MHA to provide financial assistance to prison inmates (GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) would provide States with financial support to help underprivileged prisoners who are unable to get bail or secure release from prisons due to financial hardship.
Key Highlights:
- In line with one of the announcements of the Union Budget, ‘Support for Poor Prisoners’, the scheme envisages “financial support to poor persons who are in prisons and unable to afford the penalty or the bail amount”.
- The scheme will enable underprivileged prisoners, majority of whom belong to socially disadvantaged or marginalised groups with lower education and income levels, to get out of prison.
Technology-driven solutions:
- To further strengthen the process, technology-driven solutions will be put in place to ensure that benefits reach the poor prisoners; reinforcing the e-prisons platform; strengthening of District Legal Services Authority and sensitisation and capacity building of stakeholders to ensure that quality legal aid is made available to needy poor prisoners, etc.
Way Forward:
- The prisons are an important part of the criminal justice system, and play a significant role in upholding the rule of law.
- According to the Prisons Statistics of India Report, 2021, over 5.54 lakh people were lodged in prison and the total capacity of the jails in India was about 4.25 lakh, an occupancy rate of 130%.
Parliamentary panel asks govt to take steps to revive loss-making PSUs
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- A high-level Parliamentary panel of Rajya Sabha on industry headed by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva presented report in the Parliament during the recently concluded budget session.
Details:
- Out of the 16 operational Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the administrative control of the heavy industries ministry, five CPSEs including Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) and Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) are making losses.
- The high-level Parliamentary panel has expressed concern over this fact and also noted that a number of CPSEs under the ministry's administrative control are gradually decreasing.
- The panel has asked the heavy industries ministry to work towards enhancing the performance of CPSEs under its control and adopt restructuring measures to revive the loss making units, so that no further closure of PSUs takes place.
Heavy Engineering Corporation:
- HEC has been a loss-making enterprise continuously for the past several years, yet a meagre token amount of Rs 0.01 crore has been kept as a budgetary support for it for 2023-24.
- The committee thus has recommended that the ministry should make concerted efforts to improve the situation of HEC and if need arises, may seek additional funds at the "revised estimate" stage.
- The ministry should also give details of the steps taken and plans conceived to revive and strengthen the CPSEs within its administrative ambit to the panel.
Other loss-making units:
- Apart from HEC and HMT, the other loss making PSUs under the ministry's control are Engineering Projects (India) Limited (EPIL), Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) and NEPA Ltd.
- The committee also expressed dismay that year after year the number of CPSEs under the control of the heavy industries ministry are decreasing.
Way Forward:
- It has recommended that the Ministry should do a serious and holistic analysis of the causes that are making its PSEs sick and loss-making, and make concerted efforts for their revival and restoration.
NGT panel to revisit clearance granted for Great Nicobar Island project
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- The National Green Tribunal has constituted a high-powered committee to re-examine the environmental clearance granted to Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIDCO) for the multi-component mega project in the Great Nicobar Island.
- Along with the development of an international container transhipment terminal, the project also involves the development of a military-civil, dual-use airport, a gas, diesel, and solar-based power plant, and a township.
Background:
- The NGT was hearing appeals against Forest Clearance (FC) and Environmental Clearance (EC) provided to the project proponent (PP) ANIDCO.
- Earlier it had sought a response from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the PP.
Key Highlights:
- The bench said there was a need for adequate studies on the adverse impact on coral reefs, mangroves, turtle nesting sites, bird nesting sites, other wildlife, of erosion, disaster management and other conservation and mitigation measures.
- Besides, the island coastal regulation zone (ICRZ) notification of 2019 had to be complied with and tribal rights and rehabilitation had to be ensured.
- It underlined some unanswered deficiencies such as a threat to 4,518 coral colonies, impact assessment being of only one season as against the mandated three seasons and a part of the project being in the area where a port was prohibited.
- It asked the MoEF&CC's secretary to appoint a nodal officer. In the light of the report of the committee, the EC or its conditions may be re-looked into by the competent authority.
Development Plan:
- The Indian Ocean has emerged as a key intersection zone of Indian and Chinese strategic interests, the project will help bridge the infrastructural gap on the island and promote international trade saving huge amounts on transhipment cargo.
- Earlier in January, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways had said the project is expected to be completed with an investment of Rs 41,000 crore (USD 5 billion), including investment from both government and the PPP concessionaire.
- The proposed port will have the ultimate capacity to handle 16 million containers per year and, in the first phase, will handle above 4 million containers.
What’s next?
- Till then, further work in pursuance of impugned EC may not proceed except for the work which may not be of irreversible nature, the tribunal said disposing the appeals.
