Dola Sen makes a Special Mention on the rising incidents of violence against particular communities by vigilante groups

Dola Sen makes a Special Mention on the rising incidents of violence against particular communities by vigilante groups

Posted on August 11, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Over the last one month, our nation has been a mute witness to brutal acts of horror on a particular section of people by vigilante groups in the name of cow protection. Innocent lives have been lost and families scarred while democracy has been bulldozed.

The Centre is a mute spectator as a few vigilante groups are dictating what people can eat or wear. This is gross interference with personal choices. As the Chief Minister of West Bengal and the Chairperson of All India Trinamool Congress has said, if I consume goat meat, there is no problem, but if someone else has cow meat, it is a problem. We may like wearing dhotis but someone else may prefer lungis. Who are you to decide what people will wear and eat?

Some groups have started going from house to house in rural Bengal and asking people how many cows they own. Who has given them the right to do so? Why should it be of any concern to anyone how many cows, goats or hens a person has?

Moreover, education is being politicised in several parts of the country. Textbooks have now become serious instruments for the proliferation of communal tensions in north India. Researches on violence in north India show that the new history textbooks play a major role in the construction of communal violence in many micro-regions in north Indian states.

The government needs to take stock of the situation before it goes out of hand and rein in these vigilante groups. The Centre needs to reinforce the faith people have in our Constitution and act as per the vision of the founding fathers of our great democracy.

Dola Sen speaks on The Maternity Benefit Bill, 2016

Posted on August 11, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The object of maternity leave and benefit is to protect the dignity of motherhood by providing for full and healthy maintenance of a woman and her child when she is not working. In today’s age, more and more women are joining the workforce and in this scenario, it is important to ensure that a woman striving for self sufficiency does not have to compromise on her role as a caregiver to her child. Studies have shown that longer maternity leaves are likely to produce health benefits.

Expectant and nursing mothers require special protection to prevent harm to their own health and the infant’s health. They need adequate time to give birth, to recover, and to nurse their children. At the same time, they also require protection to ensure that they will not lose their job simply because of pregnancy or maternity leave. Such protection ensures a woman equal access to employment.

But one point I must say. The proposed Amendment is silent on the question on the aspect of paternity leave. This is one very important point that the Labour Ministry must address. Extending paternity leave will lead to men and women sharing responsibilities of child care. This we have already started practicing in West Bengal under the leadership of our Hon’ble Chief Minister and the Health Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. This is a progressive step which Bengal is already taking.

The present Bill seeks to increase the maternity leave for women to 26 weeks, as against the current provision of 12 weeks. This is a commendable reform, and I wholeheartedly support this provision. Another good provision is the option of “work from home” for nursing mothers, after completing the duration of their maternity leave, though this will be decided by the employer. It also provides 16 weeks leave for women who adopt a child or opt for surrogacy. In case an establishment employs 50 employees or more, a crèche will have to be provided by the establishment. These are all very progressive provisions and I laud the Government for bringing them.

However, it is important for us to go beyond the books and look at the bigger picture. Women are estimated to be only 30% of all economically active individuals, even though they account for 48% of the population. Only 1% of women are employed in State and Central governments, and 3% in legislative, management and senior official positions.

Maternity benefits are crucial as malnutrition continues to be a huge hurdle. In India, almost one in every three children, or an alarming 4.8 crore children are stunted.

Without benefits, it often becomes difficult for a single mother to provide adequate nutrition for her child. A mother also has to ensure that her child is fully immunised against all types of diseases. India is still a long way off from securing 100% immunisation for all children. In fact, the first phase of the National Family Health Survey 2015-16 revealed that the highest percentage of fully immunised children are from Goa, Sikkim, Puducherry and West Bengal.

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana is a conditional cash transfer scheme for improved health and nutrition of pregnant and lactating mothers. This scheme is being implemented in 52 districts for women above the age of 19 years for their first two live births. It is estimated that about three crore women get pregnant every year. If Rs 6,000 is to be given to each of them, then Rs 18,000 crore is needed every year. However, in the present budget, only Rs 400 crore has been allocated to the scheme. This needs to be looked into by the Government.

Some more points for consideration. One, it should be addressed by the Government that the timing of this 26 weeks maternity leave should be flexible in nature, and according to the necessity and choice of the pregnant mother. Two, an establishment with 10 employees is entitled to ESI facilities; this Maternity Benefit Bill should not clash with the existing ESI facilities. Three, there are some provisions in the Act for maternity leave allowance or medical bonus for the pregnant mother. I would like to know whether the Government is planning to increase this allowance or medical bonus as it is not at all up to the mark. Four, it is there in the amendment that ‘every establishment shall intimate electronically to every woman at the time of her initial appointment about the benefits available under the Act.’ That means, this Maternity Bill should be implemented from the very first day of the service of the pregnant mother. This Maternity Benefit Bill must address the working woman of the unorganised sector.

I appreciate the thought that the Government has put behind the Bill. We also need to work towards building a future where women hold an equal stake in the every aspect of India’s social, political and economic life. For a child, the most important person in their life is the mother. Let us ensure that we build an India where every woman is free to achieve her dreams, and no child is bereft of the love that only a mother can provide.

Thank you, Sir.

Dola Sen speaks on The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016 | Full Transcript

Posted on August 1, 2016 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

In the last 16 months, I have asked supplementary questions and have also participated in Zero Hour, Special Mention, etc., but today, Sir, is a special day as I am making my maiden speech. I am happy I am making my maiden speech at this time, and I want to dedicate my maiden speech to the historic victory of Maa-Mati-Manush in Bengal exactly two months ago.

Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to deliver some points on The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

Healthcare in India is in an abysmal state. The Centre’s share of total public expenditure on health has fallen over the last two years, and India spends less of its GDP on health than some of the world’s poorest countries. Only 1.6% of the Budget is allocated for the medical sector.

The Working Group on Tertiary Care Institutions for the 12th Five Year Plan says nearly one million Indians die every year due to inadequate healthcare facilities, 700 million people have no access to specialist care and 80% of specialists are working in urban areas. The Indian Medical Association estimates that 45% of the Indian medical practitioners, that is, 17 lakh doctors, are unqualified and lack in formal training.

Another key reason for poor health of Indians is the high proportion of out-of-pocket expenditure on health because of low insurance coverage and weak public health systems, which force even poor people to visit private medical practitioners, and drive up average health costs. High healthcare costs often lead people to delay treatment, aggravating health problems.

The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016 provides a constitutional status to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination. Hon’ble Minister JP Nadda said there were three main objectives behind the move – end the multiplicity of examinations, have fair and transparent examinations, and adopt a non-exploitative process.

I would like to point out some problems with the implementation of the same.

Firstly, healthcare infrastructure: The basic medical infrastructure is woefully unequipped in our country to support the population. As per the World Health Organisation ratio between patient and doctor, India is lagging far behind developed countries. This needs to be addressed first and foremost before looking at other areas of reform.

Secondly, State consultation: All States do not conduct their 10+2 examinations at the same time. So the examination will have to be held at such a time when 10+2 examinations are over all across the country and the students can get about 2-3 months to prepare. Cooperative federalism demands extensive interaction between the Centre and States so that all issues can be discussed at length.

Regional language: Only 18% of the students in this country are getting the opportunity of studying in English and the rest are studying in their mother tongues or in their regional languages. The language for examinations should include all the languages in the 8th Schedule of our Constitution.

Syllabus disparity: Moreover, in many parts of the country, schools do not follow the same syllabus as CBSE schools. Thus this would create a disparity among the students appearing for a national exam. So if the standard is of the CBSE syllabus then rural students and students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds will be unable to compete with urban, elite students in common entrance examinations. The syllabus should be at par throughout the country.

Multiple exam centres: In West Bengal, we have multiple centers all over the State, in every district, covering nearly all subdivisions, so that students can easily sit for the exam at centers closer to their homes. The Centre must consider every subdivision across the country having more than one centre where they can go and appear for this examination.

Federalism: The Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution places education on the Concurrent List for a reason. It ensures that States can employ their resources judiciously. Thus, for cooperative federalism to be practised, States must be considered as equal shareholders; their recommendations must be heeded.

The Medical Council of India, the apex body that is tasked with regulation and monitoring of medical education and practice in India, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, chaired by Hon’ble Member Mr Ram Gopal Yadav, submitted its report on the MCI on March 8, 2016. It observed various instances of irregularities and corruption. It further stated that it has become a club of influential medical practitioners who act without any fear of governance and regulations.

Thus, the Medical Council of India cannot be given the charge to hold these examinations; a different body needs to be constituted which would ensure taking care of all the factors like regional languages, the number of examination centres, the time of holding the examination, domicile and uniform syllabus for the whole country.

I would like to conclude by presenting the current initiatives taken by the West Bengal Government in terms of access to healthcare which the Centre must take as an example. Such policies must be implemented at a central level to ensure better health services to the people.

I am proud to say that in West Bengal, where the Hon’ble Mamata Banerjee has become the Chief Minister and the Health Minister as well, in the last five years, 109 Fair Price Medicine Shops have been opened, which give a discount ranging from 48% to 77.2%. Through them over 2 crore people have been able to save Rs 585 crore. Free indoor treatment is available to everyone at Government hospitals. Simultaneously all the patients admitted there are being provided with free medication. Moreover, prescriptions with generic names are a must in Government hospitals.

The institutional delivery rate has increased from 68% to 90% in the last four years, thus reducing the infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate, with IMR coming down from 31 to 27. The women are being brought from their homes in State ambulances for check-up and after delivery they are being sent home in those ambulances. West Bengal is the only state where, at the sub-district level, besides installing CCUs and HDUs, patients are also treated free of cost.

Over the last four years, 27,000 new beds have been added to the hospitals, 1,355 medical seats have been created, amounting to 2,900 to 3,000 doctors, and 3,100 nurses have been employed.

Trying to sum up my points:

One: A common entrance examination might be helpful to avoid irregularity and corruption but some important issues to be addressed before the implementation of that.

Two: the health service and hospitals are the responsibilities of the States, so the opinions of the State Governments should be considered before any change is attempted on this issue. Otherwise, there might be injustice to the rural people.

Three: the Government health system in States like West Bengal is very effective and strong in catering to the rural people and to the underprivileged effectively. The physicians should be well-acquainted with the regional language and the culture of the treating patient to deliver effectively. Hence, NEET should be conducted in all regional languages of Schedule 8 of the Constitution. Eight-five per cent of the seats should be reserved for the students in their State of domicile.

Four: After obtaining the degree from a particular State, utilising the infrastructure, the graduate and post-graduate physicians should serve that State for at least five years. Otherwise, they should be instructed to deposit penalty to the Government of that State before for other States or countries.

Five: There should be uniformity of syllabus across the country, at least in the science subjects, in all boards. Students should be given opportunity to prepare through the same syllabus from level X! before they are instructed to appear for NEET, which is presently CBESE-based, as the syllabus is for two years of their study.

Six: There should be regulations to limit the tuition fees by the private medical colleges, otherwise they might increase their charges to compensate for capitation fees.

In addition, before I conclude, in view of the severe shortage of doctors to meet the need, the Government hospitals, including the district hospitals, with large infrastructure should be considered to develop graduate and post-graduate courses similar to DNB courses, which have been very successful in West Bengal. Thus, the dependence on private medical colleges might be reduced.

Private medical colleges, which don’t have such huge infrastructure, patients and clinical services usually invest capital for their profit only, even with respect to medical education. ESI hospitals and railway hospitals, which already have huge infrastructure, should also be considered for development of this education system. Additional grants from the Central Government should be sanctioned to develop the infrastructure and system, and not merely from the contributions from insured patients who are paying only for their health.

Thank you, Sir.

Monsoon Session Week Two: A purposive week for Trinamool in Parliament

Posted on July 30, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Trinamool Congress raised various issues in both the Houses of the Parliament during the week and urged the Government to take appropriate steps.

In the Upper House, the Trinamool Congress utilised the Zero Hour, the Question Hour, the Calling Attention Motions to the fullest and took part in several discussions.

Question Hour

Trinamool Leader of the Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien urged Centre to set up a committee to address concerns of debt-stressed States during Question Hour (http://goo.gl/3fds2m). Later in the week he again the Government what steps it was taking to make medicines affordable prices, and ensure that prices are not affected by FDI (http://goo.gl/q1rvwx)

MP KD Singh also questioned the Government on allowing of taxis in private airports (http://goo.gl/4G8Qsr).

Saugata Roy questioned the Centre on its stand on small tea gardens during Question Hour in LS (http://goo.gl/tTWlJN) and also the shift of Tea Board HQ from Kolkata to Assam (http://goo.gl/ljJOm2).

Ratna De Nag raised a question in LS regarding the mechanism of preventing banned drugs from being sold in the country (http://goo.gl/TPE8tn).

Prasun Banerjee’s question to the Central Government was on popularising football in India by strengthening the federation (http://goo.gl/4sHqmB).

Mumtaz Sanghamita, during Question Hour in Lok Sabha raised the issue of investment in development of airport/airstrips and also questioned the government on the withdrawal of the Air India flight from Durgapur where it is much needed (http://goo.gl/PMCrGU).

Zero Hour

MP Dola Sen, during the Zero Hour spoke regarding the demand for elimination of unmanned level crossings in the country (http://goo.gl/UPOHjq).

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy raised the issue of scholarships for minority students being during Zero Hour (http://goo.gl/cGA8gL) and Ratna De Nag raised the demand of expanding the subway at Bhadreswar station (http://goo.gl/xOmMDM).

Aparupa Poddar demanded allocation of funds for pilgrimage to Tarakeswar during Zero Hour and also introduction of special trains during the annual pilgrimage to Tarakeswar (http://goo.gl/lYvQqf). Whereas Pratima Mandal spoke on the need of a level crossing at Piyali railway station to ensure easier movement of vehicles and students across the Piyali River (http://goo.gl/8JDnDd).

Nadimul Haque in the week, during Zero Hour he raised the demand for release of scholarships to minority students (http://goo.gl/STr8ID) later in the week.

Special mention

Trinamool MP Md Nadimul Haque during a Special Mention urged the Government on the need for a law against spitting in public places (http://goo.gl/92m0FN).

Trinamool MP Ahamed Hassan Imran, during a Special Mention raised the issue of reduced Central funding of schemes (http://goo.gl/Gfbxf4) which is against the spirit of cooperative federalism. He later spoke on drug pricing during a Calling Attention Motion.

In a Special Mention Dola Sen spoke on the need to replicate successful models in combating Left Wing Extremism (http://goo.gl/2UEbM6).

Discussion

During a Short Duration Discussion on the situation arising out of the rise in prices in the country (http://goo.gl/k9nsWa), Derek O’Brien pointed out that Government is very good at communicating on social media sites. But when it comes to basic issues like price rise, they have forgotten the people that gave them this historic mandate in 2014 people that brought them to power.

The Trinamool Leader of the Party in Rajya Sabha also raised the issue of Aadhaar card being made mandatory for receiving Government benefits and pointed out that there are a lot of people who are suffering and not getting pension and several other benefits (http://goo.gl/VqpX6e).

Trinamool Chief Whip at Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy took part in a short duration discussion on Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 (http://goo.gl/cB9KIs) where he demanded that assurances made by the then Prime Minister on the floor of the House must be fulfilled.

In Lok Sabha, the Trinamool Congress Trinamool Chief Whip Kalyan Banerjee took part in several discussions including The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 (http://goo.gl/OTGrfx), on The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill (http://goo.gl/HZpoba), on The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 (http://goo.gl/9d7qHI) and protested the issue of Aadhaar card being made mandatory, during a short discussion (http://goo.gl/ThrEhX).

Trinamool MP Dr Sugata Bose took part in several discussion including the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill (http://goo.gl/iugFHh).

Sugata Bose, while speaking in LS regarding an enabling regulatory architecture in higher education institutions stated that Jadavpur University from West Bengal is in the 500-600 range of the world rankings of the TIME’s higher education supplement. On the subject of education (http://goo.gl/1nz5Df) Saugata Roy also spoke in Lok Sabha on The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and stated that IIT Kharagpur was a pioneer in the field and for the first time it started courses in naval architecture. Aeronautical engineering and agricultural engineering which were not taught anywhere else in the country (http://goo.gl/ENKkWp).

Saugata Roy raised the issue of Chinese incursion in Uttarakhand (http://goo.gl/4w9Lau). While speaking on The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 Saugata Roy mentioned that the Bill should not become another cursive instrument in the hands of revenue department to forcibly collect taxes (http://goo.gl/QZj9NP).

During a discussion on price rise in Lok Sabha, Saugata Roy criticized the central government stating their motto seems to be imposing cess on everything under the Sun (http://goo.gl/k9ITy5).

Ratna De Nag spoke on The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 during which she stated that even after 69 years of independence; we are unable to stop child labour in our country (http://goo.gl/HDsRVU) whereas Aparupa Poddar mentioned that child labour is a highly social evil and the root cause of child labour is poverty (http://goo.gl/l5xuvV).

Nadimul Haque took part on a discussion on The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2016, and stressed on the Trinamool Congress’ view on the ‘Rights of the Forest’ (http://goo.gl/uuhZGP)

Trinamool raises matters of public importance in Parliament

Posted on July 27, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Playing the role of a responsible Opposition, Trinamool Congress MPs today spoke on various issues of public importance in both Houses of the Parliament.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha during the Zero Hour, Md Nadimul Haque raised the issue of the plight of four lakh minority students in Bengal who were not receiving their scholarships. He urged the Centre to allow States to electronically transfer the funds through Direct Benefit Transfer.

Dola Sen spoke on the urgent demand for elimination of unmanned level crossings. In her speech she highlighted when Mamata Banerjee was the Railway Minister, due to her untiring and sustained work towards rail safety, the index for train accidents decreased significantly from 0.29 per million train km in 2004-05 to 0.17 in 2009-10.

In the Lok Sabha, Saugata Roy demanded that the powers of Tea Board Head Office in Kolkata not be curtailed in the name of decentralisation and said people of Bengal will protest severely against any attempts to shift the headquarters of Tea Board outside Bengal.

During Question Hour, Derek O’Brien asked the government in Rajya Sabha to enlist their plans to make life-saving drugs affordable for common people. In Lok Sabha, Prasun Banerjee wanted to know from the government what initiatives were being taken by them to popularise football in India.

Leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today initiated a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the issue of price rise. “The Government has to be responsible for bringing down the prices of commodities in the markets,” he said. Citing the example of Sufal Bangla scheme and task forces formed the Bengal Government to keep a check on prices, Derek O’Brien advised the Centre to follow successful models from the State to control inflation.

During a discussion on the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 in Lok Sabha, Kalyan Banerjee and Saugata Roy appealed to the government not to amend the current Act and instead bring a fresh Bill altogether to deal with benami property.

Finally, at the end of the day’s proceedings in the Rajya Sabha, Dola Sen made a Special Mention on the successful Bengal model in combating Left-Wing extremism and asked the Centre to follow the footsteps of the State in dealing with issue elsewhere in the country.

Ahmed Hassan Imran raised the issue of reduction of central funding of several key schemes and said this was against the spirit of cooperative federalism. He asked the Government to explain how State Governments are to carry on with these welfare programmes, and ensure development in the States without adequate funds.

Special Mention by Dola Sen on the need to replicate successful models in combating Left Wing Extremism

Posted on July 27, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Left Wing Extremism is the most potent threat the country faces today and in order to deal with it the country requires the Centre and State Governments to cooperate and share responsibility.

In our State of West Bengal, three districts are considered Maoist infested areas, namely, Paschim Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia, situated in the dense forest area that is called Jangalmahal,

Over the past 5 years, a number of welfare projects, measures and schemes like Kanyashree, Sabuj Sathi and Khadya Sathi were initiated and successfully implemented in these parts. This showcased that combat forces alone cannot solve the Naxal problem; development projects play an important role in winning the hearts of the poorest and the most affected people of that area. Bengal government’s approach has been adopted as a national model for tackling Left Wing Extremism.

Compared to 466 incidents in Chhattisgarh and 310 in Jharkhand in 2015, Bengal witnessed zero incidents and casualties in the last four and a half years, according to the figures of the Ministry of Home Affairs. To continue bringing Naxals back to the mainstream and keeping up the momentum of development in Jangalmahal as also other affected parts of the country, the Government must increase the allocation of funds required under the Integrated Action Plan for LWE districts.

Thank you.

Dola Sen speaks during Zero Hour regarding the demand for elimination of unmanned level crossings in the country | Full Transcript

Posted on July 27, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The tragic incident that happened earlier this week shook us to our very core. Reports are still coming in, but at least seven children were killed and several others injured as their school minibus was hit by a train at an unmanned railway crossing in Auraiye, Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh. The mini bus of Tenderheart School carrying students up to 10 years of age was hit by Varanasi-Allahabad passenger train. On March, 2016 the Minister of Railways reported that there are 10,440 unmanned level crossings in the country as on April, 2015.

In 2014, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court of India seeking the elimination of all unmanned railway crossings and in the meantime to ensure the safety of the children on unmanned railway crossings. Yet, as we are witnessing today, accidents and deaths at unmanned level crossings still occur with alarming regularity. Kids with hopes and dreams in their eyes, with courage and ambition in their hearts, have been taken away from us in a cruel twist of fate.

From 2009 to 2014, almost 43% of all railways accidents were at level crossings. Of the 16 railway zones, more than 35% of the level crossings are unmanned. From August 2015 to January 2016, there were 15 accidents at level crossings, resulting in the deaths of 26 people. Studies have shown that increasing train speeds and rapid motorization of rural roads have increased the cases of accidents at unmanned level crossings. A number of these accidents involve buses, often involving school children, leading to a disproportionately high number of fatalities when compared to number of accidents.

It is important to draw attention to the fact that when Mamata Banerjee was the Railway Minister, due to her untiring and sustained work towards rail safety, the index for train accidents decreased significantly from 0.29 per million train km in 2004-05 to 0.17 in 2009-10. This was despite the increase in traffic from 16,021 trains per day to 18,820 trains. Under her leadership, 1,500 unmanned crossings were eliminated, 172 ROBs and 240 RUBs/subways were constructed. The Government’s Railway budget in 2015 had envisioned the target of eliminating 3438 level crossings by 2016, however only 350 manned level crossings and 1,000 unmanned level crossings were eliminated.

Funds for elimination of level crossings come from Central Road Fund (CRF) as a percentage of cess collected on Petrol and Diesel by Ministry of Finance. The Average Annual Allocation to Railways from Central Road Fund is approximately Rs. 1,100 crore against throw forward of Rs. 31,700 crore. The Government has not fixed a target for 2016-17 and 2017-18.

The Government expenditure on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train is estimated to be around Rs. 1 lakh crore. How does the Government justify spending this exorbitant amount while tragedies like the one we faced today has become an everyday reality for the country’s citizens. I would urge the Centre to expedite the process of eradicating all unmanned level crossings in the country. This needs to be ensured so that avoidable tragedies like the one that took place today do not keep repeating themselves. Let us not blame each other, but rather work together, towards making India a better and a safer country.

Dola Sen speaks on the prevailing flood and drought situation in the country

Posted on December 21, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Thank you Sir for giving me the opportunity today to speak on this topic.

Flood and drought bring misery to fellow Indians. There are some states which are flood prone and some others which are drought prone. Sadly, Sir, I come from a state which is affected both by drought and flood.

West Bengal Floods

There were massive floods in Bengal due to Cyclone Komen in July/August
100 lives lost, 61 lakh people affected
Damodar Valley

West Bengal is located in the downstream of major rivers, including Damodar. Flood control was the primary objective for constructing various dams in the Damodar Valley area.
This has taken a backseat and other activities like power generation and supply of water have taken precedence.

Sudden release of water: When cyclone Komen hit, in 3 days the DVC dams discharged 1.30 lakh cusecs of water.

No proper monitoring mechanism: Sudden release of water led to man-made flooding and loss of many lives.
DVC dams need to be upgraded so their storage capacity can meet the objective of controlling floods.
Prolonged neglectcan cause another substantial disaster in the State.

Action Taken by State Government

Recent floods + Darjeeling landslides
The State Government had opening balance 610 crore in the SDRF. Additional 387 crores received from Centre.

Expenditure of 937 crore has already been made out of the SDRF leaving a balance of 59.82 crore only.

The State Government also had spent Rs 1000 crore out of its own resources.

Request that NDRF funds should be released to meet the requirements of immediate relief and restoration works
13 lakh hectare of agricultural land is inundated. Consider a programme of loan waiver, restructuring and grant of fresh loans to farmers

Droughts

West Bengal has experienced an unprecedented prolonged dry spell since September 2015
Lack of rainfall has adversely affected standing paddy crops in 4 districts – Burdwan, Purulia, Bankura, and West Midnapore
An advisory has been prepared and issuedto sensitize the farmers about the judicious use of available water for Rabi and Rabi Summer crops, and selection of right crops for coming cropping seasons,.
2025 MT of Seeds for Rabi and Rabi summer crops (Boro, wheat, mustard, sunflower, groundnut, toria, sesame, maize etc) have been supplied to three districts
Rs 387 crore has been released from SDRF. The state’s demand was Rs 6,000 crore due to the flood and Rs 4,000 crore due to drought
What is the system of allotment of money, the central team goes and comes back, but the amount that is decided is not fixed in consultation with the Chief Ministers of the states
Irrigated land is 40% of the total farm land and hence drought affects the farmers very adversly and hence greater harmand result is reduced agricultural yields inflation rise in farmer suicides

Interventions:

Irrigation & Waterways Department extended surface water supply utilizing the maximum Volume available from different River Valley Projects & special allocation from DVC even by purchasing water from Tenughat [Jharkhand] at a Cost of 15 Cr
WBRIDD has taken care to restore all their installations & kept these functional on war footing steps.
Availability of water for irrigation in DVC system is low for the coming season. Situation is under close watch. All concerned Departments ( Agriculture, Major and Minor Irrigation, Food Supplies, Power etc.) have been advised to mobilise their resources to help farmers cope with the situation

Functioning of National Disaster Management Authority

Chain of command

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is under the administration of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) but also reports directly to Home Ministry.

Fund utilization

In 2014-15, Budget Estimate for the NDRF ….Rs 200 crore.

Only Rs 7.11 crores spent.

Despite this, in 2015-16, NDRF allotted Rs 255 crore.

Infrastructure

8 of the 10 battalions of NDRF deployed across the country have no permanent buildings or facilities.
In 2009, the NDRF submitted a request to the Finance Ministry for approval of 140 staff at its headquarters. The request was denied.

The NDMA did not offer NDRF any space in its building. NDMA (headed by the PM) has an office of 75000 sqft office while NDRF operates from a mere 4,500 sqft— approximately the size of two HIG flats combined together.
CAG Report: CAG in its report submitted before parliament stated that NDMA is ill prepared to handle a potential natural or manmade disaster

Discontinue compensation based on number of lives lost

When cyclone Komen hit Bengal, 2.14 lakh people were able to take shelter in 3000 relief camps across the 12 affected districts, and avail help through 633 medical camps which had been setup.
It is unfair to base the amount of compensation on the number of lives lost, as states which have taken pre-emptive measures will see reduced number of deaths.
This in turn leads to lesser compensation paid by the Central Government, while it does not take into account the amount spent by State Government in taking the pre-emptive measures.
No incentive to State Government from being proactive and take necessary steps to minimize loss of life/damage to land before the disaster strikes.

Allocation of SDRF 2015-2020 :
State Amount Allotted (In Crores)
Maharashtra Rs 8195
Madhya Pradesh Rs 4847
Rajasthan Rs 6094
West Bengal Rs 2853

Trinamool dominates Rajya Sabha, raises key issues

Posted on December 7, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

All India Trinamool Congress was once again seen playing the role of a responsible Opposition in Rajya Sabha today. Trinamool dominated the proceedings of the House during the first one hour as party MPs raised three key issues of public importance.

Leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien said, “My colleagues Dola Sen and Nadimul Haque spoke in Rajya Sabha today on three key issues – funds to States, Swaach Bharat cess & education. We believe in deliberate, debate and legislate.”

Dola Sen spoke about the burden Centre’s Swachh Bharat cess is causing on the poor people. “Services that the government is actively championing for the rural poor including mobile and financial services just became more expensive and difficult for them to access,” she said.

Click here for the full transcript of her speech

She also slammed the Centre as she made a Special Mention on the reduced funding for several central schemes. “The Government must explain how State Governments are to carry on critical welfare programmes, and ensure development in the states without adequate funds,” she demanded to know.

Click here for the full transcript of her speech

Nadimul Haque raised an important matter concerning the education sector. He made a Special Mention about the shortage of faculty in Indian universities. “his inadequacy of our faculty appointments and selection systems is gravely affecting the quality of education that students of higher education are receiving,” he said.

Click here for the full transcript of his speech

Meanwhile, in Lok Sabha, leader of the party, Sudip Bandyopadhyay urged the Centre to include Belur-Dakkhineshwar in the list of sites for religious tourism. “Belur is Swami Vivekananda’s dream; Ramakrishna Paramhansa Dev’s name is associated with Dakkhineshwar,” he said.

Sudip Banerjee added that in 2013-2014 & 2014-15 the Centre had not allotted a single rupee for the state of West Bengal. He requested the Centre not to neglect West Bengal and promote spiritual tourism sites in the State.

Click here for the full transcript of his speech

Post lunch, Sudip Bandyopadhyay spoke in Lok Sabha about the prevailing drought situation in the country. He urged the Centre to come up with a positive action plan and requested the government not to neglect the eastern zone of the country

Click here for the full transcript of his speech

In a discussion on the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2014, Vivek Gupta spoke in RS on the demerits in the Bill brought by the government. He listed how several definitions of corruption do not find place in the Bill. Gupta echoed the view of party Chairperson Mamata Banerjee by calling for electoral reforms.

Click here for the full transcript of his speech

During another discussion on the India-Nepal relations in Rajya Sabha, Nadimul Haque made a passionate case for normalising the ties of the countries. He said that Madhesis were like our brothers and India has a duty towards them. He hoped Government of Nepal would reciprocate the warmth shown by Government of India during Nepal earthquake.

Click here for the full transcript of his speech

Cooperative federalism in name, not operation: Dola Sen in RS

Posted on December 7, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Over the last year, large cuts in budgetary allocations to key Ministries and reductions in the funding of Centrally-Sponsored schemes have affected state development efforts.

State efforts in modernisation of police forces no longer receive Central support. Amongst talk about Digital India, the National e-Governance Plan has been wound up. The Backward Regions Grant Fund too has been shut down – even though West Bengal is still owed 40% of Central funds for BRGF over the last five years.

Such scaling back is clear in key welfare schemes too. The Minister of Women and Child Development has stated that budget cuts to her Ministry will make it hard to fight child malnutrition. And indeed, though one in three children in the country is malnourished, the allocation to the Integrated Child Development Scheme has been cut by 47% from the year before. Even the funding pattern of Schemes that were earlier identified as fully Centre-supported is being changed. The funding pattern of thePradhanMantri Gram SadhakYojana– earlier listed as a fully supported Scheme – wassuddenly changed to 60:40 earlier this month.

The Government must explain how State Governments are to carry on critical welfare programmes, and ensure development in the states without adequate funds. Increased devolution of tax funds will not help if they’re matched by additional funding cuts across the board.