A ship about to sink : Pritish Nandy

I like Manmohan Singh. He has immaculate credentials. It’s these credentials that have seen the UPA through its most stormy years. If Singh wasn’t Prime Minister, the Government would have collapsed a long time back. No, not because of its inherent coalition contradictions but because it’s simply not possible for so many crooks with conflicting agendas to loot the country together, almost as if in perfect unison. The Indian Political Philharmonic Orchestra must be the world’s most amazing cacophony of rogues, rascals and robbers.  

Luckily for the UPA, there was always Singh to fall back on. Most middle class Indians refuse to be cynical. We know exactly what’s happening around us, we criticise it constantly, but when it comes to the crunch we all rally around the nation and the flag. We are not bat-brained paranoids. Neither are we wide-eyed innocents ready to buy into every ridiculous explanation thrown our way to explain the loot that’s taking place in broad daylight. But the latest season of scams has flummoxed all. This is not just Alibaba and his chaalis chors. Everyone among the chaalis chors is another Alibaba with his own chaalis chors. That’s the way the pyramid of crime operates today. But because Singh, soft spoken and self effacing, is the face of this Government, India has kept faith.

But now, enough is enough. Neither Singh nor Pranab Mukherjee, nor anyone else is capable any more of saving this Government. It’s neck deep in its own sticky sleaze. What’s worse, you haven’t seen anything yet. All these scams are but the tip of the iceberg. Talk to anyone and you will get an instant dhobi list of scams in queue to break. No, I am not saying this. Congress leaders are, in private. Look at Singh, wan and waylost. Or Mukherjee going apopleptic in faux anger because he has to defend what he knows is indefensible. They look less convincing than Rakhi Sawant playing Joan of Arc.

The problem is: We have voted into power the stupidest bunch of thieves. They are such losers that they can’t steal a hamburger without leaving ketchup stains all over. Yet they are constantly trying to pull off the biggest scams in history. From Rs 64 crore in Bofors, they have upped the ante to Rs 170,0000 crore in 2G and no, I am not including hundreds of aircraft Air India bought while sinking into bankruptcy and preposterous sums spent on arms deals that have made India the world’s second largest arms buyer when we can’t provide food and healthcare to 60% Indians. Our leaders are making deals on the sly with greedy builders, land sharks, illegal mining companies, corporate fixers, shady arms dealers and, O yes, US diplomats who want to manipulate our political choices. And, what’s more amazing, they do it like bungling idiots. Even Inspector Clouseau can outwit them.

But that doesn’t mean they are not malevolent. These are people who are destroying India from within. They are not just robbing you, me, and the exchequer. They are destroying institutions, subverting laws, vandalising our heritage and history, and trying to build a dazzling, amoral edifice of crime and corruption unprecedented in the nation’s history. It’s a scary scenario that could turn the land of the Mahatma into one gigantic Gotham City with a flyover to hell.

But my question is more basic: Can we trust these idiots to run this great nation? If you travel and meet people across India, you will realise that for every scam that breaks—and currently there’s one breaking every week—there are ten more waiting in line. The media has never had it so good! And it’s the same gang whose names keep coming up. Kalmadi, Satish Sharma, Sant Chatwal, Ashok Chavan. The NCP lot. The DMK. And everyone, in private, is protesting his own innocence, pointing fingers at someone else. It’s a sure sign of a collapsing regime. It’s what happened when Rajiv with a staggering majority in parliament lost his mandate to govern. Rats alone don’t leap off a sinking ship. So do everyone else.

So even though Singh, like Pontius Pilate, may wash his hands off every scam that hits the headlines, the fact is: The longer this Government stays, the more compromised the Congress will be, and the less capable of coming back to power. You can’t allow the sovereignty of a nation to be compromised just to win a confidence vote. You can’t bribe MPs to get your way in parliament. You can’t allow a shady hotelier, with CBI cases against him, to play roving diplomat and, worse, give him a Padma Bhushan for it. You can’t appoint a tainted bureaucrat as the nation’s CVC. You can’t file a FIR against a corrupt CM and then allow him to melt away. You can’t let the prime witness to the nation’s biggest scam, who offered to turn approver, be murdered in broad daylight and pretend it’s a suicide.

If this is the best this Government can do, it’s time to step down.

link above with thanks Times of India

mailed to us by : Ranju Minhas : with thanks

Service tax coming on healthcare, rail tickets?

NEW DELHI: If the government has its way, you could soon be paying service tax on your hospital bill, rail tickets, several government services, capitation fee and hiring a marriage hall from the municipal agency. 

A concept note floated by the finance ministry has proposed to exclude only a handful of services - education, funeral and farming activities from the tax net. The list of 27 segments that would be excluded from service tax also includes interest and dividend earned, religious services and betting and gambling. 

In case of health, the finance ministry has given two options. One option is to exclude all services provided by clinical establishments with turnover under Rs 4 crore from the tax net. This means that apart from your medical bill at a large private hospital you will also have to pay service tax, which could be 10% of the total amount. 


with thanks : times of India : link above for detailed news.


www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
www.RWABhagidari.com

Power Tariff Hike

This will only mean that more people will "steal" electricity.


Mayur Vihar Extn RWA

Power Tariff Hike

I think DERC has no right to raise the POWER TARIFF by 22 %. It should be decided after 
coming the CAG AUDIT REPORT. It is contempt of court whenever this matter is pending for 

consideration before the H'onble Delhi High Court.

D K Gupta

Jharkhandi RWA

Power Tariff Hike

HIKE IN THE TARRIF RATE IS TOTALLY WRONG. WHEN MORE THAN 4000 CR ARE PROFIT OF DERC. MORE THAN 8000 UNIT OF ELECTRIC CITY IS SUPPLUS ON DELHI ACCOUNT. WE OPPOSE THIS TARRIF HIKE.  WE SUUGEST THAT THE PROFIT OF DERC SHOULD BE DISTRIBUTED AMONGEST THE CONSUMERS OR THE RATE SHOULD BE REDUCED FOR NEXT 2/3 YEARS.

 

R.K.SHARMA

GEL SECY

RWA E POCKET

GTB ENCLAVE

Power Tariff Hike

Dear friends, Govt. Depts. have their own way of doing the price hike work in every sphere. I wonder why all such departments periodically review and enhance the tariff on a planned and phased manner year after year which will reduce the burden of all instead of hiking sporadically like this. For instance, the Railways have not increased the rail fare for the last few years to earn the goodwill of aam aadmi and their votes paying little attention to the comfort and safe travel of the public. Then all of a sudden they increase (which is bound to happen some time or the other) the fare, followed by agitation damaging public property etc. Take water tariff, which was increased by an astounding figure of 70% which we had taken the initiative and publicized through this channel as well. Did anybody protest and was it reduced! NO!! Electricity tariff followed, which got wide publicity unlike the water tariff. Can we live without water but we could survive without electricity at least from some time. Why not we plead with all Govt. agencies like DJB, MCD, BSES etc. etc. to have a chartered increase in tariff spread over a period of time which the people could expect and not taken aback suddenly like the one now. There is no such system. It is system failure. Why should we have 'sodium vapour bulbs' for street lights replacing the tube lights consuming four to five times of power. Take parks all of them illuminated with halogen bulbs consuming enormous power. Why not the BSES adopt the CFL bulbs for all these purposes, which have been adopted by Chennai Municipal Corporation which will reduce the consumption of power drastically. Again why the street lights remain lighted till 7 a.m. while they could be shut much earlier. We had pleaded with the authorities concerned to fix the switches for switching of the street lights at convenient points on each wing of the colony but not yet done so that we could (RWAs) ourselves switch off leading to considerable saving of power. We are yet to adopt the scheme of replacing the conventional bulbs etc. by CFLs on exchange basis. Similarly, gas connection could be got to geyser, instead of using the conventional power supply which would also reduce the power consumption to a considerable extent! In Govt. offices and public places lights and fans are always on irrespective of the requirement and necessity!  By all these means we could reduce the electricity consumption beyond imagination! Is it astounding! By protesting on the streets and damaging the public property we cannot achieve what we desire, except 'cheap publicity' through various means of media, which only perhaps we wish to project ourselves. No offence to anyone!  With regards, TK Balu Secretary/RBECHS/Anand Vihar

Power Tariff hike ?

Awaiting your valued comments on the Power tariff hike by DERC by a massive 22 %. Why don't you say something ? Please mail us your comments. You can also post your reply at : http://www.facebook.com/pages/East-Delhi-RWAs-Joint-Front/209100842435768

Har karam apna karenge, Eh watan tere liye .....

Thanks Anna Ji

B S Vohra

President

East Delhi RWAs Joint Front

www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

www.RWABhagidari.com

Power in Delhi to cost more; DERC raises tariff by 21.77%

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) Electricity will now cost more to the people of Delhi, with power regulator DERC today raising tariff by 21.77 per cent.

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) announced its new tariff policy laying out the increase, which though substantial from the consumers'' point of view is much less than the 50 per cent sought by the discoms.

The new rates would come into effect from September 1.

The DERC did not announce any new tariffs last year.

The new tariff comes at a time when the high court is considering whether or not the Comptroller and Auditor General should scrutinise the accounts of the discoms.


with thanks msn :  http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5395019


Delhi :Now electricity bill to pinch your pocket


New Delhi: People already reeling under highinflation will now have to shell out more on electricity billswith city's power regulator on Friday announcing a nearly 22 percent hike in tariff for almost all categories of consumers.

In more bad news for consumers, the tariff may also go up every three months as regulator -- DERC -- decided to reviewthe electricity rates quarterly to adjust the power purchasecost of the distribution companies.

The new rates, announced today after a prolongedcontroversy, will come into effect from September one.


"We have decided to increase the tariff by 21.77 percent. The hike is necessary as power sector is not insulatedfrom inflation and other market parameters," P D Sudhakar,chairman of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission toldreporters.


As per the new rates, a domestic consumer will be chargedRs 3 per unit for first 200 units of power instead of currentRs 2.45. The rate for per unit of power has been increased to Rs4.80 from current Rs 3.95 per unit for usages between next 200unit to 400 unit while Rs 5.70 per unit will be chargedinstead of current Rs 4.65 for usages beyond 400 unit.


The monthly fixed charges for consumers having asanctioned load of upto 2 kilowatts have been increased fromRs 24 to Rs 30 while consumers having sanctioned load between2 kilowatts to 5 kilowatts will have to pay Rs 75 as fixedcharges instead of current Rs 60.

The fixed charges for consumers having a sanctioned loadof above five kilowatt will have to pay Rs 15 instead ofcurrent Rs 12.

Sudhakar said DERC will adjust the rates after everythree months depending on increase in power purchase cost. Hesaid power purchase cost keeps changing due to increase ordecrease in cost of fuel used for production of power.

For the non-domestic consumers, the rate has been increased from Rs 5.40 to Rs 6.50 per unit of power for those having a sanctioned load upto 10 kilo watt while per unit ofpower has been hiked to Rs 6.10 from Rs 4.92 per unit forconsumers having sanctioned load between 10 kilowatts to 100kilowatts.

The DERC announced separate rates for industrial units,agricultural activities, public lighting etc.

For Delhi Metro, rates have been increased to Rs 3.80 from Rs 3 per unit while for Delhi Jal Board it has been hikedto Rs 5.60 from Rs 4.70.

Citing severe liquidity crunch, all the three privatepower distribution companies in the city have been demanding ahike in the range of 50 to 60 per cent.

In May last year, the city government had through anotification stalled DERC's decision to announce the annualtariff for 2010-11 till it re-examines the demands fromdiscoms to increase the rates.

The DERC, which was making last minute preparations toannounce the new tariff, after receiving the governmentdirective had indicated that it had planned to cut down thetariff by 20 to 25 per cent as discoms would have a surplus ofaround Rs 4,000 crore if the existing tariff was not changed.

Although DERC was strongly arguing for a cut in tariff,the three-member regulator, following retirement andsubsequent appointment of two new members, gave indication oftaking a sympathetic approach to the demands of the discoms.

The government's notification was quashed by DelhiHigh Court in February, describing the intervention as"absolutely unjustified, unwarranted, untenable".

While effecting the hike for the private discoms, theCommission has kept electricity rates at significantly lowerlevel for NDMC areas where power is distributed by the civicagency itself.

For first 100 units, a consumer in the NDMC area willhave to pay Rs 2 per unit while it will go up to Rs 2.70 forunits between 101 and 200. The per unit charge will go up toRs 3.60 for usages between 201 and 400 units and for above 400units it will be Rs 4.35 per unit.

He said DERC has decided to entrust Institute ofChartered Accountants of India to check physical verificationof assets of the discoms.


with thanks : zee News : http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/delhi-now-electricity-bill-to-pinch-your-pocket_728531.html   for detailed news.

An open letter to Anna from Rajdeep Sardesai, editor in chief, IBN 18

Dear Anna,

I write this to you neither as a fawning cheerleader nor a cynical journalist, but a proud Indian like you. Let me applaud you at the very outset for having brought corruption to the national centre stage. You have worked tirelessly for more than two decades in exposing corruption in Maharashtra, but Ralegan Siddhi is a long way from Delhi, which is perhaps why television channels hadn’t featured your contribution prominently till now. An opinion poll we did just a month ago suggested that more people had heard of  yoga guru Baba Ramdev than a tireless fakir-like crusader from a Western Maharashtra village.

Why not get the government to commit to a special session of Parliament in six to eight weeks on an amended Lokpal Bill so that a new, well-considered law becomes a Diwali gift to the nation? AFP

All that has now changed. Your latest fast has made you a household name. You’ve brought a mighty Indian state to its knees. You’ve encouraged millions of  anonymous Indians to come out on the streets and get a voice. You’ve exposed a political class, suffering from a grave moral crisis, to the wider world.  You’ve empowered those who’ve felt lost in a new Indiawhere wealth is the sole presiding deity. You’ve become a symbol of change and hope at a time when a scam culture has assaulted the conscience of  the nation.

You’ve even shown that the Marathas, a community that has failed to conquer Delhi since losing the third battle of  Panipat in 1761, can indeed take the national capital by storm. But in every battle there must come a time when you must call a halt. That time may well be approaching.

Gandhi, the greatest Indian of  them all, from whom you claim to derive inspiration, never went on a fast unto death by refusing medication. For Gandhi, the idea of  fasting was a form of  self-purification, a fast could not be undertaken as he said,  “out of anger. Anger is a short-term madness.” Yes, there is anger in the streets today, an almost volcanic eruption of  a lava that has been simmering for decades. Your genius lies in being able to channelise that popular anger against corruption into a well-defined goal of  a strong anti-corruption law and, importantly, doing so in a peaceful manner. The real danger though now is that a peaceful, non-violent movement runs the risk of  being overwhelmed by what Dr Ambedkar, the great constitutionalist described a fast unto death as, by the “grammar of  anarchy.”

There have been some signs of this in the last 48 hours that are truly worrying. The gherao of  the homes of  members of  Parliament may be visually appealing, but it encourages an anti-politician ‘sab neta chor hai’ rhetoric that could further destroy faith in parliamentary democracy. The increasingly strident language being used by certain members of  Team Anna – a term which creates the regrettable impression of  you being surrounded by a coterie – is to be best avoided at a time when a rational dialogue is called for.

Only two days ago, a colleague of  mine was assaulted in the heart of  the capital by a drunk biker gang waving the tricolor and chanting ‘I am Anna’ slogans. The frenzy being built up in the media by hyper-ventilating news channels and demagogic acolytes could easily transform a genuine peoples movement into a lumpen expression of  mob fury. It’s a transformation that could end up destroying the hard-earned credibility of  your struggle.

Ramlila is not Mumbai’s Azad Maidan nor is it the village square in Ralegan Siddhi. This is not some battle to stop the local thug from shutting his liquor shop. Here, there are multiple agendas that require dexterous negotiation and not mere sloganeering. The sight of  gangster Abu Salem’s girlfriend Monica Bedi parading Mumbai’s streets with an Anna cap should convince you of  the dangers of reducing the fight against corruption to a well-choreographed prime time tv spectacle.

It is true no fast can be called off  till the primary goal has been achieved. If  that goal is to have the Jan Lokpal Bill passed exactly as you desire then that is a maximalist position which is never easy to accommodate overnight. Gandhi himself  often spoke of  the ‘beauty’ of  compromise. Without doubt the fact that you have forced an obdurate government to fast-forward the Lokpal Bill and accept most of  your proposals is itself  a major achievement. But to ram through a bill that has been hanging fire for decades within the space of  a few days without a sustained and truly inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders would be self-defeating.

Yes, one recognises you have little trust in a discredited government that only 10 days ago, arrogantly and foolishly, first defamed,  then arrested you  and now salutes you. A flip-flop government sorely missing a strong political authority has taken refuge in parliamentary procedure when the simpler way out to atone for their sins would have been an unqualified apology for your arrest followed by a withdrawal of  the government bill and a fresh start to the pre-legislation consultation. Yes, you are hurt, and rightly so, by the government’s attitude, but this is the moment to show your heart is much bigger than the petty minds who reside in official bungalows. It’s time for practicality, not prestige. Why not, for example, get the government to commit to a special session of  Parliament in six to eight weeks on an amended Lokpal Bill so that a new, well-considered law becomes a Diwali gift to the nation? Till then, call off  the fast, continue the agitation.

Post-script: I have framed a picture of  our meeting earlier this week. The caption reads: “When zero met hero!”. India is not Anna, nor is Anna India, but you are now an icon for millions. Please don’t allow a personality cult to shadow your ultimate gift of  common sense.

Candle March by "East Delhi RWAs Joint Front" for Anna ji on 16th August, 2011, when he was arrested in New Delhi

Please open the link below & like "East Delhi RWAs Joint Front" on facebook :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/East-Delhi-RWAs-Joint-Front/209100842435768

with thanks ;

East Delhi RWAs Joint Front
www.rwabhagidari.blogspot.com
www.rwabhagidari.com