Skip to main content

Govt advisories not effective without special package for poor affected by the lockdown


An analysis of Government Resolutions, Advisories and Circulars issued by the Government of India and the Government of Gujarat and certain recommendations by the Centre for Social Justice team:
***
As per circulars issued by the Ministry Of Labour & Employment, New Delhi, and the Labour Department, as also the circular on novel Coronavirus released to Shri Durgashankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Urban Affairs, urging the public and private organizations not to reduce the salary of workers/ workers and work of contract workers and work from home, if a worker or employee is identified and absent as suspected to be infected or unaffected by the virus then the person is considered to be present at work and their salary is not to be deducted.
Such advisories requesting certain measures are not effective unless the government does not provide for a special package dedicated to this class of citizens affected by the lockdown. Also, in case the employer does not pay the salary, a helpline number for immediate complaint should be setup.Collector of Dahod District has circulated a GR for protection of rights of migrant labourers.
A similar GR should be circulated in all districts, especially those that are high in adivasi population for labourers who migrate to other districts and states in search of labour and work as migrant labourers for 6-7 months in the year in areas around districts for e.g. sugarcane cutting and various other labour sectors.GR dated 24-03-2020 of the Education Department of Gujarat, talks about the budget allotted for mid-day meals scheme. This cooking cost amount shall be disbursed to children studying with primary schools which are currently closed at the moment due to Coronavirus.
Even if the amount is deposited in their bank accounts, availing the same during emergency is not always possible as all modes of transport have been discontinued and banks are located at the district or taluka levels which may not be accessible to people residing in the remote areas. This will affect the Adivasi areas (forest dwelling communities) the most. To resolve this issue it is advisable that either a facility is setup where mid-day meals are directly provided to the eligible children or distribution of grains amounting to the cooking cost is made possible.Collector, Ahmedabad District has announced a helpline number 079- 2760511 for all voluntary organizations, persons, institutions, associations, religious places, social and educational organizations etc. who wish to provide for food to poor, labour families.
Similarly, all district collectors should invite organizations and institutions to provide help. Also, their employees can join as paralegal volunteers under the State Legal Service Authority so that people can be provided urgently required legal help.The Honorable High Court of Gujarat has ordered for all courts of the State to stop their functions.
It has been observed that the paralegal volunteers under the NALSA scheme of Assistance of Legal Services in times of Disaster, the SLSA, DLSA and TLSC should initiate providing relief services at each district and monitor the situations according to the scheme.Consumer department circular F.No.S-26/1/2020-ECR&E announced in line of the public announcement by Government of India dated 21.03.2020 deciding upon the price of masks and hand sanitizers, declaring them as essential commodities.
Masks as well as hand sanitizers still remain unavailable even at medical stores which calls for an urgent action from the government to produce masks and hand sanitizers and distribute them free of cost or at highly subsidized rates to the public at large, especially in Taluka and village level.

Critique of the Pradhan mantri Gareeb Kalyan Package:

An insurance scheme of Rs. 50 lakh has been announced for health workers fighting against Covid-19 at government hospitals and healthcare centres. In districts like Amreli, help in this regard is being availed from ASHA workers to undertake survey of people who have returned from outside. However this insurance scheme does not provide for such workers along with the police force, home guard etc. who are doing their duty at various checkpoints and roads without fear of getting infected by the virus.
For farmers the relief amount to be released was declared to be Rs 2000. This must be increased by further Rs. 2000, as the amount which is been given is from an already existing scheme which provides for Rs 6000 annually. So increasing the amount should not be a problem as it has been accounted for in the budget. The farmers who will face loss due to destruction of crops must be adequately compensated. Additionally, for the produced crop, a minimum financial help must be provided and for maximum crop distribution at the village level, the Gram Sabhas and Panchayats must be involved.
The poor, aged citizens, poor widows and poor among disabled people are to be paid Rs. 1000 for the upcoming three months in the next two weeks. However this amount should be more than that in the widow and elderly aid scheme and must also be made available to widows and elderly citizens at the earliest.
Under the MNREGA, each job card holder must be paid daily wages worth 30 days. Also, at places where work has been completed as per the MNREGA but the wages have not been paid, the amount must be paid urgently and an announcement regarding the same must be made.
The Scheme provides for disbursal of an amount of Rs 500 per month to the account of those women who hold Jan Dhan accounts. But these Jan Dhan accounts are in a dire situation and in this case any amount credited to these accounts will not serve the purpose if banks take their charge on such amount. Furthermore, these banks are not easily accessible to each person in the public for which postal services can be availed to provide the amount to eligible people. Furthermore, Adivasi women will be the worst affected as they live in remotest parts of the country where banks are quite a few kilometres from the villages.
Under this package grains are being distributed at a decreased rate however there is no plan in place to undertake this distribution scheme. People living in the interiors and remote areas will face the brunt as they won’t be aware of the package and due to severe restrictions made by the state related to transportation, there is high risk of corruption and non-availability as it provides for one and two time provision for ration. In these areas, group Gram Panchayats are functional and in most cases ration shops are shared between four or five villages which make distribution of grains difficult. To resolve this situation it is required that facility of mobile shops distributing grains at decreased rates must be made or the responsibility of home to home distribution should be given to Gram Panchayat Samitis at the village level and in Adivasi areas.

Comments

TRENDING

गुजरात विश्वविद्यालय कुलपति महोदया का बयान उल्टा चोर कोतवाल को डांटे समान है

गुजरात विश्व विद्यालय परिसर में विदेशी छात्रों को सांस्कृतिक संवेदनशीलता का पाठ देने की ख़बर के संबंध में विश्व विद्यालय को खुला पत्र: --- प्रति श्री, कुलपति महोदय गुजरात विश्वविद्यालय अहमदाबाद विषय- गुजरात विश्व विद्यालय परिसर में विदेशी छात्रों को सांस्कृतिक संवेदनशीलता का पाठ देने की ख़बर के संबंध में। महोदया,

देशव्यापी ग्रामीण भारत बंध में उतरे मध्य प्रदेश के आदिवासी, किया केंद्र सरकार का विरोध

- हरसिंग जमरे, भिखला सोलंकी, रतन अलावे*  15 और 16 फरवरी को निमाड के बड़वानी, खरगोन और बुरहानपुर में जागृत आदिवासी दलित संगठन के नेतृत्व में आदिवासी महिला-पुरुषों ग्रामीण भारत बंद में रैली एवं विरोध प्रदर्शन किया । प्रधान मंत्री द्वारा 2014 में फसलों की लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव देने का वादा किया गया था, 2016 में किसानों की आय दुगना करने का वादा किया गया था । आज, फसलों का दाम नहीं बढ़ रहा है, लेकिन खेती में खर्च बढ़ता जा रहा है! खाद, बीज और दवाइयों का दाम, तीन-चार गुना बढ़ चुका है! किसानों को लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव देने के बजाए, खेती को कंपनियों के हवाले करने के लिए 3 काले कृषि कानून लाए गए । 3 काले कानून वापस लेते समय प्रधान मंत्री ने फिर वादा किया था कि फसलों की लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव की कानूनी गारंटी के लिए कानून बनाएँगे, लेकिन वो भी झूठ निकला! आज जब देश के किसान दिल्ली में आपको अपना वादा याद दिलाने आए है, तब आप उनका रास्ता रोक रहें है, उनके साथ मारपीट कर उन पर आँसू गैस फेंक रहें हैं, उन पर छर्रों से फायरिंग कर रहें है! देश को खिलाने वाला किसान खुद भूखा रहे, क्या यही विकास है?

नफरती बातें: मुसलमानों में असुरक्षा का भाव बढ़ रहा है, वे अपने मोहल्लों में सिमट रहे हैं

- राम पुनियानी*  भारत पर पिछले 10 सालों से हिन्दू राष्ट्रवादी भारतीय जनता पार्टी (भाजपा) राज कर रही है. भाजपा आरएसएस परिवार की सदस्य है और आरएसएस का लक्ष्य है हिन्दू राष्ट्र का निर्माण. आरएसएस से जुड़ी सैंकड़ों संस्थाएँ हैं. उसके लाखों, बल्कि शायद, करोड़ों स्वयंसेवक हैं. इसके अलावा कई हजार वरिष्ठ कार्यकर्ता हैं जिन्हें प्रचारक कहा जाता है. भाजपा के सत्ता में आने के बाद से आरएसएस दुगनी गति से हिन्दू राष्ट्र के निर्माण के अपने एजेण्डे को पूरा करने में जुट गया है. यदि भाजपा को चुनावों में लगातार सफलता हासिल हो रही है तो उसका कारण है देश में साम्प्रदायिकता और साम्प्रदायिक मुद्दों का बढ़ता बोलबाला. इनमें से कुछ हैं राम मंदिर, गौमांस और गोवध एवं लव जिहाद. 

Only 15% businesses provide employees real-time sustainability dashboards: Study

Kyndryl in collaboration with Microsoft has released the findings of The Global Sustainability Barometer study. The study, conducted by Ecosystm, finds that while 85% of organizations place a high strategic level of importance on achieving their sustainability goals, only 16% have integrated sustainability into their strategies and data. A Kyndryl note: *** Kyndryl (NYSE: KD), the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, in collaboration with Microsoft , today released the findings of The Global Sustainability Barometer study. The study, conducted by Ecosystm , finds that while 85% of organizations place a high strategic level of importance on achieving their sustainability goals, only 16% have integrated sustainability into their strategies and data.

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das*  India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on.

Laxmanpur Bathe massacre: Perfect example of proto-fascist Brahmanical social order

By Harsh Thakor  The massacre at Laxmanpur-Bathe of Jehanabad in Bihar on the night of 1 December in 1997 was a landmark event with distinguishing features .The genocide rightly shook the conscience of the nation in the 50th year of Indian independence. The scale of the carnage was unparalleled in any caste massacre. It was a perfect manifestation of how in essence the so called neo-liberal state was in essence most autocratic. 

International award to Assam docufilm on older than Sanskrit Assam folk rendition

By Prantik Deka  In a heartwarming news, 'Dhulia Culture of Old Kamrup (Assam)', a 26-minute long documentary, based on the traditional folk-art form of Assam, researched, produced and directed by Dr Aparna Buzarbarua under the banner of Rohini Production, has won the Best Documentary Award at the International Short Film Festival Award, which took place at the Swami Vivekananda Auditorium in Kolkata, recently. The award comprises a trophy, a memento, a medal and a certificate. 

Disgusting: Isha Foundation converted Shivratri into dance show Bollywood style

By NS Venkataraman*  Maha Shivratri carries profound spiritual importance ,serving as a time for devotees to fervently pray and meditate and seek divine blessings of Lord Shiva.

भाजपा शासन और भारतीय प्रजातंत्र व संविधान को खतरे: चार सौ पार की जरूरत क्यों?

- राम पुनियानी*  सत्ताधारी भाजपा के नेता इन दिनों 'चार सौ पार' की बात कर रहे हैं. उनका मानना है कि आने वाले आम चुनाव में भाजपा 370 से ज्यादा सीटें जीतेगी और उसके गठबंधन साथी 30 से ज्यादा. और इस प्रकार एनडीए 400 पार हो जायेगा. यह संख्या किसी चुनाव विशेषज्ञ की राय या किसी वैज्ञानिक सर्वेक्षण पर आधारित नहीं है. यह प्रचार केवल राजनैतिक उद्देश्य से किया जा रहा है.

સમાજસેવી, ધર્મની જડતાને પડકારનાર, ઉદારવાદના સમર્થક રમણભાઈ નીલકંઠ

- ગૌરાંગ જાની   ગુજરાત અને અમદાવાદના જાહેરજીવનમાં મહાત્મા ગાંધીના આગમન પૂર્વે સમાજ સુધારા અને સમાજ ચિંતન ક્ષેત્રમાં શિરમોર વ્યક્તિત્વ એટલે રમણભાઈ. ધર્મની જડતાઓને પડકારનાર અને એ દિશામાં સાહિત્ય સર્જનની ઉજ્વળ પરંપરાના અગ્રણી એવા રમણભાઈ નીલકંઠ વિશે આજે વાત કરીશું.વીસમી સદીની પ્રથમ પચીસીમાં અમદાવાદને વૈચારિક રીતે બદલનાર બે વ્યક્તિત્વ. એક ઇન્દુલાલ યાજ્ઞિક અને બીજા રમણભાઈ .ગુજરાતમાંથી સૌ પ્રથમ વિદેશગમન કરનાર અને એ માટે નાગરી નાતનો દંડ અને વિરોધ સહન કરનાર મહીપતરામ રૂપરામના પુત્ર રમણભાઈની માતાનું નામ રૂપકુંવર હતું. આજથી ૧૫૪ વર્ષ પૂર્વે વર્ષ ૧૮૬૮ ના માર્ચની ૧૩ તારીખે અમદાવાદમાં વડનગરા નાગર પરિવારમાં રમણભાઈનો જન્મ થયો હતો. રસપ્રદ એ છે કે રમણભાઈની મૂળ અટક મહેતા હતી પણ તેમના એક પૂર્વજ નામે નીલકંઠ મહેતા દિવાન હતા એથી રમણભાઈની અટક મહેતા નહિ પણ નીલકંઠ પડી.