Is Uma Bharti helpless ?
She is Cabinet Minister for Water Resources / River
Development / Ganga Rejuvenation
Immediately after taking over in May 2014 , she
launched " Swatchh Ganga " project
After struggling for past 19 months , Ganga continues
to be as polluted as before
As it flows through the Northern States , thousands of
factories continue to dump their untreated chemical effluents into it , despite
laws prohibiting this
And hundreds of cities / towns , continue to
discharge their untreated sewage into it
I am sure , if she were to read following news report
in Business Line ( 26 Dec 2015 ) , she would want to cry in anguish and even
wonder :
" Of course , democracy is a wonderful thing
- provided
* MPs / MLAs server the interests of
the people who elected them , whether they are in party of power or sitting in
the opposition
* And the government officers /
police were to enforce whatever laws exist and book the offenders, without fear
or favor ( no " parrot in the cage " syndrome )
* And the Courts hear the cases and
pass orders on the same day ( no dates )
But , if none of this is likely to happen in a
democracy , can I have the powers of the Chinese Ministry of Environment
Protection , which :
# Received 12,369 telephonic complaints
# Inspected 14 lakh companies between Jan - Sept
( 5091 per day )
# Ordered 28,600 companies to suspend their
operations ( 102 per day )
# Shut down 17,000 polluting industries (
61 per day )
# Found 46,800 companies discharging pollutants
# Discovered 63,700 companies involved in illegal
constructions "
It is time citizens of India asked themselves :
" To 480 million BPL ( below poverty line )
people of India , what matters more ,
* Right to vote / select , MPs
/ MLAs , once in 5 years , or
* Freedom from hunger and
freedom from pollution / diseases ?
For a solution , read my blog " ROMP - a panacea ?
" at www.hemenparekh.in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hemen parekh
26 Dec 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment