Tag: Rajya Sabha

Derek O’Brien’s Question on National Rural Drinking Water Programme

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Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) the number of people who have contracted water-borne diseases over the last three years, State-wise and year-wise;

(b) the number of such cases that have been fatal;

(c) the steps Government has taken to provide safe potable water in rural and urban areas; and

(d) the funds allocated and disbursed for these efforts in the last three years?

First Supplementary Question

Budget 2016-17 has been a dampener in its allocation of Rs 5000 crore for the National Rural Drinking Water Programme being only a marginal improvement over the previous year’s allocation of Rs 4373 crores.

This year’s budget for AMRUT and for 100 smart cities is about Rs 7000 crore. The emphasis is on drawing water from exogenous sources instead of developing and managing local water sources.

How is the Centre planning on ensuring that all households – whether rural or urban are receiving clean and potable water?

Second Supplementary Question

Sir, I hate to say this but when it becomes convenient, the matter goes to the State. Anyway, Sir, since the Finance Minister is also here, may be in the answer I will get some assurance and maybe the Minister will also get some assurance from the Finance Minister.

Sir, the question is that given the situation, not only in Delhi but in other places too, Sir this budget for National Rural Drinking Water Programme, Sir, will not solve any of the problems. Sir, the budget should be in the range from 8000 to 9000 crore rupees.

So, to reach the goals of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme does the Union Minister have a specific plan in mind as to what is the overall budget, so that they can resolve the basic issue of providing potable drinking water to people.

Thank you

 

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien speaks during Zero Hour on the utilisation and disbursement of cess collected under various heads | Full transcript

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Sir, while the Government is peddling cooperative federalism – I’m very happy that you’ve allowed this Zero Hour. The Finance Minister is also here, and this would be of interest to him because this is an issue on which all parties and all parties are one; he can address this issue today. What is that issue, Sir? Cess.

The Government collects cess under various heads, with the amounts being transferred to the specific fund set up for the purpose. The present Government has implemented two new cesses in the two years since it came to power. With the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Cess in 2015 and Krishi Kalyan Cess this year, the service tax rate payable in the country has gone up to 15%. The Government has collected Rs 3901.78 crore from the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Cess in FY 2015-16 and Rs 759 crore from Krishi Kalyan Cess for the month of June 2016.

However, a closer look at the Government account paints a grim picture of how the funds are lying unutilised in the public coffer. From 2002 to 2015, Rs 66117 crore was collected for the Universal Service Obligation Fund, of which Rs 2698 crore has been spent, a mere 40.8%. It gets even worse as from 1996-2015 Rs 5784 crore was collected under Research and Development Cess of which 78.8% remains unutilised and 100% of the cess collected on tea (Rs. 57.37 crore in 2014-15) is also unutilised.

A CAG report of 2014-15 had stated as much: ‘Specific purpose cess being collected were also not credited to the earmarked funds in the Public Account, thus leading to inaccurately reflecting the unspent amount of cess collected by the Government over the years.’

The Sarkaria Commission in its report had also recommended that while it may be necessary for the Government to levy cesses in view of specific needs, their application should be for limited durations and for specific purposes only.

That leads us to the bigger question, on GST. Will the Government consider that the cesses should be subsumed by the GST, because unless this happens, Sir, it will not be true federalism. The cesses have to be subsumed because, otherwise, you are collecting the cess but you are under-utilising them.

Everybody has been quoting the Chief Economic Advisor on GST. But he himself has said that cess should be subsumed in GST, Sir. If this Government is true to the spirit of federalism, it should seriously consider absorbing all the cesses into GST.

Sir, while on the subject of cooperative federalism – there are letters going out to Chief Ministers, appointing BDOs from the Centre. There are letters going out to Chief Ministers which are saying IAS officers from the State cadre (in my case, Bengal) have to spend three to six months in Delhi. This is actually impeding on the independence of the State Government.

So, whether it is Aadhar card or anything else, let us do it the best way we can. Don’t make it compulsory. Don’t send out letters like these. Stop collecting the cesses, Sir, and if you want a good GST, Sir, subsume the cesses into GST because if it is discussed in the Committee of Empowered Finance Ministers, they may also have the same opinion; but I can’t second-guess them.

Thank you very much, Sir, for the time.

Ahamed Hassan Imran speaks on The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013

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Sir, on August 6, 2001, a fire broke out in an asylum in Erwadi, Tamil Nadu. More than 25 patients were burnt alive; they could not escape the blaze as they had been chained to poles or beds. The Supreme Court stated that the ‘Mental Health Act, 1987 is not at all implemented by the concerned authorities and there is failure on the part of Central/State Governments to implement the 1987 Act.’ Thus, there is an urgent need to introduce and implement sweeping reforms in the country.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has conducted detailed studies of patients in mental institutions and the conditions they live in. They found numerous instances of cruel treatment and people being chained, being beaten, and being denied any kind of dignity.

There are around 4,000 psychiatrists in India, and many of them are in private practice. Thus there is a massive shortage of psychiatrists in the public sector, which has led to a large number of people requiring mental healthcare remaining undiagnosed.

As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, 1,31,666 people committed suicide in India in 2014. Depression is the leading cause of suicide around the world and needs to be treated by healthcare professionals. There is a need to eliminate the social stigma associated with mental disorders.

Access to mental health services in India continues to be a major challenge as up to 40 per cent of patients travel more than 10 km to access District Mental Health Programme services.

Coming to the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, it has some good provisions. Any person, with or without mental illness, can make an Advance Directive (AD) stating how he/she wishes to be treated for a future mental illness and also how he does not wish to be treated. Such an AD can also be challenged by families, professionals, etc. Decriminalisation of suicide is a much-needed reform. A person attempting suicide shall be considered to be under severe stress and will not be liable to be prosecuted under Section 309 of Indian Penal Code. The Government shall provide care, treatment and rehabilitation to all such persons.

The Bill states that it is the obligation of the Central and State Governments to build halfway homes and community care centres, among others, for the mentally ill. Such services should be affordable, of good quality and available without discrimination.  It also provides protection to patients from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Some treatments currently being used will be prohibited, most importantly, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) given without anaesthesia and the practice of chaining patients to their beds.

However, there are some issues with the Bill which I would like to raise. The provision of appointing a nominee, and then all subsequent decisions being taken by the nominee may lead to the damaging of goodwill and bonding between the members of a family. Furthermore, a person can only be admitted to a mental healthcare facility after being reviewed by a Mental Health Review Commission (MHRC) panel. This might cause undue delay to the treatment, and will make the entire process more complicated. These reasons might discourage families from playing a proactive role in seeking treatment.

The MHRC has six members, but out of which only one is a psychiatrist and another a mental healthcare professional. This will lead to crucial decisions being taken in the field of mental health by of non-experts.

The Bill allows for ECT on minors in case the psychiatrist advises it, with the consent of the guardian and prior permission of the Board. However, due to its extreme side effects and its controversial practice in the treatment of mental illness in minors, a blanket ban on ECT for minors should be implemented, as recommended by the World Health Organisation.

It is surprising that the Bill provides for only one District Board for the eight north-eastern states of India, covering an area of 2,62,230 sq km. This would make it inaccessible to a majority of the people in these States, who face difficulties because of connectivity issues and terrain.

Sir, I would urge the Government to look into these issues and make the necessary changes so that India gets a progressive law on mental healthcare, which would work towards raising awareness and eradicating the stigma attached to mentally ill people.

Thank you, Sir.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy speaks on recent attack in Kokrajhar

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We share the agony and anguish with the Hon’ble member and also condemn the brutal attack on the people. But this is not the first time that this has happened. Someone has said that in December, 2014 such incident took place in that particular area of Kokrajhar and more than 70 people were killed and many injured.

There is 21 percent Bengali Muslim population in that district, bordering West Bengal, particularly in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. During December, 2014 hundreds of villagers had to free to Cooch Behar district of West Bengal and our Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had to arrange for their shelter, foods, medical treatments etc. Now again this has happened and one of the Ministers from Assam is on record saying that it was not a planned attack. That is why Government did not have any information and the security forces reached the spot half an hour or one hour after the incident took place and this is why they could not prevent the incident.

But, Sir, this is not an isolated incident. This Kokrajhar district has suffered since long and the so-called Bodo agitation has going on and after the peace agreement of 2005, when people thought that everything will be improved. But again this is happening.  

The clarification that I would like to seek from the Hon’ble Minister is that whether it is a case of intelligence failure. If that is the case, whether the Government of India is advising the State Government to take appropriate steps for improving the intelligence mechanism together with the Central Government to combat recurrence of such incidents in future in a diligent manner.

Ahmad Hasan Imran speaks on recent attack in Kokrajhar

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Sir, I want to ask our Hon’ble Home Minister some questions regarding the massacre in Kokrajhar. I congratulate him for condemning this massacre and I remember that last time when innocent Santhali adivasis were killed, our Home Minister went to the spot, he took strong steps and it was stopped immediately and I personally congratulated him for that.

Incidents like these are happening in the lower Assam region for the last 20-25 years. In 1993-94 also there was a huge massacre, and after that also huge massacres took place; nearly six lakh people fled their homes and have become refugees.

My first question to the Hon’ble Home Minister is which group has done this massacre?

Secondly, from where are these groups getting such sophisticated arms and ammunitions; is there any report? Who is providing them the money to create this type of chaos in our country?

My third question is a suggestion. Since these events are happening at regular intervals, why are we not creating gram raksha vahinis or village defense forces?

 

Jogen Chowdhury’s Supplementary Question on underground wiring system | Full Transcript

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I have a question for the Hon’ble Minister. During the stormy season, the open wiring gets torn, particularly in villages, and then there is no electricity for hours. Secondly, in many areas, people take illegal connections from the open wirings which result in great loss to the Government.

Hence my question to the Honourable Minister is whether the Government has any plans for underground wiring system in the near future, particularly in such areas, to avoid all such problems.

Derek O’Brien asks a question on electrification during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha

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Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

(a) the number and proportion of households, rural and urban, that have a working electricity connection since 2013, State-wise and year-wise;

(b) the number and proportion of these households that have 24-hour supply of electricity; and

(c) the details of steps taken by Government to provide 24-hour electricity to all households?

Supplementary Questions

  1. According to a recent report by the Central Electricity Authority, the country is expected to become ‘power surplus’ in 2016-17. As per the report, Odisha, Mizoram and Tripura, which are expected to be power surplus in 2016-17. But as of May 2016, the percentage of un-electrified rural households varied 22 and 52 per cent.

 

Almost every village (100%) in West Bengal is electrified with 93% households having access to electricity. It is the best performing State in terms of access to power.

What steps are being taken to assess the real demand for electricity, especially in rural households and how is this real demand going to met?

 

  1. For the last two or three years, West Bengal has been a power surplus state, and continues to be power surplus even with rising industrial and domestic demand.

 

Will the Centre replicate the successful model implemented in Bengal and will the efforts of the State Government to transfer power to other States (and also neighbouring countries such as Bhutan) be supplemented by the Centre?

 

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien’s Supplementary Question on MGNREGA

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Sir, through you I want to remind the Minister that the Prime Minister had called the MGNREGA programme a waste of time because it was only used to give jobs to people to dig holes. Sir, I welcome the fact that at least in the last few months there has been a change of heart or a beginning to change heart; in the supplementary demands for grants there has been a slight increase in the outlay.

My question to the Minister is, can he give a commitment on the floor of this House that the government has changed its policy for MGNREGA and that they do not believe that it is a programme only to dig holes. Let them withdraw that statement and recommit to the programme.

My state Bengal, whichever way you look at the numbers, is number one in MGNREGA. So, let him give a firm commitment that they are serious about MGNREGA and will put they money where their mouth is.

Thank you.

Monsoon Session – Week 3 in Parliament: Trinamool takes up urgent issues

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

In Rajya Sabha, the Trinamool Congress utilised the Zero Hour, the Question Hour and the Calling Attention Motions to the fullest and took part in several discussions. The GST Bill was at last passed unanimously, after the different issues had been adequately addressed.

A total of 27 MPs from the party spoke on various issues during Question Hour, Zero Hour and legislative business (including discussions on Bills, Short Duration Discussions and Calling Attentions Motions), and presented a Special mention.

Given below is a list of the issues along with the links to their speeches.

Question Hour

  • Kanwar Deep Singh in Rajya Sabha on the clearance of environmental projects in West Bengal | http://goo.gl/AAjXNf

 

Zero Hour

  • Vivek Gupta in Rajya Sabha on the alleged move to shift the Tea Board HQ from Kolkata to Guwahati | http://goo.gl/vy3fzl
  • Sukhendu Sekhar Roy in Rajya Sabha on TPAs cheating Mediclaim policyholders | http://goo.gl/RcTWZS
  • Ahamed Hassan Imran in Rajya Sabha on the operations of Alliance Air in Kolkata | http://goo.gl/t8wzkP
  • Derek O’Brien in Rajya Sabha asked for a clarification from the Home Minister on the media blackout of his speech during the SAARC Summit | http://goo.gl/2Pk4ia
  • Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar in Lok Sabha on the need to preserve the cultural heritage of Chandraketugarh | http://goo.gl/qllVPW
  • Mamata Bala Thakur in Lok Sabha on safety of female passengers on the Bongaon-Sealdah railway route | http://goo.gl/EXM7ja
  • Ratna De Nag in Lok Sabha on augmentation in the service of EMU trains in her constituency | http://goo.gl/gC6AM5
  • Arpita Ghosh in Lok Sabha on harassment of local people in border areas by the BSF | http://goo.gl/hA8VsG

 

Discussions

  • Derek O’Brien in Rajya Sabha on the widespread religious fundamentalism prevailing in the country | http://goo.gl/yef6JT
  • Dola Sen in Rajya Sabha on The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 | http://goo.gl/R8ADc4
  • Derek O’Brien in Rajya Sabha raised a Point of Order on the amendments to the GST Bill leaking on to TV channels | http://goo.gl/JfXvse
  • Debabrata Bandyopadhyay in Rajya Sabha on The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 | http://goo.gl/fKlRcL
  • Sukhendu Sekhar Roy in Rajya Sabha on the regular increasing of kerosene price by the Centre | http://goo.gl/WqwOfO
  • Derek O’Brien in Rajya Sabha during the Calling Attention Motion on the diversion of funds from EPFO to stock market | http://goo.gl/x9uUng
  • Md Nadimul Haque in Rajya Sabha on The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016 | http://goo.gl/mYPt1W
  • Vivek Gupta in Rajya Sabha on The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2016 | http://goo.gl/5rV1we
  • Sukhendu Sekhar Roy in Rajya Sabha during the Short Duration Discussion on the powers of the Governor | http://goo.gl/BAKFbW
  • Saugata Roy in Lok Sabha on The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debt Laws & Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016 | http://goo.gl/dDHOkq
  • Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar in Lok Sabha during a Short Duration Discussion on sustainable development goals (SDGs) | http://goo.gl/p1GrhF
  • Abhishek Banerjee in Lok Sabha on the Supplementary Demands for Grants (2016-17) | http://goo.gl/L0IQ8s
  • Sugata Bose in Lok Sabha intervened during a discussion on Supplementary Demands for Grants (2016-17) | http://goo.gl/goZkkB
  • Idrish Ali in Lok Sabha during a Short Duration Discussion on sustainable development goals (SDGs) | http://goo.gl/ChzOaA

 

Special Mention

 

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien seeks clarification from Home Minister regarding media blackout during SAARC Summit

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Sir, for the last 18 years Trinamool Congress has always been firmly behind the Government on international issues. It is no different today. We are completely on board and welcome this statement.

I have a specific clarification to make because there are two stories going around. It’s best once and for all the Home Minister clarify this, because it’ll be better for all of us here in the House. There is one view that Doordarshan and ANI, who went there, were not given an opportunity. Your speech, Sir, was deliberately blacked out; they were not allowed. Was that the case? Or, the second is, there are some people who are trying to spread some other rumours, saying that this was actually the precedence.

If it was the first, it is a matter of serious concern, Sir; obviously, we are completely behind you. But since there are two stories going around, it is better if you clarify once and for all that it is the first, because then, as the Leader of the Opposition said, we take strong exception to something like this done to the Home Minister of India.