Inform me of your meetings with minister Prakash Javadekar: MoeF Secretary to team

Ashok Lavasa's order also said the “subject matter of the meeting should be clearly mentioned” and “the agenda should be circulated well in advance”.

The Indian Express, 30 August, 2015

Signalling a turf war at the top in the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF), Secretary Ashok Lavasa has directed ministry officials that he be “informed immediately” about their meetings with Minister Prakash Javadekar, and the agenda “circulated well in advance”. 
The office of the Secretary issued an order on July 13 which stated that “while issuing notices for meetings/presentations chaired by the minister”, he “should be informed immediately about the meeting… a copy of the notice should be marked to the office of the Secretary”.
It also said the “subject matter of the meeting should be clearly mentioned” and “the agenda should be circulated well in advance”. 
This unusual direction, sources said, has only intensified speculation that all’s not well at the top in the ministry. Sources pointed out that there have been occasions when the Secretary, despite being present at Paryavaran Bhawan in Jor Bagh, has skipped “general internal meetings” called by the Minister. 
Sources said the Secretary reports directly to the Prime Minister’s Office, providing weekly briefs on the status of development projects pending clearance with the ministry. 
Neither Lavasa nor Javadekar responded to multiple emails and phone calls on what necessitated the order by the office of the Secretary. 

Supreme Court panel says no to mega rail link through Western Ghats

A joint venture between the Railways and the Karnataka government, the original project involved construction of 329 bridges and 29 tunnels, and required felling of more than 2.5 lakh trees on 965 hectares of forest land. 

The Indian Express, 23 August, 2015

The Rs 2,315-crore Hubli-Ankola railway line, cutting across the Western Ghats in Karnataka, has been shown the red signal by a Supreme Court panel on forest and wildlife, which said that the project’s “huge and irreparable” ecological impact would “far outweigh” its “actual tangible benefits”. 
Last August, Railways Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who is also a senior BJP leader from Karnataka, had claimed that he was in touch with Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on the issue and that the 168-km rail link project — conceived in 1998 primarily to transport iron ore from the Bellary-Hospet mines — would be cleared in a year. 
However, in its report submitted earlier this month, the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) underlined that the net present value of the modified requirement of 727 hectares of forest land for the project works out to Rs 7,426 crore ? more than triple the project cost.

“These figures most effectively demonstrate the extraordinary high ecological and economic value of the forest land involved in the project,” it said, recommending that the apex court may direct the Environment Ministry not to reconsider or approve the project it had earlier rejected. 
MoEF officials refused to comment as the matter was sub-judice. 
A joint venture between the Railways and the Karnataka government, the original project involved construction of 329 bridges and 29 tunnels, and required felling of more than 2.5 lakh trees on 965 hectares of forest land. The proposal was rejected by the Environment Ministry in 2004 but revived with modifications in 2006. Pushing the rail link in 2008, the Karnataka government claimed it was “inevitable that the Western Ghats has to be pierced through at some point to ensure this connectivity between coastline and eastern plains of the state.” 
The CEC’s opinion follows a series of adverse reports the project has attracted since its foundation stone was laid by then prime minister A B Vajpayee in May 2000. In 2002, the Karnataka forest department observed that no national interest would be served by dissecting the forest landscape of Uttara Kannada with a new rail link when the potential of the existing alternatives such as Hubli-Vasco, Hospet-Chennai and Hospet-Vizag lines was yet to be tapped fully due to the low volume of iron ore traffic. It further reasoned that the deposit of Bellary-Hospet itself would not last beyond 20 years, making mining economically unviable. 
But by then, the Railways had already started work on the project in a non-forest stretch. In 2003, the then Karnataka forest chief reiterated that “the forest and terrain really do not permit a railway line” but the proposal “has to be considered in the light” of “more than one commitment” already made by the state government and the Railways Ministry. 
Submitting the proposal to the Union Environment Ministry, Karnataka’s then principal secretary (forest) acknowledged that the rail link “will further fragment the forest and expose fresh areas to anthropogenic pressure”, before concluding that “these appear inevitable given the importance of the line”. 
In May 2004, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Environment Ministry observed that the project “for transporting mainly iron ore has not much justification” while “this will simply be a tragedy on the prime forests of the Western Ghats. Accordingly, the ministry rejected the proposal. 
In the following months, the Railway Ministry mounted pressure, underlining the importance of the project in view of increasing global demand for iron ore. In September, the FAC asked the Karnataka government to critically revise the proposal. The Railway ministry modified the proposal in 2005, reducing the forest land requirement to 720 hectare. 
In 2006, two NGOs approached the CEC which found that though the project was rejected, work was in progress on a 40-km non-forest stretch. Before CEC could take action, 80 per cent of earth and bridge works up to 47 km between Hubli and Kiravatti was complete. 
In 2011, the state government engaged the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to prepare a technical report. Recommending a Rs 450-crore mitigation plan, the IISc report said in 2012 that the proposed link would cut through a key elephant corridor and trigger conflict, while removal of trees would lead to a loss of 2.25 lakh tonnes of carbon and annual sequestration potential of upto 3,696 tonnes. 
Between 2006 and 2013, the CEC held seven hearings and meetings on the project. During this period, the Railways proposed to implement the project in stages while Karnataka further reduced the total forest land requirement to 687 hectare. 
Dismissing the reduction in forest-land requirement, the CEC said that “no amount of mitigation measures would be adequate to contain the severe adverse impact on the biodiversity-rich dense forest of Western Ghats.” However, it said that the MoEF may divert five hectares of fringe forest land for the Hubli-Kalaghati stretch of the proposed link as sought by the Railways if the latter confirmed that the segment would be commercially viable by itself. 

Don’t rush forest rights, Tribal ministry tells states

The Indian Express, 12 August, 2015

In “campaign mode” since April this year, when the Prime Minister set a December deadline for settling claims under the Forest Rights Act, the Tribal Affairs Ministry has now warned state governments against riding roughshod in their hurry to meet the target. 
“It is emphasised that the (earlier) request of the ministry that the states implement the Forest Rights Act in a proactive and time-bound manner should not be interpreted to mean bypassing the requirements of the said Act and Rules in any manner,” the ministry wrote in a directive issued on August 10. 
It went on to caution that “the Forest Rights Act implemented in haste may lead to perpetuation of the historical injustice against forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers which the Act seeks to correct”.
At the second PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation) meeting on April 22, PM Narendra Modi had said that “vesting of forest rights on tribals and traditional dwellers is a critical step for empowerment and progress” and the “ministry and state governments need to work in campaign mode to cover those still deprived of their rights”. On April 28, the then MoTA secretary wrote to the states expressing hope that the process would be “completed within the current year”. 
Under the FRA, three types of rights — individual, community forests (CF) and community forest resources (CFR) — are settled. Since 2008, CFR rights have been vested in only 2,148 cases — less than 2 per cent of the potential claims. While rights were granted in over 16 lakh individual cases till May 2015, over 18 lakh were rejected. Overall, ministry officials admit, more than 50 per cent of potential claims are yet to be filed and a target to achieve in seven months what could not be achieved in seven years is unrealistic. 
“We are aware that the CFR process cannot be completed this year. But it defeats the purpose of the Act if settlement of claims goes on forever. So this push is necessary to accelerate the process,” Arun Jha, secretary MoTA, told The Indian Express. “The focus is on training and awareness generation. As such, there is no deadline for filing claims and no deserving claim can be ignored.” 
Since May, the Ministry has charted out a phased course of action to meet the deadline. It has held consultations with the states to monitor progress and address problem areas. It also accepted requests of a modified deadline — April-May 2016 — from states such as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 
What prompted Monday’s cautionary letter was an order issued on July 27 by the Chhattisgarh government, instructing district collectors to place the issue of whether vesting of rights was complete before the gram sabha meetings scheduled for August 15. 
The MoTA, in its letter, reminded the additional chief secretary of Chhattisgarh that the completion of the process of recognition and vesting of rights could not be rushed as it involved a number of steps, including communication of reasons for rejection, exhaustion of appeals, creation of records with clear demarcation of forest land boundaries, etc. Further, a district collector must record reasons where no CFR is recognised in a village.
Underlining that the issue required the considered opinion of the gram sabhas, the ministry said that meetings with multiple-agenda items would not allow "requisite attention and application of mind" that the question deserved. "Therefore, it is appropriate that the issue be considered at meetings specifically called for the purpose," it said.

41 dead tigers in 7 months: Get a clue, it's a fraction

The Indian Express, 12 August, 2015

Official data reveal India lost 41 tigers in seven months this year. It made headlines. For the wrong reasons.
First, there is nothing unusual about the figure. Consider the annual death count since 2009: 61 (2014), 76 (2013), 89 (2012), 56 (2011), 53 (2010) and 66 (2009). Go back a decade and you will find 411 tiger deaths recorded between 2001 and 2005. That is about 80 deaths a year. If anything, the death-population ratio is improving on official records.
Second, many more tigers are dying in the wild without getting into official records. A tiger carcass rots very quickly and usually decomposes beyond recognition before a forest guard chances upon one. On the other hand, when poachers strike, they don’t leave much of the animal behind — contrary to popular belief, tiger bone is now costlier than its pelt.
Given that we have more than 2,000 tigers, it is surprising that 41 deaths in seven months is being bandied about as high mortality. A tiger’s average life expectancy in the wild is about 12 years. Eight years ago, India counted 1411 tigers. Assuming an even age distribution in that population, two-thirds of 1411 tigers — aged four and above — must have died in the last eight years. Without even factoring in the high infant mortality, this gives us a ballpark figure of 960 deaths or an average of at least 120 deaths annually.
Third, only a fraction of the deaths on record are attributed to poaching or retaliatory killings by aggrieved farmers and herdsmen. Since 2014, merely 14 cases of seizure of tiger body parts have been recorded. But that is no reason to conclude that the threat of poaching is diminishing. We simply don’t have enough data to assess the ground situation. 
Most tiger reserve managers are systemically trained to avoid the P-word and find all sorts of bizarre reasons — from snakebite to heart failure — to explain unnatural tiger deaths. So much so that a former Project Tiger boss once wondered if suicide would soon figure on that list.
Carcasses made untraceable by nature and poaching made invisible by officials are the real stories behind these numbers.

Future of Kanha-Pench tiger corridor now hinges on Rs 98 crore

This February, govt has agreed to a Rs 122-crore plan for building a few 50-metre underpasses on stretches of NH7 passing through forest patches

The Indian Express, 4 August, 2015

A breakthrough in the seven-year-long deadlock over mitigation measures to safeguard wildlife corridors in the prime Kanha-Pench tiger landscape has hit a last-minute roadblock. While the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has agreed to implement the modified impact mitigation plan prepared by the Wildlife Institute India (WII) for expansion of NH7 in Maharashtra, it is not ready to stretch its budget. The issue comes up before the National Green Tribunal Wednesday.

This February, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis agreed to a Rs 122-crore plan for building a few 50-metre underpasses on stretches of NH7 passing through forest patches. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and WII were asked to identify the spots. In its report submitted in May, WII additionally recommended two 750-metre and one 300-metre underpasses which, NHAI sources said, will cost Rs 220 crore. “We are open to their proposal but we cannot spend the extra Rs 98 crore required for these flyovers. This is a Rs 350-crore project and everyone agreed to a mitigation budget of Rs 122 crore. How far we can stretch it is a call the government and the court will have to take,” a senior NHAI official said on condition of anonymity. Earlier in 2009, the NHAI rejected the recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court for an alternative alignment. Then in 2012, it turned down the WII’s first mitigation plan of constructing animal underpasses over a total length of 11.86 km, saying the flyovers would double the project cost. The compromise suggested by the WII and NTCA this May reduced the requirement of building flyovers to a total of 2.2 km. Finally, at a meeting in Nagpur this Sunday, NHAI , NTCA, WII and the state government reached a ‘consensus’ on implementing the latest WII plan. But the issue of additional expenditure, according to sources, is yet to be resolved. “Our annual budget for tiger conservation is less than Rs 200 crore and here we are talking about spending Rs 220 crore for underpasses on a 37-km stretch of road. We can spend a little more than our budget of Rs 122 crore and they (WII and NTCA) can modify the structure lengths to reach a solution,” the NHAI official said.

INTERVIEW | Will do all we need to for conservation but can’t allow something crazy: Prakash Javadekar

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar talks about speedier green clearance and the balance with growth in this interview to Jay Mazoomdaar

The Indian Express, 2 August, 2015

The Prime Minister’s Office has been all praise for Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar for speeding up the green clearance process. At the same time, a section of experts and activists have accused him of consistently undermining environmental concerns to facilitate growth. Last week, Javadekar made headlines by asking his ministry officials to replace the word “diversion” (of forestland) with “reforestation”. In an interview over two sessions at his office and home, he defends the directive and discusses a range of sensitive issues. Excerpts:

As India celebrates rising tiger numbers this International Tiger Day, how does the government plan to tackle the continuing threat of poaching? 
The front-line staff face some problems during patrolling in the rainy season. This gives poachers a window of opportunity. We have built a special security network involving electronic surveillance, drones, camera traps etc. I am committed to better protection and management of tiger reserves.
The other side of the problem is too many tigers fuelling conflict in certain areas. 
The success in tiger conservation is the result of the hard work of many people. But every success brings its own problems. Tigers need enough prey and we are augmenting the availability of fodder and water for the prey species. Interestingly, farmers living around tiger reserves themselves suggested this to me. 
At the same time, we have to understand the pressure on land. We have 17 per cent of the humanity and nearly one-fifth of the global cattle population in only 2.5 per cent of the global land area. So there will be conflict. Last year, wild animals caused 500 deaths. Nowhere else in the world are so many people killed by wild animals. Eventually we may have to dig trenches to keep the wildlife away. 
Won’t that turn the sanctuaries and reserves into glorified zoos? 
No, I am not saying we are digging trenches. But we have to understand the reality. See, lions are different. They happily live around villagers in Gujarat. But not tigers. So while we want safe passage for wildlife, we must also ensure people’s safety so that there is no casualty on either side. We have to fine-tune our laws and management practices towards sustainability. 
There is a perception that your ministry does not want to make public key reports on wildlife corridors.
Not at all. I have not concealed any information. We have declared two tiger reserves and are open to having more but the proposals have to come from the states. You cannot dismiss what we have achieved despite the population pressure on land. Both tiger and people have adapted to changing circumstances. The best thing about India is that people and wildlife are mostly in sync here. In many conflict areas people have the permission to cull animals such as the blue bull but the psychology is such that they refuse to do it themselves. 
Your ministry’s stand on the widening of NH-7 in the Kanha-Pench wildlife corridor has drawn criticism. Did you give in to NHAI’s demand to drastically reduce the mitigation requirements? 
Can we spend double the project cost for mitigation? We are a poor country and must be practical. For example, there is this proposal for a long flyover on NH-37 to avoid roadkill along Kaziranga. As a hands-on person, I visited the spot and found seven critical crossings where we can put sensor towers that will automatically stop the traffic when wild animals approach the highway. Each tower will cost around Rs 1 crore. A flyover would cost Rs 1,200 crore. 
In the NH-7 case, we — (Highways Minister Nitin) Gadkari, (Maharashtra CM Devendra) Fadnavis and I — worked out a mitigation plan that is feasible. What I am really excited about is this new concept of natural-looking green overpasses in place of tunnel-like underpasses for wildlife. 
The mandate and primary job of the Ministry of Environment and Forests is to protect the environment and forests. But the number of projects cleared tops the achievement lists put out by your ministry. 
We highlighted only the defence projects. I was in the standing committee for five years and the backlog of defence projects during UPA (rule) pained me. In any case, more projects were cleared and more forestland was diverted in 2012 (1,522 projects and 25,000 hectares) and 2,013 (1,317 projects and 41,000 hectares) than 2014 (783 projects and 35,000 hectares). So this perception is wrong. 
My job is to look after the sanctity of the five elements. I have strengthened pollution norms. Then there are the air quality index and steps taken in waste management. Be it plastic, electronic, construction or solid waste, management is being improved and we are in the process of evaluating the suggestions we have received. Also, the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) bill was tabled. All these have brought alive a dead ministry. 
But the buzz is only about improving ease of business. 
That was during my first year when necessary steps were taken to counter the UPA legacy of bottlenecks. Now, even industries are realising that they will have to comply with strict air and water standards and such. In my second year, the focus is on setting stringent norms. Next year, the thrust will be on people’s participation. But I agree we should highlight these achievements more.
You are accused of diluting environmental norms through executive orders. 
There is no question of dilution. And why would we need executive orders when the government has the authority to reform the laws? We are following the complete legal process. The TSR (Subramanian) committee was the first step. We have taken inputs from all ministries. We are also studying the global best practices. We should be ready by November. 
There was a prolonged exchange of letters between your ministry and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) till the issue of gram sabha consent was referred to the law ministry. 
There is no turf war. There are certain issues with public hearing etc. But the FRA (Forest Rights Act) is under MoTA and I do not want to infringe upon its domain. 
Has the law ministry decided on the issue? 
I don’t know. I have not heard from them. 
You have directed that the word ‘diversion’ be replaced with ‘reforestation’ in ministry communication. 
That news report upset me. See, we don’t give forestland when there are alternatives. But projects such as mines are site-specific and have to be allowed while ensuring sustainable environment practices. I am not saying vinash ke bina vikas nahin. I am saying aaghat ke bina naad nahin. Anyway, there is no reduction in forest area because every time we divert any forestland for a project, an equal area of non-forest land is declared as forestland. 
But this is not just about land, it’s about forests. Saplings can’t compensate for mature trees. 
That is step two. I know saplings take time to grow but that is why we have net present value (NPV) that user agencies pay for cutting trees. First we declare non-forestland as forest and then we use that money — NPV — for compensatory afforestation. Due to the bankruptcy of the UPA government, this money — thousands of crores of it — was locked up with an unaccountable authority. I have presented the CAMPA bill and will soon put that fund to good use. 
Will it also be utilised for other critical conservation work?  
Of course, plantation is not everything. We will use it for research, water and habitat management, protection- everything.
To build passageways to protect wildlife corridors since NHAI says it doesn’t have the money?
NHAI has the money. Gadkariji will carry out correct mitigation measures. We need to have a sense of proportion and the right perspective. We will do all we need to save environment, forest and wildlife. But we cannot allow something crazy (in the name of conservation).

Don’t say ‘diversion’ of forest land, say ‘reforestation’, says Prakash Javadekar

Environment ministry clears 229 projects in a month, up from 217 in a quarter

The Indian Express, 28 July, 2015

Wary of the perception that his ministry is clearing too many projects too fast, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has asked ministry officials to replace the word ‘diversion’ of forest land with ‘reforestation’ in all communications. 
An intra-ministry communication issued on July 16 by Javadekar’s private secretary Vinay Srivastava stated: “Hon’ble minister has desired that henceforth in all communication the word ‘Clearance’ should be replaced by ‘Approval with Adequate Environmental Safeguards’ and the word ‘Diversion’ should be replaced by ‘Reforestation’.” 
Asked about it, Javadekar said: “For every diversion of forest land for a project, a condition for clearance says that compensatory afforestation on equal area of non-forest land is a must. So ultimately, it is reforestation only. This is all about thinking positive and using the right expression.”
Until November 2014, a total of 12,05,138 hectares of forest land was diverted for different projects in the country. In October 2002, the Supreme Court directed that a Compensatory Afforestation Fund should be created with the money received from the user-agencies. But compensatory afforestation targets were not met. 
In 2013, a CAG report pointed out that against the receivable non-forest land of 1,03,381.91 hectares during the period 2006-12 for compensatory afforestation, only 28,086 hectares (27 per cent) was received. Actual compensatory afforestation done over non-forest land received was 7,280.84 hectares or just 7 per cent of the requirement. Similarly, afforestation over degraded forest land was done only on 49 per cent of the required area. 
Asked about the backlog, Javadekar blamed “the inefficiency” of the previous UPA government. “We have acquired 20,000 hectares of non-forest land so far for afforestation,” he said, conceding that much of this land is yet to be planted with trees. Between July and December 2014, the NDA government diverted more than 16,000 hectares of forest land in only five months. 
The instruction to replace ‘diversion’ with ‘reforestation’ follows Javadekar’s comment on the monthly report of the ministry’s achievements and activities in June sent to Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha by Environment Secretary Ashok Lavasa on July 9. A copy of the report was marked to Javadekar on July 10 and he wrote down the desired changes on the margins of this report. 
In the monthly report, the list of the ministry’s achievements in June started with the number of projects cleared and the extent of forest land diverted. “During the month,” wrote Lavasa, “229 projects pertaining to different sectors were given clearances.” Only five projects were rejected during the month. This was significantly higher than the rate of clearance in the first quarter of the new government when the ministry cleared a total of 217 projects in three months. 
Lavasa’s June report also noted that “57 cases were approved for diversion of 2335 ha of forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.” In comparison, only 1039.27 ha forest land were earmarked for compensatory afforestation during the month.

Decode this: Ousted ISI chief gets plum post within days

After removing B K Roy, govt makes him chief of cryptology centre

The Indian Express, 16 July, 2015

On June 10, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) found it “difficult to continue confidence” in Professor B K Roy as director of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, and sought disciplinary action against him. Within three weeks, the same ministry appointed him head of the R C Bose Centre for Cryptology and Security with “functional autonomy in the technical, administrative and financial matters of the centre”. And on July 6, the ministry issued another order, reconfirming the charges against Roy and also his new posting. 
The R C Bose Centre for Cryptology and Security was set up to foster fundamental as well as demand-driven “research and applications in cryptology” to provide direction and advice to the armed Forces, DRDO, police organisations and financial institutions. Now functioning from the ISI campus, it is coming up with a Rs 115-crore centre by 2016. 
The ministry’s June 10 order followed a letter from Arun Shourie, chairman of the ISI council, on June 4. The standoff between Shourie and Roy came to a head when the latter reportedly refused to sign on the appointment of his successor, Professor Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, chosen by the selection committee. 
In its order, the ministry noted: “A number of general and specific matters of financial and administrative irregularities which show the direct or supervisory responsibilities for acts of omission and commission on the part of the present Director Prof B Roy are available in the ministry in the various files on different subjects.” 
Stripping Roy of his responsibility even before his term ended on July 31, it said, “There is justified and reasonable apprehension that the present director prof B Roy may indulge in propagation of indiscipline and mischief, including acts of administrative and financial impropriety… It is difficult to continue confidence in Prof B Roy as the director during the interregnum till the new director takes over.” 
Handing over charge to the director-designate, the ministry said, “in public interest, and in public good, and to prevent indiscipline and mischief, and to prevent the eventualities of administrative or financial malfeasance, and for the good of the institute… Prof B Roy will stand divested of all administrative, financial and other powers and duties of the director with effect from the afternoon of 10 June 2015.” 
But on June 30, the ministry appointed Roy head of the R C Bose Centre for Cryptology and Security, saying it was “for the good of the public. good of the RC Bose Centre for Cryptology and Security. good of the institute and to optimally use the expertise and services of Prof B Roy. without compromising on responsibility or accountability, to endeavour for positive results in future”. 
Incidentally, it added that Roy would enjoy “functional autonomy in the technical, administrative and financial matters of the centre”. To counter the controversy generated by Roy’s ouster, the ministry on July 6 came out with another order justifying the appointment of his successor. The order, however, added that other directions in the June 10 and June 30 orders would also stand. In effect, Roy still faces disciplinary action while being head of the sensitive cryptology centre, pending investigation into the charges brought against him by the ministry itself. 
Asked how he was given a fresh posting with financial and administrative autonomy soon after the ministry “divested” him of all such powers as ISI head, Roy said, “I do not know the answers to your questions. You may ask the ministry to respond.” 
Neither T C A Anant, secretary MoSPI, nor Dinesh Singh, additional secretary MoSPI, responded to e-mails and phone calls. 

Tracking Vyapam deaths: Alcoholism, accident, drunk driving

The Indian Express travelled across Madhya Pradesh to meet the families of the dead. 

The Indian Express, 8 July, 2015

An estranged husband’s organ failure apparently triggered by alcoholism; a son’s drunk-driving road accident; another son on his bike failing to spot a road divider; and a father rushed to hospital with fever, aches and vomiting.  
All four are dead now and all four — part of the Madhya Pradesh government’s list of 25 deaths “related” to the Vyapam admission tests scam — are caught in the Congress vs BJP political firestorm.
The Indian Express travelled across Madhya Pradesh to meet the families of the dead. It found that a grandmother had burnt all photos of her grandson; a grandfather dismissed suggestions of foul play as “mere rumours”; a bewildered father said, “We had no enemies”; and a son just wanted to be left alone.
‘I believe they were drunk, speeding’ 
Anshul Sachan, 24 Cause of death: Road accident
Anshul Sachan, who joined Sagar Medical College as an MBBS student in 2009, was accused by police of having been a “middleman” in the Pre-Medical Test (PMT) linked to the Vyapam scam. On June 14, 2010, Sachan was returning to Sagar from Bhopal with two other students when their car crashed into a truck near Raisen. 
“The accident was so bad that the bodies had to be taken out after cutting through the metal,” said Sachan’s father Rajkumar, 53, a farmer. Sachan lived in his grandfather’s house in Hoshangabad’s Kothibazar till he completed his Class XII. He then went to Kanpur for coaching classes and was first selected for a veterinary course before he joined the Sagar college, his father said. 
Rajkumar said he used to divide his time between Hoshangabad and Kuvakheda, a village about 40 km from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, where he stayed with with his wife and daughter. He claimed that he never knew that his son had been named as an accused in the Vyapam case, adding that he used to give him Rs 3,000 every month to cover his expenses.
Rajkumar added that although he was a bit uneasy about the timing of his son’s death, he had no complaints. “After the mishap, I wanted to be sure of what happened and went to Bhopal from where the three started their journey. I believe they were drunk and probably over-speeding,” he said. Sachan’s grandfather Shivkumar, a former deputy director (agriculture) in the Madhya Pradesh government, dismissed as “mere rumours” suggestions of foul play in his grandson’s death. 
He added that a policeman had come to his house last week to confirm if he was satisfied with the probe. Officials at the Umraoganj police station in Raisen, where the accident was recorded five years ago, have stopped keeping track of the trial. The driver of the truck was arrested and released on bail, one of them said.
‘He was a heavy drinker’ 
Gyan Singh Jatav, 29 Cause of death: Organ failure 
A medical student, Gyan Singh Jatav had eight cases registered against him for his alleged involvement as a middleman in the PMT scam. According to records, Jatav died of liver and kidney failure on October 26, 2010 — his estranged wife said the death may have been triggered by excessive drinking. Hailing from Ruri village near Lahar in Bhind district — no one lives in the family home now — Jatav’s mother passed away when he was around four, after which his father Jagdish married again. 
Jatav’s stepmother now lives with her only son in Bhind town. His elder brother Man Singh Jatav also stays in Bhind where is works for MP police — he got the job after his father died on duty as an Assistant Sub Inspector in the Special Armed Force in 2007. 
“Gyan left the village to study and married a girl in Gwalior. It was a love marriage. There was no ceremony and none of us was invited. They settled in Gwalior and had a son. Later, his brothers also left the village. We don’t know how Gyan died though his body was brought here for cremation. Policemen still visit the village every now and then and ask for information we don’t have,” said Jatav’s uncle Dwarka Prasad in Ruri. 
In Bhind, Man Singh refuses to talk about his younger brother or his death. In Gwalior, Jatav’s widow Jyoti insisted that she had snapped all ties with her husband in 2007. “I stayed with my parents in Lalitpur Colony (Gwalior) along with our son Armaan who was only four years old when Gyan expired. Now I practise law. When we were together, both of us held tuition classes. Till Gyan’s father was around, he used to send some money. I have no idea what Gyan did for a living after I left him,” she said. 
“He was a heavy drinker and continued drinking even after he had a jaundice infection. It is possible that’s how he died, I can’t tell. But police continue to harass me, demanding details of his drinking partners. I ask them if they take their wives along when they go to drink with their buddies,” Jyoti added. 
‘What is there to investigate?’ 
Tarun Machar, 19 Cause of death: Road accident 
A student of Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal, Tarun Machar was accused by police of having employed another man to write the PMT test for him in 2013. On September 15, 2013, Machar was travelling on his bike, with a friend riding pillion, when they hit a road divider on Kolar Road in Bhopal. Machar died, his friend survived with injuries on his hands. 
”The accident must have happened after midnight. We got a call around 5 am. They were probably out to get some food,” said Machar’s father Prabhudayal, a veterinary field officer posted at Chiklana, about 4 km from their home in Dhodhar, which is 70 km away from Ratlam. 
“I am sure it was an accident but my only doubt was: who was driving the bike? The police claimed it was Tarun, I am not so sure,’’ he added. “What is there to investigate? We had no enemies,’’ he asked. Prabhudayal said that he had no idea about how his son got involved in the Vyapam scam. “But now, our life has become a burden,’’ he said, breaking down in tears, adding that he and his wife also have a daughter who studies in Ratlam. 
The father denied that he had arranged money for his son’s “illegal” admission to the medical college, adding that they hailed from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, which helped his son qualify. Prabhudayal’s wife Mehtab, a teacher in a government primary school in Dhodhar, said she was not sure if her son’s death was an accident or if there was a conspiracy involved.
‘Stop harassing us’ 
Dr Rajendra Arya, 40 Cause of death: Liver infection 
An assistant professor at Sagar Medical College, Arya was out on bail after his arrest on May 13, 2014 for his alleged role in helping students “fix their Pre-Medical Test” in the admissions scam. At 8 am on June 26, Arya was admitted to Gwalior’s Birla Institute of Medical Research (BIMR) with fever, body ache and vomiting. The next morning, he was referred to Relife Hospital where he died at 10 am. 
At Arya’s Sarika Nagar residence in Gwalior, his eldest son Rahul, 18, said: “I have just cleared my Class XII exam, and my two sisters and a brother are still in school. My father took a loan to build this house and we still owe the bank about Rs 6 lakh. How will we pay the monthly installment of Rs 13,000 and the school fees? As it is, my father was getting only half his salary since he was suspended after his arrest. I’ll now have to drop my plans for further studies and find a way to support the family.” 
Rahul added: “I have no idea about his role in the PMT scam. But how can a normal, healthy person die in 24 hours in a prominent city hospital? We were not informed about the exact cause of death. Nobody from the government visited us after he died. We appeal to the government to drop the cases against my father now that he is no more. If they can’t help us, they should at least stop harassing us.”

Tracking ‘Vyapam deaths': Cancer to bike accident to suicide, grieving families demand answers

The Indian Express went knocking at the doors of the grieving families to hear their stories — from a death due to cancer to a motorcycle accident and even suicide in the deaths related to Vyapam scam 

The Indian Express, July 7, 2015

The state government says every death, including those of a TV reporter and a Jabalpur medical college dean this weekend, will be investigated while activists and the Opposition are calling it a “larger conspiracy”. 
And, in the hothouse of Madhya Pradesh politics, even the number of deaths allegedly linked to the Vyapam scam is under dispute — officials pegged it at 25 last week, a High Court-monitored probe recorded 35 and activists over 40.
But as each death becomes grist for the rumour mills, The Indian Express went knocking at the doors of the grieving families to hear their stories — from a death due to cancer to a motorcycle accident and even suicide.
There was one common theme for many though: “stop this police harassment, leave us alone”. Even last Friday, police officers visited many of these families to collect certificates and documents related to the deaths. “We have fresh instructions to collect information on all the scam-accused who have died, even if they succumbed to illness,” said an officer in Morena. 
“I will not go into details but it is not like somebody has reached any blanket conclusion about these cases. All the deaths — be it an accident or a suicide — registered with the police here and in other districts of the state are being thoroughly investigated,” Adarsh Katiyar, IGP, Gwalior zone, told The Indian Express. 
Meanwhile, the distraught families wait for answers.

‘Did not look like suicide’ 
Pramod Sharma (Rinku), 22 Cause of death: Suicide
Rinku’s body was recovered from a house in Jhansi on April 21, 2013, with police concluding that it was a case of suicide by hanging. Hailing from Ambah in Morena, Rinku left for Gwalior in 2008 after clearing his Class XII exam, said his brother Mahavir Sharma. 
“He fell into bad company. After a couple of years, he set up coaching centres for students in Gwalior, placed big ads in the local press. Then he went bankrupt,” said Sharma. He added that news of Rinku’s alleged involvement in the Vyapam scam shocked their father Siaram, who died of brain haemorrhage at Delhi’s Apollo Hospital a few months before his son’s death. 
Mahavir claimed that Rinku’s body was found lying on the floor under a ceiling fan on which there was no sign of any rope having been tied. “I saw blood coming out of his ears and mouth, nail marks on his forehead and swelling in the head. It definitely did not look like suicide,” said Sharma. But police dismissed his objections, alleged Sharma, adding that he “got a death certificate and the body, that’s all”. 
Rinku’s brother claimed the family is being “harassed” by police even now. “Last week, an officer from the STF (Special Task Force to probe the scam) called up from Bhopal to record my statement and asked for Rinku’s contacts. How do I know? After his suicide, they did not hand over any of his possessions, not even his mobile phone. What could this boy have to do with such a mega scam anyway?” asked Sharma. 
“I lost everything to fund my father’s treatment. Today, I live in a rented house and run this rented medical shop. I have three kids to raise. I had even published an advertisement disowning Rinku. It is up to the government to investigate, I have nothing to do with it anymore,” said Sharma.
‘We should be spared’ 
Devendra Nagar, 29 Cause of death: Accident 
Devendra Nagar, the only earning member of his family, died in a motorcycle accident on December 26, 2013. He is survived by wife Manju, who lives with his parents Asaram and Ramkatori at their ancestral home in Birkhadi village near Gohad in Bhind district. Nagar also left behind two sons — Yogesh (9) and Ayush (6). 
“My elder son stays separately with his wife and children. I am 70 years old, and forced to work as a daily wager to support this family. Our finances have been poor since Devendra died,” said Asaram. The family also complained of “constant harassment” by police. “On June 25, I received a notice asking me to reach Bhopal to record my statement. I spent whatever little money I had on the train fare. How many times will they record my statement? My son is long dead, we should be spared,” said Asaram.
The family is evasive about the charges against Devendra — acting as a middleman in the recruitment of police constables. Do they suspect any foul play in his death? “It was a collision of two motorcycles. The other person broke his leg. We don’t know, the police should tell us,” said Asaram.
‘How will I raise my kids?’ 
Banti Sikarwar, 32 Cause of death: Suicide 
Banti Sikarwar was 32 when he hanged himself at his ancestral home in Gwalior’s Sainik Colony two days ahead of Republic Day last year, said his maternal grandmother, Bitti Devi, wife of a soldier who fought in the 1962 Indo-China war. 
Bitti Devi stays with the widow of her grandson and their two children — Mohini (6) and Sumit (3). Bitti Devi raised Banti after he lost his mother at an early age and his father remarried. “Nani gets Nana’s pension of Rs 19,000 a month. But it will stop once she is gone. How will I raise my two children on the meagre rent that comes from one half of this house?” asked Banti’s widow Mala, who is a B Ed and preparing for a school job. 
Bitti Devi, however, is not ready to look beyond the tragedy. “How do I know what Banti was up to? He was roaming around town all day, but I never thought he was involved in something that could take his life,” she said. 
Mala said her husband never shared anything with her. “They say he was a middleman [in the Vyapam scam]. Even if that is true, how big could his crime be that he had to suddenly kill himself?” she asked. Bitty Devi was so devastated that she destroyed every photo of her grandson. “One day, when I was at my mother’s house in Kanpur, she burnt everything, including his Voter ID and Aadhar card. It’s a big problem now to produce papers even if I try to seek some relief for my children,” said Mala. 
Both Bitti and Mala refused to talk about the STF. 
‘Driver lost control’ 
Dinesh Jatav, 28 Cause of death: Road accident 
Dinesh died in a road accident near Joura in Morena district on February 14, 2014. At his ancestral home in Devgarh village, his widow Manju and their two children — daughter Muskan (10) and son Adat (7) — live with her mother-in-law Rambeti, younger brother-in-law Dilip and sister-in-law Renu. 
“He used to work as a security guard in Morena. On that day, he was walking with a cousin when a four-wheeler hit them. The cousin survived,” recalled Dinesh’s uncle Banwari. Dilip does odd jobs, and the family has been struggling since Dinesh’s death. 
“The money is never enough. The children go to school and I have an unmarried daughter,” said Rambeti. The family recalled that the STF came calling a month after the accident. “Policemen keep coming. We are not educated. We don’t know about Dinesh’s involvement in any scam or what the police want from us,” said Banwari. 
Rambeti said they did not suspect any conspiracy behind the accident. “It was raining that day. So probably the driver lost control, but the police should investigate,” she said. 
‘The shock killed him’ 
Anantram Tagore, 71 Cause of death: Cancer 
Anantram Tagore, a resident of Uttampura in Morena, died of cancer on November 7, 2012. Accused of getting his son Jagdish a job in the Railway Protection Force (RPF) through the Vyapam scam, he was diagnosed with cancer in the kidney two years before his death. “The shock of witnessing his son’s career going bad killed him,” claimed Anantram’s wife Kalavati. 
Anantram’s elder son Hemraj, a veterinary doctor, lives next door but cut off all links with Jagdish in a newspaper advertisement. “A few months back, Jagdish missed a court date and I was summoned. Policemen visit us regularly. My grandmother, my wife and children get worried every time someone comes knocking,” said Hemraj. 
Kalavati insisted that her husband led an honest life. “All he wanted was to secure Jagdish’s future. And all that the poor boy does now is make the rounds of the courts. How many times do they want to ask the same questions?” she asked. 
‘This is murder’ 
N S Tomar, 30 Cause of death: Heart attack 
Narendra Singh Tomar’s name did not figure in the state government’s list of those dead but he died in Indore jail two days before the official list was released last Monday. An assistant veterinary officer, Tomar was arrested on February 17 for his alleged role in helping scorers’ — imposters who write papers for candidates — in pre-medical tests in 2009. 
Tomar complained of chest pain and was declared ‘brought dead’ at Maharaja Yashwant Rao Hospital. The day his last rites were performed, people in his hometown Porsa in Morena observed a bandh. 
At a condolence meet, his father Kailash Tomar said the “backbone” of his family was broken. Today, Narendra’s elder brother Pramod helps his father in the fields while younger brother Vikram teaches at a school in Ujjain. “I have two unmarried daughters and I lost my main support,” said Kailash. 
The family claimed that Narendra’s mother and elder brother spoke with him on his mobile at around 6pm that day. “It was a normal conversation. And we get a call at 3am telling us he expired,” said Tomar’s cousin Sandeep. “We don’t want any relief from the government. But it is our right to know how my brother died. He had no health issues. This is murder. We’ll not give up till we have the answer,” said Sandeep.