Lok Sabha Ethics Committee (GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Why in news?
- The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee will take up Nishikant Dubey’s complaint against Mahua Moitra.
Details:
- Businessman Darshan Hiranandani alleged that he paid Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra to raise questions in Parliament on his behalf.
- He further alleged that she had given him her Parliament login credentials and that she was targeting the Adani Group for fame.
- The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar, will examine the allegations and conduct a thorough investigation into the claims.
History of Ethics Committees:
- A Presiding Officers’ Conference held in Delhi in 1996 first mooted the idea of ethics panels for the two Houses.
- Then Vice President K. R. Narayanan constituted the Ethics Committee of the Upper House on March 4, 1997, and it was inaugurated that May to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of members and examine cases of misconduct referred to it. The Rules applicable to the Committee of Privileges also apply to the ethics panel.
- In the case of Lok Sabha, a study group of the House Committee of Privileges, after visiting Australia, the UK, and the US in 1997 to look into practices pertaining to the conduct and ethics of legislators, recommended the constitution of an Ethics Committee, but it could not be taken up by Lok Sabha.
- The Committee of Privileges finally recommended the constitution of an Ethics Committee during the 13th Lok Sabha. The late Speaker, G M C Balayogi, constituted an ad hoc Ethics Committee in 2000, which became a permanent part of the House only in 2015.
- The most recent meeting of the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee was on 27 July, 2021, when an evaluation was held on the code of conduct for MPs.
Tenure
- All members are appointed by the Speaker.
- Its role is to investigate any complaint relating to unethical conduct of a Lok Sabha member referred to it by the Speaker and make such recommendations as it deems proper.
- The term of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha committees is one year.
Procedure for complaints:
- Any person can complain against a Member through another Lok Sabha MP, along with evidence of the alleged misconduct, and an affidavit stating that the complaint is not “false, frivolous, or vexatious”. If the Member himself complains, the affidavit is not needed.
- The Speaker can refer to the Committee any complaint against an MP.
- The Committee does not entertain complaints based only on media reports or on matters that are sub judice. The Committee makes a prima facie inquiry before deciding to examine a complaint. It makes its recommendations after evaluating the complaint.
- The Committee presents its report to the Speaker, who asks the House if the report should be taken up for consideration. There is also a provision for a half-hour discussion on the report.
Ethics Committee & the Privileges Committee
- The work of the Ethics Committee and the Privileges Committee often overlap.
- The Ethics Committee and the Privileges Committee are both concerned with maintaining the dignity and decorum of Parliament and its members. However, they have some differences in their scope and functions.
- Instead of the Ethics Committee, more serious complaints go to privileges or special panels in the Lok Sabha. The rules applicable to the Ethics Committee also apply to the Committee of Privileges.
- The Privileges Committee deals with cases of breach of privilege or contempt of Parliament by MPs or non-MPs. The Ethics Committee deals with cases of ethical misconduct or violation of the code of conduct by MPs only.
- The Privileges Committee can recommend punitive actions against those found guilty of breach of privilege or contempt of Parliament. These actions may include admonition, reprimand, suspension or expulsion from Parliament.
- The Ethics Committee can recommend corrective actions against those found guilty of ethical misconduct or violation of the code of conduct. These actions may include apology, censure, withdrawal of parliamentary facilities or privileges, or removal from parliamentary committees.
- In an instance, such as Moitra’s case that has a corruption allegation, the complaint can be sent to either of the committees as it involves an accusation of serious breach of privilege and contempt of the House. However, Moitra’s case has now been referred to the Ethics Committee.
When was Privilege Committee formed?
- The Privilege Committee was formed by the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha Om Birla on October 9, 2019.
- The committee has 15 members in Lok Sabha and 10 members in Rajya Sabha, who are nominated by the Speaker and the Chairman, respectively. The deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha is the head of the privilege committee in that House.
- The committee’s role is to examine cases of breach of privilege or contempt of the House and make suitable recommendations. The committee can summon witnesses and documents for its inquiry and submit a report within a month of receiving a reference from the House or the Speaker.
- The report of the committee is presented to the House by the Chairman or any member of the committee in his absence.
- When the Speaker refers a matter pertaining to privilege to the committee pursuant to Rule 227 of the Ethics Committee handbook, the committee’s report is brought before the Speaker, who has the authority to make final decisions or order that it be placed on the House Table.
Cloud seeding experiment over Solapur led to 18percent rise in rainfall, Study
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- A cloud seeding experiment to artificially trigger rain over the Solapur region of southwest Maharashtra led to 18 per cent more rainfall than in normal conditions, a study has revealed.
- The scientists from the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and other institutes found that hygroscopic cloud seeding enhanced rainfall in a rain shadow area spanning 100 square kilometres in Solapur.
Hygroscopic seeding:
- Hygroscopic seeding is done in warm convective clouds with a cloud base height greater than zero degree Celsius.
- It uses hygroscopic flares of calcium chloride particles released at the convective cloud base.
Background:
- The cloud seeding experiment was carried out between 2017-19 with scientists evaluating 276 clouds to test the effectiveness of the procedure that was conducted using a specially fitted aircraft as part of a project of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
- All measurements were done using a wide network of state-of-the-art equipment such as automatic rain gauges, radars, radiometers, and aircraft.
Glaciogenic seeding:
- The scientists also conducted the glaciogenic seeding method in cold clouds having both ice and water. The process uses ice-nucleating silver iodide particles inside clouds to enhance ice particle production and increase rain from the cold part of the cloud.
- Scientists found that the glaciogenic seeding did not cause significantly different rainfall between seeded and non-seeded clouds at the seeding location.
- However, a relative increase in rainfall was seen downwind of the seeded area, supported by the synoptic weather conditions.
Way Forward:
- The scientists have recommended using hygroscopic cloud seeding to enhance rainfall in rain-deficient and water-stressed areas in Indian settings under suitable conditions, backed by statistical, physical, and numerical evidence.
What is cloud seeding?
- Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique aimed at enhancing precipitation from clouds Cloud precipitation efficiency, defined as the ratio of the amount of rain reaching the ground to the amount of water vapor entering the cloud base, is often clearly below unity.
- The idea of cloud seeding, first conceived after World War II, is to increase the precipitation efficiency artificially, and despite many scientific uncertainties that still persist, it has become a much practiced activity at many arid regions of the world
Techniques:
There are two principal cloud seeding techniques.
- Hygroscopic cloud seeding aims at speeding up droplet coalescence in liquid clouds, leading to production of large droplets that start to precipitate. Cloud seeding material consists usually of large salt particles dispersed by some means to the cloud base.
- The idea of glaciogenic cloud seeding, is to trigger ice production in supercooled clouds, leading to precipitation. Glaciogenic cloud seeding is usually done by dispersing efficient ice nuclei, such as silver iodide particles or dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) into the cloud, causing heterogeneous ice nucleation.
- Another possibility is to use liquid carbon dioxide which cools the cloud sufficiently so that the supercooled water droplets freeze homogeneously.
- Glaciogenic cloud seeding is usually applied to convective clouds, or winter orographic clouds. The largest body of scientific research on cloud seeding has been done on AgI seeding on these two cloud types.
Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project of Uttarakhand under PMKSY AIBP
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved inclusion of Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project of Uttarakhand under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP) of Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
- The CCEA has approved central support of Rs.1,557.18 crore to Uttarakhand for completion of the project with estimated cost of Rs.2,584.10 crore by March, 2028.
Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project:
- The project envisages construction of a dam near Jamrani village across river Gola, a tributary of river Ram Ganga, in Nainital district of Uttarakhand.
- The dam would feed the existing Gola barrage, through its 40.5 km length of canal system and 244 km long canal system, which was completed in 1981.
- The project envisages additional irrigation of 57,065 ha (9,458 ha in Uttarakhand and 47,607 ha in Uttar Pradesh) in Nainital & Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand, and Rampur & Bareilly districts in Uttar Pradesh.
- Apart from construction of two new feeder canals, 207 km of existing canals are to be renovated and 278 km pucca field channels are also to be taken up under the project.
- In addition, the project also envisages hydro power generation of 14 MW, as well as provision of 42.70 million cubic metre (MCM) of drinking water to Haldwani and nearby areas benefitting more than 10.65 lakh population.
- A substantial part of irrigation benefits of the project would flow to the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, and cost/ benefit sharing between the two States is to be done as per an MoU signed in 2017. However, drinking water and power benefits shall be available entirely to Uttarakhand
About PMKSY:
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched during the year 2015-16, with an aim to enhance physical access of water on farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc.
- Government of India has approved implementation of PMKSY during 2021-26 with an overall outlay of Rs.93,068.56 crore (central assistance of Rs. 37,454 crore).
- Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) component of PMKSY is for creation of irrigation potential through major and medium irrigation projects.
- So far 53 projects have been completed under PMKSY-AIBP and additional irrigation potential of 25.14 lakh hectare has been created.
- Six projects have been included after AIBP component of PMKSY 2.0 since 2021-22. Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project is seventh project to be included in the list.
