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TheIndian EXPRESS
www.indianexpress.com

TUESDAY l OCTOBER 2 l 2012

The Indian EXPRESS

BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL

Didi at Jantar Mantar

The pan-India, pro-aam aadmi opposition slot is vacant. But Mamata has her limitations

Y LEADING a protest at Jantar Mantar, Mamata Banerjee is trying to reclaim lost ground in the national arena after her exit from the UPA, and also to position herself as a messiah of the masses. She could find the going much harder than she imagines. The body politic of the aam aadmi has become heavily contested territory. The Left, which used to be its minder, has been strenuously trying to make itself redundant with considerable success. For a while, civil society movements appeared to step into the breach, but faltered. Anna Hazare has retired to his rural idyll. And the BJP, while patronising strange champions who pitched for this space like Ramdev has expressed only a fitful conviction that the party can ever own it, even by proxy. Now that Banerjee has taken the unusual step of temporarily suspending her commitments as chief minister and leading a street protest in order to pick up the baton from these worthies, she would do well to consider why none of them have succeeded in carrying it very far. They have remained trapped in the ambit of the issues they canvassed public attention with, which are actually no more than illthought out demands. Hazare stands for a version of the Lok Pal,

and Ramdev and the BJP are focused on money stashed overseas. None of them, not even the national party, offers anything like an agenda broad enough to be read as political, or to propel the sweeping changes in the fortunes of the poor and the persecuted that they lavishly promise. Basically, these entities have been brought to prominence not on the strength of their agendas, but by the implosion of the opposition, which has left a vacuum that anyone in search of a national profile can try to fill. The Left began its slide into irrelevance by daring the UPA over the Indo-US nuclear deal, an issue that the common man, whose concerns it claimed to champion, did not care about. The BJP is now reduced to calling for an early election, without even the bare bones of a manifesto. Within Parliament, it prefers to stall the House for fear that it could have to make commitments if it allowed it to function. The civil society movements have overreached and lost their way. Banerjees chances are no better than theirs. This year, in a series of controversies that have erupted in her state, she has been exposed as shortsighted, autocratic and ill-advised. She can make a bid to reclaim her footing in Delhi only because the rest of the opposition isnt faring much better.

NDIA is now the second largest global producer of fruit and vegetables at 11.84 and 13.36 per cent of the world total. This has happened in the space of 10 years. In the same period, the cumulative investment in warehouses by the Central government was just Rs 350 crore far from developing a national chain of airconditioned warehouses for perishable products, it does not even begin to make the down payment for the venture. This is the reason why fruit and vegetable prices shoot up in urban markets when the season changes. It is a useful perspective to consider in the debate on foreign investment in multibrand retail. Scientific, organised retail with size and scale is the solution, and it will get a head start from FDI. Money is required in the sector and neither the states nor the Central government have the money to modernise the farm to table chain. Agriculture ministry data also shows public investment in the sector by state governments in this period has plummeted for states like

Big organised retail is the best way to get fresh fruit and other perishables to plates
West Bengal (by 49 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (by 11.5 per cent) and even Goa (by 12 per cent). Gross public investment in the farm sector as a percentage of GDP has stagnated at 15 per cent till 2006-07. These are the reasons why the recently released Global Food Security Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit places India at No. 66, in the company of some chronically malnourished African countries. The figures reinforce the National Sample Surveys 66th round data for 2009-10. Of the total food expenditure in rural India, only 29 per cent is accounted for by cereals; it is even lower at 22 per cent for urban India. Milk and vegetables account for a much larger percentage of the food basket at 27 per cent for rural India and 30 per cent for urban. Affordability and quality can only be improved by repairing the broken down investment chain. As the experience of the last ten years shows, the government cannot do it. Turning to large-scale investment by the private sector and to FDI remains the best option.

Time is ripe

T DOESNT require a Mumbai domicile to notice the discernible drag in the functioning of the Maharashtra government over the last two years. Much to the embarrassment of Prithviraj Chavan, this drag has been co-terminus with his appointment by the Congress leadership as chief minister in November 2010. You dont need to go far to find the reasons for the freeze in decision-making. Prithviraj is upright, but unlike others who have had long stints heading the state, he is not really a grassroots politician. He did not cut his teeth in cooperatives like Sharad Pawarorclimbthepoliticalladderas asarpanchlikeVilasraoDeshmukh. His writ could still have ruled, had Maharashtra been a single-party governed state. But coalitions a reality in the state since 1995 require a shrewd manager with political acumen and coordination skills, if not overpowering stature. Prithviraj, unfortunately, has neither. But he wears honesty and integrity on his sleeve, qualities few politicians in the state possess. In the last 23 months, his actions, or rather inaction, on various fronts has been attributed to the imperative to address the gradual erosion of public confidence in the government and politicians. The irregularities in the Adarsh Housing Society affair may have compromised his predecessor Ashok Chavan. In fact, the latters act of allegedly managing three flats for members of his family in the south Mumbai apartment complex appeared to exemplify the degradation that has permeated public life. So a clean-up was inevitable. The irregularities in the irrigation projects, talked about since 2009, have now consumed the NCPs star leaderAjitPawar,evenifitisonlytill the state publishes a white paper. PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal (NCP), Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare (NCP), Transport Minister Gulabrao Deokar (Congress) and Education Minister Rajendra Darda (Congress), who have

Mr Clean, act
Maharashtra CM can no longer cite graft to delay decisions, and not work with the NCP
P. VAIDYANATHAN IYER
been embroiled in scams, do not inspire confidence and would do better to pave the way for a more sanitised administration. The clean-up act, which saw little file movement in the last two years, has inflicted considerable damage on general governance in the state. Even diehard optimists in Maharashtra have shut their eyes to the good things happening around them. The internecine war within both the Congress and the NCP as well as the struggle between the two, corruption in the award of contracts by the alliance government, and Prithvirajs method of tackling this by holding on to files have all but killed peoples expectations. Nothstate power surplus, and it will be ready to export power in the next financial year. This is no mean achievement.Otherwiseprogressive states, such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, have a long way to gobeforetheybecomeself-sufficient inpower.Uninterruptedelectricityis a big draw for investors, and the state, which had slipped in the pecking order, may again stake claim. The other project that is hugely significant for Mumbai, but has not quite caught public attention, is the eastern freeway an almost 16kilometre stretch comprising elevated roads and tunnels that will connect south Mumbai to the eastern suburbs. The economic impact

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The chief minister needs to focus on urban development and creating employment opportunities. To unblock file work, he should decentralise power, which seems to be concentrated in the Mantralaya. Ministers are losing the moral authority to put in place a clean administration because they are increasingly interested in individual cases rather than in reforming systems and procedures.
ing else can explain the fact that two otherwise remarkable events the prospect of the state becoming power surplus and the city getting a road project that will decongest its main arterial road have failed to fire the citizens imaginations. Let me quickly elaborate on the two bits of good news that should normally have been head-turners. The first one: with a private player committing 1,200 megawatts from its Amravati project to the state by December, load shedding will be a thingofthepastinmostpartsofMaharashtra. Another 3,500 MW project entirely dedicated to the state is expected to start generation in another six months. This will make the of the freeway, to be operational by March next year, will be enormous. It will decongest city traffic significantly by opening an altogether new link. Under normal circumstances, these two projects would have been reason enough for celebration. But circumstances have been far from normal. Prithviraj has his task cut out. Not only must he rejuvenate the state Congress, he also has to infuse trust and fresh energy into the Democratic Front alliance. Most importantly, he has to show hope to the city and the states citizens. The one-time clean-up act, according to people who have a long-term stake in the citys growth, was definitely

required. It is almost done now for the state, and definitely for the city. The chief minister now needs to move on to focus on urban development and creating new employment opportunities. To unblock file work, he should decentralise power, which seems to be concentrated in the Mantralaya. For instance, if you want to organise a charity show, the district collector should be able to take the decision. Similarly, a local labour inspector should have the power to let shops and establishments remain open beyond 10 pm. Ministers have kept almost all powers in their own hands; this has led to the delays and introduced middlemen. They seldom hold meetings on important projects, busy as they are with transfers and postings, award of contracts and grant of licences. Why should the home minister handle the transfer of a police constable, or even that of IPS officers, when there are well-established mechanisms? But R.R. Patil takes transfers and postings seriously. Ministers are losing the moral authority to put in place a clean administration because they are increasingly interested in individual cases rather than in reforming systems and procedures. Naturally, then, inefficiency has seeped into the bureaucracy and is gnawing at the very roots of the administration. Prithviraj has to work with the NCP that may not change till 2014 and make the alliance work. Hed be well advised to get them on board. People have waited for two years for his clean-up act, but their patience will wear out if he doesnt deliver now. He cant push decisions, however difficult they may be, under the carpet by citing the possibility of graft. For the city, to begin with,heshouldgetdowntothebrass tacks of implementing the western freeway that will complete the garland around the island city, providingconnectivityfromsouthMumbai to the western suburbs. The writer is editor, Mumbai
pv.iyer@expressindia.com

Letters to the

EDITOR

Mere opposition
APROPOS BJP who? (IE, September 29), it is true that the BJP anxious to achieve , its political goals, is busy criticising the Congress. However, most political parties like to blame external forces. The Congress, for instance, would like to blame foreign powers for its failures in governance. As the main opposition party, the BJP needs to tell the people how its policies and programmes will be different from the Congresss and how it can reverse the economic slowdown if it comes to power. Satwant Kaur Mahilpur

Fifty years after their first single, to listen to The Beatles is to feel the shock of the new
unvarnished Liverpudlian accent heldaraw,radicalenergythatwould promptthepoetPhilipLarkintocall 1963 his annus mirabilis the yearthesexualrevolutionarrivedin Britain, somewhere between the end of the Chatterley ban and the BeatlesfirstLP.Perhapsitwasthe contrast between the bands seraphic veneer and the explosive musicitmadethatdrovefanscrazy,with girlsfaintingatBeatlesconcertsand people screaming so hard the four could barely hear themselves play. Regular, respectable people, it was suddenlydiscovered,couldrockand roll as well. Half a century later, the Beatles have become their own institution, endlessly memorialised, eulogised and imitated. Yet their fans range from the generation that went to their concerts in the 1960s to teenagers whose growing years have been soundtracked by their songs. For to hear the Beatles for the first time is to feel, as always, the shock of the new.

Anytime at all

IFTY years ago today, the first Beatles single was three days from being released. Composedfouryearsearlierbya16year-old Paul McCartney, its skiffle roots still showing, and accompanied by a dockside harmonica, Love Me Do reached number 17 on the UK charts. Ringo Starr was relegated to the tambourine in that first version, and a professional drummer hired. Used to playing the greats, such as Little Richard and Ray Charles, in their live performances, the band was shy about its own pieces at first We thought our numbers were a bit wet. But in 1964, Love Me Do would reach number one on the US charts. It was the beginning of the Beatles transformation from band to icon. For one, by 1962, the Beatles had abandoned drainpipes and leather jacketsforthemoptopsandtailored suits that would become part of so many iconic images. But these were no crooners. The numbers belted outbythefourlovablemoptopsinan

T WAS Mark Twain who said that everyone talks about the weather, but does nothing about it. In India, the accurate forecasting of monsoons is of particular importance. This year again our forecasts have been largely off the mark. As a result, there was no chance for timely adaptation measures. The Indian Meteorological Department has suffered from years of neglect, but with the formation of the ministry of earth sciences, there are efforts to improve knowledge and scientific capabilities for monsoon predictions, and for projecting the impacts of climate change. These efforts urgently need to be accelerated and expanded. Scientific knowledge in assessing all aspects of climate change has advanced considerably in recent years. The fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) said that most of the warming that has taken place since the middle of the last century is very likely the result of increase in the concentration of anthropogenic or human-induced greenhouse gases. The term very likely in this context connotes a probability level of 90 per cent or above. The IPCC also assesses that climate change has an impact on human health, agriculture, the occurrence of floods and droughts and threats to biodiversity. In November 2011, the IPCC published a special report on

R.K. PACHAURI

India must integrate responses to climate change with its development strategy
managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation (SREX), which provides findings of great consequence to India. Global weather and climate related disaster losses reported over the last few decades reflect mainly monetised, direct damages to assets, and are unequally distributed. Since 1980, annual loss estimates have ranged from a few billion dollars to $200 billion the highest being in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit. Loss estimates, however, are lower bound estimates. Many impacts, such as loss of human lives, culyear hottest day is likely to become a 1-in-2 year event by the end of the 21st century in most regions, except in the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Also, it is likely that the frequency of heavy precipitation or the proportion of total rainfall from heavy falls will increase in the 21st century over many areas of the globe. The SREX contains an assessment of the July 2005 flooding in Mumbai, the result of a heavy precipitation event right in the middle of the monsoon season. It highlighted the vulnerability of the city on several counts. First, Mumbai is one of many coastal megacities range of future climate change scenarios, called low regret measures, can be starting points to address projected climate extremes. Potential low regret measures include early warning systems, risk communication between decision-makers and local citizens, sustainable land management, including land use planning, as well as ecosystem management and restoration. In a city like Mumbai, improvements in health surveillance, water supply, sanitation as well as in irrigation and drainage systems would be important. So would better education and awareness. There are limits to resilience when the thresholds or tipping points of social and natural systems are exceeded. But the AR4 illustrated that many impacts can be reduced, delayed or avoided by mitigation. Delays in emissions reduction limits opportunities to achieve lower stabilisation levels and increases the risk of more severe climate change impacts. Countries across the globe must keep in mind these realities because while adaptation is a challenge to be taken up locally, mitigation requires a global response. India, meanwhile, needs to move more purposefully in implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change. The writer is director-general, TERI, and chairman, Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change
express@expressindia.com

Shelter from the storm

FOR all practical purposes, Anna Hazares crusade against corruption has run out of steam. However, its decline has come faster than most people expected (Anna Hazare decides not to accept funds despite Arvind Kejriwals offer, IE, September 23). Members of Hazares campaign had their own agendas. Arvind Kejriwal opposed the Congress candidate in the Hisar Lok Sabha by-election while Kiran Bedi is clearly inclined towards the BJP Prashant Bhushan ruffled . feathers with his statements on Jammu and Kashmir. Their flop show at the Mumbai fast last year framed the waning of the campaign. The Jantar Mantar fast by Kejriwal and Manoj Sisodia brought the split within into the open. While Kejriwal and Sisodia decided to take the political route, Hazare and Bedi went into a huge sulk. It is unlikely that the campaign will be back any time soon. R.J. Khurana Bhopal

Losing team

Famous victory

INDIAS emphatic win over

A 50-centimetre rise in sea level, along with storm surges, would render uninhabitable the low-lying areas where many of Mumbais informal settlements are located.
tural heritage and ecosystem services, are difficult to monetise and are thus poorly reflected in estimates of losses. Impacts on the informal or undocumented economy as well as indirect economic effects are generally not counted in reported loss estimates either. Future projections show that there are reasons for India and others to integrate responses to climate change with development strategies and take steps to adapt to the impacts of climate change. For instance, it is projected that there will be a substantial rise in temperature extremes by the end of the 21st century. Based on plausible emissions scenarios, a 1-in-20 which have been built, in part, on reclaimed land, a process that increases flood risks to low-lying areas. A 50-centimetre rise in sea level, together with storm surges, would render uninhabitable the coastal and low-lying areas where many of Mumbais informal settlements are currently located. The need to adapt is especially acute in developing countries in Asia. Scaled up financing for adaptation may be needed to safeguard the residents and economic activities in these cities and bring them on par with other coastal megacities that face similar population and asset exposure, such as New York or Tokyo. Measures that provide benefits in the current climate and a

WORDLY WISE
Peter Ustinov

Corruption is natures way of restoring our faith in democracy.

IKHEIL Saakashvili, who swept to power in Georgia nine years ago in the rose revolution, used to be the darling of Washington and Brussels. Young, aggressive, Atlanticist, intent on securing membership of Nato, Saakashvili appeared straight out of central casting. To the West, his message in fluent English was simple: back me and you will help a young democracy in the volatile Caucasus escape the neo-Soviet orbit of Vladimir Putins Russia... Almost a decade on... electoral lists have been doctored, opposition figures and human rights activists have been attacked and arrested. Satellite trucks belonging to opposition channels have been damaged. Disproportionate financial sanctions have been imposed for violations of election law. The tar-

Nine years after the revolution, Georgia is turning increasingly authoritarian

get of Saakashvilis fear is Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch whose wealth is equal to half of Georgias GDP. After years of quiet philanthropy, Ivanishvili burst on to the scene as the head of the Georgian Dream coalition. Accused of being a creature of the Kremlin and of attempting to buy votes, he has seen his support mushroom and stands a good chance under free elections. Saakashvili faces the biggest challenge to his authority yet. He is due to stand down as president next year, but under constitutional changes, power will transfer to the prime minister. Who does this remind you of? Vladimir Putin? Surely not. From a leader in The Guardian

Without rose coloured glasses

Pakistan will be savoured for a long time. (Kohli gives finishing touch, IE, October 1). Our players clicked in every department of the game. Virender Sehwag and Laxmipathy Balaji fully justified their reinduction into the playing eleven. Virat Kohli was at his usual belligerent best, and what to say about Irfan Pathan who is maturing from match to match? Pathan invariably provides India the initial breakthrough from where the spinners can take over. The surprise package was Yuvraj Singh, who pegged back the Pakistani batsmen when they were threatening to take away the game from India. He and Ravichandran Ashwin, with their measured bowling, kept Pakistan under control. Restricting Pakistan to 128 made the job that much easier for India. Ganapathi Bhat Akola

Law and order

PRINTLINE

change world, must do duty for service: CJI at farewell (IE, September 29). Outgoing Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia sets a tall order for all citizens of our country, not just the judiciary. He finished 20 years as a judge without a taking single days leave, even when he fractured his leg. It is unbelievable in todays day and age. Girish Dubey Chikhli

THIS refers to Judges cant