When kids are playing in groups they will collectively ‘build’ castles of their imagination with sand or cards or cubes that they get and when they all keep enjoying their finished product showing it to elders with pride and receive their appreciation, some deviant kid from some other group will rush in and demolish the imaginative castle meticulously built by the kids.
As long as such deviant behavior of some is restricted to the kids’ world it causes not more than agony for a few for some time. When it extends to the world of adults it causes pain and material loss for many. Much worse, if such a deviant sadist presided over the governance and administration of a State, what will happen? Tamil Nadu under the regime of Jayalalitha provides the answer in detail, perhaps running into volumes if her three tenures as Chief Minister are taken into account.
It is now more than 20 months since Jayalalitha returned to power in the State in May, 2011. Till date, her government has not taken a single constructive measure but all the steps that had been taken are destructive.
Even before she officially assumed power after being sworn-in on May 16, 2011, like the saying in Tamil which means “Elephant will come later but the sound of the bell (tied around its neck) will be heard earlier”, the process of destruction by the government started, perhaps as a prelude for the five-years of imminent catastrophe the State will have to face because of the blunder its people committed in spite of previous horrendous experiences twice in the past. Even as the results of the Assembly elections were pouring in and the ADMK poised to secure majority, the bureaucrats, who were accustomed to Jayalalitha’s ‘ring master’ way of functioning, started dismantling the Paavendar Classical Tamil Research Library situated in the old Assembly hall in Fort.St.George, huge collection of the rarest of rare books, manuscripts of several literary works and age-old palm leaf manuscripts containing cherished literary treasure bequeathed to posterity by Tamil savants of history, bundled them all in jute bags like garbage,
carried them in lorries and dumped all of them in the open verandahs of the New Assembly complex. All those lakhs of books and manuscripts remained for months in rain and shine with rats, moths and cockroaches savouring precious literary works.
Next targeted for destruction was the New Secretariat/Assembly complex on the Omandurar Government Estates on Anna Salai in Chennai, spaciously and aesthetically constructed with all modern architectural marvels, to the appreciation and admiration of one and all in the state, nation and world over, barring one and only individual, Jayalalitha for whom it looked like a circus tent. If the design was the only discomforting feature for the lady, she could have redesigned the exterior according to her ‘perverted’ taste; because the old secretariat and Assembly in nearly 400 year old Fort St. George was “cramped, dilapidated and unfit for human habitation”, according to her own deposition in the State Assembly during her earlier regime in 2001-06, due to which she intended to search places for constructing new secretariat but her efforts ended in fiasco. But the real intention for this atrocious decision to abandon the New Secretariat complex and wasting nearly Rs.1,000 crore of people’s tax money, was that it was meticulously constructed by her bête noire, Kalaignar. Even at the time of inauguration of the New Secretariat/Assembly complex by the Prime Minister in March 2010, she had issued a statement that when she returned to power in the State, she would shift the Assembly and Secretariat back to Fort St. George, which she herself abhorred and called as “unfit for human habitation”. She might have thought that such a ‘stable’ was enough to lodge and rear her herd of cattle (minions). And her minion MLAs also spoke in the Assembly itself that their ‘Amma’ would hoist the national flag in the Fort when the ADMK was returned to power.
It requires no ‘judicial’ knowledge to trace any ‘policy’ in this perverse, adamant, atrocious and obstinate decision to dump the new in preference for archaic. The judiciary had held that it was the prerogative of the executive to decide where the Assembly meetings should be held and that ‘policy decision’ was not judiciable. In a democratic set up only elected governments can be considered as legitimate executive except in extraordinary circumstances. The shifting of the Assembly and departments from the New Secretariat complex back to Fort St George started in the evening of May 13, 2011, the works of conversion in the old Assembly hall and other offices in Fort St George were carried out in full swing on May 14 and 15 and completed by the evening of the second day. As Jayalalitha and her Cabinet were sworn-in and assumed office only on May 16, on those three days (May 13,14 and 15) when the ‘policy’ of shifting back was executed, the executive was only the care-taker government of Kalaignar. Obviously this was acknowledged by the new regime of Jayalalitha, because it did not issue any order, at least as a post facto ratification of the action. So, whose child is this ‘policy decision’?
In yet another order issued by Jayalalitha, about 3,200 tenements of TNHB quarters in 17 places in Chennai ‘have become old and dilapidated and could not be repaired’ and hence had to be demolished to construct new flats with more FSI and allotted under self-financing scheme. Except one or two all other above said tenements were constructed around 1970. The 10 storey Namakkal Kavignar Maligai, housing dozens of government departments was constructed around the same period and now she had allotted Rs.50 crore for repair works in the building. Fort St George was constructed in the year 1644, exactly 379 years ago. Can Jayalalitha and her ‘elitist’ supporters like Cho S. Ramaswamy and ‘brilliant heads’ who authored articles in the special supplements of dailies such as ‘The New Indian Express’ and ‘Deccan Chronicle’ on her birth day, vouch for the stability and fitness for occupation of these structures and for the safety of lives of thousands of government employees working in the Secretariat and the people who frequent there for their works?
Residents of Chennai and people who frequent the city knew very well that another super specialty hospital at the Government Estate on Anna Salai is not at all necessary when two huge government hospitals, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Royapettah Government Hospital are within 2 km on either side of the proposed hospital. They also know well that except for the circumference wall of the New Secretariat buildings all other portion had to be demolished and reconstructed to convert the space into a hospital, the expenses for which may be around the same already spent for constructing it for the purpose of Assembly and secretariat. Who is responsible for this frittering away of people’s tax money?
On the one side of the Government Estate is the arterial road of the city, Anna Salai on which tens of thousands of vehicles ply everyday and on the other side the already much polluted Cooum river, which is also heavily polluted by the discharge from the General Hospital. When the condition is like this, can the government fulfill the criterion laid down by the National Green Tribunal, which has specified a list of do’s and don’ts to be followed, both in the construction and operation phase of the proposed super-specialty hospital, while upholding the environmental clearance granted to convert the Secretariat building into a medical institution.
The Tribunal has asked the government to obtain from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board “Consent for Establishment.” (This will, of course, be easier for the Jaya regime). But the detailed order has made key points to ensure that environmental quality is maintained while providing super-specialty care, which will not be easier for the regime without shelling out hundreds of crores of repees and causing terrible dislocation of for normal flow of life and movement of the people of the city.
The Bench, comprising Justices M.Chockalingam and R.Nagendran, has specified that a “Specialty-wise Action Plan” be prepared to control and mitigate environmental impact and provide safeguards. It should be ensured that indoor environmental conditions do not spread infection across units.
Hospital hygiene, waste management and environmental protection measures set in place in other multi-specialty hospitals, such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Apollo Group of Hospitals, Chennai, must be followed, the Tribunal said.
It has asked for a specialty-wise human resources training to ensure compliance with stipulated conditions. All requirements of the Hazardous Wastes(Management, Handling and Trasnsboundary Movement) Rules, 2010, and E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, must be fulfilled and special care taken in mercury management.
When dealing with radiation- related material in treatment procedures, regulations specified by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board must be in place.
Next come the stringent conditions which will cause terrible agony and sufferings to the people of the city and those visiting. These conditions are: Vehicles operated inside the campus to shift staff should only be battery operated. Traffic congestion near entry and exit points from the road adjoining the site should be avoided and parking fully internalized. No public space can be cornered for parking requirements of the hospital. The hospital area must be declared a “no horn zone” with necessary sign boards. No vehicle shall be permitted within 100 m of the silence zone of the hospital and a green belt should be provided along the periphery to attenuate the noise to conform to Pollution Control Board standards. (All these are possible only if vehicular traffic is totally prohibited in the entire stretch of Anna Salai, Walaja Road and Swami Sivananda Salai around the Government Estate. Also, MLAs residing in Legislators Quarters inside the Estate cannot use vehicles and will have to walk out and in their quarters.)
Solar energy must be used for illumination of common areas. A hybrid system or a complete solar system for a portion of the buildings should be provided. Conditions during construction must make provisions for regulating noise levels, air pollution, safe water and proper sanitation facilities for workers, fire safety regulations and proper sewage/waste treatment.
Fulfilling all these conditions is simply impossible for this government and any failure to abide bythe conditions will lead to agitations by environmental activists. Possibly activists like Udhayakumar can shift their actions from Kudankulam to Chennai and start mobilizing Chennaiites.
The question is, should the government invite so much troubles and that too after wasting around Rs.1,000 crore and spending further hundreds of crore, all for the whimsicality, perverseness and adamancy of an individual, who has no mandate of the people of the state to commit such atrocities. Neither the ADMK election manifesto nor the campaign of Jayalalitha mentioned anything about abandoning the New Secretariat or the prestigious Anna Centenary Library in Chennai and converting them into hospitals.
Jayalalitha and her regime, incapable of maintaining the existing public health care facilities and providing required medicines to even the General Hospital in Chennai, promising to provide super specialty hospital, would only remind people of the saying in Tamil “which means one who could not climb over roof and catch the hen claimed that he would climb over the sky and go to paradise.
The next that Jayalalitha’s deviant regime targeted for destruction was the prestigious Anna Centenary Library in Kotturpuram, Chennai, spread over eight acres and receiving an average of 30,000 visitors a month, the only one in Asia with coveted Leadership and Environmental Design (LEED) gold rating, with a treasure of 4,53,863 books. Arignar Anna is only for namesake for the party led by her. Otherwise, she would not try to abandon such a great and most fitting memorial on the occasion of the birth centenary of Anna, who said libraries were temples of wisdom. Jayalalitha, her ADMK minions and supporting-‘intellectuals’ claimed too much from out of the stop over visit paid on her by the former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose main purpose was to push through the business deal of Microsoft owned by their family friend Bill Gates for the free laptop scheme launched by the ADMK regime, which she (Ms Clinton) accomplished with ease, but to the detriment of students who would get the laptops with that software, which had to be renewed every year at an expense of more than Rs.1,000.
But their much fancied lady Hillary Clinton was all in praise for the state of the art and facilities of the Anna Centenary Library, during her visit there after calling on Jayalalitha for the ‘business deal’ in July 2011. However, Jayalalitha rubbished even the praise of her fancied lady and announced in November,2011 that the library would be converted into a super-specialty paediatric hospital.
This announcement following her earlier announcement in August, 2011 of converting the New Secretariat into a super-specialty hospital, was more than enough for even laymen to understand that Jayalalitha’s motive is not to provide better healthcare facilities for people but only undoing whatever had been constructively done by Kalaignar-led DMK rule in the interests of the state and its people. They are only wondering the judicial wisdom tracing a ‘policy’ in it!
But immediately after the second announcement of Jayalalitha, unlike during the previous time, student community and city residents launched a “Save Anna Centenary Library Campaign” and even the submissive media in TN criticized the move. The Madras High Court issued a stay order on the move. But Jayalalitha cares two hoots for public opinion and court directions. Her regime started slow demolition of the library. The temporary workers engaged for the library maintenance works were replaced by daily wage workers. Of the 109 librarians 10 had already been transferred to places of their choice the rest not willing to seek transfers. Now it is reported that the rest of 99 librarians are to be given administrative transfers to other places. Air-condition facilities were directed to be switched off and so too were illuminating lamps for trouble free reading. They experimented the patience of people by renting out the library complex for a wedding reception and dinner against which there was an uproar and the High Court also pulled up the authorities.
Now, on February 26, the daily ‘The Times of India’ has reported under the headline “Once TN’s pride, Anna library is now ailing- Visitors suffer as Online Catalogue goes defunct- Victim Of neglect”, that a non-functional Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) makes it difficult for readers to locate books, membership enrolment stopped, complaints about a severe shortage of periodicals, newspapers and books on competitive exams, non-operational escalators, swarms of mosquitoes due to lack of upkeep, only three toilets in the seven-floor structure are operational the rest remaining closed, students not allowed to use plug points in all sections to charge their laptops, allegations of moral policing by staff who frown on boys and girls studying together. The proposed integrated library management system that was to include automated issue and return of books, user smart cards , access controls, Radio Frequency Identification and Detection (RFID) technology and self-check counters was not carried out after the change of regime.
This is “Amma” way of slow-destruction if instant destruction is hindered by judicial intervention.
Jayalalitha also abandoned many schemes/projects beneficial for the people for the only reason that they were started by the DMK rule. People of the State experienced only 2 hour power cut in Chennai and for 4 hours in districts but they were forbearing the difficulty because it was a passing phenomenon with power projects under execution would start generation of 3,800 MW of electricity by the end of 2011 and at the latest by the middle of 2012. But now the state experience unprecedented power cut for 16-18 hours a day only because the ADMK regime did not carry out execution of the projects with the same vigour. Neither had it so far announced any new measure to overcome power shortage except trying to save itself by blaming others. The District Collectors under her regime caused obstructions to erection of power transmission towers from Mettur and North Chennai thermal power plants, thereby delaying power generation. The Madras High Court pulled up the State administration for this deliberate obstruction in a power-starved state.
Jayalalitha regime also deliberately left unused huge building constructed during the previous rule such as The six-floor extension for Madras Medical College cum Hospital constructed on the site of the erstwhile Central Jail, extension of Chengleput Medical college Hospital, the Chennai City Police Commissioner’s Office building in Vepery etc.
The Jaya regime ordered stay for the ongoing works of Rs.1,800 crore Centrally sponsored Chennai harbour- Maduravoyal elevated express way, that would ease flow of wagons from and to the harbour and also reduce traffic congestion in the city and in spite of the Prime Minister’s messenger coming to Chennai and holding talks with the Chief Secretary and other higher official, the clearance is yet to be given causing huge loss of people’s money with every passing day. They also obstructed road laying works of national highways between Tiruchi and Karaikudi.
Other schemes/projects started by DMK rule and welcomed by people, that Jayalalitha had abandoned include Uzhavar sandais, Samathuvapurams, the ambitious Kalaignar Housing Scheme for replacing 21 lakh huts with concrete structures in the state within six years with state funding, Medical Insurance scheme etc.,
History had never absolved such sadistic and tyrannical regimes and posterity will remember Jayalalitha and her regime as destructive force, the bane of Tamil Nadu. r
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