Threat of drought looms large
Apart from the conventional drought belts such as North Karnataka threat of famine looms large in other parts of the state as well.
86 taluks of 23 districts have already faced shortfall of rain as per the state government. Another 14 Taluks entered that list on Monday. Revenue department has initiated work to prepare a list of drought stricken regions to be sent to the centre to seek aid. Report on crop loss would also be submitted to the centre. Survey has been undertaken in regions where there is rain shortfall and declared drought.
Details like depreciating groundwater table crop loss shortage of cattle feed and shortage of drinking water would be included in the report. Shortage of rain and increased dryness in the environment for more than 3 weeks would be considered as parameters for this report which would help decide the drought level in the region.
Along with 86 taluks, Anekal in Bangalore district, Devanahalli, Tumkur, Turuvekere, Holalkere, Hosadurga, Davanagere, Jagalur, Pandavapura, Aurad, Basavakalyan, Athani, Bilagi, Mudhol areas has been declared as drought stricken regions. Government has responded to drought situation after much delay. Floods in Kodagu and other natural disasters to cover the focus of administration from the drought situation looming in other areas of the state.
Kalburgi in Bijapur, which are tur/pigeon pea growing regions, have faced worst crisis ever. Their main crops such as cotton and tur have already failed with flowers that would turn into seeds, falling off the dry plants. Temperature is getting scathing hot with every passing day and this has got the farmers very worried about their crops.
Failed crop would mean increased loans which would be difficult to repay.
They bought seeds for cotton on loan. And since rains have failed, they will never find a way to repay this loan. And this is a very worrying time for farmers. The heat has already increased in Koppal, Bijapur, Raichur and Kalaburgi. Situation of drinking water is very grave in Bijapur and surrounding areas and state government is supplying drinking water through tankers. But the quantity of water is never enough for families. Because every family barely gets two buckets of water.
Lakes and tanks have dried groundwater is depleted people barely have water to drink or take bath.
MGNREGA is not being implemented effectively. Officers are not submitting accounts hence the bills are not being passed this delaying payments. Though each day's job should ensure a payment of Rs 249, people never get this and fake bills are being generated to deprive the poor of rightful earnings. Job for 100 days is not sufficient under these dire circumstances, and people are demanding that at least 300 days of work is needed to keep their families from going hungry.
Rains have failed in all phases and though officers are suggesting alternate crops, there are barely any takers for that owing to no rains. state government has to bring this to the notice of Central government to get more help and funds along with resources. Relief measures have to be initiated and drinking water problem has to be solved. The issue of migration has to be checked to ensure socio economic balance. Chief minister has to visit drought stricken areas to understand the gravity of the situation.
Not just North Karnataka, some areas in Dakshina Kannada have also turned into permanent drought stricken villages. Kolar Chikkaballapur and Tumkur have been facing shortfall of rain since many years. government has to initiate novel methods of conserving water like desilting the tanks in These areas to collect more rain water which can be used later for various purposes. The drought situation this time is a lot grave than ever. Hence the state cannot sit on the figures submitted by officers to offer help. District incharge ministers have visit their areas to understand the progress of the works that have been undertaken to tackle the problem.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Justice B V Nagarathna of the Supreme Court on Saturday called for the creation of a judicial reforms commission to reduce mounting pendency in the courts, saying systemic incentives across stakeholders were contributing to delays in justice delivery.
She was speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association's (SCBA) first National Conference on the theme "Reimagining judicial governance: strengthening institutions for democratic justice" here.
Nagarathna, who was part of the panel session addressing "From Pendency to Prompt Justice: Rethinking Justice Delivery in Indian Courts," said, this reforms commission must have membership not only from the judiciary of the Supreme Court, the High Court, as well as the District judiciary, but also have members from the Bar, Attorney General, Solicitor General, and also certain members representing the Bar at the institutional level, such as the Bar President, and from the government side to enable an inter-institutional dialogue on reducing pendency.
She reflected that, from the point of view of various stakeholders, a litigant gains from the status quo, to proceed to prolong proceedings.
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"A lawyer or an advocate loves adjournments and postponement because he/she benefits from per appearance and extended timelines. A government department reduces bureaucratic risk by appealing rather than accepting defeat.
"A judge, and particularly a trial judge, is always acting with caution because he/she is confronted with appellate reversal, and therefore he/she prefers procedural caution rather than having an aggressive docket control. Each of these decisions is individually rational, but how does it help the system? It is only leading to systemic delay," she added.
In order to break this equilibrium, Justice Nagarathna said that what is required is institutional interventions through a judicial commission to reduce pendency, rather than merely exhorting better conduct from judges, adherence to procedural timelines, asking advocates not to seek adjournments, urging the government to reduce litigation, or expecting courts to function round the clock and judges not to take leave.
On pendency, the judge questioned the inclusion of defective filings in court statistics, suggesting that such cases should not be counted until they are procedurally ready for hearing.
She also underlined the role of the government as the "largest generator of litigation", noting that officials tend to file appeals to avoid scrutiny, even in cases where disputes could be settled earlier. This, she said, results in cases travelling through multiple judicial levels unnecessarily.
"The government publicly expresses concern about judicial backlog, while simultaneously feeding that backlog through relentless litigation," she observed.
Justice Nagarathna further claimed judicial capacity is constrained by inadequate public investment, including delays in appointment of judges, lack of infrastructure and insufficient use of technology.
Among the measures suggested, she called for improved case management, curbs on unnecessary adjournments, adoption of technology, prioritisation of cases, promotion of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and creation of specialised benches.
She also urged advocates to adhere to professional and ethical standards, litigants to avoid frivolous appeals, and the government to adopt a practical litigation policy and ensure timely funding and appointments in the judiciary.
