CANDID NOTES

Yatra Perils

Pilgrims on the Char Dham Yatra this year which started with opening of portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya are sure to get awestruck with the magnitude of the road works being done on the tough mountainous terrain under the All Weather Road project. The ambitious and gargantuan Rs 12000 Crore venture covering 900 km connecting Char Dhams, often dubbed as one of the dream projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is buzzing with activity these days as National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is tasked to complete the project before the year 2020. This activity however is all set to pose numerous problems for pilgrims as the road cutting and other associated works would impede the normal pace of the Yatra. Notwithstanding the state government’s assurance, maintaining smooth flow of traffic on the roads rendered rugged by activity of heavy machinery used to excavate roadside rocks in order to broaden them could prove a nightmare for the administration and police. Loose debris on the roadsides and excavated materials above them could also pose danger to the Yatris during slightest of the rains. It should be noted that Metrology department has predicted a normal monsoon this year which means continuing the sacred Yatra during the rainy season would be a major challenge. The pilgrims would also have the face the problem of availability of cash as banks and ATMs along entire Char Dham Yatra route are running dry from last one month.

Dark underbelly of e- tendering

In order to bring in transparency and reduce corruption, the Uttarakhand government has introduced the system of e- tendering in awarding contracts. Smart as they are, many contractors have devised an ingenious method of making a pool to fool the system and bleed the state exchequer in the process. In award of mining leases in Kumaon region, it was noticed that there is an unusually high first bid while the second highest bid and other bids were much less. As per the plan the highest bidder backs out at last minute, paving way for much smaller second bidder to get the mining lease. It is a win-win situation for all as the major contractors share the booty of the mining lease received at exceedingly low rates. The only looser however is the state government which faces revenue losses. This nefarious nexus is in notice of the authorities but they are maintaining a stoic silence which is having eyebrows raised.

Fee act- who will bell the cat ?

Education Minister Arvind Pandey looses no opportunity to pose himself as an activist on a mission to cleanse the ills plaguing the education system of Uttarakhand. His latest salvo is an announcement to bring in a ‘ Fee regulation act’ to rein in the private schools. The draft of the proposed act is ready in which the education department has planned to constitute fee regulation committees at state and district level. As per the plan these committees would decide the fee a school can charge after examining things like infrastructure, faculty and other facilities. The move of the education minister is music for the ears of innumerable parents harassed by the whims and fancies of these private schools especially on the issue related with fees. But those who know the intricacies and the way the system functions in the state are terming the claims of the minister nothing but hollow talks. They rightly point out that previous Harish Rawat government also did all the talking on the ‘Private Schools Regulation Authority’ but never had the nerve to table the bill in the state assembly and get it passed. “We all know how powerful these private school owners are. We have also seen political leadership has repeatedly bended backwards to accommodate the wishes of these famed schools.

It would be really a miracle if the education minister is able to get the Fee act implemented,’’ said an observer.