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  • Anti Defection Law

    Anti-defection Law

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    The unfolding political crisis in Maharashtra has thrown the spotlight on the anti-defection law, and the roles of the Deputy Speaker and the Governor.

    What is the news?

    • Some legislators have aligned themselves with the party’s rebel leader and are camping in Guwahati.
    • The party has warned its MLAs that their absence from the meeting would lead to the presumption they wanted to leave the political party.
    • And this would therefore lead to action against them under the anti-defection law.

    What is the Anti-Defection Law?

    • The anti-defection law provides for the disqualification of MLAs who, after being elected on the ticket of a political party, “voluntarily give up their party membership”.
    • The Supreme Court has interpreted the term broadly and ruled an MLA’s conduct can indicate whether they have left their party.
    • The law is also applicable to independent MLAs.
    • But the anti-defection law does not apply if the number of MLAs who leave a political party constitute two-thirds of the party’s strength in the legislature.
    • These MLAs can merge with another party or become a separate group in the legislature.

    How does the two-thirds rule work in the current situation in Maharashtra?

    • Reports indicate that 30 MLAs are with rebel leader.
    • Taking this number at face value means it does not reach the two-thirds (37) mark of the 55 MLAs the party has in the Maharashtra Assembly.
    • Therefore, the protection under the anti-defection law would not be available to the rebel group.

    What adds more to this high-stage political drama?

    • It is the Assembly Speaker who decides whether an MLA has left a party or a group that constitutes two-thirds of a party.
    • The position of the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly is, however, currently vacant.
    • Article 180(1) of the Constitution states that the Deputy Speaker performs the Speaker’s duties when the office is vacant.
    • Since then, the Deputy Speaker has been acting as the Speaker.

    How would a decision be taken whether the anti-defection law applies in this case?

    Under the current circumstances, two ways would lead to adjudication under the law.

    (1) Approaching the acting Speaker to file defection petition

    • First, any MLA of the Assembly can petition that certain MLAs have defected from their political party.
    • Such a petition has to be accompanied by documentary evidence.
    • The Deputy Speaker would then forward the petition to the MLAs against whom their colleagues are making the charge of defection.
    • The MLAs would have seven days or such time that the Deputy Speaker decides is sufficient to enable them to put across their side of the story.

    (2) Proving of two-third majority

    • Rebel leader and MLAs supporting too can write to the Deputy Speaker with evidence claiming that they represent two-thirds of the strength and claim protection under the anti-defection law.
    • In either case, Speakers will decide the matter after hearing all parties, which could take time.

    How much time does it usually take? Why delay occurs?

    • In recent years, one of the fastest decisions in a defection proceeding was delivered by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.
    • However in state legislatures, defection petitions have taken much longer.
    • For example, in 2020, the Supreme Court used its extraordinary power to remove a Manipur minister from his position.
    • But whether the Speaker decides quickly or takes time, the Speaker is usually challenged in court, which further delays the decision.
    • Both Venkaiah Naidu and the Supreme Court have recommended that Speakers decide on defection cases in three months.

    What is the Governor’s role?

    (1) Declaration of Presidents Rule (NA)

    • The Governor has a crucial role when there is political instability in a state.
    • Before 1994, Governors were quick to dismiss a state government, charging that it did not have a majority in the state legislature and recommending the imposition of the President’s rule in the state.
    • But the Supreme Court ended this practice with its judgment in the S R Bommai case in 1994.

     (2) Holding Assembly

    • In this landmark case, the court ruled that the place for deciding whether a government has lost its majority was in the legislature.
    • Hence, Maharashtra Governor can ask Chief Minister to convene the Assembly and prove his majority on the floor of the House.

     (3) Governors Discretion

    • The CM can recommend to the Governor to dissolve the legislature before the end of its five-year term and call for elections under Article 174(2)(b).
    • Here, the Governor’s discretion comes into play.
    • The Governor may choose not to dissolve the legislature.
    • This is when if he or she believes that the recommendation is coming from a council of ministers who do not enjoy the confidence of the state legislature.

    Note: In 2020, the Supreme Court, in Shivraj Singh Chouhan & Ors versus Speaker, MP Legislative Assembly & Ors, upheld the powers of the Speaker to call for a floor test if there is a prima facie view that the government has lost its majority.

    (4) Floor test

    • Under Article 175(2), the Governor can summon the House and call for a floor test to prove whether the government has the numbers.
    • In a detailed judgment, the Court also explained the scope of the power of the Governor and the law revolving around floor tests.
    • When the House is in session, it is the Speaker who can call for a floor test.
    • But when the Assembly is not in session, the Governor’s residuary powers under Article 163 allow him to call for a floor test.

    Conclusion

    • The spectacle of rival political parties whisking away their MLAs to safe destinations does little credit to the state of our democratic politics.
    • It is an unfortunate reflection on the confidence which political parties hold in their own constituents and a reflection of what happens in the real world of politics.
    • Political bargaining, or horse-trading, as we noticed, is now an oft repeated usage in legal precedents.

     

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  • G20 : Economic Cooperation ahead

    PM to attend G-7 summit in Germany

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    PM Modi will fly to the Germany as a special invitee to the meeting of G-7 countries.

    Group of 7

    • The G-7 or ‘Group of Seven’ includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
    • It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975 by the top economies of the time as an informal forum to discuss pressing world issues.
    • Initially, it was formed as an effort by the US and its allies to discuss economic issues.
    • The G-7 forum now discusses several challenges such as oil prices and many pressing issues such as financial crises, terrorism, arms control, and drug trafficking.
    • It does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters. The decisions taken by leaders during annual summits are non-binding.
    • Canada joined the group in 1976, and the European Union began attending in 1977.

    Evolution of the G-7

    • When it started in 1975—with six members, Canada joining a year later—it represented about 70% of the world economy.
    • And it was a cosy club for tackling issues such as the response to oil shocks.
    • Now it accounts for about 40% of global GDP.
    • Since the global financial crisis of 2007-09 it has sometimes been overshadowed by the broader G20.
    • The G-7 became the G-8 in 1997 when Russia was invited to join.

    Why was Russia expelled?

    • The G-7 was known as the ‘G-8’ for several years after the original seven were joined by Russia in 1997.
    • The Group returned to being called G-7 after Russia was expelled as a member in 2014 following the latter’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.
    • Since his election in 2016, President Trump has suggested on several occasions that Russia be added again, given what he described as Moscow’s global strategic importance.

    Why in news now?

    • New Delhi is preparing for more pressure from the G-7 countries.
    • These countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US and the EU) have unitedly imposed sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine.
    • They want India to cooperate in restricting its purchase of Russian oil, not circumvent the sanctions by using a rupee-rouble mechanism.
    • It also wants India to lift the ban on the export of wheat.

    Relevance of G7 for India

    • India will get more voice, more influence and more power by entering the G7.
    • After UN Security Council (UNSC), this is the most influential grouping.
    • If the group is expanded it will collectively address certain humongous issues in the global order.
    • Diplomatically, a seat at the high table could help New Delhi further its security and foreign policy interests, especially at the nuclear club and UNSC reforms.
    • It will further protect its interests in the Indian Ocean.

    Challenges for India’s entry

    • The decision to expand the grouping cannot be taken by the US alone.
    • There needs to be a consensus.
    • However, a special invitation to India is no mean achievement.

     

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  • Tribes in News

    Tribes in news: Santhal Tribe

    | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Social Empowerment

    The Santhal community is in the spotlight after a political alliance nominated one of its leaders for the Presidential election, Droupadi Murmu, for the election to the highest Constitutional post of India.

    Santhal Tribe

    • Santhal, also spelt as Santal, literally means a calm, peaceful man. Santha means calm, and ala means man in the Santhali (also spelt as Santali) language.
    • Santhals are the third largest Scheduled Tribe community in India after Gonds and Bhils.
    • The Santhali population is mostly distributed in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.

    Historical background

    • The Santhals were a nomadic stock before they chose to settle in the Chotanagpur plateau.
    • By the end of the 18th century, they had concentrated in the Santhal Parganas of Jharkhand (earlier Bihar).
    • From there, they migrated to Odisha and West Bengal.

    Demographic details

    • Tribal communities, outside the Northeast, generally have lower levels of literacy.
    • But the Santhals have higher – a result of a pro-school education awareness since at least the 1960s – literacy rate compared to other tribes in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
    • Many of the community have entered the creamy layer of Indian society.
    • For example, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren is a Santhal.
    • The incumbent Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAGI) Girsh Chandra Murmu, who was the first Lt Governor of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, is also a Santhal.

    Cultural features of Santhals

    (1) Religion

    • Despite their social upliftment, the Santhals are usually connected to their roots.
    • They are nature worshippers and could be seen paying obeisance at Jaher (sacred groves) in their villages.
    • River Damodar holds a special place in the religious life cycle of a Santhal.
    • When a Santhal dies, his or her ashes and bones are immersed in the Damodar for a peaceful afterlife.
    • Their traditional dress includes dhoti and gamuchha for men and a short-check saree, usually blue and green, for women, who generally put on tattoos.

     (2) Society

    • Various forms of marriage are accepted in the Santhal society – including elopement, widow remarriage, levirate, forced (rare) and the one in which a man is made to marry the woman he has impregnated.
    • Divorce is not a taboo in the Santhal society. Either of the couple could divorce the other.

    (3) Artforms

    • Santhals are fond of their folk song and dance that they perform at all community events and celebrations.
    • They play musical instruments like kamak, dhol, sarangi and flutes.
    • Most Santhals are agriculturists, depending on their farmlands or forests.
    • Their homes, called Olah, have a particular three-colour pattern on the outer walls.
    • The bottom portion is painted with black soil, the middle with white and the upper with red.

    (4) Language

    • Their tribal language is called Santhali, which is written in a script called Ol chiki, developed by Santhal scholar Pandit Raghunath Murmu.
    • Santhali language belongs to the Munda group.
    • Santhali written in OI-Chiki script is recognised as one of the scheduled languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

    Back2Basics: Santhal Rebellion

    • The Santhal rebellion also known as Santhal Hool was a revolt by the Santhal in present-day Jharkhand, India, against the British East India Company and the Zamindari System.
    • It began on June 30, 1855, and the East India Company declared martial law on November 10, 1855, which lasted until January 3, 1856, when martial law was lifted.
    • The insurrection was put down by the Presidency soldiers.
    • The four Murmu Brothers – Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand, and Bhairav – spearheaded the revolt.

     

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  • River Interlinking

    Bedti-Varada Interlinking Project

    | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Environmental groups in Karnataka have criticised the project to link the Bedti and Varada rivers in Karnataka, calling it ‘unscientific’ and a ‘waste of public money’.

    Bedti-Varada Interlinking Project

    • The Bedti-Aghanashini-Varade river-linking project was also included in the country’s major rivers project devised by the then PM Vajpayee government.
    • The Central Government had created a task force to prepare action plans for interlinking the riverbeds in 2002.
    • The project cost and the source of investments were ascertained and suggested that the project be taken up in 2016.

    Key details

    • The Bedti-Varada project was envisaged in 1992 as one to supply drinking water by the then government.
    • The plan aims to link the Bedti, a river flowing west into the Arabian Sea, with the Varada, a tributary of the Tungabhadra river, which flows into the Krishna, which in turn flows into the Bay of Bengal.
    • A massive dam will be erected at Hirevadatti in Gadag district under the project. A second dam will be built on the Pattanahalla river at Menasagoda in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district.
    • Both dams will take water to the Varada via tunnels of length 6.3 kilometres and 2.2-km. The water will reach at a place called Kengre.
    • It will then go down a 6.88 km tunnel to Hakkalumane, where it will join the Varada.
    • The project thus envisages taking water from the water surplus Sirsi-Yellapura region of Uttara Kannada district to the arid Raichur, Gadag and Koppal districts.

     

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Places in news: Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP)

    National Parks/WS | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Activists surrounding the Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) in Manipur have now taken up the cudgels to ensure that the government does not shift the proposed heritage park from the approved site.

    Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP)

    • The KLNP is a national park in the Bishnupur district of the state of Manipur in India.
    • It is 40 km2 in area, the only floating park in the world, located in North East India, and an integral part of Loktak Lake.
    • The national park is characterized by floating decomposed plant material locally called Phumdi at the south–eastern side of the Loktak Lake, which has been declared a Ramsar site.
    • It was created in 1966 as a wildlife sanctuary to preserve the natural habitat of the endangered Eld’s deer.
    • In 1977, it was gazetted as national park.

    Key faunas

    • KLNP is home to the last of the brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldii eldii), one of the most endangered deer in the world.
    • It is locally called as Sangai.
    • The animal is, in fact, in danger of losing its home—most of the phumdis, or floating swamps, are unable to sustain its weight.
    • In 1951, it was reported extinct, but British tea planter and naturalist Edward Pritchard Gee rediscovered it in 1953.

     

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  • Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Global Implications

    The tricky restructuring of global supply chains

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    After the go-go 1990s and 2000s the pace of economic integration stalled in the 2010s, as firms grappled with the aftershocks of a financial crisis, a populist revolt against open borders and President Donald Trump’s trade war.

    Background of globalisation

    • After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, main theme of globalisation was efficiency.
    • Companies located production where costs were lowest, while investors deployed capital where returns were highest.
    • Governments aspired to treat firms equally, regardless of their nationality, and to strike trade deals with democracies and autocracies alike.
    • Low prices: All this kept prices low for consumers and helped lift 1bn people out of extreme poverty as the emerging world, including China, industrialised.

     

    Recent worries with globalisation

    • Volatile capital flows destabilised financial markets. Many blue-collar workers in rich countries lost out.
    • Recently, two other worries have loomed large.
    • Cost in case of disruption is high: First, some lean supply chains are not as good value as they appear: mostly they keep costs low, but when they break, the bill can be crippling.
    • Covid-19 was a shock, but wars, extreme weather or another virus could easily disrupt supply chains in the next decade.
    • Dependencies on autocracies have increased: The second problem is that the single-minded pursuit of cost advantage has led to a dependency on autocracies that abuse human rights and use trade as a means of coercion.
    • Hopes that economic integration would lead to reform—what the Germans call “change through trade”—have been dashed: autocracies account for a third of world gdp.

    The fragile state of the international trade and beginning of new phase in globalisation

    • The pandemic and war in Ukraine have triggered a once-in-a-generation reimagining of global capitalism in boardrooms and governments.
    • Supply chain resilience: The supply chains are being transformed, from the $9trn in inventories, stockpiled as insurance against shortages and inflation, to the fight for workers as global firms shift from China into Vietnam.
    • Preferring security over efficiency: This new kind of globalisation is about security, not efficiency: it prioritises doing business with people you can rely on, in countries your government is friendly with.
    • One indication that companies are shifting from efficiency to resilience is the vast build-up in precautionary inventories: for the biggest 3,000 firms globally these have risen from 6% to 9% of world gdp since 2016.
    • Many firms are adopting dual sourcing and longer-term contracts.
    • Investment pattern is inverted: The pattern of multinational investment has been inverted: 69% is from local subsidiaries reinvesting locally, rather than parent firms sending capital across borders.
    • Strategic autonomy: The industries under most pressure are already reinventing their business models, encouraged by governments that from Europe to India are keen on “strategic autonomy”.
    • Moving towards vertical integration: The car industry is copying Elon Musk’s Tesla by moving towards vertical integration, in which you control everything from nickel mining to chip design.
    • Long-term supply deals: In energy, the West is seeking long-term supply deals from allies rather than relying on spot markets dominated by rivals.

    Challenges

    • Protectionism: The danger is that a reasonable pursuit of security will morph into rampant protectionism, jobs schemes and hundreds of billions of dollars of industrial subsidies.
    • Long-run inefficiencies: The long-run inefficiency from indiscriminately replicating supply chains would be enormous.
    • Were you to duplicate a quarter of all multinational activity, the extra annual operating and financial costs involved could exceed 2% of world gdp.

    Way forward

    • Restraint: Because of the above challenges, restraint is crucial.
    • Diversification: Governments and firms must remember that resilience comes from diversification, not concentration at home.
    • Diversify in the areas controlled by autocracies: The choke-points autocracies control amount to only about a tenth of global trade, based on their exports of goods in which they have a leading market share of over 10% and for which it is hard to find substitutes.
    • The answer is to require firms to diversify their suppliers in these areas, and let the market adapt. 

    Conclusion

    Will today’s governments be up to the task? Myopia and insularity abound. But if you are a consumer of global goods and ideas—that is to say, a citizen of the world—you should hope globalisation’s next phase involves the maximum possible degree of openness.

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  • Judicial Reforms

    Judicial Reforms in India

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    Context

    Following are the reforms needed in the various aspects of the higher judiciary

    Removing the disparity between retirement ages of HC and SC judges

    • High Court judges now retire at 62 and Supreme Court judges at 65.
    • It is high time that we did away with the disparity between the retirement ages of High Court and Supreme Court judges.
    • There is no good reason for this difference.
    • Intense pressure and competition: The obvious negative fallout of a differential retirement age simply is intense pressure and competition to make it to the top court and thus get three more years.
    • If this is done away with, several judges of mettle would prefer to be Chief Justices and senior judges in the High Courts exercising wide power of influence rather than being a junior judge on a Bench of the Supreme Court.
    • There is good work to be done in the High Courts, and we need good men there.

    Create a cadre of public service for retired judges

    • SeveralSupreme Court judges focus on arbitrations after retirement.
    • A minority of judges devote themselves to public service; sadly, this is a very small minority.
    • Another lot are appointed to various constitutional posts and tribunals and commissions.
    • It would be worthwhile reform to create a cadre of public service for retired judges and from this pool make appointments to the constitutional and statutory posts and special assignments.
    • Such judges should receive the full pay and the facilities of a judge of the Supreme Court for life.
    • We should have a culture of public service for senior judges, and those who do not fit in such culture should not be a part of senior ranks.

    Reform in the process of appointment of Chief Justice of India

    • No constitutional basis: It is generally assumed that the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court should be the Chief Justice of India.
    • The Constitution mandates no such thing.
    • Article 124 merely states that the President will appoint every judge of the Supreme Court, and this includes the Chief Justice, and each of these judges shall hold office until they attain the age of 65 years.
    • The requirement about appointing the seniormost judge to be the CJI was devised in the Second Judges case (1993) and the consequent Memorandum of Procedure which is an usurpation of the President’s power.
    • There is no good reason why any one particular person should have a vested interest in the top job, and we are better served by eliminating such expectation.
    • Let all serve equally under the constitutional throne for the entire length of their tenure.

    But who then shall be the CJI?

    • As per the Constitution the judges of the High Court, senior advocates and distinguished jurists are eligible for the appointment as the judge of the Supreme Court.
    • Chief Justice of HC: When a serving CJI retires, his successor should be the best reputed Chief Justice of a High Court who has proved himself worthy both in judicial office as well as administrative leadership and has those qualities of heart and head which mark a good leader.
    • The same process is followed in the appointment of the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
    • Security of tenure: The appointee should have a clear three-year term.
    • He should not function as the primus super pares — calling the shots and having their unfettered way.
    • He should instead function in a true collegiate manner, especially in regard to the roster of allotment of cases, especially the sensitive ones, and appointments to the Supreme Court and High Courts and other important matters of judicial and administrative importance.

    Conclusion

    Though there are several issues that need reforms in the higher judiciary, the above reforms can serve as the precursor to the other reforms to come.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Australia

    India and Australia

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Context

    India and Australia, which share common values and interests, must work together with resolve to shape the economic and strategic environment so that it continues to support collective security and prosperity.

    India-Australia ties: A background

    • The ties are a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership full of practical, tangible actions that strengthen ties and benefit the region.
    • India and Australia are a small group of countries to hold annual leaders’ summits and biennial 2+2 talks involving foreign and defence ministers.
    • The defence forces of both the countries are undertaking more complex activities together, such as in Exercise Malabar with the US and Japan.
    • We coordinate closely on maritime domain awareness.
    • This year both countries deployed P-8 surveillance aircraft to each other’s territories for joint patrols.
    • Australia has also committed to a package of partnership initiatives in our update to the India Economic Strategy.
    • Cooperation on climate and sustainability: India and Australia have great potential to cooperate on climate and sustainability.

    Why India matters to Australia

    • Securing supply chain: India’s economy, manufacturing capabilities and talent ensure it will play a key role in securing supply chains and restarting post-pandemic growth.
    • Balance of power: Its military has the capacity and capability to respond to natural disasters, help stabilise an uncertain region and contribute to an effective balance of power.
    • Technological and scientific capabilities: Its technological and scientific capabilities are gateways to a cleaner and more sustainable world.
    •  Commitment to democracy: Most of all, India’s people have the optimism, the commitment to democracy, the drive and the goodwill to make our region safer, freer and better.

    Vision for open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region

    • As the bilateral relationship deepens, both the countries must begin to work more together with others in the region.
    • Responding to humanitarian crises and natural disasters: There is enormous potential in the Indian and Pacific oceans, where we each have vital interests in combating climate change, illegal fishing and people smuggling and responding to humanitarian crises and natural disasters.
    •  Australia has a vision for an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
    • It is a vision for a region that is more integrated rather than divided, where trade and investment flow freely based on agreed rules and treaty commitments, where disputes are resolved through dialogue in accordance with international law, and where a strategic culture that respects the rights of all states, big and small, prevails.
    • It is a vision that Australia share with partners like ASEAN, and partners like India.
    • Whether through joint activities with like-minded countries, or the support of regional and multilateral architecture, Australia is ensuring the region has options and balance.

    Conclusion

    India and Australia’s interests don’t just align, they are inextricably entwined. Expect this relationship to grow and prosper, our cooperation to deepen.

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  • Urban Floods

    Why Assam gets flooded every year

    | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Disaster Management

    Disaster struck Dima Hasao, central Assam’s hill district, in mid-May after incessant heavy rainfall.

    Impacts of the disaster

    • The 170 km railway line connecting Lumding in the Brahmaputra Valley’s Hojai district and Badarpur in the Barak Valley’s Karimganj district was severely affected.
    • The Assam government and Railway Ministry’s assessments said the district suffered a loss of more than ₹1,000 crore, but ecologists say the damage could be irreversibly higher.

    How severe has the rain been in Assam?

    • Assam is used to floods, sometimes even four times a year, resultant landslides and erosion.
    • But the pre-monsoon showers this year have been particularly severe on Dima Hasao, one of three hill districts in the State.
    • Landslips have claimed four lives and damaged roads.
    • The impact has been most severe on the arterial railway, which was breached at 58 locations leaving the track hanging in several places.
    • The disruption of train services, unlikely to be restored soon, has cut off the flood-hit Barak Valley, parts of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

    Why is the railway in focus post-disaster?

    • Dima Hasao straddles the Barail, a tertiary mountain range between the Brahmaputra and Barak River basins.
    • The district is on the Dauki fault (the prone-to-earthquakes geological fractures between two blocks of rocks) straddling Bangladesh and parts of the northeast.
    • British engineers were said to have factored in the fragility of the hills to build the railway line over 16 years by 1899.
    • The end result was an engineering marvel 221 km long over several bridges and through 37 tunnels, laid along the safer sections of the hills.

    A faulty experiment

    • A project to convert the metre gauge track to broad gauge was undertaken in 1996 but the work was completed only by March 2015 because of geotechnical constraints and extremist groups.
    • The broad-gauge track was realigned to be straighter, but a 2009-10 audit report revealed that the project had been undertaken without proper planning and visualisation of the soil strata behaviour.
    • The report gave the example of the disaster-prone Tunnel 10 on the realigned track that was pegged 8 meters below the bed of a nearby stream.

    Is only the railway at fault?

    • There is a general consensus that other factors have contributed to the situation Dima Hasao is in today.
    • Roads in the district, specifically the four-lane Saurashtra-Silchar (largest Barak Valley town) East-West Corridor, have been realigned or deviated from the old ones that were planned around rivers and largely weathered the conditions.
    • The arterial roads build over the past 20 years often cave in and get washed away by floods or blocked by landslides.
    • Shortened cycles of jhum or shifting cultivation on the hill slopes and unregulated mining have accentuated the “man-made disaster”.
    • Massive extraction of river stone, illegal mining of coal and smuggling of forest timbe has led to the disaster.
    • These activities have increased water current besides weakening either side of riverbanks.

    How vital are the rail and highway through Dima Hasao?

    • Meghalaya aside, Dima Hasao is the geographical link to a vast region comprising southern Assam’s Barak Valley, parts of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
    • Moreover, this track is vital for India’s Look East policy that envisages shipping goods to and from Bangladesh’s Chittagong port via Tripura’s border points at Akhaura and Sabroom.
    • These are the last railway station near the Feni River that serves as the India-Bangladesh border.

     

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  • Indian Army Updates

    Explained: BSF powers and jurisdiction

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    A blueprint that defines the extended jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) and its new logistical requirements in frontier States has been prepared and is soon expected to be submitted to the Union Home Ministry.

    What is the news?

    • While in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, the BSF jurisdiction, from the border towards the hinterland, was enhanced from the earlier 15 km to 50 km.
    • In Gujarat the same limit has been reduced from 80 km to 50 km, while in Rajasthan the limit has been kept unchanged at 50 km.

    Do you know?

    BSF currently stands as the world’s largest border guarding force. It has been termed as the First Line of Defence of Indian Territories.

    About Border Security Force (BSF)

    • The BSF is India’s border guarding organization on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
    • It comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    • It was raised in the wake of the 1965 War on 1 December 1965 for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for matters connected therewith.
    • The BSF has its own cadre of officers but its head, designated as a Director-General (DG), since its raising has been an officer from the Indian Police Service (IPS).

    What are the new modifications?

    • The MHA has exercised the powers under the Border Security Force Act of 1968.
    • It has thus outlined the area of BSF’s jurisdiction.

    Powers exercised by BSF in its jurisdiction

    BSFs jurisdiction has been extended only in respect of the powers it enjoys under:

    1. Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)
    2. Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and
    3. Passport Act, 1967

    Arrest and search

    • BSF currently has powers to arrest and search under these laws.
    • It also has powers to arrest, search and seize under the NDPS Act, Arms Act, Customs Act and certain other laws.

    Sanctions behind such powers

    • Scarcely populated borders: At that time, border areas were sparsely populated and there were hardly any police stations for miles.
    • Trans-border crimes: To prevent trans-border crimes, it was felt necessary that BSF is given powers to arrest.
    • Manpower crunch: While police stations have now come up near the border, they continue to be short-staffed.

    Various issues at Borders

    1. Encroachment
    2. Illegal incursion
    3. Drug and cattle smuggling

    Impact on State Police jurisdiction

    • Such moves are aimed to complement the efforts of the local police.
    • Thus, it is an enabling provision.
    • It’s not that the local police can’t act within the jurisdiction of the BSF.
    • The state police have better knowledge of the ground.
    • Hence BSF and local Police can act in cooperation.

    Criticism of the move

    • At a basic level, the states can argue that law and order is a state subject and enhancing BSF’s jurisdiction infringes upon powers of the state government.
    • In 2012, then Gujarat CM and the present PM had opposed a central government moves to expand BSF’s jurisdiction.

     

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