Editor,
The Sweeper Lane is not conducive for human habitation. That is a fact and no amount of argument on grounds of human rights can cut any ice. Human rights should include the right to live with dignity and that also means having enough space and proper sanitation. In this the state government should exercise its mandate to settle residents of slums to such spaces in the city or beyond it which are suited for residential quarters. To continue to rehabilitate the residents of this colony in the present location which is clogged with traffic and does not have the basic amenities that citizens of a 21st century country should have is to yield to populism. Governments are not elected to cater to a constituency but to look at the larger public good. There will be greater violation of human rights of the children growing up in that area than if the families are relocated to a more spacious locale. Hope this government will have the vision to do what is right for the residents of this colony instead of yielding to pressure from the different organisations from outside the state speaking on their behalf.
Yours etc.,
D Suting,
Via email
Standing up for victims of torture
Editor,
The United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is annually observed on June 26 to remind people all over the world that human torture is not only unacceptable – it is also a crime. Farooq Ahmed Dar reportedly came to cast his vote in the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency braving the boycott call by separatist organisations. Investigation found that after voting, when he was on his way, to his sister’s place for a condolence visit, the army picked him up and tied him to a jeep and paraded him through nearly 28 villages in Budgam district apparently to escape stone pelters.
The army and some of us had supported this action. Perhaps, it is another matter that Major Leetul Gogoi who was at the centre of human – shield controversy, is in the news again for some wrong reasons. Nevertheless, it is time to scrutinize if a human being can be treated in such a brutal way even for arguably a noble cause. Do we have to accept that the end justifies the means?
Now, we must examine the very area where workers have been facing torture in the name of occupational hazard. It is horrifying to see many construction workers engage in doing life-threatening jobs without having minimum safety protection. Shop assistants in some malls are made to work for more than eight hours a day.
They have been forced to hand over their mobile phones during working hours. Being totally disconnected, they cannot provide help to their families in crisis situations. Sometimes, they are not allowed even to go to the toilet! We need to create such an environment where they will be able to enjoy their “Fundamental Right against Exploitation” as enshrined in the Article 23 of the Constitution of India.
At the same time, we must try to attract every child to a school and to effectively end child labour and child abuse. Schools need to provide the students with a safe shelter, nutritious midday meal, drinking water and toilets where students can get quality education without facing any kind of torture be it corporal punishment or ragging or hunger or thirst or insecurity.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
GST reforms
Editor,
The outgoing Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian suggested removal of 28-percent slab and a common cess of 40-percent on goods requiring tax-rate more than highest GST slab-rate. But these suggestions are not practical and incomplete. Many items like liquor presently attract much higher taxes which if allowed maximum 40-percent cess will become very cheap and cause appreciable loss to the public-exchequer. Likewise removal of just one 28-percent slab is nowhere near to ideal single-rate GST structure. Even 18-percent GST slab on service-sector is very high and needs to be reduced to 12-percent GST-slab with abolition of Input-Tax-Credit (ITC) provision at least from service sector to compensate loss by bringing it in 12-percent GST-slab.
Ideally the country should have one single 12-percent GST-slab abolishing all other slabs of 0.25, 3, 5, 18 and 28-percent. Rather exemption from GST should be altogether abolished. Such a provision will give much higher revenue than in the present system, apart from making the system simpler. People will be ultimately benefitted by abolition of 18 and 28 percent slabs even if they lose exemption on some commodities and abolition of five-percent GST-slab. Cess may be replaced by GST in multiples of 60 to be equivalent to pre-GST tax-structure on costly items to bring uniformity in tax-structure. This should be applicable even on costly items presently attracting cess.
Yours etc.,
Madhu Agrawal,
Via email