Opinion UP’s ‘land grab’

The editorial says the UP government builds expressways by acquiring large tracts of land and handing them over to favoured companies for not just building the expressway but also townships and malls: “This is naked loot of the land resources of the farmers and handing them over to big business and real estate sharks.” The article calls for immediate passage of the land acquisition bill,but says that more is needed. “The practice of handing over land cheaply to real estate companies and corporates through state intervention should be put an end to forthwith,” it says.

Raja’s other services

Another article says the 2G scam did not end with spectrum allotment; as telecom minister,A. Raja also directed state-owned BSNL to provide roaming services to new companies that had received licenses but had no infrastructure. Additionally,restrictions were put on BSNL for procuring equipment. “The roaming was not the usual one of extending services to customers of other companies when they are outside their licensed area,but providing such roaming service even within the licensed area of the company,” the article says. Without putting up any cells or towers,these companies could provide services by riding on BSNL’s infrastructure. No other telecom company was asked to provide such services to the new entrants.

The article argues that such a move was unheard of. “Obviously,this was using BSNL’s resources to its detriment to help subsidise the operations of companies such as Reliance,Swan and others…. One of the reasons that Unitech and Swan could sell their shares at such high prices was because they could also claim they had started services and acquired subscribers,all piggy-backing on BSNL.” It says Raja had also ensured that BSNL could not place orders for new equipment and get new customers: “While BSNL has been barred from procuring Chinese equipment for security reasons,other private operators have not been so barred.”

Jairam’s ‘image-building’

An article in the CPI’s New Age focuses on the environment ministry’s recent clearance to construction of the last five spillway gates at the Maheshwar hydroelectric power project on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh,and Jairam Ramesh’s assertion that he had no choice but to agree to lifting the stop-work order in view of the decisions taken at various meetings convened by the PMO with the MP government. The problem is not transparency,it says: “It is about governance,and basically about the concern for the common masses,being at the receiving end. The problem here is not whether the minister should have fought against the pressure internally,without getting it into public domain. It is the uncompromising battle that has to go on.”

The article says that the disclosures are meant only to “add shine to public pronouncements,a means towards image-building.” The paper substantiates: “It was the same Jairam Ramesh who had complained to the ethics committee that the members of Parliament have been putting pressure on him to clear the projects despite the environmental hazards involved,but since then he has failed to attend the follow up meetings of the committee… The same inclination for self enhancement has been visible in the context of almost all the projects,be it Posco or the Jaitapur nuclear power project.”

Compiled by Manoj C.G.