TOPIC-1: Making cities
clean and sustainable
Acentury
ago, Mahatma Gandhi lamented that the
Indian city was mostly a stinking den,
and Indians as a people were not used to city life. The squalid urban landscapes of the 21st century, with
mountains of garbage merely relocated to
the suburbs to maintain “clean cities”,
would seem to prove that not much has changed since then. The quest for clean cities has only grown more
complicated, as steady urbanisation is putting pressure on a poorly prepared
municipal administration system, and the more affluent
consumers produce ever-higher volumes of trash. The neglect of social housing,
sanitation and water supply has ensured that there is nothing like a truly
clean, green and sustainable city. It would not be fair, of course, to dismiss
the efforts of cities such as Mysuru, Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli, which have
scored the top three ranks in the competition organised by the Swachh Bharat
Mission of the Ministry of Urban Development to choose the cleanest cities for
2015. In fact, with the high level of political will now being shown to address
the problem of waste and filth, there has
never been a better time for State governments to act. Beyond the cosmetic
solution of removing waste to landfills or releasing untreated sewage into
hidden waterways, however, the challenge is staggering
— even with the 1.04 crore household toilets and five lakh community and public
toilets to be built, the sewage treatment capacity in cities would have to be
expanded by 63 per cent. The scenario is equally depressing for solid waste,
since only 20 per cent of it can be treated scientifically at present.
The Centre’s decision, against this
background, to ask fertilizer companies to sell municipal compost is among the
more promising initiatives to stem the rising pile
of trash. Cities can take a leaf out of international best practices, and
encourage communities to create food gardens in every area possible using this
resource. At the very least, reduction of garbage can be achieved if residents
start segregating their waste at home,
and municipalities acquire the systems to manage it. But there is a major
policy disconnect here, since tonnage-based contracts issued by cities have
created a vested interest in transporting waste to landfills, rather than to
reduce it through rules that require segregation, composting and recycling. The
imagery of the Swachh Bharat Mission,
which currently dwells on citizen
behaviour and the visual appeal of clean cities, needs to extend to waste
reduction and recycling. Building the necessary infrastructure is easier today,
since a variety of financial instruments are available, including Central
funds, corporate sponsorship and the Swachh Bharat cess on services that alone
will garner an estimated Rs.3,700 crore
during 2015-16. Achieving sustainable clean cities will ultimately depend on
the attention devoted to human development and environmental governance.
Without inclusive city planning, affordable housing, water and sanitation, the
trend of urbanisation can only add to the squalor
that depressed Gandhiji in Varanasi. This is the bulwark on which cities can
achieve cleanliness and good health.
VOCABULARY:
1.lamented : a
conventional way of describing someone who has died or something that has
ceased to exist.
2.stinking :
extremely.
3.squalid : (of a
place) extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or
neglect.
4.merely : just; only.
5.suburbs : an
outlying district of a city, especially a residential one.
6.quest : a long
or arduous search for something.
7.affluent :
(especially of a group or area) having a great deal of money; wealthy.
8.filth :
disgusting dirt.
9.staggering :
walk or move unsteadily, as if about to fall.
10.pile : a large
imposing building or group of buildings.
11.segregating :
the action or state of setting someone or something apart from others.
12.imagery :
visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.
13.dwells : live
in or at a specified place.
14.garner : gather
or collect (something, especially information or approval).
15.squalor : the
state of being extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of
poverty or neglect.
TOPIC-2: The curious
case of Justice Karnan
In the chronicles of aberrant
behaviour by judges, Justice C.S. Karnan of the Madras High Court would occupy
one of the most prominent spots. Few judges have by their conduct within and
outside the court damaged the standing of the judiciary to this degree or
exposed the helplessness of the system in dealing with over-the-top functioning.
The judge now appears to have crossed all bounds, and his understanding of the
law is such that he takes up the case of his own transfer to the Calcutta High
Court and “stays” the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India. This is
just the latest instance of his ways that have included, even as a sitting
judge, his going into the court when a Division Bench was hearing a petition on
the selection of judges and seeking to file an affidavit
opposing the list of appointees recommended by the Chief Justice. His
interaction with other judges in the High Court was found to be so offensive
that 21 of them signed a petition of complaint and a Chief Justice of the High
Court was constrained to send a formal
communication to the Chief Justice of India seeking
his transfer. To top it all, the Madras High Court registry had to file a
petition in the Supreme Court of India after he had passed a suo motu order
“staying” the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India transferring him and
get his order stayed. That he has frequently raised the issue of his caste
status — complaining to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and even
threatening to file criminal charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against chief justices and other judges —
in justification of his conduct, has only served to trivialise
the issue of caste discrimination and the genuine difficulties that Dalits face.
It is inconceivable that so long a
rope would have been given to any judge in a well-ordered democracy functioning
under the rule of law. It was almost two years ago that the Supreme Court
condemned Justice Karnan’s conduct in seeking to argue in another court as
“uncharitable and ungenerous, and … indecorous.”
Yet, he was allowed to continue with his ways, each subsequent episode marking
a new low. While his initial selection is itself testimony to the weakness of
the collegium system of appointments, the Karnan episode has brought to light
the inadequacies of
the judicial system in keeping its own house in order. Impeachment
is one option, but if a judge facing impeachment chooses to brazen it out rather than resign, it goes before
Parliament where political considerations come into play. Short of impeachment,
very few effective measures seem to be available. Even the remedy of transfer
now being applied would only shift the problem to another high court, though by
removing him out of his familiar circle of friends and supporters it may serve
to mute it. The most that can be said of the transfer is that it is better than
doing nothing.
VOCABULARY:
1.aberrant
: departing from an accepted standard.
2.instance:
an example or single occurrence of something.
3.affidavit
: a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as evidence
in court.
4.constrained : compel or force (someone) to follow a particular course of action.
5.seeking
: attempt to find (something).
6.trivialise : make (something) seem less important, significant, or complex than it
really is.
7.Dalits
: (in the traditional Indian caste system) a member of the lowest caste.
8.indecorous : not in keeping with good taste and propriety; improper.
9.inadequacies : the state or quality of being
inadequate; lack of the quantity or quality required.
10.Impeachment : formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity,
the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that
official from office as well as criminal or civil punishment.
11.brazen
: bold and without shame.
