Badly Designed Bus Stops

Several High Tech bus stops have been built at enormous expense all around the city under JNNURM grants. But they are not well-designed or well-maintained. Here are two examples.

In the bus stop next to Lakshmi Theatre, the seats are too high. Since the seats have no backs, it is easy to lose balance and topple over. There is a deep gutter just behind the bus stop and there is no no protective barrier.

People in general and children in particular can slip and fall into the drain. It is not clear why a protective barrier has not been installed. In the bus stop near Nirmala Convent in Gokulam, there are no seats for the last several months. It is possible that they were stolen after installation, but no one has bothered to replace them.

Without seats, the bus stop is almost useless and people are using the old bus stop. 

D.V. Dayanand Sagar, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Ward Committees Again?!

It was reported in the media recently that MCC Wards Parliamentary Federation has invited interested persons to apply to become members of Citizens' Committees.

I had become a member of such a committee for my ward last year. But meetings were not held regularly and nothing came out of the meetings that were held. We were told that we can get improvement projects executed and if we raised 10% of the cost, the other 90% would be borne by MCC. We raised a significant amount of money based on this assurance, but the remaining 90% never materialized and the projects never got off the ground.

I am surprised that applications are again being sought for the ward committees. What happened to the old committees? What is the purpose of these committees? If the old committees are being scrapped and new committees formed, will the new committees also not become fruitless soon?

D.V. Dayanand Sagar, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Immediate Action from MCC Needed

The water distribution system of Mysore is being revamped under JNNURM project. Under the tripartite agreement signed by Mysore City Corporation, Karnataka Water Supply and Drainage Board and Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company, JUSCO is laying new water lines to every consumer in Mysore.

But the new pipes are being installed only for a distance of one meter inside one's property. It is the reponsibility of the owner of the property to lay the pipes from there to the water meter. It is very difficult to get labour for such a small job. Even if labour can be found, the payment demanded is huge. From the complaints we have received from J.P.Nagar, workers are demanding as much as Rs. 1000-1500. Many desperate home owners are paying this huge amount. As the work progresses, the nearly 2 lakh domestic and commercial establishments in Mysore will face the same problem.

 If JUSCO itself does this work, not only will it be faster, the property owners will also be spared effort and expense. MGP has spoken to both JUSCO and KUWS&DB. JUSCO is ready to do the job only if KUWS&DB which is the paying authority issues instructions. KUWS&DB will issue instructions only if MCC passes a resolution to this effect and gets it approved by the state government. Therefore the proposal of having JUSCO do the entire job, one that may benefit lakhs of property owners in Mysore, hinges on MCC' resolution.

Therefore we request MCC to pass a resolution on the matter and ask KUWS&DB to issue suitable instructions to JUSCO. Let JUSCO publish its rate for laying one foot of pipe. If people find it acceptable, they will get the work done by JUSCO. On the other hand, if they think it is too much, they can get the work done by others.

  

V.Mahesha, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Fast Courts To Be Set Up To Try Food Adulteration Cases

Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) which was passed by the parliament in 2006 itself has finally come into force three months after the gazette notification of the Food Safety and Standards Rules on 5-5-11. FSSA which replaces eight earlier laws (including the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act - PFAA - and orders referring to food passed under the Essential Commodities Act) is in effect all over the country from 5-8-2011. FSSA will govern any establishment connected with food, including shops, roadside eateries and hotels and also advertisements related to food.

 The main features of the FSSA are as follows:

1. A committee of 22 members called the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has been set up to specify standards with respect to food items and to set maximum pemissible limits for the use of food additives, pesticide residues, heavy metals, etc. in food items. As of now, the standards and limits set by the PFAA hold.

2. A Commissioner of Food Safety has been appointed in every state with the responsibility of effectively implementing the Act. This is a full-time job. S.Selvakumar, who served as MCC Commissioner in 2002-3 has been appointed the Commissioner of Food Safety for Karnataka.

3. A Designated Officer (DO) has been appointed in every district to enforce the act. Dr. D.G.Nagaraj, the surveillance Officer in the District Health Office is the DO for Mysore district. The DO is in charge if issuing (and cancelling) licences to all establishments connected with food (This duty is now being handled by MCC). His responsibilities also include getting food samples tested to see if they meet standards and filing cases under FSSA against persons who sell substandard or adulterated food items.

4. Food Safety Officers (FSO) have been appointed in every Taluk. The FSOs have the responsibility of collecting food samples from various establishments. They can also close down and seal an establishment under certain circumstances. A liability clause has been written into the law and any FSO who exercises his powers in bad faith can be punished with a fine of upto one lakh rupees. H.J.Suryanarayana is the FSO for Mysore city and P.T. Mahadeva is the FSO for Mysore rural.

5. The public can not file a case under FSSA against an adulterator. They have to get the FSO take the sample and then get it tested through the DO. Only a DO or the Commissioner of Food Safety can file a case under FSSA.

6. Cases under the FSSA can not be filed in ordinary courts. To try such cases, an officer not below the rank of Additional District Magistrate has been appointed in all districts as an Adjudicating Officer. He has all the powers of a civil court.

7. An appeal against an order of the Adjudicating Officer lies with the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal. Such tribunals have been established in all states.

8. The Adjudicating Officer and the Tribunal can try cases in summary fashion, i.e., speedily and without the complicated procedures of the Civil Procedure Code. They are similar to consumer courts in this respect.

9. No civil court can take any case over which the Adjudicating Officer or the Tribunal has jurisdiction. An appeal against the order of the Tribunal lies only with the High Court.

10. Penalties for food adulteration have been enhanced compared to the PFAA. PFAA speaks of fines in the thousands while FSSA talks only of lakhs of rupees. If violation of the law results in death, FSSA prescribes a minimum imprisonment of  7 years (extending to life imprisonment).

Some negative aspects of the new law:

11. In the versions of PFAA before 1991, there was an upper limit to insect parts, rodent hair or excreta that could be present in grains, but this restriction has been omitted from later editions of the PFAA. FSSA also omits such restrictions. The reason for this omission is not clear. In the FSSA, the only reference to the presence of insects in grains is Sec. 3(zz)(ix) which says that a food is "unsafe" if the presence of insects in it is injurious to health. Since eating rice weevils is probably not injurious to health, one can sell rice infested with weevils without attracting punishment under FSSA. This is strange.

12. The law seems carelessly drafted in a few places. For example, a purchaser can take food samples from a vendor and have them analyzed. If the food is adulterated, the purchaser is supposed to get the cost of analysis refunded. But it is not clear who will refund the fee, the food analyst, the vendor or the government. It is also not clear who will issue the order of the refund.  Another example of careless drafting of the law is the following. The Adjudicating Officer is required to pass the final order within 90 days from the date of the first hearing of any case, but the law has forgotten to include a time limit for the Tribunal.

C.V. Nagaraj, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

MGP Objections To Electricity Tariff Hike Proposal

Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), which supplies electric power to Mysore has filed an application before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) to increase electricity tariffs for 2012. CESC has called for objections to the rate increase. Mysore Grahakara Parishat is filing the following objections:

1. KERC approved the present tariff in 2010 as a multi-year tariff for the years 2011-13. Sec. 61(f) of the Electricity Act, 2003 (EA) mandates multi-year tariffs. There are two reasons for fixing multi-year tariff rather than annual tariff, to encourage efficiency of supply companies and to reduce regulatory uncertainty. Fixing the tariff once again when there are two years left on the original period of the multi-year tariff defeats the whole purpose of multi-year tariff and violates the Electricity Act.

2. Sec. 61(g) of EA intends that the tariff should reflect the actual cost of power. Since all the electricity supply companies (ESCOMs) in Karnataka have filed for identical tariff increases, it is obvious that the tariff proposed by them in general, and CESC in particular, does not reflect the actual cost of power. For example, the proposed tariffs (energy charges) for LT 2(a)(i) category (domestic AEH) is as follows:      

                     Present rate          Proposed rate     % increase
           
For the first
30 units                 2.1                    2.98                   42
           
31 to 100 units       3.2                    4.08                   28
           
101 to 200 units      4.2                    5.08                   21
           
 > 200 units            5                      5.88                   18

These figures are identical for all the five ESCOMs in Karnataka. Last year also, the five ESCOMs had applied for identical tariff increases. The actual cost of supply of power for all these companies can not be the same to the last decimal place when one takes into account, the different locations, different distances to power sources, different demographics and different costs of living. It is clear that the ESCOMs have not determined the cost of power supply in any scientific manner, but are presenting fictitious numbers. For this reason, the tariff hike proposed by CESC should be rejected. The ESCOMs have been always submitting identical tariffs and MGP has requested KERC to direct them to cease this practice and determine the actual cost of power supplied.

3. Sec. 5.9.4. of the National Electricity Policy emphasizes a more regulatory approach to setting standards for energy conservation. The most obvious regulation to promote energy conservation is to have higher tariffs for higher consumption. Increasing the tariff by the same amount irrespective of consumption goes in the opposite direction. In the table above (Item 2), the tariff has been increased by 0.88 Rs. for all consumers. This works out to 42% increase for consumers who practice energy conservation and just 18% increase for consumers who waste energy. Such a rate increase defeats the aim of the National Electricity Policy. Since Sec. 61(i) of the EA mandates that the National Electricity Policy must be followed in fixing tariffs, the rate increase also violates the law. Rightly, it should have been the other way round, 18% increase for the lowest slab and 42% increase for the highest slab.

4. Rural areas are suffering heavy power cuts in contrast to urban areas. This discrimination by CESC is against both equity and Sec. 5.1 of the National Electricity Policy. Electricity Regulatory Commissions of other states have acted to stop such discrimination. For example, in an order given on 5-5-2006, the Punjab ERC has ruled "The Commission further decides that the (Punjab State Electricity) Board should take adequate steps to minimize discrimination amongst consumers of different categories especially rural and urban domestic consumers as far as possible while imposing power cuts." In another order issued on 18-5-2007, PERC said "The Commission notes that there is disparity in the imposition of power cuts especially in the case of some urban centres and in rest of the State. The Commission observes that this clear discrimination between two sets of the same consumers seems to be iniquitous and without any rational basis. It would, perhaps, be best if power cuts are applied evenly in urban and rural areas of the State. If on the other hand the Board is still of the view that there are overriding compulsions to the contrary then it may draw up fair and transparent criteria that might justify any disparity in the imposition of power cuts." In a 2009 concept paper on power cuts (pdf) the Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission has observed "If all such feeders are not required to be cut, requisite number of feeders only may be cut but on rotational basis so that all consumers bear the brunt of such power cuts" and then again "The practice of exempting some cities for their perceived importance should be stopped and all urban areas should be treated similarly." These are some persuasive precedents. Karnataka Human Rights Commission has written to the state government on this issue. KERC should order an end to such discrimination.

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

Sweeping Beauty or Sleeping Beauty?

A street sweeping machine was procured by MCC last year at considerable expense and much fanfare. This sweeping beauty is found mostly parked in front of the MCC Office or under repair on the streets with a couple of mechanics attending to the defects (see photo). We were told that the machine is being used during the night hours to clean the streets, but I have not met anyone who has seen it working. Will the MCC publish its schedule so that interested people like me can see it in action?

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath, Mysore Grahakara Parishat