YOJANA-NRHM

NRHM - towards better Health Care Services

By - Khagendramani Pradhan,*Journalist

With a view to provide universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care to the people together with bringing dramatic improvement in the health system and health status, National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) was launched by the Government as a flagship program. The mission has set a goal to facilitate increased access and utilization of quality health services by involving the Panchayati Raj institutions and community in management of primary health programmes and infrastructure. Besides, it also aims to develop a framework for promoting inter-sectoral convergence for promotive and preventive health care.
The objective of the mission is re-defined to reduction of child mortality along with controlling and prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including locally endemic diseases. The mission further emphasizes on universal access to public services for food and nutrition, sanitation and hygiene with special focus on services addressing women and children’s health and immunization. Besides facilitating access to integrated comprehensive primary health care, it also focuses on promotion of healthy lifestyle.

A Case Study

To augment this mission in Sikkim, State Health Mission and State Health Society have been formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister and Health Minister respectively. Similarly four District Hospitals have been brought under the purview of District Collector and Zilla Adhyakshas. All the 24 primary health centres of the State have been registered as hospital management society under the chairmanship of Block Development Officers.
Under the mission, 452 Village Health Sanitation Committee has been formed under the panchayati raj institution and have been provided a sum of rupees ten thousand per committee to undertake village level health activities. Similarly, to generate awareness and to provide basic health care services even in the remotest of places, around 555 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) have been appointed so far in equal number of villages of Sikkim by the Gram Panchayats who shall be working in close connection with the ANM and AWW in health related issues.
Considering the topography and the prevailing health scenario in the State, Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) scheme has been introduced under National Rural Health Mission to fulfill the void of rendering health services in difficult areas. The MMU ensures the availability of health care services to the people of remote areas which shall visit the localities in planned schedule. Apart from the four MMUs that have been operational in all the four district hospitals, providing all the 24 primary health centres with such mobile units is in the pipeline under NHRM, which is expected to be brought into service during the year 2008-09.
By the end of 2012, i.e the Mission Period, efforts are being made to equip all the 4 district hospital, 24 Primary Health Centres and 147 Primary Health Sub Centres to be upgraded to Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) providing specialist, qualified staff and additional staff as per the norms along with required infrastructures, equipments and drugs in order to ensure universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care to the people of Sikkim.
Major achievements in North Eastern States

 42051 ASHAs have been selected against the target of 44857.
 Rogi Kalyan Samities have been constituted in 55 Districts Hospitals, 161 CHCs & 1095 PHCs.
 8 new GNM Schools have been approved for assistance under NRHM.
 Funds to the tune of Rs. 1 crore each have been provided to 54 District Hospitals in the NE States. Strengthening of 5 district hospitals in Assam and Champai District Hospital in Mizoram have been approved as per requirements.
 State Hospitals viz. S.T.N.M. Hospital at Gangtok, Sikkim and State Civil Hospital at Aizawl, Mizoram are being assisted for upgradation. The State Civil Hospitals at Itanagar and Pasighat have also been assisted to the tune of Rs. 1 crore each.
 Of the 7643 Sub-Centres, 6003 are functional with Joint Accounts and 2488 have 2 ANMs in position.
 Of the 1109 PHCs, 793 have been made operational 24X7, 273 have Ayush MOs co-located in the PHCs and 245 have 3 Staff Nurses in position.
 Under Janani Suraksha Yojana Scheme the number of beneficiaries during 2005-06, 2006-07 & 2007-08 (Till October 07) were 23219, 217311 and 238000 respectively.
 All the states of northeastern region have achieved the goal of elimination of leprosy (i.e. Prevalence Rate of less then 1 case per 10,000 population).
 An amount of Rs 1026 Crore has been approved for the State PIPs of all the eight NE States for various activities under NRHM. During 2007-08.
 Upgradation of Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati Assam has been taken up.

Completition of five years of MNREGA

Article-Completition of five years of mahatma gandhi national rural employment garntee act-2005

Five Years of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA

Background

It has been five years since the launch of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) launch from Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh on February 2, 2006. The act has been instrumental in raising the productivity, increasing the purchasing power, reducing distress migration, creating durable assets while ensuring livelihood opportunities for the needy and poor in rural India.


The act is aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. These works include water conservation, drought proofing, irrigation, land development, rejuvenation of traditional water bodies, flood control and drainage work, rural connectivity and work on the land of SC/ST/BPL/IAY beneficiaries/land reform beneficiaries/ individual small and marginal farmers

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PERFORMANCE

01. Employment provided to 4.1 crore households in 2010-11 up to Dec.10.
02. Women constitute 47% while Scheduled Castes account for 28 %, and Scheduled Tribes 24% of the workers under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in 2010-11.
03. Average Wages per day under MGNREGA has gone up from Rs. 65 in 2006-07 to Rs. 100 in 2010-11.
04. Wage rates enhanced by 17-30% by linkage with Consumer Price Index for Agricultural labour calculated on the basis of Rs. 100 or the actual wage rate, whichever is higher as on April 1,2009.
05. Around 10 crore accounts of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA beneficiaries opened in post offices/banks contributing to financial inclusion.
06. Allocation of funds for 2010-11 raised to Rs. 40,100 crores.
07. Expenditure on wages Rs. 74677 crores.
08. Water Conservation, irrigation and land development account for over 75 % of work taken up in 2010-11
09. Over 68 lakh works taken up under MGNREGA so far.
10. Social Audits conducted in 71% Panchayats.

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INITIATIVES & INNOVATIONS

1.Enhancement of MGNREGA wage rates by 17-30 % by linking it with Consumer price index for agricultural labourcalculated on the basis of Rs. 100 or the actual wage rate, whichever is higher as on April 1st, 2009. The new wage rates which come in to effect from January 1,2011 are higher than the prevailing wage rates under MGNREGA at present in many states.


2.Wage disbursement to Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers through Banks/Post Office accounts has been made mandatory. Around 9.38 bank/post office accounts have been opened so far.


3. On line Monitoring : Job cards, muster rolls, wage payments, number of days of employment provided and works under execution have been put up on the website www.nrega.nic.in for monitoring and easy public access for information.



4. District Level Ombudsman : Set up to receive complaints from Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers and others on any matters, consider such complaints and facilitate their disposal in accordance with law.


5.Social Audits made mandatory: Gram Panchayats have been asked to organize Social Audits once in every six months. Reports on Social Audits uploaded on the MGNREGA website. 73 % Gram Panchayats have reported to have undertaken Social Audits in 2010-11 so far.


6.National Level Monitors (NLMs)Visit: 37 National level Monitor were deputed in 37 districts in 15 states for special monitoring of the program.


7.Eminent Citizen Monitors : 61 Eminent Citizens have been have been identified so far as per the Guidelines of the Scheme for independent monitoring. It is proposed to set up a group of 100 Eminent Citizen Monitors to Report on the progress of the scheme.


8.Vigilance and Monitoring committees (V&MCs) at State and District level : Re constituted for effective monitoring of the implementation of the program.


9.National Helpline for receipt of complaints : Toll free National Helpline 1800110707 set up for the protection of workers entitlements and rights under the Act. This is being CT enabled and linked with the State and District LevelHelplines.


10.State Helplines: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Orissa, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands etc. have set up state levelhelplines.


11.Partnership with Unique Identification Development Authority of India (UIDA): Mahatma Gandhi NREGA is collaborating with UIDA. By creating a unique identity of the individual the process would eliminate duplicate job cards, ghost beneficiaries while facilitating easy bank account opening, tracking the mobility ofbeneficiaries and ensuring a better monitoring of the system.


12.Construction of Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra/ Gram Panchayat Bhawans at the Gram Panchayator block level: Included as a permissible activity under the act. Use of administrative head of 6% under the Scheme has been permitted for provision of latest ICT facilities in Gram Panchayats (BNRGSK) within the permissible norms of the State Govt. subject to due procedures.


13.Enlarging the scope of works permitted : Works related to provision of irrigation facility, horticulture plantation and land development facilities on the private land owned by SCs and STs or below poverty line families (BPL)has been permitted under the act. Gram Panchayats while approving work plans have been asked to ensure that works on lands of SC / ST and BPL receive first priority.


14.Work under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in Naxal affected states : Union Government has issued instructions to all naxal affected States (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh) to intensify awareness generation campaign among rural households, issuance of job cards, implementing sufficient number of works and timely payment of wages.


15.Convergence : Guidelines have been developed for convergence of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS with different Schemes and specific programs. 150 convergence pilot projects have been instituted in 23 states under the monitoring of National Institute of Rural Development.


16.Business Correspondent Model : Adopted in Rajasthan with the help of Central Bank of India to ensure timely payment of wages to the workers.


17.Strengthening Monitoring Mechanisms: A Professional Institutional Network (PIN) has been constituted , including IITs, IIMs, ASCI, IIPA, IIFM ,agriculture universities and other professional institutions, for lending support to Mahatma Gandhi NREGA to conduct impact assessment and concurrent monitoring and appraisal.


18.Management and Administrative support for social audit, grievance redressal and ICT infrastructure has been strengthened.

Over the years the experience has shown that the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable groups have sought employment under the program. Focus now is on transparency and accountability with social audits, Biometric enabled-ICT based MGNREGA process for safeguarding the worker’s rights, enhanced productivity and sustainable development. Strengthening Of Gram Panchayats and empowering the workers are among the key areas where the emphasis would be in the years to come making it an effective instrument of inclusive growth and development.

Sevottam for ensuring excellence in services

Sevottam for ensuring excellence in services

by Ravinder Singh, Director ( M & C), Press Information Bureau, New Delhi.

The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has taken steps to put in place Sevottam Compliant Citizen’s Charter and Grievance Redress Mechanism. TheSevottam framework was designed by DARPG in 2006 as an assessment improvement framework for public service delivery.

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in its 12th Report “Citizen Centric Administration – The Heart of Governance” has recommended that Union and State Governments should make the Seven Step Model outlined in para 4.9 mandatory for all organizations having public interface which was accepted by the Government of India. The ARC had made the recommendations after studying the Sevottam model which the Commission felt was a step in the right direction.

What is Sevottam

Sevottam literally is the combination of Hindi words ‘SEWA + UTTAM’, meaning uttam sewa i.e. excellence in services. TheSevottam model was developed with expert support after studying international best practices, stake-holder consultations and field validity. It has basically three modules - Citizen Charter, Public Grievance Redress Mechanism and Service Delivery Capability. Each of the modules is further divided into three criteria and eleven elements each. The framework helps Government Departments towards improving their public service delivery.

Sevottam as Pilot Project

Initially, Sevottam framework was undertaken from April 2009 to June 2010 in ten Departments of the Government having large public interface. These are, Department of Post, CBEC, CBDT, Railways, Passport office, Pensions, Food Processing, Corporate Affairs, Kendriya Vidyalaya Schools and EPFO. All these organizations have declared standards and implemented in pilot locations. The Project is now being extended to 62 ministries of the Government.

Sevottam in Operation

The Seven Steps to Sevottam are - Define all services which a department provides and identify clients; Set standards and norms for each service; Develop capability to meet the set standards; Perform to achieve the standards; Monitor performance against the set standards; Evaluate the impact through an independent mechanism and Continuous improvement based on monitoring and evaluation results.

Seven Steps to Sevottam Compliant Grievance Redress System are - Well established system of receipt of grievances; Convenient for all users and its wide publicity; Timely acknowledgement; Time norm for redress; Communication of action taken on redress; Platform for Appeal and Analysis of grievance prone areas for making systemic improvements

Preparing more departments for Sevottam

The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances organised between August 30 andSeptember 21, 2010 four workshops, each of two day duration, for officers responsible for implementing the Sevottamcompliant citizen charter in 62 ministries/departments of the Government. The aim of the workshops was to facilitate preparation of Sevottam Compliant Citizen Charters and Grievance Redress Mechanism for Ministries/Departments of the Government and its Organizations for modernizing governance through better and enhanced results oriented Public Delivery System to the Citizens/Clients/Stakeholders.




The Agenda of the workshops was: Sevottam Compliant Citizens’ Charters and Grievance Redress Mechanism; Modernizing Governance through Strategic Commitment, Awareness and Outreach and Enhanced Performance and Result in Outcome. It included sessions on the concept of Sevottam, Sevottam Compliant Citizen’s/Client’s Charter, Sevottam Compliant Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM), and linkages betweenSevottam, Strategy and Results Framework Document (RFD).




The participants in these workshops included two officers of Joint Secretary/ Director level from each of the 62 Central Ministries included in the Results Framework Document for 2010-11, and one or two representatives from select Training Institutions such as Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi; Institute of Secretariat Training and Management, New Delhi; State Administrative Training Institute, Jaipur; State Administrative Training Institute, Chandigarh; Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad and Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad. As such a total of about 250 officers participated and were trained through these four workshops.




The first workshop was inaugurated by Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions. These workshops were organised in collaboration with Performance Management Division of Cabinet Secretariat and FICCI Quality Forum as Consulting Partner. Cabinet Secretary, Shri K.M. Chandrasekhar,Member planning Commission Shri SamPitroda and UIDAI chairman, Shri Nandan Nilekani took part in the workshops.

Implementation of the Concept

The Performance Management Division of the Cabinet Secretariat has included two modules of theSevottam framework i.e. Citizen Charter and Public Grievance Mechanism, as mandatory success indicators in the Results Frame Document (RFD) 2010-11 for 62 Ministries/Departments approved under Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System (PMES) by the Prime Minister. The four workshops held would facilitate these Ministries/Departments in achieving the Sevottam compliance success indicators under Results Frame Document.December 30, 2010 has been fixed as the target date for the formulation ofSevottam Compliant Citizen’s / Client’s Charter. To facilitate meeting the target date, a Helpdesk for Sevottam related queries has been made available at sevottam@nic.in.

Sevottam in States

Four States namely, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa have adopted Sevottam for capacity building for poverty reduction pilot projects of quality management system.

The Government of Himachal Pradesh selected Municipal Corporation Shimla for the first QMS Sevottampilot project in 2008 - 2009. As a result, processes in issue of Electricity and Water Bills have been streamlined resulting in timely receipts and enhancement in the collection of revenue. Operations of water bills, property tax, registration of births and deaths, and other services provided are being integrated through a common digital database.


The Grievance Redress Mechanism has been improved. Improvements have been made in functioning and monitoring of the Solid Waste Management Plant and financial arrangements have been made for procuring 33 new vehicles. A ‘User Manual’ for the sector has been created that will facilitate the replication of the process in other municipalities. The User Manual has been uploaded on DARPG website www.darpg.nic.in.


The capacity of Himachal Pradesh Institute for Public Administration (HIPA) Shimla, has been built in this regard and funds have been provided for opening of a new ‘Training Centre on Sevottam’ in HIPA.


The Government of Karnataka selected the Department of Women and Child Development with verticalchain of service delivery for the Integrated Child Development Services in 7 Anganwadi centres in two villages ofBadanaguppe inChamrajnagar district and Mudlapura in Raichur district. The pilot project was started there in December 2008 and concludedin February 2010. This has been a very successful Sevottam pilot project. As part of capacity building a Sevottam training cell has been established in ATI, Mysore to train personnel for extending the service delivery framework in other organizations of Government of Karnataka.


The Madhya Pradesh Government has selected the Public Health and Family Welfare Department with vertical service delivery chain in J.P. Hospital, Bhopal; Community Health Centre, Gandhinagar; in Phanda Block of District Bhopal; Community Health Centres in Bairsia Block and Health Centre Tehsil Bairsia with PHFW service delivery units in 5 to 6 village clusters therein. Simultaneously, capacity building for training in QMS Sevottam model of the Madhya Pradesh State Administrative Training Institute is involved. Started in August 2009, the project is due to conclude in December 2010.


The Government of Orissa has selected the Food, Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FSCW) Department and its vertical chain of service delivery in Balipatna Block of Khurda District and simultaneous capacity building of State ATI, Bhubaneswar. The project begun in September 2009 and is due for conclusion in December 2010.

Wildlife coservation in india

Wildlife coservation in india

The illegal trade in wildlife is a global issue. From animal parts, like tiger bones and musk glands to live reptiles, birds and ivory, poachers and smugglers illegally poach and traffic a variety of wild plant and animal species. The two major categories of traded items are live specimens of wildlife species and products from wildlife species.

The wildlife products mostly traded illegally from our country are musk, ivory Rhino horns, Tiger and Leopard skins and bones for oriental medicines and food; Snakes and Monitor Lizard skins, feathers for decoration turtle for meat and soups and Tibetan Antelope for shawls.

Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

 The Government enacted a comprehensive legislation “Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972” with objective of effective control by poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products.

 The Act has been amended in 1982, 1986, 1991, 2002, and in 2006 to make the provisions of the Act more stringent. Hunting of all species was banned in 1991.

 Realizing the global nature of the illegal wildlife trade, the “Conservation on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora” was signed at Washington on 3rd March, 1973. The Government deposited the instruments of ratification on 20th July, 1976. The provisions of the Convention and the export policy of the country if effectively used, provide the Government with adequate legislative powers to deal with illegal wildlife trade.

Legal Protection Measures against Hunting

Hunting of wild animals is prohibited except for exceptional circumstances. The Wildlife Act prescribes stringent punishment for hunting and illegal trade from fine to imprisonment. These includes:

i. For hunting and illegal trade in wild animals belonging to Schedule I and Part II of the Schedule II – Minimum 3 years imprisonment extendable to seven years and a minimum fine of Rs. 10,000/-

ii. For hunting and illegal trade in wild animals belonging to other Schedules – Imprisonment upto three years or a fine upto Rs. 25,000/- or both. Such offences can also be compounded, the amount of composition not exceeding Rs. 25,000/-

iii. For offences in relation to zoos, the punishment prescribed is imprisonment for upto six months or a fine of upto Rs. 2,000/- or with both.

iv. In addition to the above punishments, the court trying the offence may also order the forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon to cancel any wildlife license or permit held by the person, as well as cancel the Arms license and debar for an Arms license for a period of five years.

v. There is also a provision for Forfeiture of Property of offenders who are awarded sentence of three years or more of imprisonment.

Steps to Curb Poaching and Illegal Trade

The Government has taken many steps to curb poaching of wildlife and illegal trade.

A special co-ordination committee under the chairmanship of the Secretary (E&F) has been constituted. The CBI has been empowered to investigate wildlife offence cases as per the decision of this committee.

The States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalya, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Tripura, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh have formed the State level/District level co-ordination committees for the control of illegal trade, smuggling, trafficking of Wildlife and its products.

Special training is organized for the wildlife officers at the Sardar Vallabhai Police Academy, Hyderabad.

Regional meeting of Chief Wildlife Wardens, Southern states is periodically held to work out a joint strategy for protection of elephant and meetings with Principle Secretaries (Forests) and the Chief Wildlife Wardens of the States is held regularly in the Ministry to discuss the matters relating to wildlife conservation and prevention of illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products.

Conservation and Protection Measures

By amending the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 in 2006, the Directorate of Project Tiger has become National Tiger Conservation Authority. It is to give impetus to the existing initiatives against illegal trade in wildlife especially tigers.

The Government has set up four Regional Offices at Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai to control illegal trade in wildlife and its products. These offices are responsible for import and export of wild animals and plants from the major airports and seaports. In addition, there are 3 more sub-regional offices located at Amritsar, Guwahati and Cochin to assist these regional offices in the responsibilities of controlling illegal trade. These offices have seized many important wildlife and products of precious and endangered wild animals, which were meant for trade in international market.

India is also a signatory to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and trade in wildlife and its product is governed by the Convention. Most of the endangered Indian wild animals species are covered under CITES Appendices and trade is permitted only after due consideration by the management and the technical authorities of the country.

A Special Co-ordination Committee with Secretary (Environment & Forests), as Chairman and Special Secretary (Home), Director, CBI and representative of the Chairman, Central Board of Excise & Customs has been created to ensure better co-ordination in the efforts to curb smuggling of wildlife products.

Training and Workshops of various enforcement agencies for effective intelligence gathering and law enforcement are also being conducted regularly.

India is a signatory to many international conventions responsible for protection of bio-diversity and its habitat. Important conventions include: 

i. Convention on Biological Diversity
ii. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
iii. World Heritage Convention
iv. Convention on Migratory Species and
v. Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention)

Co-ordination with Neighbouring Countries

India has signed a Protocol with Republic of China for taking up joint measures to crack down illegal activities of poaching of tigers, smuggling and selling of tiger bones and their derivatives. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Nepal to establish a Joint Task Force to check Trafficking across borders.

Infrastructure-

The problem of poaching has been compounded by the financial stringency prevailing in most of the states due to which total ban on new recruitment have been imposed and in certain case, there are 30 to 40 percent vacancies in the forest department. Funds for recurring expenditure like patrolling, maintenance of vehicles, sets and sometimes even for supply of uniforms are not available.

The modus operandi-

 Attracted by lucrative prices, organized mafias have entered the field of poaching and illegal trade of wildlife and its products. Shooting of animals by guns has given place to poisoning of animals. The carcass or the body parts of dead animals are then expeditiously transported to certain metros for processing and smuggling outside the country. The presence of forest department outside forest boundary is very notional and it is therefore likely, that significant number of cases go undetected.

As per the provisions of the amendments made in 2006, ‘National Tiger Conservation Authority’ has been formed. The constitution of National Wildlife Crime Bureau is also now included in the wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, through this amendment.

National Wildlife Crime Bureau (NWCB)

The Bureau is envisaged as a multi-disciplinary approach to combat the organized crime against wildlife and trade in wildlife and its derivatives. It will be headed by Additional Director General of Forest and will have its Headquarters at New Delhi and Regional Offices at Jabalpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Kolkata, Guwahati, Imphal and Amritsar.

Objectives of NWCB 

1) To act as a multi agency unit with full time officer from Forest and Wildlife Departments and various para military forces ( Police, DRI, CBI, IB, ITBP, BSF), Customs.

2) To develop a National Level Policy for containing the trade, enforcement and capacity building of the State Forest Departments to carry out enforcement and investigation in a professional manner.

3) To implement the resolutions and decisions taken under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES).

4) To co-operate with the Interpol Wildlife Crime Working Group, the World Customs Organisation, the CITES Tiger Enforcement Task Force and various other Law Enforcement Agencies inside the country.

5) To gather and analyze intelligence related to organized wildlife crime activities and to disseminate the same to State and Regional Enforcement Agencies for swift action to apprehend the criminals.

6) To undertake joint operations with counterpart agencies in other countries.

7) To maintain a data bank related to wildlife crimes .

8) To monitor trade and advise the on changes required in policy and legislation from time to time.

9) To develop infrastructure and capacity for scientific and professional investigation into wildlife crimes and assist State Governments to ensure better success of cases related to wildlife crimes.

There are five regional offices and five Border Units of the Bureau. The regional centers are at New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and five border units are at Guwahati, Chandigarh, Bareilly, Siliguri and Gorakhpur.

Yojna-SABLA,KSY etc. for women empowerment

Empowerment of adolescent girls

The approach for holistic child development remains unaddressed if adolescent girls are excluded from the developmental programmes. Adolescence is a crucial phase between childhood and womanhood. This intermediary stage is the most eventful for mental, emotional and psychological well being. Various surveys clearly reveal that the health, nutrition, education and social status of adolescent girls are at sub optimal level and the adolescent girls do not have adequate access to vital health and nutrition information or services.

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), with its opportunities for early childhood development, seeks to reduce both socio-economic and gender inequities. To better address concerns for women and the girl child, it was necessary to design interventions for adolescent girls which addressed their needs of self development, nutrition and health status, literacy and numerical skill, vocational skills etc.

The special intervention Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY0 and Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) are being implemented for adolescent girls, using the ICDS infrastructure. These interventions focus on school dropouts, girls in the age group of 11-18 years, to meet their needs of self-development, nutrition, health, education, literacy and recreational skill formation.

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Rajiv gandhi scheme for empowerment of adolescent girls

Empowerment of adolescent girls is one of the top most priorities of the Government. The Cabinet approval for the expansion of the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) is another move in this direction. The scheme is being implemented through Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) projects and Anganwadi Centers in 200 select districts across the country for empowering adolescent girls in the age group of 11 to 18. The Cabinet approval followed the recommendation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) aiming at enhancing their nutritional and economic status. Under the scheme, adolescent girls will be provided Take Home Ration. There is also a provision in the scheme that if any state insists on providing hot cooked meal, standards should be set for the same. In addition, the Women and Child Development Ministry will explore feasibility for implementing Conditional Cash Transfer scheme as an alternative of adolescent girls in 100 more districts. Around 92 lakh to 1.15 crore adolescent girls of 11 to 18 years per annum are expected to be covered under the scheme during the Eleventh Plan.

Salient Features 

50:50 per cent sharing between the Centre and the States of nutrition provision (600 calories and 18 to 29 gram of protein) at the rate of Rs.5 per beneficiary per day for 300 days a year for 11 to 14 years out of school girls and all girls in the age of 15 to 18 years. A provision of Rs.3.8 lakh per ICDS project per annum has been made for various components of the scheme like training kit at each Angawadi center, National Health Education, Life Skill Education, purchase of Iron Folic Acid Tablet for mothers. Continuation of Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) in remaining districts from funds of SABLA and utilization of savings available under KSY and RGSEAG-SABLA in 200 districts are the other salient features of the Scheme.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has formulated the SABLA scheme to address multi-dimensional problems of adolescent girls between 11 to 18 years. An allocation of Rs.1,000 crore for the scheme in 2010-11. The Government has approved a cumulative 7075 ICDS projects and 14 lakh Anganwadi Centres across the country. Of these, a total of 7012 projects and 13.67 lakh AWCs have been sanctioned as on 31st of May 2010. Out of the approved ICDS, 6560 are operational. Keeping in view the expansion under the Scheme, the allocation for ICDS was enhanced from the Budget Estimates of Rs. 6,705 crore to Rs. 8162 crore for the year 2009-10. For the year 2010-11, an allocation of Rs. 8700 crore has been made, which is higher than the allocation of the previous year.

Survey On Malnutrition 

Malnutrition is the key issue. The National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) has carried out sample surveys on diet and nutritional status of rural (2005-06) and tribal population (2007-09) in 9 states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. As per the report of 2001-03 by the Registrar General of India on causes of deaths among 0 to 4 years due to nutritional deficiencies is 2.8 per cent. As per the National Family Health Survey, the underweight children below three years of age has declined from 42.7 per cent in 1988-99 to 40.4 per cent in 2005-06. However, there has been an increase in the anemia levels as anemia in children (6 months to 35 months) has risen from 74.3 per cent to 78.9 per cent. Similarly in women aged 15 to 49 years, the anemia has increased from 51.8 per cent to 56.2 per cent. Though malnutrition is not a major cause of infant death, it can increase morbidity and mortality by reducing resistance to infections. As per the Sample Registration System (SRS), Registrar General of India, the infant Mortality Rate has declined from 57 per thousand live births in 2006 to 53 per thousand live births in the year 2008.

A number of measures has been taken by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare like Supply of Vitamin-A supplementation for children till the age of 5 years, Iron Folic Acid supplementation for children up to 10 years, pregnant and lactating women, promotion of iodized salt, zinc supplementation for treatment of diarrhea in children above two months.

Combating Malnutrition

The problem of malnutrition is a multi-faceted and multi-sectoral in nature requiring coordination and convergence between the different sectors and at all levels. The Government, which has been according high priority to the overall issue of malnutrition and particularly in respect of children, adolescent girls and women is implementing several schemes, which have an impact on the nutritional status of the people. These schemes besides ICDS projects include, Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) and Nutritional Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG), National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM), Drinking Water and Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), Swarjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) and Public Distribution System (PDS). The ICDS scheme provides a package of six services – supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition and health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services. Three of the services (immunization, health check up and referral services) are delivered through the public health system of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Government has taken various steps, which include universalisation of the scheme with special focus on SC/ST and minority habitations, revision in cost norms as well as the Nutritional and Feeding norms of the Supplementary Nutrition component of ICDS. The Centre has adopted the standards proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 15th of August 2008 to identify malnutrition in children. The National Nutrition Policy of 1993 and the National Nutrition Action Plan of 1995 envisage establishment of State Nutrition Councils in the states. This has been emphasized during the meetings held with the States. Recently, the Chief Secretaries of all states have been addressed to ensure that the State Nutrition Action Plans factor in the availability of services provided at AWCs under the ICDS and also ensure that expansion is undertaken in a manner that it meets inter-alia the nutritional and health demands of the beneficiaries particularly the marginalized sections in areas having high incidence of poverty and deprivation. The Women & Child Development Ministry has considered a Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme for Maternity Benefits called Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) on a pilot basis to provide cash transfers to pregnant and lactating women in response to fulfilling specific conditions. The objective of the scheme is to improve the health and nutrition status of pregnant and lactating women. A budget allocation of Rs.390 crore has been made for the scheme during the current financial year.

Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY)

Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) seeks to empower adolescent girls, so as to enable them to take charge of their lives. It is viewed as a holistic initiative for the development of adolescent girls. The programme through its interventions aims at bringing about a difference in the lives of the adolescent girls. It seeks to provide them with an opportunity to realize their full potential.

This scheme is a redesign of the already existing Adolescent Girls (AG) Scheme being implemented as a component under the centrally sponsored Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme. The new scheme dramatically extends the coverage of the earlier scheme with significant content enrichment, strengthens the training component, particularly in skill development, aspects aimed at empowerment and enhanced self-perception. It also fosters convergence with other sectoral programmes, addressing the interrelated needs of adolescent girls and women.

The broad objectives of the Scheme are to improve the nutritional, health and development status of adolescent girls, promote awareness of health, hygiene, nutrition and family care, link them to opportunities for learning life skills, going back to school, help them gain a better understanding of their social environment and take initiatives to become productive members of the society.

Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls

To address the problem of under-nutrition among adolescent girls and pregnant women and lactating mothers, the Planning Commission, in the year 2002-03, launched the Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG), on a Pilot Project basis in 51 districts in the country. Under this scheme, 6 kg of food-grains were given to under nourished adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Eligibility was determined on the basis of their weight. The Pilot Project was continued in the year 2003-04 also. It, however, could not be continued in the year 2004-05. The Government approved the implementation of NPAG, through the Department of Women and Child Development, in 51 backward districts identified by the Planning Commission in the year 2005-06 to provide 6 kg of free food-grains to undernourished adolescent girls only (pregnant women & lactating mothers are not covered as these are targeted under ICDS). The scheme is being continued for the Annual Plan 2006-07 on pilot project basis.

The funds are given as 100% grant to States/UTs so that they can provide food grains through the Public Distribution System free of cost to the families of identified undernourished persons.

No doubt such programmes aimed at improving the nutritional and health status of adolescent girls would definitely promote their self-development and empower them with decision making capabilities.

ESSAY-NARCO ANALYSIS

Narco - Analysis - Procedure - Scientificity ? - Reliability ? - Legality ?

The Narco-Analysis has become an increasingly, perhaps alarmingly, common term in India. This technique has garnered support from certain State Governments as well as the Judiciary in India. There has been a debate for quite a long time whether this can be considered as a scientific and reliable method. An attempt has been made here to critically discuss this technique and to evaluate its admissibility as evidence in the courts.

Introduction

• The search for effective aids to interrogation is probably as old as man’s need to obtain information from an uncooperative accused (or subject) and as persistent as his impatience to short cut any tortuous path. 
• In the annals of police investigation, physical coercion has, at times, been substituted for painstaking and time-consuming inquiry in the belief that direct methods produce quick results. 
• But, hardened and manipulative perpetrators often fail the interrogation thus, information and admissible evidences are hard to come by. 
• With the advancement of our knowledge or the reapplication of existing knowledge in a newer specific area has resulted in the emergence of techniques, such as Polygraphy, Brain-mapping and Narco-analysis. 
• The term ‘Narco-analysis’ is derived from the Greek word ‘Narkë’ (meaning “anesthesia or torpor”, and is used to describe a diagnostic and psychotherapeutic technique that uses psychoactive drugs, particularly barbiturates, to induce a state of stupor in which mental elements with strong associated effects come to surface, where they can be exploited by the therapist (or investigating agency). 

• The term ‘Narco-analysis’ was coined by Horseley, but the Narco-analysis first reached the mainstream in 1922, when Robert House, a Texas Obstetrician used the drug scopolamine on two prisoners. 
• But, the therapeutic use was first documented by Dr. William Blackwenn (1930).1 Others 2,3,4 demonstrated the usefulness of such drug in procuring diagnostically or therapeutically vital information, and to provide patients with a functional respite from catatonia or mania.

Active Chemical Substances

• Sedative and hypnotics that alter higher cognitive function by depressing the Central nervous system include ethanol, scopolamine, quinnuclidinyl benzilate, temazepam and various barbiturates, such as sodium thiopental (commonly known as sodium pentothal), Sodium amytal (amobarbital), seconal are particularly worth mentioning. 
• Scopolamine (an alkaloid of atropine group and is scopine tropate) was the first chemical substance, but nowadays, the barbiturates, particularly the sodium pentothal, is the drug of choice for the Narco-analysis.

The Procedure

• The Narco-analysis is conducted by the administration of a hypnotic-sedative, such as sodium pentothal, intravenously into the subject. 

• The dose is calculated as per kg. of the body weight of the subject and the drug is pushed by an Anesthetist (a medical doctor) at the rate of 4ml/min (100mg/min) of a 2.5% solution of sodium pentothal.

• The injection may be preceded by the administration of an cholinergic agent and a test dose of the said  drug. 
• The dose is dependent on the person’s sex, age, health, physical condition, tolerance and idiosyncrasy. 
• The rate of administration is controlled to drive the subject (accused) slowly into a hypnotic trance resulting in a lack of inhibition. 
• The subject is then interrogated by the Psychiatrist/Forensic Psychologist in conjunction with investigating agency. 
• The anesthesia doctor monitors and maintains the hypnotic trance condition of the subject. 
• The revelation made during this stage are recorded, both in video and audio cassettes. 
• The Forensic Psychologist prepares the report about the revelations, which will be accompanied by the audio-video recordings. 
• The strength of the revelations, if necessary, is further verified by subjecting the person to psychological/criminal profiling, polygraphy and/or the Brain-mapping tests. 
• The Narco-analysis is normally conducted in Government Hospitals or in Forensic Lab where such facilities are created. 
• However, personal consent of the subject and a court order are required for the conduct of the test. 
• In Narco-analysis test, the person’s inhibitions are lowered by the depressing action of the drug at the CNS. 
• In such sleep-like state (or hypnotic trance), it becomes difficult, though not impossible, for him to lie or manipulate the answers. 
• Revelations made by the person under such condition are usually further corroborated by the investigating agencies, and reconstruction of the crime is done.

Discussion

• Narco-analysis has become an increasingly, perhaps alarmingly, common term in India. 
• This practice has also garnered support from certain State Governments as well as the Judiciary. 
• While expert studies and court opinions available internationally have granted that there may be some use in Narco-analysis, but the overwhelming evidence is that it is by no means a reliable science. 

There are two main issues in the acceptance of Narco-analysis test in the Criminal Justice Administration:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.Whether Narco-analysis is a reliable scientific test? 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.  What should be its legal status?

Reliability ???

• A scientific test is one which is based on a solid scientific principle and always give results, which are precise & accurate, reproducible and cross verifiable. 
• Narco-analysis basically is a test in the domain of psychology to provide functional respite from some psychological disorders. 
• There is no direct proven relationship between the administration of so-called truth drugs and revelation of truth. 
• The CIA has admitted that the actual content of what comes out during the Narco-analytic interrogation can be psychotic manifestation…hallucinations, illusion, delusions or disorientation. 
• Psychiatrists hold that some 50% of all individuals are suggestible even while fully conscious, meaning they can be made to believe events that never actually happened. 
• Thus, under the effect of drug, the patient may say things that he wished were true and not that were necessarily true. 
• Further, the effect of the drug should remain same on all subjects, but it varies with the age, sex, health  and general conditions of the person thus may give different outcome. 
• In the US, where science often interfaces uncomfortably with the law, the Supreme Court offered four criteria, part of the Daubert standards (1993), by which to judge the credibility of a scientific principle held by a minority of practitioners: hypothesis testing; peer review and publication; knowledge of error  rates; and acceptability in the general scientific community. 
• In India, the Narco-analysis is being mainly done at Forensic Labs at Bangalore and Gandhinagar.
• As per one conservative estimate, both laboratories collectively had carried out the Narco-analysis of around 600 persons by now, but the results of these tests and their parameters were never peer reviewed and the data never published in international research journals for the scientific scrutiny. 
• Further, no controlled studies of sufficiently large relevant samples of criminals are available; no authentic data and no statistical probability data are available. 

• In the absence of above, how Narco-analysis can be regarded as a scientific and reliable technique? 

• American Journal of Psychiatry prohibited the use of Narco-analysis for the purpose of police investigation (111,283-88).

Legal Status

• Regarding the legal status of Narco-analysis, one needs to interpret carefully the Article 20(3) of the Indian Constitution and Section 161(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. 
• The application of Narco-analysis test involves the fundamental question pertaining to the judicial matters and also Human Rights. 
• The legal position of applying this technique as an investigative technique raises genuine issues like encroachment of an individual’s rights, liberties and freedom. 
• Subjecting the accused to undergo the test as has been done by the investigative agencies in India, is considered by many as a blatant violation of Article 20(3) of the Constitution. 
• It also goes against the “Maxim Nemo Tenetur Se Ipsum Accusare”, i.e. “No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.” 
• Thus, Article 20(3) gives privilege to the accused or any person against self-incrimination which, in fact, is a fundamental basis of Common Law of Criminal  Jurisprudence. 
• Thus, the unvoluntary confession or other vital information obtained from the accused of the crime by pushing him into a state of hypnotic trance amounts to self-incrimination, thus violates the Article 20(3) of the Constitution. 
• Such evidence thus cannot be made admissible in the courts until some amendments to the said provision occur.
• The right against forced self-incrimination also widely known as the right-to-silence in enshrined in the Section 161(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, which state that “such person shall be bound to answer truly all questions put to him by such officer, other than questions the answers to which would have a tendency to expose him to a criminal charge or to a penalty or forfeiture”. 
• Thus, the administration of test, like Narco-analysis amounts to forcible intrusion into one’s mind, thereby nullifying the validity and legitimacy of the right-to-silence. 

• Thus, in the light of above facts, the Narco-analysis test neither can be considered as a scientific and reliable test nor it satisfies the existing golden principles of Indian Laws and Criminal Jurisprudence.

Conclusion

• Though nobody wants that terrorists and hardened criminals escape from the clutches of law, but it would be equally unjustified, if knowingly, we resort to such a test, which is not true to science and law. 
• In India, Narco-analysis is gaining some judicial acceptance (for inadvertent reasons) and supports from some enthusiatic Law Enforcement Officers despite being an unreliable and doubtful method. 
• We have to seriously debate about its Legal and Constitutional validity from human perspective. 
• Narco-analysis may yield useful information at times, but such information’s can also be obtained by enhancing investigative capabilities, better policing and training of the personnel. 
• It is the time for Law Enforcement personnel to have a sincere introspection. 
• It is an invasive technique, which amounts to a sophisticated version of the deplorable third-degree method.

Courtesy: Ministry of Home Affairs

Recent Supreme Court judgment on Narco Analysis and Brain mapping terming it "unconstitutional" 

The Supreme Court judgment on May 5, 2010 related to the involuntary administration of narco analysis  for the purpose of improving investigation efforts in criminal cases was questioned on the account of violation of fundamental rights such as:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o    <!--[endif]-->‘Right against self-incrimination’ enumerated in Article 20(3) of the Constitution, which states that no person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself/herself, and

<!--[if !supportLists]-->o    <!--[endif]-->Article 21 (Right to life and personal liberty) has been judicially expanded to include a ‘right against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment’.

Narco Analysis also raises serious concerns related to the professional ethics of medical personnel involved in the administration of these techniques and violation of human rights of an individual. Concerns regarding human rights violations in conducting DDTs were raised long back and the National Human Rights Commission had published Guidelines in 2000 for the Administration of Polygraph tests. However, only few of the investigating agencies seen to follow these guidelines.

EASSY-CURRENT ISSUE-CHEMICAL WEAPONS

What are chemical weapons?

• “The term chemical weapon is applied to any toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical action.”

• Chemical weapons are classified according to how they affect human beings: 

There are also plenty of gray areas: 

• Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, riot-control agents such as tear gas are considered chemical weapons if   they’re used during war — but not if they’re used for law enforcement. 
• And there are all sorts of technicalities over the use of white phosphorus, an incendiary weapon that has been used in recent years by both the United States and Israel.

 Why are chemical weapons considered worse than other types of weapons? 

• The taboo against chemical weapons is more than a century old. 
• “The primary idea is that they are indiscriminate and an inherent threat to civilian populations,” 
• “The kernel of that really arose in the aftermath of World War I. 
• Chemical weapons were used on a wide scale in that conflict. 
• There was a real fear, particularly as air technology got better, that there’d be massive chemical attacks on cities.”
• Now, granted, regular bombs can be deadly and indiscriminate too. 
• But for a variety of historical reasons, a set of international norms developed around chemical weapons that never developed around conventional explosives. 
• By World War II, most countries had voluntarily ruled out the use of chemical warfare on the battlefield.

Are chemical weapons banned under international law?

• Yes. 
• The 1925 Geneva protocol first prohibited the use of poisonous gas as a weapon of war. 
• The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention then went even further and outlawed the production, stockpile, transfer and use of chemical weapons. 
• Countries that ratified the treaty pledged to destroy their existing stockpiles.

Not everyone has signed that 1993 treaty, however. Syria, North Korea, Egypt and Angola are notable omissions. Israel and Burma, meanwhile, have signed the treaty but not ratified it:

Which countries currently possess chemical weapons?

• At least five countries still have officially declared stockpiles: The United States, Russia, Libya, Iraq, and Japan (the latter’s weapons were left in China after World War II). 
• These nations have all pledged to destroy their remaining stocks, but progress has been slow: As of July 2013, there are still more than 13,000 tons of chemical agents left.

That’s not all, though. The U.S. intelligence community believes that Syria, Iran, and North Korea all have their own covert chemical arsenals. Syria, in particular, “maintains a stockpile of numerous chemical agents, including mustard, sarin, and VX.”

• There are also a number of other countries that may have chemical weapons or the facilities for producing them, but public information is murky. 
• The list of possible suspects includes: Burma, Egypt, Pakistan, Serbia, Sudan, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Which countries have used chemical weapons?

• During the Yemen civil war of 1963-1967, Egypt used mustard gas, phosgene, and tear gas against royalist forces. 
• And in 1987, Libya allegedly used chemical weapons against Chadian troops. 

• The most notorious recent incidents have come in Iraq. 
• Saddam Hussein used various gases on a wide scale in his war against Iran and then later in his campaign against Iraq’s Kurds in the late 1980s. 
• His general in that effort, Ali Hassan al-Majid, was given the nickname “Chemical Ali”.

Did Iraq get punished for using chemical weapons?

• After the Iran-Iraq war, there was no response. All the U.N. could muster was a weakly worded condemnation of chemical weapons that didn’t name names. And the U.S. was in no rush to see Iraq punished, as they didn’t want to see Iran win.
• Later on, however, the U.N. Security Council did pass a number of resolutions to disarm Saddam Hussein. And, in 1998, the U.S. launched Operation Desert Fox, a four-day bombing campaign intended to “degrade” Iraq’s weapons capabilities — chemical, biological, and nuclear — after Hussein kicked out U.N. inspectors.

Focus ---- >>> SYRIA 

• The Syrian government is thought to possess large stocks of nerve agents (sarin and VX)as well as mustard gas, likely weaponized into bombs, shells and missiles. 
• It also may have some production facilities.
• Syria “probably” first began stockpiling chemical weapons in 1972 or 1973, when Egypt gave the country a small number of chemicals and delivery systems before the Yom Kippur War against Israel.
• The Soviet Union later supplied chemical agents, delivery systems and training. Syria is also “likely to have procured equipment and precursor chemicals from private companies in Western Europe.” 
• According to the report, Syria doesn’t yet appear to have the capacity to produce the weapons entirely on its own, relying on outside help for precursors.

Chemical weapons - fact and fiction - Who is the BIGGER CULPRIT ?

US President Barack Obama’s plan to bomb Syria for alleged use of poison gas has raised two questions that remain pertinent despite the proposed international monitoring and eventual destruction of that country’s chemical weapon arsenal: 

• Is gassing people more inhumane or reprehensible than killing with Tomahawk missiles and other conventional weapons? 
• And are chemical weapons inherently prohibited in international law, just like genocide and slavery?

These questions are also important because Obama’s request to the US Congress for authorization to attack Syria was not about any specific threat to the US or international security. Rather, the planned attack was for retribution to save the president’s credibility that he believed was on the line.

Let’s be clear: chemical weapons—including choking agents such as chlorine gas, blister agents such as mustard gas, arsenic or cyanide-based blood agents, and nerve agents such as sarin—are far less effective than modern conventional weapons, which kill with greater certitude and precision.

Technological advances, in fact, have made conventional weapons capable of leaving a greater trail of death and destruction than any poison gas. They kill, maim and terrorize in ways not much different than chemical weapons. Some conventional explosives and napalm (a petrochemical incendiary whose use against military targets remains lawful despite the notoriety it gained during the Vietnam War) indeed can cause lingering, painful death.

Chemical weapons have a low kill ratio. Moreover, their employment often demands favourable weather and geographic conditions. If the military intent were to incapacitate enemy army units without killing them, chemical weapons potentially make for more humane warfare than conventional weapons.

But because they are cheap, easy to manufacture, and serve as a poor nation’s deterrent, chemical arms have fallen out of favour with the powerful, who portray them as “immoral weapons”. To protect their advantage in conventional weapons, great powers have promoted a taboo against chemical weapon use.

Chemical arms have been used by combatants since ancient times, with the oldest archaeological evidence of chemical warfare being found, ironically, in modern-day Syria. Their extensive use in World War I, especially in the form of mustard or chlorine gas, created revulsion and fear of future chemical attacks. However, their use made little difference to the military outcome.

In fact, the total fatalities from chemical weapon strikes accounted for much less than 1% of the World War I deaths, and were lower than the toll from a single US napalm attack on Tokyo on 10 March 1945. At least 100,000 Japanese died on that day when some 300 B-29 bombers dropped 1,700 tonnes of incendiary bombs—the deadliest air raid of World War II.

Against this background, why do the hundreds allegedly killed by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in a 21 August sarin attack count for more than the estimated 100,000 slain in Syria’s grinding civil war, 

• Including many killed by insurgents aided by the US and its repressive Islamist allies, such as the rulers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey? 
• Why is it any worse to be killed by sarin than to be decapitated by insurgents, a growing number of whom hew to Al Qaeda ideology?

The Obama administration’s visceral we-must-bomb-Syria stand is obscured by such questions.

• International efforts since late 19th century to outlaw chemical weapons have been hampered by breaches of legal obligations by a number of nations. 
• The 1899 Hague Convention prohibited the use of projectiles with the “sole object” of diffusing “asphyxiating or deleterious gases”—a ban that was openly flouted in World War I. 
• The violations spawned the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning the use of poison gas as a weapon—a still-binding prohibition breached with impunity by several parties.
• The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) went further and outlawed the production, stockpile, transfer and use of chemical weapons. 
• Some countries have not signed or ratified it, including Syria, Israel, North Korea, Egypt and Myanmar. 
• Some parties strongly suspected of possessing chemical weapons, including China and Pakistan, did not declare any stockpile. By declaring former production facilities, China, however, tacitly admitted that it had built chemical weapons and destroyed them before ratifying the CWC.
• Of the seven declared possessor states under CWC, the largest arsenals are held by the US and Russia, which have both missed the convention’s final extended deadline of 2012 for the destruction of all stockpiles. What impact will this contravention have on CWC’s integrity?
• Only India, South Korea and Albania are among the seven declared possessor states that have fully and verifiably eliminated stockpiles by the initial deadline of March 2009. The US says its stockpile destruction will not end before 2021, almost a decade after a cut-off extension.

When the US sprayed 20 million gallons of Agent Orange, a toxic defoliant, during the Vietnam War, it was not a party to the Geneva Protocol. It embraced the protocol soon after it ended that war. But its use of white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon and direct tool of warfare during the 2004 siege of Fallujah city in occupied Iraq raised a troubling question about its compliance with international obligations. Studies have reported a sharp rise in cancer, leukaemia and congenital birth defects in Fallujah in the years since.

White phosphorous, like other chemicals not listed in the CWC schedules, can be legally employed for non-combat purposes (for example, as a flare to illuminate the battlefield or to produce smoke to disguise troop movements) but not “as a method of warfare” relying on its “toxic properties”.

Before Saddam Hussein fell out of favour with Washington, the Ronald Reagan administration acquiesced in his regime’s gassing of Iranian troops during the protracted Iraq-Iran war. Declassified Central Intelligence Agency papers and interviews with former officials, as highlighted by the journalForeign Policy recently, confirm what has long been known—that Washington not only turned a blind eye to Iraq’s repeated use of sarin and mustard gas from 1983 to 1988, but also facilitated the gassing of Iranian troops by providing Saddam with satellite reconnaissance data on the location of Iranian units.

It is against this troubling backdrop that Obama—facing both international isolation and congressional defeat—sought to build a legal case to bomb Syria. His task was made uphill by factors extending beyond his decision to bypass the United Nations (UN).

• Firstly, Syria is not a party to the CWC, whose enforcement, in any event, vests with the Security Council. Syria did sign the Geneva Protocol in 1968, yet that protocol provides no basis for use of force because it relates to inter-state war, not intra-state conflict. 
• Secondly, in a world in which national stockpiles of chemical arms still exist, few can argue that such weapons are inherently prohibited in international law, regardless of treaties.

Allegations and counter-allegations of chemical weapon use in the Syrian civil war have been rife since last year. Several instances of alleged use were reported in the spring of this year, eventually prompting the UN to send a team of investigators to Syria in August.

While the inspectors were probing those cases, another instance of alleged use in suburban Damascus on 21 August made international headlines because of a rebel video. Even as the UN inspectors turned to investigating the newest incident, Obama peremptorily declared his intent to punitively bomb Syria.

Why did Obama zoom in on the 21 August incident and ignore the earlier instances? One plausible reason is that while the earlier incidents appeared to point to chemical weapons use by insurgents, with Syrian army soldiers among the victims, the 21 August victims were all civilians in a rebel-held neighbourhood.

Carla del Ponte, a leading member of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told Swiss TV in May that there were “strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof” that rebels had used sarin. Del Ponte, a former Swiss attorney general and prosecutor with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said: “I was a little bit stupefied by the first indications we got...they were about the use of nerve gas by the opposition.” The comments prompted the commission to issue a statement that stressed—without denying Del Ponte’s remarks—that it had “not reached conclusive findings”.

Contrast that with the 21 August incident, claims about which were ratcheted up progressively. The British reported “at least 350” civilians were killed in that attack; the Americans then released a much higher but incredulously precise fatality toll of 1,429; immediately thereafter, US secretary of state John Kerry thundered that the world cannot allow Assad to gas “thousands” of his people. The French followed up by claiming the attack involved “massive” use of sarin—an assertion picked up by the White House.

The full truth on the various incidents may never be known. Still, it cannot be discounted that the rebels probably were the first to carry out a chemical weapon attack in the civil war.

In this light, the Russian proposal to make Syria sign the CWC and open its chemical weapon armoury to international monitoring and eventual obliteration opens a possible diplomatic solution. It could also bail out Obama from a predicament of his own making—his insistence that he will break international law to punish Syria for breaching a fanciful international legal tradition.

Brahma Chellaney is a professor at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.