RAJYA SABHA
_______

SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE
_______
(Proceedings other than Questions and Answers)
_______
Tuesday, February 24, 2015/ Phalguna 5, 1936 (Saka)
_______
OBITUARY REFERENCE
MR. CHAIRMAN: Hon. Members, I refer with profound
sorrow to the passing away of Shri Era Sambasivam, a former
Member of this House, on the 22nd of October, 2014, at the age of 90
years.
Born in October, 1924, in South Arcot District of Tamil Nadu,
Shri Sambasivam was educated at the local school.
An agriculturist by vocation, Shri Sambasivam worked
steadfastly for the eradication of the caste system. He was associated
with various welfare organisations and also served as the President of
several co-operative societies.
Shri Sambasivam started his legislative career as a Member of
the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council and was a Member of that
Council from 1968 to 1978.
Shri Era Sambasivam represented the State of Tamil Nadu in
this House from July, 1983 to July, 1989.
In the passing away of Shri Era Sambasivam, the country has
lost a distinguished parliamentarian and dedicated social worker.
___________________________________________________

This Synopsis is not an authoritative record of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha.
9
We deeply mourn the passing away of Shri Era Sambasivam.
(One minute's silence was observed as a mark of respect to
the memory of the departed.)
_________
MATTER RAISED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE CHAIR
Murder of Shri Govind Pansare, an activist and social worker
SHRI SHANTARAM NAIK: Recently, an active social
worker, Shri Govind Pansare, was brutally murdered in Kolhapur.
Mr. Pansare had been doing social work in the vicinity for last many
years and he had been opposing the illegal imposition of toll tax which
certain private parties have been collecting without the authority of
law. When the Government enters into a contract or MoU with
private parties, there should be transparency in those contracts or
MoUs. He opposed the superstitious beliefs prevailing in the society.
SHRI D. RAJA: Comrade Govind Pansare was one of the
senior-most communist leaders in the country. On 16th February,
comrade Govind Pansare and his wife Uma Pansare were shot at. I
demand the Maharashtra Government to chase the criminals and arrest
them.
(Dr. M. S. Gill, Shri Praful Patel, Shri T.K. Rangarajan, Shri
Kiranmay Nanda, Shri B.K. Hariprasad, Shri P. L. Punia, Shri V.
Hanumantha Rao, Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar and Shri Husain
Dalwai associated)
_________
GOVERNMENT BILLS
I. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill,
2014
THE MINISTER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND
EMPOWERMENT (SHRI THAAWAR CHAND GEHLOT),
moving the motion for consideration of the Bill, said: In the
proposed Bill, there is proposal to add certain similar names of some
10
of the Scheduled Castes from Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, Dadra and
Nagar Haveli in the respective Lists. Earlier Uttarkhand was known as
Uttaranchal, there is one provision for updation in this regard. State
Governments have been consulted and it is their proposal which has
been acceded to by the Registrar General of India and the
Commission for Scheduled Castes. It is before the House and I request
the House to cooperate to pass it unanimously.
SHRI P.L. PUNIA: There is a provision in the Constitution
of India and using the provision, it was provided in 1950 that the List
pertaining to Scheduled Castes be amended through Legislation by the
Parliament only. Hon'ble Minister has brought the Bill under this
provision. The Bill is an effort to include some sub-castes of certain
Scheduled Castes. State Governments are keen in recommending
inclusion of castes as SC but are reluctant to increase the quota
therefor, there should be some provision in this regard. Today, be
it Group A, B, C or D, its reservation quota is not filled.
A law regarding reservation in promotion was also passed in
Rajya Sabha but when it was introduced in Lok Sabha, it lapsed
because Lok Sabha was dissolved. Initiatives should be taken in that
direction also. Besides, in order to remove social and economic
inequality there is a provision in Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan or Tribal
Sub-Plan that a separate budget would be earmarked for the
population of this community and that would be spent on those plans
only that are there exclusively for the benefit of that community. But,
we are surprised to see that it has been spent on general plans. A law
should be framed thereon as well. It should be provided in the law that
action would be initiated against such officers or institutes who divert
the funds. Pendency of huge backlog of vacancies relating to this
community needs also special attention. I support the Bill.
Dr. SATYANARAYAN JATIYA: Attempts have been
made through amendments from time to time to include the names of
those who come under the category of Scheduled Castes, but for the
reasons of pronunciation or local circumstances their names have been
excluded. This Bill has also been devised similarly. This is good that
we are including them but after that most important thing is
11
to march ahead with all the people of the country. The condition of the
villages is that poor people cannot raise the standard of their
education, people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes are unable to achieve that level of education. Therefore, we
will have to adopt special measures to meet to requirement of the
education of those people. I support the Bill.
SHRI VISHAMBHAR PRASAD NISHAD: I am on my
legs to speak on behalf of Samajwadi Party and to place some
amending proposals on Constitution (Scheduled castes) Order,
Amendment Bill, 2014. Proposals were sent to Government of India
for including 17 Backward Class Castes (Kahar, Kashyap, Kewat,
Mallah, Nishad, Kumhar, Prajapati, Dheevar, Bind, Bhar, Rajbhar,
Dheemar, Batham, Turaha, Godia, Majhi and Machhua) of Uttar
Pradesh. These 17 Backward Class Castes and their synonymous
castes have been excluded. One of our M.Ps. belonging to Bhartiya
Janta Party from Machhli Shahar Lok Sabha Constituency of Uttar
Pradesh who has been elected on the certificate of Mallah belongs to
Scheduled Caste. His synonymous castes have been excluded. These
castes should be included in the list.
SHRI ALI ANWAR ANSARI: This is a good Bill and we
support it. Just as there is a need to add some people to the list of
Scheduled Castes, in the same way there is a need to add people to the
list of Scheduled Tribes also. And there is no bar of religion in this
matter. There is a community named 'Mev' in Haryana. Britishers had
declared 'Mev' and 'Meena' both as criminal tribes. But after
independence, Meena was included in Scheduled Tribes while 'Mev'
was excluded on the ground that they were Muslims. You are doing a
great injustice with them.'Meena' is already there. 'Mev' which is also
a tribe, should be added to the list. Downtrodden in Christian and
Muslim communities should also be included.
SHRI AHAMED HASSAN: The present Bill seeks to amend
the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the Constitution
(Dadra and Nagar Haveli) Scheduled Castes Order, 1962. It adds new
communities to the list of Scheduled Castes in Haryana, Karnataka,
Odisha and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Standing Committee pointed
12
out that while several new communities have been added to the list of
Scheduled Castes, the percentage of reservation has remained the
same. The Government must revisit the reservation policy. The
welfare of SC/STs and OBCs is an affirmative action taken by the
Government of West Bengal. I would ask the Government to have a
re-look at the funds allocated for this cause.
SHRI A. W. RABI BERNARD:: I rise to support Bill. I urge
upon this Government to pay heed to the demand of Dalit Christians
to include them in the list of Scheduled Castes and Badagas in the list
of Scheduled Tribes. It is a long pending demand.
SHRI VEER SINGH: The numbers of Scheduled Castes are
increasing but the reservation Kota is not being increased. I urge upon
the hon'ble Minister that a provision should be made wherein money
should be sent to State governments in advance so that Scheduled
castes students can get scholarship on time and get admission on time.
The backlog of Scheduled castes in government jobs has not
been filled so far. Uttar Pradesh is the only State where this backlog
has been filled up when the Chief Minister was Mayawati ji. I request
the Hon. Minister that the money given under Special
Component Plan by the Central government should be spent for this
purpose only and the State governments should not spend this money
on other items. I support this Bill.
SHRI T.K. RANGARAJAN: I support this Bill. I request
the Government to come out with some mechanism to include the rest
of the SCs and STs in the list. You are increasing the number. But the
reservation stands as it is. Some way should be found out regarding
this. Sub Plans have been misused. The money allotted for SCs and
STs should be spent only on them for their future. Dalit Christians and
dalit Muslims should also be included in the SC and ST list.
SHRI RAMDAS ATHAWALE: I support this bill. There
should be a STD to include some castes from rest of the States also. If
you are including other castes in it then there is a need to increase the
reservation also according to the population. The situation of nomadic
communities is worse than SCs/STs. Therefore they should be granted
13
10 percent reservation separately. All castes should be given
reservation. You should start a special drive to fill up their backlog.
Reservation should be given in promotions also. There is a demand to
include "dhnagar" community in scheduled tribes.
DR. VIJAYLAXMI SADHO: I support this bill. Some
castes want to include themselves in this to gain political advantage. I
request hon. Minister to include these castes under present
circumstances on the basis of merit-demerit. The numbers of castes
are increasing but the percent of reservation remains as it is. There is a
need to pay much more attention of education because the standard of
education is declining. When the children of this community take
admission in professional colleges, they do not get scholarship on time
due to which they have to even leave the college. I request that there
is a need to review the schemes being run for this community so that
genuine persons can avail their benefit. The implementation of these
schemes should be carried out in a proper way.
DR. BHUSHAN LAL JANGDE: The same caste is called by
different names in the country. The people of Chhattisgarh have
migrated to other states to earn their livelihood. They are not getting
the benefits given to the scheduled castes. They are place in the
general category there instead of scheduled caste category. They are
not provided ration card meant for the poor. The people belonging to
scheduled castes have settled in Chhattisgarh, they are getting benefits
given to the scheduled caste category by Chhattisgarh government and
they have been included in the scheduled caste category in
Chhattisgarh. But it is an irony that the people of Chhattisgarh have
not been included in the scheduled caste category in other states.
Some castes of Chhattisgarh have been placed in 'chamar' category in
the list of Scheduled Castes, but the government of Chhattisgarh and
Madhya Pradesh have annihilated the words 'chamar' and
'harijan'. There is no caste named 'chamar' in Chhattisgarh. Hence, it is
not justified to write it as 'chamar.' I want that atrocities should not be
committed in this manner on the people belonging to Scheduled Caste
category and justice should be done with them.
14
DR. ANIL KUMAR SAHANI: Recommendations have been
repeatedly made from Bihar to include some castes in the list of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes since 1980. 'Machala'
community is included in the list of Scheduled Castes in Delhi and
Assam. But their descendants, the people belonging to these
communities living in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have not been included
in the list of Scheduled Castes. Their living, eating habits, dialect,
language everything is similar. A survey should be conducted as to the
under privileged, neglected, poor people have been given some
respect or not, even after 68 years of independence of the country. I
urge the hon'ble minister that the castes worthy of being included in
the lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be included
in these lists.
SHRI NAND KUMAR SAI: Today, the people belonging to
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are lagging behind and fake
people have taken their place. They get their certificate very speedily.
This kind of embroilment is prevalent in various states and injustice is
being done with the original castes and tribes. When the constituent
assembly had started discussion with regard to the reservation, they
were of the view that these castes were financially, socially and
morally backward and the provision of reservation was made for their
betterment and bringing them at par. Today, there is no education
system for them even after 6-7 decades of independence of the
country. The funds given for these castes are spent under other heads.
Hence, these people are not getting the facilities they deserve. An
overall investigation should be carried out about the remaining people
in the country and these people should also be included.
SHRI S. THANGAVELU: Our party always works hard for
the upliftment of downtrodden people. Our Leader is committed to the
welfare of the Scheduled Castes and their upliftment. The people
belonging to Badaga Kattunayakkan community in Tamil Nadu are
demanding ST status for them. It is right time to give them that status.
Moreover, dalits who converted to Christianity lost their Scheduled
Caste status. Even after their conversion to Christianity, their social
status remains the same. They are demanding SC status.
15
Government should consider their demand and bring a suitable
legislation in this regard.
SHRI DILIP KUMAR TIRKEY: By bringing this
legislation, long pending demand for including certain communities of
Haryana, Karnataka and Odisha in the list of Scheduled Castes has
been met. Apart from these castes, Odisha government had made
recommendation to include several other castes also in the list of
Scheduled Castes. This should also be accepted. Today, large number
of posts reserved for the people belonging to Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes have been lying vacant in various departments of the
Government and in PSUs. A special drive should be conducted to fill
up these posts. The funds allocated for these castes are spent on other
items and, on several occasions, the funds allocated could not be fully
utilised. It is a very serious matter. It is necessary to implement
reservation for these castes in private sector also. Efforts should also
be made to include the dalits in the Christians and Muslim
communities.
SHRI ANANDA BHASKAR RAPOLU: I would request
the Union Government to have a socio-anthropological study in order
to assess the occupational and social standards of several castes like
Boya Valmikis etc. in particular, in the Telugu States, and the issue of
the Dalit Christians. Besides, there is a lot of urge to have the
anomalies corrected.
The Hon'ble Minister, replying to the debate, said: I am
thankful to the members who participated in the debate on this Bill
and supported it. It is a very confined subject, but the debate was held
on all the subjects related to my ministry. We had passed a similar Bill
in the previous session. In that Bill we had included a number of
synonyms of Scheduled Castes. We are including the castes which
have their synonyms. We are making sincere efforts on the points
made by the hon'ble members. When a state Governments wants to
include a caste in the list of Scheduled castes, it carries out a study in
this regard and then sends a proposal to the Ministry. Then, we send
the proposal to RGI to consider the merits and demerits of the
proposal. RGI looks into its background, considers the merits and
16
demerits and if they give their consent, we send the same to the SC/ST
Commission and if the Commission also gives its consent, we approve
the proposal without any hurdle. We have only one proposal from
Bihar, which is pending with RGI. No other proposal is under
consideration.
I would like to tell that proposal for all the castes except Bind
caste has been rejected by RGI and we have forwarded the
information to the State Government. We are waiting for response
from concerned State Government and after receiving the reply, we
will send it either to RGI or SC commission. As far as amount
for SC sub plan is concerned, we have received some complaints
regarding diversion of fund to some other heads. We will take steps to
ensure that amount under this sub plan should not divert. We have
increased the amount for pre and post metric scholarships. We have
made arrangement for education loan on lower rate of interest. We
have also introduced Harit Vyavsay Scheme since last January for
helping the poorest among poor of SC community for self
employment.
I request the hon'ble Member to withdraw his amendments
as I have already responded to the issues raised by him. As per
constitution there is no provision for extending reservation benefit to
the people converted Islam or Christianity. There are cases wherein a
caste is covered in both SC or ST communities in a State.This Bill has
been brought with limited objective and members have expressed their
views in a very comprehensive way. I request that this Bill may be
passed unanimously.
The motion for consideration of the Bill was adopted.
Clauses etc., as amended, were adopted.
The Bill, as amended, was passed.
II. The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants)
Amendment Bill, 2014
THE MINISTER OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE
MINISTER OF HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY
ALLEVIATION AND THE MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY
17
AFFAIRS (SHRI M. VENKAIAH NAIDU): I move that the Public
Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill,
2014, as passed by the Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration.
SHRI ARVIND KUMAR SINGH: This bill should be
implemented in the entire country instead of Delhi only. Government
land in every state is illegally occupied by the people. Why are
Government not implementing it in private sector? Private sectors
should be included in this bill so that more and more people could be
benefited. Security should be provided in every sector. I request that
bring such a law that an owner can get his land.
SHRI AVINASH RAI KHANNA: I congratulate the
Hon'ble Minister that he has decided to remove the unauthorised
occupation of Government premises in a time bound manner by
bringing an amendment and observations of the Supreme Court and
standing committee are also included in this bill. The purview of this
law is also extended. Many Acts are also included in this. There is a
system of vacation through which one month time has been given for
vacation and Estate Officer has to give a reasoned judgement. There is
a provision of compound interest as damage if someone does not
vacate the premises. I suggest that the recovery of interest should be
as land revenue to make the recovery easier. If an Estate Officer wants
a police help from District Magistrate or SSP to get vacate the
premises then the time bound police help could be provided to him.
The order of eviction should not be challenged in any court and it
should be a final order. I support this bill.
SHRI RAJEEV SHUKLA: There is a huge Government
property which is illegally occupied by the people and many
Government projects are hanging in mid air due to this. It is causing
huge loss to Government. If Government can use this land for
development purpose by removing illegal occupation then it would be
very beneficial for the State Governments. Persons with person word
should be included in the Section 4 of the Principal Act to get vacated
the land which is collectively illegally occupied by the people. There
is a need to pay attention towards the enormous powers given to
Estate Office. Period of eviction is also short.
18
More time should be given for vacating such land. Powers for
the same should be given to the appellate authority. We are fully
agreed with the compound interest clause. With these words I support
the Bill.
DR. ANIL KUMAR SAHANI: I rise to support the Bill. The
misuse of the timeframe given in the Bill for vacating the land should
be checked. The Government should also come with some legislation
with regard to the illegal occupation on the private lands so that the
common man of the country gets justice.
SHRI D. BANDYOPADHYAY: It is fact that a large amount
of Government land and is in illegal occupation. I request the hon.
Minister to find out the total area, roughly, of the illegal occupation.
The process of eviction has been made almost draconian. There are
good features in the Bill but the draconian features of the Bill also
need to be looked into. The genuine persons should not suffer because
of this law. I make an appeal for sending the Bill to the Select
Committee.
SHRIMATI VIJILA SATHYANANTH: The Government
should ensure that the power given to the Estate Officer under the
Bill is not arbitrarily used. The common land should not go in the
hands of the corporate houses. I also urge that necessary action
should be taken to bring that land back and distributed among the poor
and landless people. With these words, I support this Bill.
SHRI NARENDRA KUMAR KASHYAP: Whether this bill
would be extended to the whole country or it will be restricted to the
NCR only? There are so many properties of Railways and Revenue
Department which are still under the illegal occupancy of several
effective people. Whether any scheme will be formulated by the
Government to get that land back? There are so many legislations in
the country but main problem is of their execution. Millions of people
migrated from all over the country are living in the unauthorised
colonies in Delhi. Their interests should also be taken care of. The Bill
is good but there should be clarity on its implementation aspect also.
19
SHRI TIRUCHI SIVA: The main implication of this
amendment Bill would be to bring the properties of the Delhi Metro
Rail Corporation within the definition of 'public premises'. The
apprehension that everyone is having is that the estate officer may
misuse its powers. There should be some monitoring mechanism to
overlook the estate officer’s activities. This Bill seeks to impose
compound interest. Collecting rent from an unauthorized person
indirectly admits that they are authorized occupants. I support this
Bill.
The Hon'ble Minister, replying to the debate, said: I would
like to thank the Members of the House from all sides for extending
their support to this Bill. This Act is applicable only to public
premises, which belong to Central Government. The properties
belonging to other State Governments are not included because I
cannot take any action without the consent of the State Governments.
With regard to the protection to the unauthorized colonies, I
would like to clarify that the Government of India has already decided
to regularize all the unauthorized colonies. With regard to the
unauthorized occupants’ rent, it is not actual rent, but only damages
will be collected from those people because they have been
overstaying against the permission given to them. The people who are
encroaching upon such major areas are not poor people rather they are
land sheiks who put up huts and then collect rent. We are trying to
take action against such people. Ordinary people who are living in
unauthorized colonies will not be touched at all. The time limit given
for vacating the land is sufficient as if you give them more time, they
would go and get some stay from here and there. As for certain
apprehensions expressed by some of our hon. Members, I assure them
that enough care will be taken in preparing the guidelines and rules. In
the larger public interest, I request the House to kindly pass this Bill.
The motion for consideration of the Bill was adopted.
Clauses etc., as amended, were adopted.
The Bill, as amended, was passed.
________
20
STATEMENT BY MINISTER
Outbreak of H1N1 Seasonal Influenza (Swine Flu) and the steps
taken by the Government in this regard
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY
WELFARE (SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA): I would like to
inform the Hon’ble Members about the recent outbreak of Influenza A
H1N1 in certain parts of the country. Even though the Influenza is of
a seasonal nature with maximum impact during this time of the year,
the morbidity and more important the mortality associated with the
Influenza are matters of great concern for all of us.
Hon’ble Members may recall that India, as also other parts of
the world, were affected by Influenza A H1N1 pandemic in year 2009
and 2010.The number of reported cases in 2009 were 27236 and in
2010 the cases were 20604. The number of deaths in 2009 were 981
and in 2010 the deaths increased to 1763. Influenza is caused by
Virus of three types A, B and C. It is the type A virus which has
caused major Pandemics and Epidemics across the globe. This is
because Influenza A type of virus has the tendency to undergo
mutation against which the affected population may not have
sufficient immunity. The Subtypes of Influenza A virus include
H1N1, H2N2 and H3N2. While declaring the pandemic to be over in
August 2010, WHO had conveyed that the pandemic H1N1 virus
would continue to circulate as a seasonal influenza virus for some
years to come. In the current year, from January 1 till February 22,
2015 the number of cases reported by the States are 14673. The
number of deaths for the same period are 841. For the information of
the Hon’ble Members, year-wise figures of cases and deaths, from
2009 to 2015 reported for Influenza A H1N1 are being laid on the
Table of the House (Annexure). Many of these deaths, however, may
be due to already present co-morbidities in the patients.
The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has been very
closely monitoring the Influenza A H1N1 situation. We are in regular
contact with the Governments of the affected States. For containment
of the impact of this seasonal influenza, States have been provided
guidelines on screening, risk categorization of patients, clinical case
21
management and ventilator management. The drug Oseltamivir is
required for treating Influenza A H1N1. In addition, to prevent
transmission of the disease to the healthcare workers who come in
contact with patients, N-95 masks and Personal Protective Equipment
are required. We are, on a regular basis, ascertaining from the State
Governments regarding the stock position of the above items.
Additional requirements, if any, required by the State Governments
are being met by us. We have already supplied to the affected States
58,000 Capsules of Oseltamivir, 3000 N-95 masks and 9500 Personal
Protective Equipment. We are also maintaining an emergency stock
of Oseltamivir drug to meet any sudden requirement. In addition, we
have in stock 10,000 N-95 masks and sufficient number of Personal
Protective Equipment. To guide and assist the State Governments,
teams from Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry have been sent
to Telangana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
For guidance on ICU & Ventilator management, a team of doctors
was sent to Rajasthan on two occasions. Video conferences for review
with the States are being held at the level of Secretary (Health &
Family Welfare) and other Senior Officers. On 19th February, 2015,
the Cabinet Secretary also held a Video conference with the Chief
Secretaries of the affected States to ascertain the difficulties and assess
the requirements, if any. Regular review is also taking place at my
level. I can assure the Hon’ble Members that whatever help is
required by the State Governments to deal with the Outbreak, is being
provided by us.
Certain media reports have incorrectly stated about shortages
of Oseltamivir, drug used for treating Influenza A H1N1. I would like
to inform the Hon’ble Members that this drug, recommended by
WHO, is manufactured in India. We have held meetings with the
manufacturers on two occasions. These indigenous manufacturers
have confirmed that they have sufficient capacity and stock of active
pharmaceutical ingredients to meet requirements. In fact, one of the
manufacturers is a Central Public Sector Undertaking. The drug
Oseltamivir, however, cannot be sold over the counter. It is to be
made available only against prescription by a qualified doctor and sold
through a Chemist with license under Schedule X of the Drugs and
22
Cosmetics Act. In addition, the drug is available through the public
health system. We cannot afford a situation where due to irrational
use of the drug, resistance is developed, rendering the drug incapable
of fighting the virus. However, to ensure that general public requiring
the drug does not face any inconvenience, we have advised the State
Governments to review the locations of the Schedule X Pharmacies
and issue fresh licenses for under-represented or not represented
locations.
The laboratory network of Integrated Disease Surveillance
Programme and Indian Council of Medical Research comprising 21
laboratories across different parts of India is providing free testing
facilities for Influenza A H1N1. These laboratories have sufficient
capacity and availability of diagnostic materials. The position is being
constantly monitored. Orders have been placed already for
procurement of additional quantity of reagents. The affected States
have further supplemented these efforts by authorising private
diagnostic laboratories for conducting tests. We were concerned about
certain media reports informing that very high rates were being
charged by certain private laboratories. The Director General of
Health Services has advised the concerned State Government to
ensure that the private laboratories do not charge high rates. Rather the
rates should be fixed by the State Government.
It has been confirmed, both by National Institute of Virology
(under ICMR) and National Centre for Diseases Control, (Delhi) that
the cases of Influenza A currently being reported are of H1N1. In
other words, it is the same virus of 2009 and there is no mutation in
the virus. Consequently, the drug Oseltamivir used during the time of
pandemic 2009-2010 remains effective for treatment now also. As
already stated, we have the diagnostic capacity and we are equipped
and capable of detecting this virus.
I would like to inform the Hon’ble Members that we have
recommended vaccine only for the healthcare workers. Guidelines
regarding the same have been sent to the State Governments. This
decision has been taken after due consultations with experts.
Vaccination of general public is not advocated as a public health
23
strategy at this juncture. Hon’ble Members may also like to know that
vaccination becomes effective after about three to four weeks of the
injection and the immunity is only for about one year. Moreover,
vaccination may not provide full protection against the virus. The
healthcare workers are also advised to take proper precautions and use
Personal Protective Equipment while examining and looking after
Influenza A H1N1 patients. In addition, it is recommended for the
healthcare workers to take prophylactic doses of Oseltamivir.
As per information gathered from the State Governments, it
appears that many of the deaths may be attributed to the co-morbid
conditions of the Influenza A H1N1 affected patients. Such persons
are immuno-compromised and consequently more vulnerable. In this
category are the patients with diseases such as cancer, diabetes,
tuberculosis, other respiratory diseases etc. The States have also
informed that in many cases, the affected persons sought medical
intervention at a very late stage resulting in deteriorated health status
of patients.
To increase awareness of the general public, the States have
been undertaking massive Information -Education -Communication
(IEC) campaign using different media. The campaign focus is on how
to prevent the transmission of the disease as also on the action to be
taken with the onset of symptoms such as cough, fever etc. The
Central Government is also supplementing the IEC efforts of the
States. Advertisements placed by us in print media were published on
regular basis in more than 200 newspapers in January and February,
2015 all over the country. These also included advertisements in
vernacular languages. Radio and Television are also being used for
information dissemination. States have been advised already to scale
up IEC activities.
I would like to assure the Hon’ble Members that the situation
is being closely monitored by us and all necessary assistance is being
provided to the State Governments. Adequate stocks of medicine,
masks and PPE are available. I would further like to assure the
Hon’ble Members that no efforts will be spared for effectively dealing
with the situation.
________
24
SPECIAL MENTIONS
1. Need to resolve Various Problems Being Faced by Farmers in
the Country
SHRIMATI RENUKA CHOWDHURY: The Government
has failed to import the required quantity of urea and providing
necessary subsidy for domestic manufacturing of urea. Farmers are
not getting their remunerative prices in terms of Swaminathan
Commission Report. I urge upon the Government to take immediate
steps to resolve these burning issues of farmers.
2. Need to take Effective Measures to expedite the Disposal of
Pending Cases in Courts in the Country
SHRI VIVEK GUPTA: A number of cases are pending in
several courts of the country. Despite the increase in pending cases
over the past four years, the Government's decision for the closure of
Fast Track Courts (FTCs) and ceasing to fund FTCs has come as a
blow to the State Governments. Following this order, fast-track courts
across the country had more or less wound up. A number of posts of
judges are lying vacant in the Supreme Courts and the High Courts. A
permanent bench of the Supreme Court in Kolkata should be
established.
3. Need for Separate Budgetary Allocations to Open Jan Aushadhi
Stores in Every Primary Health Centre in the Country
SHRI PALVAI GOVARDHAN REDDY: A large
population of poor people in the country find it difficult to afford
medicines. Accordingly, for ensuring availability of quality medicines
at affordable prices to all, Government started Jan Aushadhi Scheme.
Initially, it started to set up 170 Jan Aushadhi Stores in various parts
of the country. These Stores are facing shortage of medicines. I
strongly feel that Government should provide separate budgetary
allocation and take steps to open JAS in every Primary Health Centre.
4. Need to take Steps for Effective Functioning of ESI Hospital at
Mukkudal in Tirunelveli District
25
SHRIMATI VIJILA SATHYANANTH: I would like to
draw the attention of the Government towards the pathetic condition
of a
30-bedded ESI hospital in Mukkudal of Tirunelveli. There is
no facility of ambulance and equipments like Scanning & ECGs etc,
available in this hospital.
I urge upon the Government that an effective supervision
should be made regularly, 24 hours medical service be provided and
medicines should be supplied in sufficient amount. Besides, a
Committee must be constituted by the Government to study the
performance of the hospital and the action must be taken against those
medical officers and staffs who are responsible for the degradation of
the hospital.
SHUMSHER K. SHERIFF,
Secretary-General.
[email protected]
26