Andhra

Need For Decentralisation

The President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, while opening the second Andhra Pradesh Sarvodaya Conference in Hyderabad on August 16, deplored that there was an increasing tendency on the part of the people, specially after independence, to depend on the Government for the realisation of their objectives which were earlier achieved by popular effort. "I am afraid", Dr. Prasad said, "we are losing the tendency of selfreliance and developing the tendency of dependence on Government for everything".

He said that Mahatma Gandhi was not against modern things but he was opposed to centralisation. However, the world today was moving towards centralisation and they could not escape its impact. "Under a decentralised system", Dr. Prasad stated, "though we may be small we will still retain our individuality." Real democracy was one where the individual retained his individuality.

Policemen Like Doctors

Declaring open the Andhra Pradesh Police Colony in Kurnool on August 19 the President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, advised policemen to discharge their duties as doctors did theirs. The President said there should be a touch of humanity, which characterised the doctors' attitude towards their patients in the policemen's attitude towards the people.

Head Constable was sentenced to six months rigorous imprisonment on a corruption charge.

Metropolitan Police System For
Ahmedabad

The Bombay Government propose to place the police administration in the growing industrial city of Ahmedabad in charge of a Commissioner of Police, who will have powers and functions more or less similar to those exercised by the Commissioner of Police of Greater Bombay. According to the draft bill published on August 18, on the appointment of the Commissioner, the District Magistrate of Ahmedabad would cease to have any control over the police force in the city or be responsible for law and order in the area.

Delhi

No Metropolitan Police System

Mr. B. N. Datar Minister in the Ministry of Home Affairs, informed the Lok Sabha at question time on August 27 that the Government did not intend to introduce in Delhi the Metropolitan Police system which existed in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. The Minister said that in the opinion of the Central Government police powers in big cities should, as far as possible, vest in District Magistrates. Under the metropolitan police system which exists in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay the police administraion is left entirely to the Commissioners of Police.

Mr. Datar said that in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras the metropolitan system had come into being owing to historical reasons. In reply to a question whether the Central Government desired that in three Presidency towns also the police administration should be left to District Magistrates, Mr. Datar said: That is a matter for the State Governments to consider and they have not made any proposal in this respect.

Delhi now has a police force of over 12,000 men. Being the capital city, the police have to deal with all kinds of crime. All kinds of bad characters have a tendency to swarm round the capital. There is also the constant

threat of a breach of peace in the event of a political crisis. It was pointed out to the Union Home Ministry that by introducing the metropolitan system in Delhi the police would be able to function harmoniously, without bringing the magistracy into the picture and thus creating dual control. Under the present system the police have to take the permission of the magistracy before taking drastic steps to keep law and order. On the other hand, it was feared that too much power in the hands of police might lead to its abuse. Even some police officers felt that time was not yet ripe for giving unbridled power to the Delhi Police,

Teachers' Hunger Strike

Ten Delhi teachers' including two women, went on a hunger strike on August 20 as a protest against the attitude of the Director of Education. The teachers' demands were that their lien should be maintained in the parent department, all existing vacancies should be filled by techers transferred to the Corporation and fresh recruitment should be stopped till all such teachers are absorbed. The hunger strikers were sitting in front of the offices of the Director of Education and the Education Officer of Corporation. The number of hunger-strikers rose to 30 on August 24.

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha on August 24 ruled out an adjournment motion tabled by Mr. S. M. Banerji (Independent) to discuss the serious situation arising out of the hunger strike by 20 teachers of Delhi which, he said, was proposed to be supported by 15,000 other teachers. Mr. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar warned members of the Lok Sabha that

he

would not entertain any adjournment motion which related to resort to hunger strike by people to get their grievances redressed. Mr. Jagdish Awasthi (Socialist) walked out in protest.

Earlier, the Education Minister, Mr. K. L. Shrimali said the teachers had not sent their demands to him. They had only sent a telegram saying that they would go on hunger strike. He said he was prepared to examine teachers' demands sympathetically.

The Delhi School Teachers' Association called off the hunger strike on August 25. According to the General Secretary the strike was called off in view of the assurances held

out by the Director of Education to consider the teachers' demands sympathetically. The Director said the strike was called off unconditionally.

Himachal Pradesh

Benefits For Council Servants

The Himachal Pradesh Territorial Couucil on July 30 adopted a resolution recommending that employees directly recruited by the Council should be extended the same benefits of service as those given to Government servants transferred to the Council.

The Council welcomed the decision taken by the Government of India with regard to the extension of the same retirement benefits to employees of local administrations whose services had been transferred to Territiorial Councils. As a consequence of this decision the need for extending similar benefits to employees recruited by the Council became urgent and the matter was brought to the notice of the Government of India through the Pradesh Administration who desired to know the views of the Council in this connection.

About 12 members who participated in the debate said the extension of these benefits to Council employees would stablise the service structure and remove disparities in the conditions of service of its employees. This would remove dissatisfaction and fear among Council employees and would result in greater efficiency.

By another resoultion, the Council decided to create certain posts, including that of Officer on Special Duty, in order to finalise the work of integration of the Bilaspur services, fixation of their seniority, revision of pay scales and disposal of the representations of the Education Department employees who were transferred to the Council.

Kerala

Police Reorganisation Committee

The Government of India has extended the life of the Kerala Police Reorganisation Committee, which was set up by the Namboodripad Ministry early this year. The Committee's 17-point terms of reference re

main unchanged, and it has now been asked to report not later than January, 1960.

Among its terms of reference is to see whether the use of firearms by police should be totally excluded, and, if not, the nature of the circumstances and the conditions under which it should be allowed.

The committee consists of Mr. N. C. Chatterjee (Chairman, Mr. M. Kumaramangalam of Madras, Mr. S. Guruswamy, President of the All-India Railwaymen's Federation, and Mr. Krishna Pillai, Personnel Manager of the Indian Aluminium Co. Ltd. With Mr. Krishna Menon, I. P. S., former Inspector-General of Police in Kerala, going back to his post, Mr. K. Ramanujam, former Assistant Inspector General of Police, will work as Secretary of the Committee.

The committee has already recorded the views of Mr. P. N. Sapru, M. P., a former Judge of the Allahabad High Court, Mr. L. K. Jha, former Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, Mr. S. A. Dange, leader of the Communist Group in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Bhupesh Gupta, leader of the Communist group in the Rajya Sabha and several other M. P.s It will now visit Madras, Calcutta and parts of Kerala where police firings took place during the recent struggle against the Communist Ministry.

Home Department Under Chief Secretary

It was announced on August 18 that the Home Department, which used to be under a separate Secretary has now been handed over to the Chief Secretary, who will be assisted by an Additional Secretary. Mr. G. R. Krishnamoorthy, who was appointed Home Secretary last year, has now been posted as Secretary to the Government in PWD. A Government spokesman said the Administrative Reforms Committee had recommended that the Home Department should be under the direct control of the Chief Secretary.

Madhya Pradesh

Class III Employees' Protest

Class III employees of Madhya Pradesh. Government took "mass casual leave" on August 17 in defiance of Government warning that no casual leave would be granted to anyone on that day. The employees stayed

away from their offices in protest against the "indifference" of Government towards their demands. The Secretariat and other offices in Bhopal were deserted and the city buses plying between the Government servants' colonies and offices were empty. A spokesman of the Ministerial Services Association claimed that 95 percent of the 3,000 employees in Bhopal had submitted their applications for casual leave in response to the Association's call. He also claimed that telegrams received from the district headquarters of Jubbulpore, Raipur, Betul, Balaghat, Chhindwara, Drug, Seoni and Khargone showed 100 percent participation of employees in the protest. Volunteers were posted at important bus stands in Bhopal to persuade employees not to attend offices. The employees themselves congregated at four points in the city and offered mass prayers and sang "Ram Dhun" and other devotional songs.

Mass Abstention

The decision to take a day's casual leave on August 17 was taken a few days earlier by the Secretariat Ministerial Services Association. The employees' demands include the payment of a dearness allowance on the Central scale and the grant of an interim relief of Rs. 30 a month. The Chief Minister, Dr. K. N. Katju, in his Independence Day broadcast had made a reference to the impending demonstration of the employees. Dr. Katju said "reports are appearing in newspapers that Government servants are in difficulty. They say that the cost of living is high. The Government is alive to their difficulties and shares their anxiety. All of us want that everyboby should be well. But a difficulty arises because our resources are limited." Referring to this broadcast a spokesman of the Association said it was adding insult to injury when Dr. Katju referred to newspaper reports, showing that Government was not even prepared to believe that the economic condition of the employees was bad.

Fuel was added to the fire by a Government circular, read out to all the employees by their departmental heads, which in effect refused to grant the casual leave asked for by the clerks and warned them that "casual leave en mass amounts to a breach of Government

Servants' Conduct Rules" and that proceeding on leave in spite of the circular would mean a break in service. No sooner was this circular read out, the employees' attitude hardened and about 4,000 gathered in a torrential rain and reiterated their resolve to go ahead with their plan. Political parties had come out with long statements supporting the case of the employees.

No Disciplinary Action

Faced with the the difficulty of taking disciplinary action against such a large number of Government employees, efforts were made to find a way out. On August 28 a six-member delegation of the Ministerial Services Association appeared before the Chief Minister to tell him that they were "compelled to act as they had done and that they were sorry for what had happened and would not resort to such action again.' In view of this the Madhya Pradesh Government decided to treat the en mass "unauthorised" absenteeism by Class III employees on August 17 as "special leave", and to rescind the earlier order withholding one day's pay of the employees and to condone break of service for purposes of pension.

An official spokesman also said on August 29 that the State Government had decided to introduce integrated pay scales for all Government employees in the State. A large section of employees is likely to benefit from these new scales which will be operative retrospectively from April 19, 1958. The new scales will remove glaring anomalies in pay scales existing in the constituent units of the State and large disparity between pay scales of employees in the capital and other towns.

The spokesman also hinted at the possibility of appointment of a State Pay Committee to consider the question of the revision of pay scales. The Committee, he said, will be appointed after the Central Government's decision on the Pay Commission report. Congress Complaint Against Administration

Mr. Moolchand Deshlahara, General Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, in a report submitted to the All India Congress Committee has criticised the State Government's administration. Mr.

Deshlahara has complained of the lack of cooperation from the administrative mahinery of the State in implementing the service cooperative programme of the AICC. He has also alleged that the complaints made by the PCC to represent the people's grievances had not had satisfactory response from the State Government and in enquiries made by the Complaints Board, the version of officers was taken as the last word.

The State's Chief Minister and other Ministers in the PCC meeting in Bhopal on, Deshlahara's August 29, criticising Mr.

report said the PCC had probably not studied the problem correctly and had not given full facts to the AICC. The State Congress Chief, Mr. Laxminarayandas, and the General Secretary, Mr. Deshlahara, however, maintained that the observations represented the people's reaction and were merely suggestive.

All-India services for providing a greater sense of security to Government employees. While it was necessary, he said, that a public servant should be politically neutral, it was also essential that politicians should not involve him in party politics and use him to promote their personal interest. The civil servant, he said, must be provided with constitutional guarantees of the Public Service commissions. He also emphasised the need of early reorientation of the country's educational system to provide good material for national service.

Referring to the charges of corruption levelled against the civil servants, Mr. Ranbir Singh said that an overall social regeneration was the only solution. Some steps, he said, would have to be taken to ensure high ethical standards in public life and more machinery evolved to enquire into cases of alleged misconduct, whatever the office held by the culprit.

Corruption In Education Department

Mr. Yash Pal, Deputy Minister for Education, addressing the annual meeting of Government Teacher's Union in Jullundur on July 9 said corruption was rampant in the Education Department. He admitted there were many mistakes in the text books and supplementary books prescribed in schools. Mr. Yash Pal appealed to teachers to cooperate with the Government in rooting out corrupt practices by informing the Director of Public Instruction cases of corruption or defects in text books that came to their notice.

Corrupt Administration In State

Mr. Zail Singh, M.P., and President of the erstwhile Pepsu Pradesh Congress Committee, in his presidential address at a political conference in Gurgaon District on August 23 described the Punjab Government's Anti-Corruption Department as the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of efficient, sincere and honest officers and Ministers in the State. He said honest people had become demoralised for fear of persons at the top whose liking and disliking were the criteria for measuring honesty and efficiency.

Mr. Zail Singh added that some people in high positions kept corrupt people around them to get monetary and other support for them which resulted in sacrifice of the country's interests over personal interests.

These sort of things had made people to lose faith in jusiice and fair play. He suggested the appointment of a high-power committee consisting of persons of the status of High Court Judges to look into these evils. Fertiliser Scandal

The Punjab Government has ordered an inquiry through its Vigilance Department into the "fertiliser scandal." The State Agriculture Department Department had sold fertilisers worth Rs. 3.8 crore. Of this amount about Rs. 50 laks is still to be realised and a sum of Rs. 20 laks is not traceable.

Sentenced For Defaming Chief Minister's

Son

Mr. P. D. Sharma, Additional Sessions

a

Judge, Delhi, on August 27 sentenced Mr. Harbhajan Singh, a Punjab P. S. P. Leader, to one year's simple imprisonment on charge of defaming Mr. Surrinder Singh, son of the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr. Pratap Singh Kairon. Later the Punjab High Court ordered the release of Mr. Harbhajan Singh on the bail of Rs. 10,000, after the bail application had been rejected by the Additional Sessions Judge.

- Mr. Surrinder Singh Kairon had complained that the accused had defamed him and his father by calling him a leader of smugglers and holding him responsible for many crimes in a Press statement published in the Times of India, published from Delhi, in July, 1957.

The Judge said the accused had no justification for issuing the impugned statement on the basis of newspaper reports and speeches made by the members of Punjab Vidhan Sabha. The Judge further said that the accused, while cross-examining the complainant, indiscriminately hurled accusation after accusation on him without caring to substantiate his charges by independent and cogent evidence. This gave the impression that he was more of a sensation-monger than a devotee of truth as he desired the whole world to believe him.

The Judge said: "If the accused had probed a little deeper into the complaints reaching his ears, he would have come to the conclusion that the same were ill-founded and could by no stretch of imagination furnish good grounds for publication of the impugned statement.