State-level Conference on Genetic Engineering, Farming & Food

State-level Conference on Genetic Engineering, Farming & Food

Saturday, November 7, 2009

The Institution of Engineers (India), Mysore Local Centre, J.L.B.Road, Mysore-570005

Sponsors:

The Institution of Engineers (India), Mysore Local Centre, Mysore

Mysore Grahakara Parishat, Mysore

Deccan Development Society, Hyderabad

            Media have been reporting that genetically engineered (GE) Brinjal (Bt-Brinjal) is to be the first human food item to be introduced into the market in India, following field trials. This has raised discussions regarding aspects of its necessity and safety, and the issue of  enabling the consumer to exercise the right not to buy the GE product. The effect on the farming community who may choose to grow GE-Brinjal and other GE crops, as well as on farmers who do not so choose is also being discussed; there are many who argue against introduction of GE products especially in food.

            It is well known that several countries, especially in Europe, are not allowing GE crops and products into their countries for reasons of safety and genetic contamination, even in the face of possible trade sanctions. This raises doubts as to the desirability and safety of GE products.

            There are fears and anxieties about cultivation and consumption of GE crops and products among a wide cross section of people, both urban and rural. At the same time, the biotechnology industry and promoters of GE crops and products as well as government regulatory agencies are issuing assurances about the safety, even the desirability, of introduction of GE-Brinjal and many other food and non-food crops that are currently undergoing field trials all over India, claiming that GE is necessary for food security. In the meanwhile, GE products are entering the food chain.

            In order to help the public to get a perspective on the issue, the One-Day Conference will provide a platform for the biotechnology industry to state its case, and experts from the field to place their scientific arguments regarding the facts about GE in general and its effects on biodiversity, the environment, and human health and safety aspects.

            The Conference will be arranged in three Technical Sessions, each Session with two speakers, one from the biotechnology industry or promoters of GE, and one from an expert opposing GE, with time for audience participation in each Session.

           

PROGRAM

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Coffee 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Inaugural Session    11:00 AM – 12:00 Noon

KEY NOTE ADDRESS: Dr.Michel Pimbert; Director, International Institute for Environment & Development, U.K.; Formerly Principal Entomologist, ICRISAT

Technical Session-1 12:00 Noon – 1:15 PM

BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY – Technical, legal and regulatory issues

Speaker 1: Dr.T.M.Manjunath, ConsultantAgri-Biotechnology & Integrated Pest Management, Bangalore

Speaker 2: Ms.Aruna Rodrigues, Lead Petitioner in PIL against GM Foods in Supreme Court of India, Sunray Harvesters, Mhow, Madhya Pradesh

Lunch Break 1:15 PM – 2:00 PM

Technical Session-2 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM

FARMING – Problems and perspectives

Speaker 1: Dr.C.Aswath, Head, Biotechnology Division, IIHR, Bangalore

Speaker 2: Dr.P.V.Satheesh, Food & Farming Activist

Technical Session-3 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

FOOD & THE CONSUMER – Health, safety and ethical issues

Speaker 1: Dr.H.S.Shekar Shetty, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Biotechnology, University of Mysore, and Principal Investigator ICAR

Speaker 2: Dr.V.S.Vijayan, Chairman, Kerala Biodiversity Board

Concluding Session 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

            Speaker 1: Mr.H.L.Satheesh

            Speaker 2: Mr.U.N.Ravikumar

Tea 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM

Is MUDA Aiding Illegal Land Use Change?

Whenever a person wants to change the land use of his site (from residential to commercial, from agricultural to residential, etc.), he has to obtain permission from MUDA. According to law, MUDA places an advertisement in the papers regarding the land use change and calls for objections. The proposal and the objections are then placed before a MUDA meeting and the recommendation of the meeting are sent to the state government for approval.

Most of these land use conversions are against the law, against orders of various courts and against public interest even though they comply with the above formalities. But now, even these formalities are being ignored. Here are two examples.

Two MUDA advertisements appearing on p.8 of Andolana of 1-9-09 state that they are corrections to two earlier MUDA land use change advertisements which appeared in Andolana on 6-6-09 and that "from agricultural zone to residential zone" which appeared in the earlier advertisements should be read as "from transport zone to residential zone".

There are several question marks about these advertisements.

1. Why did MUDA make such a fundamental mistake in the first ads?

2. Why do the ads of 1-9-09 not call for public objections as is usual for all land use changes?

3. The ads on 1-9-09 carry only the corrections and not any other details. Since they appeared three months after the original ads, should MUDA not issue the complete corrected ad and again ask for objections from the public?

4. There are six land use change advertisements in the 6-6-09 issue of Andolana and none of them have the same numbers as the corrected ads. Therefore, to which two ads do the corrections apply?

5. In light of issues 1 - 4 above, does it not appear that MUDA has deliberately conducted this charade to avoid public objections?

6. According to Sec. 14(a)(1) of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, land use change can be effected ONLY WHEN SUCH CHANGES ARE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. The Supreme Court in Bangalore Medical Trust vs. B.S. Muddappa case (AIR 1991 Supreme Court 1902) has clearly stated that converting to what is beneficial to many (such as CA site) to what is beneficial to one person (such as residential or commercial site) is against public interest and hence should not be permitted. Why then is MUDA advertising an illegal land use change from Transport (CA) to Residential?

7. Are not CA sites under the control of MUDA? Why then are these sites in possession of private parties?

8. As the city expands, it needs more and more space for suburban bus stands, private bus stands, metro stations, ELRTS stations, etc. Such spaces have been provided for in the Comprehensive Development Plan for the city. But due to short-sightedness of MUDA, the city is losing them one by one. In 2001, MUDA changed the land use of 6 acres reserved for transport purposes on Bannur Road and allotted the land to a private developer, despite strenuous objections from the public. Now it is the turn of two more sites earmarked for transport. It is sad that MUDA is selling off the future of Mysore because of its short-sightedness. If this trend continues, twenty years from now, we will be having several reenactments of the JK grounds bus-stand controversy which is raging now, controversies which could have been easily avoided with a little more vision from MUDA.

 

Maj.Gen. (Rtd.) S.G. Vombatkere, President, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Will The RTO Please Clarify?

The RTO of Mysore has recently issued a press release (duly reported in many newspapers) stating that according to a government order, all vehicles must display both English and Kannada licence plates.

But this contradicts the clarification the RTO had given to us on 27-2-2009. In response to an MGP letter to the Government of Karnataka, the RTO had then stated that according to Government Notification dated 12-9-1995, " ... if the vehicle owner wishes, he/she may have an additional number plate bearing the registration number in Kannada". The clarification also stated "if Kannada is used in licence plates, it will make for effective implementation of Kannada language". So dispalying Kannada licence plates was not compulsory but left to the choice of the vehicle owner.

Since the clarification issued by the RTO in February and the recent press release of the RTO are contardictory, we talked to the Department of Transport, Government of Karnataka (080 2235 2434) this afternoon and we were told that Kannada licence plates are only optional and not compulsory.

Will the RTO please clarify to the public whether Kannada licence plates are compulsory and if so give the details of the government notification which makes it compulsory?

The RTO press release poses some other problems. According to it, motor cycles should have English licence plates on the front left, Kannada licence plates on the front right and English licence plates in the back. Three-wheelers and four-wheelers must have English licence plates on the front left, Kannada licence plates on the front right, English licence plates in the back left (or centre) and Kannada licence plates on the back right. Which vehicle has provision for so many licence plates? We are only glad that there are no restrictions on the sides, the top and the bottom of the vehicles!

B.Vaikunth Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Workshop on Consumer Awareness and Employability Skills

(Prof.S.K. Ananda Thirtha introducing the speakers C.V. Nagaraj (2nd from left) and Vasanthkumar Mysoremath (3rd from left) of MGP at a recent Workshop on Consumer Awareness and Employability Skills Development at Vidyavardhaka Sangha. Others in the picture are Shri Subramanyam, faculty member and Shri Boregowda, NSS Officer.)
 

 

Vidyavardhaka Sangha group of institutions organized a special interactive workshop on 16-10-09 on Consumerism and Employability Skills Development for the benefit of about 100 NSS volunteers and ITI Trainees on its campus. Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) members. C.V. Nagaraj, Retired Chief Chemist and Vasanthkumar Mysoremath, IAAD (Retd) were the resource persons for the workshop.

Nagaraj spoke about how unscrupulous merchants are playing with the lives of consumers through a variety of adulterations all for the sake of a few extra rupees. He stressed the need for awareness of the rights of consumers and especially the special role of NSS volunteers in creating that awareness in our society. He lamented that consumers are assuming that they are being served the right commodities and at the right price whereas, in reality it was not so. Under his guidance, the students themselves conducted simple experiments on various methods adopted by the merchants for adulteration..

Mysoremath spoke about how to develop self confidence, face interviews, be a good leader, and express oneself in public with the right body language.

Students participated enthusiastically in the interactive sessions with the two speakers. Prof.S.K.Ananda Thirtha introduced the speakers and NSS Officer Shri Boregowda and faculty member Shri Subramanyam were present.

Such programmes can be arrangeed by calling MGP office at 2515150.

Dereliction of Duty by MCC

According to Sec. 2(1-A) of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, phone towers are buildings and since they are used for commercial purpose, they are commercial buildings. So they can not be built on residential sites.

In a circular (No. UDD 17 Aa Pra Sa 2001) issued on 12-11-2001, the Karnataka Government has clearly reiterated this point. It says that establishment of a mobile tower is a commercial activity and that it is subject to the provisions of zonal regulations of the approved Comprehensive Development Plan for the city. It also specifically instructs all local bodies not to permit any captive power generator set on the rooftop of any building.

But there are dozens of mobile towers erected on residential sites in Mysore and MCC is blind to these law violations. Many mobile towers erected on residential/commercial buildings also have generator sets installed on rooftops. MCC is again blind to these violations.

 

C.V. Nagaraja, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Consumer Awareness Workshop

(Students at JSS First Grade College conducting experiments to identify food adulteration under the guidance of C.V. Nagaraj and Vasanthkumar Mysoremath of MGP.)

 

Mysore Grahakara Parishat conducted a consumer awareness workshop for final year B.Sc., B.Com, B.A. and B.B.M. students at JSS First Grade College, Nanjanagudu recently. C.V. Nagaraj (formerly Senior Chemist, Regional Agmark Laboratory, Bangalore) demonstrated simple tests to detect adulteration in various food items. He also spoke about the harmful effects of various types of adulteration and on the laws that exist in India against food adulteration. Vasanthkumar Mysoremath spoke about the importance of consumer movement and gave a demonstration of how one can save electricity by utilizing sunlight. The workshop was presided over by the Prof.S.Rathnashekar, Principal, JSS First Grade college. Prof.C.A.Basavaraju, Vice Principal and Shri H.G.Natarajan, Principal, PU College, were present.

It is learnt that His Holiness Sri Deshikendra Swamiji of Suttur Mutt has instructed that such programmes should be held at all JSS institutions.

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Need To Move Away From Big Dams

Recent floods in the Krishna basin have left hundreds of people dead and lakhs homeless. Countless livestock have been destroyed and the total monetary loss ran into thousands of crores of rupees. As a hydrogeologist with 4 decades of experience, these are my observations on this disaster.

1. There are several major dams across the Krishna river and its tributaries and these dams were supposed to prevent such disasters. So the dams have failed in one of their primary purposes. Not just that, it now appears that these dams themselves were a major cause of this great tragedy.

2. The backwater of these dams has submerged some of the richest black soils in the country and rendered them worthless.

3. This soil is silting up the dams and is continuously reducing their designed water holding capacity. This capacity has already gone down by as much as 30%.

4. The land which is intended to be cultivated with the water stored in these dams is mostly barren rocky land with poor soil cover. Even if this land is supplied with plenty of water, there is little scope for highly productive cultivation. The increase in agricultural output due to the dams may not be even enough to cover the interest charged on the huge loans taken from international organizations to finance these dams.

5. It is quite likely that the enormous additional pressure exerted by the water reservoirs on the basaltic rock bed of the river valley has been responsible for a large number of earthquakes in and around Koyna (Maharashtra). Additional reservoirs may cause bigger earthquakes in times to come.

6. The loss of fertile lands and the submergence of hundreds of villages and towns by the dams and inadequate compensation has made the rehabilitation of the countless displaced people a major continuing humanitarian problem.

In light of these major problems posed by big dams, it is time we start looking at effective alternatives to big dams in managing river waters. Building a system of small and medium barrages across the rivers in the valley and canals to carry the waters stored in the barrages seems a much superior scheme. In the ghat section in which Krishna and its tributaries originate, they have cut deep ravines in the hill areas and deep gullies in the plains with banks 8-10 m high on either side. These natural structures can be put to optimum use by constructing a series of barrages starting from the source all the way to the plains with an accompanying canal system. The advantages of this system are:

1. There would not be any overflow of water over the banks.

2. The fertile lands on either side of the rivers would remain intact and available for intensive agriculture.

3. The usage of water would be optimum.

4. There is no need for resettlement of people and the consequent heartburn, corruption and huge expenditure.

5. Since each barrage weakens the force of flood water, damage to life and property will be minimized even in the case of intense rainfall.

6. The cost of each barrage will not exceed a crore of rupees and could be as small as a few lakhs of rupees. The total expenditure for a series of barrages will be much less than the cost of a major dam and would eliminate the need for foreign assistance and loans. The construction time for barrages is also very short and so benefits start accruing within a few months.

7. Since the irrigation is seasonal, soil quality and fertility are not damaged.

8. Since submergence by the backwater is kept to a minimum, soil erosion and loss of water storage due to silting are very small.

9. Since the water is stored in several reservoirs, the pressure on the river bed is distributed and so the barrages will not cause an increased incidence of earthquakes.

10. The canal network from this series of barrages will be spread over the entire river basin and will immensely help the building up of ground water which, if used in conjunction with the surface water, will greatly enhance the area and scope of irrigation. Since ground water is being recharged continuously, there will be no shortage of drinking water in the entire river basin.

11. The water distribution is more equitable.

So it is clear that the construction of many barrages is preferable to the construction of a big dam in more than one way. The arguments given above for the Krishna river basin apply by and large to other river basins also. Recently published studies of the Bhakra Nangal dam have shown that the return on the investment in the dam is far below what was claimed. So it is high time we come out of the straightjacket of major dam construction and consider alternative approaches to irrigation which may be more effective.

V. Mahesh, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

JNNURM- IS THERE DANGER AHEAD FOR MYSORE?

In the euphoria over hundreds of crores of rupees flowing into Mysore for JNNURM works, most people have forgotten that Mysore City Corporation has to foot a hefty bill, with no indications till now as to how MCC will meet this challenge. JNNURM is clearly no free lunch.

The City Development Plan prepared by MCC as a prerequisite for obtaining JNNURM projects shows how much MCC will spend over 25 years 2007-2031 towards developing infrastructure in Mysore. During 2007-12, the average yearly expenditure is Rs. 328 crores of which MCC provides Rs.53 crores and the rest comes from central and state grants. The average yearly expenditure for the remaining period 20013-2031 is Rs. 547 crores and MCC has to pay this amount all by itself.

It is not at all clear how MCC can raise Rs. 53 crores per year during 2007-12 and Rs. 547 crores per year during 2013-2031 towards JNNURM works. As it is, MCC has been defaulting in repaying the ADB loan taken a few years ago for the same purpose of infrastructure improvement. As a result of non-payment, the Rs. 130 crore loan has now ballooned to more than Rs. 300 crores. Strangely, MCC remains silent about this fast-growing liability and makes no allocation in its budget towards clearing this loan.

From a cursory glance at MCC's budgets for the last few years, it is clear that MCC can not generate the revenues needed to meet its Rs. 53 crore annual liability for the JNNURM works for the period 2007-12, let alone the Rs. 547 crore annual liability for the years 2013-31. It will be forced to take loans from outside sources for this money. But if MCC has not been able to repay its old (ADB) loan, who will come forward to give a fresh loan? In case some bank comes forward, will it not impose stiff conditions? Will it not ask for a collateral? Will our city be pawned off to pay JNNURM works? Does anyone have answers to these questions?

Another cause for deep worry for all Mysoreans is that these huge expenditures may not produce any lasting benefit for Mysore. In the ADB works, despite the many checks and balances instituted to insure that money was spent properly and the quality of work was high, the works were to a large extent shoddy providing very little benefit. In JNNURM works, these checks and balances are not evident and so the prognosis on the quality of work is not hopeful. Caving in of the road near Ballal Circle and questions raised about the new bus stand are some early indications.

Maj.Gen. (Retd.) S.G.Vombatkere, President, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

MGP CONDUCTS CONSUMER AWARENESS PROGRAMMES

Mysore Grahakara Parishat conducted two lecture-demonstrations on food adulteration detection at Kushalnagar on 16-9-09. The first programme was for the general public of Kushalnagar and the second one was for the members of eight Rotary clubs of Zone 6. C.V. Nagaraj (formerly Senior Chemist, Regional Agmark Laboratory, Bangalore) demonstrated simple tests to detect adulteration in various food items. He also spoke about the harmful effects of various types of adulteration and on the laws that exist in India against food adulteration. V.Mahesh, a hydrogeologist with more than 36 years experience, spoke about various aspects of ground water

C.V. Nagaraj and Meghashree, a high school student, gave the food adulteration detection lecture-demo at CONTECH-09 held on 20-22, September at NIE (See Photo in Attachment).

V. Mahesh, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

College Fined For Delaying Hall Ticket

B.Vaikunth Shenoy, member, Mysore Gahakara Parishat

In an order passed on 11-9-09, Mysore District Consumer Forum has fined the Principal of Mahajana P.U. College and the President of Mahajana Education Society for delaying the hall ticket to a student and causing him to miss the examination.

 

Preetham was a First P.U. student who did not pass the regular P.U.examination and appeared for the supplementary examination held in May 2009. He paid the exam fees but was not immediately given the hall ticket. The principal asked him to come on the morning of the examination, but the hall ticket was still not given. The student called his father and uncle but by the time, they argued with the principal and got the hall ticket issued, the exam was over. As a result of this delay, Preetham lost a year in his education.

Preetham filed a complaint before the Consumer Forum alleging deficiency is service by the principal and the president of MES. In their statements to the Forum, the principal and the president blamed each other. After going through the evidence and the statements of the parties, the Forum concluded that there was ample proof that there was a deficiency in service by both the defendants. It ordered the principal to pay Rs. 25,000 and the president, MES to pay Rs. 5,000 to the complainant for causing the loss of a year. The defendants were also ordered to pay Rs. 10,000 for the mental agony caused and Rs.2,000 towards the cost of proceedings.

MGP Opposes Electricity Rate Hike

Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation which supplies electricity to Mysore and its surroundings has now filed an application before Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission for yet another increase in tariff. The public can submit their objections to the rate hike and the last date for submitting objections is September 14.

MGP has filed its objections and they include the following:

1. The Tariff Filing must be rejected because various laws, rules and regulations have been contravened.

a. The financial statements which includes balance sheet, the schedules and comments/observation are not audited as required by KERC (Tariff) Regulations 2000 Annexe II.

b. According to Sec. 61(g) of the Electricity Act, 2003 and Sec. 27(2)(c) of the Karnataka Electricity Reforms Act, 1999, the tariff should progressively reflect the cost of supply of electricity. Even though KERC has given CESC opportunities year after year, CESC has not yet scientifically determined the cost of supplying power to various categories of consumers and still resorts to average cost of supply. This should not be accepted. There is no connection between the values of fixed charges and energy charges proposed by CESC for various categories of consumers and the actual cost of supplying electricity. Further, for the last several years, all the electricity supply companies in Karnataka have been asking for the same tariff rates for various categories of customers and they have done it again this year. It is not possible that the cost of supplying power to various categories of consumers to be identical for all electricity supply companies; thus it is clear that these numbers are false. This violation of the letter and spirit of the Electricity Act and the Karnataka Electricity Reforms Act should not be tolerated.

c. Sec. 55(1) of the IE Act mandates that power should be supplied to only those installations which have accurate metering. CESC has not ensured accurate metering for all installations.

d. Sections 27(1)(d), (e) and (f) of the Karnataka Electricity Reforms Act stipulate that the Commission shall be guided by the factors like 'economical use of the resources', 'optimum investments', 'the interests of the consumers' and 'commercial principles'. CESC has not complied fully with these requirements.

2. In view of the extremely poor quality of power supplied over the last year and the unacceptably long unannounced power cuts inflicted by CESC on its customers, the Commission should use the powers given by Sec. 57 of the Electricity Act, set stringent standards of power quality, and penalize CESC heavily for violations of these standards.

C.V.Nagaraj, member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat
 

District Forum Holds Bank Responsible for Security Lapses

Holding that State Bank of India had not taken suitable security measures at its Automated Teller Machines, Mysore District Consumer Forum has ordered SBI to return the amount which was withdrawn unauthorizedly from the account of one of its customers (order passed on 27-8-09 in Case No. CC/09/207).

Srinivas Gudi is a marine engineer working for Shell International Shipping and Trading Company. On 3rd and 4th December of 2008, Rs. 99,000 was withdrawn from ATMs in Malaysia using his SBI debit card and his code number. But Gudi was on duty aboard a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean at that time. Gudi's wife noticed this large debit from his account and called him immediately. Using satellite phone, he called his bank and informed them of this unauthorized withdrawal from his account.

When Gudi finished his tour of duty and came back to Mysore, he again contacted the bank to get his money back, but the bank insisted that the withdrawals were done using his debit card and his code number. Gudi's protestations that he had his card with him on the ship all the time and that he had not disclosed the code number even to his family members bore no fruit. So he decided to file a complaint before the Mysore District Consumer Forum.

During the hearings, M.Y.Kumar, the advocate for the complainant produced documents from the internet which showed that hackers routinely hack into computers of card companies, obtain credit card numbers and code numbers and use this information to steal millions of dollars from ATM machines all over the world. In the background of this widely available information, the advocate argued that SBI had not taken suitable precautionary measures, especially, implementing the smart chip technology which is being used in more than 65 countries to prevent such fraudulent withdrawals from the accounts of unwary customers.

The Forum agreed with these contentions and ordered SBI to reimburse the amount fraudulently withdrawn from Gudi's account. It also awarded Rs. 10,000 towards mental agony suffered by Gudi and Rs. 16,000 for other expenses incurred by Gudi.

P.M. Bhat, Member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Chattisgarh Delegation Visits MGP

Fifty people's representatives and officers of various local bodies in Chattisgarh state visted Mysore Grahakara Parishat office in two batches on 18-8-09 and 25-8-09. They interacted with MGP members on civic and consumer issues. They were given a demonstration about how various foods are adulterated and how one can detect such adulteration.

The Chattisgarh delegation was accompanied by Prof. V. Jagannath, HUDCO professor at State Institute of Urban Development. MGP members who interacted with the delgation included Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy, C.V. Nagaraj, Dr. T.N. Manjunath, B.Vaikunth Shenoy, P.M. Bhat, Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) S.G. Vombatkere, Asha Vombatkere, Sreemathi Hariprasad and V.Gurusankar.

D V Dayanand Sagar, Member, MGP

A Shocking Decision By The Supreme Court

A shocking decision by the Supreme Court in which it has termed a provision of law as legal fiction and disregarded it has been reported recently (III (2009) CPJ 2 (SC)).

Abhilash Jewellery is a jewelry shop in Thrisur district of Kerala. It had bought insurance from New India Assurance Company for Rs. 1.15 crores. When the policy was in effect, 588 gms. of gold was stolen from the shop. When the shop filed the insurance claim, it was rejected for the reason that the stolen gold was in the custody of an apprentice. One of the conditions of the policy was that insurance would be paid if the gold was in custody of an employee. The insurance company said that an apprentice is not an employee and so refused to pay the insured amount.

The jewelry shop filed a complaint before the National Consumer Commission arguing that under Sec. 2(6) of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, an apprentice is also an employee. The same interpretation appears in many other statutes also. The National Commission agreed with this argument and ordered the insurance company to pay up.

The insurance company appealed to the Supreme Court against this decision. The Supreme Court reversed the order of the National Commission saying: "The contract of insurance no doubt uses the word 'employee', but it does not say that the word 'employee' in the contract of insurance will have the same meaning as in the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act or the Employees State Insurance Act or any other enactment. In various enactments, the word 'employee' has no doubt, been defined to include an apprentice, but that is only a deeming provision and a legal fiction by which the word 'employee' has been extended. Legal fictions are well-known in law. For example, Section 43(3) of the Income Tax Act defines "plant' to include a book. Ordinarily, a plant means a factory, and by no stretch of the imagination can we call a factory a book. However, the Income Tax Act deems a book to be a plant for the purpose of depreciation. Many such illustrations of deeming clauses or legal fictions can be given. The definition of an employee in various enactments which include an apprentice within the ambit of the definition is such a piece of legal fiction. That however does not mean that an apprentice is an employee. In the present case, since the word 'employee' has not been defined in the contract of insurance, we have to give it the meaning which it has in common parlance. In common parlance, an apprentice is a trainee and not an employee."

There are some serious problems with the decision of the Supreme Court:

1. The Court has said that in common parlance, an apprentice is a trainee and not an employee. What is "common parlance"? Do people commonly know that an apprentice is a trainee and not an employee? The answer must be no. Then how do we find out the common usage of the word? The Oxford Dictionary, reputedly the most authoritative of all dictionaries, merely says that an apprentice is a person learning a skilled practical trade from an employer. But it does not definitely say that he is not an employee. What are we to do now? Shall we look the word up in the internet? According to the internet, an apprentice is considered an employee in America, England, Australia, etc. Then, is this not the meaning of "apprentice' in common usage?

2. Plain Meaning Rule is a principle used by courts. According to it, if a word used in a document is not defined in that document or in a related law, it should be given its plain meaning. In the present case, the word 'employee' may not be defined in the insurance contract, but according to the relevant laws, it is clear that an apprentice is also an employee. So there is no need to invoke the plain meaning rule for the word 'employee'.

3. It appears that the Court is not interpreting the phrase 'Legal Fiction' correctly. The procedural device used by courts when justice is not being done due to a defect in the law is called legal fiction. One example. In olden days one could only sue persons. In those days, when a company cheated a person, he could not, under the laws extant, file a case against the company. Realizing that this was unjust, courts delivered justice by creating a legal fiction that a company was a person for the purpose of law. (Nowadays, laws include companies in the definition of the word 'person'. So there is no need for the courts to resort to legal fiction in the matter of companies.) But when the law clearly says that an apprentice is an employee, the courts can not go against it.

4. If all courts disregard what is clearly spelt out in a law calling it legal fiction, then all laws become meaningless. Our Constitution reserves the power to make laws to the legislature. Judiciary can not exercise that power. The Supreme Court itself has repeatedly held that, in interpreting a law, no violence must be done to the language and the intention of the law. The order of the Court in dismissing Sec. 2(6) of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act defining an apprentice to be an employee as a legal fiction violates these earlier orders.

Prof. S.K. Ananda Thirtha, Member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Electricity - Charging More For Less Quality And Quantity

The five electricity supply companies (ESCOMs) in Karnataka have applied for yet another increase in tariff. The quality of power supply is steeply deteriorating with severe load-shedding, frequent interruptions and voltage fluctuations, but the ESCOMs keep asking for higher tariffs at every opportunity. As a result, the electricity tariff has increased by 60% in the last 9 years in Karnataka.

The gap between cost and quality of electricity in Karnataka has caused so much damage to the economy of the state that Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has filed a petition before Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission seeking the cancellation of license to the five ESCOMs.

Indian Electricity Act 2003 and Karnataka Electricity Reforms Act 1999, which govern the electricity industry in Karnataka, emphasize 'promotion of competition, efficiency and economy', 'economical use of the resources', 'optimum investments', 'interests of the consumers' and 'commercial principles'. These Acts and the National Electricity Policy stress on providing reliable power of specified quality standards in an efficient manner and at reasonable rates for protecting the consumer interests and the environment. If one looks at the history of ESCOMs in the state, it is clear that we are not getting close to these goals.

IE Act mandates that power supply shall not be given to installations without accurate metering. But none of the ESCOMs has ensured accurate metering for all installations.

KER Act stipulates that the tariffs progressively reflect the cost of supply of electricity at an adequate and improving level of efficiency. This goal is still unrealized.

These Acts clearly expect that the cross-subsidy from one class of consumers to another should be eliminated early. But the subsidy by the state government and the cross-subsidy by commercial and industrial consumers are continuing.

'Promotion of competition,efficiency and economy' is not happening as evident by the huge aggregate technical and commercial losses in the state, estimated to be about 30% against best practice of less of than 10%. The overall efficiency of the ESCOMs is amongst the lowest in the world.

Protecting consumer interests and the environment appear to be of very low priority. The number of consumer complaints is steeply increasing and the abuse of nature is unabated in the form additional coal-based and dam-based power stations being planned to mask the huge inefficiency in the industry.

Despite such inefficiency, unaccountability and noncompliance with the directions of the IE Act, it is amazing that the ESCOMs are still in business. The only way things will improve is if the consumers rise up in large number to oppose the tariff increase before KERC or if KERC rules in favour of the FKCCI petition. The last day for consumers to submit their objections to the Chescorp rate hike is Sept. 14.

Shankar Sharma, Member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat