The issue of passport to applicants – for renewal/ issue of fresh passport oftenly gets delayed. The remarks made are - “Your police report was incomplete. It is therefore return to the concerned police authority for completion.”
In Ghaziabad (U.P.) enquiries of passport applicants are made by LIU & police staff. There are clear directives to complete the enquiry within 45 days of making the application.
It is not advised to applicant on what counts/ reason the police report was deemed incomplete. The hardships are caused to applicants of passport by carelessness of the police. There is need to evolve systems so that this avoidable situation is not created and public does not have to suffer due to the carelessness of the police department.
I wish to suggest that precise reasons for incomplete reports be given to applicants. This would help in –
• Judicious use of time of the passport officer, passport office employees and applicant
• Avoiding unnecessary travel of passport applicants for visits to Passport Office and police officers.
• Avoiding unnecessary use of fuel. It would mean saving of foreign reserves.
• Lessening environmental pollution and decongestion of roads.
• Unnecessary assembly of crowd at the passport office and
• keep a check on corruption.
It has been observed by the author that Rs. 700/- have been demanded by staff collecting information for submitting favorable police report. The authorities can make the process of police report transparent by publishing procedures and systems of police report and providing a copy of related report to applicant by the reporting staff.
12-Feb-08
Monday, February 11, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Electricity Shortage – the solution lies in putting large gensets in PPP
Many states in north India particularly Uttar Pradesh is reeling under severe electricity shortage since 1972. During these years Uttar Pradesh has seen many Governments. These Governments were run by parties like Bhartiya Janta Party; Bahujan Samaj Party; Congress, Samajwadi Party etc. Leaders and ministers of all these parties from time to time and many a times have announced that there will be no shortage of electric power within 3 years. But with each successive year problem is getting severe. Many socio-economic problems have emerged due to electricity shortage. Poor utilization of man and machines, pollution caused by DG Sets and inverters, inconvenience to house wives, spoiling of food in refrigerators, related health problems.
I have been observing the press reports and press briefings of UPPCL during last one year during different seasons like spring, summers, monsoon, fall and winters. All press reports and press briefings of UPPCL explain that due to excessive demand and some or other breakdown there is power shortage.
This year during January the power corporation spokes person said that due to severe winters the demand has gone very high as such cut have been necessitated. Some time due to cold season faults have caused interruption in supply. In February the winters receded and UPPCL was hopeful to revise and curtail power cuts, but the situation remained same.
The spring season came in the month of March. Severe winters gave way to pleasant weather. Neither heaters nor Air Conditioners were needed due to favorable weather. But the power cuts remained more or less same. The generation was said to be low due to lower availability of water in reservoirs.
After the spring season came in the month of April there was no betterment in power supply, although the higher temperatures helped nature to melt more snow in hilly areas. But even with the improved availability of water and the Hydro Power Generation, UPPCL was unable to meet the demand and ensure continuous supply of electric power.
In the months of May, June and July the scheduled and un-scheduled cuts were due to severe heat and the increase in demand and more cuts were enforced.
Whatever, they may say, the reason for all these scheduled and un-scheduled power cuts is one i.e. the deficit of availability of power in comparison to demand.
The question is - what are the answers to meet the ever growing demand of the electric power. What are the short and long term measures that can be adopted to create more generation capacities?
The long term measure of course is to create new and additional power generation capacities be it thermal, hydro, atomic and non conventional. It is sad that adequate power generation stations have not come up during last several years and there are no hopes of new power generation stations getting commissioned in the near future.
The sort term measure is to create diesel/ FO/ LDO/ Natural Gas based power generation capacities in the range of 2 MW to 10 MW at the existing 33/ 11 KV sub stations of UPPCL. To start with this can be started as a pilot project in the sub-stations serving planned commercial areas in the district towns. These 2 MW to 10 MW capacity generating sets can be outsourced from third parties on usage basis. UPPCL need not invest a single pie in generating sets. A few years back there were some Diesel Power Stations run/managed by erstwhile UPSEB. These could not be maintained properly and run efficiently under that management, were closed permanently and later decommissioned and scrapped.
To meet the power Diesel Generating Sets are in use in commercial areas in all the cities - Lucknow, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Moradabad and others. A number of these generating sets are installed in common/ public areas and cause air and noise pollution. The air in these areas is full of exhaust emitted by such generating sets and it becomes difficult to breathe there.
Now a days, in urban areas almost every house hold has inverter. The average cost of a set battery and inverter is more than Rs. 10,000/-. Normally, the batteries carry a warranty of 12 months. The batteries on an average need replacement after about 15 - 18 months and cost of a battery is about Rs. 5,000/-. i.e. about Rs. 275/- per month. If round the clock electric supply is assured people may be asked to pay more. For this purpose UPPCL may lay an additional conductor in target 24/7 power supply areas.
The pollution caused by Inverters and small Generating sets is not yet widely discussed by environmentalists. But it is a growing concern that can cause severe health problems. Inverters like other electronic gadgets create ozone, which reacts with various other commonly found chemicals to produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These agents create a smog (a smog is formed when a plethora of pollutants react in the presence of light). Smog affects the upper respiratory tract of humans and inside the office it is really dangerous. Humans get sick, feel tired, irritable, and have a dry throat or blocked noses or headaches due to unhealthy air in homes/ offices. The situation has not yet switched panic buttons. The home smog is going to soon acquire the attention of environmentalists and scientists.
The pollution caused by lead acid batteries in their life cycle is well known. The pollution is caused at every stage – manufacturing, use and disposal of used batteries. In India the disposal of used batteries is largely in unorganized sector, where workers are totally ignorant about the environment, pollution and their work related health hazards.
Another question comes to my mind is how much petroleum products and power is spent on producing raw materials used to manufacture batteries and inverters. The raw materials are also used for assembly of batteries, inverters, their packing, distribution etc. Similarly for Gensets how much power is spent on producing the raw materials for making engines and alternators and assembly there of. There is a need for energy audit of this important aspect to formulate and design policies to protect environment.
If we look at the total capital invested in Inverters and individual Gensets installed all over the state, it would easily suffice for establishment of similar or larger capacity large power plant.
There are parties who provide power Generation Services. They offer 1-10 MW captive power on Build Own & Operate basis. The capital investment is also looked after by them. I have come across one such party we came across at www.vimalenergy.com.
I have been observing the press reports and press briefings of UPPCL during last one year during different seasons like spring, summers, monsoon, fall and winters. All press reports and press briefings of UPPCL explain that due to excessive demand and some or other breakdown there is power shortage.
This year during January the power corporation spokes person said that due to severe winters the demand has gone very high as such cut have been necessitated. Some time due to cold season faults have caused interruption in supply. In February the winters receded and UPPCL was hopeful to revise and curtail power cuts, but the situation remained same.
The spring season came in the month of March. Severe winters gave way to pleasant weather. Neither heaters nor Air Conditioners were needed due to favorable weather. But the power cuts remained more or less same. The generation was said to be low due to lower availability of water in reservoirs.
After the spring season came in the month of April there was no betterment in power supply, although the higher temperatures helped nature to melt more snow in hilly areas. But even with the improved availability of water and the Hydro Power Generation, UPPCL was unable to meet the demand and ensure continuous supply of electric power.
In the months of May, June and July the scheduled and un-scheduled cuts were due to severe heat and the increase in demand and more cuts were enforced.
Whatever, they may say, the reason for all these scheduled and un-scheduled power cuts is one i.e. the deficit of availability of power in comparison to demand.
The question is - what are the answers to meet the ever growing demand of the electric power. What are the short and long term measures that can be adopted to create more generation capacities?
The long term measure of course is to create new and additional power generation capacities be it thermal, hydro, atomic and non conventional. It is sad that adequate power generation stations have not come up during last several years and there are no hopes of new power generation stations getting commissioned in the near future.
The sort term measure is to create diesel/ FO/ LDO/ Natural Gas based power generation capacities in the range of 2 MW to 10 MW at the existing 33/ 11 KV sub stations of UPPCL. To start with this can be started as a pilot project in the sub-stations serving planned commercial areas in the district towns. These 2 MW to 10 MW capacity generating sets can be outsourced from third parties on usage basis. UPPCL need not invest a single pie in generating sets. A few years back there were some Diesel Power Stations run/managed by erstwhile UPSEB. These could not be maintained properly and run efficiently under that management, were closed permanently and later decommissioned and scrapped.
To meet the power Diesel Generating Sets are in use in commercial areas in all the cities - Lucknow, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Moradabad and others. A number of these generating sets are installed in common/ public areas and cause air and noise pollution. The air in these areas is full of exhaust emitted by such generating sets and it becomes difficult to breathe there.
Now a days, in urban areas almost every house hold has inverter. The average cost of a set battery and inverter is more than Rs. 10,000/-. Normally, the batteries carry a warranty of 12 months. The batteries on an average need replacement after about 15 - 18 months and cost of a battery is about Rs. 5,000/-. i.e. about Rs. 275/- per month. If round the clock electric supply is assured people may be asked to pay more. For this purpose UPPCL may lay an additional conductor in target 24/7 power supply areas.
The pollution caused by Inverters and small Generating sets is not yet widely discussed by environmentalists. But it is a growing concern that can cause severe health problems. Inverters like other electronic gadgets create ozone, which reacts with various other commonly found chemicals to produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These agents create a smog (a smog is formed when a plethora of pollutants react in the presence of light). Smog affects the upper respiratory tract of humans and inside the office it is really dangerous. Humans get sick, feel tired, irritable, and have a dry throat or blocked noses or headaches due to unhealthy air in homes/ offices. The situation has not yet switched panic buttons. The home smog is going to soon acquire the attention of environmentalists and scientists.
The pollution caused by lead acid batteries in their life cycle is well known. The pollution is caused at every stage – manufacturing, use and disposal of used batteries. In India the disposal of used batteries is largely in unorganized sector, where workers are totally ignorant about the environment, pollution and their work related health hazards.
Another question comes to my mind is how much petroleum products and power is spent on producing raw materials used to manufacture batteries and inverters. The raw materials are also used for assembly of batteries, inverters, their packing, distribution etc. Similarly for Gensets how much power is spent on producing the raw materials for making engines and alternators and assembly there of. There is a need for energy audit of this important aspect to formulate and design policies to protect environment.
If we look at the total capital invested in Inverters and individual Gensets installed all over the state, it would easily suffice for establishment of similar or larger capacity large power plant.
There are parties who provide power Generation Services. They offer 1-10 MW captive power on Build Own & Operate basis. The capital investment is also looked after by them. I have come across one such party we came across at www.vimalenergy.com.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Encroachment – the problem and solution
There is an urgent need to review the whole problem of encroachments, its causes, identification and enforcement. A policy need to be formulated on national level so that offenders may be noticed immediately and abuse of public property and roads may be contained. There are many types of encroachments. Some are big, some are small.
Parking of cars on pavements meant for use by pedestrians.
Putting up Gensets in front of shops/ houses etc.
Installation of signboards on shoulders of the roads.
Putting chairs etc. on roads and blocking free flow of traffic.
Stacking of building material.
Building Ramps.
Fencings in front of houses
In many cases land belonging to village panchayat, Municipal bodies, Development Authorities and Government has been encroached and sold on fake papers. Due to ignorance and rampant encroachment the people at times do not even think that they are encroaching upon public areas.
The encroachments can be broadly classified as under;
Moving encroachers – thelis, carts, vendors
Permanent encroachers – Dhabas, khokas, shops, ramps, fencings, road side shops, houses on public place
Parking encroachers – use of public property for parking and blocking available space
Mid road encroachers – by stopping by buses, autos to pick/ drop passengers.
The loss caused by these encroachers is very high in terms of pollution caused and law and issues. Whenever encroachments are removed, there is use of police force, road blocks, traffic disruption, eruption of law and order problem, use of public resources and disruption in normal and productive functioning of concerned officers and law enforcing machinery. There are uncountable nos. of violent incidents reported by press between encroachers and their supports with police, Government officials and other law enforcement agencies during removal of encroachments.
The loss caused due to encroachment on roads is unimaginable. Take the time wasted by a number of bureaucrats, officers, ordinary people, students, house wives who use roads due to varying nature - to attend offices, to fetch the children from schools etc. The plight of users of roads is best known to them. Also add the loss in productivity, the extra fuel burned, the extra wear and tear of idling vehicles, additional pollution caused and extra fuel burned due to encroachers.
There is substantial economic and social loss. The moods and tempers are affected often resulting in road rage cases. The cost of time not spent with family or in leisure. In short each day we under go a substantial loss every day.
The present system of saving public property from encroachers has failed – be it the property of Development Authorities, Municipal Authorities, government departments and police. In 60 years since independence the authorities have failed to formulate and publish a National Policy.
Do we care? Does anybody care? Does the police care? Does administrative officers care?
The only way to create space for planned development and ensure free flow of traffic is to prevent further encroachments and clear present and existing encroachments by creating a (non governmental) specialized tech savvy force on national level. The use of technology/ imaging and timely action is the only way to nip this problem in the bud. To avoid corruption and malpractices in identifying, prosecution and removal of encroachers technology driven evidences must be introduced by capturing images of encroachment. Fast track courts dedicated to deal with encroachment related cases may also be established to ensure timely and effective punishment.
The rampant encroachments of all sorts show total collapse of existing monitoring, enforcement and prevention machinery of various government departments.
Parking of cars on pavements meant for use by pedestrians.
Putting up Gensets in front of shops/ houses etc.
Installation of signboards on shoulders of the roads.
Putting chairs etc. on roads and blocking free flow of traffic.
Stacking of building material.
Building Ramps.
Fencings in front of houses
In many cases land belonging to village panchayat, Municipal bodies, Development Authorities and Government has been encroached and sold on fake papers. Due to ignorance and rampant encroachment the people at times do not even think that they are encroaching upon public areas.
The encroachments can be broadly classified as under;
Moving encroachers – thelis, carts, vendors
Permanent encroachers – Dhabas, khokas, shops, ramps, fencings, road side shops, houses on public place
Parking encroachers – use of public property for parking and blocking available space
Mid road encroachers – by stopping by buses, autos to pick/ drop passengers.
The loss caused by these encroachers is very high in terms of pollution caused and law and issues. Whenever encroachments are removed, there is use of police force, road blocks, traffic disruption, eruption of law and order problem, use of public resources and disruption in normal and productive functioning of concerned officers and law enforcing machinery. There are uncountable nos. of violent incidents reported by press between encroachers and their supports with police, Government officials and other law enforcement agencies during removal of encroachments.
The loss caused due to encroachment on roads is unimaginable. Take the time wasted by a number of bureaucrats, officers, ordinary people, students, house wives who use roads due to varying nature - to attend offices, to fetch the children from schools etc. The plight of users of roads is best known to them. Also add the loss in productivity, the extra fuel burned, the extra wear and tear of idling vehicles, additional pollution caused and extra fuel burned due to encroachers.
There is substantial economic and social loss. The moods and tempers are affected often resulting in road rage cases. The cost of time not spent with family or in leisure. In short each day we under go a substantial loss every day.
The present system of saving public property from encroachers has failed – be it the property of Development Authorities, Municipal Authorities, government departments and police. In 60 years since independence the authorities have failed to formulate and publish a National Policy.
Do we care? Does anybody care? Does the police care? Does administrative officers care?
The only way to create space for planned development and ensure free flow of traffic is to prevent further encroachments and clear present and existing encroachments by creating a (non governmental) specialized tech savvy force on national level. The use of technology/ imaging and timely action is the only way to nip this problem in the bud. To avoid corruption and malpractices in identifying, prosecution and removal of encroachers technology driven evidences must be introduced by capturing images of encroachment. Fast track courts dedicated to deal with encroachment related cases may also be established to ensure timely and effective punishment.
The rampant encroachments of all sorts show total collapse of existing monitoring, enforcement and prevention machinery of various government departments.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Make Kidney Transplant - Transparent
In the last week of January 2008, all the news papers and news channels were full of Kidney Transplant Racket. Some doctors were accused of taking out the kidneys of poor people with out their knowledge and transplanting them in the bodies of needy persons of many nationalities, religion and faiths.
There are number of people under going renal dialysis, many amongst them are in need of Kidney Transplant. There are willing and unwilling donors and sellers also. The people under going renal dialysis need Kidney Transplant. In India, legally only blood relatives can ‘donate’ their kidney to their relatives for Kidney Transplant. Many a times desired parameters of donors and recipients do not match for transplant and then people resort to illegal options.
The need of the hour is to make easier laws for this transplant. One step in this direction would be to legalise the swap i.e. any two donors can swap their kidneys for their blood relatives. This will to an extent would control a large chunk of illegal activity.
Globally, the numbers of kidney patients are growing every year and more and more people want their kidneys to be transplanted. These numbers can be worked out by collecting data from Renal Dialysis Centers.
It is possible to centralize details of all donors and recipients willing and awaiting for a kidney transplant. The registrations can be stored in a single national/ international server. Similarly, we can have registrations of blood relatives. If these people are willing they can swap the kidneys for transplant for their relatives.
An organisation similar to The National Securities Depository Ltd; can handle all data, transactions and a central server can handle all registrations. There would not be more than 100,000 entries per year. The hospitals, consultants and doctors can be linked to the server. There can also be licensed agents with access to the server. This will:
• Ensure that all registrations, relationship, etc., are transparent and verifiable
• Help donors and recipients track people willing to swap
• Help in tracking transplant activities
• Help in locating doctors, hospitals, their charges and their track record
• Assist officials in tracing the data which may be helpful in research and policy formulation.
There is need to amend the relevant laws and rules for the benefit of humanity.
There are number of people under going renal dialysis, many amongst them are in need of Kidney Transplant. There are willing and unwilling donors and sellers also. The people under going renal dialysis need Kidney Transplant. In India, legally only blood relatives can ‘donate’ their kidney to their relatives for Kidney Transplant. Many a times desired parameters of donors and recipients do not match for transplant and then people resort to illegal options.
The need of the hour is to make easier laws for this transplant. One step in this direction would be to legalise the swap i.e. any two donors can swap their kidneys for their blood relatives. This will to an extent would control a large chunk of illegal activity.
Globally, the numbers of kidney patients are growing every year and more and more people want their kidneys to be transplanted. These numbers can be worked out by collecting data from Renal Dialysis Centers.
It is possible to centralize details of all donors and recipients willing and awaiting for a kidney transplant. The registrations can be stored in a single national/ international server. Similarly, we can have registrations of blood relatives. If these people are willing they can swap the kidneys for transplant for their relatives.
An organisation similar to The National Securities Depository Ltd; can handle all data, transactions and a central server can handle all registrations. There would not be more than 100,000 entries per year. The hospitals, consultants and doctors can be linked to the server. There can also be licensed agents with access to the server. This will:
• Ensure that all registrations, relationship, etc., are transparent and verifiable
• Help donors and recipients track people willing to swap
• Help in tracking transplant activities
• Help in locating doctors, hospitals, their charges and their track record
• Assist officials in tracing the data which may be helpful in research and policy formulation.
There is need to amend the relevant laws and rules for the benefit of humanity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
