Editorials/Opinions Analysis For UPSC 11 March 2024

CONTENTS

1. Limits on Election Campaign Spending
2. The Water Crisis in Urban India

Limits on Election Campaign Spending

Context:

In the lead-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the then government launched a campaign featuring the slogan ‘India Shining.’ It was reported that approximately ₹150 crore was allocated for this campaign, making it one of the most substantial and controversial government-sponsored advertisement efforts at that time. Since then, over the last two decades, this practice has become a prevalent trend, with both Central and State governments investing significant amounts in advertising prior to elections for the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

Relevance:

GS2-

• Important Aspects of Governance
• Transparency and Accountability
• Elections

Mains Question:

Unless there are certain reforms, the public will continue to bear the massive expenses of the election spectacles in India. Highlighting the rise in election campaign expenditures, analyse how does it impact the democratic process and how to effectively deal with it. (15 Marks, 250 Words).

Information Through Advertisements:

• In a democratic nation, it is crucial for a government to disseminate information about its policies and initiatives. During the initial decades of independent India, this was predominantly achieved through public meetings.
• However, over the past three decades, awareness has been promoted through advertisements in print and electronic media, given their extensive reach.
• Nevertheless, current government advertisements preceding elections often function as campaigns for the ruling party, contributing to the establishment of personality cults.
• Despite the Supreme Court’s guidelines issued in May 2015 and March 2016 for the regulation of government advertisements, ruling governments still enjoy an advantage in publishing advertisements that disrupt the level playing field, particularly in the lead-up to elections.
• In the Indian electoral landscape, candidates are subject to an expenditure limit of ₹95 lakh per Lok Sabha constituency in larger States and ₹75 lakh in smaller States.
• However, it has become a norm to surpass the prescribed limits on election expenditure, with this transgression considered an essential characteristic for winning an election. In states infamous for this corrupt electoral practice, the official limit is not even a fraction of the actual election expenditure.

Relevant Statistics:

• According to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the Central government allocated ₹3,020 crore for advertisements between 2018-19 and 2022-23.
• Notably, the expenditure was significantly higher at ₹1,179 crore during the election year of 2018-19 compared to ₹408 crore in 2022-23.
• Anticipating the upcoming general elections in April-May 2023, it is expected that this expenditure will further increase in 2023-24.
• In India, there exist no constraints on the election-related spending of political parties. The officially declared expenditures by the BJP and Congress for the 2019 elections were ₹1,264 crore and ₹820 crore, respectively.
• However, a report from the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) indicates that political parties collectively spent around ₹50,000 crore during the elections.
• Of this amount, the BJP accounted for approximately 50%, while the Congress spent about 20%. The report highlights that 35% of this expenditure was directed towards campaigns, while 25% was unlawfully distributed among voters.
• The Centre for Media Studies (CMS) estimates the potential expenditure during the 2024 general elections to be around ₹1 lakh crore.

Transparency in the Process:

• The primary sources of this funding are corporate houses and business figures, establishing an undesirable connection between donors and elected representatives.
• Elections in other major democracies like the U.S. and U.K. have also become financially significant events. However, it is the lack of transparency in most donations, coupled with the illicit distribution of cash for votes, that undermines the integrity of the free and fair election process in India.
• Although the Supreme Court has invalidated the electoral bonds scheme in an effort to eliminate opacity in legal donations, it is perceived as a temporary solution.
• The majority of funding still remains unaccounted for, primarily in the form of cash, akin to applying a band-aid to a bullet wound.

Way Forward:

• Moving towards a fair and equitable electoral landscape, the recommendations of the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) and the Law Commission report (1999) proposed the concept of state funding for elections.
• This entails the government contributing funds to political parties or candidates to facilitate their participation in elections.
• However, the practicality and implementation mechanism of this proposal are questionable in the current context, necessitating consensus among political parties and adherence to the norms of such state funding.
• To address this issue and ensure fair elections, practical steps based on the 2016 report, ‘Proposed Electoral Reforms,’ submitted by the Election Commission of India can be considered, contingent on political will.
• Firstly, a prohibition on government advertisements six months prior to any general election could be instituted.
• Secondly, an amendment to the law should stipulate that a party’s financial assistance to its candidate must conform to the prescribed election expenditure limits for that candidate.
• Thirdly, there ought to be a cap on party expenditures, perhaps not exceeding the expenditure ceiling limit designated for a candidate multiplied by the number of candidates from the party contesting the election.
• Finally, the appointment of additional judges in High Courts could expedite the resolution of election-related cases, acting as a deterrent against norm violations.

Conclusion:

These proposed reforms necessitate bipartisan political support for successful implementation. However, failing to enact these changes means that the substantial costs of election extravaganzas will ultimately be borne by the citizens, or as put in the phrase, ‘We the people.’

The Water Crisis in Urban India

Context:

The water crisis in Karnataka has impacted over 7,000 villages, 1,100 wards, and 220 talukas, extending its repercussions to Mandya and Mysuru districts. These regions are significant as they encompass a major Cauvery river watershed and the Krishnaraja Sagardam, vital sources of water for Bengaluru. While the capital city has dominated headlines, the crisis’s effects are more far-reaching.

Relevance:

• GS1- Urbanisation
• GS2- Inter-State Water Disputes
• GS3- Climate Change

Mains Question:

Why do rapidly growing cities like Bengaluru in India, struggle with water accessibility and availability? How can we plan better to ensure better water management in such areas? (10 Marks, 150 Words).

Causes of the Ongoing Water Crisis:

Rainfall Deficit:

• According to reports, the underlying cause of this crisis can be traced back to insufficient rainfall in the previous year, following a surplus in 2022, resulting in the inadequate replenishment of the Cauvery.
• Karnataka has a history of erratic rainfall patterns, as demonstrated by a Coffee Agro-forestry Network (CAFNET) project a decade ago. The project assessed 60 years of data, revealing a two-week reduction in the rainy season over Kodagu in the past three decades, with annual rainfall fluctuating in a 12-14-year cycle.
• Surprisingly, the current crisis caught Bengaluru unprepared, despite being one of India’s wealthiest urban municipalities and hosting numerous research institutions.

Water Body Pollution:

• Water sources in Bengaluru face contamination from industrial discharges, untreated sewage, and solid waste dumping, rendering them unsuitable for consumption and further reducing the available water supply.
• A study by the Environmental Management & Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) indicates that approximately 85% of Bengaluru’s water bodies are polluted by industrial effluents, sewage, and solid waste dumping.

Groundwater Recharge Rate:

• Bengaluru, a city that consumes approximately 1,400 million liters per day from both the Cauvery and groundwater reserves, faces challenges due to a lower groundwater recharge rate and the compromised state of the Cauvery, resulting from deficient rainfall last year.
• It is important to note that these deficits are relative to Bengaluru’s escalating demand for water. The situation is even more dire in areas farther from the city center, where piped water from the Cauvery is not accessible. These regions rely on groundwater and water tankers for their water supply.
• This irony persists as the city, historically engineered to distance itself from remote water sources and harness its abundance of lakes until the 19th century, now grapples with the dwindling of seasonal lakes and the strangulation of perennial lakes due to concretization and sewage issues.

Climate Change:

• Climate change poses a time-sensitive crisis, instigating non-linear transformations that yield disproportionate and, at times, irreversible consequences. Governments, often ill-prepared, find themselves compelled to enact swift responses to issues that have been brewing for decades.
• Even if the erratic rainfall isn’t directly linked to climate change, the unpredictability it introduces signifies a looming challenge.

Inadequate Infrastructure:

• The city’s infrastructure, encompassing water supply systems and sewage networks, has not kept pace with its exponential growth.
• This deficiency exacerbates challenges in efficiently distributing water to meet the rising demands of the expanding population.
• The completion of Phase-5 of the Cauvery project, aimed at providing 110 litres of drinking water daily to 12 lakh people, is anticipated by May 2024.

Focus on Short-term Measures:

• Cities like Bengaluru, representative of most urban centers in India, tend to implement short-term measures during crises but often overlook long-term perspectives once the immediate threat subsides.
• The rapid growth experienced by Bengaluru in this century and a tendency towards short-term thinking are incompatible.

Way Forward:

• A sustainable approach demands bipartisan solutions that extend beyond the typical five-year electoral cycles.
• It calls for the establishment of a circular water economy, optimizing the utilization of every liter and diminishing the city’s reliance on external water sources.
• Essential to this endeavor is the restoration and preservation of a clean and healthy Cauvery, recognizing the interconnectedness of environmental well-being and urban sustainability.
• Inefficient water management practices, such as wastage, leakage, and unequal distribution, amplify the severity of the water scarcity crisis. Some areas receive inadequate or irregular water supply, contributing to the challenges faced by residents.

Conclusion:

Only through these comprehensive measures can cities like Bengaluru navigate the challenges posed by climate change and ensure a resilient and sustainable future. By promoting the active involvement of all stakeholders and enacting effective policies that prioritize long-term sustainability over immediate benefits, India can chart a course toward a future where every citizen has access to secure and dependable groundwater resources.