7 CPC Solution to Pay Panel soon, Assures Raksha Mantri Parrikar

SOURCE:
http://bharatshakti.in/solution-to-pay-panel-issue-soon-assured-raksha-mantri-parrikar/



    PLEASE READ WITH A PINCH OF SALT

             Solution to Pay Panel soon, Assures

                      Raksha Mantri Parrikar

                                           By

                             Nitin A Gokhale

September 15, 2016; 

 

 

 

 

 

The current impasse over the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission award for the three armed forces will be resolved soon, Raksha Mantri Manohar Parrikar has asserted.

 

 

Speaking to BharatShakti.in, Mr. Parrikar in his first public comments over the deadlock said: “I am aware of the anomalies and shortcomings in the award for the military. The Service Chiefs have also briefed me again. I have assured them that I am confident of resolving issues very soon,” he said in a brief chat this evening.


 

Mr Parrikar said the three Service Chiefs raising the issue with him is not being viewed as defiance. “I only told them that we care for the forces and all concerns raised by them will be addressed by taking them up with the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister,” he added. The only way to find a solution to these issues is discussion, Mr Parrikar said. “The Service Chiefs know that I am using all the strength at my command to find a way out. You must understand that I got the gazette notification announcing the 7th Pay Commission amended to make sure the military retains its edge over the Central Armed Police Forces. Such a step has never been taken ( to amend a gazette notification),” he pointed out.

 

 

Although he refused to put a timeline for the resolution of the problems, the very fact that the Raksha Mantri met the Prime Minister last night and is understood to have apprised him of the all the points demonstrates the seriousness with which the government is treating the issue. Unlike earlier times, the issues will be resolvedwithout delay, Mr Parrikar said.

 

 

Asked why were these issues not resolved before the notification was issued, Mr. Parrikar pointed out that a cabinet notification cannot be corrected before it is notified. “The anomalies committees are meant to correct the shortcomings, ” he said

 

 

He asserted that at least three of the four major anomalies over which the service HQs are perturbed will be taken care of very soon. They are: 1. The entry level pay suppression in the middle ranks; 2. Non-functional Upgrade (NFU) and 3. Enhancement of Military Service Pay (MSP) for JCOs

 

 

Experts on Pay Commission issue say one way of overcoming the problem posed by no NFU to military personnel ( an anomaly from the earlier Pay panel) is to grant a one time notional NFU for pay scale fixation in the armed forces so as to maintain theequilibrium with other services

 

 

Mr Parrikar pointed out that most of the other anomalies are also carried over from the earlier Pay Commissions and will have to be taken up in the two committees formed to resolve them

 

 

The Raksha Mantri said he has asked the Service HQs to start implementing the benefits of the 7th Pay Commission to the troops as soon as possible. “The financial outgo of the corrections that will be made, is not likely to be more than Rs 600 crores and can be given out later, he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7TH CPC : " KABHI HAN ; KABHIE NA " - IT'S BECOMING A JOKE !!!

SOURCE : IESM





             PLEASE READ BOTTOM UPWARDS


                        FOURTH  POST

'Vinod Gandhi' via IESM_Group <iesm_group@googlegroups.com>	11:45 AM
to indianveterans,

Dear Veterans

Veterans have been short changed so many times by Politco/bureaucrat combine that we have no faith left in them. In the present situation the news which is coming is all too confusing and we need to keep our patience. All news reports are speculations and are planted to confuse the environment by planned leaks by the wily bureaucrats.   Veterans must check the authenticity of the news before giving comments and advisory. 

Our Chiefs are our representatives and are fully aware of the responsibility they carry. After all they are the chosen one to order the Military to go and face the enemy, Hence they will do their best to earn the respect of Military personnel in every situation. And this is the question of Izzat of Military.

The information which has come through many sources has indicated that Chiefs have taken a stand for the welfare and Izzat of the personnel they command. These are men of commitment and know their responsibility and hence will take actions which will be for the betterment of forces. 

On the other hand RM is also committed to take care of the Military because keeping up the morale of forces and keeping them up in high operational readiness is his primary duty. He cannot falter on this. 

It is likely to take some time for the real situation to emerge. We will probably know the real situation by the middle of next week. Veterans must only believe the news coming from Armed Forces Hq.

Political parties are also aware that ESM/military vote bank is 5 to 6 crore strong and is not committed to any party. This vote bank can swing and change the electoral scene if not given justice. 

 

Regards

Gp Capt VK Gandhi VSM
Gen Sec IESM

OROP is our right. Dilution in OROP will NOT be accepted.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/439033406123068/

 

IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WITHOUT A SMILE GIVE HIM ONE OF YOURS.

                                                    THIRD  POST




Sent: Saturday, 17 September 2016 9:44 PMSubject: Re: [indianveterans] Re:

7TH CPC : " KABHI HAN ; KABHIE NA " - IT'S BECOMING A JOKE !!! - TRIBUNE

 

Dear Members of Exwel Trust.

 I do not agree with the view of Cdr Ravi Pathak. It is not correct our part, as Veterans,  to cast aspersions on our own Serving Chiefs.  That also based on some scant information available to us through the Print Media.

  Let us wait for the facts to emerge.We all should be happy if our serving brothers and sisters are contended and continue their dedicated service to the Nation. That is the most important factor.

 

 

Col (Retd) TN Raman
E5/230, AWHO Parameswaran Vihar,
67, Arcot Road, Saligramam,
Chennai 600093
Mob: 0- 9840033326

On Saturday, 17 September 2016 3:17 PM, "Colonel Krishnam colonelkrishnan1@gmail.com [indianveterans]" <indianveterans@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Dear veteran cdr Ravi,

As a matured, old veteran this kind of negative statement is not expected from you. But what to do?
We all at liberty to mail whatever nonsence we want, without any knowledge about what must have happened in the green room.

Regards,

Col Krishnan(retd)

                       ****************************************************

                                                SECOND POST


On Sep 17, 2016 10:21 AM, "Ravindra Pathak raviwarsha@gmail.com [indianveterans]" <indianveterans@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Dear All

All that i can say is the Chiefs have had their cake and eaten it too.

In the eyes of the troops they are the heroes who tried to fight their case and in the eyes of teh GOI they have been obedient after showing fake resistance to an order which is in poor taste.

Brgds

Pathak

Cdr Ravindra Waman Pathak I.N. (Retd)

Member Pension Cell

Indian Ex Servicemen Movement

1 Surashri,1146 Lakaki Road
Shivajinagar 

Pune 411016
raviwarsha@gmail.com
9822329340  

   **************************************************************************

                                   FIRST  BASIC POST

On 16 September 2016 at 21:39, balakrishnan hariharan <hbalakrishnan@yahoo.com> wrote:

http://www.tribuneindia.com/ne ws/nation/armed-forces-to-get- hiked-sept-salary/296506.html

Armed forces to get hiked Sept salary

Tribune News Service

17 September 2016

After a week-long difference of opinion over implementing enhanced salaries under the 7th Central Pay Commission, the armed forces have heeded the advice of Defence Minister  Manohar Parrikar and directions have been issued to implement the CPC.

Parrikar has assured the forces that their four key demands will be met and the  issue will be sorted out but the decision of the government has to be implemented.

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has issued directions to all service headquarters, asking them to issue orders for implementation of the 7th CPC.

This means that the soldiers will receive their new salary in their pay for September, payable in October.

 

7CPC: Tame Retreat? What About The Honour, Welfare of the Men You Command

SOURCE:
http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/NewsDetail/index/4/8720/7CPC-Tame-Retreat-What-About--The-Honour-Welfare-of-the-Men-You-Command

7CPC: Tame Retreat? What About The Honour, Welfare of the Men You Command

                                S.G.VOMBATKERE    

Thursday, September 15,2016

When the Service Chiefs did not accept the 7th Central Pay Commission award because of its blatant injustice to the military, and went to meet Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, serving and retired Faujis were hopeful that the government would sit up and take notice.

But only the solid walls of South Block are privy to whether the Service Chiefs mustered up the courage to tell Minister Parrikar of the widespread outrage and dissatisfaction among the rank-and-file and officers, with the cavalier manner in which the bureaucrat-manned 7CPC has dealt with the Fauj.

The Service Chiefs have come back from their meeting with MinisterParrikar and made the bland statement that

the latter has assured them he would “resolve” the differences, and that the 7CPC award for the military would be notified as-is.

 Based on experience with the present and earlier governments, it is clear to the most simple-minded Fauji that “resolving” differences will be bureaucrat-offered crumbs with or without verbiage.

When other All India services have raised their 7CPC issues with the Prime Minister, it is not at all clear why the Service Chiefs (if they were not satisfied with the RM's assurance) did not raise the level by meeting PM Narendra Modi to place the problem of the men whom they commmand, before him. But perhaps the Service Chiefs were satisfied with Minister Parrikar's “assurance”, or perhaps

          they did not have the stomach to face
                               PM Modi.

So, of the three choices which lay before the Service Chiefs (accepting Defence Minister Parrikar's decision, insisting on a review, or tendering their resignation, see:

http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/NewsDetail/index/1/8706/7CPC-PLAYING-WITH-FIRE)

when they took the matter of soldiers' outrage and dissatisfaction with the 7CPC award to government, in their collective wisdom they chose to follow the first, namely tamely accepting the Minister’s “assurance” that he would “resolve” the differences, and they would implement the award.

Faujis' belief in the bureaucracy had died years ago, but their belief in the good intentions of the present Modi-led NDA government persisted, notwithstanding PM Modi's barb that giving OROP (to the soldier who retires at 38-years age) would involve taking money from the poor of India, and physically sidelining the GOC Delhi Area, at his Red Fort national address on Independence Day.

Was the PM unaware of the feelings of his soldiers? If he was unaware, he fails in his understanding of national security; and if he was aware, it indicates his disdain for his soldiers.

At any rate, the lingering belief in his good intentions has now been laid to rest.

Chetwode's credo for military officers places Country First, the Men they command Next, and themselves Last, always and every time. The higher the level of command, the more serious are the effects of not adhering to the “always and every time” part of the credo.

The Service Chiefs rightly placed “country first” when they duly took the unjust 7CPC award to government. But it might appear that the other two parts of the dictum were reversed, with its albeit slow but immeasurably deleterious effect on command and control vital to military functioning.

The Service Chiefs' announcement of the 7CPC award is disappointing. It will have its effect of loss of faith in the “system” among the rank-and-file and officers, and consequent lowered morale, because Faujis have been given the short end of the stick repeatedly by different political dispensations. Hopefully, there will be no immediate fallout, but the adverse repercussions on national security will become obvious in coming days. It is additionally galling that the bureaucrats will have the last laugh.

(Major General S.G. Vombatkere, VSM, retired as Additional DG Discipline & Vigilance in Army HQ AG's Branch. )















 

GOVERNANCE : Indian bureaucracy was voted the ‘worst in Asia’

SOURCE:
http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/NewsDetail/index/4/8668/Judiciary-And-Defence-Hit-by-the-Politician-Bureaucrat-Nexus


“Step by step, brick by brick, the edifice of India’s legislature  &  Security is being destroyed”.

                               OVER THE PERIOD

              the Politician-Bureaucrat Nexus

                         HAS ENSURED

THAT WRIT OF GOVERNMENT OF INDIA RUNS OVER ONLY ON  80 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY DURING DAY TIME & 20 PERCENT DURING NIGHT TIME BECAUSE OF "CLASS  'A'" QUALITY OF CIVIL & POLITICAL ADMINSTRATION IN THE COUNTRY                                                              -Vasundhra

                 Judiciary And Defence Hit

                                      By

            the Politician-Bureaucrat Nexus

                 Lt GENERAL BHOPINDER SINGH   

 

Thursday, September 08,2016

Opinion on the quality of last two years of governance by the ruling political dispensation varies, depending on whom you ask the question. But there are two fundamental arms of governance that impacts the long-term health of a nation as a whole i.e. ‘security’ and ‘justice’ - on both these axes of governance the professionals behind these institutions are crying for a sobering reality check that runs contrary to populist political boasts.
Judicial interventions have been at the forefront of course-correcting many a historical, political wrongs ---from environmental protection to gender equality to social issues. While the delicate tapestry of the Constitution has carved out the contours for the legislature, the judiciary and the executive – in the face of poor and failing governance and lack of justice, invariably the judiciary has had to rap the legislature and the executive with an immediate wake-up call and enforceable action.

This posits the judiciary versus the legislature with taints of judicial-overreach, ignoring the hard reality of the judiciary emerging as the proverbial ‘last resort’ of the aggrieved individual or the societal cause in questiion. More often than not, the independent judiciary has played the role of a ‘conscience keeper’, much to the discomfiture of the legislature and parts of the executive. So much so, the Finance Minister had recently observed,

“Step by step, brick by brick, the edifice of India’s legislature is being destroyed”.
While there have individual cases of dubious conduct amongst certain judicial appointees, as indeed questionable judgements e.g. the flip-flop on Section 377 – institutionally, the judiciary has, through its multiple interventions done way more good than otherwise, in evolving the nation towards a more just, progressive and sustainable future.

Aspersions of ‘holidays in Manali’ aside, the overstretched-creaking edifice of the judiciary is still more credible in the eyes of the masses as compared to the comity of legislates and their accompanying bureaucracy. From protecting the common man from scams and swindlers like real estate companies, societal menaces like khaap  panchayats and regressive religious bodies who protect gender inequalities – the judiciary has had to pick the gauntlet against all of those who are invariably in some sort of an unholy nexus with the local politicos or civil authorities, who would rather prefer inaction to protect their electoral and other prospects.

It took an impassioned lament from Chief Justice, TS Thakur about executive ‘inaction’ holding up the appointment of judges, from 21,000 to 40,000, to handle the crippling ‘avalanche’ of the pending backlogs. Suggesting the futility of empty political pitches like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’ when the justice system itself is grossly inadequate and overburdened to handle disputes that may arise – he was met with just a condescending ear and stoic silence without commitment.
The politician and the bureaucracy seem to be interested only in the turf war of the collegium-system so as to ensure political control on the judiciary.
Another institution (possibly the only other institution in the country) that delivers beyond their pay grades is the Indian military. The only subtle difference is the while the interference of the judiciary is despised by the politicos-bureaucracy on their presumed fiefdoms for exposing systemic rot, the Defence Forces are routinely requisitioned for deliberate interventions on turf that is strictly not mandated (except in extreme cases of national emergencies).
All governmental failings, political mess, bureaucratic apathy and policing failures invite the immediate requisitioning of the Defence Forces to bail out the situation e.g. the Haryana agitation (where the bureaucracy melted away and the police beat an hasty retreat at the hands of the hooligans), to the recent Chennai floods, to perennial hotspots like Kashmir and North East where the soldiers pay the price (often with their lives) for the continuing blunders and inactions of political and bureaucratic nature.
All this however, counts for nothing when the Defence Services protest against the ongoing degradation and ‘secondement’ of the Defence Services, vis-à-vis all other governmental services, especially the IAS-led bureaucracy. Shockingly the 7th Pay Commission perpetuated the superiority of the civilian bureaucracy (as opposed to the mandated, parity) even though Chairman Justice Mathur alluded to the brewing resentment by noting,

“that the main case of resentment among services is that over a period of time IAS has arrogated to itself all power of governance and relegated all other services to secondary position.

All posts covering majority of domains are manned by IAS, be it a technical or administrative which is the main cause of grievance. It is time that government take a call that subject domain should be the criteria to man the posts and not a generalist. If fair and equitable treatment is not given to all services, then the gap between IAS and other services will widen and it may lead to a chaotic situation and it will not be good for the governance and the country” –

 suffice it to say, no governmental course-correction has been initiated since, and after the shame of the original OROP reneging and subsequent ‘bargaining’, the Defence Forces had to face the repeat ignominy of a further rubbing of the wounds by the reiteration of their institutional relegation in the 7th Pay Commission.

All these bureaucratic machinations in cahoots with the politicos is an historical and symbiotic curse that protects each other – while the other two ‘insulated’ institutions i.e. the Defence Forces and the Judiciary who stick to their insular domain of operations, end up paying the price of the current institutional snubbing, disempowering and ultimate ignore. Condescending platitudes, sham promises and occasional allusion to the odd rotten apples as a means of topic deflection, is the de riguer mandate – all this, when a few years ago the

           Indian bureaucracy was voted the
                         ‘worst in Asia’

 and more recently John Kerry alluded to the same when he quipped, “India’s economy will only be able to maintain its impressive growth if its bureaucracy ceases to be an expert in setting up roadblocks”. The humiliation of war heroes guiled with promises never intended to be kept (with an sad and unforgettable taunt of ‘jumla’), were for the first time in history of independent India forced to literally sit on the footpaths of Jantar Mantar when the politico-bureaucracy went about their chest thumping in international capitals. And when even a sitting Chief Justice of India had to physically break down in tears to bring home the message of the overburdened and understaffed judiciary. The sad nexus between the politician and the bureaucrat is risking the efficacy of probably two of the finest working institutions of India.

(Lt General Bhopinder Singh (Retd) is former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands & Puducherry.)

PAY COMMISSONS : CPCs- The Devil Is In The Detail

SOURCE:
http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/NewsDetail/index/1/8739/CPCs-The-Devil-Is-In-The-Detail







WRIT OF GOVERNMENT OF INDIA RUNS OVER ONLY OVER  80 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY DURING DAY TIME & 20 PERCENT DURING NIGHT TIME BECAUSE OF "CLASS  'A'" QUALITY OF CIVIL & POLITICAL ADMINSTRATION IN THE COUNTRY                                                              -Vasundhra

          CPCs: The Devil Is In The Detail

           LT GENERAL HARWANT SINGH    

 

 September 16,2016

 All Pay Commissions had former judges as presiding officers, so one expected them to judge for themselves and not just accept what the secretaries, who are IAS officers, fed them.
These presiding officers have been visiting military formations and units in field areas to see for themselves, the environments and conditions under which troops live and the nature of their work. Unfortunately, the military as a good host, has been laying out the red carpet for them and putting them up in well appointed guest rooms, which are quite apart from the accommodation and facilities available to the majority of the officers. So they carried a completely wrong impression of our living conditions in field areas and working environments therein.

In economic life, happiness is relative and not absolute. How could anyone, if blessed with an unbiased mind, fail to take note of the issues of early retirement, extremely limited scope for career advancement, disturbed family life, the element of risk to life and limb etc so palpably evident in the case of defence personnel. 


Factors taken into account in every democracy, the world over is termed as 'the X factor' and appropriately compensated. How is it that all the chairmen of the Central Pay Commissions,( CPCs) starting with the 3rd CPC, (which dropped the pension of defence personnel from 70 to 50 % and increased the civilian pension from 30 to 50%t of the last pay drawn), so completely failed to exercise their own judgment. And in the process overlook such visible issues. 

 

 

 Does all this reflect on the quality of our judicial cadres or is it that only those were selected who would accept what is fed to them by the secretaries of these commissions. As for themselves ( these secretaries from the IAS ) the case can best be summed up with the Punjabi saying,

  ‘anna whanday raorian mur mur apneyan nu deh’

 ( one blinded by family affinity distributes goodies to only his own ilk).

 These secretaries cornered maximum benefits for their own cadre,s with the chairmen being none the wiser.


Take the case of grant of Non Function Financial Upgradation (NFFU). If any service deserved to be granted the NFFU, it is the military because of the very early retirement and extremely limited scope for advancement in career, even if one overlooks hard living conditions and risk to life and limb etc. Yet it is only the military that was denied NFFU while it was granted to over four dozen central services: something even the dim witted cannot miss. And yet our worthy judge of the 6th CPC remained oblivious of this fundamental flaw in his final judgement.



Mishandling of this one issue of NFFU makes a complete nonsense of the Sixth CPC report, even if one is to overlook over two dozen anomalies relating to the pay and allowances for the military.

Did these justices ever looked into the composition of the team of over 100 officers assembled each time, to work out the nitty gritty of the report and notice that there has never been a defence services officer in these teams, though the defence services form the largest group after the Indian railways: an overall 30% of the total strength being considered.


While much of the forests in the country have disappeared, wild life greatly depleted and well forested hills in the Himalayas a rare sight, yet being part of the lot assembled to work out the details in the report, they positioned themselves alongside the top bracket, with the chairmen remaining oblivious of these manipulations. How could these representatives of the judiciary on whose wisdom and fair play the nation places so much of its faith, allow the committees, whose chairmen they were, to act with repeated bias and hand out such an unfair deal to the military.



             

 The chairman of 7th CPC informs us that the job of an IAS officer is difficult as he has to deal with 'Sarpanches' and others in public. If only these worthies had done their job with dedication and honesty, there would have been no Red Corridor, running right through the centre of their country, consisting of over 200 districts, where the Indian governments writ does not fully run.
The 7thCPC has given even higher allowances to civil officials for the hardship of living in comfortable bungalows, and much less to the military soldiers living in the comfort of a bunker or a tent at some remote high altitude location that has life threatening high altitude sickness built into the situation.

These judges are selected by the bureaucracy and there lies the catch.


Carrots are always part of the establishment. How is it that not one amongst them has been able to judge for himself, display fairness, go into the details placed before him and do justice to the military!

At the other end the top brass of the army has completely failed to abide by the advise given to them as they marched through Chetwode Hall.


("The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time." )


 They repeatedly let down the rank and file. At last this attitude appears to be changing! Hopefully persistently!


 The present assignment of Justice Reddy, concerning One Rank One Pension (OROP), does not require months and months to complete the work, where there are only four main issues which are simple and straightforward. These are easy to resolve, and require no specific skills and certainly not much time. Nor does it call for touring the whole country to get the same views from every one. These issues are so simple, so why this façade of inter-acting with ex-servicemen all over the country and seeking presentation after presentation from endless ex-servicemen associations and individuals.

No one need expect much from Justice Reddy. It is a mere repeat of the same old charade of constituting committees of secretaries where the outcome is pre-determined.


 

(Lt General Harwant Singh (Retired) is a former Vice Chief of Army Staff)
















 

SARASWATI : Are Bihar floods a man-made Disaster?

SOURCE:
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/are-bihar-floods-a-man-made-disaster/20160907.htm?pos=9&src=NL20160912&trackid=Ae5tctheb9m4Ou8aLCKR78P/36DqPWYBAsWMfJo0sPI=&isnlp=0&isnlsp=0



                            PROJECT SARASWATI

                      THE ART OF STRATEGIC                           FLOODING



 Are Bihar floods a man-made Disaster?
                                     By 
                                      Satyavrat Mishra

 

September 07, 2016

Year after year, floods cause mayhem in Bihar but the government is not paying adequate attention to water management .

IMAGE: A village inundated by flood water near Kunauli panchayat in Bihar's Supaul district. Photograph: PTI


Ganga Sav is sitting outside his house, or what is left of it.
The roof is completely damaged and there is silt everywhere. It has come from the river with which he shares his name. The septuagenarian says his mother named him after Ganga to express her gratitude for being blessed with a boy.

"Back then the river used to bring happiness and joy, not like today, when it brings death and destruction," says Sav, his eyes welling up.

His family is still in the relief camp from where he has just returned. He intends to stay on to guard whatever little is left of his property. "Yahan to bas saap-bichhoo hain abhi. Abhi yahan parivar ke liye theek nahin hai. Hum yahan ghar ko dekhenge (There are only snakes and scorpions here now. It is not safe for my family, but I will stay here to take care of the house)," he says.

Sav lives in the diara area, small islets that have come up in the Ganga. He, like most others, was not expecting the flood.

"The rains were scant this year. So when the officials came and told us to move to safer ground, we took their advice lightly," he says. "Here in the diara, the water rises every monsoon. Sometimes, it reaches up to your knees, but it also recedes in no time."


This time it didn't. "By the dawn of the next day, the water rose to waist level and it kept rising," says Sav, recounting the events of August 17.


The recent flash floods in the Ganga hit Bihar the hardest. At least 65 people died and nearly half a million had to be evacuated.


Despite a rain deficit of 18 per cent, the water reached unprecedented levels in a dozen districts.


The highest was in Patna, where it broke the earlier record of 1994 and breached the 50 metre mark on August 25.

The low-lying areas and the diaras were inundated and thousands of people were moved to relief camps. The National Disaster Relief Force and State Disaster Relief Force combed the waters for survivors.


At the Tilka Manjhi University in Bhagalpur, exams had to be cancelled because the campus was submerged. In Buxar, Bhojpur, Patna, Vaishali, Samastipur, Munger, Bhagalpur and Khagaria, crops on 350,000 hectares of land were completely destroyed.

Hundreds of kilometres of the state's highways and rural roads have also been damaged. The total loss is estimated to be worth Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion).


The immediate reason for the flood was the large volume of water released into the Ganga from the Bansagar reservoir in Madhya Pradesh.


Data from the Madhya Pradesh water resources department shows that the water was discharged from the dam over a three day period, starting August 18.


Bihar officials say Madhya Pradesh had been hoarding the water for quite some time, despite sufficient rainfall in the catchment areas of the river Son.


The water was released only when the reservoir was 93 per cent full and couldn't hold more. Even so, officials say the destruction was unprecedented given the amount of water released.


Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar holds the Farakka Barrage in neighbouring West Bengal responsible for the tragedy.


According to him, the barrage is the reason siltation in the Ganga is increasing.


'The current flood is not a result of the rains. This year monsoon has been deficient in Bihar,' Kumar said some days ago. 'The flood is a result of the heavy siltation of the Ganga as the Farakka Barrage doesn't allow silt to pass. This has made the river shallow, narrowed its stream and severely reduced its water retention capacity. As a result, even if a little water is released into the river, it spills over.'

IMAGE: People use a banana raft in flood-hit Hajipur, Bihar. Photograph: PTI

The chief minister, who holds a degree in engineering, complained that he had been raising this issue for the last 10 years at various fora, but without tangible results.

'At meetings I attended during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) regime at the Centre, I saw people worrying only about the upstream (areas). I used to tell them to also think about downstream, but nobody listened.'

The Ganga is, indeed, one of the highest sediment load carrying rivers in the world. However, not everyone agrees with Kumar's argument.

Several engineers and hydrologists have criticised the government for not paying adequate attention to water management, which is essential for a flood-prone state like Bihar. "It's true that the Farakka Barrage has caused siltation, but to say that siltation is the only reason behind the flood is not correct," says hydrologist T Prasad, who holds a doctorate degree in water resources from the University of Illinois. He is also the founder director of the Centre for Water Resources Studies at Patna University.

"It (the barrage) acts along with several other factors, such as the velocity of the water and the embankment. To some extent, the Farakka Barrage did create some problem. But faulty planning and lack of a flood management policy complicated it," he says.

Santosh Kumar, consultant hydrologist, World Bank Project and former professor at the National Institute of Technology, Patna, blames it on the derelict condition of the infrastructure that is meant to control floods.

Poor maintenance of embankments and absence of a silt management policy for the Ganga and Kosi, he says, worsened the situation.

"It is totally wrong to solely blame the Farakka Barrage," he says. "The barrage is situated too far downstream to create such serious problems upstream. The backwater effect is limited to only some distance."

Siltation between the embankments, he says, is the prime reason for the rise in riverbeds.

"In Bihar, major rivers are jacketed, which means embankments have been constructed on their sides," he explains. This was done to protect the villages situated on the riverbanks.

However, this causes the riverbeds to rise as the silt cannot spread. That's why, he says, scientists and engineers installed sluice gates at the embankments to prevent flooding.

These not only release the pressure on the embankments, but also allow the sediment to be spread on to the flood plain.
"Unfortunately," he says, "none of the sluice gates at the embankments in Bihar is working."


At several places, the iron wheels of the sluice gates have been stolen. A lack of technical knowledge and bureaucratic indifference further aggravate the problem, he adds.


"In 1952, 25 lakh (2.5 million) hectares of present day Bihar used to be affected by floods," says Dinesh Mishra, one of the country's leading river experts. "Today, 73 lakh (7.3 million) hectares is affected," adds the former convener of Barh Mukti Andolan.

IMAGE: Vehicles on the submerged National Highway 31 near Fatuha in Patna district. Photograph: PTI


Doing away with the Farakka Barrage is not an option.

"It's an international issue. Bangladesh, which is only 15 to 20 km from the barrage, will never allow you to do so," says Mishra. "If the barrage is destroyed, the unchecked Ganga will wreak havoc there. Besides, there is a real possibility that the waters would then flow towards Kolkata and flood the city."
Nitesh Kumar, too, concedes that it might not be possible to dismantle the Farakka Barrage. He has demanded that the Centre should formulate a silt management policy.


The state, says Santosh Kumar, needs a two-pronged strategy. To begin with, it must employ silt excluder devices and dredgers. And it should rejuvenate the dead channels of the river, which can be activated in the time of flood.


The Kosi, adds Prasad, is the second highest silt-carrying river in the world and drains into the Ganga. "Kosi causes floods in Bihar, but the Centre and state governments have never shown any interest in solving this problem by constructing a multi-purpose high dam in Nepal," he rues.


And so, year after year, the river causes mayhem.


Satyavrat Mishra

Source:

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