The Hindu Editorial News Analysis 21st Dec 2017

Table of Contents

Sakharov prize-2018

One of the two winners of the 2018 award, is The 45-year-old Iranian physicist, engineer, and human
rights defender, Narges Mohammadi, who is currently serving a 16-year sentence in prison in Tehran.
The other is Ravi Kuchimanchi, a physicist in physics at the University of Maryland, U.S., helped found the Association for India‟s Development more than two and half decades ago
Remarkable organisation that mobilises nearly a thousand volunteers and raises $2 million annually to support human rights and social justice issues in India.
SwadesKuchimanchi‟s personal journey when he returned from U.S. a
nd helped light up the remote, off-the-grid village of Bilgaon in Maharashtra.

Cleaning up

A permanent mechanism is needed to review laws and weed out the obsolete(अप्रचलित) ones
Law-making is a long and tedious(ग़ैरलििचस्प) process
Until…three years ago, a huge number of obsolete Acts remained in the law books despite
losing their relevance and utility?
Last three years that nearly 1,800 obsolete laws have been repealed.
In latest round, 235 outdated Acts and 9 pre-Independence Ordinances have been repealed
Relevant and necessary at time they were introduced, but in the absence of a periodic review they continue to burden the statutory corpus.
• Repealed are the Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act, 1911,
• The Bengal Suppression of Terrorist Outrages (Supplementary) Act, 1932, and
• The Preventive Detention Act, 1950.
2014 interim report, the •first of four such reports..on obsolete laws, Law Commission noted that the panel had been identifying Acts for repeal in many of its reports in the past.
In 1998, P.C. Jain Commission recommended the withdrawal of a large body of legislation
Nine ordinances issued by the Governor-General between 1941 and 1946, covering subjects
such as war injuries, war gratuities and collectivenes, are being removed from statute book
only now.
It is a welcome sign for good governance- Updating the statute book
Given that legislation is quite a prolific(उत्पादक) activity, especially in the State Assemblies, it
would be advisable to have a permanent commission to review existing body of law and
identify those that require repeal as often as possible.

Reconsider the Rules

The 2017 Wetland Rules limit monitoring and omit important wetland types
This year, a judgment by the Uttarakhand High Court, stating that Ganga and Yamuna
rivers are “living entities”, captured the national imagination
This year, a new legal framework for wetlands was passed, the Wetland
(Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, replacing the earlier Rules of 2010.
2017 Wetland Rules have been criticised for doing away with strong wetland monitoring
At the same time, Supreme Court order directs States to come forward and notify wetlands.
2010 and 2017 Rules for wetlands both emphasise that the ecological character of wetlands
bought to be maintained for their conservation
Ecological character‟ refers to processes and components which make the wetland a
particular, and sometimes unique, ecosystem.
For example, as lagoons like
1)-Chilika (Odisha) and
2)- Pulicat (Tamil Nadu/Andhra Pradesh) are characterised by a mix of saline and fresh water
The key to wetland conservation is not just understanding regimes of multiple use —
but conserving or managing the integrity of the wetland ecosystem.
Restriction of activities on wetlands will be done as..per the principle of „wise use,determined by the State wetland authority.
Salt pans are an example how one use (of making salt) has trumped the other
(of environmental balance).
Salt pans as „wetlands‟ have been omitted from the new Rules.
They were identified as wetlands in the 2010 Rules, as they are often important sites
of migratory birds and other forms of biodiversity.
2017 Rules suggests that while saltpans do exist as wetlands, they do not require any conservation or ecological balance
The case of Deepor Beel-Deepor Beel is a Ramsar Site and a part of it is also wildlife sanctuary in Guwahati, Assam-Suffers from intense manmade
pressure garbage dumping-National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the case of Deepor Beel.

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

Page-1-Surge in incomes over •5 cr: I-T dept.
Dip in returns for income below •5 lakh
Page-7– UPCOC Bill tabled, Opposition fumes
SP, BSP claim it can be used to suppress rivals
Opposition parties have come together to oppose the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organized
Crime (UPCOC) Bill, 2017- MCOCA in Maharashtra.
Page-7– IAF initiates step to buy 83 Tejas aircraft
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday issued the Request for Information
(RFI) for 83 Tejas light combat aircraft with specific enhancements
Jaya „video‟ stirs up row on poll eve- Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar bypollMax hospital opens its oors to patients again
Rajasthan hospitals remain crippled- 33-point charter of demands
Essential Services Maintenance Act
No plan to take away J&K‟s special status, says Centre
Minister tells Rajya Sabha that Articles 35A and 370 will stay as of now
Pak. issues visas to Jadhav‟s kin
Consumer Protection Bill that seeks to establish an authority to safeguard consumer rights
The MoU will include building of pre-fabricated homes for the displaced population
“2017 may be among top 3 hottest years‟- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)-2015,16