LETTERS

Defence and dissimulation

At long last, some of the presiding priests of our polity have been found to be wallowing in a cesspool of corruption ("Defence and dissimulation", April 13).

Kudos to that dedicated team of journalists who dared to delve deep into the murky world of defence deals.

The sequence of events reveals the artifices employed by the powers-that-be in a sustained manner. Initially they soft-pedalled the whole issue by denying the veracity of the Tehelka tapes. Then they found some scapegoats in senior officials in the Army and the Ministry of Defence. These actions were followed by some resignation dramas. Finally, the Prime Minister addressed the nation, primarily to defend the indefensible Defence Minister. He gave some assurance to the hapless people of this country that he would do his best to root out corruption and he sought their cooperation in this endeavour. The next day it was announced that George Fernandes would continue to be the convener of the National Democratic Alliance. Herculean efforts were made to rein in the dissident elements in the Samata Party, persuading them to withdraw their resignations and their demand to sack Brajesh Mishra and N.K. Singh from the Prime Minister's Office.

The suspension of parliamentary proceedings is unfortunate but apparently unavoidable in the present context when the government has lost its credibility.

All that the Prime Minister was expected to do was to ask persons whose names had been referred to in the Tehelka tapes to step down; initiate criminal proceedings against those who are guilty beyond reasonable doubt and order a separate commission of inquiry to go into the politician-bureaucrat nexus that seems to be operating in the matter of dubious defence deals. But the actions of his government so far exposes its moral poverty. It is an irony that the government sacked a naval chief without any inquiry or serious deliberations on the basis of the same Defence Minister's judgment.

Group Captain G.C. Mohanty (retd)
Balasore, Orissa

Your Cover Story has highlighted a malady that already exists. The question is whether there will be a remedy at least now. The corrupt should be brought to book without delay; transparency and accountability should be ensured not only in the matter of defence deals but all deals involving the government. Donations to political parties should be regulated by law. The system should be restructured in such a way that individuals like Brajesh Mishra and Vincent George do not become all-powerful.

A. Jacob Sahayam
Karigiri, Tamil Nadu

A three-member court of inquiry headed by a Lieutenant-General has been constituted under the Army Act to probe the involvement of defence personnel in the scam and other related matters. Gunning for the Defence Minister and packing him off is one thing but making defence personnel go through the ordeal of facing an inquiry, and possibly court martial proceedings, on charges of corruption is a different ball game altogether. It is indeed a matter of deep sorrow for the entire nation that some of these men in uniform, regardless of whether they are guilty or not, might have earned laurels after fighting bravely in theatres of war, for which the country has to be eternally grateful to them.

The Bofors scandal was confined to politicians in power, a subservient bureaucracy and a few brokers representing foreign suppliers. Corruption among politicians and others in the civilian hierarchy has come to be accepted by the people who, in their cynicism, view the civilian establishment, with the honourable exception of the higher judiciary, as polluted and corrupt. But, in their patriotic zeal, they generally viewed the armed forces as sacred entities with in-built discipline, a sense of honour and a hoary tradition. It will be a grievous mistake for the nation to allow the image of the armed forces to be sullied by the Tehelka episode.

Kangayam R. Rangaswamy
Durham, U.S.

I would like to pose some questions with regard to the episode. Why has no government recognised the legitimacy of political parties receiving donations through cheques?

Who allowed Ottavio Quattrochhi and his wife to go abroad on a "month's holiday" 93 hours before their imminent arrest? Vijaya Rama Rao, the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation then, said: "... we can always get them back". He is now an active politician in Andhra Pradesh. Did the Hinduja brothers finally come to India voluntarily or because the CBI was about to issue an Interpol red corner alert? Why did Madhavsinh Solanki, External Affairs Minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao Government, deliver a handwritten note at Davos to his Swedish counterpart, requesting a step that would have delayed the Bofors investigations further?

India has not signed the Convention Against Corruption adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development? Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile and even Slovenia have done so.

The National Democratic Alliance government has been in power barely for two and half years. Those who are breastbeating about corruption now are the ones who ushered in corruption and thrived on it not long ago.

N. Narasimhan
Bangalore

Right to information

As an American planner who grew up in India in the 1950s, I found the article "Chasing a right in Rajasthan" (April 13) by Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey, fascinating. We have almost as much trouble getting information in the United States as is the case described in Rajasthan, but for an entirely different reason. Our information overload is such that it is hard to know what is the truth and what is not, and most people simply give up. Still, it is possible to find some truth in the overload, whereas getting no information is just that. Democracy is a demanding practice.

J. David Stein
North Carolina State University, U.S.

Gangotri

This has reference to "The receding Gangotri" (April 13).

I visited the Gangotri and Gaumukh in 1980. The sight of the Bhagirathi rushing out of the ice cave was awe-inspiring. However, my next visit in 1993 was a disappointment. We had to cross the debris left behind by the receding glacier to reach the ice cave, which appeared to have shrunk in size. Another surprise was the huge crowd at Bhojbasa, the takeoff point for the trek to Gaumukh. A guest house run by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department was fully booked. The same was the case with a private lodge. The old "Lal Baba" ashram, which was the only spot of human presence earlier, was as crowded as ever.

Perhaps no single factor could be attributed for the phenomenon. Some old sages residing at the Gangotri attribute it to the presence of too many pilgrims. A few experts blame it on the phenomenon of global warming. Scientific investigations should be carried out to find out the reason.

Environmental pollution caused by human activity should also be highlighted. There is no restriction on carrying plastics beyond the Gangotri. Those who trek beyond Gaumukh to Tapovan and Nandanban should be instructed about the need to keep the region free of pollution.

D.B.N. Murthy
Bangalore

Pollution

I thank Frontline for publishing the thought-provoking article "Inadequate assessment" (April 13), highlighting the environmental damage and health problems caused by effluents from tanneries in Vellore district and the meagre sum awarded as compensation to the affected agriculturists by the Loss of Ecology (Prevention of Pollution and Payments of Compensation) Authority constituted by the Central government on the direction of the Supreme Court.

The Authority had failed to take into account the reports prepared earlier by various departments while deciding the quantum of compensation. All the 15164.9676 hectares of wet and drylands, according to the Authority, were either totally or partially destroyed and made barren. The actual figure should be more than one lakh hectares. The report of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Research Centre, Vellore (Virunchee-puram), which was submitted in 1981 but released belatedly to the public on March 6, 1992, had mentioned that between 35,000 and 40,000 hectares, mostly fertile wetlands, had been affected. The report has put the annual loss of revenue between Rs.5,600 and Rs.16,500 a hectare, apart from the cost of inputs and the money spent on improving the fertility of the soil. Since these lands were made fallow, the owners had to be compensated both for land value and the loss of crops.

The Research Centre had also pointed out that people living in the "tannery belt" were suffering from skin and respiratory diseases. The Authority, which has been functioning for over four years, did not take their plight into consideration. It failed to discharge its functions as directed by the Supreme Court.

P.S. Subramanian
Honorary Secretary
Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum
Vellore

Union Budget

Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's Budget is too harsh on the people ("Budget and Reforms II", March 30). In order to protect the interests of the capitalist class, he has launched an unprecedented onslaught on the common people.

What is unique is that he has portrayed the workers as a stumbling block to industrial growth and declared a war on them by proposing drastic amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act. He has said that the Act would be modified in such a way that employers would not have to seek the prior permission of the government for closure, lay-off or retrenchment in industries or establishments employing less than 1,000 workers. What is the compulsion of the Finance Minister to include in the Budget this proposal, which lies in the domain of the Labour Ministry.

With this he wants to convey to the capitalist class the firm commitment of his government to the "second generation reforms". For long, industrial houses have been demanding changes in the "archaic" labour laws. In this period of technological advancements when industries are shifting from a labour-intensive system to a capital-intensive one, the proposed changes in the Industrial Disputes Act will end up providing statutory protection to the capitalists at the expense of the livelihood security of the workers.

D. Narendran
Kannur, Kerala

Rajasthan's thirst

In an agrarian economy like India, a drought can push people, especially tribal women and children, into sub-human conditions ("Rajasthan's thirst", March 30). It is ironical that meanwhile large irrigation projects that can provide protection against monsoon failures and droughts are sought to be scuttled in the name of human rights.

Rekha Buch
Gandhinagar