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India’s tightrope walk on Maldives

The summoning of the Indian High Commissioner to Maldives, Akhilesh Mishra, by Maldives’ Foreign Secretary is the latest sign of a lack of trust that has developed between New Delhi and Malé over the last few years.

The Maldivian Game of Thrones

Maumoon Abdul-Gayoom

Abdulla Yameen

Opposition Leader Mohamed Nasheed

Maldives election – 23 September – without allowing democratic institutions, including Parliament and the judiciary, to work in a free and transparent manner.
45 days Emergency in February 2018
Nasheed – “We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence.”
Malé asked New Delhi to take back two helicopters stationed for medical evacuation and rescue work. • Rules were also tightened for Indian workers in the Maldives tourism sector, and work visas are being tightened, causing some worry in Delhi. 1988 – interventionist role of India
Maldives has emerged as the latest theatre of the geopolitical tussle between India and China
With the Chinese expanding their footprint in Maldives through the Belt and Road Initiative, as they build massive infrastructure in and around Malé, India also faces an economic challenge with Maldives signing a Free Trade agreement last December during Yameen’s visit to China
India believes it is a “responsible” power in the region, and as it urges major powers in the world to follow “rules-based order”, it cannot be seen as not following those rules. “We are an aspiring member of the United Nations Security Council. And our record in following the rules-based order will be dented, if we do not follow international rules and decide to intervene in some way in Maldives political situation. That is why we have steered clear of intervening in Maldives”

Cap on election expenses At an all-party meeting called by the Election Commission Monday, all major parties except the BJP pushed for a cap on election expenditure by parties.

Why cap expenses?

Level-playing field for everyone contesting elections. It ensures that a candidate can’t win only because she is rich. The 255th Report of the Law Commission on electoral reforms argued that unregulated or under-regulated election financing could lead to “lobbying and capture, where a sort of quid pro quo transpires between big donors and political parties/candidates”.

The Election Commission (EC) imposes limits on campaign expenditure incurred by a candidate, not political parties.
Lok Sabha candidate – Rs 50 lakh and Rs 70 lakh
Assembly elections – Rs 20 lakh and Rs 28 lakh.
This includes money spent by a political party or a supporter towards the candidate’s campaign. Loophole – ?

Expenses incurred either by a party or the leader of a party for propagating the party’s programme are not covered.

An analysis of expenses for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by the nonprofit Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) found that even though candidates complained that the EC’s limits were too low and unrealistic, as many as 176 MPs (33%) had declared election expenses that were less than 50% of the limit in their constituency — indicating that candidates may not be providing true accounts of their poll expenses to the EC.
Law commission – Do not cap party expenses 1969 experiment in prohibiting corporate donations did not lead to a reduction in corporate donations. Instead, in the absence of any alternative model for raising funds, it greatly increased illegal, under the table and black money donations.

ELECTION COMMISSION –

introduce a ceiling on campaign expenditure by political parties in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. “It should be either 50% of or not more than the expenditure ceiling limit provided for the candidate multiplied by the number of candidates of the party contesting the election,” Listen to the deluge Post-disaster rescue and relief Pre-disaster situation Kerala Model of Development – an improved quality of life was achieved without a massive increase in per capita income. High literacy, deep penetration of grassroots democracy, high degree of women’s empowerment

Land-use near the rivers has been modified on the false protection offered by the large number of dams built in the last 50 years.
Better attention to land-use planning and improved coordination of reservoir management
Reserve enough land for the river to expand at the time of flooding.
If we are to rebuild Kerala as before, we are recreating exactly the same vulnerabilities that existed before. That would be an irresponsible act.
In Japan, after every tsunami, people place a stone marking the extremities of the tsunami so that later generations can see a mark beyond which they should not build
Mark the flood levels in homes and in every public place
Integrated land-use planning based on multiple risks can truly achieve sustainable disaster risk reduction.
Climate Change will affect Kerala more

– Cyclones, sea-level rise and high-intensity rainfall are going to make flooding more frequent in Kerala No more cover-ups 2 separate challenges of solid waste management in our cities

Managing the continuous flow of solid waste on a daily basis
Garbage hills having been built up at dumpsites that were meant for waste processing and landfills.

Historic neglect – lack of planning

Dumpsites inside cities today
Absence of exposure to air, the high-rises of rotting mixed waste on these sites generate methane (a greenhouse gas) and other landfill gases which contribute to global warming.
Leachate (liquid generated by airless waste), which pollutes groundwater.
• Frequent outbreaks of fire at the dumpsites lead to air pollution.
The presence of these dumps encourages further dumping at these sites even though they are filled beyond capacity. Many municipal authorities across the country are opting for “capping” as a solution to the legacy of mixed waste Liners, Proper piping and gas extraction systems to prevent the escape of leachate and gases Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 have clearly indicated that bio-treatment ( bio-remediation and bio-mining) of the legacy waste is the preferred way.

Corrosive landfill gases (containing methane, hydrogen sulphide, mercaptans and other sulphurous compounds) can be released from unscientifically closed dumps Small sites in scientifically controlled manner for capping are required Answers