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THIS refers to the editorial “Parbati project is on” in The Tribune of November 14, 1999, which mentions that the project was envisaged way back in 1991. Well, I know an engineer who had got his first appointment at the age of 18 for the Parbati project and has retired now. That tells the truth that the project was conceived around 40 years back. Now that the foundation stone has at last been laid, one can only hope that it will not become one of the too many such stones around.

While the country is celebrating its Thermal Centenary this year (the first thermal plant having I MW capacity was set up in Calcutta in 1899), there is urgent need to promote hydel power projects which provide pollution-free power at a very low cost. As on today, 66000 MW of the country’s total generation capacity of 90,000 MW is being produced by thermal projects, thereby resulting in a hydel-thermal ratio of 26:74 which does not match the desirable ratio.

A salient feature of the Parbati project is that its installation cost is expected to be very low in comparison to the standard figures. It is hoped that the multiplication of time and cost over-runs will not be allowed on this mega-project and full quality in construction work will be ensured.

Mr Balraj Mehta has done well to inform the readers that “the export of farm goods by the USA and the European Union enjoys high subsidies, which India cannot match”. (‘‘The imperative of food security”, The Tribune, December 7). It is a fact that even developed countries like the USA and Australia cannot afford to stop subsidising agriculture and animal husbandry. These countries go to the extent of purchasing and destroying the whole lots of food grains, butter, etc, to ensure that farming remains a profitable occupation. The government should heed the advice against scaling down “investment in the development of agriculture and should restore the cuts imposed in the outgoing decade.

An example will be in place. It is now an established fact that a Jersey or Fresian bull produced at a cattle farm gives daughters that yield at least three litres more of milk per day as compared to their mother-cows. Since a bull produces one lakh semen doses, after accounting for the sex-ratio and mortality, one bull on an average benefits 25,000 families to the extent of 900 more litres of milk, or an additional income of Rs 9,000 per lactation or, say, per year. And for the 10 next years Rs 90,000 per female calf.

Thus it is that a proven-sire sells for Rs 7 lakh or more in the USA and other developed countries. In India, farmers sell such a bull for Rs 7000. Does the Indian farmer, traditionally poor as he is, not deserve this help? What is wrong with supplying him with seeds for better yields at prices he can afford?

On the other hand, the government does not mind the heaviest and the most undesirable subsidy it spends on its employees. No work for full pay. Life-long subsidy. Closing down centres of production without a will or the guts to reduce the number of employees will only increase the numbers of these fully paid jobless employees.

Anyone will agree that if the government reduces the number of its employees by 30 per cent, as recommended by the Pay Commission, and manages to collect even 30 per cent of the taxes that the business community should be paying, it will not be necessary to slash subsidy on agriculture — a subsidy no country can stop unless it is prepared to go begging for food.

Rural banks: unfair attitude

I read with interest the news-item “Indira Gandhi Prize for Dr Yunus” (November 19). The award has been given to Dr Muhammed Yunus, the Founder-Chairman of Gramin Bank, Dhaka, for his invaluable contribution to the methodology of “abolishing poverty in the developing world”.

But what is the policy of the Government of India towards the employees working in the 196 Gramin banks in our country? They have been denied a wage revision as per the sixth bipartite settlement in the banking industry. The government has been dilly-dallying the revision for the last many years.

This shows the government’s discriminatory attitude. While the employees of commercial banks working in the rural branches get a better salary and perks, those working in the Gramin banks are denied these benefits. The government should, without any delay, remove this anomaly and release the benefits of wage revision to the employees of regional rural banks.

DWARKA DASS
Kainaur (Ropar)

I read with interest the report “Electric shocks with naked wires” (December 11). It is true, as stated in the status report, that the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) launched more than a decade ago has not made much headway so far.

Realising the fact that the small number of mental health specialists, mostly confined to a few urban centres, have been unable to meet the needs of the entire community, mental health care services have been integrated with the existing primary health care system by imparting a brief in-service training to general physicians and field health workers in the peripheral health care units in selected districts, enabling them to identify, diagnose and manage the commonly encountered mental disorders right in the community itself —their homes. Further more, health workers are also supposed to create awareness among the masses about mental health and remove their misconceptions and unscientific practices.

This approach in the delivery of mental health care services has been found feasible with the advent of inexpensive and effective drugs and simple mode of treatment. Thus the practice of dumping almost every mentally ill patient in mental hospitals or running after quacks and faith-healers is now considered unnecessary. What is needed is to put the patient on proper treatment by the trained general physician at the earliest. The state health administration, however, must ensure that the staff in selected districts under the NMHP are imparted thorough training to undertake the assigned responsibilities satisfactorily. Half-hearted measures will not give the desired results.

The present Government of Haryana, immediately after taking over, had committed itself to granting revised pay scales and pension to its employees and pensioners as per the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission as accepted by the Central Government, but the same have not been fully implemented so far in respect of the pensioners.

It is good that on December 14 the Haryana Cabinet decided for the fixation of pension/family pension of the pre-1986 pensioners and family pensioners as per the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, which was long overdue. However, a major recommendation of the commission in respect of pensioners/family pensioners still remains unimplemented.

There is a great disparity in the pension admissible to the pre-1996 pensioners (who are getting much lower pension) and those who retired after January 1, 1996, on the revision of pay scales from January 1, 1996. To reduce the disparity, it was recommended by the commission to fix the pension of the pre-1996 pensioners subject to a minimum of 50 per cent of the lowest stage in the revised pay scale of the rank from which the pensioner had retired. This was accepted by the Central Government in December, 1998, and these rates were made applicable from January 1, 1996. However, the Haryana Government, has not allowed this so far.

Therefore, the necessary orders for the release of pension to the pre-1996 pensioners at the rate of 50 per cent of the lowest stage in the revised pay scale of the rank from which they had retired should be issued soon.

This has reference to your editorial “Not by populism alone” (Dec 7). You are right when you talk about social, economic and educational assistance to person belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Reservation is not a solution. It is populist politics. In fact, reservation of any type has no place in a competitive age. But political leaders are bent upon appeasing one section of society at the cost of others to extract political gains, jeopardising national interests. How long will these politicians go on playing populist politics? Enough is enough. Time is not far away when the country will be dragged into a class conflict if the reservation is not done away completely.

The editorial “Wedded to ostentation!” (Dec 14) makes us think how political leaders mock at India struggling to oust poverty, even after 50 years of independence. As the details have been given, Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and former Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav organised a “Wedding show” of their daughter which seems to be a mockery on the poor struggling for their living.

Dr Subramaniam Swamy claimed that the Income Tax Department placed the cost of the wedding of Jayalalitha’s foster son in September, 1995, at Rs 117 crore. All these seems to be a vulgar display of wealth for a country like India.

Similarly, the recent “Wedding show” by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party raises the question if Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav really knows what “Samajwad” means. One is forced to think that from where this money reached them to flow like water.

This has reference to Ms Humra Quraishi’s piece, “B.C. Sanyal’s revealing memories” (The Tribune, December 13).

I was amazed to read Sanyal’s scathing statement in which he lambasted “(Pritish) Nandy and other sharks in the art market.” For, one can’t throw stones at others while living in a glass house. “Ageing” Sanyal might have forgotten the fact that even he used to act like a shark and would not allow the small fish to grow. For, it is on record that Sanyal had bought, in preference to a number of other deserving young artists’ work, a number of his own paintings, for the permanent collection of the Chandigarh Museum, while being one of the members of the purchase committee. Pritish Nandy and others remained good in his eyes perhaps only till they praised/promoted him.

I have been born and brought up in the City Beautiful, a place which has always been a source of pride for all who belong to Chandigarh. Another thing that is remarkable about this city is the effort made by its residents to solve the problems that have befallen the city. In the article “Time is running out for City Beautiful” by Sarabjit Singh has very well highlighted on the major problems facing our city.

I am currently staying in Chicago, finishing my residency in neurology, and visited Chandigarh two weeks back after one year. The change for the worse a very noticeable, especially the encroachments, new slums and the migrant population at the various roundabouts and parks.

I hope the Chandigarh Administration will wake up to this major problem being faced by our city. I know the residents of the city would gladly join in all the efforts, as always. Let us make an effort to keep our city SPECIAL!

Mr Sunanda K. Dutta-Ray, in his article “Socialism and secularism; redefining Congress ideology” (The Tribune, Dec 16) highlighted Mr N.V. Gadgil’s note to Mrs Sonia Gandhi on “modernising, re-modelling and redefining Congress ideology”, arguing that “socialism and secularism no more appealed to the electorate” and thus the party can stick to these articles of its ideology only at its peril.

Well, I fully share and whole-heartedly endorse Mr Datta-Ray’s view that the Congress should, in no case and under no circumstances, give “secularism” a go-by. “Competitive communalism”, as the eminent writer has aptly observed, would prove ruinous not only for the historic party but also the country at large.

Whether “socialism” should be outrightly discarded or retained as part and parcel of party ideology as before seems debatable. Apparently, a pro-poor tilt to every economic policy of the government seems an imperative of the situation obtaining in the country at the moment. Even the much-trumpeted economic reforms need to be given a human face, failing which the freeplay of ruthless market forces would crush the poor.

Thus, to my mind, the party would be well-advised to hasten in the delicate matter very slowly and cautiously lest it should be accused of leaving the hapless multitudes in the lurch.

	M A I L B A G	Monday, December 20, 1999
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