Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts

LPG dealers are handing customers a handbill which states that LPG subsidy will be directly credited to the bank account of the customer. To receive this credit, the consumers should go to the bank with a copy of the Aadhaar card and get their accounts "Aadhaar-enabled". 

We checked with several banks in the city, SBM, SBI, Vijaya Bank, Corporation Bank and Syndicate Bank, but they all pleaded ignorance in the matter. Only Canara Bank is providing this service.

If banks do not Aadhaar-enable accounts, how will the LPG customers get their subsidy?


Dwarkanarh Narayan, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Kudos to Sunanda School

We had recently written about the sorry state of the sump of Sunanda school near Akashavani Circle. The cover of the sump was missing and the roof of the sump had also caved in at the other end. Since scores of school children passed this sump every day and the sump was an open invitation to disaster, we had requested the authorities to take immediate action to prevent a tragedy.

We are happy to report that as soon as the photo was published in the local media, the school authorities have taken action. They have installed a cover and locked it so that it can not be opened accidentally. They have also repaired the damage at the other end of the sump.

B.V. Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Is the cut in LPG subsidy justified?

The central government has reduced the subsidy on diesel by Rs. 5 per liter and put a ceiling on the number of subsidized LPG cylinders to six per family per year. This has created a wave of protests across the country.

The reduction of subsidies is not a surprise. Ever since it signed the GATT agreement in 1994, India has been assuring the world that it would remove all oil subsidies. In the review report submitted to WTO in 2002, it said "The subsidy on LPG and kerosene is proposed to be phased out in the next three to five years." The group of 20 nations (G20) of which India is a member passed a resolution at Pittsburgh in 2009 to phase out all subsidies to fossil fuels. India again made a commitment at the Seoul G-20 Summit in November, 2010 that it would phase out all oil subsidies in 3-4 years. But afraid of the political consequences of such a move, the government, instead of removing subsidies at once, has been reducing them bit by bit. It is almost certain that the oil subsidies (petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene) will be removed completely sooner or later. 

It may appear at first sight that putting a ceiling on the number of subsidized LPG cylinders will hurt the poorer sections the most, but studies both by NGOs and the government itself show that the opposite is true. A 2005 study by The Energy and Resources  Institute (TERI), a New Delhi-based non-governmental organisation promoting sustainable development, found that the LPG subsidy does not reach the really poor: "76% of the LPG subsidy goes to urban areas with 25% of [India's] total population, and 52% of this urban subsidy is enjoyed by the top 27% of households." Thus the urban and the rich get a disproportionately larger share of the benefits of the LPG subsidy. The Expert Committee on Integrated Energy Policy appointed by the Planning Commission and headed by Dr. Kirit Parikh has also come to similar conclusions.

There is another factor to consider. The total subsidy on the sale of LPG for the financial year 2011-12 was about Rs. 27,000 crore. If there was no subsidy, this huge amount of money would have been available for welfare measures such as employment, education, health, etc. The poor, especially the rural poor, who really need these measures are being denied their benefits because of the subsidy to the less poor.


Dr. Bhamy V. Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Hoardings in Mysore violate Supreme Court order

Mysore is now cluttered with roadside hoardings. Some of them have skimpily clad models and flashing lights. They are quite distracting to the drivers of vehicles and may even be causing accidents. The Supreme Court and various High Courts have repeatedly ruled that hoardings which are hazardous and a disturbance to safe traffic movement should be removed. Steps have been taken to remove such hoardings in several states, such as Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh. It is surprising that the authorities in Karnataka in general and, Mysore in particular, are not taking any action on these dangerous hoardings.  

In  M. C. Mehta  Vs. Union of India and Others PIL, the Supreme Court ordered on 20-11-97: 'Civic authorities including the Delhi Development Authority, the railways, the police and transport authorities are directed to identify and remove all hoardings which are on the roadsides and which are hazardous and a disturbance to safe traffic movement...We direct carrying out of these orders notwithstanding any other order/directions by any authority, court, tribunal and no authority shall interfere with the functioning of the police.'

Following the above order of the Supreme Court, public interest litigations against roadside hoardings have been initiated in several states and High Courts have passed similar orders. Appeals against these orders have been dismissed by the Supreme Court. Advertisers have appealed against an order passed by the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court  dismissed their appeal on 16-4-01. Chandigarh administration objected to an order by the Punjab and Haryana High Court saying that it would lead to a huge loss of revenue, but the Supreme Court dismissed its appeal on 27-9-04. 

When Delhi High Court ruled that all hoardings near and facing roads are traffic hazards and ordered their removal, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi went in appeal before the Supreme Court. In the appeal, MCD argued that studies conducted by expert bodies (School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi and Centre for Advance Research on Transportation, Calcutta) have revealed that there is no connection or relation between advertisements and accidents and that there is no evidence that all hoardings near and facing roads are traffic hazards. The Supreme Court asked the Environmental Pollution Control Authority of the Central Pollution Control Board to study these objections and prepare a report.

Such a report has been prepared and is available on the internet. EPCA heard various stakeholders such as the Railways, Delhi Metro, major advertising agencies and MCD. Based on a global literature survey, EPCA concluded that the two studies cited by MCD had serious flaws in their research methodology and hence came to wrong conclusions. EPCA also concluded that
a. The effect of hoardings on traffic safety is real. However, it is situation-specific. There is overwhelming evidence that signs and billboards can be a threat to road safety.
b. Almost all studies agree that too much 'visual clutter' at or near intersections and junctions can interfere with drivers' visual search strategies and lead to accidents.

Based on the EPCA report, MCD came out with the Delhi Outdoor Advertising Policy, 2008 (pdf link) finalized according to the directions of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, while approving the outdoor advertising policy, agreed with the contention of EPCA that though the advertisement policy has been drafted by MCD, the same is applicable to the entire city including advertisements placed on Railway, Delhi Metro and private properties. The Delhi Outdoor Advertising Policy, 2008 can be taken as a model policy for all the cities in India.

Under this policy, advertisement promoting drugs, alcohol, cigarette or tobacco items or propagating exploitation of women are prohibited. Illuminated advertisements with lights going on and off are also prohibited. Generators to provide power for outdoor hoardings are also not allowed. Violations of these conditions are common in Mysore.

It is interesting that the policy also prohibits signs which can not be quickly and easily interpreted as they would increase the period of distraction. So letters should not occupy more than 20% of the sign!

The policy does not permit large billboards on footpaths. They are also not allowed in residential areas or within 75 m of any road junction or traffic intersection or within 75 m of another billboard. They are also not allowed on road medians. Violations of these conditions are common in Mysore.

Since the Supreme Court order to remove hazardous hoardings in Delhi, PILs have been filed in many states and the High Courts have given similar orders. The state government and Mysore City Corporation should formulate a hoarding policy similar to that of Delhi before someone files a PIL and forces them to do so. 

Dwarkanath Narayan, Mysore Grahakara Parishat 

Attention, Authorities!

The above photo shows the sorry state of the sump of a school near Akashavani Circle. The cover of the sump is missing and the roof of the sump has also caved in at the other end (It is now covered with tile pieces). Scores of school children pass this sump every day and the sump appears to be an open invitation to disaster. We request the authorities to take immediate action to prevent a tragedy.

B.V. Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat