Seed :
Madhya Pradesh to Table Bill to Stop Borewell Deaths
Extract :
he Madhya Pradesh government is in the process of drafting a law, which is believed to be the first of its kind in India, aimed at preventing fatalities resulting from open borewells.
§ In the last seven months, more than nine such incidents have been documented in MP.
Key Points
§ The suggested legislation will contain specific instructions on preventing such disasters, how to respond if one occurs, and the process for assigning accountability.
§ The bill calls for identification of open / dry borewells and heavy penalties on those responsible for not filling or plugging them and leaving them as an open hazard.
§ If the borewell is on private land, the land owner will be fined. If it's government land, the department and officer concerned will be penalised.
o The second stage would be registration of a criminal case in case someone falls into an open borewell. As of now, the accused is booked for negligence. Under the new law, the accused will be booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections.
§ Apart from the land owner or government official, responsibility would also be fixed on the agency that drills the borewell.
§ A system would be put in place for citizens to inform government about open borewells so that preventive action can be taken..
The Tree :
Needed : a Service Liability Act .. ……………..12 June 2019
Extract :
Many countries have Product Liability Acts under which , product manufacturers are held responsible / accountable for any hurt / damage caused to the users of their products ( even years later )
Especially in USA , this Act is very stringent and the liability extends even to the suppliers who might have supplied a defective component / sub-assembly which went into the final product
I am not aware of any such Act in India ; nor have heard of any instance where ( say , for example ) a car manufacturer is dragged to court for a defective brake which caused deaths due to failure to perform
But what we , in India , need rather badly right now , is a Service Liability Act
There are only a few “ products “ that Indian Government manufactures and sells to its citizens ( through PSUs ) but throughout the day, government servants / employees , deliver a host of SERVICES to the citizens – services that they are required to deliver legally / constitutionally or in an implied manner
For a timely delivery of such services , some states have introduced “ Delivery of Services Act “
They might have even prescribed some “ penalty / punishment “ for “ late or no “ delivery
But such instances are rare . Following is an example :
For not curbing pollution, Delhi civic chiefs may face prosecution.
Just to emphasize my point , do you think any government servant would go to jail for the following ? :
Mumbai: One dead as SRA high-rise building in Mahalaxmi catches fire
Mithi neglected, 2005-like floods ‘inevitable’, state report tells SC
Fire safety norms in Mumbai: In 3 years, only 36 housing societies prosecuted for non-compliance
Nearly 56% of bulk waste generators flout BMC rule
Air pollution: NGT slaps Rs 25 crore fine on Delhi govt
Allocate as many courts as needed, speed up netas’ criminal trials ; SC
Not a single day passes without newspapers reporting dozens of such cases of ( what I like to call ) :
CRIMES OF OMISSIONS [ as against “ Crimes of Commissions “ ]
Following owe their existence to such “ Crimes of Omissions “ :
Millions of Indians die PREMATURE DEATH every year , due to :
> Water and Air Pollution
> Dowry ( Bride burning )
> Child Labour
> Occupational Hazards ( Chemical / Coal / Cement industries )
> Miscarriage / Abortions / Pregnancy deaths
> Smoking / Tobacco chewing
> Junk Food / Adulterated Food
> Daru ( liquor ) laced with ethyl alcohol
> Fake Medicines............................etc
And who are responsible for keeping 28.7 Crores of Indians illiterate ( 37 % of World's illiterate ) , 66 years after independence ?
Is that because ,
> " CRIMES OF OMISSIONS " are taken for granted ?
> Deaths due to such Acts are treated as " NATURAL " ( not preventable ) ?
> Politicians don't think talking about these , will get votes ?
> Media could not care less ! TRP is all that matters for getting Ad revenue
> Cursing others is easier than persevering for the possible ?
==================================
To hold every Public Servant “ accountable “ for causing hurt / damage to any
citizen , what we urgently need is a “ Service Liability Act ( Govt
Employees ) 2019 “ , which clearly spells out :
# Extent of hurt / damage
Minor injuries / Temporary-permanent Disabilities / Deaths
# Coverage
Individual Citizen / Community / Entire Country
# Time Frame
Short term / Medium Term / Long Term
# Economic Impact on the Sufferers
Mild ( loss of money ) / Medium ( loss of assets ) / Severe ( loss of earning capacity )
# Cause
· Negligence ( abdication of responsibility ) / Indecisions on part of a Public Servant
· # Poor but honest decisions
· Mala-fide decisions ( with pecuniary gains for decision taker )
Here is my Conceptual Frame Work for an Online Rating Form :
=========================================================
SLAM : Service Liability Assessment Matrix
( an online form / Mobile App , for rating by citizens )
=========================================================
Dear Citizen :
Following news just got reported in Media . Please rate it by appropriate selection :
Metal staircase with live wires electrocuted 2 boys
=========================================================
Assessment Parameter | Weightage | Most (5) | Certain (4) | Possible(3 ) | Negligible(2) | Least ( 1 ) |
Extent of Hurt | 20 % | |||||
Coverage | 30 % | |||||
Time Frame | 10 % | |||||
Economic Impact | 30 % | |||||
Perception ( Most likely reason for mishap ) | 10 % |
TOTAL :
{ Call it “ AQ = Anger Quotient “ or “ WS = Wrath Score “ }
=========================================================
Let the Service Liability Act ( Proposed ) , prescribe various levels of punishments ( for Govt Employee/s , determined responsible for the root-cause of this mishap )
A certain time period may be prescribed for the citizens to fill up the form for each mishap
If , my proposal sounds too REVOLUTIONARY / RADICAL ( even for our bold and decisive, PM ), then , to begin with, some NGO ( eg : ADR ? ) may consider implementing this on its own , to create awareness and to educate the public in airing their opinion / feedback , on what lapses they see around them , everyday
=======================================================
Hemen Parekh
www.HemenParekh.ai / 17 June 2024
Related Reading :
Why no murder charge on civic body chief in Rajkot gaming zone fire case: HC .. TOI …07 June 2024
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