SOS e - Clarion Of Dalit

IT IS A FORUM TOWARDS PROTECTING THE CIVIL , HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE OPPRESSED - DALITS , MINORITIES & TRIBALS.The Criminal - Police - Politician - Judge - Criminals Nexus is trying to silence me in many ways. If anything untoward happens to me or to my dependents CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA together with jurisdictional police & District Magistrate will be responsible for it. Secure Mail : Naag@torbox3uiot6wchz.onion

Saturday, October 31, 2009

DC Manivannan sir - Biased Demolition

S.O.S - e - Clarion Of Dalit - Weekly Newspaper On Web Working For The Rights & Survival Of The Oppressed Editor: NAGARAJ.M.R VOL.3 issue. 45 11 / 11 / 2009 Editorial : PUBLIC CROSS-EXAMINATION OF SHRI.MANIVANNAN , DISTIRCT MAGISTRATE MYSORE , COMMISSIONER , MYSORE URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY - biased demolition drive ? Our publications expresses it's whole hearted support to your demolition drive against land grabbers - small fishes. what about the bigger fishes , whales who have grabbed huge govt lands worth crores , illegally built over corporation drainages , right under HT electric lines , right on CA sites , right on lakes. Some of these violations has occurred during your present tenure only , even it has been brought to your personal notice , no action by you till date , why ? Now , MUDA is on the verge of giving whole sale LAND USAGE CONVERSION FOR HUGE ACRES OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS TO COMMERCIAL , RESIDENTIAL , INDUSTRIAL USAGE. Before doing that please publicly answer the following questionaire. For the failure to answer our RTI request & to legally prosecute land grabbers , building bye-law violators , our publication has failed a criminal complaint against Commissioner MUDA & Commissioner , MCC at vijayanagar police station , Mysore. Visit following websites to know about the crimes of Indian public servants CROSS EXAM OF INDIAN JUDGES http://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/cross-exam-of-indian... , POLICE NOT REGISTERING COMPLAINT http://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/police-not-registeri... , Our publication has sought information as per RTI Act from MUDA , MCC & district administration about various irregularities of land allotment , conversions in & around mysore city. however till date MCC has not cared to reply , MUDA has only given half truths , district administration has not given full information at all. the officials of said authorities are putting onus of giving information on the other. thereby , the officials are indirectly protecting land mafia . now , you are the head of MUDA & DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION and you are well known for your integrity , honesty of duty . we respect you & request your kindself to publicly answer the following questions ( WHICH YOUR OFFICIALS TRIED TO AVOID & HID ) , so that criminals will be put in the open benefitting the larger public interest. JAI HIND. VANDE MATARAM. Your's sincerely, NAGARAJ.M.R. PUBLIC CROSS-EXAMINATION OF SHRI.MANIVANNAN , I.A.S , HONOURABLE DISTRICT MAGISTRATE , MYSORE 1. how many times since 1987 , MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT has revised / modified the mysore city's comprehensive city development plan ? 2. how many cases of CDP violations were registered by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT since 1987 till date ? 3. how many cases of CDP violations were legalized in the CDP revision / modification by the authorities ? 4. when an application for alienation of land is made to you , say from civic amenity site to commercial , what norms are followed by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT ? 5. how do you provide alternate civic amenity site in the locality , if the area is already full ? do you deprive people of civic amenities ? 6. during such alenation , is the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT collecting market rate difference between civic amenity site & commercial site ? if not why ? 7. in mysore city , many building complexes , buildings have been built fully violating building bye-laws – no set off , no parking space , no emergency fire exit , no earthquake tolerant . what action by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT ? 8. how many cases of building bye-laws violations has been registered by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT since 1987 ? what is the action status report yearwise ? 9. how much of MUDA's / MCC's / GOVERNMENT's lands , sites , buildings & houses have been illegally occupied by criminal tresspassers since 1987 ? 10. has the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT registered criminal cases against each such illegal occupation ? if not why ? provide status report yearwise ? 11. in how many cases of such illegal occupation MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT has legalized , regularized such illegal occupation just through MUDA's / MCC's resolution instead of of reallotting the same through public notification to the next senior most in the waiting list , after giving notice of allotment cancellation to original allottee ? if not done so why ? 12. has the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT followed all legal norms in reallotment of lands , sites , houses , etc to the illegal occupiers ? what is the procedure followed ? 13. in mysore city , numerous housing societies & real estate Developers have mushroomed , Land allotments of how many housing societies , real estate firms among them are legally authorized by MUDA , MCC , GOVERNMENT & how many not ? since 1987 till date ? 14. has the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT filed criminal complaints against such illegal housing societies & illegal real estate firms ? if not why ? 15. what action MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT has initiated against real estate firms & housing societies who have violated MUDA norms , layout plans , etc ? if not why ? 16. the government has framed building bye-laws like width of road , space for civic amenities , parking space , emergency fire exit , etc keeping high in the mind safety of people first. MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT is in the practice of levying a pittance as penalty on the building byelaw violators , layout Development plan violators & legalizing those violations. Safety of public & amenities of public are totally neglected by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT . When public people die , suffer injuries / accidents – say during a fire tragedy in a complex due to lack of fire exit , when people park vehicles on pavement in front of a business complex as the complex doesn't have a parking space of it's own , the pedestrians going that way are forced to come down on road resulting in accidents , injuries & deaths . is not the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT responsible for those accidents , injuries & deaths ? 17. what is the criteria adopted by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT for out of Turn allotment of Lands , sites , houses to renowned sports persons , judges , journalists , politicians , artists , etc ? 18. how many judges , artists , politicians , journalists , sports persons , etc have benefited from these out of turn allotments by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT ? specific figures yearwise since 1987 ? 19. what action has been taken against developers , housing societies , who have violated MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT norms ? 20. when poor scheduled caste , scheduled tribe people , minority people illegally live On MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT sites building temporary huts , MUDA / AUTHORITIES with the help of police razes down those huts & evicts the poor by brute force. Whereas , when cronies of political bigwigs illegally occupy MUDA , MCC / GOVERNMENT lands worth crores of rupees & build big complexes earning thousands of rupees monthly rent , MUDA or authorities not even files police complaint against them instead regularizes the illegal occupation by levying a pittance as fine. Why this double standard by MUDA / MCC GOVERNMENT ? 21. HOW MANY CASES OF ILLEGAL OCCUPATIONS are regularized by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT since 1987 till date ? yearwise figures ? 22. how much of MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT lands , sites , houses are under illegal occupation ? status report yearwise since 1987 ? 23. how much of those has been recovered ? has the MUDA ,AUTHORITIES recovered the rents earned by illegal occupation ? 24. have you filed police complaints against those criminals – tresspassers ? if not why ? 25. is the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT giving wide publicity & sufficient time to bidders about it's auction schedules ? 26. is the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT giving market value to land loosers ? 27. is the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT exactly using the acquired lands , for the same purpose mentioned in the project plan ? 28. is the MUDA / AUTHORITIES acquiring lands at lower rates from farmers & selling it at a premium , by way making profits just like a real estate agency ? 29. in villages , there are cattle grazing grounds meant for the usage of whole villagers, forest for the usage of whole village , lands belonging to village temples. Some villagers have donated their personal lands to village temples , cattle grazing for the benefit of whole villagers. All the villagers are stake holders , owners of such lands. When MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT acquires such lands to whom does it pay compensation ? what about welfare objectives of those lands ? 30. till date , how many lakes , ponds , how many feeder canals have been closed , filled with mud , developed , sold as sites , etc by MUDA MCC or other land developers ? 31. has the MUDA , MCC taken alternate steps to create new lakes , ponds ? how many are created till date ? 32. in & around mysore city , high tension electric lines are there in busy residential areas . as per Indian electricity act , no permanent structures should be under the HT lines. However there are buildings under it. In some places , HT lines runs in the middle of the road. The authorities Have developed those areas beneath HT lines as parks , rented out advertisement spaces & built permanent fencing of those areas spending lakhs of taxpayer's money. This fencing obstructs the movement of service personnel of electricity board , to service HT line. Are all these structures under & surrounding HT lines legal ? 33. till date how many burial grounds are acquired & sold as sites by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT or other developers ? specific figures yearwise since 1987 castewise , religionwise ? 34. in & around mysore city , in how many areas developed by MUDA & private developers , the sewage water generated in those areas is directly let into lake , ponds ? 35. how many tributaries , lakes , ponds are killed in this fashion by MUDA , MCC & other developers , housing societies ? 36. how many business complexes , flats , residential layouts developed by private real estate developers , housing societies are dumping the sewage , / waste generated in their buildings , into unauthorized dumping grounds , lakes , etc . thus disturbing the environment & creating public health hazard ? how the MUDA / MCC is monitoring sewage / waste disposal ? status report yearwise since 1987 till date . 37. how many unauthorized housing layouts are there in & around mysore city ? what action by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT against them ? action taken report yearwise since 1987 till date . 38. around mysore city , vast areas of village farm lands , agricultural lands are acquired by private real estate developers for non agricultural purposes by a single firm or single owner. Are these actions legal ? some of these real estate agents have sold those lands to private industries , multinational companies for crores of rupees. Has the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT given alienation of land ie conversion from agricultural to industrial usage. Has KIADB given consent to it ? 39. can a single individual / firm can purchase such vast tracts of agricultural lands , is it legal ? is it within the KIADB's comprehensive industrial area development plan ? 40. has the MUDA / MCC , KIADB given wide publicity , public notice calling for objections before alienation of such lands ? 41. are all those alienations , strictly in conformance to MUDA's / MCC's CDP & KIADB's industrial area development plan ? violations how many ? 42. is the MUDA & KIADB revising / modifying CDP & INDUSTRIAL AREA DEVELOPMENT PLAN , to suit those real estate developers & Private companies ? on what legal grounds ? 43.what action has been taken based on mysore district magistrate mr.T.M.Vijaya Bhaskar's report on land grabbings in mysore ? 44.in mysore city , hebbal-hootagalli industrial area , a lake has been destroyed while building kaynes hotel , hinkal lake is shrinking , lake in front of BEML Quarters has been alloted to M/S THRILLER CLOTHING CO, are all these actions legal & in conformance to MUDA's CDP ? if not why ? what action ? 45. while auctioning off the lands of sick industrial unit M/S IDEAL JAWA LTD , was there any pre-qualification to bidders that after purchase of lands only it must be used for industrial use or only industries can participate in the bidding process ? 46.why not it has been clearly mentioned in the tender document that , said land is open for alienation ? 47. about this issue , our publication has even raised it's objections , in it's newspaper . no action , why ? as a result , the government , banks , employees were cheated off their dues & the private firm made huge profits. is this auction & alienation legal ? 48.numerous NGO's , trusts promoted by religious bodies , mutts are allotted prime lands at preferrential rates , for the reason that they will use it for public / social welfare. however many of the trusts are using the whole or part of the land for commercial purposes other than the stated public / social welfare purpose. what action has been taken by MUDA , MCC or government in such cases ? 49.how many trusts have violated government norms in this way since 1987 till date? what action taken by MUDA , MCC & government action taken report yearwise since 1987 till date ? 50.how many such illegalities / violations by trusts are regularized by MUDA , MCC or authorities , on what legal grounds ? ATR since 1987 till date ? 51.before regularizing such violations have you sought public objections & given media publicity ? if not why ? 52.how you are monitoring the net wealth growth of some MUDA / MCC / REVENUE officials & their family members , who have land acquisition / denotifying , land usage conversion authorities ? 53.how many trusts , NGOs are allotted prime residential / commercial lands by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT on lease basis , in turn the said trusts , NGOs have sulet it either partly or wholly to others ? 54.how many such lease allotments are sold by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT before the expiry of lease period , without public auction ? 55. what are the norms followed by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT for the sale of leased lands to the lessee before the expiry of lease period ? land scam in Karnataka – an appeal to honourable supreme court of India & H.E.Honourable Governor Of Karnataka When a crime is noticed , it is the duty of the government to investigate who did it ? and to legally prosecute them in court & provide justice . if thousands of criminals , lakhs of criminals got together & did the same type of crimes , all of them must be legally prosecuted. Just for the overwhelming numbers of criminals law of the land cann't be changed. However in the Karnataka state , many political bigwigs , rich crooks have done the same crime , LAND GRABBING – illegal possession of government land & illegal constructions over it. Important land records of those government lands , lands belonging to poor are lost in record rooms of civic bodies ( cunningly destroyed by corrupt officials ) Now, their political masters are legalizing the crimes . what a shame to the government of Karnataka ? The shri.A.T. RAMA SWAMY , (M.L.A) standing committee in the legislative assembly is still probing the land grabbings in Karnataka. However the government in a hurry , is auctioning – off those government lands without proper publicity to the auction process , sufficient time for bidder's expression of interest. In some cases , a pittance is levied as penalty for the illegal occupation to get it legalized. The government is not bothered about legally prosecuting the illegal occupier of those lands. In many civic bodies , important property documents belonging to the government & poor are missing from the record rooms. All these point towards the government intention , to legalise the crimes of illegal land occupiers who are nothing but their own political cronies. The recent ordinance by government of Karnataka to regularize land deals is envisaging to legalize the crimes of rich. The illegal land conversions , land encroachments , encroachment of civic amenities made by the rich are being legalized with levying a pittance as penalty in the name of public welfare . Whereas the land worth at today's market prices are 10's of thousands of crore it is only wefare of the rich & mighty . IT IS GOING TO BE MOTHER OF ALL SCAMS. The authorities evict poor tribal people from their ancestral forest area in the name of conservation , evict tribal people from villages in the name of development without proper rehabilitation measures. The government is not giving land rights to slum dwellers , poor , dalits over the land they are dwelling , the government is deaf to appeals of dalits for land rights. However the same government is sympathetic to rich who have encroached land & built huge commercial complexes worth crores violating all norms with total disregard to civic amenity or safety. Hereby , HRW appeals to honourable supreme court of India , to annul the bid process of government of Karnataka with respect to illegally occupied government lands & to annul this ordinance of government of Karnataka which seeks to legalize land crimes. THE CLOUT OF LAND MAFIA IN INDIA -the governments daring to by-pass judiciary - An appeal ( PIL ) to the honourable supreme court of India The recent attempts by government of India & other state governments to legalise land grabbings by enacting new land laws in the name of public welfare is farce . while crores of people are without shelter & are living on streets , people in slums , tribal lands are struggling for land rights since decades the governments were mum & deaf. Now , as the rulers themselves & their cronies have built illegal constructions running into crores they are shedding crocodile tears in the name of public welfare. In india, various state governments have enacted " town municipal / city corporation laws & building laws" , to ensure orderly growth of cities & towns , to ensure the safety of buildings & it's occupants , to ensure the safety of pedestrians & road users. Numerous educated people , ruling elite – ministers , police , government officials , M.Ps , M.L.As , etc knowing fully well about the laws have illegally built bungalows , commercial complexes , throwing to wind all laws. In their greed they have shown utter contempt towards law. They have encroached dried –up lakes , rivulets , rain flow paths , drainages , foot paths , civic amenity sites. In their building there are violations of- lack of fire safety exits , lack of parking space , encroachment of foot paths , conservancy line , drainages , etc. There is wide spread corruption in the corporation / municipal authorities. For a price officials have converted CA sites to commercial purposes , authorised deviations / encroachments of public lands like foot paths , drainages , parking space , set-off , etc. The corporation officials themselves are violating city master plans. Even before authorising the conversions & encroachments of lands , the corporation officials are not making alternate arrangements. By all these corrupt deeds many of the corporation officilas have become millionaires . however more & more road accidents are taking place , building collapses & fire tragedies are occurring , during heavy rainfalls water is getting clogged – ALL THESE RESULTING IN LOSS OF HUMAN LIVE & PROPERTIES. In recent days numerous murders have taken place over the real estate issues . THE CRIMINAL LAND GRABBERS MADE DEATH THREATS & FORCED THE PIL APPLICANT IN THE KARNATAKA HIGH COURT ABOUT LAND GRABBINGS IN KORAMANGALA LAYOUT BANGALORE. The government of karnataka instead of protecting the PIL applicant & upholding the law has taken sides with the land grabbers. The state governments of karnataka & delhi has got M.L.As & officials who have themselves violated building laws & grabbed govt lands. Now , the two govts are contemplating to bring in laws regularising these land grabbing crimes for a pittance as penalty. All to by-pass judiciary. The governments are least bothered about the lives of poor & only too caring towards the land grabbing criminals. The same governments have not yet given land rights to poor slum dwellers / dalits , land rights to tribals living in forest since centuries , land rights to poor agricultural labourers, where as it is full of concern towards rich & mighty land grabbers – criminals. Bottom line – whatever be the magnitude of crime if you are rich & mighty law will be bended to suit you , by bad luck if you are a poor folk you are bound to suffer being on the right side of law also. Hereby , HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH urges requests the honourable supreme court of india , to register this as a PIL , to provide protection to the PIL applicant in bangalore & to take appropriate actions against the GOK & GOD nipping at bud their illegal motives to regularise land grabbings. ILLEGALITIES IN AUCTION OF M/S IDEAL JAWA LTD MYSORE During the auction of above sick industry the land usage was for industrial purpose only. so, people with other commercial objectives were not allowed to participate in the auction. Thereby, the final auctioned amount was very much less than the market value. This has a direct bearing on employees of that industry , lending banks , govt dept , etc who have all put forward their claims for dues from that industry. noW, all of them are getting very much less than what is due from the closed company. A loss of crores of rupees to banks , government , employees has been made by the cunningness of civic bodies. Now in a backdoor move the M.U.D.A , K.I.A.D.B , M.C.C are moving to give land usage conversion to the new occupier, who is building posh villas & resorts here. Is it right & justified ? should not they conduct auction once again or charge market value to the new owner. LAND MAFIA IN KARNATAKA The land mafia which has links with political leadership & top govt servants in the state, is running business widely in & around bangalore,mysore & other major towns. The authorities like city corporation , B.D.A, M.U.D.A , K.I.A.D.B , etc are denotifying the lands meant for public welfare in favour of land mafia. The authorities have earmarked these lands for public welfare ie parks , schools , hospitals at the planning stage itself for current & future needs of the people. In most cases the land mafia has illegally occupied the lands , built commercial complexes & sold it for crores of rupees. 1. the authorities are not demolishing these illegal structures & prosecuting the occupiers. 2. In some cases the authorities are denotifying , regularizing those illegal occupations by levying a pittance as penalty which is very much less than the market value. 3. In some cases for example a notified site for school is alloted to an educational trust. They build 2 rooms in 25% of the site & state that this is free school meant for weaker sections. After a year or two , they state before the authority that to run this school they need funds. So they are planning to build commercial complexes around the school site & by the rent collected from shops they will run the school. In this manner sites meant for schools , hospitals , temples & other social organisations apply for conversion of land usage & use major portion of the land for commercial purposes. Hereby , our publication urges the govt of karnataka & other authorities , 1. to clearly demarcate the govt lands & announce it boldly to the public. 2. To clearly demarcate lands meant for public amenities both for current & future usage. 3. To clearly demarcate lands required for town planning say 20 years down the line. 4. To clearly mention in such plans the purpose it is reserved for ie parks , hospitals , schools , etc. 5. To impartially act against illegal occupiers – rich or poor. 6. Say while denotifying a land meant for school an alternate land for school must be incorporated in the original plan. 7. Before denotification public objections must be called for & considered responsibly. 8. After denotification the land must be sold at the market rate not the govt rate. 9. In case of land usage conversion also the objections from the public must be called for & considered responsibly. 10. After land usage conversion an alternate land must be incorporated in the plan for the original use. 11. In case of land usage conversion also the occupier must be charged at the market value. 12. To declare annually the property details of all officials with denotifying / land usage conversion authorities together with details of their family member's properties with provision for public scrutiny, cross checking. 13. To ruthlessly prosecute the corrupt officials & ministers. 14. To make public the report of past district magistrate mysore mr. T.M. VIJAYA BHASKAR about illegal land dealings in & around mysore. Also the action taken report. ILLEGALITIES IN BANGALORE-MYSORE EXPRESSWAY PROJECT Different political parties are trading charges against each other about illegalities in the mysore-bangalore expressway project. Grave mistakes have been committed by the previous state governments. The saving grace is judiciary has taken note of it. The fundamental principle behind land acquisitions by the governments is to use that acquired lands for public welfare. As the govt acquires the land with this noble intentions even the land looser contents himself with compensation at govt rate. Always the govt rate is much below market value. If at all the govt wants to give out that acquired land to a private party for private use or for the use of a selected few, the govt must give prevailing market rate to the land looser. In such cases the govt does not have authority to force the land owner to sell his property. In this mysore-bangalore 4 lane expressway project, following inconsistencies are there, 1. this road is not for free public use, but only for those who pays the toll fees. 2. The luxurious resorts , townships , etc which are to be built alongside this road are not open for free public usage but only for the rich who can afford it. 3. The govt has concluded this deal in a hush-hush manner. 4. Any disputes raised by this project should be addressed to international arbiter at london which a poor land owner or general public can ill-afford. 5. The govt has not paid the prevailing market value to the land loosers. 6. The govt has not given the option to land owners not to sell their property. 7. This whole project is for rich , built by the rich for the rich & not meant for public welfare. The govt must give back the lands to the owners who wants it back & must pay the market value to those willing to sell. As this project is built by wealthy people for wealthy people why cann't they cough- up market value? APPEAL UNDER SEC 19 (3) OF RTI ACT 2005 OF GOVERNMENT OF INDIA & GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA APPLICATION FOR INFORMATION AS PER RTI ACT 2005 ( SEE RULE 22 OF RTI ACT 2005 ) FULL NAME OF THE APPLICANT : NAGARAJ.M.R. ADDRESS OF THE APPLICANT : NAGARAJ.M.R., EDITOR , E-VOICE OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, # LIG-2 / 761, OPP WATER WORKS OFFICE, HUDCO FIRST STAGE, LAXMIKANTANAGAR, HEBBAL, MYSORE , KARNATAKA , PIN – 570017. DETAILS OF DOCUMENTS / WRITTEN STATEMENTS / INFORMATION REQUIRED : HEREBY , I DO HUMBLY REQUEST YOU TO GIVE ME WRITTEN STATEMENTS / ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS - WHICH IN ITSELF ( ie answers ) ARE THE INFORMATION SOUGHT BY ME. 1. how many times since 1987 , MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT has revised / modified the mysore city's comprehensive city development plan ? 2. how many cases of CDP violations were registered by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT since 1987 till date ? 3. how many cases of CDP violations were legalized in the CDP revision / modification by the authorities ? 4. when an application for alienation of land is made to you , say from civic amenity site to commercial , what norms are followed by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT ? 5. how do you provide alternate civic amenity site in the locality , if the area is already full ? do you deprive people of civic amenities ? 6. during such alenation , is the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT collecting market rate difference between civic amenity site & commercial site ? if not why ? 7. in mysore city , many building complexes , buildings have been built fully violating building bye-laws – no set off , no parking space , no emergency fire exit , no earthquake tolerant . what action by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT ? 8. how many cases of building bye-laws violations has been registered by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT since 1987 ? what is the action status report yearwise ? 9. how much of MUDA's / MCC's / GOVERNMENT's lands , sites , buildings & houses have been illegally occupied by criminal tresspassers since 1987 ? 10. has the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT registered criminal cases against each such illegal occupation ? if not why ? provide status report yearwise ? 11. in how many cases of such illegal occupation MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT has legalized , regularized such illegal occupation just through MUDA's / MCC's resolution instead of of reallotting the same through public notification to the next senior most in the waiting list , after giving notice of allotment cancellation to original allottee ? if not done so why ? 12. has the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT followed all legal norms in reallotment of lands , sites , houses , etc to the illegal occupiers ? what is the procedure followed ? 13. in mysore city , numerous housing societies & real estate Developers have mushroomed , Land allotments of how many housing societies , real estate firms among them are legally authorized by MUDA , MCC , GOVERNMENT & how many not ? since 1987 till date ? 14. has the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT filed criminal complaints against such illegal housing societies & illegal real estate firms ? if not why ? 15. what action MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT has initiated against real estate firms & housing societies who have violated MUDA norms , layout plans , etc ? if not why ? 16. the government has framed building bye-laws like width of road , space for civic amenities , parking space , emergency fire exit , etc keeping high in the mind safety of people first. MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT is in the practice of levying a pittance as penalty on the building byelaw violators , layout Development plan violators & legalizing those violations. Safety of public & amenities of public are totally neglected by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT . When public people die , suffer injuries / accidents – say during a fire tragedy in a complex due to lack of fire exit , when people park vehicles on pavement in front of a business complex as the complex doesn't have a parking space of it's own , the pedestrians going that way are forced to come down on road resulting in accidents , injuries & deaths . is not the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT responsible for those accidents , injuries & deaths ? 17. what is the criteria adopted by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT for out of Turn allotment of Lands , sites , houses to renowned sports persons , judges , journalists , politicians , artists , etc ? 18. how many judges , artists , politicians , journalists , sports persons , etc have benefited from these out of turn allotments by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT ? specific figures yearwise since 1987 ? 19. what action has been taken against developers , housing societies , who have violated MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT norms ? 20. when poor scheduled caste , scheduled tribe people , minority people illegally live On MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT sites building temporary huts , MUDA / AUTHORITIES with the help of police razes down those huts & evicts the poor by brute force. Whereas , when cronies of political bigwigs illegally occupy MUDA , MCC / GOVERNMENT lands worth crores of rupees & build big complexes earning thousands of rupees monthly rent , MUDA or authorities not even files police complaint against them instead regularizes the illegal occupation by levying a pittance as fine. Why this double standard by MUDA / MCC GOVERNMENT ? 21. HOW MANY CASES OF ILLEGAL OCCUPATIONS are regularized by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT since 1987 till date ? yearwise figures ? 22. how much of MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT lands , sites , houses are under illegal occupation ? status report yearwise since 1987 ? 23. how much of those has been recovered ? has the MUDA ,AUTHORITIES recovered the rents earned by illegal occupation ? 24. have you filed police complaints against those criminals – tresspassers ? if not why ? 25. is the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT giving wide publicity & sufficient time to bidders about it's auction schedules ? 26. is the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT giving market value to land loosers ? 27. is the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT exactly using the acquired lands , for the same purpose mentioned in the project plan ? 28. is the MUDA / AUTHORITIES acquiring lands at lower rates from farmers & selling it at a premium , by way making profits just like a real estate agency ? 29. in villages , there are cattle grazing grounds meant for the usage of whole villagers, forest for the usage of whole village , lands belonging to village temples. Some villagers have donated their personal lands to village temples , cattle grazing for the benefit of whole villagers. All the villagers are stake holders , owners of such lands. When MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT acquires such lands to whom does it pay compensation ? what about welfare objectives of those lands ? 30. till date , how many lakes , ponds , how many feeder canals have been closed , filled with mud , developed , sold as sites , etc by MUDA MCC or other land developers ? 31. has the MUDA , MCC taken alternate steps to create new lakes , ponds ? how many are created till date ? 32. in & around mysore city , high tension electric lines are there in busy residential areas . as per Indian electricity act , no permanent structures should be under the HT lines. However there are buildings under it. In some places , HT lines runs in the middle of the road. The authorities Have developed those areas beneath HT lines as parks , rented out advertisement spaces & built permanent fencing of those areas spending lakhs of taxpayer's money. This fencing obstructs the movement of service personnel of electricity board , to service HT line. Are all these structures under & surrounding HT lines legal ? 33. till date how many burial grounds are acquired & sold as sites by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT or other developers ? specific figures yearwise since 1987 castewise , religionwise ? 34. in & around mysore city , in how many areas developed by MUDA & private developers , the sewage water generated in those areas is directly let into lake , ponds ? 35. how many tributaries , lakes , ponds are killed in this fashion by MUDA , MCC & other developers , housing societies ? 36. how many business complexes , flats , residential layouts developed by private real estate developers , housing societies are dumping the sewage , / waste generated in their buildings , into unauthorized dumping grounds , lakes , etc . thus disturbing the environment & creating public health hazard ? how the MUDA / MCC is monitoring sewage / waste disposal ? status report yearwise since 1987 till date . 37. how many unauthorized housing layouts are there in & around mysore city ? what action by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT against them ? action taken report yearwise since 1987 till date . 38. around mysore city , vast areas of village farm lands , agricultural lands are acquired by private real estate developers for non agricultural purposes by a single firm or single owner. Are these actions legal ? some of these real estate agents have sold those lands to private industries , multinational companies for crores of rupees. Has the MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT given alienation of land ie conversion from agricultural to industrial usage. Has KIADB given consent to it ? 39. can a single individual / firm can purchase such vast tracts of agricultural lands , is it legal ? is it within the KIADB's comprehensive industrial area development plan ? 40. has the MUDA / MCC , KIADB given wide publicity , public notice calling for objections before alienation of such lands ? 41. are all those alienations , strictly in conformance to MUDA's / MCC's CDP & KIADB's industrial area development plan ? violations how many ? 42. is the MUDA & KIADB revising / modifying CDP & INDUSTRIAL AREA DEVELOPMENT PLAN , to suit those real estate developers & Private companies ? on what legal grounds ? 43.what action has been taken based on mysore district magistrate mr.T.M.Vijaya Bhaskar's report on land grabbings in mysore ? 44.in mysore city , hebbal-hootagalli industrial area , a lake has been destroyed while building kaynes hotel , hinkal lake is shrinking , lake in front of BEML Quarters has been alloted to M/S THRILLER CLOTHING CO, are all these actions legal & in conformance to MUDA's CDP ? if not why ? what action ? 45. while auctioning off the lands of sick industrial unit M/S IDEAL JAWA LTD , was there any pre-qualification to bidders that after purchase of lands only it must be used for industrial use or only industries can participate in the bidding process ? 46.why not it has been clearly mentioned in the tender document that , said land is open for alienation ? 47. about this issue , our publication has even raised it's objections , in it's newspaper . no action , why ? as a result , the government , banks , employees were cheated off their dues & the private firm made huge profits. is this auction & alienation legal ? 48.numerous NGO's , trusts promoted by religious bodies , mutts are allotted prime lands at preferrential rates , for the reason that they will use it for public / social welfare. however many of the trusts are using the whole or part of the land for commercial purposes other than the stated public / social welfare purpose. what action has been taken by MUDA , MCC or government in such cases ? 49.how many trusts have violated government norms in this way since 1987 till date? what action taken by MUDA , MCC & government action taken report yearwise since 1987 till date ? 50.how many such illegalities / violations by trusts are regularized by MUDA , MCC or authorities , on what legal grounds ? ATR since 1987 till date ? 51.before regularizing such violations have you sought public objections & given media publicity ? if not why ? 52.how you are monitoring the net wealth growth of some MUDA / MCC / REVENUE officials & their family members , who have land acquisition / denotifying , land usage conversion authorities ? 53.how many trusts , NGOs are allotted prime residential / commercial lands by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT on lease basis , in turn the said trusts , NGOs have sulet it either partly or wholly to others ? 54.how many such lease allotments are sold by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT before the expiry of lease period , without public auction ? 55. what are the norms followed by MUDA / MCC / GOVERNMENT for the sale of leased lands to the lessee before the expiry of lease period ? YEAR TO WHICH ABOVE PERTAINS : MAJORITY OF DOCUMENTS PERTAINS TO YEAR 2006 & 2007 . SOME OF THE DOCUMENTS ARE DATED BACK TO 1947. REMARKS : PIO of O/O commissioner , Mysore urban development authority , Mysore failed to provide full information to us. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER FROM WHOM THE INFORMATION IS REQUIRED : PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER , O/O COMMISSIONER , MYSORE URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY , MYSORE . DATE : 21.04.08 YOUR’S SINCERELY, PLACE : MYSORE NAGARAJ.M.R. CROSS EXAM OF MUDA COMMISSIONER , MUDA , MYSORE – http://crimesofmuda.blogspot.com/ , http://manivannanmuda.blogspot.com/ , http://crimesatmudamysore.wordpress.com/ , Raja faces heat as CBI raids DoT on 2G scam Turning the heat on telecom minister A. Raja, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case saying there was large scale corruption in the allocation of 2G (second generation) radio spectrum licences. Raja, the second-time telecom minister in the UPA government, had repeatedly denied any corruption in the 2G allocation to private companies in 2008. The FIR filed by CBI on Thursday names no person but merely mentions unknown officials of the department of telecommunications (DoT) and unknown private persons and companies as the accused. The agency raided the DoT office in Sanchar Bhawan and the search for incriminating documents was on till late night in the wireless planning cell and in the office of the deputy directorgeneral (access services) of DoT. Top bureaucrats of the ministry are under the CBI scanner. The FIR confirms allegations of "serious irregularities" in the award of the spectrum licenses and a criminal conspiracy woven between DoT officials and certain private companies. However, telecom minister A. Raja ruled out resignation in the wake of CBI searches in his ministry. "The question of my resignation does not arise. All decisions on spectrum licensing have been taken in accordance with procedures laid down by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and in consultations with the Prime Minister," he told reporters. But the CBI FIR said, "The licenses were awarded to these companies by putting a cap on the number of applicants against the recommendations of the Trai. The licences to these private companies were given on a first-come-first-served basis at the rates of 2001 - which were very low - without any competitive bidding." CBI has acted within days of the Central Vigilance Commission ( CVC) asking for a comprehensive CBI probe. "The CVC findings show the spectrum was not allocated at the present market- driven price, no auction process was followed and no bids were invited. We will now quiz senior DoT officials, including an IAS officer," a senior CBI official said. "The scam could run up to Rs 22,000 crore. Firms which got the licences at throwaway prices later sold their stake to foreign operators at huge prices," he added. SOURCES said the CBI probe will concentrate on specific aspects like why DoT did not go for the auction process in accordance with Trai guidelines and instead opted for a firstcome- first- served approach. It will also examine why licences were not issued at current prices and why no time cap was fixed for those who were given the licences. " CBI will further analyse documents to ascertain if the DoT had cabinet approval for going ahead with its idea of not inviting global bids for such a big project," according to sources. Two companies that got these licences in 2008 - Swan Telecom and Unitech - are allegedly under CBI investigation. Swan Telecom got the license for a mere Rs 1,537 crore. It then sold its stake to a foreign operator at nearly three times the amount within a few months. Unitech got the spectrum licence for Rs 1,650 crore from the DoT, which too, sold its stake to a Norwegian company for over four times this amount. " The end loser was the government, which could have earned thousands of crores more," said a CBI official. In 2008, the government had issued new licences bundled with start- up 4.4 MHz spectrum at a fee of Rs 1,651 crore. UNDER SCANNER CBI will probe why DoT didn't go for the auction as per Trai norms & opted for a first-come-first-served approach. It will also examine why licences were not issued at current prices and why no time cap was fixed for those who were given licences. The scam could run up to Rs 22,000 crore. Firms which got the licences at throwaway prices later sold their stakes to foreign telcos at big prices. Two firms that got these licences in 2008 - Swan Telecom and Unitech - are under CBI investigation. BJP demands sacking of A.Raja over 2G spectrum scam The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday reiterated its demand that Telecom Minister A.Raja be sacked for his controversial role in the allocation of 2G spectrum. Addressing a news conference in the capital here this afternoon, BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitely claimed that by allocating 2G spectrum at prices that were in existence in 2001 and not what was the prevailing rate in 2009, A.Raja had colluded in a fraud and loss of more than Rs.60,000 crores, making it the largest scam in independent India history. "It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister has chosen to comment on the innocence of the minister, even while the investigations are on. There was no occasion for the Prime Minister to send such a signal to the investigative agencies directly under him," Jaitely said. "This country has been robbed of a large amount of money by this misdemeanour of the Telecom Department. The compulsions of the coalition politics should not come in the way of an honest investigation. Propriety requires that while the investigations are under way, the minister should cease to be in office. His continuation in that ministry is itself a deterrent to an honest and independent investigation," he added. "The entire nation is closely watching this investigation. Let this investigation not result in holding civil servants guilty and the minister innocent. It was the minister who is the prime accused and the civil servants were only carrying out his dictates," Jaitely further said. He said that with the Central Bureau of Investigation registering a regular case with regard to the allotment of spectrum for the 2-G license issued by the Department of Telecommunications in 2007; the offices of the Department of Telecommunications have been searched and various documents have been seized, there was serious ground to assume that an impropriety had been committed in the public domain. "To Shri A. Raja's statement that he had kept the Prime Minister informed of what he was doing, the Prime Minister has said - " I would not like to join the issue in the public with my Cabinet colleague." Obviously, the Prime Minister is in no position to agree or disagree," Jaitely said. The allegations against Shri A. Raja and the officers of the Department of Telecommunications are very clear, Jaitely said, adding that the BJP had raised the issue in Parliament during the Monsoon Session. He said that the party had then demanded prosecution of the minister and other officers under Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. This provision provides for imprisonment of seven years, Jaitely said, adding that Raja is primarily liable for this offence.(ANI) 2G row: Raja accuses NDA of Rs 1 lakh crore scam NEW DELHI, INDIA: A.Raja, Union Minster for IT and Communication, has alleged that the NDA Government had unlawfully allocated 2G spectrum to some operators and reduced license fee without any approval from the Cabinet or recommendation from TRAI. He alleged this has incurred the government a loss of approximately one lakh crore rupees. "On record it had been observed that the license fee was brought down to Rs 1000 crore to benefit some of the operators. The whole spectrum allocation and license fee reduction is estimated to have cost rupees one lakh crore to the government," alleged Raja. While addressing the curtain raiser event of Indian Telecom 2009 here today the minister also criticized BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who has demanded his resignation, for defending a major operator in court. "Arun Jaitley himself appeared before the court to defend an operator. Now his legal brain is fighting with political brain. I don't know what will be the outcome," said Raja. Raja slammed the previous NDA regime for allocating excess spectrum without any approval of the Cabinet and recommendation from TRAI. "There was no policy of issuing beyond 4.4 MHz spectrum to an operator but there were allocation made beyond 4.4 MHz to some of the operators," said the telecom minister. Raja further added that despite clear orders which said that no allocation should be made in the band of 900 MHz, NDA allocated spectrum to some of the operators. "The government has approved through clear orders that there should be no allocation from 900 MHz spectrum band but willfully and ignoring the law, this 900 MHz band was allocated to some operators during NDA," said Raja. "There was allocation of 250 MHz spectrum without any upfront charge. Additionally there was no revenue sharing for allocation of spectrum beyond 8 to 10 MHz. What we mean to say, was 250 MHz spectrum their ancestral property? I am the first minister to say that spectrum allocation should be done on upfront charges," said Raja. He also said the NDA ministers did not go for TRAI recommendation and also there was no revenue sharing. The minister also said that the reduction in the license fee benefited some of the operators. However, Raja did not answer the questions on the amendment that were made during NDA Government at the time of introduction of Unified Access Service Licenses (UASL) on October 31, 2003, whereby it was decided that the future licenses would not be given on 'first come first serve' basis but should be auctioned. On October 27, 2003, TRAI in its recommendation on UASL had opined that on availability of additional spectrum additional players could be added by multi-stage bidding process. TRAI, in Section 7.39 of this recommendation, mentioned that "As the existing players have to improve the efficiency of utilization of spectrum and if Government ensures availability of additional spectrum then in the existing Licensing Regime, they may introduce additional players through a multi-stage bidding process as was followed for 4th cellular operator." edited , printed , published & owned by NAGARAJ.M.R. @ : LIG-2 / 761 , HUDCO FIRST STAGE , OPP WATER WORKS OFFICE , LAKSHMIKANTANAGAR ,HEBBAL , MYSORE -570017 INDIA cell :09341820313home page: http://groups.google.co.in/group/e-clarion-of-dalit/ ,http://e-clarionofdalit.blogspot.com/ ,http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/e-clarionofdalit/ ,e-mail : nagarajhrw@hotmail.com , naghrw@yahoo.com

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Sunday, October 25, 2009

CORPORATE CRIMES IN INDIA

S.O.S - e - Clarion Of Dalit - Weekly Newspaper On Web

Working For The Rights & Survival Of The Oppressed

Editor: NAGARAJ.M.R VOL.3 issue. 44 04 / 11 / 2009

Editorial : BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY 1984 -Bhopal, India

-- END 25 YEARS OF INJUSTICE TO PEOPLE OF BHOPAL

Shortly before midnight on 2 December 1984, thousands of tonnes of deadly chemicals leaked from Union Carbide's pesticide plant in Bhopal, central India. Around half a million people were exposed. Between 7,000 and 10,000 people died in the immediate aftermath and a further 15,000 over the next 20 years. Nearly 25 years later, the factory site has not been cleaned up. More than 100,000 people continue to suffer from ongoing health problems. Efforts to provide rehabilitation â€" both medical care and measures to address the socio-economic effects of the leak â€" have fallen way short of what is needed. Many of those affected are still waiting for adequate compensation and the full facts of the leak and its impact have never been properly investigated. No one has ever been held to account for what happened at Bhopal and efforts by survivors' organizations to use the Indian and US court systems to see justice done and gain adequate redress have so far been unsuccessful. Bhopal is not just a human rights tragedy from the last century â€" it is a human rights travesty today. The legacy of Bhopal persists because the people of Bhopal have never been able to claim their rights. Moreover, the negative impacts of the leak are affecting new generations. Studies have shown how the exposure to the toxic gas causes long-term effects, which can continue in children born in gas-exposed families. For 25 years the Indian government has failed the people of Bhopal. Promises have been repeatedly broken and no adequate action has ever been taken to address the impacts of the gas leak. No company can be allowed to evade responsibility for the impacts of its operations. Union Carbide must be held to account for what happened at Bhopal. Dow Chemicals, which now owns Union Carbide, must cooperate fully with the Indian government and the courts in India to ensure justice is done and the site is fully cleaned up.

At the first instance the Government of India failed to ensure that Union carbide India Limited (U.C.I.L) has installed proper safety measures and fully implemented it in practice, at it's plant in Bhopal. The Government of Madhyapradesh through it's labour department, factory inspectorate & pollution control board failed to enforce safety practices & environmental protection. In turn, the U.C.I.L didn't install in full, the safety measures being followed by it's parent company union carbide corporation (U.C.C) at it's Various plants in the U.S.A. The U.C.I.L. didn't give community training to residents of nearby localities, to cope up with emergencies ie. Industrial accidents. U.C.I.L gave a go - by to safety practices, as it treated Indian lives as cheap. The government of Madhya pradesh instead of shifting slum dwellers around U.C.I.L, to other safe place, gave them legal title deeds just months before the tragedy in 1984. Now, refer the following:- 1. After the accident at it's U.C.I.L. plant at Bhopal, India in 1984, when the U.C.C. Chairman/C.E.O. came over to Bhopal from U.S.A to visit the accident site, local police arrested him on the charges of manslaughter. However, the Government of India got him released.

2. In 1985, Government of India enacted "Bhopal claims Act" took- away the right of appeal of all the Gas tragedy victims & declared itself as the sole representative of all victims. This said act itself is violative of victim's fundamental & human rights. The victims didn't choose Government of India as it's representative under will, agreement, trust or pleasure.

3. The paradox of this "Bhopal claims Act" is that, Government of India which is also a party to the crime, tragedy, itself is the appellant. The appellant (Petitioner),defendant are Government of India, Prosecution by Government of India & Judged by Government of India.

4. In 1989, when an appeal about interim compensation to be paid by the U.C.I.L to all the victims was being heard in the apex court, the supreme court of India without giving a chance to the victims to make their point, without consulting them, without making a proper assessment of damages/losses, gave an arbitrary figure as verdict & dropped all civil, criminal proceedings against U.C.C.&U.C.I.L

5. In the same year 1989, the Government of India without consulting the victims of disaster, without making proper assessment of damages/ losses, negotiated a settlement with the U.C.C. and in turn gave full legal immunity to U.C.C.& U.C.I.L from civil & Criminal proceedings

6. Even the Government of India didn't present the case of victim's-gas tragedy victims, properly before the U.S.courts, where the U.C.C is based. All these premeditated acts only benefited the criminals- U.C.C&UCIL. Are not the supreme court of India & Government of India, here to safeguard Indians and to safeguard Justice? After all these crimes, the Government of India failed to distribute compensation in time to victims. It has failed even to provide safe drinking water to the residents near the accident site, It has failed to provide comprehensive medical care to the victims, till date . It has even failed to get the accident site cleared off toxic wastes either by the culprit management or by it self, that too after 20 years. The very presence of these toxic wastes since 20 years is further contaminating, polluting the environment and taking toll of more victims. Particularly in the case of "Bhopal Gas Tragedy" the supreme court of India & Government of India are deadlier criminals than U.C.I.L&U.C.C. Just consider a case here, Just a few years back an U.S.based M.N.C ENRON set-up a power project in Maharashtra, India through it's subsidiary. When Maharashtra state Electricity Board failed to lift power from Enron& pay them monthly guaranteed revenue, Enron threatened to invoke, open the "Eschrew Clause" with the Government of India & to approach international arbiter U.K. Government of India has stood as conter-guarantee in this case. Finally the Government paid, of course subsequently the parent ENRON collapsed due to other reasons. If in this case if Government of India failed to pay-up as a counter guarantee & refused to comply with the award of International arbiter, definitely Government of U.S.A. would have stepped into the scene to protect it's MNC. Hypothetically, In the same vein if Enron has caused damages to Indians either through negligence of safe practices or industrial accidents or bank frauds amounting over and above it's Capital base & insurance cover, then it would have been the duty of parent Enron & Government of U.S.A. to step in & pay-up.

In the same way, the U.C.I.L has caused massive damages to Indians & refusing to pay commensurate to damages. Dow chemicals which took- over U.C.C. is also refusing to pay. DOW chemicals which is the new owner of U.C.C. naturally inherits both profits, credits lent & liabilities to pay of U.C.C. Still it is refusing to pay. Now it is the turn of Government of U.S.A. to cough-up the sum. Nowadays, it has become routine for central & State ministers to go- on foreign jaunts, to globe -trott inviting F.D.I/ M.N.Cs to India. They do sign numerous agreements, only favouring MNC. When tragedies occur or when they cheat Indian banks/ investors, it is Indians who suffer. The ministers & bureaucrats thinks themselves as wizards and enters into agreements with MNCs, industrialists in a hush-hush manner, with vast scope for possible corruption. Is it not the duty of government to be transparent ?

Jai Hind , Vande Mataram .

Your’s sincerely ,

Nagaraj.M.R.

An appeal to honourable supreme court of USA & HE Honourable president of USA Mr.Obama

Your government protects all Americans, all American companies both inside America & abroad. If an American tourist is murdered in a third country , American investigators fly over to that country to conduct investigation in total disregard to local laws. In the same way , if the interests of an American company is threatened in a third country American government goes to it's rescue.

However , when an American company butchers , causes mass man slaughter in a third country , as an American company did in Bhopal India , no action by American government. Still the said American company has not removed , cleared the accident site of poisonous debris at Bhopal India since decades and still causing mass man slaughter , no action by American government why ?

Some US based companies are selling soft drinks , food products , medicines , drugs in third world countries , which are causing grave health damages to the public. The quality standards of these products are fit cases of rejections by US FDA. Some US companies are selling drugs ( which are banned in the USA ) to third world countries , still us companies are exporting such dangerous medicines , foods to third countries . no action by US government , why ? is it because you think that the lives of non Americans are cheaper than Americans ?

Hereby, I do request your kindself ,

1 . to initiate criminal prosecution against US based key management personnel responsible for Bhopal gas tragedy .

2 . to make either the respective company management or US government to pay compensation to victims of Bhopal gas tragedy on par with American lives , as if the same tragedy happened in the USA itself.

3 . to order the management of the said company to clean up Bhopal off poisonous debris , from the accident site at their own expense.

4 . To legally prosecute US exporters & US based companies selling products ( which violates US FDA regulations or banned in the USA for domestic consumption ) to third countries.

CALL ON US PRESIDENT & US CONGRESS

Dear President Obama and members of Congress,

I welcome President Obama's executive orders to close Guantanamo and end the use of torture. Further, I welcome the appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate a number of cases of detainee abuse as a positive steps toward accountability. However, I am deeply concerned that human rights violationsâ€"and impunity for human rights violations--continue. This in spite of the fact that human rights violations are immoral, illegal andâ€"according to military and intelligence expertsâ€"ineffective and counterproductive.

There is an alternative. I am writing to urge you to respect human rights, follow the law and counter terror with justice:

- Ensure accountability for torture and abuse, as required by law. Set up or support an independent commission of inquiry to investigate torture and other human rights violations committed by the U.S. government in the name of countering terrorism; ensure that all those who broke the law are prosecuted; and ensure redress and remedy to victims;

- Reject indefinite detention and unfair military commissions. Guantanamo detainees must either be charged with a crime and fairly tried in U.S. federal court, without recourse to the death penalty, or be released, to countries where their human rights will be respected;

- Bring U.S. detentions at Bagram and other U.S. facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq into compliance with international law and human rights standards;

- Close all possible loopholes for torture and other ill-treatment, and end any use of rendition and secret detention by or on behalf of the U.S. authorities anywhere.

The U.S. government is required by law to respect human rights and to ensure accountability for human rights violations. I call on you to follow the law.

Your's Sincerely,

nagaraj.m.r.

Visit following websites to know about the crimes of Indian public servants

CROSS EXAM OF INDIAN JUDGES

http://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/cross-exam-of-indian-judges ,

POLICE NOT REGISTERING COMPLAINT

http://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/police-not-registering-complaint-1 ,

10 reasons why we don’t need GM foods

With the cost of food recently skyrocketing – hitting not just shoppers but the poor and hungry in the developing world – genetically modified (GM) foods are once again being promoted as the way to feed the world. But this is little short of a confidence trick. Far from needing more GM foods, there are urgent reasons why we need to ban them altogether.

1. GM foods won’t solve the food crisis

A 2008 World Bank report concluded that increased biofuel production is the major cause of the increase in food prices.[1] GM giant Monsanto has been at the heart of the lobbying for biofuels (crops grown for fuel rather than food) — while profiting enormously from the resulting food crisis and using it as a PR opportunity to promote GM foods!

“The climate crisis was used to boost biofuels, helping to create the food crisis; and now the food crisis is being used to revive the fortunes of the GM industry.” — Daniel Howden, Africa correspondent of The Independent[2]

“The cynic in me thinks that they’re just using the current food crisis and the fuel crisis as a springboard to push GM crops back on to the public agenda. I understand why they’re doing it, but the danger is that if they’re making these claims about GM crops solving the problem of drought or feeding the world, that’s bullshit.” — Prof Denis Murphy, head of biotechnology at the University of Glamorgan in Wales[3]

2. GM crops do not increase yield potential

Despite the promises, GM has not increased the yield potential of any commercialised crops.[4] In fact, studies show that the most widely grown GM crop, GM soya, has suffered reduced yields.[5]

“Let's be clear. As of this year [2008], there are no commercialized GM crops that inherently increase yield. Similarly, there are no GM crops on the market that were engineered to resist drought, reduce fertilizer pollution or save soil. Not one.” — Dr Doug Gurian-Sherman, former biotech specialist for the US Environmental Protection Agency and former advisor on GM to the US Food and Drug Administration[6]

3. GM crops increase pesticide use

Official data shows that in the US, GM crops have produced an overall average increase, not decrease, in pesticide use compared to conventional crops.[7]

“The promise was that you could use less chemicals and produce a greater yield. But let me tell you none of this is true.” — Bill Christison, President of the US National Family Farm Coalition[8]

4. There are better ways to feed the world

A major recent UN/World Bank-sponsored report compiled by 400 scientists, and endorsed by 58 countries, concluded that GM crops have little to offer global agriculture and the challenges of poverty, hunger, and climate change, because better alternatives are available.[9]

5. Other farm technologies are more successful

Integrated Pest Management and other innovative low-input or organic methods of controlling pests and boosting yields have proven highly effective, particularly in the developing world.[10] Other plant breeding technologies, such as Marker Assisted Selection (non-GM genetic mapping), are widely expected to boost global agricultural productivity more effectively and safely than GM.[11]

“The quiet revolution is happening in gene mapping, helping us understand crops better. That is up and running and could have a far greater impact on agriculture [than GM].” — Prof John Snape, head of the department of crop genetics, John Innes Centre[12]

6. GM foods have not been shown to be safe to eat

Genetic modification is a crude and imprecise way of incorporating foreign genetic material (e.g. from viruses, bacteria) into crops, with unpredictable consequences. The resulting GM foods have undergone little rigorous and no long-term safety testing, but animal feeding tests have shown worrying health effects.[13] Only one study has been published on the direct effects on humans of eating a GM food.[14] It found unexpected effects on gut bacteria, but was never followed up.

“We are confronted with the most powerful technology the world has ever known, and it is being rapidly deployed with almost no thought whatsoever to its consequences.” — Dr Suzanne Wuerthele, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toxicologist

7. Stealth GMOs in animal feed — without consumers’ consent

Meat, eggs and dairy products from animals raised on the millions of tons of GM feed imported into Europe do not have to be labelled. Studies have shown that if GM crops are fed to animals, GM material can appear in the resulting products.[15] As GM foods have been shown to affect animals’ health, eating such “stealth GMOs” may affect the health of consumers.

8. No one is monitoring the impact of GM foods on health

It is claimed that Americans have eaten GM foods for years with no ill effects. But these foods are unlabeled in the US and no one has monitored the consequences. With other novel foods like trans fats, it has taken decades to realize that they have caused millions of premature deaths.[16]

9. GM and non-GM cannot co-exist

GM contamination of conventional and organic food is increasing. An unapproved GM rice that was grown for only one year in field trials was found to have extensively contaminated the US rice supply and seed stocks.[17] In Canada, the organic oilseed rape industry has been destroyed by contamination from GM rape.[18] In Spain, a study found that GM maize “has caused a drastic reduction in organic cultivations of this grain and is making their coexistence practically impossible”.[19]

The time has come to choose between a GM-based, or a non-GM-based, world food supply.

“If some people are allowed to choose to grow, sell and consume GM foods, soon nobody will be able to choose food, or a biosphere, free of GM. It’s a one way choice, like the introduction of rabbits or cane toads to Australia; once it’s made, it can’t be reversed.” — Roger Levett, specialist in sustainable development[20]

10. We can’t trust GM companies

The big biotech firms pushing their GM foods have a terrible history of toxic contamination and public deception.[21] GM is attractive to them because it gives them patents that allow monopoly control over the world’s food supply. They have taken to harassing and intimidating farmers for the "crime" of saving patented seed or "stealing" patented genes — even if those genes got into the farmer’s fields through accidental contamination by wind or insects.[22]

“Farmers are being sued for having GMOs on their property that they did not buy, do not want, will not use and cannot sell.” — Tom Wiley, North Dakota farmer[23]

Corporate crimes

By Kunal Mehta

Introduction Much of our lives and daily routines are affected by corporate activities. To a great extent, companies provide the food we eat, the water we drink, the necessities and luxuries of everyday living. Increasingly, particularly with growing privatisation, it is not the State that provides these amenities - but companies. Such companies generate wealth for the economy and their shareholders and provide employment for much of the population. Short of a revolutionary restructuring of the economy and the political institutions of the country, it is certain that the power and influence of companies will grow and not diminish in the foreseeable future.

But, with great power comes great responsibility. Just as individuals owe a duty not to harm or injure others in society without justification, so do companies owe a duty not to poison our water and food, not to pollute our rivers, beaches and air, not to allow their workplaces to endanger the lives and safety of their employees and the public, and not to sell commodities, or provide transport, that will kill or injure people.

Corporate crimes One was again reminded of the corporate crimes when on 19th July, the Supreme Court of India ordered the government to pay a remaining $325.5 million (15.03 billion rupees) due to Bhopal gas tragedy victims. The U.S. based Union Carbide Company, now owned by Dow Chemical Co., paid $470 million in compensation to victims in 1989. But distribution of most of that money was held up by bureaucratic disputes over the categorization of victims. At last on 19th July the victims or their representatives got justice 20 years after the tragedy took place.

The story goes back to the 1984 Union Carbide accident in Bhopal, India, which released a cloud of methyl isocyanate (MIC), hydrogen cyanide, and other toxins. Somewhere between 4000 and 8000 people died at the time, and victims' advocates estimate that in total over 20,000 have died as a result of this largest industrial accident ever, with 1,50,000 suffering continuing injuries and medical problems.

The cause was extreme corporate malfeasance. The plant was not up to minimal Union Carbide safety standards - large quantities of MIC were unwisely stored in a heavily populated area, the refrigeration unit for the MIC (which is supposed to kept at temperatures below 32 F) was deliberately kept turned off to save $40 per day in costs, the safety systems were dismantled, and the alarm system was turned off. This was in spite of the fact that the same plant had earlier suffered potentially lethal accidental releases of gases like the deadly nerve agent phosgene.

There are a number of corporate crimes that have come into light now days. One of the major havoc that is created in present times is because of mysterious disappearance of corporations. Of the 5,651 companies listed on Bombay Stock exchange, 2750 have vanished. It means that one out of two companies that come to the stock exchange to raise crores of rupees from investors, loot and run away. Even big names like ‘Home Trade’ (remember Sachin, Sharukh, Hrithik saying Life means more) came up with huge publicity stunts but after raising money, vanished into the thin air. About 11 million investors have invested Rs. 10,000 crore in these 2750 companies. We have Securities Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India and Department of Companies Affairs to monitor the stock exchange transactions but none has documented the whereabouts of these 2750 odd companies suspended from the stock exchange. Many of the promoters and merchant bankers who are responsible for these are roaming scot-free. The market regulators and stock exchanges are unable to penalize them or recover their funds. The regulators have been able to identify only 229 of 2750 vanishing companies so far.

Corporations also commit a number of crimes against their own workforce. With increasing globalization workers find themselves being pushed against the wall and shrinking revenues for redressal. Now days the debates and rage over corporate scams talks only of the interest of shareholders. Nowhere is there a mention of the employee who suffers the most. Take the case of public sector undertakings where many irregularities can be seen in. Factories were opened in some areas where the raw material was not available and where the location was correct, imported machinery was defective. Lavishness on the part of management was one of the factors, which led to these institutions becoming sick. No doubt that the labourers suffers the most in such cases. The plight of Mumbai’s textile workers is even worse. Legal dues have not been paid to 2 lakhs jobless mill workers. Trade unions are fighting with the reality of worker suicides and growing unemployment and the worker’s families are struggling to get over their misery, leave alone fight for dues from faceless management.

The government across the world have given a free hand to corporations to exploit the natural and community resources, while depriving the common people of their right on these resources. For instance, in India, Corporations at Eloor, Kodaikanal and Gujarat have not only destroyed the water and land resources in these areas, but also impoverished communities by degrading their livelihood resources and health. All these communities suffer from disasters similar to Bhopal. Inaccessible to clean and safe drinking water was found to be a major problem in all these areas. The companies either pollute the water resources to an extent where it is no more portable or over exploit it till the water table goes down or dry up the wells. A befitting example could be of Coco Cola bottling plant in Kerala where the company extract excess amount of water from the ground due to which the water level has gone very low and the near by villages are suffering from scarcity of water.

Much has been talked about the pollution created by corporations. A train ride from Mumbai to Ahmedabad would be sufficient to realize the seriousness of industrial pollution the companies cause in this Golden corridor. It is important to note that most of the damages caused to the environment is irreversible.

Adulteration and contamination of food items also have a prominent place in the list of corporate crimes. Last year a PIL was filed by a Delhi based NGO, Srishti, which focused on food safety and quality. It pointed out the incidence of contamination through out the food chain, from the production, marketing to the consumption end. The writ said that consumers are ill aware of the consequences of such contamination or about remedial measures. According to an ICMR bulletin reports, residue data on pesticides on samples of fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, grains, oils, eggs, meat, butter and cheese in India indicates their presence in sizeable amount, this in turn affects the health of consumers. Various studies conducted have shown that very high level of extremely toxic pesticides has been found in human blood, fat and milk samples in India. Last year, to one’s utter surprise, it was found that many brands of so called ‘pure’ and ‘safe’ bottled drinking water and also cold drinks contain deadly pesticides beyond acceptable limits.

Also, have any one noticed that how much the convicted corporations are involved into dirty game of politics. Corporate Crime Reporter, a U.S. based legal newsletter published a report in July 2003 titled as ‘Dirty Money: Corporate Criminal Donations to the Two Major Parties.’ This report grew out of the question that how much money are common criminal corporations dumping into the Republican and Democratic parties in U.S.? The report found that 31 corporate criminals gave more than $9 million to the Democratic and Republican parties during the 2002 election cycle, which runs from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002. These corporate criminals gave $7.2 million to Republicans and $2.1 million to Democrats. Many of these corporate criminals are large, multinational corporations, with billions of dollars in assets.

To get a sense of this, let's look at the top two corporate criminal donors to the Republican and Democratic parties. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) tops the list. ADM pled guilty in 1996 to one of the largest antitrust crimes ever. The company paid a $100 million criminal fine -- at the time, the largest criminal antitrust fine ever. Same is the case in India. These corporate criminals give huge sums of money to the political parties in return of favours from these parties. Who suffers the most is the common man including the shareholders and workers. Holding Corporations responsible for their criminal acts In India and internationally, laws to hold corporations accountable are systematically being dismantled, even as corporations and other agents of globalisation dictate policies of nations. The corporate sector enjoys far more rights than the common people. With the onset of the new trade regime, national laws are being changed to empower corporations with the right to hire and fire at will, to get the first right over natural and community resources.

Now it’s high time to put a control over these crimes. There has been a debate as to whether a Corporation can be held criminally liable. There are two theories regarding this- ‘Nominalist’ and ‘Realistic’. Nominalist theory of corporate personality view corporations as nothing more than collectives of individuals. In this an individual first commits the offence; the responsibility of that individual is then imputed to the corporation. According to Realist approach corporations have an existence, which is to some extent independent of the existence of its members. Here, the responsibility of corporation is primarily. The ‘Realist’ theory looks more convincing and practically applicable.

The argument in favour of corporate being criminally liable is that in many cases it is the corporation itself, through its policies or practices, that has done wrong and prosecution and punishment should be directed at the real wrongdoer. In many cases there is no individual who, alone, has committed a crime. It is the conjunction of the practices of several individuals, all acting in compliance with a company's sloppy or non-existent procedures, that has caused the harm. Alternatively, in many cases companies have complex structures with responsibility buried at many different layers within the corporate hierarchy making it difficult, if not impossible, to determine where the true fault lies.

The common law jurisdictions have adopted the approach and recognize that corporations may be held criminally liable. However, they do highlight the conceptual difficulty in applying a theory of criminal liability based on a view of fault centered on the psychological processes of humans to what is simply a fictional person. There is an apparent need, now, to adapt the notion of fault to the structure and particular modus operandi of corporations. The existing mechanisms used to attribute criminal liability to corporations are but a partial solution, and should be improved.

In so far as negligence as a fault element is concerned, it might be necessary to provide that criminal negligence refers to a significant departure from the standard of conduct of a prudent and diligent corporation. Corporate negligence is established by proof of negligence of its employees, agents or officers or, if no one individually is negligent, that the body corporate’s conduct, viewed as a whole, is negligent. This collective negligence may be established by proof that the prohibited conduct was substantially attributable to inadequate management control or supervision, or failure to provide adequate systems for conveying information within the body corporate.

The Doctrine of direct Liability (Theory of corporate organs): This doctrine, which was specifically developed for the purpose of imposing liability on corporations, seeks, in fact, to imitate the imposition of criminal liability on human beings. The direct doctrine relies on the notion of personification of the legal body. It identifies actions and thought patterns of certain individuals within the corporation called corporate organs who act within the scope of their authority and on behalf of the corporate body, as the behaviour of the legal body itself. Hence, the name of the doctrine: the theory of corporate organs or the alter ego doctrine referring to these individuals as the embodiment of the legal body. In its wake corporation can be rendered criminally liable for the very perpetration of the offences, resembling the liability imposed on a human perpetrator, subject to the natural limitations that follow from the character of the corporations as a legal personality.

But, the procedure to prove corporations criminally liable is, prima facie, rather complex. If intention, knowledge or recklessness is an essential ingredient of the offence, these fault elements must be attributed to the body corporate if it expressly, tacitly or impliedly authorized or permitted the commission of the offence. First, the corporation's fault will be established (vicarious liability) if the body corporate's board of directors intentionally, knowingly or recklessly carried out the wrongful conduct, or expressly or by necessary implication authorized or permitted the commission of the offence. Second, the corporation's fault may be established by evidence that a high managerial agent of the company intentionally, knowingly or recklessly engaged in the relevant conduct or expressly, tacitly or impliedly authorized or permitted the commission of the offence. In this second case, however, the corporation will not be liable if it proves that it exercised due diligence to prevent the conduct. Third, the corporation's fault may be established by proof that a corporate culture existed within the body corporate that encouraged, tolerated or led to non- compliance with the relevant provision. Fourth, the corporation's fault may be established by proving that it failed to create and maintain a corporate culture that required compliance with the relevant provision.

The notion of corporate culture as a foundation for corporate criminal liability Generally speaking, it can be said that corporate culture refers to a "pattern of shared beliefs and values that give the members of an institution meaning and provide them with the rules for behavior in their organization". This rather broad notion can be used for many purposes, and is helpful in analyzing a corporation's personality in many respects. For the purposes of attributing criminal liability, corporate culture refers primarily to the chain of command, the decision-making structure and the general atmosphere concerning obedience to the law. The following indicators are often singled out as pointing to facets of corporate culture that are relevant in the context of criminal liability.

First, the development within the corporation of clearly defined responsibilities concerning the creation, evaluation and application of standards and procedures designed to ensure compliance with the law by employees would be a significant indicator of a corporate culture that is heedful of compliance with the law. If, for example, the corporate structure is so organized as to deprive senior managers of the information they need to exercise such powers, this would indicate a corporate culture that is designed to elude law enforcement. Generally, deficient structures for the dissemination of information within the firm would also be suspect. Indeed, providing that a deficient corporate culture can be the basis for a charge of intentionally committing a crime transforms into an intention what in my opinion is simply negligence but it must be proved that the corporate culture instigated, encouraged or led to the commission of the offence or that the failure to maintain a law-abiding atmosphere was deliberate.

Corporate Mens Rea Doctrine It is often asserted that companies themselves cannot commit crimes; they cannot think or have intentions. Only the people within a company can commit a crime (Sullivan 1995). However, once one accepts that the entire notion of corporate personality is a fiction - but a well-established and highly useful one - there seems no reason why the law should not develop a concomitant corporate mens rea fiction. Most of the other doctrines - identification, aggregation etc. - involve fictitious imputations of responsibility. The real question is not whether the notion of a corporate mens rea involves a fiction, but whether, of all the fictions, it is the one that most closely approximates modern-day corporate reality and perceptions. While this inevitably will raise problems of how to assess policies and procedures to ascertain whether they reflect the requisite culpability, such a task is not impossible. The answers might not be easy, but at least this approach involves asking the right questions. It is often argued in opposition to corporate criminal liability that the imposition of fines provides no guarantee that delinquent conduct will be deterred. The fines imposed on corporations are often minimal in comparison with the devastating effects of their wrongful acts, and virtually amount to a cost of doing business. But there is also a concern that excessive fines can have perverse effects that may have to be borne by innocent shareholders, creditors, employees or consumers. But, it should be remembered that the punishment of companies decreases their overall wealth. Accordingly, shareholders and employees have an incentive to encourage and monitor better corporate practices. Costs can only be passed on the public to the extent that the company remains competitive. Arguments that shareholders and employees need protection must be outweighed by the greater societal interest in ensuring the safety of employees, the public and the environment.

Conclusion In my opinion, there should be a distinct part of the Indian Penal Code expressly covering corporations. Criminal sanctions, in my view, are appropriate only if it is in fact the organization, its modes of operation and its deficient structures that are singled out where they produce unacceptable consequences that could have been avoided given the resources and information at the corporation's disposal.

One of the main objects of corporate criminal liability is to ensure that companies improve their work practices. If no individual who has committed a crime can be identified and no mechanism for corporate prosecution was to exist, the harmful practices would continue unabated. Companies should be prosecuted and convicted for the same general offences as individuals and subject to the same general rules for the construction of criminal liability. The law should recognise and give effect to the widely held public perceptions that companies have an existence of their own and can commit crimes as entities distinct from the personnel comprising the company. Prosecution of companies, particularly when accompanied by media attention, can provide a significant impetus to companies to improve their practices or can prompt law reform to improve safety standards.

Uranium Corporation of India Limited: Wasting Away Tribal Lands

by Moushumi Basu, Special to CorpWatch October 7th, 2009

http://www.corpwatch.org/img/pic/Nuclear%20India_1.jpg

Creative Commons Licensed: Adapted by Ionia Kershaw for Truthout.org (via Flickr)

"I have had three miscarriages and lost five children within a week of their births," says Hira Hansda, a miner's wife. "Even after 20 years of marriage we have no children today." Now in her late forties, she sits outside her mud hut in Jadugoda Township, site of one of the oldest uranium mines in India. The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) operates that mine, part of a cluster of four underground and one open cast mines and two processing plants, in East Singbhum district in the Eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. The deepest plunges almost one kilometer into the earth. Incorporated as a public sector enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 1967, UCIL has sole responsibility for mining and processing all of India's uranium. And since the strength of the Jadugoda region's uraninite ore is extremely low, it takes many tons of earth as well as complex metallurgical processes to yield even a small amount of useable uranium oreâ€"along with tons of radioactive waste, disposed of in unlined tailing dams. UCIL processes the ore into yellowcake and sends it to the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad, where it is officially designated for use in nuclear reactors. But it is an open secret that some of the nuclear material becomes the key ingredient in India's nuclear arsenal. (India is one of only three statesâ€"along with Israel and Pakistanâ€"that are not signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. North Korea withdrew from the Treaty in 2003.) Unhealthy Villages Radiation and health experts across the world charge that toxic materials and radioactivity released by the mining and processing operations are causing widespread infertility, birth defects and cancers. A 2008 health survey by the Indian chapter of International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), found that "primary sterility was found to be more common in the people residing near uranium mining operations area." Jadugoda residents Kaderam Tudu and his wife, Munia, considered themselves fortunate when their infant was born alive, until, "I found that my baby son did not have his right ear and instead in its place was a blob of flesh," says Tudu, a day worker in his late thirties. Their son, Shyam Tudu, now eight, has a severe hearing impairment. Even children who appear healthy are impacted. "The youths from our villages have become victims of social ostracism," says Parvati Manjhi, and cannot find spouses. "And a number of our girls have been abandoned by their husbands, when they failed to give birth," Now middle-aged, Parvati and her husband, Dhuwa Manjhi, who used to work for UCIL, are childless. Harrowing tales fill the region around the mines, and add irony to the area's name, Jharkhand, which in the local tribal language means "forest endowed with nature's bounties." If the lush land was the indigenous population's boon for centuries, its rich mineral reserves have become their bane. Six decades of industrialization has depleted the forest cover, degraded the environment, displaced tribal peoplesâ€"who along with Dalit ("untouchables") form an oppressed underclassâ€"and devastated a way of life deeply interwoven with nature. Despite India's economic boom and proximity to one of the country's richest mineral reserves, the villages in Jharkhand are now among the poorest in the country, according to the Center For Science & Environment's (New Delhi) 2008 report "Rich Lands Poor People."

Uranium Corporation of India Limited in Jharkhand

UCIL's underground mines in Jadugoda, Bhatin, Turamdhih, Narwapahar, and its open cast mine at Banduhurang extract 1,000 tons per day (TPD) of uranium ore. Two underground mines in the pipeline at Baghjata and Mahuldih will boost that amount. The ore is processed at the Jadugoda and Turamdih mills with a combined capacity of 5,000 TDP. The company earned $64 million in 2007-08, and made a $3 million profit. The 20-year lease for UCIL's mines was up in 2007, and a new application is being processed. Under it, the company wants to add 6.37 hectares to tailing dam capacity and expand production, according to UCIL Chairman and Managing Director Ramendra Gupta. This move requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) drawn up by the Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research (CIMFR), along with a public hearing. Addressing the affected community at the May public hearing in Jadugoda, the company represented the local plans as "a marginal expansion." But the UCIL website promises "a quantum leap in UCIL's activities" that includes plans to "deepen the existing mines, expand its processing facilities," and "not only opening new mines, but also the development of the community around its operations." While the company has created local schools and provides jobs and social services, villagers who attended the hearing argued that these provisions do not compensate for the health effects and destruction of their way of life. "Why are we being made to pay such a heavy price, for so many decades"? Asks Hira Hansda, speaking of her three miscarriages and birth to five infants that quickly died. Her husband Sonaram worked at the tailing dam as a casual employee between 1984-87, and like many villagers, he links the deterioration in local health conditions to the arrival of the uranium mines. The last three surveys conducted in the area found increased radiation levels. Heavy Security at UCIL's Public Hearing Keeps Villagers Out The public hearing on UCIL's new application took place at the heavily fortified camp of the Central India Security Force (CISF) within the UCIL colony at Jadugoda. Conducted by the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board, the proceedings were marked by restrictions on personal liberties under sections of a law applying to situations with the potential to cause civil unrest. Leaving little room for the public or protesters, the hall was packed with hundreds of UCIL workers and other company beneficiaries who held placards reading: "When compared to hunger, pollution is a small issue," and "Save UCIL." Those who had lost their lands and health to the mines were physically barred from the tent. Outside the proceedings, protesters shouted: "Do not destroy our land," "No uranium, no uranium waste, no weapons, care for the future." Many indigenous villagers waved the banner of the Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation (JOAR), winner of the Germany-based Nuclear Free Future Award for its long crusade against the hazards of uranium mining in Jadugoda. The protesters denounced the hearing as "a farce" and demanded that it be immediately stopped. Villager and JOAR president, Ghanashyam Biruli, issued the demands: no new uranium mines, bring the existing mine under international safety guidelines, return unused tribal land, provide livelihood and rehabilitation to displaced people, clean up the contamination, commission an independent study of environmental contamination and health effects, and monitor water bodies to ensure that the radionuclides do not seep into the aquifer that is the lifeline of more than 100,000 people. The activists also argued that since the country can buy uranium on the international market, there is no compelling need to expand UCIL's capacity. The real compelling need, they asserted, was protecting health and the environment. The 2008 health survey by the Indian chapter of International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) provided clear evidence, finding that: * Couples living near the mines were "1.58 times more vulnerable to primary sterility" with 9.6 percent of couples in study villages unable to conceive after three years of marriage, compared with 6.27 percent in a reference (control) group. * Birth defects followed a similar pattern with 1.84 times higher incidence: "[B]abies from mothers, who lived near uranium mining operation area, suffered a significant increase in congenital deformities," according to the report. While 4.49 percent of mothers living in the study villages reported bearing children with congenital deformities, only 2.49 percent of mothers in reference villages fell under this category." The national rate for people with disabilities (including congenital deformities) is 3 percent, according to official government statistics. * Deformed babies near the mining operations are almost 6 times more likely to die, with 9.25 percent mothers in the study villages reporting congenital deformities as the cause of death of their children. In the reference village, mothers reported 1.70 percent of babies died of deformities. * Cancer deaths were also higher: 2.87 percent of households in study villages attributed the cause of death to be cancer, compared to 1.89 percent in the reference village. These factors contributed to a lowered life expectancy. In the study villages 68.33 percent of the population died before reaching the state's average life expectancy: 62 years old. UCIL Denies Contamination Despite such alarming reports, radiation data are not made public because they fall under the purview of the Atomic Energy Act of 1962. UCIL / DAE (Department of Atomic Energy) also cites security concerns for refusing to release data on health of the workers. But Buddha Weeps in Jadugoda, a 1999 award-winning film by Shri Prakash documented that, despite a law mandating regular monitoring, in the last five- to ten-year period few workers underwent blood and urine tests to assess the impact of radiation. Independent scientists have confirmed the danger. Professor Hiroaki Koide, from the Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Japan, sampled soil and air in the surrounding villages and documented that "The circumference of tailing ponds is impacted with uranium radiation. The strength of the radiation is of 10 to 100 times high in comparison to places without contamination. ...There are places where uranium concentration is high in the road or the riverside, and it is thought that tailings are used for construction material," including on villagers' houses." Tailings are production waste material that, according to critics are unsafely stored, dumped, and used for landfills, roads and construction. UCIL Technical Director D Acharya denied that the company was responsible for radiological contamination. "UCIL's safety and pollution control measures are at par with the international standards, comparable at any point of time," he said. The company is dealing with naturally occurring materials, he noted, the very low grade ore extracted is a minimal environmental hazard, and the company is not enriching the ore in Jadugoda. But tacitly acknowledging the risks, UCIL head, Gupta, noted in the 2008 Annual Report that "External gamma radiation, Radon concentration, suspended particulate matters, airborne long lived Alpha activity and concentration of radio nuclides- uranium and Radium in surface and ground water, in soil and food items etc are monitored regularly." Although he presented no evidence, UCIL Technical Director Acharya said that allegations of health problems are canards spread by anti-uranium lobbies, and that the physical fitness of the employees can be gauged the UCIL football team's success in winning the DAE tournaments for the past five years. "From time to time we have also conducted structured health surveys and examinations, by independent sources," said Acharya. "One was done by the erstwhile Bihar Assembly, about ten years ago, but the findings are absolutely normal." (The area was part of Bihar at the time.) "The effects of radiation are being constantly monitored by independent watchdogs, and there are health physics experts who are always with us, for round-the clock-vigil of the situation. Hence, there is really no cause of concern," he added. That is not the experience of many villagers, who link serious health problems to the mines. Like many of the women in the surrounding areas, Hansda's pregnancies were a time of terror. "It fills within us fear and apprehensions of the possible ordeal that may be in store. Who knows what would be the fate of the baby," she said.

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