Unnat Himachal Abhiyan in compatibility to the UBA:2.0 can change to picture of Rural Development

Health Services in Remote Areas of Himachal Pradesh

Ignoring reservation policy not less than a conspiracy against the weaker section

Ignoring reservation policy not less than a conspiracy against the weaker section

Himachal Pradesh is abode of 25 per cent schedule castes, five percent schedule tribe, more than 15 per cent OBCs and disabled population is 2.25 per cent among the total population i.e. 68 Lakh. In Continuity to the provisions enshrined in our constitution there are mammoth machinery at the centre and in the state to cater the interests of these marginal groups more so the whole state ministry is in existence in HP too.

There are many organisations in the state claiming to be the vanguard of these depressed communities naming as morchas, manch and claiming them self de facto fighter apart from of political parties.  However the university which is known as den of scholars and visionary peoples, the Himachal Pradesh University have ignored the reservation policy while advertising 224 seats for the admission to Ph.D in different subjects.

It is pertinent here the University Grant Commission is the apex body to regulations on minimum standards of education and its notification appeared in the Gazette of India on the month of May, 2016 its clause 5.2.3 clearly envisages that adhere to the National/state reservation policy, as applicable. In the light of UGC above notification university is bound to follow the state reservation policy at the time of admission in 224 Ph.D. seats.

The state government in Himachal Pradesh is giving reservation in different way e.g. in government services for class I & II for SC’s 15 per cent, ST’s 5 per cent, OBC’s 12 per cent and for PwD it is 3 per cent, for class-III & IV there is 22 per cent for SC’s, 7.5 per cent for ST’s, 18 per cent for OBC’s and 3 per cent for disabled.

In the light of above state reservation Policy University has to follow the same pattern while granting admission not only in to M.Phil & Ph.D courses but for other post-graduate and graduate courses as well.

In the university the office of the dean of studies is empowered to conduct all entrance, other semester and annual examinations free and transparent manner by considering university’s and UGC’s regulations and various government rules. While talking about the transparency it is the paramount duty of the two offices, the office of Dean of Studies and Controller of Examination to ensure transparency as well as secrecy.  

It is again evident the Himachal Pradesh University campus is highly volatile with respect to the students politics and many teaching personal are directly office bearer to students’ as well as party’s mass organisations. In that situation it is suggested to these responsible offices to set the question papers from experts of other university or the institution instead of same department of the university. 

There are various Acts being enacted by the parliament such as SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocity) Act, 1989 to ensure the rights of the concerned communities and prevent atrocities on them. Therefore ignoring the important reservation policy in the light of clear cut notification by the university grant commission may be viewed not less than conspiracy against the SC’’s, ST’s and OBC’s and may be covered under these Acts as such. The act of ignoring the reservation policy is a just mistake for the perpetrators but for aggrieved it is future and the sole responsibility is of the state to protect the fundamental right of an individual and upholds the rule of law. 

On Medical Education-original article

Himachal Pradesh should handle the center offer wisely and keep the public interest on priority

Institutionally, there are ample medical institutions i.e. Health Centers, Primary Health Centers, Community Health Centers, Civil Hospitals, District and Zonal Hospital in Himachal Pradesh. Besides these Institutions there Ayurvedic Health Institutions also to cater the health services throughout the state. The premier institution like Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla and Dr. Rajindera Prasad Medical College, Tanda and Kamla Nehru Hospital, Shimla delivering fantastic health services to the people in given situation. Due to the touch and hilly geographical condition it is almost impossible to approach this premier health institution be it IGMC, RPMC or KNH therefore in the rural health infrastructure is needs to be strengthen. 

The health department report itself reveals that the most of the rural health institution in the state are running acute shortage of medical and para-medical staff e.g. as per the guidelines of Medical Council of India (MCI) there should be at least four medical specialists in a CHC but is pity that in Himachal Pradesh there around 76 CHC all are dry and only one or two medical officer are keeping its door just open. 

The state government is failing to stay the doctors in government service after the completion of compulsory time period majority of the doctors are leaving government job and opening their own hospital or clinic and some of them are joining private hospital.

The challenge before the government is to produce more doctors and specialist and then keep them stay in government services. With the opening of new medical colleges at Chamba, Sirmaur and Hamirpur and shifting the ESI Medical College to Himachal Pradesh has expended the people’s expectation for having good health services and producing more doctors, specialist and super specialists.   

This is crucial time for the people that the state cabinet has decided to run ESI medical college on self finance basis. The repercussion of its functioning would be the paid services for the people with user charges and paid seats of MBBS and others with huge fee in multi lakhs rupees. This ultimately will not be in favor of Himachali people and out their pocket or reach.

There is justification of limited paying capacity of people of the state as the socio-economic and cast census (SECC) reveals that, out of total households of Himachal Pradesh 1263756 which constitute 88.54 percent is rural. The dominant rural population are dependent is dependent on their petty and limited agricultural activities. The land holding of these rural household is too small which constitute around one hectare only. Meanwhile, the 66 per cent of total geographical area of the state is under the forest department and there is only 11.17 per cent land where agriculture activities are conducted by state’s peasantry. The bulk of that land, around 66.85 per cent is un-irrigated or dependant on monsoon.   

Operation of these medical college on self finance basis in not in the favor of state, where 23.5 per cent household member are government job but  21.48 per cent are earning highest income less than Rs. 5000/- in a month. Just imagine how their sibling can think of paying multi lakhs rupees fee for MBBS and how these family can think of have health services in these medical college where state government is planning to run on the basis of self financing.

Let’s take this discussion in other mode the issue of site location of central university is hanging in pendulum even after passing more than five years. The better and prudent decision would had been to upgrade the only state university i.e. Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla as central university and the oldest university’s regional center Dharamshala as state university. But our political bosses went on another mode to distribute this national importance institution in to geographic divide.

Similarly, the fear is about the debut of AIIMS at Bilaspur in this case the wise decision should be to cash the opportunity in hand to immediately open the AIIMS at recently transferred ESIC hospital, Mandi. The three medical colleges sanctioned in UPA regime, shift one among them to Bilaspur.  Though, this is not a big deal to have such instant decision if the leaders from both parties in Himachal Pradesh think in this direction or keeps the public interest prior than to the political gain. 

Therefore keening in view of the state economy and socio-economic background of stats population where around 23 per cent of populations are scheduled caste and having very poor background economically, government should seriously revisit the decision and run ESI Hospital and other three medical colleges as the already medical colleges and Hospital like IGMC, RPMC, and KNH are functioning. Only then there will be benefit of having such important institution in the state and then the population will be benefited if they get subsidized MBBS seats for their sibling and cater free health facilities to common people.

Our government should be wise enough to handle the center government offer of sanctioning institutions of national repute be it PGI or CU no matter it is UPA or NDA in centre and BJP or Congress in State.

On Medical Colleges

Government Insensitive to Anti-Peasant Issue-Himachal This Week 09/07/2016

Peasantry in crisis in Himachal Pradesh

Peasantry in crisis in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a hilly state where agriculture land is about11.17 percent of the total geographical area and with satellite images it is about 17 percent of the total area. The total land holding in the state are 9, 60,765 out which majority of the farmers are small and marginal farmers. The land holding are very small which is around one acre; this small holding for the survival of a family is not sufficient. So, the poor farmers have encroached upon the surrounding land which is adjacent to their land for cultivation. Many has built houses, cowshed and few have also developed apple orchards on this encroached land.

The apple growing districts of the state namely Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur and Chamba farmers have planted apple trees on the encroached land. There are few rich and middle peasants who have encroachment on gigantic parts of the forest land and cut the forests too. The consecutive state Governments of both BJP and Congress parties has not intervened during the encroachment of the land because of the fear of losing of voters’ base in different elections. Meanwhile some individual environmentalist went to Court and files a PIL against the farmer who have encroached the forest, common and Government land. Due to the disintegration of the land holding among the families it is increasingly becoming smaller day by day. The survival of a family on such a small holding has becoming very difficult. The Nautor Act 1968 was introduced to give land to these poor farmers who mostly belonged to the schedule caste and OBC category. But after the Forest Conservation Act 1980, the 66 percent land comes under the forest department whether there are tree or not. In Kullu district 90 percent land belongs to forest department.  The Nautor policy of the Government was abandoned due to FCA-1980.

Now no other option was left for the peasants except to encroachment of the forest land for their survival. The BJP Government was in power in 2002 when it amended the Himachal Pradesh Land Revenue Act 1954 and Section 163-A was incorporated to this Act. BJP Government made a policy with above mentioned amendment and promised to regularize the land which is in the possession of farmers up to 4 acres consisting of its own plus encroached land. The Government printed a declaration form having cost Rs. 50/- which was filled and deposited by 1,67,000 approximately along with the affidavit that they are in possession of forest as well as Government land. Huge corruption was noticed during this process at all leval. But in the Assembly elections BJP lost the election and congress party came to power and Virbhadra Singh became the Chief Minister. He used these affidavits filed by the farmers as evidence against them and eviction of farmers started in 2005-06. The fruit bearing apple tree of farmers were cut by the forest department. Meanwhile, in many places the Himachal Kisan Sabha resisted this move of the Government. A PIL was filed against the regularization by Ms. Poonam Gupta in the High Court which is still pending and subsequently many other individuals also filed cases in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh against the encroachment. In one of these cases on April 6^th, 2015 High Court furnished an order that the government and forest department should remove the encroachments from the forest land and cut down the Apple trees.

The Government took this order an opportunity to evict the farmers. Later on 20^th July the previous order of 6^th April was amended and new order of pruning of apple tree was given by the high court. But the forest department and government is not implementing the said order. The cutting of apple tree and removing houses and cowsheds is still on. The families whose apples trees have been cut down through this anti peasant governments’ eviction derive are poor and marginal farmers mostly schedule castes, widows and OBCs.  The water and electricity connections of the houses are being disconnected by the respective departments. Even in the tribal district Lahaul & Spiti the electricity and water connection of 192 houses has been disconnected in the chilled winter of 2015.  It is important to note here that families had shifted their house to escape from the hazardous glacier fed area.  Since independence many acts came in to force for the protection tribal people are seems to be meaningless for them as they are not being implemented after passing many years e.g. be it PESA-1996 or Forest Rights Act 2006. It is pathetic that on the issue of so called encroachment in the tribal area of Lahaul & Spiti, the tribal advisory council (TAC) a constitutional body is silent or inactive which raises a big question on the function of the government.

The Himachal Kisan Sabha is fighting against this eviction drive since May 2015. Two state level Rallies on 27 August and 16 December 2015 were organized in Shimla. At lower level, where the Kisan Sabha is strong it is resisting the drive by not allowing the forest officials to cut the apple trees. The Himachal State Assembly passed a resolution “Sankalp Resolution” unanimously on 28^th August 2015. But the Government is not implementing the resolution it has passed.

A state level convention on the issue of eviction was organized by the state committee of Kisan Sabha on 20^th February 2016 at Shimla. In this convention 72 days long struggle was planned to stop the eviction drive of state government. On 3-4 May 24 hour’s dharna was organized in front of the State Government Secretariat at Shimla in which around 1500 peasants participated from different parts of the state. A delegation of Kisan Sabha met the Chief Minister who assured that it will not evict poor farmers who have land holding less than ten bighas.

Menace of wild animals

In Himachal Pradesh, the Kisan Sabha and Kheti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti are fighting against this menace since eleven years. On 24^th May, 2016 the Central Government through its advisory issued that the MC Shimla and 35 tehsil and sub tehsil, the monkeys were declared vermin for six months. But the Government is not killing them and many NGO have filed petition in High Court and Supreme Court against scientific killing of monkeys. The Kisan Sabha is demanding that the monkeys should be declared vermin throughout the state except the two tehsils of Lahoul Sapiti. The Kisan front is campaigning for this issue and 25^th to 30^th June demonstration will be held throughout the state.

In nutshell the governments in the state are playing a wicked politics by way of just blaming each other but both are proved insensitive to settle down the current issue of anti peasant issue. It is high time to settle down the issue of eviction by sparing proper time for discussion in monsoon session of state assembly.