MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. The primary factor contributing to river pollution in India is the quality of the grey water. Talk about the significance and extent of the Sujalam expedition in this context.
GS III – Environmental Conservation related issues
Introduction:
- Introduction: Greywater, which is separate from black water from toilets and is free of faecal pollution, is essentially the water used for home uses, such as the kitchen, bathing, and laundry facilities. In India, untreated sewage is the main source of water pollution, contributing to a variety of illnesses such as diarrhoea, contaminating crops, and harming the environment. Nevertheless, information about the extent of the issue and policies are scarce.
The handling of greywater issues:
- Combining with drinking water: Untreated municipal supply discharges and septic tank leaks can cause microbial infections, which in turn can cause infectious diseases.
- The main source of concern is groundwater contamination, which also contaminates nearby rivers and streams.
- Disempowered local bodies: In India, the responsibility for treating sewage resides on the local bodies. But there isn’t enough institutional or financial capacity to deal with this at the village or municipality levels.
- Lack of technology: To transform greywater into clean water, significant technological investment is required for greywater management.
Activities included in the Sujalam campaign’s scope:
- Setting up Gramme Sabha meetings, Khuli Baithaks, and community discussions to assess the current state of affairs.
- Adopt a resolution to ensure ODF sustainability and to build the necessary number of soak pits for greywater management.
- Create a 100-day plan for implementing sustainability.
When necessary, retrofit restrooms through IEC and community outreach:
- Ascertain that every newly established household in the village has access to a lavatory.
- Establishing greywater management resources at the institutional level in Panchayat Ghars, hospitals, schools, community centres, Anganwadi centres (AWCs), and other government establishments.
- It will be encouraged to create assets for both individual and communal greywater management. like work linked to the construction of soak pits. Under the Sujalam 1.0 initiative, more than a million soak pits were constructed at the home and community levels nationwide.
Significance of the Initiative:
- Crucial to the Jal Jeevan mission’s overall success: Simply providing households with a water connection is insufficient. Enough space must be available for the effluent to be released.
- Raising awareness: This is crucial at the Gramme Sabha level since that’s where greywater management needs to happen.
- Preventing groundwater pollution: It is crucial to manage greywater locally and scientifically to stop greywater from seeping into sources of potable water.
- Preserving ODF status: improper treatment increases the chance of water-borne illness outbreaks, which may discourage individuals from using the lavatory.
But there are still issues, such as:
- Grey-water treatment plants, which would be a preferable strategy, are not covered.
- The programme has a limited budget and cannot be expanded to attain 100% treatment efficacy.
- When soak pits are used, there is a good likelihood that fresh and grey water will mix.
- In light of the fact that approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide are experiencing a water crisis, greywater treatment ought to be a more viable course of action. In India, an estimated 31 billion litres of greywater are produced daily.
- To preserve water, it is necessary to create sustainable behavioural practises. The sixth Sustainable Development Goal is to guarantee that everyone has access to sanitary facilities and safe, clean drinking water.
Q2. Do you consider the federal courts to be a necessary component of the federal system of government? Provide justifications for your analysis.
GS III – Judiciary related issues
Introduction:
- First of all, according to A.V. Dicey, the division of restricted executive, legislative, and judicial power among entities that collaborate with one another but remain independent of one another is the fundamental feature of federalism. Federalism is frequently linked to the division of powers between the legislative and executive branches. On the other hand, the judiciary’s job is to make sure that the just distribution of power is followed.
- The Supreme Court of India serves as the representative of the Union, central, and federal governments’ judiciaries in India, which is referred to as the “federated judiciary.”
The Indian Federalism Judiciary Structure:
- Insofar as only these two courts have the authority to decide cases involving the aforementioned rights, the Supreme Court and the High Court make up the federal judicial system.
- In the Constituent Assembly, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar declared: “The Indian Federation, albeit having two polities, does not have two judiciaries at all. Together, the Supreme Court, the High Courts, and other courts comprise a single, integrated judiciary with jurisdiction over and recourse rights for every case brought under the civil, criminal, or constitutional laws.
Federal Judiciary’s Significance in the Indian Federalism Model:
- The judiciary preserves the federal units’ equal political rights, allowing them to continue being independent within the greater union—for lack of a better world, anyway.
- Federalism’s guiding principle is the existence of a strong federal judicial system that interprets the constitution and decides cases involving the rights of federal units, the central unit, and individuals within these units.
- A venue for settling federal disputes: When disagreements emerge between the various branches of government over the use of their respective authority, the highest court serves as a referee.
- Nonetheless, there are certain issues with this arrangement where the judiciary’s power is constrained:
- Appointment power to the Union government: Following the collegium’s decision, the Union government makes the ultimate appointment. As a result, it has the ability to influence the Supreme Courts by postponing appointments.
The High Courts’ authority is progressively declining:
- To the establishment of several Tribunals, all of whose appeals are heard by the Supreme Court.
- Furthermore, Public Interest Litigations (PILs), even for minor issues that local high courts are perfectly capable of handling, have been heard by the Supreme Court.
Inclination towards centralization in several judicial concerns, such as:
- The centre may establish a tribunal under Article 262 to resolve interstate water issues.
- The union legislature is empowered by Article 3 to decide whether to create new states or alter existing ones.
A tendency towards centralization even in executive matters:
- Instructions from the centre: Articles 256 and 257 require states to abide by laws passed by Parliament and permit the Union government to provide certain directives.
- States’ obligations: Article 365 stipulates that in the event that a state fails to comply with a directive from the centre, the President may impose his rule pursuant to Article 356, therefore authorising coercive measures.
In summary:
- Although the Indian constitution is based on the concept of federalism, Indian federalism is actually a quasi-federal system rather than unitary or fully federal (as in the US).
- The Federal Judiciary is crucial to this system’s ability to defend state sovereignty.
- With the Indian constitution’s propensity towards centralization, this position becomes even more crucial.
