parliamentary committee

JD(U) Joins Opposition Demand for Caste Census Discussion in Parliamentary OBC Panel

In the first meeting of the parliamentary committee on the welfare of OBCs, opposition MPs wanted a caste census to be included in the subjects for discussion, which the BJP’s key ally JD(U) also supported, sources said.

New Delhi: The Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) supported opposition members’ demand that there be a discussion on a caste census in the first meeting of the parliamentary committee on the welfare of other backward classes (OBCs) on Thursday (August 29), The Wire has learnt.

The committee, which was reconstituted earlier this month, includes 30 MPs and is headed by BJP MP Ganesh Singh, conducted its first meeting on Thursday to discuss the selection of subjects for detailed examination during 2024-25.

Sources said to The Wire that the demand for a discussion on a caste census was first raised by DMK MP T.R. Baalu, followed by Congress MP Manickam Tagore and then JD(U) MP Giridhari Yadav, who said there should be a discussion on a caste census.

The JD(U) is a key ally of the BJP in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. After falling short of a majority on its own by winning 240 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP relied on its allies to form the government.

The JD(U) with 12 MPs and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with 16 MPs are the BJP’s key alliance members.

Sources said that opposition members cited media reports of the possibility of the population census being conducted soon during the meeting.

The opposition members are learned to have said that officials from the Union home ministry should be called to the committee and that a discussion must be held on when the population census will take place and the preparations for it.

They also called for a discussion on whether a caste census will be conducted alongside the population census.

The Wire has learnt from sources that Singh, the committee’s chair, agreed to make the population census one of the subject matters for discussion.

While the decadal census that was scheduled to be held in 2021 has been delayed and the Union government is yet to take a call on when it is to be conducted, active discussions are underway to expand data collection to include a caste column, The Hindu reported earlier this month.

The JD(U), while in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, conducted a caste survey in the state.

The party has reiterated that as a social justice party, it will not step back from its demand for a nationwide caste census despite rejoining the NDA.

A caste census has been an ongoing demand for the opposition parties of the INDIA bloc and was also raised during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign. Just last month, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reiterated the demand in his speech during the discussion on the budget.

Sources said that the parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday also saw opposition members demand that a national commission for OBCs be made the first subject in the discussion list.

It is learnt that opposition members including Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said that there was a need to identify how many classes are backward and the extent of their socio-economic backwardness.

Opposition Demands Data Protection Bill Be Sent to Parliamentary Committee

Opposition members said the Bill – which was modified several times – violates the right to privacy, endangers the RTI Act, and needs to be studied by a parliamentary standing committee.

Kolkata: The Union government on Thursday (August 3) tabled the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023, in the Lok Sabha as opposition members demanded that the Bill be sent to a parliamentary committee.

The Bill states that the legislation is being brought to “provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”

Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw tabled the Bill in the Lok Sabha through a voice vote after concerns were raised by opposition members about the violation of the right to privacy in the legislation, as well as dangers it poses to the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Also read: Personal Data Protection Bill Will ‘Severely Restrict Scope of RTI Act’: Activists Write to MPs

Opposing the introduction of the Bill, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that the Bill is in violation of the right to privacy and Article 19 of the Indian constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech.

“It allows the government to access people’s private data and is likely to create a surveillance state. The Bill is also anti-women, as only one in three women in India use the internet,” he said and asked for a division of votes on whether the Bill should be introduced.

Deputy leader of the house and Congress MP, Gaurav Gogoi, said that the Bill should be sent back to a standing committee.

“Send the Bill to the standing committee as it infringes upon the fundamental rights of privacy as per [the] Puttaswamy judgment of [the] right to privacy,” he said.

In 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously delivered its judgment in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India and held that privacy is a constitutionally protected right.

The court ruled that the right to privacy not only emerges from the guarantee of life and personal liberty in Article 21 of the constitution, but also arises in varying contexts from the other facets of freedom and dignity recognised and guaranteed by the fundamental rights contained in Part III of the Indian constitution.

Echoing the demand to send the Bill back to the standing committee, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said that the new Bill is “cumbersome”.

“This is a cumbersome Bill and very different from the original Bill which was sent to the standing committee. The chairman of the standing committee has changed the Bill altogether. I want this Bill to be again sent to the standing committee,” he said.

Opposition MPs who are members of the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology had earlier told The Wire that the committee had adopted a report titled ‘Citizen’s data security and privacy’ on July 26. The report examines the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and contains the committee’s recommendations on the same.

However, opposition members in the committee said they do not approve of the report, mainly because, according to them, the report was prepared by the committee by bypassing parliamentary procedure, which requires a Bill to be first introduced in either a House of the parliament, before it can be referred to a standing committee.

Opposition members also alleged that they have not seen the final Bill and had very little time with the report as well.

Congress MP Manish Tewari, while demanding that the Bill be sent to a joint parliamentary committee, said that the legislation cannot be introduced as a finance Bill.

“A Bill, which was considered by the JPC [joint parliamentary committee], sent back to the House, and then withdrawn cannot be introduced as a finance Bill,” he said.a

Earlier on Thursday morning, Tewari had said that the Modi government was planning to introduce the Bill as a finance Bill, which would allow it to not seek the approval of the Rajya Sabha.

“It is a Bill which requires serious reconsideration by a joint parliamentary committee for the simple reason that it is in complete contradiction to [the] fundamental right to privacy upheld by the [Supreme Court] in the Puttaswamy judgment,” he said in parliament.

“This Bill cleaves the digital universe into two parts – the Bill will apply with full force on all non-governmental organisations, and the entire government universe is going to be exempt from it,” he added.

Also read: Why the Personal Data Protection Bill Won’t Stop Data Proliferation in Digital India

‘Different versions of the Bill do not match’

While the Bill was tabled on Thursday after the cabinet gave its approval on July 5, the legislation has been in the works for several years.

The Union government first constituted a Committee of Experts on Data Protection chaired by Justice B.N. Srikrishna to examine issues relating to data protection in 2017.

The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2019 on the basis of the recommendations of the committee report, which was submitted in July 2018.

The Bill was then referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, which submitted its report in December 2021. The following August, the Bill was withdrawn from parliament.

In November 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released the Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, for public feedback.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that since the Bill has been modified several times, it needs to be sent back to the standing committee.

“It is a matter of disappointment that to the best of my knowledge the committee has not been asked to study this Bill, which has been repeatedly modified and is being brought in its third reiteration. I urge the Bill be sent to the standing comm as a new Bill because the three different versions do not match and they have been brought without consulting the committee whose mandate it is,” he said.

Revolutionary Socialist Party MP N.K. Premachandran said that the Bill does not take into account the recommendations of the standing committee report.

“The standing committee submitted a report on the floor of the House (August 1). There are so many recommendations. Without looking at the recommendations, they have come up with a new Bill which is not fair,” he said.

‘Penalty but no compensation for data theft victims’

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule also raised concerns about the lack of compensation for victims of data theft in the Bill and the amendments made to the RTI Act.

“The Bill allows excessive centralisation of all data, and it is a complete insult to the federal structure, and it dilutes the RTI Act,” said Sule.

The Wire reported earlier on concerns raised by activists who said that the Bill poses a threat to the RTI Act by severely restricting its scope.

Sule added that while there is a penalty for data theft, the victim is not protected.

“There is a penalty but no compensation. What about a victim?” she asked.

Chowdhury said that the Bill will usher in a new era of corruption by amending the RTI Act.

“Through this Bill, the government will trample upon the RTI Act and right to privacy,” he said.

“We are vehemently opposing this sinister motive by the government as by amending the RTI, the government wants to introduce a new era of corruption where personal data like assets and liabilities, educational qualifications of corrupt government officials cannot be asked under RTI,” he said.

“The Bill does not provide compensation to individuals whose personal data has been compromised or [those who] suffered losses due to personal data theft,” he added.

“The present Bill does not restrict the government from storing and using personal data. l suggest the government put out the Bill for further deliberation and wide discussion among all sections of the population, send it to the standing committee or a joint parliamentary committee or any other forum,” he added.

While introducing the Bill, Vaishnaw, however, said that contrary to concerns about the government bringing the legislation as a finance Bill, the legislation is an ordinary one.

“(Opposition) members have not raised any questions on whether there is legislative competence to bring this Bill. Instead they have asked whether this is a general Bill or a finance Bill or a money Bill. I want to clarify that this is a general Bill and not a money Bill,” he said.

“All [the] points raised by [the] members on Puttaswamy, compensation, or any other objections, we are ready for a detailed debate on each issue,” he said.

Private Airlines Misleading Public, Forcing Them to Pay More: Parliamentary Committee

The Ministry of Civil Aviation should develop guidelines to rationalise airfares and publish correct information on airlines’ websites, the committee recommended.

New Delhi: Private airlines are misleading the public by publishing wrong information on their websites about available seats and ticket fares and forcing them to pay more, a parliamentary committee report noted.

In its report on the demands for grants of the Ministry of Civil Aviation submitted on March 6, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture raised concerns about the high fares charged by private airlines in the domestic sector.

The Committee said private airlines publish “wrong information” on their websites on the number of seats left on the flight and the prices of the tickets. “The level of misinformation can be gauged from the fact that even after the last tickets have been sold, the same number of seats show on the website, as indicated before the tickets sale,” the report noted. “This indicates that airline operators are misguiding the public and forcing passengers to pay more.”

The Committee, therefore, recommended that the Ministry of Civil Aviation develop appropriate guidelines to rationalise airfares and mandate airlines to publish correct information on their websites.

The Committee also expressed concern at many domestic airlines resorting to ‘predatory pricing’. In this scenario, an airline sells tickets at such a low price that other competitors cannot compete and are forced to exit the market; later they hike the rates far higher, as the competition is eliminated.

The civil aviation ministry told the committee that after the repeal of the Air Corporations Act, 1953 in March 1994, the Indian domestic aviation market has been deregulated and consequently, airfare is market driven. “Airline pricing runs in multiple levels {buckets or Reservation Booking Designator (RBDs)} which are in line with the practice being followed globally. Due to dynamic fare pricing, the tickets bought in advance are much cheaper than those purchased near the date of travel. The airlines are free to fix reasonable tariffs under the provisions of sub-rule (1) of Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937,” the ministry said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has a Tariff Monitoring Unit that monitors airfares on certain routes on monthly basis to ensure that the airlines do not charge airfares outside a range declared by them, the ministry added.

Representative image. Photo: PTI

Improve connectivity to remote areas

While the Committee commended the ministry in its plans to start 58 airports, especially in the remote northeast, the islands and areas that are hilly and have tribal communities, it highlighted that private airlines are also charging different fares for the same sector, route and direction of flights, especially for the northeast and hilly areas including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The prices of domestic sector tickets are sometimes even more than that of international airline sector prices, it noted. The Committee also recommended that the ministry concentrate efforts to improve air connectivity in the country, especially in the northeast, hills and islands including Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands which are hotspots for tourism.

Further, under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), launched by the Ministry in 2016 to facilitate regional air connectivity by making it more affordable in several ways including concessions by the central and state government as well as airport operators, there were operational flights to and from Kerala. However, these flights were stopped without citing any reasons, the Committee noted, adding that it would like to know the reasons for this discontinuation of RCS flights in Kerala. The number of passengers that benefited from the RCS had grown to 33 lakh in 2021-22, but it has again come down to 20 lakh as on January 31 this year. The Committee would like to know the reasons for this too, and the steps being taken to improve this, it said.

Details of public money

The committee also noted that during the disinvestment of Air India, the government had provided financial assistance amounting to around Rs 64,026 crore in the form of equity to Air India Assets Holding Limited (a company incorporated by the Government of India as a Special Purpose Vehicle for the sole aim of disinvesting in Air India). But following this, the government received only a cash component of Rs. 2,700 crore and retained a debt of Rs 15,300 crore, the Committee said.

“The Committee would like to know the details of the actual revenue the Government has generated by disinvesting a massive company like Air India, as financial support given for closure of strategic disinvestment of Air India amounting to Rs. 64,026.40/- crore is nothing but public money,” it noted.

Per the report, the Committee also reviewed the issues related to congestion at various airports including Delhi and Mumbai. Such issues at major airports “reflect poor planning”, the Committee noted, urging the ministry to issue appropriate guidelines to the concerned airport operators to address it.

The Committee also urged the ministry to ensure that it implements all the ten accessibility features as prescribed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for disabled passengers, and that more airports be included as part of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (currently, only one – Dholera in Gujarat – is listed under the Plan).

Railways Running on Losses a Sign of Gaps in ‘Overall Planning and Management’: Parl Panel

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways noted that there has been a continuous downward trend in revenues in the Railways over the past few years.

New Delhi: The fact that the Indian Railways recorded a revenue loss of Rs 15,024.58 crore in the financial year 2021-22 and there is a persistent downward trend in revenue over the years is a sign of gaps in overall planning and management, a Parliamentary Committee said.

The Indian Railways is running on losses. In 2021-22, it recorded a loss of Rs 15,024.58 crore, which it has put down to an increase in staff expenditure over the lpst few years. The COVID-19 pandemic too affected its revenues, the Railways has said.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways noted that there has been a continuous downward trend in revenues in the Railways over the past few years.

The Committee said that the decline in revenue generation is an indicator of “internal deficiencies in the overall planning and management of the Railways”, per The Hindu. The Committee was “perturbed” to see that despite enhanced budgetary support and extra budgetary resources, the Indian Railways has not been able to generate sufficient funds internally, it said.

The Committee noted that Rs 70,516 crore of the Railways’ revenues went to its pension fund. This was impacting its operating ratio – which takes into account the total working expenditure and total traffic earnings – adversely, the Committee said.

The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Railways implement measures to stop this downward decline in revenue and ensure means to generate revenues.

Last year, a parliamentary standing committee pulled up the Indian Railways for the “disregard” shown by the Board towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) and for not framing safety rules for the operations of goods trains.

Govt Panel’s Report on Data Protection Bill Recommends Tougher Norms for Social Media Platforms

The report, however, did not recommend any major dilution of the contentious exemption clause, which gives powers to the government to keep any of its agencies outside the purview of the law.

New Delhi: A parliamentary panel on December 16, Thursday, recommended tougher norms to regulate social media platforms by holding them accountable for the content they host while asserting that it is imperative to store data in India and restrict access to it by categorising it as sensitive and critical personal data.

It recommended widening the scope of proposed data protection legislation to include both personal and non-personal data with “a single administration and regulatory body”, and sought greater accountability for social media platforms by treating them as ‘publishers’.

Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia-Pacific policy director at Access Now, a global tech policy think tank told Hindustan Times that the panel’s proposal to treat social media companies as publishers and determine their liability “is a first for any data protection law”.

The report, however, did not recommend any major dilution of the contentious exemption clause, which gives powers to the government to keep any of its agencies outside the purview of the data protection legislation. Clause 35 of the Bill grants sweeping powers to the government to exempt any of its agencies from the provisions of the Bill and Data Protection Act.

Privacy advocates have been opposing the said provision, and some opposition members of parliament (MPs) too had flagged concerns through their dissent notes.

“The committee has added “reasonable and necessary” to Clause 35, but it is no safeguard and can be easily circumvented. The committee should have recommended the deletion of this clause in entirety,” Chima told the newspaper.

Also read: Privacy Delayed Is Privacy Denied

The 30-member Joint Committee on Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, headed by Bhartiya Janata Party MP P.P. Chaudhary, tabled its report in both houses on December 16, after two years of deliberations.

The key takeaways from the report include widening the scope of the draft legislation to also cover non-personal data, tighter regulation for social media platforms along with the establishment of a statutory media regulatory authority on the lines of Press Council of India.

The committee in its report observed that since India has become a big consumer market, there is a large collection, processing and storage of data happening daily.

“…the committee opined that it is imperative to store data in India and to restrict access to it by categorising them as sensitive and critical personal data, thus giving impetus to data localisation,” the report said.

The committee’s report made it clear that “India may no more leave its data to be governed by any other country”.

“The committee, considering the immediate need to regulate social media intermediaries have expressed a strong view that these designated intermediaries may be working as publishers of the content in many situations, owing to the fact that they have the ability to select the receiver of the content and also exercise control over the access to any such content hosted by them,” the report said.

The panel recommended that all social media platforms, which do not act as intermediaries, be treated as “publishers” and be held accountable for the content they host.

“Further, the committee has recommended that a statutory media regulatory authority, on the lines of Press Council of India, may be set up for the regulation of the contents on all such media platforms irrespective of the platform where their content is published, whether online, print or otherwise,” it said.

A mechanism should be devised where social media platforms, which do not act as intermediaries, will be held responsible for the content from unverified accounts on their platforms.

“Once an application for verification is submitted with necessary documents, the social media intermediaries must mandatorily verify the account,” said the report.

The changes it has proposed to the Bill include classifying social media platforms as significant data fiduciary.

The committee suggested that no social media platform should be allowed to operate in India unless the parent company sets up a local office.

It has sought to bring non-personal data in its ambit too, saying restricting the new legislation only to personal data protection or to name it as Personal Data Protection Bill is “detrimental to privacy”.

In their joint dissent note on the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) report, Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien and Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra had criticised the excessive powers given to the government on various aspects and the inclusion of non-personal data in the Bill.

According to India Today, the committee has said that self-regulation and existing media regulators are insufficient and ill-equipped to regulate the journalism industry.

Therefore, the committee has desired that “Clause 36(e) may be amended to empower any statutory media regulator that the government may create in the future and until such time the government may also issue rules in this regard”.

Clause 36 of the Bill makes the “right to be forgotten” inapplicable to the processing of personal data by any court or tribunal in India that is necessary for the exercise of any judicial function.

(With inputs from PTI)

Parliamentary Panel Report Points to Water Contamination in 48,969 Rural Habitations

The standing committee has pulled up the Department of Water Resources for not providing safe drinking water in areas with iron and high salinity contamination.

New Delhi: A parliamentary committee has, in its latest report, flagged the fact that as many as 48,969 rural habitations are affected by water contamination.

It has also noted with concern that despite this situation, the Department of Water Resource, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation was “silent” when it came to to action that needed to be taken to ensure clean drinking water reaches houses affected with contaminants.

The Standing Committee, chaired by Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal, and comprising 20 other MPs of the Lok Sabha and eight of Rajya Sabha, made the observations in the report that also analysed action taken by the Union government on the observations and recommendations in its Eleventh Report.

Six major contaminants

The 14th report of the Standing Committee on Water Resources, which was submitted last week, also pointed out how the contamination of water supply was due to arsenic, fluoride, iron, nitrates, heavy metals and high salinity.

It noted that of the rural habitations affected by water contamination, “3,112 habitations are affected due to arsenic contamination, 2,972 with fluoride, 31,142 with iron, 866 with nitrate contamination, 300 with heavy metals and 10,575 habitations with high salinity in water.”

Also read: High Levels of Arsenic Found in Groundwater in Uttar Pradesh

The Committee further noted that under National Water Quality Sub Mission (NWQSM), which was launched in March, 2017 – as a part of erstwhile National Rural Drinking Water Programme – a plan was drawn to provide safe drinking water to 27,544 identified arsenic or fluoride-affected rural habitations by March, 2021.

Of these, it added that “as on 15 February, 2021, barring 78 habitations rest of the habitations have been covered under the scheme.”

Contamination due to iron, high salinity yet to be addressed

However, the Committee pointed out that iron and salinity contamination of water remained a major issue. It added that “the Department is silent with regard to action taken for providing clean drinking water to habitation affected with other contaminants, like iron and salinity, which constituted bulk of the water quality affected habitations.”

The parliamentary panel therefore recommended that the Department focus its attention on these habitations.

The Committee also said, “Though the piped water supply is the only solution to tackle water quality problems, till such time piped water supply reaches every rural household/habitation, alternate arrangement should be made to supply clean water by installing Community Water Purification Plants (CWPPs) in each Gram Panchayat/ Habitation in the country.”

Panel expresses scepticism about adequacy of CWPPs

The Committee said it has been told that 32,277 CWPPs have been set up in the country so far by various States. However, it said it was “quite sceptical as to whether these CWPPs are adequate enough to cater to the requirements of all quality affected habitations.”

Also read: IIT Kharagpur Study Finds 20% of India Has High Arsenic Levels in Groundwater

Therefore, it recommended that the department in consultation with states assess the total requirements of CWPPs and draw an action plan to set up adequate CWPPs in all the habitations.

The panel said the department in its action taken reply had stated that “planning and implementation of piped water supply scheme in water quality-affected habitations based on a safe water source takes time” and that “purely as an interim measure, provisions have been made to set up Community Water Purification Plants (CWPPs) to provide 8-10 lpcd potable water to meet drinking and cooking need of every household, in these habitations.”

Referring to the reply, the Committee said it “also does not state in specific terms as to whether any action plan has been prepared for setting up CWPPs in all water quality affected habitations.” Therefore, the panel demanded that a “a time bound programme be formulated in consultation with concerned States for setting up of CWPPs in all water quality affected habitations.”

Set up Council With Statutory Powers To Check ‘Irregularities’ in Media: IT Parliamentary Panel

The Shashi Tharoor-led panel said that the media “is gradually losing its credibility and integrity” and “values and morality are being compromised”.

New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has recommended the setting up of a ‘Media Council’ with statutory powers to enforce its powers to check “irregularities” in print, electronic and digital media platforms, saying that the fourth estate is “gradually losing its credibility and integrity”.

This recommendation was part of the ‘Ethical Standards In Media Coverage’ report that the committee, which is headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, submitted in parliament on Wednesday. The report noted that existing regulatory bodies like the Press Council of India (PCI) and the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) have limited efficacy because they do not have the powers to enforce their decisions.

According to news agency PTI, the committee also expressed concern over the “disturbing trend” of fake news and asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to pursue the Ministry of Law and Justice for early implementation of the Law Commission recommendation to make paid news an electoral offence. This, the committee said, will have a deterrent effect.

The ‘Media Council’ should be set up after consensus is evolved through a ‘Media Commission’ that would comprise of experts for wider consultations amongst the interested groups and stakeholders, the report said. The Media Commission should look into all the complex issues concerning the media and submit its report within six months of its inception, it said.

The Committee said that the media, “which was once the most trusted weapon in the hands of the citizenry in our democracy and acted as trustees of the public interest is gradually losing its credibility and integrity where values and morality are being compromised”.

Commenting on the limitation of the PCI, a statutory body governing the print media, the panel said that while the body may entertain complaints and is empowered to warn, admonish or censure newspapers, news agencies, the editor or the journalist concerned, it does not have the power to enforce compliance. Its advisories are not enforceable in a court of law, it said.

It also noted that the NBDSA, a self-regulatory body that governs news broadcasting, has the power to fine, but its jurisdiction extends to only those organisations that choose to be members of the News Broadcasters and Digital Association. Compliance with its orders is also voluntary, the report noted.

The panel recommended restructuring the PCI to cover all types of media.

“In view of the above, the Committee has opined that the MIB should explore the possibility of establishing a wider Media Council encompassing not just the print media but the electronic and digital media as well, and equip it with statutory powers to enforce its orders where required.”

“This would enable it to have a holistic view of the media scenario and take appropriate steps to check irregularities, ensure freedom of speech and professionalism, and maintain the highest ethical standards and credibility, which are so critical for the fourth pillar of democracy,” it recommended.

The committee said pending a decision on the council, the MIB should look into the possibility of expanding the regulatory framework to monitor e-newspapers.

It also expressed concern that newspapers tend to repeat the same mistakes even after being censured by PCI until action is taken by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (BOC) to withhold government advertisements to that particular newspaper for a certain period of time as per the government’s policy.

“It is surprising to note that a lot of time is wasted in taking a decision by the BOC against such newspapers, which eventually dilutes the impact of the decision,” the panel said, adding that it takes almost a year for the BOC to take a decision to withhold government advertisements.

The panel said that it found merit in the PCI’s proposal that the government may prescribe a time period within which the BOC must take action.

Problem of ‘fake news’

The panel said that ‘fake news’ has become a “disturbing trend in India, where the contributors of content are not only owners of websites, but also individual subscribers, on whom exercising control is posing a very big challenge.”

While appreciating the establishment of fact-checking units in 17 regional offices of the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the committee asked the MIB to open more such units to remain vigilant for viral videos/news which could create public disorder. It also suggested that the government should tap into the existing expertise available in the form of independent fact-checkers such as Alt News and SM Hoax Slayer.

It recommended that the term “fake news” should be broadly defined. The panel also embraced the views of the Prasar Bharati CEO that the regulatory mechanisms should utilise technology such as artificial intelligence to “check fake news and to be able to intervene in near real-time”.

The Committee also sought that the term “anti-national attitude” in Rule 6(1)(e) of the Cable Television Network Rules, 2014 must be properly defined as it may be the cause of unnecessary harassment of the private channels.

The rule states that no programme should be carried “which is likely to encourage or incite violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order or which promote ‘Anti-national attitudes’.”

“The term Anti-national attitude’ has, however, not been separately defined in the programme code enumerated in the CTN Rules, 1994. The Ministry has justified that ‘Anti-national’ is commonly understood as opposed to national interests or nationalism. However, the Committee is of the considered opinion that the term Anti-national attitude’ used in Rule …. may be the cause of unnecessary harassment of the private Channels and therefore recommend that the term ‘Anti-national attitude’ be properly defined to remove any ambiguity in the interpretation of the term in the prescribed code,” the panel said.

Power Ministry Wanted to Dilute Rules So Hydro Projects Can Release Even Less Water

While a steady flow is required to maintain the health of rivers, the ministry opposed the rules, saying they would cause a loss of revenue.

New Delhi: The devastating consequences of the glacier break in Uttarakhand have once again put the spotlight on hydroelectricity projects (HEPs) in the state. The floods caused by the break have left a large number of people dead, while many others are still missing.

The Centre and the state government have come under fire for allowing construction of HEPs to continue without properly considering the ecology, with experts saying the flood could have been avoided. However, the governments have claimed that they have made adequate provisions to save ecology.

In this regard, a notification was issued by the Narendra Modi government in October 2018 in which the quantum of water flow into the Ganga river from HEPs was fixed.

According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation – now called the Ministry of Water Power – all hydroelectricity projects situated on the upper streams of the Ganga were mandated to release 20-30% of water into the river in different seasons.

Environmental flow refers to the minimum amount of water required to preserve the health of the river and the livelihood of its aquatic organisms. While experts and environmental activists believe that the prescribed e-flow is not adequate, demanding that the limit be increased, official documents reveal that the Centre is trying to reduce it further.

Files obtained by The Wire reveal that the Ministry of Power stated that the e-flow prescribed by the Ministry of Water Resources would cause revenue loss to the HEPs. Hence, an exemption should be granted to those in operation or under construction at the time the notification was issued, the ministry suggested.

The ministry even said that if a project incurs losses due to the regulation, they should be compensated for it.

A note prepared by the Hydro Project Planning and Investigation Division of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) of the Ministry of Power, dated May 8, 2019, states that the e-flows for the Ganga notified by the Ministry of Water Resources could result in a reduction of power generation as well as tariff.

On the basis of this argument, the department demanded that either that the projects under construction and in operation should be kept out of the ambit of the mandated e-flow requirements or else adequate compensation should be granted.

The ministry said that the revenue loss to the state on account of the prescribed e-flow could be about Rs 800 crore.

The Bhagirathi River, site of the Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project, in Gangotri, Uttarakhand. Credit: Atarax42/Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

The letter, written by deputy director Mukesh Kumar to the secretary (power), read, “CEA has observed that e-flow notified now are at variance with the recommendations made by the Expert Body constituted by the Supreme Court. CEA has requested that hydro projects currently in operation and under construction could be spared from the proposed e-flow release requirements.”

Subsequent to the Uttarakhand disaster in June 2013, the apex court in a judgement on August 13 that year directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) as well as the state of Uttarakhand not to grant any further environmental clearance or forest clearance for hydroelectric power projects.

Following this, an expert body was constituted, which submitted a report in September 2017. The report made recommendations for careful assessment of some of the projects and for release of e-flows from other hydro-projects.

It further said, “It has also been pointed out by CEA that drainage of untreated sewage and industrial effluents especially from tanneries directly into the river are probably the biggest source of the water pollution in Ganga which need to be suitably addressed.”

However, experts believe that the government should focus on its own concept of “aviral dhara” and “nirmal dhara” (continuous flow, unpolluted flow), which suggests that if sufficient amount of water is released through e-flows, then the continuous flow in the river will clean most of the pollutants.

Also Read: Is the Uttarakhand Tragedy Tied to Rawat Govt’s Move to Reduce Water Flow from Hydro Projects?

The deputy director reported in the letter that hydro projects with an installed capacity of 2,524 MW are in operation, while projects with an aggregate capacity of 2,310 MW are under construction in the upper reaches of Ganga.

“HE projects in operation, in general, may not have adequate provision/arrangement for release of e-flows specified in notification and would probably need fresh investments, if technically feasible,” the report said.

“In respect of under construction HE projects, relatively lower e-flows have been considered as compared to the present MoWR notification. As such, the overall reduction in Design Energy of the projects due to increased e-flows notified by MoWR is likely to be around 20% on an average which would also entail corresponding annual revenue loss or rise in tariff.”

Ministry of Power Note by The Wire

In addition, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the secretary of MoWR on November 28, 2018, to review the measures and actions taken to implement minimum e-flows. During the meeting, the CEA pointed out that projects like Tehri have been designed to cater to the irrigation requirements of Uttar Pradesh and mandatory e-flow releases may have an impact on the same.

The deputy director also estimated that if the new e-flow regulations are followed, the state would lose revenue due to the fall in power generation. He estimated that at an average unit cost of Rs 4 per unit, the state would incur an overall revenue loss of about Rs 800 crore annually.

“In addition, projects with an aggregate capacity of 2,310 MW are also under construction which will also entail revenue loss. As such, either the under construction and in operation projects be kept out of the ambit of release of e-flows or else a suitable compensation mechanism would need to be devised.”

Not only the Ministry of Power, but the Uttarakhand government has also demanded that the rules regarding water discharge from these projects should be relaxed.

Previously, The Wire had reported that the chief secretary of Uttarakhand had told the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) – a unit of the Ministry of Water Resources – that the current e-flow discharges will result in the projects in the state incurring losses of about Rs 3,500 crore.

The chief secretary had demanded the Centre to relax the provisions and allow the HEPs in the state to release less water. The state government had also made a similar demand before a parliamentary committee.

In fact, the Ministry of Power has also backed the demands of the Uttarakhand government in this regard.

According to a report of the parliamentary standing committee released in January 2019, the secretary (power) said, “We absolutely second the Uttarakhand government and are trying to resolve this matter at a high level. The government cannot have different opinions. Together, the Ministry of Power, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Water Resources are trying to reach a common ground, though it has not been achieved yet. We absolutely want to utilize the capacity available with the state. State participation is very important for our projects.”

The Uttarakhand government had told the parliamentary committee that if they implement the NGT’s order (to ensure minimum e-flow of 15%) as well, then on the basis of previous capacity, they would incur an annual loss of Rs 120 crore.

“As far as the latest order is concerned, it will completely destroy the hydroelectricity sector,” it said.

Also Read: With Hydro Projects in the Himalayas Flouting Norms, Disaster Is an Eventuality

No unanimous agreement

Former secretary of the water ministry, Shashi Shekhar, said that it is a subject which is not unanimously agreed upon by all the ministries, especially the Ministry of Power. The Ministry of Water Resources views environmental flow as a means to revive the Ganga, but the Ministry of Power believes that if e-flow is increased, the hydropower projects will suffer.

“There should be enough water in the river for one to say ‘the river has life’,” Shekhar added further. “Our engineering community is unable to accept it. They believe in generating revenue from every drop of the river, but accumulation of water in a dam only wastes it,” he said.

“If the government is really committed to it, then it will have to bring all the departments on one platform,” he said.

In 2015, a committee headed by Shekhar submitted its report recommending e-flows of 50%. However, it could not be implemented despite being approved by then water minister Uma Bharti.

The Ganga flows through Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Credit: Jeevan/pixabay

What is the need for e-flow?

Simply put, environmental flow is the minimum flow of water required to sustain a river. According to the definition of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), e-flow is the water provided within a river, wetland or coastal zone to maintain ecosystems and their benefits where there are competing water uses and where flows are regulated.

But the construction of hydroelectric projects affects the amount of water in the river. E-flows try to ensure the uninterrupted flow of a river.

After a mushrooming of hydropower projects, there have been demands for ensuring adequate environmental flow in the rivers across India during the last few years. Between 2006 and 2018, at least 12 reports were prepared at various levels in this regard but a consensus could not be reached as experts had different opinions about the quantity of e-flows.

In short, four reports for hydropower projects have recommended about 50% e-flow, while three other reports have suggested maintaining the e-flows at 20-30%. The Ministry of Water Power considered only the latter worth implementing.

The government notification issued in October 2018 was termed “inadequate” and challenged in the Uttarakhand high court.

Translated from the Hindi original by Naushin Rehman.

Parliamentary Panel Voices Concerns About Creating National DNA Database

A new Bill proposes the creation of a “crime scene index”, which will store DNA profiles collected from crime scenes.

New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has raised concerns over building a national database of crime scene DNA profiles as proposed under a new Bill, saying it will include virtually everyone as DNA is left at such spots before and after the incident by several people who may have nothing to do with the case.

The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Bill, 2019, seeks to establish a National DNA Data Bank and Regional DNA Data banks to store and maintain the DNA profiles in accordance with the provisions relating to the use and access to information, its retention and expunction.

The 32-member Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, headed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, tabled its report before Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Two members of the panel, Asaduddin Owaisi, a Lok Sabha member from Telangana, and Binoy Viswam, a Rajya Sabha member representing Kerala, have submitted a dissent note.

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The Bill seeks to address concerns related to quality, accuracy and security of data and other matters related to the use of DNA technology.

The panel also raised concerns about the DNA data banks.

“There is also DNA to be present of those who were nowhere near [the] crime scene but bodily material like hair may have been transported to the crime scene inadvertently by a variety of ways,” the report said.

It added that many of these DNA profiles will then find their way into the “crime scene index” without the knowledge of these persons.

It suggested that crime scene DNA profiles can be used in investigation and trial, but the profiles should not be put in a data bank. Rather, they should be destroyed if the case concludes with acquittal.

“If there is a conviction, only the DNA profile of the convict could be included in the data bank,” it added.

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This is a fundamental issue on which it has not been possible to arrive at a consensus, the report said.

Some members feel that the crime scene index is unnecessary and not a required feature to solve crimes. Some other members favour the retention of this clause in the Bill.

The Bill was first introduced in Lok Sabha by Harsh Vardhan as the minister for science and technology in August 2018 and passed in January 2019. However, the Bill lapsed due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha.

After the reconstitution of the government following the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the cabinet approved the Bill and it was introduced in Lok Sabha again in July 2019.

In October 2019, the Bill was referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change by the Rajya Sabha chairman in consultation with the Lok Sabha speaker.

Parliamentary Panel Criticises Delay of Tejas Aircraft Programme

Lack of coordination and a “casual approach” in enforcing timelines delayed the fighter aircraft for more than 30 years, the Public Accounts Committee said.

New Delhi: Lack of coordination among stakeholders and the “casual approach” of the monitoring agencies in enforcing timelines led to delays of more than 30 years in implementation of the Tejas aircraft programme, a parliamentary committee said on Tuesday.

In its report, the Public Accounts Committee of Lok Sabha said the project sanctioned in 1983 was delayed due to a range of reasons including issues relating to the jet’s engine, weapons package and time taken to roll out the prototypes.

The report mentioned the “casual approach” of the monitoring agencies in enforcing timelines and said it led to “inexplicable delays” of more than 30 years on the ambitious defence project.

The report of the committee, headed by Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, was tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The committee expressed the view that monitoring bodies with participation from the highest levels in the ministries of defence and finance could not succeed in ensuring proper coordination from the various work centres, resulting in the delay.

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The report referred to the submission by the Indian Air Force (IAF) that inclusion of newer weapons was necessitated due to systems and weapons becoming “irrelevant” in the backdrop of the extended schedule of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. It noted that the addition of new weapons by the air headquarters for giving an operational edge to the LCA necessitated design changes on the aircraft.

The panel also said that formation of a liaison group right from the early stages of the LCA programme would have ensured close interaction between the design team and the user for better appreciation of mutual perception. “This would have resolved many issues related to LCA Mk-l’s shortfalls,” it said.

The report also mentioned the defence ministry’s reply stated that formation of the standing liaison group before 2007 would not have yielded fruitful results since expertise of the IAF personnel was not in the area of design of the aircraft.

At the same time, the committee said it was amazed to note that the ministry, in its action taken replies, submitted that participation of IAF has been ensured in all major reviews of the LCA programme.

Also read: IAF’s Fanciful Ambitions Now Risk Exceeding India’s Declining Defence Budget

It said the LCA Mark II in its latest configuration evolved into an altogether new military fighter in the medium weight category. It said lessons learnt from LCA Mark I programme should be kept in mind during the execution of LCA Mark-II programme to contain delays.

Tejas, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), is a single engine and highly agile multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments.

The Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month approved the deal for procurement of the 73 Tejas Mk-IA variant and ten LCA Tejas Mk-I trainer aircraft from HAL to boost IAF’s combat prowess.

The Tejas Mk-IA will be equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar, beyond visual range missile, electronic warfare suite and air-to-air refuelling system.