न्याय के लिए अलग-अलग परिभाषाएँ!

Satyendra Pratap Singh

अभी-अभी उच्चतम न्यायालय का फैसला आया कि पश्चिम बंगाल सरकार सिंगुर की जमीन किसानों को न बांटे. मतलब सरकार के फैसले पर स्टे लग गई.
इसके पहले २६ जून को उच्चतम न्यायालय ने नोएडा एक्सटेंसन में बिल्डरों के जमीन अधिग्रहण के मसले पर बहुत सख्त रूख अपनाते हुए कहा कि हम देश बार में जगह जगह "नंदीग्राम" नहीं बनने देंगे. दरअसल नोएडा एक्सटेंसन में तुलनात्मक रूप से छोटे-छोटे सेठ हैं, जो कानून की ऐसी की तैसी करके बिल्डिंगें बना रहे हैं... साथ ही वहां अपने फ़्लैट के इच्छुक करीब १५-२० हजार लोग पैसे देकर फंस गए हैं, जो अगर पैसे वापस लेते हैं तो उन्हें करीब एक लाख रुपये का चूना लगने वाला है. बिल्डर उनका पैसा वापस करेंगे या नहीं, इसका भी कोई भरोसा नहीं है. कर्ज के जाल में फंसे फ़्लैट लेने के इच्छुक लोगों का क्या हस्र होगा, इसके बारे में न सरकार को चिंता है, न न्यायालय का- जबकि उन्होंने कोई गैरकानूनी काम नहीं किया है!
न्यायालय को जगतसिंह पुर का पोस्को संयंत्र भी नहीं दिख रहा है, जहाँ हजारों की संख्या में बूढ़े, बच्चे, महिलाएं एक पखवाड़े से सड़कों पर लेटे पड़े हैं. स्थानीय प्रशाशन ने उनपर अब तक गोली नहीं चलाई है, लेकिन जो हालात हैं, वहां कभी भी लाशें गिर सकती हैं और हो सकता है कि उसकी ख़बरें भी निकलकर बाहर न आने पाएं...
न्यायालय को दंतेवाड़ा और अबुझमाड इलाका भी नजर नहीं आ रहा है, जहाँ टाटा और जिंदल के संयंत्र लगने वाले हैं. औने पौने भाव, डरा-धमकाकर जमीन का अधिग्रहण हो रहा है. जिलाधिकारी महोदय कहते हैं कि सरकारी काम में हस्तक्षेप करना गैर कानूनी है. साथ ही जहाँ तीब्र प्रतिरोध की सम्भावना है, वहां पुलिस और पैरा मिलिट्री फ़ोर्स लगाकर आदिवासियों के घर फूंक दिए गए.
वाह, क्या न्याय है! न्याय की हालात देखें...
-छोटे सेठो के लिए अलग न्याय, बड़े सेठों के लिए अलग! (नोएडा एक्सटेंसन में छोटे सेठ हैं और उपरोक्त ३ जगहों पर बड़े सेठ है!)
- जहाँ भाजपा, कांग्रेस शाशन में हैं, या यूँ कहें कि पूंजीवादी लूट का खुलेआम समर्थन करने वाले सत्ता में हैं, वहां नंदीग्राम बने तो कोई हर्ज नहीं, लेकिन मायावती और कम्मुनिस्तों के इलाके में नंदीग्राम बनना खासा शर्मनाक है...

UP has lowest rape rate!

UP has lowest rape rate among all states: NCRB

Delhi, West Bengal Among 5 Worst States

Shankar Raghuraman TNN

The noise being generated about recent incidents of rape in Uttar Pradesh might make it seem like the state is particularly bad when it comes to this most heinous of crimes against women, but official data suggests quite the contrary.

In fact, UP has among the lowest rates of rape among all major states in India. The National Crime Records Bureau’s publication Crime in India 2009 — the latest edition of that annual report — shows that with 1,759 rape victims in 2009, UP had 0.9 rape victims per lakh population. Compare that with the 1,631 victims in a much smaller state like Assam, which means a rate of 5.3 rape victims per lakh population, almost six times the rate in UP. The five best states or UTs in 2009, among those with a population of 100 lakh or more, were Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, UP and Bihar in that order, all of them having less than one rape victim per lakh population.

At the other end of the scale, the five worst were Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and West Bengal, in descending order of the rate. Even the best among this lot, West Bengal had a rate of 2.6 rape victims per lakh population, that is about thrice as bad as in UP. The Congress raising the issue of lawlessness in UP in this context seems particularly ironic given the fact that not one of the five best states or UTs had a Congress government in 2009, although Tamil Nadu had one run by an ally. he truth is that the political colour of the government has little corelation with rape statistics. It is likely that social factors lead to greater under-reporting of crimes against women in a state like UP or Bihar than in, say, Delhi. However, that still does not explain why MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan (2.3 victims per lakh population) or Haryana (2.5 per lakh) do not have lower figures than UP or Bihar. After all, there is no reason to believe that there is any less of a stigma attached to rape victims in these states than in UP or Bihar. Times View E ven a single case of a woman getting raped anywhere is one rape too many and deserves to be condemned. However, when crimes like these are sought to be used for political ends, those raising the bogey also deserve condemnation. If those protesting against the recent rapes in UP are seriously concerned about crimes against women in India, they would be better advised to spend their time and energy on figuring out how rapes and other such crimes can be minimised if not eliminated. That would involve, among other things, changing the gender profile of the police force as well as sensitising male policemen to the heinousness of the crime and the trauma of the victims. It is a harder job than agitating with a political motive, but a job that needs to be done.

Maya regime doing better on law and order than Mulayam’s?

Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui TNN

Lucknow: When Mayawati rode to power in UP in 2007, it was largely on the promise of an improved law and order situation. And to a very large measure she has delivered on her promise. The state today is less lawless than it was during the Mulayam Singh regime: that’s the general perception. It also has a better law and order record than several other states — crime figures bear that out.

But, suddenly, in the past month or two, Mayawati’s government is in the news for its alleged failure on the front. One case after another — most of them atrocities against women — have been reported from different parts of the state, providing enough fodder for the opposition to put Mayawati on the mat.

With state elections scheduled for 2012, it’s hardly surprising that the opposition parties are making a big deal of these crimes. Maya has struggled to prove that things aren’t as bad as they seem. But the gravity of a rape or a murder can’t be minimized and she is left answering several uncomfortable questions on crime, on fudged autopsy reports, the death in jail of a key accused in a high-profile murder case involving swindling of money out of the Rs 8,500 crore NRHM hospital funds.

But have things actually taken sharp turn for the worse? Would any state appear suddenly lawless if every crime there were to be put under intense scrutiny? In at least half-a-dozen press briefings of the CM, she has quoted figures to support its claim that the crime graph has not shot up all of a sudden. The government has also stressed that during her tenure Mayawati has sent as many as 12 of her MLAs, one minister and one MP to jail. How many regimes do that, the government has pointed out. So, where’s the breakdown that the opposition is crying about?

Statistics compiled by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), which comes under the Union ministry of home affairs, reveal that UP has an average of nine rapes in 48 hours. In Delhi, this is three and in Maharashtra it’s eight. The corresponding figures for Bihar is nine, Madhya Pradesh 16, and West Bengal 13. These are 2009 figures. Now, given that UP has the highest population in the country, that would make it one of the safest places in India.

Opposition parties in UP, however, dismiss the NCRB statistics, saying the figures shown are provided by the state government and hence can be tailored. When pointed out that the same would then apply to other regimes, Samajwadi Party state president Akhilesh Yadav said: ‘‘Just try to find out the count of such barbaric crimes during SP rule.’’

But the total number of registered rape cases has indeed shot up during Maya’s regime compared to Mulayam’s. In Mulayam’s time, 1,397 rapes (per lakh population) were registered in 2004; 1,217 in 2005; and 1,314 in 2006. This rose to 1,871 in 2008; came down a bit to 1,759 in 2009; and again went up to 1,801 in 2010. While things may not have improved much in 2011, the situation has not deteriorated drastically either compared to previous years. This was also the time when the opposition went for the kill, projecting a collapse in UP’s law and order. Lending credence to the charge was the gory nature of some of the crimes.

Worse, her government now has to battle the death in jail of Dr YS Sachan, the key accused in CMO murders.

courtesy: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=CAP&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW

कुछ इस तर्ज पर बढ़ेगी जमीन की लूट..

मैंने बहुत पहले संदेह जताया था कि अगर सत्तर या अस्सी प्रतिशत जमीन कब्ज़ा करने की जिम्मेदारी निजी हाथों को सौंप दी जाए तो लूट और बढ़ जाएगी. असल तो किसान को पता ही नहीं कि कीमत कितनी ली जाए, जिससे रोजी-रोटी आराम से चल जाए. पहले सरकारें अधिग्रहण करती थीं तो पुनर्वास और उस परियोजना में परिवार के एक आदमी को सरकारी नौकरी देती थीं, जिससे कम से कम एक परिवार के ३०-४० साल तक के जीने का सहारा मिल जाता था. अब किसानों के लिए कोई व्यवस्था नहीं है. निजी कम्पनियाँ नौकरी दे भी दें तो कितने दिन का भरोसा होगा? साथ ही अगर निजी क्षेत्र जमीन कब्ज़ा करेगा तो पहले तो वो औने पौने भाव जमीन खरीदेगा, फिर स्थानीय माफिया को जमीन कब्ज़ा करने का जिम्मा दे देगा, और वो उस क्षेत्रीय गुंडे को एक मुश्त रकम दे देगा, सुपारी के रूप में...

टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया में आई इस खबर ने सरकार की मंशा साफ़ कर दी. मेरा संदेह भी पुख्ता हुआ..

BJP mantri’s son buys farmland for Videocon

Supriya Sharma TNN

Janjgir-Champa (Chhattisgarh): Over the past few months, a “lal batti gaadi” has been spotted frequently in the narrow lanes of Gaud village, carrying Sandeep Kanwar, whom villagers identify as “mantri ka beta” (minister’s son). Sandeep is the son of Nankiram Kanwar, Chhattisgarh’s home minister. He is also the chief of BJP’s Anusuchit Janjaati Morcha (Scheduled Tribes Front) in Korba.
But in his latest avatar, Sandeep has
been appointed public relations officer of Videocon group, which is setting up a 1200mw power plant in Gaud and the neighbouring villages of Bhada, Gadapalli, Akaltari and Kewa. Gaud is in Janjgir-Champa, a small district in central Chhattisgarh, an extended landscape of irrigated plains, all set to become India’s power hub. Thirty-six thermal power plants are coming up here, the largest cluster of power projects anywhere in the country.
The farmland required for these projects is 960 acres, out of which approval for 198 acres was given by the state government last December. But the buying began much before that and a nexus of corporate and political interests is profiting at the cost of the poor and powerless, with tribal farmers among the worst affected. Sandeep and Videocon are good examples of how the collusion works.
“Sandeep Kanwar comes, holds meetings and tells us we should sell our land to the company,” said Ram Charan, a farmer in Gaud. Since Sandeep travels as an official, often with the local patwari, few see him as representing a private company. Villagers say his constant visits have intimidated several families into selling their land. “Raj ukhar hai (he is in power),” says Mahatma, an old farmer. “His car is marked with phool chhaap (BJP’s lotus symbol).”
Faced with protests, the state industries department was forced to grant a stay to the approval given to Videocon to buy land. And Sandeep acknowledges he has erred.
It is not just that the minister’s son is playing the role of a dubious persuader. He has been buying land to help the company circumvent important safeguards for tribal farmers. With Sandeep as a “front”, the state rehabilitation policy is bypassed.

POWER PLAY
Sandeep Kanwar, son of Chhattisgarh’s home minister Nankiram Kanwar, a tribal, has been acquiring land for Videocon, which is setting up a 1200mw power plant in Gaud and nearby villages
Sandeep, as Videocon PRO, visits villages in a red-beacon car with BJP party symbol, along with the patwari, blurring politicalcorporate lines
On paper the power of attorney is with the Videocon project director for the power plant. Payment is also done by the company
Farmers allege Sandeep used political clout and threats to buy land at low prices Minister’s son profits as farmers forced to sell cheap According to section 165
(6) of Chhattisgarh’s land revenue code, tribal land cannot be sold to a non-tribal without the district collector’s permission. Enacted by Madhya Pradesh in 1959, the law seeks to protect vulnerable tribal communities from being dispossessed of their land by powerful groups.
However, over the decades, land agents have perfected a way to get around it: prop up a tribal buyer as a front. He buys small land holdings from several tribals. Once enough land is accumulated, he seeks the collector’s permission to sell it to the actual buyer, keeping a small chunk to satisfy the condition that, as a tribal, he was not left landless.
As the son of Chhattisgarh’s highest ranking tribal minister, Sandeep is the best “front” a company could find. TOI has testimonies of villagers that show Sandeep bought land in their area. Sandeep bought 4.07 acres from Sonuaram; 6.86 acres from Gulab; 0.35 acres from Sukalu; 0.96 from Radhabai – all tribal farmers of Bhada village. Radhabai initially resisted the pressure to sell, till she was promised, “ek parchi mein do naukri (two jobs for one sale deed)”. A widow with two sons, she was taken away at night and kept in a dharamshala for four days. “I was allowed to leave only after I had signed the papers,” she said. Radhabai feels cheated, but since Sandeep is “mantri ka beta”, she dare not complain.
While buying land as a “front” is common practice, in this case it seems even pretences have been done away with. TOI has a copy of a document where Sandeep has signed away the power of attorney to one Vishnu Mulay: “I have been appointed as the PRO of Janjgir project by Videocon Industries. Since I am busy with my duties, I am unable to buy land. Hence, I appoint Vishnu Mulay, son of Achyut Mulay, as my attorney. He will buy land on my behalf in Gaud, Akaltari, Bhada, Kewa, Gadapalli, etc.”
Mulay is a top Videocon executive and the project director of the Janjgir Champa project. Although the legality of the document could not be confirmed – it’s signed but not registered – it makes for fascinating reading.
“The payment (for the land) will be made by Videocon,” the paper states. When contacted, Sandeep said that as the company PRO, he had simply facilitated the purchase of land. But when told about the documents in TOI’s possession, he accepted he had bought the tribal land directly. “Since the company can’t buy tribal land, I bought it to transfer to the company later,” he said.
The “facilitation” is at the cost of farmers, though. Sonuaram sold his entire land of 4.07 acres to Sandeep for Rs 11,21,000. This works out to less than Rs 3 lakh per acre, against the Rs 8 lakh stipulated as the minimum rate for single crop land under Chhattisgarh’s revised rehabilitation policy of 2010.
Not only was Sonauram cheated of fair price, he also lost all claim to rehabilitation, since he sold his land not to the company but to Sandeep. In effect, he cannot stake claim to employment or any other benefit in lieu of land, although his land was taken over by the company: one-foot high concrete poles have been dug at the plot corners, painted with VC, for Videocon.
While poor tribal farmers lose out, Sandeep stands to make a neat profit when he resells the same land to the company. The company, in turn, reduces its liabilities and rehabilitation responsibilities.
Asked why he was cheating poor farmers of the right price and rehabilitation, Sandeep responded, “Galti ho gayi (I made a mistake)”.
But Sandeep is not the only “front” the company appears to have used. Records show largescale purchases of non-tribal land by Bodhiram Sahu, and tribal land by Bilam Singh. While Sahu is a minor employee of Videocon, Singh is a resident of Cherpani village in Kawardha district, 200km away. He features on the BPL list, but records show he owns land worth lakhs.
Vishnu Mulay, project director, chose to dissociate the company from Sandeep. “He has bought land in his individual capacity, it has nothing to do with the company,” Mulay said. Asked about the land bought by Bodhiram Sahu, a company employee, Mulay said, “We’re answerable only to the government which will see if we are following its regulations or not.”
Officials confirmed that the company’s public hearing scheduled for April was postponed. In a letter to the district collector on April 1, the industry department placed a stay on the approval given to the company to purchase land in Gaud, Bhada, Gadapalli and nearby villages. Official also confirmed that complaints led to postponement of the project’s public hearing. The industries department has already taken back the “in-principle approval” for land purchase.

बुंदेलखंड में कर्ज से त्रस्त किसान ने खेत में दम तोड़ा

जागरण संवाददाता

बांदा सूखे और बदहाल बुंदेलखंड में किसानों की मौत थमने का नाम नहीं ले रही है। शनिवार को बांदा जिले में कर्ज में डूबे एक किसान ने खेत में दम तोड़ दिया। केंद्र-उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार की हवाई घोषणाओं के बीच बुंदेलखंड क्षेत्र में गत पांच माह में 519 किसान काल का ग्रास बन चुके हैं। इसबीच उप्र सरकार ने राजस्व विभाग को ऋण वसूली के लिए उत्पीड़नात्मक कार्यवाही न करने का निर्देश दिया है।

मुख्यमंत्री मायावती ने प्रधानमंत्री को पत्र लिख कर बुंदेलखंड के किसानों को ऋण माफी देने के लिए विशेष योजना लागू किये जाने की मांग की है। मायावती ने कहा है कि विशेष योजना में किसानों को इस वर्ष 31 मार्च तक वितरित किए गए ऋणों को शामिल किया जाये। खेत में किसान के दम तोड़ने की यह घटना बांदा जिले के फतेहगंज थाना क्षेत्र के बघेलाबारी गांव की है। सुरेश यादव (43) कुछ समय पहले तक पांच बीघा जमीन का काश्तकार था। तंगहाली व बीमारी के चलते एक साल के अंदर उसकी दो बीघा जमीन बिक गयी। शनिवार सुबह ग्रामीणों ने उसका शव खेत में पड़ा देखा तो परिजनों को सूचना दी। मृतक के पुत्र विकास ने बताया कि कुछ समय से पिता बीमार थे। इलाज और घर खर्च को लेकर कुछ जमीन बिक गयी। वहीं साहूकारों का भी 20-22 हजार रुपया कर्ज चढ़ गया था। शुक्रवार शाम कोई पिता के पास तगादा करने आया था, जिसके बाद पिता काफी परेशान थे। रात को ठीक से नींद भी उन्हें नहीं आयी है। इसके बाद वह कब खेतों की ओर चले गये, किसी को पता नहीं चला। उल्लेखनीय है कि इलाहाबाद हाईकोर्ट ने पांच दिन पहले ही इलाके में किसानों की खुदकुशी की बढ़ती घटनाओं पर दाखिल जनहित याचिका पर सुनवाई के बाद क्षेत्र में कृषि ऋण वसूली के मामले में उत्पीड़नात्मक कार्यवाही पर रोक लगा दी थी। साथ ही किसानों की मौत के मामले में केंद्र व राज्य सरकार को माह भीतर जवाब देने का कहा है।

वहीं, सूबे की राजधानी से सटे बाराबंकी जिले के रसौली कस्बे में तंगहाली से जूझ रहे एक दलित किसान ने पेड़ से फांसी लगाकर जान दे दी। वह अपनी जमीन दूसरे के हाथ चले जाने व बैंक की रकम न मिलने को लेकर व्यथित था। प्रशासन ने पीडि़त परिवार को मुख्यमंत्री सहायता कोष से दो लाख रुपये की आर्थिक सहायता मुहैया कराई है।

"आदिवासी नेताओं को जिंदा जलते देखती रही पुलिस"

न्यायिक जांच रिपोर्ट में यह खुलासा हुआ है कि आदिवासी आंदोलन के दौरान यहां से 60 किमी दूर बल्ली गांव में गुस्साई भीड़ ने दो आदिवासी नेताओं को जिंदा जला दिया था और इस पूरे प्रकरण के दौरान वहां मौजूद पुलिस मूकदर्शक बनी रही थी।
गोवा के मुख्य सचिव को गुरूवार की रात को सौंपी गई रिपोर्ट ने पुलिस विभाग को कटघरे में खड़ा कर दिया है। रिपोर्ट तैयार करने वाले न्यायाधीश मिहिर वर्धन ने अपनी रिपोर्ट में कहा कि 25 मई को आदिवासियों की भीड़ से निबटने के लिए पुलिस काफी नहीं थी लेकिन स्थानीय भीड़ द्वारा दो नेताओं को आग में फेंकने की घटना के दौरान पुलिस अधिकारी मूकदर्शक बने रहे।
बल्ली में सरकारी नौकरियों में आरक्षण सहित कई मांगें कर रहे गांवकर और वेलिप आदिवासियों का प्रदर्शन हिंसक हो गया था और आंदोलनकारियों ने राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग 17 को रोक दिया था। जवाब में स्थानीय भीड़ ने दो आदिवासी नेताओं मंगेश गांवकर और दिलीप वेलिप को कथित रूप से जिंदा जला दिया।
यूनाइटेड ट्राइबल एसोसिएशन एलाइंस :यूटीएए: ने आरोप लगाया था कि पुलिस की उपस्थिति में उसके दो नेताओं की हत्या की गई। गोवा पुलिस के प्रवक्ता आत्माराम देशपांडे ने हालांकि इस दावे को पूरी तरह खारिज कर दिया था। न्यायिक जांच में हालांकि कहा गया कि दोनों नेताओं की पुलिस अधिकारियों की उपस्थिति में हत्या की गई। रिपोर्ट में यह भी कहा गया कि यूटीएए कार्यकर्ताओं पर हमला एक सुनियोजित साजिश थी। यूटीएए ने यह भी दावा किया था कि पुलिस ने भीड़ पर डंडे चलाए जबकि ए लोग सरकार द्वारा मांगें पूरी होने का आश्वासन मिलने के बाद शांतिपूर्वक वापस जा रहे थे।
न्यायिक जांच में कहा गया कि पुलिस खुफिया विभाग पूरी तरह से नाकाम रहा जिससे अव्यवस्था फैली। वर्धन ने कहा कि चूंकि कोई खुफिया सूचना नहीं थी, पुलिस की उपस्थिति बहुत कम थी। रिपोर्ट में यूटीएए नेताओं की गलतियों पर भी प्रकाश डाला गया और आदिवासी कार्यकर्ताओं पर सार्वजनिक संपत्ति को नुकसान पहुंचाने और पुलिसकर्मियों पर हमला करने का आरोप लगाया गया।
(भाषा, पणजी, पांच जून 2011)