• The poor state of India’s fiscal federalism

Highlights:

• B.R Ambedkar – In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality.
  • These conflicts demanded attention: failing to do so, and those denied will blow up the structure of political democracy”, though Jawaharlal Nehru truly believed that inequities could be addressed through his tryst with the planning process. 
• A degree of centralisation in fiscal power was required to address the concerns of socio-economic and regional disparities. 
• This asymmetric federalism, inherent to the Constitution, was only accelerated and mutually reinforced with political centralisation since 2014, making the Union Government extractive rather than enabling. 
• While States lost their capacity to generate revenue by surrendering their rights in the wake of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, their expenditure pattern too was distorted by the Union’s intrusion, particularly through its centrally sponsored schemes .

• A politicised institution 

• • Historically, India’s fiscal transfer worked through two pillars, i.e., the Planning Commission and the Finance Commission. 
  • But the waning of planning since the 1990s, and its abolition in 2014, led to the Finance Commission becoming a major means of fiscal transfer as the commission itself broadened its scope of sharing all taxes since 2000 from its original design of just two taxes ; income tax and Union excise duties. 
  • Today, the Finance Commission became a politicised institution with arbitrariness and inherent bias towards the Union government. 
  • The original intention of addressing inequities, a lofty idea, indeed, was turned on its head as it metamorphosed into one of the world’s most regressive taxation systems due to a centralised fiscal policy. 
    • So, let us see what has changed since 2014. 
  • The concerns of the founding fathers addressing socio-economic inequities were forgotten in the process of ushering in an era of political centralisation and cultural nationalism that drive today’s fiscal policy. 
  • To be sure, India was never truly federal; it was a ‘holding together federalism’ in contrast to the ‘coming together federalism,’ in which smaller independent entities come together to form a federation (as in the United States of America).
  • In fact, the Government of India Act 1935 was more federal in nature than the Constitution adopted on January 26, 1950 as the first offered more power to its provincial governments. 
  • Subsequently, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam constituted a committee under Justice P.V. Rajamannar in 1969, the first of its kind by a State government, to look at Centre-State fiscal relations and recommend more transfers and taxation powers for regional governments. 
  • It did not cut ice with the rest of India and centralisation, though partly contained in the 1990s and 2000s due to the coalition at the Centre, touched its apogee in 2014. 

• Hollowing out fiscal capacity 

• • The ability of States to finance current expenditures from their own revenues has declined from 69% in 1955-56 to less than 38% in 2019- 20. 
    • While the expenditure of the States has been shooting up, their revenues did not.
  • They still spend 60% of the expenditure in the country 85% in education and 82% in health. 
  • Since States cannot raise tax revenue because of curtailed indirect tax rights subsumed in GST, except for petroleum products, electricity and alcohol the revenue has been stagnant at 6% of GDP in the past decade. 
  • Even the increased share of devolution, mooted by the Fourteenth Finance Commission, from 32% to 42%, was subverted by raising non-divisive cess and surcharges that go directly into the Union kitty. 
  • This non-divisive pool in the Centre’s gross tax revenues shot up to 15.7% in 2020 from 9.43% in 2012, shrinking the divisible pool of resources for transfers to States. 
  • In addition, the recent drastic cut in corporate tax, with its adverse impact on the divisible pool, and ending GST compensation to States have had huge consequences. 
    • Besides these, States are forced to pay differential interest about 10% against 7%  by the Union for market borrowings. 
  • It is not just that States are also losing due to gross fiscal mismanagement increased surplus cash in balance of States that is money borrowed at higher interest rates the Reserve Bank of India, when there is a surplus in the treasury, typically invests it in short treasury bills issued by the Union at lower interest rate.
    • In sum, the Union gains at the expense of States by exploiting these interest rate differentials. 
  • By turning States into mere implementing agencies of the Union’s schemes, their autonomy has been curbed. 
  • There are 131 centrally sponsored schemes, with a few dozen of them accounting for 90% of the allocation, and States required to share a part of the cost. 
    • They spend about 25% to 40% as matching grants at the expense of their priorities. 
    • These schemes, driven by the one-size fits-all approach, are given precedence over State schemes, undermining the electorally mandated democratic politics of States. 
  • In fact, it is the schemes conceived by States that have proved to be beneficial to the people and that have contributed to social development. 
  • Driven by democratic impulses, States have been successful in innovating schemes that were adopted at the national level, for example, employment guarantee in Maharashtra, the noon meals in Tamil Nadu, local governance in Karnataka and Kerala, and school education in Himachal Pradesh. 
  • The diversion of a State’s own funds to centrally sponsored schemes, thereby depleting resources for its own schemes, violates constitutional provision. 

• Deepening inequality 

• • This political centralisation has only deepened inequality. 
    • The World Inequality Report estimates that the ratio of private wealth to national income increased from 290% in 1980 to 555% in 2020, one of the fastest such increases in the world. 
  • The poorest half of the population has less than 6% of the wealth while the top 10% nearly grab two-third of it. 
  • Its tax-GDP ratio has been one of the lowest in the world — 17% of which is well below the average ratios of emerging market economies and OECD countries’ about 21% and 34%, respectively.
  • The Indian elites historically undermined fiscal capacity as they felt threatened by the political equality offered by the one person-one vote system. 
  • That hollowing out of fiscal capacity continued for decades after Independence, resulting in one of the lowest tax bases built on a regressive indirect taxation system in the world. 
    • India has simply failed to tax its property classes. 
  • If taxing on agriculture income was resisted in the 1970s when the sector prospered, corporate tax has been slashed by successive governments thanks to a pro-business turn in the 1990s. 
    • India does not have wealth tax either. 
    • Its income tax base has been very narrow. 
    • Indirect tax still accounts for about 56% of total taxes. 
  • Instead of strengthening direct taxation, the Union government slashed corporate tax from 35% to 25% in 2019 and went on to monetise its public sector assets to finance infrastructure. 
  • In sum, India’s fiscal federalism driven by political centralisation has deepened socio-economic inequality, belying the dreams of the founding fathers who saw a cure for such inequities in planning. 
    • It has not altered inter-state disparities either. 
  • If there was anything that alleviated poverty, reduced inequality and improved the wellbeing of people, these were the time-tested schemes of State governments, but they are now under threat.

• The message for Biden — West Asia has moved on

Context: President Joe Biden made his first trip to the region on July 13-16 since taking office. 

Highlights:

• The tour covered Israel, a quick encounter with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and then a halt in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for a bilateral engagement with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a joint meeting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and those from Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. 
• He asserted that his intention during the visit to Saudi Arabia was to “reorient — but not rupture — relations” with the country. 
• He noted in this context the kingdom’s role in promoting GCC unity, peace in Yemen, and stability in the oil markets.
  • Shadi Hamid of Brookings called the visit a “major setback for American interests”. 

• The Biden agenda 

• • Mr. Biden’s immediate concern during the visit was to encourage Saudi Arabia and its GCC partners to significantly increase oil production and, in the process, break their affiliation with “OPEC +” where they partner Russia in managing the group’s production. 
  • The U.S. view is that increased oil production would help bring down oil prices, a much-needed respite for the U.S. 
  • President at a time when the U.S.-initiated embargo on Russian energy supplies has thrown global oil markets into disarray and boosted prices. 
  • This has meant that the cost of petrol at American petrol stations has crossed $5 a gallon. 
  • U.S. consumers are thus saddled with inflation just a few months before the November midterm elections where a Democratic defeat could turn Mr. Biden into a lame duck president and opened the doors for a Republican victory in the next presidential elections. 
  • They even spoke of a possible regional Security alignment, with Israel partnering the neighbouring Arab states in a robust coalition against Iran. 
  • Some commentators asserted that the visit would be “resurrecting US leadership in the Middle East” , the solid alliance that the U.S. had put together in Europe against Russia would be replicated in West Asia, directed against both Russia and China. 
  • Mr. Biden affirmed this vision in his first remarks in Jeddah when he said the U.S. “will not walk away” from the region and “leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran”, instead, “active, principled, American leadership”. 

• In West Asia 

• • Mr. Biden’s foray in Israel was a ‘love fest’. 
    • He signed the ‘Jerusalem Declaration’ that essentially reaffirmed all earlier U.S. commitments to Israel’s security. 
  • It included the American pledge “never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon” and “to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome”. 
  • However, much to Israel’s chagrin, Mr. Biden insisted that he would pursue diplomacy in addressing the nuclear issue with Iran and refused to set a deadline for the finalisation of the nuclear agreement. 
  • While vaguely referring to the “two-state solution”, Mr. Biden distanced himself from promoting negotiations on substantial issues, nor did he attempt to overturn former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Israel’s authority over Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. 
  • He also failed to push the Israelis to inquire into the killing of the Palestinian journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, most probably by an Israeli sniper. 
  • The sojourn in Jeddah provided a reality check. In a remarkable display of unity, the nine Arab leaders refused to back the U.S. in its confrontation with Russia and impose sanctions. 
  • The GCC oil producers made no promise to increase oil production, or attempt to break-up the “OPEC +” coalition. 
    • Above all, they rejected Mr. Biden’s eforts to play down Palestinian aspirations.
  • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi emphasised the central importance of addressing this issue for regional peace and security.
  •  Again, Saudi Arabia made no move to normalise ties with Israel; it only agreed to overflights of Israeli civilian aircraft over its airspace. 
  • The GCC states also rejected the blandishment of a regional security grouping that would bring Israel as their partner against Iran. 

• The outlook 

• • Mr. Biden unwittingly had walked into a region that has changed significantly. 
  • As the U.S. was losing its credibility as a regional security provider and Mr. Biden affirmed his country’s disengagement from West Asia, the principal regional states have been pursuing several diplomatic interactions with their neighbours, without any U.S. involvement: 
    • Saudi Arabia has already had five rounds of discussions with Iran in Baghdad, and is preparing for the next round; 
    • Iran is no longer viewed as the outlier nation that threatens the region: 
    • the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced dispatching its ambassador to Tehran, while Saudi Arabia has accepted the need for improved ties with the Islamic Republic.
    •  Again, Turkey has reached out enthusiastically to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while Iraq, Jordan and Egypt have announced a regional economic and political alignment. 
    • The Arab states have accepted Israel as an integral part of Middle East geopolitics, but have made further normalisation of ties conditional on genuine progress on matters relating to Palestinian aspirations. 
    • And, finally, all the regional states have built close and substantial political and economic ties with Russia and China. 
  • Thus, West Asia reflects the same multipolarity that is emerging at the global level. 
  • Though the region still buys U.S. weaponry and hosts American military bases, it no longer sees the U.S. as central to the region’s security interests; nor does it share its hostility to Russia and China. 
  • Mr. Biden’s vision of a West Asia beholden to the U.S. for its security is obsolete. His visit could serve his domestic interests to some extent, but it has made no difference to the region. 
    • West Asia has moved on.

• Lessons from the Burkapal acquittal

Context: On April 24, 2017, Maoists killed 25 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans near the Burkapal security camp in Sukma district. 

Highlights:

• On July 15 this year, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court acquitted all the 121 tribal people who were held responsible for the deaths of the jawans. 
• The police party consisted of 70 CRPF jawans and two from the district police force.
• They were guarding the construction site of a culvert about one km from the security camp from 12 noon when they were ambushed by a large group of 200- 250 alleged Maoists. 
• The investigating officer seized two non-electric detonators and codex wire (generally used in mining) from one accused, and a locally made HE Bomb from another accused.
• Other recoveries and seizures included items such as bows and arrows, empty cartridges of SLR, INSAS and UBGL, cartridges’ pouch, and camouflage lower. 
• The body of one slain Maoist was also recovered from the spot. 

• Silence of judgement 

• • The judgement says that five witnesses did not corroborate the memorandum of disclosure, seizure memo, and arrest memo. 
    • Similarly, 15 other witnesses did not identify any of the accused persons. 
  • They showed ignorance about the incident and refused having given any statements to the police. 
  • It is surprising that only the dead Maoist was identified and not any of the other accused persons, who mostly belonged either to the Burkapal village or adjoining villages. 
  • Only eight were from the neighbouring Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, and one from Telangana (and Andhra Pradesh from which most of the Maoist leaders hailed). 
  • No reason was given as to why the prosecution witness (the police), who made recoveries of detonators and codex wire, were not believed or disbelieved. 
  • This was an important recovery because these explosive materials are not used by the police. 
  • It is surprising that whereas the death of all the 25 security men was admitted (in evidence) as homicidal in nature as per the post-mortem reports, no attempt was seemingly made to link the recoveries of explosive materials with the type of injuries caused to the security men. 
  • There is no mention in the judgement of any (spent) bullet or other material recovered during the post-mortem. 
    • Similarly, there is no reference to any forensic science examination report of the seized or recovered material. 

• Deficient investigation 

• The accused persons were also charged with two sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 (along with Indian Penal Code sections), which means that those arrested were assumed to be members of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) outfit and support their activities. 
• However, looking at the judgement, none of the 121 accused is shown to be a member of any of the Maoist’s specific formations such as military battalion or company or platoon or local guerrilla squad or militia or the political organisation or a member of the Jantana Sarkar. 
• The Maoists also have various sanghs(unions) such as the Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangh and the Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangh and Chetna Natya Manch. 
• In the absence of any such specific additional evidence to corroborate charges, it was difficult for the court to convict them under the UAPA. 
• The Maoists have their so-called constitution, wherein the procedure to give membership is detailed. 
• Since the punishment under these sections is up to 10 years of imprisonment, the investigating officer should have produced some documentary or other evidence to buttress their case. 
• It is important to note that the movement of the Maoist’s Battalion Number One (headed by Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee member and absconder Hidmal) is generally found in this area. 
  • Besides this, many other formations are also active in this region. 
• The judgement does not mention any Forensic Science Laboratory report being produced by the police in favour of the important recovery of codex wire and detonator, whose possession itself is punishable under the Explosive Substances Act of 1908. 
  • It is also worth noting that detonators do not have any unique identification number. 
• Therefore, it becomes difficult to reach the main culprit who supplied these explosive materials to the Maoists for illegitimate use. 
• The district police established the Burkapal camp in May 2013, but it was later taken over by the CRPF the same year. 
  • It is one of the 12 security camps which falls on the 56-km Dornapal-Jagargunda road. 
• This area is highly infested with IEDs, trap holes (full of iron spikes) and is vulnerable for laying ambushes. 
• On April 6, 2010, 76 CRPF personnel were killed near Mukram, about 3 km from Burkapal. 
• The Maoists have a stronghold in this area, which is a part of their South Bastar Division. 
• In many pockets of this area, the Maoists claim to have been waging mobile warfare because the security camps are not sufficient to dominate the surrounding area. 
• However, with many security camps coming up in this area too, it is hoped that the Maoist’s base area will gradually vanish. 
  • Till then, security forces have to be watchful of their tactics. 
• It is well known that the Maoists launch the Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign from FebruaryMarch to May-June every year, during which they organise themselves into various commands and attack the security forces.
• Therefore, every precaution needs to be taken to avoid falling into the Maoists’ trap. 

• A challenge

• • It will be no exaggeration to state that conducting proper investigation in such areas is itself a great challenge, where witnesses don’t come forward to support the police fearing adverse consequences from the Maoists. 
  • The police, therefore, should make use of more forensic and technology tools such as audio-video means to record statements and seizures during investigation wherever possible. 
  • The surrendered cadres of the area may be useful in corroborating the accused persons’ place in the Maoist organisation. 
  • A checklist must be prepared to ensure that there is sufficient evidence to support each allegation. 
  • Senior officers should ensure that no lacunas are left in investigation and the standard operating procedure is followed by the field officers. 
  • The acquittal of all the accused persons in such a major attack raises questions not only about the investigation skills of the local police, but also about the real impact of such police action on the ground.

• A future free of hepatitis

Context:The World Health Organisation (WHO) is highlighting the need to bring Hepatitis care closer to the people in need. 

Highlights: 

• Making hepatitis care available, afordable and accessible to all without discrimination.
  • This is crucial in the quest to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, a global target. 
• Elimination would translate to 90% reduction in incidence and 65% reduction in mortality by 2030, compared to the corresponding figures of 2015. 

• It’s time to act.

• • The action against hepatitis cannot wait any longer. 
  • Reasons;
    • First, hepatitis is the only communicable disease where mortality is showing an increasing trend.
      •  Globally, approximately 354 million people are suffering from hepatitis B and C. 
      • Southeast Asia has 20% of the global morbidity burden of hepatitis.
      •  About 95% of all hepatitis-related deaths are due to cirrhosis and liver cancers caused by the hepatitis B and C virus. 
    • Second, viral hepatitis is preventable. 
      • Clean food and good personal hygiene, along with access to safe water and sanitation, can protect us from hepatitis A and E.
      • Measures to prevent hepatitis B and C need to focus on full coverage with hepatitis B immunisation including a birth dose, as well as access to safe blood, safe sex and safe needle usage.
    • Third, a world free of hepatitis is practical and feasible. 
      • We have the tools to diagnose, treat, prevent and therefore eliminate chronic viral hepatitis. 
      • Safe and effective vaccines exist to prevent hepatitis B, alongside new and powerful antiviral drugs that can manage chronic hepatitis B and cure most cases of hepatitis C. 
  • These interventions together with early diagnosis and awareness campaigns have the potential to prevent 4.5 million premature deaths in low- and middle-income countries by 2030 globally. 
  • However, access to these services are often out of reach for communities as they are usually available at centralised/specialised hospitals at a cost which cannot be afforded by all. 
  • People continue to die because of late diagnosis or lack of appropriate treatment.
  • Early diagnosis is the gateway for both prevention and successful treatment.
  • Modest testing and treatment coverage is the most important gap to be addressed. 
  • If we look at the treatment cascade of the Southeast Asia region, only about 10% of people with hepatitis know their status; and of them, only 5% are on treatment.
  • Of the estimated 10.5 million people with hepatitis C, just 7% know their status, of which around one in five are on treatment. 
    • This gap needs to be patched up.
  • This is what this year’s World Hepatitis Day campaign is all about. 
  • Amid all the challenges, the region has continued to implement key interventions to prevent, detect and treat hepatitis. 
  • Since 2016, when the region launched its Action Plan for viral hepatitis 2016–2021, nine countries have achieved more than 90% coverage of the third dose of hepatitis B vaccine. 
  • Four countries have achieved the hepatitis B control target of less than 1% seroprevalence among children over five years of age. 

• Transitional targets 

• • En route to the 2030 target of eliminating hepatitis, there are some transitional targets to be achieved. By 2025, we must reduce new infections of hepatitis B and C by half, reduce deaths from liver cancer by 40%, ensure that 60% of people living with hepatitis B and C are diagnosed and that half of those eligible receive appropriate treatment. 
  • This can only be achieved if hepatitis care reaches the community. 
  • Several priorities must be addressed for this. 
  • These include the need to enhance political commitment across all countries of the region and ensure sustained domestic funding for hepatitis; 
    • improve access to drugs and diagnostics by further reducing prices;
    • develop communication strategies to increase awareness; and
    • innovate service delivery to maximise the use of differentiated and people-centred service delivery options across HIV, viral hepatitis and
    • STIs to tailor and deliver services according to people’s needs and preferences in line with the primary healthcare approach. 
  • Decentralising hepatitis care to peripheral health facilities, community-based venues and locations beyond hospital sites brings care nearer to patients’ homes. 
  • For the first time, an integrated Regional Action Plan for viral hepatitis, HIV and STIs 2022–2026 is being developed by WHO. 
  • This will ensure effective and efficient utilisation of limited resources available for the region and will guide countries to adopt a person centred approach rather than a disease specific one. 
  • As we observe World Hepatitis Day, we must act together with communities and all stakeholders for a future free of hepatitis. 
  • This will lay a firm foundation for a healthier, more equitable and more prosperous world.

NEWS:

• SC upholds powers of arrest, raid under PMLA

Context: The Supreme Court upheld the core amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

Highlights:

• The top court called the PMLA a law against the “scourge of money laundering” and not a hatchet wielded against rival politicians and dissenters. 
  • This is a sui generis (unique) legislation.
• Parliament enacted the Act as a result of international commitment to sternly deal with the menace of money laundering of proceeds of crime having transnational consequences and on the financial systems of the countries.

• Extensive challenge.

• • The verdict came on an extensive challenge raised against the amendments introduced to the 2002 Act by way of Finance Acts. 
  • The method of introduction of the amendments through Money Bills would be separately examined by a larger Bench of the top court. 
  • Money laundering is an offense against the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
  • It is no less a heinous offence than the ofence of terrorism.
  • Over 240 petitions were filed against the amendments, which the challengers claimed would violate personal liberty, procedures of law and the constitutional mandate. 
    • The petitioners included former Ministers who all claimed that the “process itself was the punishment. 
  • Justice Khanwilkar underscored how illegitimate money could disappear abroad with a click of the mouse. 
  • Once this money leaves the country, it is almost impossible to get it back.

• Submissions rejected 

• • The apex court rejected submissions for petitioners that the accused’s right against self-incrimination suffered when the ED summoned them and made them sign statements on threats of arrest. 
    • A person cannot claim right against self-incrimination at a summons stage. 

• Replacement level fertility achieved’

Context: India has achieved replacement level fertility, with 31 States and Union Territories reaching a Total Fertility Rate (an average number of children per woman) of 2.1 or less.

Highlights:

• National Family Planning Summit 2022- between 2012 and 2020, the country added more than 1.5 crore additional users for modern contraceptives, thereby increasing their use substantially. 
• Government data showed an overall positive shift towards spacing methods that would be instrumental in impacting positively maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. 

• ‘A paradigm shift’ 
  • The Family Planning Programme in India was now over seven decades old, and in this period, the country had witnessed a paradigm shift from the concept of population control to population stabilisation to interventions being embedded toward ensuring harmony of continuum care.
  • Although India has achieved replacement level fertility, there is still a significant population in the reproductive age group that must remain at the centre of our intervention efforts.
  • India’s focus has traditionally been on the supply side, the providers and delivery systems but now it’s time to focus on the demand side which includes family, community and society. 
  • Significant change is possible with this focus, instead of an incremental change.

• Comply with new GNCTD Act: L-G to Speaker

Context: amendment to the GNCTD Act had been challenged by the Delhi government in the Supreme Court on the grounds that it violates Article 239AA.

Highlights:

• The amendment to the GNCTD Act had been challenged by the Delhi government in the Supreme Court on the grounds that it violates Article 239AA, which deals with the lawmaking power of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. 

• The Act:

• • The GNCTD (Amendment) Act, 2021, came into effect in April 2021 after four sections of the GNCTD Act, 1991, were amended. 
  • The most prominent among these amendments was the clarification of the expression “Government” referred to in any law to be made by the Legislative Assembly to mean “the Lieutenant-Governor”, thus establishing the primacy of the L-G over the elected government. 
  • Another amendment made to the earlier Act ensures that the L-G is “necessarily granted an opportunity” to exercise powers entrusted with him under provision to Clause (4) of Article 239AA of the Constitution. 
  • This particular clause provides for a Council of Ministers headed by a Chief Minister to “aid and advise the Lieutenant-Governor ” in the exercise of his functions for matters in which the Legislative Assembly has the power to make laws. 

• Unreasonable inaction:

• • Constrained by this unreasonable and unexplained inaction by the Delhi Legislative Assembly in amending its ‘Rules of Procedure & Conduct of Business, 1997’, mandated by the Act after more than a year, the L-G has sent a message to the Speaker, impressing upon him to do so.
  • Necessary amendments in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi, 1997, or any other existing rule on the subject are immediately required to be made to make them in consonance with the provisions of the Amended Act.
  • The new GNCTD Act “has made the committee system of the Assembly non-functional. 
  • The amendment prohibits the Assembly and its committees from making enquiries into administrative decisions. 
  • Committees of the Legislature look into administrative decisions and ask the government to fx responsibility of individual officers if found guilty by the committees.
    • This is the legitimate, constitutional function of committees of a Legislature. 
    • The Legislature enforces accountability of the Executive through these committees. 
  • Under Article 239AA the Executive is accountable to the Assembly which ensures it through its systems.

• Legal challenge 

• • Earlier this month, the Delhi government had requested the Supreme Court to urgently hear and pronounce an authoritative judgement on control over the issue of “Services”, which effectively means control over the bureaucrats in the Capital. 

• Forest Rights Act: well begun, ready for the home run

Context: The resident of Budhabalanga village can now not only boast of possessing 5.15 acres in the forests of the Similipal Biosphere Reserve but also log on to a website and show the land records. 

Highlights:

• Jasai Soren and his forefathers have lived in the Khuribhanga forest village in Dhenkanal district from times immemorial, but the village did not exist in government records for years. 
• Khuribhanga is now recognised as a revenue village and government welfare programmes have started to flow seamlessly. 
• Pramilla Pradhan of Sinduria village in Nayagarh district always believed the residents had first right to forest resources in the adjoining areas. 
• The village has secured community forest rights on 760 acres of Sulia forest; the villagers’ annual income from cashew harvesting alone now touches ₹4 lakh.
• Juguni Ho, Jasai Soren and Pramilla Pradhan are among the 2.59 lakh beneficiaries of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, which has entered its 16th year of implementation in Odisha. 

• Tricky affair 

• The implementation, which involves raising awareness among the largely uninformed population, rummaging through voluminous government records, ground truthing and further vetting by government departments, has been a knotty affair. 

• But while many States are nowhere near completing implementation of the historic Act, Odisha is aiming for a full rollout by 2024. 

• It is the first State in the country to make budgetary provision for implementation of the Central Act – ₹8 crore for 168 FRA cells in 2021-22. 

• Till last year, forest rights committees were functioning in Tribal Sub Plan areas.

• Now, they have been extended to the entire State. 

• The State is not only ensuring tenurial security and entitlement over land but also addressing livelihood and food security under the Act. 

• The mission, currently under Finance Department and Planning and Convergence Department scrutiny, aims at granting the tribal people their rightful ownership. 

• As of March 2022, a total of 6,27,998 claims had been received by gram sabhas of which 4,52,164 claims were upheld and titles distributed. 

• As many as 1,31,062 claims were rejected. 

• According to the Bhubaneswarbased Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI), Odisha has an estimated 7.32 lakh potential claimants, which indicates that around 3 lakh eligible families are still left out. 

• Though the gap appears to be huge, the platform is ready for the government to expedite FRA implementation on mission mode.

• The government needs to bring all departments on one platform for its completion by 2024.

• Nodal agency 

• While ST and SC Development Department remains the nodal agency for the Act’s implementation, forest rights cells would function from the State level right down to the tehsil level.