| 
Water Policy draft favours privatisation of services
- The draft policy calls for the abolition of all forms of water subsidies to the agricultural and domestic sector, but says “subsidies and incentives” should be provided to private industry for recycling and reusing treated effluents. It also proposes that subsidies to agricultural electricity users be curtailed, saying it leads to a “wasteful use of both electricity and water”.
- In 2005, a World Bank paper had made similar recommendations, arguing that “if India is to have sustainable economic growth, and that the role of the Indian water state must change from that of builder and controller to creator of an enabling environment, and facilitator of the actions of water users large and small”.
- The paper had called, among other things, for “stimulating competition in and for the market for irrigation and water and sanitation services”.
- The draft policy calls upon the government to ensure access to a minimum quantity of potable water for essential health and hygiene to all citizens, available within easy reach of the household.
- For expeditious resolution of inter-State water disputes, the draft policy suggests establishment of a permanent Water Disputes Tribunal at the Centre.
- The policy suggests that the cost of rehabilitation and compensation to the project affected families be “partly” borne by the project-benefitted families through “adequate pricing of water”.
Inter-caste child can get ST status if raised in mother's tribal environs
- In a marriage between a tribal woman and a forward caste man, the offspring will get tribal status if the child is brought up in the mother's environment and will be entitled to reservation, the Supreme Court has held.
- Though earlier judgments of this court said that “in an inter-caste marriage between a tribal woman and a non-tribal, the woman must in all cases take her caste from the husband,”
- The Bench said it was unclear if the doctrine of Hindu customary law, based on Privy Council decisions, that the wife took the caste of the husband could be applied in the post-Constitution era to determine the caste of a child from an inter-caste or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal.
- “Take for instance the case of a tribal woman getting married to a forward caste man and who is widowed or is abandoned by the husband shortly after marriage. She goes back to her people and the community carrying with her an infant or may be a child still in the womb. The child is born in the community from where her mother came and to which she went back and is brought up as the member of that community suffering all the deprivations, humiliation, disabilities and handicaps as a member of the community. Can it still be said that the child would have the caste of his father and, therefore, is not entitled to any benefits, privileges or protections sanctioned by the Constitution.”
“Naxalites recruiting young boys and girls”
- Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has noted with concern the “disturbing trend” of naxalites recruiting young boys and girls.
- “Young boys and girls in the age group of 12 to 15 are recruited by naxalites,”
- Mr. Ramesh called for a combination of political activism, developmental intervention, effective intelligence gathering and police action to tackle Naxalism. He suggested a determined political activity aimed at giving the tribal population a life of dignity.
- Nearly 20 million tribals were displaced by power, mining and irrigation projects. The displacement was twice and even thrice in certain cases.
