Corruption As A Catalyst to Social Decay

Corruption As A Catalyst to Social Decay

In India, corruption has become a way of life. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, released by the Transparency International ranks India at 87 in a list that consisted 178 countries. A study conducted by the Transparency International found that more than 50 per cent of the Indians had the personal experience of paying bribes or using brokers to get work done in government offices. State borders which see most of the commercial traffic in India are frontiers of corruption.

At the Transparency International—India’s 2^nd annual lecture on “The Supply and Demand of Corruption”, Dr.Bimal Jalan, former Governor of Reserve Bank of India warned:”I believe that we have now reached a point where it poses a serious threat to the security, freedom and well being of the ordinary citizens of our country. The ‘governance deficit’ and ‘ethical deficit’ are two areas of rising public concern, and are intimately inter-related. Corruption breeds mis-governance, for example in respect of NREGA, PDS and food security for the poor people.” (http://www.transparencyindia.org/news.php)

In the Financial Times, Indian business dynasties have been described as “robber barones.” The alleged loss of a staggering 1.76 lakh crore rupees in the government’s sale of the telecom spectrum has convinced many Indians to the corrupt nexuses between corporate and political power. The alleged of pay-off to members of parliament, surfaced in the India-U.S. nuclear deal, disrupted the Indian Parliament on several occasions. The details revealed by the Wiki-Leaks shocked one and all.

Mr.Arun Kumar Chairperson of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning , School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the author of The Black Economy in India, observes :”since 1971, when the highest tax rate was 97.5 per cent, tax rates have fallen but the black money has grown from 7 per cent to 50 per cent of the GDP. Controls and regulations have been drastically eliminated after 1991 but the size of the black economy continues to rise.”

A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the 1997 voluntary disclosure scheme pointed out that the same people who declared their black incomes earlier took advantage of the 1997 scheme—becoming habitual tax offenders.

The Vora Committee report pointed out that foreign investment through Mauritius route allowed round tripping of funds. This has facilitated accelerated black income generation. Investigators have alerted the nation about terror fund entering the stock markets to destabilize the economy.

The Vigilance Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General and media have done much to expose corruption at many levels. But the procedures for investigation and prosecution—such as the “single directive” requiring superior bureaucratic or ministerial sanction to proceed—have stymied progress.

The powerful UN Convention on Corruption of which India is a signatory has not been ‘ratified’ and incorporated in Indian laws because few want such a mechanism to thwart their designs.

The Supreme Court of India, while convicting former Kerala Minister R.Balakrishna Pillai for graft in the Idamalayar dam corruption case, directed that special courts should be set up to dispose of all corruption cases against public servants, expeditiously. The fact that it took two decades after initiation of prosecution prompted the Court to direct that “High Courts to even call for a quarterly report from the court concerned for speedy disposal.”

Opposition leader in Kerala Assembly, Mr.V.S.Achuthanandan, in a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the reports about the disclosures made by businessman Hasan Ali Khan during his interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate were shocking. The reports said deposits to the tune of Rs.36000 crore, which included money from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh were made through Mr.Hasan Ali. He wanted the Prime Minister to take immediate action if the reports were correct.

Criticising the Government for focusing the probe on black money only on businessman Mr. Hasan Ali Khan, the Supreme Court, recently sought to know from the Government whether it had information on all the others who have parked, illegally obtained wealth, abroad.

The intervention of Supreme Court in the corruption investigation has put enormous pressure on the central government. Setting up of multiple entities to study the black money has raised several questions. Many see this as a ploy to buy time and to stall questions on the subject since the government can claim it is waiting for the report. In an editorial comment, The Hindu Business Line observed:”Cracking under the relentless pressure from the Hazare-Ramdev campaigns over the last eight weeks, the Government is making one mistake after another as it desperately tries to divert public attention away from corruption.”

While addressing a public function at Kochi, eminent jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court Mr.V.R.Krishna Iyer said the Prime Minister, MPs and the judiciary should be brought under the purview of the proposed Lokpal Bill. In his lecture at the International Media Centre, here, Janata Party Leader Dr.Subramanian Swami said greed has become the driving force in the country and greed lead to corruption. He said India is the only country which did not ask for the names of the persons who have deposited black money in foreign banks though Germany was willing to share the list. It was estimated that around 1.4 trillion $ was there in the foreign banks and the government could bring it back, he said.

Dr.Swami said India has changed from a slow progressing socialist model society to one of the fastest growing economy where pure materialism based on greed prevailed. The number of billionaires was growing in the country but they were not doing anything for society. Hardly any industrialist diverted a portion of the profit for the welfare of society.

Ordinary citizens in India are outraged and disgusted by the procession of major corruption scandals. Social activist, Anna Hazare’s fast unto death has caught their imagination. The government was forced to drop the anti-corruption bill it had drafted and to agree to prepare a new and stronger draft in consultation with civil society activists.

While delivering a lecture on “The Decay in Society” at Kochi, historian Dr.K N Panicker has said that an anti-corruption law without a strong social base will not succeed. “Any such bill should be discussed at the panchayat level. A situation where the people’s voice is heard should emerge. Decentralisation of power, with its distribution at various levels in various forms, holds the key,” Dr. Panicker said, in reference to the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill.

In a separate critique, Dr.Panicker pointed out that the aim of the bill is not to prevent corruption, but to punish the corrupt. In this respect, the draft does not provide an approach that is qualitatively different from that of the existing institutions of the state. Experts have argued that the vigilance set-up in government agencies should be strengthened and made completely independent, reporting only to the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

“When affluence spreads to a small section of society, it begins to regulate the course, and value, of the entire spectrum of social activities. The capital-driven society, symbolized by malls, creates a kind of modernity and persuades us to believe that it is impossible to live without this. The programs proposed by the ruling class are not related to the issues faced by the public. They are, in fact, ideas to further the decay.” Dr.Panicker said.

Kerala Model to Fight Neo-liberal Policies

The Left Democratic Government in Kerala, which is nearing its tenure, has through its people-oriented policies and development programmes, has set an alternative model for the country. A press release issued by the Government said:”The four years of the LDF government was marked by steady progress, based on a sustainable development model implemented with vigor. The State won several awards at the national level, during this period. It also became a model at the national level, in health care, devolution of powers and decentralized planning.”

The special press release further said that the State had achieved considerable progress in poverty alleviation. Starvation was eliminated by supplying rice at subsidized rate to the poor. The welfare pensions were increased three fold.

A study by the National Council for Applied Economic Research(NCAER) reveals that Kerala along with Tamil Nadu and Hariyana are the least hungry States. In Human Development Index also Kerala tops the list. The study was based on statistics complied from NSS, RBI, deprivation data presented by Sachar Committee and the annual survey of the NCAER.

State Planning Board Vice-Chairman Prabhat Patnaik, recently, said the state has set an alternative trajectory to development against the neoliberal economic policies of the Central government. He said:”The neoliberal economic policies implemented by the successive central governments, served only the interest of the finance capital. These policies are anti-people and cause disempowerment of farmers and small producers.”

In a statement Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan described the welfare measures, the development initiatives and the proactive interventions the government had made during the last four years. At the top of the list of achievements was stemming the tendency among the farmers to commit suicide due to indebtedness. The government had given them handsome prices for commodities through procurement programme.

State Governor R.S.Gavai, while addressing the State Assembly, recently, said the double digit inflation imposed severe pressure on the state and the government considered controlling of the price rise as the fore-most important task. In spite of being a consumer state, the state government’s inflation controlling efforts produced results, which can be had from the fact that Kerala’s cost of living index was 549 while the all India average was 567.

The state’s PDS consisted of a network of around 20000 distribution centres which included 14400 ration retail depots and around 3000 ‘Supplyco’ outlets with basic facilities for supporting them. Even though Kerala’s PDS is considered as a model for the rest of the country, the Centre is continuing its indifference towards it according to Food and Civil Supplies Minister C.Divakaran.

The Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme(CHIS), the State Government’s modified version of the Centrally sponsored Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, which is entering its second year of implementation, will be expanded to provide health insurance cover to 35 lakh families. In its first year, the scheme had covered 22 lakh families. The CHIS this year offers several additional benefits. All farmers, coir, cashew, handloom, beedi, khadi and plantation workers, regardless of their APL/BPL status will be included in the scheme. Also all those who worked for 50 days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Ashraya families, fishermen and SC/ST families are also being included in the scheme.

This year, free medical treatment worth Rs.70000/- is being offered additionally for the treatment of heart diseases, cancer and renal diseases. The money that is being offered to a family in the event of death of the head of the family or his wife has been enhanced from Rs.25000/- to Rs.50000/- this year.

Another special benefit is an additional aid of Rs.50000/- for the treatment of serious burn injuries. No health insurance scheme in any state was offering these facilities according to an official release issued by the Comprehensive Health Insurance Agency, Kerala(CHIAK), the agency in charge of the implementation of the scheme.

The LDF government has worked several of its own innovations into the health insurance scheme, reworking its emphases and operational dynamics to make the Central scheme more in line with the ideological perspective of the ruling alliance in the State. What is being implemented in Kerala is not the RSBY as conceived and implemented country-wise by the UPA government with sufficient width for the private insurance players and private healthcare industry, but one that places emphasis on the public healthcare infrastructure and a public insurance company.

Another release noted that the government had written off housing loans of the poor and taken steps for renovation of houses built under the one-lakh housing scheme. Hundred per cent of the target was achieved in schemes for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. About one lakh poor families were given land. Health infrastructure was improved.

Kerala has offered a new model for the whole country in rejuvenating public sector undertakings to spearhead economic progress. Public sector units had run up a loss of Rs.69.65 crore in 2005-06, while it had brought in a profit of Rs.169.45 crore in 2008-09. The number of profit-making enterprises increased from 12 to 28 during this period.

Notable at the grassroots level, is the Akshya programme that seeks to take e-literacy to the village by making at least one member of every family computer-literate. It is stated that every village has broadband connectivity and the State’s e-governance initiatives may well pave the way for responsive governance. The results of these initiatives have already started showing. During 2008-09, the year badly hit by financial recession, the IT industry in the State posted a growth of nearly 45 per cent, as against the national average of 17 per cent, with the value of the exports standing at around Rs.3000 crore.

The pro-labour policies of the state government is characterized by lifting of ban on recruitments and appointment of 125000 unemployed through PSC and created 24000 posts. On May 1, 2010 Kerala became the first State in India to institute a welfare scheme for migrant labourers. The Migrant Labourers’ Welfare Scheme, 2010 provides every migrant labourer who joins the scheme paying an annual fees of Rs.30, among other things, Rs.25000 as health-care assistance, Rs.25000 as terminal benefits if he has worked in Kerala for a minimum period, up to Rs.3000 every year as education allowance for their children, Rs.50000 as compensation to the next of kind if the labourer dies in an accident Rs.10000 in case of natural death and up to Rs.15000 for transporting the body to their hometown, in case of death in Kerala.

Minimum wages in the traditional industries sector were increased to decent levels and the State government also introduced two special schemes in 2010-11:an income support scheme and an urban employment guarantee scheme to help workers in the petty production sector and the urban workers who cannot access the benefits of the MGNREGS of the Union government.

The neo-liberal policies are bringing about massive inequality in the country. However, the State government, by continuing to support the working class with incentives, subsidies and insurance schemes, has set an alternative development model according to development economists, academics and experts.

The Economic Review for 2010 prepared by the State Planning Board and presented in the Assembly during the recent session, describes the steps the State government has taken to put purchasing power in the hands of workers and petty producers who gain very little even when the terms of trade in the world market move in favour of the commodities they produce.

For a long time ‘Kerala Model’ of development is characterized by low level of industrial and economic development and high rate of literacy, health indicators and standard of living. The United Nations came out with “Human Development Index(HDI) from 1990. This is a composite statistics used to rank countries by level of “human development” in terms of life expectancy, education and per capita GDP. Kerala showed a high level of HDI, comparable with developed countries and received international attention.

Amartya Sen attributed Kerala’s excellent social indicators to the State’s role in education, which also resulted greater involvement of civil society, in political decision-making. High literacy, high life expectancy, low infant mortality—all despite low income. That was seen as a miracle and a model for the rest of India.

The state also set its mark in decentralized planning and governance and retained its prime position in the country. The Union Panchayat Raj Department selected Kerala for its remarkable achievements in devolution of powers and funds to local self-government institutions.

The proud Finance Minister of the state T.M. Thomas Issac, says Kerala which is currently in the fourth position, in terms of per capita income, will become the state with highest per capital income, by the end of this decade.

In a memorandum submitted to the 13^th Finance Commission(FC), state government said the previous FCs had tended to penalize Kerala for the progress it had made in the social sectors. The 10^th FC had allocated 3.875 per cent of the total share of the Central resources transferred to the States. This came down to 3.057 per cent in the 11^th FC award and 2.665 per cent in the 12^th FC award. The criteria being followed for deciding relative share of the resources to each State was weighed heavily against Kerala according to the memorandum.

One analyst has observed that the federal structure in the country is such that no State government can hope to overturn the policy prescriptions of the government of the day at the Centre if it wishes to have its rightful share of Central government funding, especially so, in the case of Centrally-sponsored schemes which are accompanied by detailed prescriptions on how to go about implementing them. Very often, the State governments are left with little leeway to either alter such schemes substantially to suit their needs and regional specificities or look out for alternative implementation methodologies. While in most cases, the State governments have been giving in to the Centre’s diktats, the government in Kerala has chosen to tread a different path to protect ‘aam admi’.

Cultivating an Everyday Lesson with Vegetables

When the residents’ association asked us to participate in a meeting, addressed by the agriculture officer from the state government department, we attended it out of curiosity. The meeting took hardly an hour. The officer explained to the participants, numbering fifty, how to cultivate common vegetable at home-stead, having limited space.

We were shown containers, specially designed to cultivate cow-pea, bitter guard, tomato and ladies finger etc. Seeds, manure, literature and some simple implements were also distributed at the meeting. My home-maker wife was very enthusiastic about the venture. Finding soil was the difficult part of our exercise. We got the soil from a local nursery. Using the limited space around our house and roof-top, we began our venture.

Our limited success in cultivating common vegetables, was taken note by the officer and advised us to keep in touch with her. This gracious officer favored us with seeds and timely advice. We were a bit skeptical when she asked us to try a dozen cabbage plants. In a short time, to our surprise, vegetable garden rewarded us with quick yields. Soon we realized that our vegetable bill has come down. A small pit was also dug, to make compost from kitchen waste.

Sky-rocketing prices of vegetables, prompted us to take up this venture on a better scale. The number of vegetable items grew in number. Amarath, brinjal, snake-guard all sprouted in a jiffy. Cabbage was a big surprise, as we thought it belonged to cold region.

Visitors came calling to study the new venture. Curious neighbors came first. Parrots and squirrels too came during early morning, to steal their share of cow-pea. As creepers spread their wings, a variety of birds made their presence felt, with their unique and deep throated calls.

It was not a cake-walk. A variety of pests and worms landed on the plants, from no where. We won the battles with bio-pesticides and weedicides Every morning, a thorough inspection is done to find out any fresh infection. Eternal vigilance ensured healthy growth of vegetable plants and yield. A seminar organized by the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council, helped us to try better seeds and cultivation methods.

Joy of finding sprouts of bitter-guard, snake-guard and tomato, at the day break, is a special reward of this venture. A lone, beautiful parrots’ intransigence, ignoring us and flying down to snatch a tender cow-pea, too is memorable.

The magic effect of the new venture was palpable in many ways. Throughout the day, we have lots of topics to discuss. Seeds to be sworn, manure to be applied, pesticides to be sprayed and ripe vegetable to be picked. Quality of the family relations improved. My better half, who suffered a persistent migraine, felt relieved and stopped taking medicine. Children enjoyed the visits of birds and other creatures.

These days, work-pressure, busy schedules, waning interpersonal relations at home and work-place, are taking a heavy toll on one and all. Perhaps the best way to cure the ills of modern life is to get close to the land and soil.

By caring the plants and devoting time, you also learn to build a special relation with nature and people. It is the best way to change a monotonous life. With best seeds, manure and advice, there is no challenge in cultivating common vegetables. But the lessons we leant from this venture are really worth it. It also gave us a new perspective about the agrarian crisis and tragic plight of the Indian farming community.

Natural Disasters Need Better Reponse

Earthquakes, tsunami and the nuclear accidents have inflected unprecedented damages in Japan.

Insurer AIG in a report said "the catastrophe in Japan has affected people, their homes, infrastructure, and business both in and outside of Japan, and our industry is working hard to quantify the complex impact of the devastation, a process that will take some time."

A release issued by the UN News Centre said a UN disaster team has reached Japan to assist the local authorities. International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) experts and technical support teams from other countries have also joined the local teams.

Several countries have sent specialized search and rescue teams to help authorities mount emergency efforts in the wake of the quake and tsunami, which have killed thousands of people and left many more missing or unaccounted for.

Efforts are on to assess the health consequences as a result of the release of radioactivity from the reactors. World Health Organisation(WHO) has stated that the Japanese Government has taken necessary precautions by distributing potassium iodine to those at risk and evacuating residents of areas close to Fukushima Daiichi.

The earthquake sparked widespread tsunami warnings across the Pacific that stretched from Japan to North and South America. According to the US Geological Survey(USGS), the shallow quake struck at a depth of 20 Km deep, around 125 km of the eastern coast of Japan, and 380 km northeast of Tokyo. It was reportedly the largest recorded quake in Japan's history and the fifth largest in the world since 1900.

Key concerns, according to Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, are:

*Spreading of radiation and exposure

*Lack of transportation to affected areas

*Some 500000 people are in emergency shelters and are in need of additional food, water and blankets

*Some 6 million households are without electricity and more than 1 million households are reportedly without water.

Media reports said radiation from Japan’s stricken nuclear plant has been detected 160 km to the northeast, over the Pacific Ocean, by the US military.

A dramatic increase in the number of natural disasters, in recent years, has sparked calls for more funding and cooperation from UN agencies. 2010 saw many major disasters, including five which were assigned to the UN's top category of 'great natural catastrophes': the earthquakes in Haiti(12 January), Chile(27 February) and Central China(13 April), the heat-wave in Russia(July to September), and the floods in Pakistan(also July to September).

A report by Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance firms, says 2010 saw 950 natural disasters--the second highest number since 1980 - and 295000 people died as a result. The fact that 90 per cent of the disasters were weather-related provided "further indications of advancing climate change," the report warned.

Global losses from floods, heat waves, earthquakes and hurricanes in 2010 reached 99 billion Euros of which just 28 billion Euros was insured. In the European Union, just one disaster, storm Xynthia, a gale which hit France and Spain, caused a 4.5 billion Euros of losses, of which 2.3 billion Euros was insured.

A Western news agency report quoting an insurance sector analyst said :”After the floods in Australia, the quake in New Zealand and now in the one in Japan, the bill for reinsurance is already looking expensive this year.” A Geo Risk Research report says the reinsurance companies, which act as insurers of last resort for general insurers, would be making up for majority of the losses. These companies usually take up the cost associated to an event when the claim to be settled is too high.

The 2010 World Disasters Report released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, details both the economic and the human cost of major disasters over the last decade. The report warns that the world's 2.57 billion urban dwellers living in low and middle-income countries are particularly exposed to disaster risk.

Health care and Budget 2011 -- cruel story of neglect

Union Budget for 2011-12 is analyzed from various angles to ascertain the government policy tilt towards corporate big-wigs on the one hand and omni-present and much neglected aam admi.

A report by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability says poor allocation of fund to key social sector showed the government's lack-lustre approach to inclusive growth. For example, the overall outlays have hardly increased for health sector. When taken as a proportion of the country's GDP, public spending on health has increased from 0.32 per cent in 2010-11 to 0.34 per cent in 2011-12. When analysed as a share of the total Union government's expenditure comprises a mere 2.42 per cent. Allocations for National Rural Health Mission have shown a slight increase from Rs.15,037 crore 2010-11 to Rs.17,924.76 crores in 2011-12.

Kerala Chapter of the Indian Medical Association described the tax on services at air-conditioned hospitals, and diagnostic centers as "salt tax". Some medical professionals also characterized the proposal as "misery tax." Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in his budgetary proposals, has imposed 5 per cent service tax on treatment in private hospitals, paid either by individuals, insurance companies or firms. The same levy would be applicable to diagnostic tests of all kinds.

The worst affected will be preventive health check ups. At present, the numbers are low because people think getting a preventive check up is futile, not knowing that preventing a disease is better than treating one. Now, they won't come forward even more because of an additional service tax, says a senior doctor.

The benefits of economic growth over the past two decades, while substantial, have not translated into health security for people in India. Many countries in Asia, including even those with lower per capita income, are tending to outperform India in health and healthcare. Even now, India lacks a primary healthcare system that offers effective and affordable protection to all against common illnesses.

India’s public spending on health is among the lowest in the world. This has led to an extremely high burden of private out-of-pocket health expenditures, which a huge part of the population cannot afford, and which even fails to guarantee reliable healthcare because of inescapable difficulties of the market for medical attention and care.

Influential policy makers in India seem to be attracted by the idea that private healthcare, properly subsidized, or private health insurance, subsidized by the state, can meet the challenge.

According to a report of the National Rural Health Mission, only 10 per cent of Indians have some form of health insurance and around 40 per cent have to borrow money or sell their assets to meet their healthcare expenses. More than 25 per cent of the people slip below the poverty line because of hospitalization due to a single bout of illness.

India bears 20 per cent of the world’s disease burden, but has only six per cent of the world’s hospital beds. Hospital beds per 1000 population in India are less than 50 per cent of that in developing countries such as Brazil and China and less than 35 per cent of the world average. The ratio of doctors to population is also measly.

At the ninth Kolkata Group workshop, chaired by Professor Amartya Send, forty five participants from different walks of life, including social scientists, policy makers and development experts, convened to assess the dimensions of social equity in India, especially as related to poverty, elementary education, and public health, adopted the ‘Kolkata Declaration’ which demanded universal entitlements to publicly provided primary healthcare for all, and stressed that at least 3 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product(GDP) should be devoted to healthcare.

The World Health Organisation makes a timely intervention by calling for reforms in the way nations finance healthcare in its World Health Report--Health systems financing:the path to universal coverage. The Report says any policy that aims at reducing personal financial burden related to healthcare should focus on brining down the direct payments by the individual. This means a change in who pays for healthcare, now borne overwhelmingly by individuals in countries that have weak government-paid health-care system.

The Alma Ata Declaration(1978), the outcome of a joint initiative by the WHO and the UNICEF, proclaimed that "the main social target of governments, international organisations and the whole world community in the coming decades should be the attainment by all peoples of the world by the year 2000 of a level of health that will permit them to lead a socially and economically productive life."

Now, three decades and more after the solemn declaration and ten years after the the target date, the world is nowhere near the goal of "Health for All."

Kuttanad :Terrible price of progress

Kuttanad: a case in point

IT TOOK a recent outbreak of an epidemic of Japanese encephalitis with 27 resultant fatalities to focus attention on the widespread environmental degradation in Kuttanad. The Kuttanad basin; in central Kerala extends over 1600 sq km. The region 'is nestled between the foothills of the Western Ghats in the east and the comparatively elevated plains of coastal Alappuzha in the west. Most aggravating among the region's problems is the severe degradation of the aquatic environment mainly caused by human intervention leading to depletion of fisheries resources and health hazards posed to the population.

A crisis of water
Kuttanad's monsoons bring with them the perennial problem of floods, engendered by the region's four major rivers. These rivers - the Pampa, the Achenkoil, the Manimala and the Meenachil - drain into the Kuttanad trough, taking a weblike course from Veeyapuram, about 35 km to the south of Alappuzha town. Heading north through the length of Kuttanad, they empty into the Arabian Sea through the Vembanad lake.

The first of the development projects to be implemented in Kuttanad aimed at diverting the flood waters into the sea before they entered the region. The project based on suggestions of the Vaidyanathan commission set up in 1954 involved the construction of a channel from Veeyapuram the confluence of the rivers Achenkoil and Pampa (at the southern end of Kuttanad) to Thottappally, as well as that of a spillway. However the channel and the spillway did not have the desired effect.

Development seems to have upset the applecart here. The numerous roads which have come up in the area act as dams preventing easy drainage of flood waters. Extensive land reclamation in the area has also brought about restricted water-logging in pockets.

Moreover, according to the Kerala pollution control board (KPCB) which was associated in a detailed study of the region's various problems under a three-year Indo-Dutch programme the Kuttanad water balance study project (KWBSP) - a) qut 25,000 tonnes (t) of fertilisers and 500 t of highly toxic pesticides are used in the region's 55,000 ha of paddy fields annually. A considerable portion of this enters the water bodies when the water drains from the fields.

Initiated following the visit of an agricultural identification mission from the Netherlands in 198 1the KWBSP was aimed at studying ways to solve Kuttanad's various problems and evaluate possible solutions to flooding, environmental deterioration and its adverse effects on public health and the problem of poor sanitation. The recommendations of the project included the construction of check dams in the upper reaches of the four rivers as measures to control the floods. The mission also put forward definite proposals for preservation of the region's ecology and development of agriculture and fisheries besides drawing up schemes for housing sanitation and drinking water supply.

According to the study referred to above the use of fertilisers and pesticides was 50 to 75 per cent more in Kuttanad than in other regions. Studies by the KPCB have revealed the presence of DDT and its derivatives, DDE and DDD in water and soil sediments. Organic tissue samples of fish, shrimp and clams, collected from Vembanad lake and examined in the Netherlands, show that levels of pesticides present were as much as 10 times the admissible toxic levels for the respective species. Some of these chemicals are well-known carcinogens.

Alarmingly the project pointed out that more than 40 per cent of the population of the area or nearly five lakh people depend on polluted canals, rivers and lakes for their drinking water. However while the study report was submitted way back in 1989 the state government is yet to sit up and take note of it. There is widespread resentment of this lackadaisical attitude demonstrated by the government. According to experts involved in the study the KWBSP has provided the much-needed database to work outlasting solutions to the complex problems of the region.

Outbreak: barrier trouble
This governmental apathy besides the ham-handed development policies intended for the region have been primarily responsible for the outbreak of Japanese encephalitis. The immediate cause - positively identified by researchers led by Jose Thomas, assistant director state health directorate - was the proliferation of mosquitoes mainly the Culex vishnui variety. These were found in large numbers in the affected areas. The basic reason for this pesky proliferation is the uncontrolled growth of water weeds which has a direct bearing on the drastic changes occurring in the region's aquatic environment since the commissioning of the Thannermukkorn saltwater barrier in 1976.

The barrier though it initially helped farmers by preventing seasonal intrusion of saltwater into the backwaters has had a disastrous long-term impact on the ecologyof the region. It has transformed the Vembanad lake into two distinct zones - the upstream area in Kuttanadnow a polluted freshwater body and the downstream section near Kochi which has brackish water. Before the barrier came into being there was no water stagnation in Kuttanad. Even during summer months when there was no flow into Kuttanad from the rivers emptying into the basin the region enjoyed the cleansing impact of the ebb and flow of the sea's tidal action. The salinity in the water also helped check the proliferation of water weeds. Today the stagnant cesspools of the region infested with thick weed growth provide the ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The recent outbreak is reminiscent of various previous ones highlighting the immediate need for ameliorative measures. In 1991a devastating fish disease - ulcerative syndrome - had wiped out a large number of fish in Kuttanad. A series of researches conducted in its wake have pointed out that pesticide pollution was the predisposing factor for the disease. The next year saw an almost similar disease affecting water snakes and tortoises. Following that ducks too died in large numbers because of some mysterious disease. Most of the diseases were in one way or another related to environment and its degradation.

Date: Dec 1996

maknair is a freelance journalist

Source: Down to Earth Vol: 5 Issue: 19961231

Tags: Encephalitis, Floods, Kerala, India

Kerala:the terrible price of progress

Down to Earth, New Delhi December 1996

Backs to the wall

LUSH green backwaters dotting a verdant undulating landscape along a north-south 560 km-coastal strip sporting a chain of lagoons - that is nature's gift to Kerala. These backwaters (dammed or still water beside streams and fed by the back flow) many of which are connected to the sea have played a significant role through the ages in the socioeconomic and cultural history of the state. But today the extensive reclamation of land from the backwaters both authorised and unauthorised continuing unabated over several years threatens to tear apart the pristine ecology of the region.

Of the total 3,600 sq km of water bodies in the state, the sprawling and interconnected estuary system comprises some 67 per cent. Referring to the widespread devastation The Environmental Geomorphic Atlas of Kerala Coastal Zone published in March 1987points out that about 15 per cent of the state's backwaters has been depleted in a short span of 15years. According to the Shrinking Backwaters of Keralaa study conducted by the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO)while Kerala's backwaters covered36500hectares (ha) in the mid-19th century only 12700ha(34.8 per cent) remain today.

Reclaiming disaster
The state's backwaters have a myriad variety of roles to play: controlling floods sheltering and breeding marine life filtering bio-matter and providing a haven to migratory species. A Mohandas director School of Environmental Studies Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUST) Says: "These little and large lagoons and estuaries have to be considered as items in the natural resources inventory and as the national heritage of the state as these have very important roles to contribute in the development of intra-coastal water transport inland fisheries and wetland ecology." But the state government is still far from paying any serious attention to the condition of the backwaters.

Increasing populations vie for more space with every passing year making demands on the peripheral stretches of the backwaters. But reclamation is more a business generating enormous profits, than need. For instance, unauthorised encroachments have gobbled up and depleted the backwaters surrounding picturesque islands like those of Vypeen andVallarpadam near Kochi. The biggest reclamation - of 365 ha- of backwater land however has been the one under taken in the early 1920s for setting up Kochi port. The Vembanad lake, Kerala's largest backwater, lost 51 sq kin in the process' shrinking from 230 sq kin in 1968 to 179 sq kin in 1983. The wonderful Siberian teals had found sanctuary in this magnificent lake till recently. Their visits have become rarer following the vast changes in the ecology of the lake.

Lately the announcement of a host of 'modernisation' schemes for Kochi which involve reclamation on a massive scale have forced fisherfolk and environmentalists to protest the degradation of the estuarine system. The Rs 325 crore-scheme to connect - by bridging - the islands on the backwaters off Kochi to the mainland envisages raising 362 ha from the bottom through a three-phase project expected to be completed in the year 2003. The sale of this reclaimed land is ostensibly to pay for the construction of the bridges.

A water sports complex in Kochi (expected to cost Rs 5crore) proposed by the Greater Kochi Development Authority also has a reclamation component: the two km-canal from Chilavannur to Kundannur is to be made narrower- from 360 metres (m) to 60 m - for the purpose. Yet as a senior NIO scientist says: "Any disturbance to the configuration of backwaters will positively destroy the quality and quantum of marine resources." Exploitation endangers
Environmental deterioration is taking place at a rapid rate in the backwaters of Kerala. The estuarine system is subjected to irrational economic exploitation and consequent ecological degradation. It is high time appropriate measures were evolved to conserve this vital ecosystem, says P Kumaran senior scientist at the National Environmental Research Institute Kochi. Lack of alternative fuelwood has forced the clearing away of the backwaters' mangrove shrubs almost to extinction. K Balakrishnan and C B Lalithambika Devi echo Kumaran's sentiments in their study, Development and Ecodisaster: A Lesson from the Cochin Backwater System: "The establishment of a modern port at Cochin has transformed the region into the industrial capital of the state. Simultaneous with economic progress the environmental conditions have become deranged due to large scale shipping operations."

Another study by scientists M K Mukundan and K Ravindran of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology in Kochi has pointed out that the backwater adjacent to Kochi port has been contaminated with heavy doses of petroleum hydrocarbons. Apart from the large volume of petroleum products the port also handles substances such as phosphoric acid, rock phosphates, ammonia and sulphur. Careless handling and spillage of these substances that lead to environmental damages are common phenomena.

Myriad problems
Research by the CUST School of Marine Sciences has found a direct link between depletion of backwaters and the decline in estuarine fishery resources arising from alterations to the ecology. Where estuarine-dependent panaeid shrimps made up the bulk of Kerala's shrimp catches earlier, marine species have almost totally replaced these in the last two decades.

The commissioning of the Thanneermukkom saltwater barrier has brought to an end the migration of all species which depend on both fresh and saline water for the completion of their lifecycles. The giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii earlier found in the middle and lower halves of Vembanad lake used to be one of the most sought after products. The characteristic annual breeding migration of this species from freshwater to the highly saline lower reaches of the estuary was disrupted by the barrage.

Recently the proliferation of a 'tiny ant-like creature' in the Kochi backwaters caused alarm because of its ability to rapidly cat away at fish catches. The creature identified as an isopod Cerlolana fluvitatlis now poses a serious threat to the region's aquatic resources. A study by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute Kochi found that the proliferation of this isopod is linked with changes in the ecosystem.

' According to the NIO study the decreasing' volume of exchange with the sea has reduced the diluting capacity of the backwaters. Moreover the inflow of industrial effluents in to the backwaters has increased substantially as has the discharge of domestic effluents. Further silt deposits have reduced the mean depth of the estuary system thus compounding the problem of shrinking acreage and decreasing the water-carrying capacity. The backwaters are also threatened by the prolific growth of the weed Salvinia auriculata, or the :frican payal'. A biological pollutant the plant has caused reduced primary productivity and dissolved oxygen concentration.

The Ashtamudi estuary in Kollam district fed by the Kallada river has its own share of the problem. Acid-rich wastes discharged by local industries are razing it report scientists from the Centre for Earth Science Studies Thiruvananthapuram. Consequently fisherfolk who dive for clams become easy prey to respiratory and skin disorders.

The exsiccation of the backwaters is also resulting in the encroachment of saline water into the rivers. During high tide the saline water of the backwaters enters through the bar mouth into the rivers. In 1982 the Periyar river was invaded by saltwater to a stretch of 28 km; this resulted in the closure of several industrial units on the river's banks. The over-exploitation and dwindling of resources have naturally caused considerable concern among environmentalists especially in the context of progressive contraction of the estuarine system.

maknair is a freelance journalist based in Kochi

PRINT