Latest news with #Inter-State
The Hindu
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Enabling voting rights for migrants
Bihar, a State with one of the largest out-migration populations in India, is going to the polls later this year. This time, again a significant proportion of the State's population will be unable to exercise their franchise. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, voter turnout in Bihar was 56%, significantly lower than the national average of 66%. Since more than half the households in Bihar are exposed to migration in some form, a likely factor to have significantly influenced low voter turnout was the large migrant population, which was unable to return home to vote. Patterns of migration In 2021, the overall migration rate in India was 28.9%. A significant portion of migration in India is for marriage, especially among women. Around 10%, however, migrate for work. This number is significantly higher in certain northern and eastern States such as Bihar. With an ever-increasing number of migrants travelling from poorer to richer areas in search of employment, the number of those effectively disenfranchised will only increase, unless mechanisms are put in place to facilitate voting by migrants. In an attempt to solve the issue, public discussions have been held. The Election Commission of India (ECI) put forth a concrete proposal in 2024. But no single mechanism for voting for migrants has been implemented. Different kinds of policies and mechanisms are needed to enable voting for different kinds of migrants (intra and inter-State migrants). Intra-State migrants (around 85% of migrants) working in the informal sector could be encouraged to travel relatively shorter distances to vote in their original place of residence. However, they would need a measure of support from the government. Stricter enforcement of the statutory holiday on polling day would ensure that these workers are able to travel to vote without loss of wages. Special bus services could also be scheduled on the eve of and on polling day. Different mechanisms Inter-State migrants working in the informal sector are a large, growing and vulnerable population and need a different set of voting mechanisms. Three possibilities can be explored for this section. The first is an option designed to cater to the large population of migrants in irregular and low-paying jobs, such as in the construction sector. Workers in these jobs may not have permanent residences with address proofs. In 2023, the ECI showcased a pilot project of remote electronic voting machines (RVMs). Each of these was an EVM modified to cater to up to 72 constituencies. Political parties objected to this project. They said there was ambiguity over its functioning. They also cited issues such as problems in identification of migrants and the Code of Conduct being in place in the constituency where the migrant was residing. The project also appeared to be administratively difficult to implement at scale: when a large State with a large out-migration population goes to the polls, migrants from the State who currently reside across the country would be required to notify the ECI months in advance so that the ECI can make the necessary arrangements on polling day. If the ECI finds that in a given city, there are migrants from all 243 constituencies of Bihar, it would need to set up at least four RVMs across the city. The administrative difficulties would only be compounded during the Lok Sabha elections. As complex and challenging as the RVM proposal seems, it was the first major attempt by the ECI to facilitate voting for migrants. With more consultation and fine-tuning, this system could benefit many. Another option is postal ballots. This system is already being implemented by the ECI for members of the armed forces. An extension of this model could help many migrants. Here, too, the ECI would require migrants to register with the body well in advance, so the postal ballots can be issued. Operationally, this appears to be the easier form of remote voting to implement. However, the ECI would have to organise registration, issue ballot papers, and despatch these ballots to counting centres after voting — all major administrative efforts. The last option — switching voting constituencies — is suitable for the longer term for more permanent migrants who can prove their residence in a constituency for at least six months. The argument here is that longer-term migrants of an area would likely be more concerned about the politics and policies of their current place of residence. The ECI should also take extra effort to enrol longer-term migrants of the informal sector in their current place of residence. This will empower them to pressure governments to implement more migrant-friendly policies. While this move may face significant opposition from longer-term residents of the area, it would empower one of the most vulnerable sections of the population. Separately, as a significant number of migrant populations across the country are women who migrate after marriage, voting drives could also be carried out to enrol these women on the voter lists of their new place of residence. A mixed approach Each of these options has its advantages and disadvantages. Enabling voting by migrants is a complex task and is made more complex by the heterogeneity of migrants. Therefore, an approach that uses all these options will enable a significant share of both inter- and intra-State salaried and casual migrants to exercise their right to vote.
The Hindu
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Siddaramaiah writes to Maharashtra Chief Minister defending decision to increase Almatti dam height
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defending Karnataka's decision to increase the height of the Lal Bahadur Shastri reservoir on the Krishna at Almatti. He has argued that Karnataka has the right to increase the dam height even without waiting for the Union government to publish the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal award. This is in response to Mr. Fadnavis' letter on May 9 that objected to Karnataka planning to increase the dam height. The Maharashtra government had urged Karnataka to 'reconsider the plan to increase the height of Almatti dam from the present level of 519.6 metres to full reservoir level (FRL) of 524.256 metres to protect the safety of people from floods in Kolhapur and Sangli districts in Maharashtra.' Unfounded fears In the letter, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that Maharashtra's fears of flooding owing to the Krishna backwaters are unfounded. KWDT-I headed by Justice R.S. Bachawat, and subsequently the KWDT-II headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar, had looked into the issue and ruled that Karnataka could not be denied the right to increase the dam height, in 2013. 'Karnataka planned the construction of the Almatti dam up to FRL 524.256 m back in 1969. The KWDT-I headed by Justice R.S. Bachawat, and subsequently the KWDT-II headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar have not imposed any restrictions on the height of the Almatti dam,' the letter said, pointing out that objections of both Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra had been overruled after considering the views of experts. While Andhra Pradesh had demanded that the dam height be restricted to 515 m, Maharashtra demanded it be kept at 512 m. The Chief Minister noted in the letter that even though there is no backwater effect, a three-tier Inter-State flood co-ordination committee had been established by both the States to prevent any inadvertent mismanagement in the regulation, the integration, and the coordination of flood monitoring. 'I may also recall that the Vadhere committee of technical experts, appointed by the Maharashtra government, had gone into the alleged flooding in 2019 and blamed it on encroachment, since these encroachments are narrowing the channels in Sangli and Kolhapur districts,'' he said. Money spent Karnataka has spent nearly ₹20,000 crore to create infrastructure for the utilisation of the additional allocation of 173 tmcft of water besides the allocation of 729 tmcft under the KWDT-I decision. Even Maharashtra has reportedly spent on infrastructure to utilise the additional 85 tmcft of surplus water allocated to it, the letter noted. Mohan Kataraki, senior advocate at the Supreme Court who has argued for Karnataka in water disputes, said: 'By this letter, Karnataka has clarified its stand not only on submergence issue but also on its right to raise the Almatti dam height to FRL 524.256 m even without waiting for publication of the award by the Union government under Section 6(1) of the Inter State Water Disputes Act of 1956.'
The Hindu
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Renovated Nagapattinam Railway Station building to be ready next month
The ongoing construction of the railway station building at Nagapattinam has reached the advanced stage of completion. The station building project was taken up as a special work and is being executed by the Tiruchi Railway Division. The new station building for Nagapattinam, which is a railway junction, commenced in 2023 with a provision for necessary amenities required for the travellers boarding and alighting at this station. The ongoing project is being executed at a cost of ₹4.2 crore with a provision of booking counter, a VIP lounge, and three retiring rooms among others, said a railway official. Electrical works are currently under way at the new station building which has reached the advanced stage of completion, the official said. Landscaping is to be done as part of the project outside the station. Nearly 90% of the construction work had been completed and the project is expected to be completed by June-end, the official said and added that necessary amenities required for this station for the travellers would be provided in the new building. A railway line branches off to Velankanni from Nagapattinam making it a railway junction. The Nagapattinam station's originating passenger earnings was over ₹20 crore during the 2023-24 fiscal. Inter-State trains such as the Ernakulam-Karaikal-Ernakulam; Karaikal-Bengaluru-Karaikal and Mumbai-Karaikal-Mumbai trains halt at Nagapattinam station besides Karaikal-Tambaram-Karaikal expresses.
