make an efforts to address the issues involved urgently. The Committee further desired that the recommendation of the CVC for incorporating a clause in the CSS (CCA) Rules mandating consultation with the CVC in cases involving 'vigilance angle' should be given urgent consideration and should be duly implemented. 13.347 The Committee noted the reply of the Government. 13.348 The Committee noted the replies of the Government to paras nos. 51.10 and 51.12 above and gathers that Governments has issued the guidelines in November, 2006 and thereafter not other steps seems to have been taken by them. The Committee was constrained to note that the pendency is still on higher side. The Committee desired to be furnished the status of pendency in last three years, year wise while furnishing their Action Taken Note. 13.349 The Committee wished to be apprised of the final outcome of the consultation of the Ministry with CVC regarding the recommendation of the Committee. 13.350 The Committee took note of the reply furnished by the Ministry. It felt that though the Ministry has taken some steps on certain issues, proactive steps need to be taken on matters given in para nos. (viii), (ix), (xii) and (xv). The Committee, therefore, desired that these matters should be given due consideration for effective implementation of the RTI Act. 390
13.351. The Committee was happy to note that the CPGRAM software is being used by the Ministries/ Departments of Government of India. The Committee also welcomed the Action Plan drawn to monitor the effective implementation of the system. The Committee was, however, keen to know whether the system is effectively working as the Committee understands that CPGRAM is a devise to redress the grievances and to what extent this objective is being achieved. 13.352 The Committee endorsed the view of the Government that Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism needs to be strengthened. The Committee appreciated the introduction of CPGRAM system enabling the citizens to lodge their complaints online and forwarding the grievance to the repective department electronically for a timely redressal. It is just a beginning and the efficacy of the system is yet to be established. The Committee felt that efficiency, fairness and timely redressal of the grievance is the key to the whole issue and hopes that the Government Ministries/Departments and the organization falling under their administrative control will be able to meet this enshrined objective. 13.353 The Committee also welcome the view of the DARPG that timely redressal at the level where complaint arises will reduce the burden of the Courts and thereby, save the resources of the Government as well as those of the aggrieved person. The Committee, however, awaits the details of the study undertaken by the Ministry of Law and Justice as to the nature of cases pending in the Courts because of non-application of inbuilt PGRM and making the erring office acountable and punished. The Committee desired that the details may be made available by the Ministry in their ATN. 13.354 The Committee noted that its suggestion regarding enacting a statute for PGRM in the lines of the Right to Information Act is being considered by the Department in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Committee eagerly awaits the details of the Concept Paper alongwith the comments of the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Committee further urged the DARPG to pursue the matter vigorously with that Ministry. 13.355 The Committee took note of the communication dated 4th November, 2008 received from the Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance, in which it was stated that there could not be single authority/Act to deal with all the issues that are raised through public grievances pertaining to different Ministries/Departments. 13.356 In this, the Committee was of the strong view that enactment of a law for Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism will ensure accountability and lend enforceability to the inherent right of a citizen as a consumer of the services rendered by the Government. The Committee would like to emphasize that the recommendation of the Committee was for an inbuilt Public Grievances Redressal Mechansize for "Customer satisfaction", rather than an external mechanism. The Committee recommended that the Government should examine the recommendation in right earnest. 13.357 The Committee observed that the pace with which the Ministries/Departments of Government of India are formulating their Citizens' Charter is not encouraging. The Committee, during its interactions with the Central Ministries/Departments and also with the Public Sector Undertakings and other statutory bodies, noted that many of them were yet to formulate their Citiziens' Charter. The Committee, therefore, directed the DARPG to impress upon the respective Ministries to expendite the formulation of the Citizens' Charter. The Committee also directed the DARPG to submit the list of Ministries/Departments and also the Organizations who have not so far prepared their Citizens' Charter. 13.358 The Committee had also been impressing upon the Public Sector Banks/Undertakings and statuory bodies, which it met in the course of its business, to mention the topic in their Annual Reports. The Committee directed the DARPG to impress upon the Ministries to ensure that their Orgnanizations invariably include this as an item in their Annual Report. 13.359 The Committee desired that the recommendation of the Committee with respect to "slogan" and "logo" should be implemented, in the benefit of the common man. 13.360 The Committee noted the reply of the Government and desires that the DoPT may initiate steps in the matter of opening Service Register for each Government employees in electronic form. 391
13.361 The Committee took serious view of the Ministry's not furnishing the action taken reply in respect of para nos. 35.1 and 35.2. The Committee directed the Department of Personnel and Training to apprise it of the status of implementation of the recommendation, which is presently pending consideration before the Cabinet Secretariat.
(i) 32nd Report
Action Taken Replies of the Government on the Rcommendations/Observations Contained in the 26th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Ministry of Law and Justice. 13.362 The Committee took note of the reply furnished by the Ministry. The Committee may be apprised of the status as the time frame as set up by Election Commission is already over. The Committee desired a status note including Assam, J & K and Nagaland on the subject may be furnished along with ATN. 13.363 The Committee impressed upon the Government to meet the requirement of Election Commission for conducting the 2009 Lok Sabha elections smoothly. 13.364 The Committee desired that the Ministry's reply and awaits the action taken note of the Ministry. 13.365 The Committee desired that the Ministry should continue pursing with the concerned Ministries/ Departments and hopes it would certainly reduce the pendency of implementation of Law Commission Report. 13.366 The Committee hoped that the Government will introduce the Bill at the earliest. 13.367 The Committee took note of the reply and hopes that ICADR would be able to play crucial role in alternative dispute resolution. 13.368 The Committee took note of the reply and would like to review the issue at the time of consideration of DFG for 2009-10. 13.369 The Committee's concern was that a registered voter identity card should not be denied of his right to vote. It is the responsibility of the State to remove the inaccuracy in the electoral rolls and that can be done by taking extra measures/precautions ensuring that photo electoral rolls are free of errors. The Committee was keen to know what measures have been taken to remove the errors and what has been its outcome. 13.370 The Committee was not satisifed with the reply as the Committee was not apprised of the feedback received from the State CEOs. The Committee desired to know the efforts made to get that feedback and what action was taken by the EC. Whether at any time evaluation was made to ensure the efficacy of the system. The Committee may be given the details. 13.371 The Committee was of the firm view that a permanent office at district level for electral roll revision is necessary as this activity is of continous nature. The Government needs review their stand in the light of Committee's recommendations. These offices can be set up on trial basis, as suggested by the Committee. The Committee therefore impressed upon the Government to take necessary action in this regard. 13.372 The Committee's concern shall remain unanswered as the Ministry did not categorically state as to by when 100% coverage under EPIC programme will be achieved. The Committee would certainly like to know what targets have been set out by the EC in this regard and how the problems in this regard would be overcome. 13.373 The Committee however appreciated the measures being taken by the EC for maximizing the EPIC coverage. But going by this pace, much has to be achieved. The Committee therefore impressed upon the Election Commission for a time bound programme to be undertaken. 13.374 The Committee felt that the Institute would run in full swing only when it gets its own campus which is yet to be set up. The Committee also felt that institute should make all out efforts imparting training in other regional languages in addition to Hindi. 13.375 The Committee appreciated the enhanced budget allocation for the current year. The Committee is however constrained to note that the Department of Justice have not informed the Committee of measures taken to motivate the State Governments who have failed to contribute their share under this scheme. The Committee would like to have the information in respect of all the States covered by this scheme along with the details of monitoring mechanism ensuring the effective implementation of the scheme, the targets set, their 392 achievements and the expenditure made in the last three years and the relaxation, if any, given to the States in this regard. 13.376 The Committee felt that with this speed, it will take long time to set up at least one family court in each district. Responses from the State/UT Governments are not very encouraging as only a very few of them have initiated the process. The Committee impressed upon the Department of Justice to vigorously pursue this issue with all the State and UT Governments to set up family court in each district. The Committee desired that Government may explore the possibility as to how the process can be expedited. 13.377 The Committee took note of the initiative taken by the Government to address the problem of pendency of cases. However, the reply does contain the details of new plan scheme. The Committee directed the Department of Justice to furnish the details of scheme. 13.378 The Committee was not convinced with the reply given by the Department of Justice. The Committee had already addressed the issue of appointment, accountability and transparency in appointment of Judges of Supreme Court and the High Courts in its 21st Report on ‘Judges (Inquiry) Bill, 2007’, 27th Report on ‘Action Taken Replies on Law's Delays: Arrears in Courts’, and 28th Report on 'Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2008' and impressed upon the Government to take necessary steps in restoring the pre-1993 arrangement by involving the executive. 13.379 In its report on 'Judges (Inquiry) Bill, 2007' the Committee suggested for bringing a comprehensive legislation not only providing for the appointments of Judges by entrusting the appointment to a body other than the collegium with representation both from the judiciary and the executive. The Committee was of the considered opinion that it could be entrusted to the proposed "Empowered Committee" which could initially screen the names and thereafter, refer the same to the National Judicial Council for final recommendations. 13.380 Similarly the Committee in its 27th Report recommended for the restoration of the primacy of the Executive in the matter so that judicial vacancies are filled up promptly and expeditiously. 13.381 Again in its 29th Report the Committee stressed on the Government to ensure the compliance to the recommendations of the Committee in its previous Reports. The Department of Justice while furnishing their action taken reply to the Committee's recommendation (para 6.5) stated: "The appointment of Judges of the High Court and Supreme Court is being made in accordance with the Supreme Court's judgment of October 26, 1993 and their Advisory Opinion of October 28, 1998. Any Change in the present system may required amendment of the Constitution. The matter is being examined in the Department." 13.382 The Committee took note of the reply furnished by the Ministry. It was noteworthy that the Law Commission of India, in its 214th Report, widely endorsed the recommendations of this Committee in this regard. The Committee gathered that following the recommendations of the Committee, the Government is pondering to review the existing system of appointment of Judges in Supreme Court and High Courts as the collegium system has failed. The Committee strongly felt this is the time the Government should take initiative. The Committee therefore hoped that Government will now give due consideration to the Committee's recommendations made in its reports to save the judiciary by strengthening transparency and accountability regime to which it has prime status and respect of the citizens. 13.383 The Committee expressed its concern over the inordinate delay in fulfilling the vacancies of the Members of ITAT. The Committee was not at all satisfied with the pace of action being taken by the Ministry at their end as the Committee of Secretaries is yet to approve the proposal of the legislative department. The Committee directed the Ministry to impress upon the Committee of Secretaries to expedite. In its action taken note, the Ministry should apprise the Committee of the progress made in this regard. 13.384 The Committee directed the Ministry to impress upon the NALSA to continue to persuade the State Governments and then legal services authorities for raising the income ceiling limit to Rs. 50000/- in all the States. 13.385 The Committee was keen to know the steps taken by NALSA with reference to revision and rationalization of fee structures along with the follow up action taken by the State authorities. The Committee desired that NALSA may analyse whether it has resulted in competent lawyers assisting the beneficiaries on 393 the basis on input data made available by the State authorities. The Committee directed the Ministry to furnish these details to the Committee. 13.386 The Committee fund that reply given by the Ministry is not satisfactory as it does not clearly state to what extent the problem of non-utilisation or under utilisation of grants has been addressed, what has been the outcome of the initiatives taken by the State authorities. The information State-wise may be made available to the Committee. 13.387 In its recommendation, the Committee desired to know the reasons why the actual benefit did not reach to the poor litigants. The Committee should have been informed of the measures taken by the NALSA or State authorities to achieve the objective of the Legal Services Authorities Act. The Committee accordingly directed to furnish the requisite information in thie action taken notes. 13.388 The Committee felt that allocation of Rs. 20 crore may not be enough keeping in view of the objectives to be achieved under Legal Services Authority Act. The Committee in its earlier reports also observed that schemes under this Act suffer from lack of uniformity of rates of fee structure, absence of good and reputed lawyers taking up the care due to poor fee structure, not providing the uniform criteria for selection of knowledgeable lawyers and State legal authorities failing in utilizing the grants. It indicates the lack of proper planning and also ineffective execution of scheme on the part of NALSA and State Legal Services authorities. That was the reason why Committee suggested for 100% funding by Centre and also for amending the Act, if needed. The Committee therefore strongly recommended for enhancement of allocation so as to provide 100%funding and directs the Ministry to take necessary action. 13.389 The Committee took note of the requiest made by ICPS that the grant-in-aid to the Institute may be enhanced to Rupees 1.6 crore which may further be raised to three crores after the construction of the proposed building. They have submitted that this increase is needed for salary to be granted to Professors, Readers, Lecturers, Administrative Staff, Library and other miscellaneous expenditure. The Committee recommended that the Ministry should revise the allocations to the Institute taking into account their requirements. 13.390 The Committee was well aware of the fact that audit of the accounts of these institutions is carried as per provisions of CAG (DPC) Act, 1971. What the Committee intended was the critical appraisal of working of these institutions preferably by an outside agency which is the need of the hour. The Committee therefore suggested that Ministry should take appropriate steps in this regard. 13.391 The Committee took note of the reply and would like to review the issue at the time of consideration of DGF for 2009-10. 13.392 The Committee felt that Ministry of Law and Justice should take up the issue with the concerned Ministry and work out the possiblity of printing EPI card as an all purpose card. 13.393 In its action taken note, the Ministry may inform the Committee of the status of the note and what action has been taken by Government thereon. The Committee desired the Ministry of pursue it vigorously. 13.394 The Committee was not in agreement with the view of the Government and still firmly believes that Department of Justice has to be independent of the control of Ministry of Home Affairs and needs to be headed by separate Secretary. The committee was however constrained to observe that Government has not given any weightage to the Committee's recommendations made in this regard. 13.395 The Committee strongly belived that judical administration is all together different affair than the general administration and it needs to be managed by a professional who is exclusively trained and experienced in handling judicial matters. Contrarily, the Justice Department has been deprived of independence in managing its own affairs. Instead, the Government of India has preferred to club this department with the Home Ministry depriving to have a separate Secretary, as nearly all the Government Departments have, to carry out the work of the Department in an efficient manner and thereby ignoring he distinct task it has to perform under the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, and the sensitive functions pertaining to judicial appointments, service condictions of Judges and the administration of justice. 13.396 The Committee further observed that the Central Government provides for the grants for development and regulation of judiciary and the funds from International Institutions are also earmarked for certain instituions/ activities. Besides, there is a strong need for making more funds available to judiciary by enabling the Supreme Courts and the High Courts to generate revenue themselves which can also be utilized by the subordinate 394 judicary in the States. Further, the vacancies in the Supreme Court and the High Courts remain un filled for a long time which needs to be filled in on the date of retirement as it can be closely monitored and planned in advances. Judicial reforms have to be implemented. The Committee felt that such matters calls for instant and continuous involvement of the Head of the Department. The Home Secretary being the in charge of Internal Security supervises the law and order in the country. Besides this he is involved in numerious responsibilities like managing natural calamities and because of this he does not find enough time to manage the affairs of Justice Department. It is in this context the Committee recommends that Justice Department must be headed not only by separate Secretary but also professional, exclusively trained in judicial matters. 13.397 The Committee reiterated its recommendations vide para 6.51 of 26th Report. However, the report and action taken as per para 4 of the action taken reply is awaited. The Committee would like to make its observation in the light of that report. 13.398 The Committee awaited the final decision of the Ministry in the matter and would like to make its comment in the light of that report. 13.399 The Committee took note of the reply furnished by the Department of Justice but is constrained to observe that impact of FTCs is far from satisfactory. The desired results are yet to be achieved. The Committee apprehended that with this pace of performance the status of pendency is hardly going to clear by the year 2010. Hence there is need to augment the number of FTCs. 13.400 The Committee agreed that performance of FTCs comes within the domain of respective HCs. The Committee wished that Department of Justice continue to pursue with the respective State Governments and HCs to ensure that FTCs not only expedite disposal of cases but also ensure fair trial. 13.401 The Committee would like to comment only after the final reply of the Government is received. 13.402 The Committee awaited the final reply of the Government and will like to make observation after the receipt thereof. 13.403 The Committee awaited the final reply and would like to comment after the receipt of the same. 13.404 The Committee directed the Department of Justice to pursue with the National Judicial Academy and apprise the Committee of action taken in the matter. 13.405 The Committee was constrained to note that NJA is yet to furnish the comments to the statutory authority and wonders how long it will take to do so. This is a reflection on the state of affairs in NJA. The Committee directed the Department of justice to impress upon NJA to expedite the matter. 13.406 The Committee also expressed its concern over the non-utilisation of funds by NJA and impress upon it to rationalise its procedures to avoid dely in taking decision. The Committee furhter directed the Department of Justice to advise/assist the NJA in improving its procedures so that funds are not only properly utilised but also within the stipulated time. The Committee would like to apprise of the steps taken by Department of Justice and NJA in this regard. 13.407 The Committee directed the Ministry to apprise the Committee of the steps taken by NALSA along with the outcome thereon while furnishing the ATN. 13.408 The Committee expressed its concern over the deteriorating standard of legal eduction throughout the country and is note satisfied by the efforts being made for improving the standard. The Committee strongly felt that Bar Council of India has definite role to play in checking the mushrooming growth of Law Colleges without adequate infrastructure. The BCI must not allow such colleges to have affiliation with it. BCI should also approach the State Governments impressing upon them to check the growth of such colleges. 13.409 As regards the issue of training for the lawyers before entering the profession, the Committee impressed upon the Ministry to bring out a bill proposing requisite amendment in Advocates Act. 13.410 The Committee took note of the status report on the action taken in respect of construction of building for ICPS. However, the Committee was worried over the inordinate time being taken by the Ministry in the matter. The Committee would like to review the progress in the matter at the time of consideration of demands for grants of the Ministry. The Committee hoped that by then the Ministry would approve the EPC proposal for sanction of funds for construction of ICPS building. 395
13.411. The Committee in its meeting held on 4th December, 2008 heard the Secretary, Legislative Department and Director, ICPS and impressed upon them to take initiative in the matter. In the course of deliberation, the Secretary stated that ICPS would be given money for the preparation of the plan of the building and that token money will be given after the procedural clearance by the Standing Finance Committee. The Director, ICPS stated that ICPS was agreeable to share the space with Law Ministry/Parliament against rent as determined by CPWD norms instead of market rent which would be exorbitant seeing the location of plot. The Committee recommended that the Ministry and ICPS should arrive at a consensus on this issue at the earliest in order to ensure that the functioning of ICPS does not suffer due to space crunch. 13.412 The Committee heard the Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development on 16th December, 2008 on the issue of allotment of land to ICPS. The Secretary informed the Committee that land was handed over to the Institute in 1976 and possession was handed over to them. As per the terms and conditions of the lease deed, the Institute was given two years' time to construct the building. Thereafter, of ICPS was granted extension of time for fourteen times, the last being upto 20th March, 2008 for completing the construction of the building. The Institute has sought further extension for three years, which is pending before the Ministry of Urban Development. 13.413 The Director, ICPS then apprised the Committee that they had already entrusted the task of preparation of maps and drawings to the School of Planning and Architecture, which is scheduled to complete the job by 15th January, 2008. Besides, the Ministry of Law and Justice has also assured to assist and provide requisite funds for the building. 13.414 The Committee expected that the Minisry of Urban Development will facilitate the ICPS and Ministry of Law and Justice in the construction of their building and accordingly consider their further request for extension of time. 13.415 The Committee wished that the Ministry should continuously impress upon the Ministries/ Government Departments and also the PSEs to refer ICADR in respect of dispute arising with their parties.
VII. Secretariat 13.416 The Committee Section (Personnel and Law) headed by a Committee Officer/Assistant Director constituted the Secretariat of the Committee. A Joint Secretary, a Joint Director and A Deputy Director remained incharge of the Section. 13.417 The work relating to drafting, consideration and adoption of draft Reports by the Committee along with their presentation/laying in both the Houses of Parliament and distribution was undertaken. 13.418 The Secretariat also studied materials such as Parliamentary Debates, answers to Parliament Questions, Budget Documents, Five Year Plan Documents, Appropriation Accounts (Civil), CAG Reports on accounts of the Union Government (Civil), Books, Journals Newspapers etc. relevant to the subjects under examination of the Committee. The Secretariat also made use of the materials provided by the concerned Departments/Ministries within the purview of the Committee and related information downloaded from the various websites. ANNEXURE - XV (See Para 13.6) Details of the Meetings of the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice held during 2007
Sl. Date of Duration Main Agenda No. Meeting Hrs.-Mts. 12 3 4 1. 02.01.2008 1 - 47 Presentation by the Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training on the subject "Working of Union Public Service Commission". 2. 24.01.2008 1 - 42 Briefing meeting with the Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs on the talking points with the delegation of the Vietnam's National Assembly Committee on Judiciary. Interface with the delegation of the Vietnam's National Assembly Committee on Judiciary. 3. 31.01.2008 1 - 30 Presentation by the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on "Citizens' Charter", "Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism", "Implementation of Right to Information Act, 2005", "Backlog of Reserved Vacancies of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes and Persons with Disabilities" and "Stagnation in Promotions in the Ministries/Department, Organisation, PSUs etc.". 4. 07.02.2008 3 - 21 Presentation by the Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharati on "Citizens' Charter", "Public Grievances Redressal Mechanism", "Implementation of Right to Information Act, 2005", "Backlog of Reserved Vacancies of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes and Persons with Disabilities" and "Stagnation in Promotions in the Ministries/Departments, Organisation, PSUs etc.". Consideration and adoption of draft Report on "Working of Central Bureau of Investigation" (CBI). 5. 14.02.2008 3 - 42 (1) Oral evidence of Shri Satya Prakash and Shri D. Shankar on the Working of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). (2) Presentation by the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on: (i) The ATRs on 83rd Report of the Committee on Home Affairs on the Personnel Policy of the Central Secretariat Services (CSS). (ii) Working of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on the issue of maintaining transparency in the working of Union Public Service Commission in the light of the provisions of the RTI Act including the feasibility of making public the cut-off marks for various competitive examination conducted by the UPSC. (3) Presentation of the Representative of the Department of Justice on the ATRs on 85th Report of the Committee on Home Affairs on the "Laws Delays: Arrear in Courts".
396 397
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(4) Presentation of the representatives of the Department of Justice, the Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department on the Backlog of Cases as part consideration of the subject "Judicial Reforms". 6. 04.03.2008 0 - 19 Consider and adopt the draft Report on "Working of CBI". 7. 26.03.2008 2 - 38 Presentation on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of:— (1) Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs; (2) Member Secretary, NALSA; (3) Representatives of Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies, New Delhi; Indian Law Institute, New Delhi; Bar Council of India, New Delhi; and ICADR, New Delhi. (4) Secretary, Legislative Department and Representatives of Election Commission of India. (5) Secretary, Department of Justice; (6) Registrar General, Supreme Court; and (7) Director, National Judicial Academy. 8. 24.04.2008 0 - 40 Consideration and adoption of: (i) 25th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; (ii) 26th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Law and Justice; and (iii) 27th Report on Action Taken Replies on "Law's Delays: Arrears in Courts". 9. 27.05.2008 2 - 50 (i) Presentation by Secretary, Legislative Department on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008; and (ii) Presentation by Secretary, Department of Justice on the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2008. 10. 03.06.2008 2 - 55 (i) Presentation by Chairperson, Kendriya Bhandar on 'Working of Kendriya Bhandar'; (ii) Presentation by Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development on "Implementation of Right to Information Act, 2005" and "Backlog of Reserved Vacancies of Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Persons with Disabilities" in the Ministry; and (iii) Oral evidence of a four Member delegation of the National Federation of Indian Women on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008. 11. 10.06.2008 2 - 00 (i) Presentation by Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj on the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008; and (ii) Oral evidence by Shri P.H. Parekh, President, Supreme Court Bar Association and Shri Jagannath Patnaik, Chairman, Bar 398
12 3 4 Council of India on the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2008. 12. 17.06.2008 2 - 55 Oral evidence on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 by representatives of:— 1. Communist Party of India (Marxist); 2. Communist Party of India; 3. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam; 4. Indian National Congress; and 5. All Indian Democratic Women's Association. 13. 18.06.2008 2 - 50 Oral evidence on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 by representatives of:— 1. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam; 2. All India Forward Bloc; 3. Rakshak Foundation; 5. Women Power Connect; and 6. Guild of Service (North India). 14. 08.07.2008 2 - 00 Oral evidence on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 by representatives of Delhi Janwadi Mahila Samiti and Streebal. 15. 17.07.2008 1-15 (i) In-house discussion on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008; and (ii) Discussion and clause-by-clause consideration of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2008. 16. 01.08.2008 1-15 (i) Consideration and adoption of draft 28th Report on the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2008; and (ii) In-house discussion on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008. 17. 11.08.2008 0-50 (i) Introductory meeting of the newly constituted Committee; and (ii) Chalk out future programme of the Committee. 18. 25.08.2008 1-13 Oral evidence of some of the IAS and other Service aspirants on the subject "Working of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)". 19. 18.09.2008 1-08 (i) Oral evidence of Secretary, UPSC on "Working of UPSC" followed by in-house discussion on the subject; and (ii) In-house discussion on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008. 20. 29.09.2008 1-30 Presentation by Secretary, Department of Justice on the follow-up action taken by the Government on the 21st Report of the Committee on the Judge (Inquiry) Bill, 2006 and other related issues; and Oral evidence of the following Organisations/NGOs on the subject "Implementation of RTI Act": 399
12 3 4 (i) Sankalp; (ii) Commonwealth Human Right Initiative; and (iii) Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad. 21. 07.10.2008 1-22 (i) Oral evidence of the Secretary, UPSC and officers of the Department of Personnel & Training on the subject "Working of UPSC" followed by in-house discussion on the subject; (ii) Presentation by Secretary, Department of Justice on the follow up action taken by the Government on the 21st Report of the Committee on the Judges Inquiry Bill, 2006 and other related issues; and (iii) In-house discussion on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008. 22. 21.10.2008 1-00 (1) Oral evidence by representatives of an NGO, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan on the subject "Implementation of RTI Act": (2) Consideration and adoption of draft Reports on: (i) 29th Report on Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism; and (ii) 30th Report on Constraints being faced by Kendriya Bhandar. (3) In-house discussion on the Constitution (One Hundred and Eight Amendment) Bill, 2008. 23. 19.11.2008 1-15 (i) Hold preliminary discussion on the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2008; and (ii) Hear the Secretary, Legislative Department on the provisions of the Bill. 24. 04.12.2008 1-40 (i) Presentation by Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs and Director, Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies on the action taken on the recommendations of the Committee in its 26th Report, regarding allotment of land to ICPS in Chanakyapuri area; and (ii) Presentation by representatives of an NGO CHETNA, Delhi on the "Implementation of the RTI Act, 2005." 25. 16.12.2008 1-12 (1) Presentation of Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development on the issue of construction of building for ICPS in land allotted in Chanakyapuri area. (2) Oral evidence of media persons (Representatives of Outlook, Aaj Tak, Star News, Times Now, CNN-IBN and NDTV) on the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2008. (3) Consideration and adoption of:— (i) 31st Report Action Taken Replies of the Government on the Recommendations/observations contained in the 25th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-09) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; and 400
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(ii) 32nd Report Action Taken Replies of the Government on the recommendations/observations contained in the 26th Report on Demands for Grants (2008-2009) of the Ministry of Law and Justice. 26. 29.12.2008 2-10 (i) Oral evidence by Shri Pranoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV on the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2008. (ii) Presentations by Shri Arvind Kejriwal, an RTI activist on the "Implementation of the RTI Act, 2005." Note: The sitting of the Committee held on 25th March, 2008 has not been accounted as quorum was not maintained.
GMGIPMRND—1514RS (S-5)—16.06.2009.