Under the radar
Unobtrusively, the Modi government has taken many controversial decisions which merit more attention than they have received.
SEVANTI NINAN recounts a few that reporters have uncovered. Pix: Environment minister Prakash Javadekar
An ambitious and hyperactive prime minister turned out to be a huge news spinner all year round. Between his stated intentions, his government’s performance, and the occasional assertions of the saffron fringe, there has been no dearth of news noise.
To assess the Narendra Modi government’s first year, one needs to look beyond the trend data on the economy and what the budgetary allocations show about the government’s priorities, both of which are easily done.
You need to shut out the commentary and analysis for a bit and look beyond growth, ghar wapasi, foreign policy and farmers, all of which became top-of-the-mind buzzwords but which obscured significant acts of omission or commission.
You need to look at the reporting from the ground and from the corridors of power to see how these actions have affected the environment, the rural poor, and legal protections for some sections of the population.
Because it is the reporting by a few on the changes this government is setting in motion that should give the thoughtful pause.
On the environment
In the course of the year the Prime Minister’s office ordered 60 specific dilutions in green clearances: the environment, forests, wildlife and coastal protection. Almost all of them were carried out by the Environment Ministry within months.
NDTV reported on how green safeguards were being diluted, on the kind of people being appointed to the forest advisory committee and the speed with which it was clearing the proposals it received: 133 projects cleared in its first meeting alone.
Business Standard reported that India has formally changed its stance on dealing with climate-warming refrigerant gases such as HFCs, doing a U-turn after a deal with the US because the refrigeration industry would take too big a hit if India were to agree to a transition, as asked for by the US. This came after Modi’s visit to the US.
On tribal rights
The paper also reported that Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar finalised orders to stifle the consent powers of tribals over their traditional forestlands, prepared on the instructions of the PMO. The Tribal Affairs Ministry's assessment was that the orders from Javadekar were illegal, overstepping the powers of Parliament.
On social sector schemes
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said his budget was not reducing the allocation to the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme but the Indian Express reported that more than 70 per cent of NREGA wages remained unpaid this fiscal.
NDTV too reported on the drying up of funds for this scheme and cited examples of chief ministers who had written to the Centre urging the release of funds. It also went out to look at the kind of assets being created, which the prime minister had mocked, and concluded that the jibe of holes being dug under NREGA was not warranted.
On the legislative front
Manoj Mitta reported in the Economic Times that the Caste Atrocities Bill, promulgated as an ordinance by the UPA government, in March 2014, had to be introduced by the new government by July that year or it would have lapsed. The Modi government decided that it would not look good to let this happen but it wasn’t enough of a priority to be taken up later so it was referred to a standing committee.
But despite the committee’s go-ahead, the bill was not taken up in the just concluded Budget session of Parliament. Caste atrocities, meanwhile, continue.
The Whistleblower Protection Amendment Bill which was passed by the Lok Sabha has made it more difficult to prosecute politicians by stipulating that clearance from a bureaucrat is needed for a complaint to be taken up. It has also taken away the immunity from prosecution of genuine whistleblowers, which was part of the original Act.
Finally, we have reporters everywhere to thank for telling us how Mr Modi’s ambitious new schemes are translating into reality (or not), even as TV anchors hyperventilate. Firstpost told usabout the challenge the banks are facing in making the Jan Dhan Yojana workable and useful, so did NDTV. The latter also reported that the PM was congratulating bankers on its success.
Ditto for the challenges the Swachh Bharat mission was facing on the ground. The Economic Times made it part of its one-year package, a positive story from BJP MP Poonam Mahajan’s constituency in Mumbai, and a not so positive one from Hema Malini’s constituency, Mathura.
Neither our competitively vocal TV anchors nor the denizens of Twitter and other social media are getting worked up over any of the above. We have reporters to thank for doing their job. All we need to keep this government and PM more focused on delivering, is the ground reporting all year round, not just on anniversaries.
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