What better governance has done in Gujarat

Thanks for forwarding me this thought provoking discussion.

First let me give my views on what others wrote.

Yes, there should not be any political consideration for calling a spade a spade ,whether it s for good or bad governance. I give full credit to C M of Gujarat  Narendra Modi , who is governing with iron hands but very very effectively in the interest of the State, People and the Nation . Why other BJP ruled States can t show the same results, ,blame the citizens of those states, as they failed to give that overwhelming mandate , as Modi has got, Such States, even for their survival,  have to compromise with rival parties or individuals for each and everything. To top it, there are certain vital decisions/approvals/ areas where the Centre s permission sanctions or Central laws for implementation are required. Of course, this should not mean that those who are governing are all capable . It also depends on a team of those "Decision makers" who are at the key Governing level ,their capability and resolve besides the leadership. Our P M Dr. Manmohan Singh is perhaps the highly qualified and capable person ,for delivering the goods . But is it happening? Not entirely his fault but of our own "Democratic System" which is purely "Party Based" and not "Individual Merit based". He has to first give in to the party commands or to the pressure of "Saving his multi-party Government" than the need for  "Good Governance".

So all that bogs down to the Democratic political system we have in our country. Opposed to this in USA,  the key posts for good Governance are not manned by the elected /illiterate representatives ,but by the highly educated, qualified and experienced experts in the respective fields . The most powerful office of the President is an outcome of the direct election by voters , unlike the selection of our Council of Ministers or even the President or Governors. Then, if a few intellectuals like us or even an entire electorate are not pleased with the way our elected representatives are working, have we any remedy for their Recall" even within the term, and  to elect some one else who can deliver results? A BIG NO, like  USA where they have this right to “recall” . All these bunch of fools or diabolical politicians, we have to go on tolerating for full term or till the Government itself is forced to resign.

Now, the answers to key questions.

As far as I am aware, there is no concept of E-bike prevailing either in Mumbai or elsewhere in the country. . Mumbaikars don t want it perhaps for their own selfish reasons.

And why only the "individuals" should care for "Petrol" consumption when the Government itself
(Central or State) is "Reducing" heavy duties on the Petrol driven cars, with a view to encourage an industrial growth ? That s what happened in the Union or State budgets. It was to enable the people at large to afford petrol driven cars like NANO , irrespective of the availability of petrol , effect on environment , lack of infrastructure for parking or space for plying vehicles (Roads) etc. etc. There is still a "heavy" subsidy on "Petrol" and "Diesel" for individually owned vehicles. So where is the government discouragement? Agreed, the cost of petrol is not in our hands and it s Internationally controlled by a "Producer Cartel" ,but taxing heavily on the private  consumption of this subsidized commodity is definitely in the Government hand. But those who Govern are just fighting for their political survival  and not for controls. No wonder then that our inflation rate may still go up beyond present peak of 11.65% , if the International community do not control the crude prices. (P S>  Now it has already crossed 12 percent.)

I, for one, now  prefer to travel by auto or local train, instead of taking out my own car. And believe me, I feel less taxing and strenuous than driving my car on the choked roads with indisciplined road users. But it is hell of a lot of waste of time and inconvenience because again, we desperately lack a well oiled and capable system of public transport and network.

Enough of my own words. Now, I would like  others to interact on this.

With best wishes for the "Good Governance of my country.

Mohan Siroya

(NOW PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGES/VIEWS ON  WHICH  MY ABOVE VIEWS ARE BASED.)

Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:29:10 +0530From: kussh.singh@gmail.comTo: have-a-heart@yahoogroups.comSubject: Fwd: what better governance has done in Gujarat    How does better governance lead to better decision making at a strategic level and why such decisions take time to be felt? Who gets benefitted by getting good people appointed in key positions?are some questions we need to ask ourselves. I am sure all these decisions would have been taken in Modi s previous term and are now starting to get implemented. Have also heard that the congress and their supporters are green with envy because of the pace of development happenning in the BJP ruled states like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat with Gujarat far outstripping the others because it has always traditionally been more advanced (and Modi has had a headstart by one term). Rajasthan is a BIMARU state and too big with too much baggage to show results atleast in this term of the BJP. HImachal is a small state and great results will be seen in it. ALready they have the largest number of microhydel approvals and ventures and same should be the case in other parameters-- education opportunities, industrial projects etc etc. I had heard that the 3 states have reduced the licence raj with respect to education (source --wakeupcall.org) and the effect of having good educational facilities will be felt within 5-10 years in the quality of governance, in the quality of life, in the number of jobs/opportunities etc etc etc. Kussh  --- In iaemp@yahoogroups.com, fakhari kanpurwala wrote: Dear Energy Conservationist Friends, I thank Mr. Vikas for converting his car to CNG mode. I would liketo inform you that the pollution level in Ahmedabad has decreasedconsiderably (just like Delhi) owing to the fact that the govt. hascompulsorily converted all the modes of public transport system whichincludes all the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport System (AMTS) buseswhich is considered to be one of the second best services after BESTof Mumbai, all the Auto Rickshaws that were previously running onPetrol and more of them on the mixture of Kerosene and Petrol andemitting very obnoxious uncombusted gases, which were causing severeeye burns, skin burns and respiratory tract problems to CNG modecompletely and no Petrol is bieng used in these vehicles. As a result,Ahmedabad which was ranking No.1 - 3 in pollution has declined to No.12 - 14 as per the recent survey, which is a considerable achievementby the govt. Even the loading rickshaws which are used to transport luggage andheavy parcels are converted completely to CNG mode. I should thank theRTO department for very heavy monitoring and stopping and confiscatingof all such nuisance making vehicles. Moreover, previously there were very few CNG stations in Ahmedabadbut now there are plenty of them mainly operated by Adani Energy Ltd.More and more private vehicles like cars and even private trucks arebeing converted to CNG mode as it is extremely cheaper. Now, Adani islaying pipelines in most of the areas of Ahmedabad to suppy PipedNatural Gas (PNG) which is again a very positive step taken by our CMwhose wish is to see all the homes of Gujarat as Energy sufficient. Ihave to write to him that not only, these houses are made energysufficient but they should be made Energy Efficient. The other advantage that people have got is they can now enjoytravelling in brand new vehicles like autos and buses with betterfacilities. With the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) to follow, moreand more people are likely to use public transport systems for theirregualr office works. In a recent survey by a news paper, almost 55%of people want to use Public Transport system like BRTS instead ofusing their private vehicles which is an extremely successful responseto the municipal corporation. I am going for a walk in the morning in the famous Law Garden hereand most of the people coming for the walk normally used their cars tocome to the garden which was very evident by the no. of cars parkedoutside the garden. Now, after the increase in the petrol prices, Ihave observed that people have shifted to either two wheeler vehicleor they come on their trendy bicycles whic has become a fashion symbolnow! In short, there is tremendous awareness among people here inAhmedabad may be thanks to the rise in petrol prices or their ownconscience due to problems like global warming. Finally, Ahmedabad has seen a surge in the no. of electric twowheelers and now many companies like Yo Bikes, Hero Bikes, Ace Bikesand so on are operating in the city. Now most of the school studentsand college students prefer these electric bikes which are normallyrunning 80 km before they are being recharged and are priced alsoreasonably in the range of 26000 to 40000 Rs. depending on thedifferent models. I don t know the status of these E - bikes in othercities which need to be promoted. As an energy conscious person, I am planning to get one E - bike formy son who is Std. 9 which has a max. speed of 25 Km/hr and hence theproblem of overspeeding is also avoided. Hence, he can go to hisschool and classes and we can get rid of the problems of Autorickshawswho are packing up students in such a way that the voidage factor ifyou count shall be almost nil!! So, my appeal to my other energy conscious friends is that we shouldtry taking lead in whatever matters that can save power without muchworking of techno - economics of the system. FT KANPURWALAESC, AHMEDABADvikas apte wrote:Dear Mr Dalal & Friends As the first step to conservation of oil, i have stopped usingpetrol in my 4 wheeler which i use to commute for my work and selfemployed business needs. I have invested Rs 45,000 in fitting aCNG(Compressed Natural Gas) kit from Japan. This cost includes cost of10kg CNG storage tank, CNG kit, car mechanic labour, RTO expenses forregistration in RC book on use of CNG kit. The test drive results areimpressive( Mumbai city travel through traffic jams and one trip toPune and back): Rs 0.78 per km of gas as against Rs 5.5 per km ofpetrol. My monthly average travel is around 2000 kms. I thereforeexpect to recover my investment in around 2 years time. What s more,earlier i consumed around 40 to 45 litres of petrol per month. Now ifill the fuel tank only once in a month that too 5 to 8 litres asemergency reserve. I have therefore released around 35 litres ofpetrol for consumption to other consumers which i do not need. I CALL UPON ALL PETROL CAR OWNERS/USERS IN IAEMP TO switch over toCNG and take that bold step first to conserve energy. Conservationfirst begins at home. Take the bold and the right first step. Do notgo too much in economics of payback, IRR, NPV, discounted cash flow,time value of money for investment that you are making by fitting aCNG kit. In fact by switching over to CNG you are utilizing preciousenergy which otherwise is being flared in flare stack at refineriessince there are no takers for CNG as well as distribution mechanismsin place. Goodbye and have a nice day Vikas ApteTreasurer - IAEMPgangadhar dalal wrote:Dear Friends, Are Indians sensitive to the need for oil conservation? Reply is "No" International oil price hike is crippling the economy of oilimporting nations. Insead of offering price incentives, to offset fuelprice hike, the government should offer incentves on fuel efficiency.By subsidising oil prices in the country for artificially reducingprice of petro-products, are we not directly subsidising OPEC ? Subsidising of oil consumption, keeps the demand high, which inturn, keeps the world oil price high. Government feels it isvirtuously subsidisng its own consumers but they are in fact, thevictims of their subsidies as such step is preventing reduction inreal demand. Only higher price of petro-products can encourage energy-efficiencyor fuel-efficiency, while populist policy of lowering petro-productprice prevents it . Money saved by abolishing subsidies, could be usedfor cutting excise duties on other items of common consumption. Inflation has crossed 11 % and every week, it is shooting throughroofs. There are no signs of easing due to wishful thinking of suddencrash in global oil prices or bumper harvest with adequate rainfallall over the country. Despite knowing that inflation or high prices can not be reined inwithout any hopes of oil costs falling or receding, only alternativewith government is to adopt energy conservation measures byimplementing EC Act, 2001. This crippling disaster ought to be treated as God-sent opportunityfor beginning of Energy & Fuel Conservation in the country.Can Indians now, though too late, become sensitive to the needfor energy conservation? Regards, G.G.Dalal   _________________________________________________________________________ Dear friends, Today the inflation has crossed 11 % mark. The main reason beinginternational OIL prices. I am very sure that if the government takesthe implementation of the EC Act,2001,The Electricty Act,2003 ,TheIntegrated Energy Policy,2006 ,and other useful policies and encourages Special Environment Zones rather than "Special Economic Zones" , theinflation can again be brought down to below 5% level. We need toinclude conservation efforts in the GDP. The word Economics itself contains Eco but our economist friends donot seem to care. (Sunil Sood)

 

What better governance has done in Gujarat

Thanks for forwarding me this thought provoking discussion.

First let me give my views on what others wrote.

Yes, there should not be any political consideration for calling a spade a spade ,whether it s for good or bad governance. I give full credit to C M of Gujarat  Narendra Modi , who is governing with iron hands but very very effectively in the interest of the State, People and the Nation . Why other BJP ruled States can t show the same results, ,blame the citizens of those states, as they failed to give that overwhelming mandate , as Modi has got, Such States, even for their survival,  have to compromise with rival parties or individuals for each and everything. To top it, there are certain vital decisions/approvals/ areas where the Centre s permission sanctions or Central laws for implementation are required. Of course, this should not mean that those who are governing are all capable . It also depends on a team of those "Decision makers" who are at the key Governing level ,their capability and resolve besides the leadership. Our P M Dr. Manmohan Singh is perhaps the highly qualified and capable person ,for delivering the goods . But is it happening? Not entirely his fault but of our own "Democratic System" which is purely "Party Based" and not "Individual Merit based". He has to first give in to the party commands or to the pressure of "Saving his multi-party Government" than the need for  "Good Governance".

So all that bogs down to the Democratic political system we have in our country. Opposed to this in USA,  the key posts for good Governance are not manned by the elected /illiterate representatives ,but by the highly educated, qualified and experienced experts in the respective fields . The most powerful office of the President is an outcome of the direct election by voters , unlike the selection of our Council of Ministers or even the President or Governors. Then, if a few intellectuals like us or even an entire electorate are not pleased with the way our elected representatives are working, have we any remedy for their Recall" even within the term, and  to elect some one else who can deliver results? A BIG NO, like  USA where they have this right to “recall” . All these bunch of fools or diabolical politicians, we have to go on tolerating for full term or till the Government itself is forced to resign.

Now, the answers to key questions.

As far as I am aware, there is no concept of E-bike prevailing either in Mumbai or elsewhere in the country. . Mumbaikars don t want it perhaps for their own selfish reasons.

And why only the "individuals" should care for "Petrol" consumption when the Government itself
(Central or State) is "Reducing" heavy duties on the Petrol driven cars, with a view to encourage an industrial growth ? That s what happened in the Union or State budgets. It was to enable the people at large to afford petrol driven cars like NANO , irrespective of the availability of petrol , effect on environment , lack of infrastructure for parking or space for plying vehicles (Roads) etc. etc. There is still a "heavy" subsidy on "Petrol" and "Diesel" for individually owned vehicles. So where is the government discouragement? Agreed, the cost of petrol is not in our hands and it s Internationally controlled by a "Producer Cartel" ,but taxing heavily on the private  consumption of this subsidized commodity is definitely in the Government hand. But those who Govern are just fighting for their political survival  and not for controls. No wonder then that our inflation rate may still go up beyond present peak of 11.65% , if the International community do not control the crude prices. (P S>  Now it has already crossed 12 percent.)

I, for one, now  prefer to travel by auto or local train, instead of taking out my own car. And believe me, I feel less taxing and strenuous than driving my car on the choked roads with indisciplined road users. But it is hell of a lot of waste of time and inconvenience because again, we desperately lack a well oiled and capable system of public transport and network.

Enough of my own words. Now, I would like  others to interact on this.

With best wishes for the "Good Governance of my country.

Mohan Siroya

(NOW PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGES/VIEWS ON  WHICH  MY ABOVE VIEWS ARE BASED.)

 

Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:29:10 +0530From: kussh.singh@gmail.comTo: have-a-heart@yahoogroups.comSubject: Fwd: what better governance has done in Gujarat    How does better governance lead to better decision making at a strategic level and why such decisions take time to be felt? Who gets benefitted by getting good people appointed in key positions?are some questions we need to ask ourselves. I am sure all these decisions would have been taken in Modi s previous term and are now starting to get implemented. Have also heard that the congress and their supporters are green with envy because of the pace of development happenning in the BJP ruled states like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat with Gujarat far outstripping the others because it has always traditionally been more advanced (and Modi has had a headstart by one term). Rajasthan is a BIMARU state and too big with too much baggage to show results atleast in this term of the BJP. HImachal is a small state and great results will be seen in it. ALready they have the largest number of microhydel approvals and ventures and same should be the case in other parameters-- education opportunities, industrial projects etc etc. I had heard that the 3 states have reduced the licence raj with respect to education (source --wakeupcall.org) and the effect of having good educational facilities will be felt within 5-10 years in the quality of governance, in the quality of life, in the number of jobs/opportunities etc etc etc. Kussh  --- In iaemp@yahoogroups.com, fakhari kanpurwala wrote: Dear Energy Conservationist Friends, I thank Mr. Vikas for converting his car to CNG mode. I would liketo inform you that the pollution level in Ahmedabad has decreasedconsiderably (just like Delhi) owing to the fact that the govt. hascompulsorily converted all the modes of public transport system whichincludes all the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport System (AMTS) buseswhich is considered to be one of the second best services after BESTof Mumbai, all the Auto Rickshaws that were previously running onPetrol and more of them on the mixture of Kerosene and Petrol andemitting very obnoxious uncombusted gases, which were causing severeeye burns, skin burns and respiratory tract problems to CNG modecompletely and no Petrol is bieng used in these vehicles. As a result,Ahmedabad which was ranking No.1 - 3 in pollution has declined to No.12 - 14 as per the recent survey, which is a considerable achievementby the govt. Even the loading rickshaws which are used to transport luggage andheavy parcels are converted completely to CNG mode. I should thank theRTO department for very heavy monitoring and stopping and confiscatingof all such nuisance making vehicles. Moreover, previously there were very few CNG stations in Ahmedabadbut now there are plenty of them mainly operated by Adani Energy Ltd.More and more private vehicles like cars and even private trucks arebeing converted to CNG mode as it is extremely cheaper. Now, Adani islaying pipelines in most of the areas of Ahmedabad to suppy PipedNatural Gas (PNG) which is again a very positive step taken by our CMwhose wish is to see all the homes of Gujarat as Energy sufficient. Ihave to write to him that not only, these houses are made energysufficient but they should be made Energy Efficient. The other advantage that people have got is they can now enjoytravelling in brand new vehicles like autos and buses with betterfacilities. With the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) to follow, moreand more people are likely to use public transport systems for theirregualr office works. In a recent survey by a news paper, almost 55%of people want to use Public Transport system like BRTS instead ofusing their private vehicles which is an extremely successful responseto the municipal corporation. I am going for a walk in the morning in the famous Law Garden hereand most of the people coming for the walk normally used their cars tocome to the garden which was very evident by the no. of cars parkedoutside the garden. Now, after the increase in the petrol prices, Ihave observed that people have shifted to either two wheeler vehicleor they come on their trendy bicycles whic has become a fashion symbolnow! In short, there is tremendous awareness among people here inAhmedabad may be thanks to the rise in petrol prices or their ownconscience due to problems like global warming. Finally, Ahmedabad has seen a surge in the no. of electric twowheelers and now many companies like Yo Bikes, Hero Bikes, Ace Bikesand so on are operating in the city. Now most of the school studentsand college students prefer these electric bikes which are normallyrunning 80 km before they are being recharged and are priced alsoreasonably in the range of 26000 to 40000 Rs. depending on thedifferent models. I don t know the status of these E - bikes in othercities which need to be promoted. As an energy conscious person, I am planning to get one E - bike formy son who is Std. 9 which has a max. speed of 25 Km/hr and hence theproblem of overspeeding is also avoided. Hence, he can go to hisschool and classes and we can get rid of the problems of Autorickshawswho are packing up students in such a way that the voidage factor ifyou count shall be almost nil!! So, my appeal to my other energy conscious friends is that we shouldtry taking lead in whatever matters that can save power without muchworking of techno - economics of the system. FT KANPURWALAESC, AHMEDABADvikas apte wrote:Dear Mr Dalal & Friends As the first step to conservation of oil, i have stopped usingpetrol in my 4 wheeler which i use to commute for my work and selfemployed business needs. I have invested Rs 45,000 in fitting aCNG(Compressed Natural Gas) kit from Japan. This cost includes cost of10kg CNG storage tank, CNG kit, car mechanic labour, RTO expenses forregistration in RC book on use of CNG kit. The test drive results areimpressive( Mumbai city travel through traffic jams and one trip toPune and back): Rs 0.78 per km of gas as against Rs 5.5 per km ofpetrol. My monthly average travel is around 2000 kms. I thereforeexpect to recover my investment in around 2 years time. What s more,earlier i consumed around 40 to 45 litres of petrol per month. Now ifill the fuel tank only once in a month that too 5 to 8 litres asemergency reserve. I have therefore released around 35 litres ofpetrol for consumption to other consumers which i do not need. I CALL UPON ALL PETROL CAR OWNERS/USERS IN IAEMP TO switch over toCNG and take that bold step first to conserve energy. Conservationfirst begins at home. Take the bold and the right first step. Do notgo too much in economics of payback, IRR, NPV, discounted cash flow,time value of money for investment that you are making by fitting aCNG kit. In fact by switching over to CNG you are utilizing preciousenergy which otherwise is being flared in flare stack at refineriessince there are no takers for CNG as well as distribution mechanismsin place. Goodbye and have a nice day Vikas ApteTreasurer - IAEMPgangadhar dalal wrote:Dear Friends, Are Indians sensitive to the need for oil conservation? Reply is "No" International oil price hike is crippling the economy of oilimporting nations. Insead of offering price incentives, to offset fuelprice hike, the government should offer incentves on fuel efficiency.By subsidising oil prices in the country for artificially reducingprice of petro-products, are we not directly subsidising OPEC ? Subsidising of oil consumption, keeps the demand high, which inturn, keeps the world oil price high. Government feels it isvirtuously subsidisng its own consumers but they are in fact, thevictims of their subsidies as such step is preventing reduction inreal demand. Only higher price of petro-products can encourage energy-efficiencyor fuel-efficiency, while populist policy of lowering petro-productprice prevents it . Money saved by abolishing subsidies, could be usedfor cutting excise duties on other items of common consumption. Inflation has crossed 11 % and every week, it is shooting throughroofs. There are no signs of easing due to wishful thinking of suddencrash in global oil prices or bumper harvest with adequate rainfallall over the country. Despite knowing that inflation or high prices can not be reined inwithout any hopes of oil costs falling or receding, only alternativewith government is to adopt energy conservation measures byimplementing EC Act, 2001. This crippling disaster ought to be treated as God-sent opportunityfor beginning of Energy & Fuel Conservation in the country.Can Indians now, though too late, become sensitive to the needfor energy conservation? Regards, G.G.Dalal   _________________________________________________________________________ Dear friends, Today the inflation has crossed 11 % mark. The main reason beinginternational OIL prices. I am very sure that if the government takesthe implementation of the EC Act,2001,The Electricty Act,2003 ,TheIntegrated Energy Policy,2006 ,and other useful policies and encourages Special Environment Zones rather than "Special Economic Zones" , theinflation can again be brought down to below 5% level. We need toinclude conservation efforts in the GDP. The word Economics itself contains Eco but our economist friends donot seem to care. (Sunil Sood)

 

 

What better governance has done in Gujarat

Thanks for forwarding me this thought provoking discussion.

First let me give my views on what others wrote.

Yes, there should not be any political consideration for calling a spade a spade ,whether it s for good or bad governance. I give full credit to C M of Gujarat  Narendra Modi , who is governing with iron hands but very very effectively in the interest of the State, People and the Nation . Why other BJP ruled States can t show the same results, ,blame the citizens of those states, as they failed to give that overwhelming mandate , as Modi has got, Such States, even for their survival,  have to compromise with rival parties or individuals for each and everything. To top it, there are certain vital decisions/approvals/ areas where the Centre s permission sanctions or Central laws for implementation are required. Of course, this should not mean that those who are governing are all capable . It also depends on a team of those "Decision makers" who are at the key Governing level ,their capability and resolve besides the leadership. Our P M Dr. Manmohan Singh is perhaps the highly qualified and capable person ,for delivering the goods . But is it happening? Not entirely his fault but of our own "Democratic System" which is purely "Party Based" and not "Individual Merit based". He has to first give in to the party commands or to the pressure of "Saving his multi-party Government" than the need for  "Good Governance".

So all that bogs down to the Democratic political system we have in our country. Opposed to this in USA,  the key posts for good Governance are not manned by the elected /illiterate representatives ,but by the highly educated, qualified and experienced experts in the respective fields . The most powerful office of the President is an outcome of the direct election by voters , unlike the selection of our Council of Ministers or even the President or Governors. Then, if a few intellectuals like us or even an entire electorate are not pleased with the way our elected representatives are working, have we any remedy for their Recall" even within the term, and  to elect some one else who can deliver results? A BIG NO, like  USA where they have this right to “recall” . All these bunch of fools or diabolical politicians, we have to go on tolerating for full term or till the Government itself is forced to resign.

Now, the answers to key questions.

As far as I am aware, there is no concept of E-bike prevailing either in Mumbai or elsewhere in the country. . Mumbaikars don t want it perhaps for their own selfish reasons.

And why only the "individuals" should care for "Petrol" consumption when the Government itself
(Central or State) is "Reducing" heavy duties on the Petrol driven cars, with a view to encourage an industrial growth ? That s what happened in the Union or State budgets. It was to enable the people at large to afford petrol driven cars like NANO , irrespective of the availability of petrol , effect on environment , lack of infrastructure for parking or space for plying vehicles (Roads) etc. etc. There is still a "heavy" subsidy on "Petrol" and "Diesel" for individually owned vehicles. So where is the government discouragement? Agreed, the cost of petrol is not in our hands and it s Internationally controlled by a "Producer Cartel" ,but taxing heavily on the private  consumption of this subsidized commodity is definitely in the Government hand. But those who Govern are just fighting for their political survival  and not for controls. No wonder then that our inflation rate may still go up beyond present peak of 11.65% , if the International community do not control the crude prices. (P S>  Now it has already crossed 12 percent.)

I, for one, now  prefer to travel by auto or local train, instead of taking out my own car. And believe me, I feel less taxing and strenuous than driving my car on the choked roads with indisciplined road users. But it is hell of a lot of waste of time and inconvenience because again, we desperately lack a well oiled and capable system of public transport and network.

Enough of my own words. Now, I would like  others to interact on this.

With best wishes for the "Good Governance of my country.

Mohan Siroya

(NOW PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGES/VIEWS ON  WHICH  MY ABOVE VIEWS ARE BASED.)

 

Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:29:10 +0530From: kussh.singh@gmail.comTo: have-a-heart@yahoogroups.comSubject: Fwd: what better governance has done in Gujarat    How does better governance lead to better decision making at a strategic level and why such decisions take time to be felt? Who gets benefitted by getting good people appointed in key positions?are some questions we need to ask ourselves. I am sure all these decisions would have been taken in Modi s previous term and are now starting to get implemented. Have also heard that the congress and their supporters are green with envy because of the pace of development happenning in the BJP ruled states like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat with Gujarat far outstripping the others because it has always traditionally been more advanced (and Modi has had a headstart by one term). Rajasthan is a BIMARU state and too big with too much baggage to show results atleast in this term of the BJP. HImachal is a small state and great results will be seen in it. ALready they have the largest number of microhydel approvals and ventures and same should be the case in other parameters-- education opportunities, industrial projects etc etc. I had heard that the 3 states have reduced the licence raj with respect to education (source --wakeupcall.org) and the effect of having good educational facilities will be felt within 5-10 years in the quality of governance, in the quality of life, in the number of jobs/opportunities etc etc etc. Kussh  --- In iaemp@yahoogroups.com, fakhari kanpurwala wrote: Dear Energy Conservationist Friends, I thank Mr. Vikas for converting his car to CNG mode. I would liketo inform you that the pollution level in Ahmedabad has decreasedconsiderably (just like Delhi) owing to the fact that the govt. hascompulsorily converted all the modes of public transport system whichincludes all the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport System (AMTS) buseswhich is considered to be one of the second best services after BESTof Mumbai, all the Auto Rickshaws that were previously running onPetrol and more of them on the mixture of Kerosene and Petrol andemitting very obnoxious uncombusted gases, which were causing severeeye burns, skin burns and respiratory tract problems to CNG modecompletely and no Petrol is bieng used in these vehicles. As a result,Ahmedabad which was ranking No.1 - 3 in pollution has declined to No.12 - 14 as per the recent survey, which is a considerable achievementby the govt. Even the loading rickshaws which are used to transport luggage andheavy parcels are converted completely to CNG mode. I should thank theRTO department for very heavy monitoring and stopping and confiscatingof all such nuisance making vehicles. Moreover, previously there were very few CNG stations in Ahmedabadbut now there are plenty of them mainly operated by Adani Energy Ltd.More and more private vehicles like cars and even private trucks arebeing converted to CNG mode as it is extremely cheaper. Now, Adani islaying pipelines in most of the areas of Ahmedabad to suppy PipedNatural Gas (PNG) which is again a very positive step taken by our CMwhose wish is to see all the homes of Gujarat as Energy sufficient. Ihave to write to him that not only, these houses are made energysufficient but they should be made Energy Efficient. The other advantage that people have got is they can now enjoytravelling in brand new vehicles like autos and buses with betterfacilities. With the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) to follow, moreand more people are likely to use public transport systems for theirregualr office works. In a recent survey by a news paper, almost 55%of people want to use Public Transport system like BRTS instead ofusing their private vehicles which is an extremely successful responseto the municipal corporation. I am going for a walk in the morning in the famous Law Garden hereand most of the people coming for the walk normally used their cars tocome to the garden which was very evident by the no. of cars parkedoutside the garden. Now, after the increase in the petrol prices, Ihave observed that people have shifted to either two wheeler vehicleor they come on their trendy bicycles whic has become a fashion symbolnow! In short, there is tremendous awareness among people here inAhmedabad may be thanks to the rise in petrol prices or their ownconscience due to problems like global warming. Finally, Ahmedabad has seen a surge in the no. of electric twowheelers and now many companies like Yo Bikes, Hero Bikes, Ace Bikesand so on are operating in the city. Now most of the school studentsand college students prefer these electric bikes which are normallyrunning 80 km before they are being recharged and are priced alsoreasonably in the range of 26000 to 40000 Rs. depending on thedifferent models. I don t know the status of these E - bikes in othercities which need to be promoted. As an energy conscious person, I am planning to get one E - bike formy son who is Std. 9 which has a max. speed of 25 Km/hr and hence theproblem of overspeeding is also avoided. Hence, he can go to hisschool and classes and we can get rid of the problems of Autorickshawswho are packing up students in such a way that the voidage factor ifyou count shall be almost nil!! So, my appeal to my other energy conscious friends is that we shouldtry taking lead in whatever matters that can save power without muchworking of techno - economics of the system. FT KANPURWALAESC, AHMEDABADvikas apte wrote:Dear Mr Dalal & Friends As the first step to conservation of oil, i have stopped usingpetrol in my 4 wheeler which i use to commute for my work and selfemployed business needs. I have invested Rs 45,000 in fitting aCNG(Compressed Natural Gas) kit from Japan. This cost includes cost of10kg CNG storage tank, CNG kit, car mechanic labour, RTO expenses forregistration in RC book on use of CNG kit. The test drive results areimpressive( Mumbai city travel through traffic jams and one trip toPune and back): Rs 0.78 per km of gas as against Rs 5.5 per km ofpetrol. My monthly average travel is around 2000 kms. I thereforeexpect to recover my investment in around 2 years time. What s more,earlier i consumed around 40 to 45 litres of petrol per month. Now ifill the fuel tank only once in a month that too 5 to 8 litres asemergency reserve. I have therefore released around 35 litres ofpetrol for consumption to other consumers which i do not need. I CALL UPON ALL PETROL CAR OWNERS/USERS IN IAEMP TO switch over toCNG and take that bold step first to conserve energy. Conservationfirst begins at home. Take the bold and the right first step. Do notgo too much in economics of payback, IRR, NPV, discounted cash flow,time value of money for investment that you are making by fitting aCNG kit. In fact by switching over to CNG you are utilizing preciousenergy which otherwise is being flared in flare stack at refineriessince there are no takers for CNG as well as distribution mechanismsin place. Goodbye and have a nice day Vikas ApteTreasurer - IAEMPgangadhar dalal wrote:Dear Friends, Are Indians sensitive to the need for oil conservation? Reply is "No" International oil price hike is crippling the economy of oilimporting nations. Insead of offering price incentives, to offset fuelprice hike, the government should offer incentves on fuel efficiency.By subsidising oil prices in the country for artificially reducingprice of petro-products, are we not directly subsidising OPEC ? Subsidising of oil consumption, keeps the demand high, which inturn, keeps the world oil price high. Government feels it isvirtuously subsidisng its own consumers but they are in fact, thevictims of their subsidies as such step is preventing reduction inreal demand. Only higher price of petro-products can encourage energy-efficiencyor fuel-efficiency, while populist policy of lowering petro-productprice prevents it . Money saved by abolishing subsidies, could be usedfor cutting excise duties on other items of common consumption. Inflation has crossed 11 % and every week, it is shooting throughroofs. There are no signs of easing due to wishful thinking of suddencrash in global oil prices or bumper harvest with adequate rainfallall over the country. Despite knowing that inflation or high prices can not be reined inwithout any hopes of oil costs falling or receding, only alternativewith government is to adopt energy conservation measures byimplementing EC Act, 2001. This crippling disaster ought to be treated as God-sent opportunityfor beginning of Energy & Fuel Conservation in the country.Can Indians now, though too late, become sensitive to the needfor energy conservation? Regards, G.G.Dalal   _________________________________________________________________________ Dear friends, Today the inflation has crossed 11 % mark. The main reason beinginternational OIL prices. I am very sure that if the government takesthe implementation of the EC Act,2001,The Electricty Act,2003 ,TheIntegrated Energy Policy,2006 ,and other useful policies and encourages Special Environment Zones rather than "Special Economic Zones" , theinflation can again be brought down to below 5% level. We need toinclude conservation efforts in the GDP. The word Economics itself contains Eco but our economist friends donot seem to care. (Sunil Sood)

 

 

What better governance has done in Gujarat

Thanks for forwarding me this thought provoking discussion.

First let me give my views on what others wrote.

Yes, there should not be any political consideration for calling a spade a spade ,whether it s for good or bad governance. I give full credit to C M of Gujarat  Narendra Modi , who is governing with iron hands but very very effectively in the interest of the State, People and the Nation . Why other BJP ruled States can t show the same results, ,blame the citizens of those states, as they failed to give that overwhelming mandate , as Modi has got, Such States, even for their survival,  have to compromise with rival parties or individuals for each and everything. To top it, there are certain vital decisions/approvals/ areas where the Centre s permission sanctions or Central laws for implementation are required. Of course, this should not mean that those who are governing are all capable . It also depends on a team of those "Decision makers" who are at the key Governing level ,their capability and resolve besides the leadership. Our P M Dr. Manmohan Singh is perhaps the highly qualified and capable person ,for delivering the goods . But is it happening? Not entirely his fault but of our own "Democratic System" which is purely "Party Based" and not "Individual Merit based". He has to first give in to the party commands or to the pressure of "Saving his multi-party Government" than the need for  "Good Governance".

So all that bogs down to the Democratic political system we have in our country. Opposed to this in USA,  the key posts for good Governance are not manned by the elected /illiterate representatives ,but by the highly educated, qualified and experienced experts in the respective fields . The most powerful office of the President is an outcome of the direct election by voters , unlike the selection of our Council of Ministers or even the President or Governors. Then, if a few intellectuals like us or even an entire electorate are not pleased with the way our elected representatives are working, have we any remedy for their Recall" even within the term, and  to elect some one else who can deliver results? A BIG NO, like  USA where they have this right to “recall” . All these bunch of fools or diabolical politicians, we have to go on tolerating for full term or till the Government itself is forced to resign.

Now, the answers to key questions.

As far as I am aware, there is no concept of E-bike prevailing either in Mumbai or elsewhere in the country. . Mumbaikars don t want it perhaps for their own selfish reasons.

And why only the "individuals" should care for "Petrol" consumption when the Government itself
(Central or State) is "Reducing" heavy duties on the Petrol driven cars, with a view to encourage an industrial growth ? That s what happened in the Union or State budgets. It was to enable the people at large to afford petrol driven cars like NANO , irrespective of the availability of petrol , effect on environment , lack of infrastructure for parking or space for plying vehicles (Roads) etc. etc. There is still a "heavy" subsidy on "Petrol" and "Diesel" for individually owned vehicles. So where is the government discouragement? Agreed, the cost of petrol is not in our hands and it s Internationally controlled by a "Producer Cartel" ,but taxing heavily on the private  consumption of this subsidized commodity is definitely in the Government hand. But those who Govern are just fighting for their political survival  and not for controls. No wonder then that our inflation rate may still go up beyond present peak of 11.65% , if the International community do not control the crude prices. (P S>  Now it has already crossed 12 percent.)

I, for one, now  prefer to travel by auto or local train, instead of taking out my own car. And believe me, I feel less taxing and strenuous than driving my car on the choked roads with indisciplined road users. But it is hell of a lot of waste of time and inconvenience because again, we desperately lack a well oiled and capable system of public transport and network.

Enough of my own words. Now, I would like  others to interact on this.

With best wishes for the "Good Governance of my country.

Mohan Siroya

(NOW PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGES/VIEWS ON  WHICH  MY ABOVE VIEWS ARE BASED.)

 

Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:29:10 +0530From: kussh.singh@gmail.comTo: have-a-heart@yahoogroups.comSubject: Fwd: what better governance has done in Gujarat    How does better governance lead to better decision making at a strategic level and why such decisions take time to be felt? Who gets benefitted by getting good people appointed in key positions?are some questions we need to ask ourselves. I am sure all these decisions would have been taken in Modi s previous term and are now starting to get implemented. Have also heard that the congress and their supporters are green with envy because of the pace of development happenning in the BJP ruled states like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat with Gujarat far outstripping the others because it has always traditionally been more advanced (and Modi has had a headstart by one term). Rajasthan is a BIMARU state and too big with too much baggage to show results atleast in this term of the BJP. HImachal is a small state and great results will be seen in it. ALready they have the largest number of microhydel approvals and ventures and same should be the case in other parameters-- education opportunities, industrial projects etc etc. I had heard that the 3 states have reduced the licence raj with respect to education (source --wakeupcall.org) and the effect of having good educational facilities will be felt within 5-10 years in the quality of governance, in the quality of life, in the number of jobs/opportunities etc etc etc. Kussh  --- In iaemp@yahoogroups.com, fakhari kanpurwala wrote: Dear Energy Conservationist Friends, I thank Mr. Vikas for converting his car to CNG mode. I would liketo inform you that the pollution level in Ahmedabad has decreasedconsiderably (just like Delhi) owing to the fact that the govt. hascompulsorily converted all the modes of public transport system whichincludes all the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport System (AMTS) buseswhich is considered to be one of the second best services after BESTof Mumbai, all the Auto Rickshaws that were previously running onPetrol and more of them on the mixture of Kerosene and Petrol andemitting very obnoxious uncombusted gases, which were causing severeeye burns, skin burns and respiratory tract problems to CNG modecompletely and no Petrol is bieng used in these vehicles. As a result,Ahmedabad which was ranking No.1 - 3 in pollution has declined to No.12 - 14 as per the recent survey, which is a considerable achievementby the govt. Even the loading rickshaws which are used to transport luggage andheavy parcels are converted completely to CNG mode. I should thank theRTO department for very heavy monitoring and stopping and confiscatingof all such nuisance making vehicles. Moreover, previously there were very few CNG stations in Ahmedabadbut now there are plenty of them mainly operated by Adani Energy Ltd.More and more private vehicles like cars and even private trucks arebeing converted to CNG mode as it is extremely cheaper. Now, Adani islaying pipelines in most of the areas of Ahmedabad to suppy PipedNatural Gas (PNG) which is again a very positive step taken by our CMwhose wish is to see all the homes of Gujarat as Energy sufficient. Ihave to write to him that not only, these houses are made energysufficient but they should be made Energy Efficient. The other advantage that people have got is they can now enjoytravelling in brand new vehicles like autos and buses with betterfacilities. With the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) to follow, moreand more people are likely to use public transport systems for theirregualr office works. In a recent survey by a news paper, almost 55%of people want to use Public Transport system like BRTS instead ofusing their private vehicles which is an extremely successful responseto the municipal corporation. I am going for a walk in the morning in the famous Law Garden hereand most of the people coming for the walk normally used their cars tocome to the garden which was very evident by the no. of cars parkedoutside the garden. Now, after the increase in the petrol prices, Ihave observed that people have shifted to either two wheeler vehicleor they come on their trendy bicycles whic has become a fashion symbolnow! In short, there is tremendous awareness among people here inAhmedabad may be thanks to the rise in petrol prices or their ownconscience due to problems like global warming. Finally, Ahmedabad has seen a surge in the no. of electric twowheelers and now many companies like Yo Bikes, Hero Bikes, Ace Bikesand so on are operating in the city. Now most of the school studentsand college students prefer these electric bikes which are normallyrunning 80 km before they are being recharged and are priced alsoreasonably in the range of 26000 to 40000 Rs. depending on thedifferent models. I don t know the status of these E - bikes in othercities which need to be promoted. As an energy conscious person, I am planning to get one E - bike formy son who is Std. 9 which has a max. speed of 25 Km/hr and hence theproblem of overspeeding is also avoided. Hence, he can go to hisschool and classes and we can get rid of the problems of Autorickshawswho are packing up students in such a way that the voidage factor ifyou count shall be almost nil!! So, my appeal to my other energy conscious friends is that we shouldtry taking lead in whatever matters that can save power without muchworking of techno - economics of the system. FT KANPURWALAESC, AHMEDABADvikas apte wrote:Dear Mr Dalal & Friends As the first step to conservation of oil, i have stopped usingpetrol in my 4 wheeler which i use to commute for my work and selfemployed business needs. I have invested Rs 45,000 in fitting aCNG(Compressed Natural Gas) kit from Japan. This cost includes cost of10kg CNG storage tank, CNG kit, car mechanic labour, RTO expenses forregistration in RC book on use of CNG kit. The test drive results areimpressive( Mumbai city travel through traffic jams and one trip toPune and back): Rs 0.78 per km of gas as against Rs 5.5 per km ofpetrol. My monthly average travel is around 2000 kms. I thereforeexpect to recover my investment in around 2 years time. What s more,earlier i consumed around 40 to 45 litres of petrol per month. Now ifill the fuel tank only once in a month that too 5 to 8 litres asemergency reserve. I have therefore released around 35 litres ofpetrol for consumption to other consumers which i do not need. I CALL UPON ALL PETROL CAR OWNERS/USERS IN IAEMP TO switch over toCNG and take that bold step first to conserve energy. Conservationfirst begins at home. Take the bold and the right first step. Do notgo too much in economics of payback, IRR, NPV, discounted cash flow,time value of money for investment that you are making by fitting aCNG kit. In fact by switching over to CNG you are utilizing preciousenergy which otherwise is being flared in flare stack at refineriessince there are no takers for CNG as well as distribution mechanismsin place. Goodbye and have a nice day Vikas ApteTreasurer - IAEMPgangadhar dalal wrote:Dear Friends, Are Indians sensitive to the need for oil conservation? Reply is "No" International oil price hike is crippling the economy of oilimporting nations. Insead of offering price incentives, to offset fuelprice hike, the government should offer incentves on fuel efficiency.By subsidising oil prices in the country for artificially reducingprice of petro-products, are we not directly subsidising OPEC ? Subsidising of oil consumption, keeps the demand high, which inturn, keeps the world oil price high. Government feels it isvirtuously subsidisng its own consumers but they are in fact, thevictims of their subsidies as such step is preventing reduction inreal demand. Only higher price of petro-products can encourage energy-efficiencyor fuel-efficiency, while populist policy of lowering petro-productprice prevents it . Money saved by abolishing subsidies, could be usedfor cutting excise duties on other items of common consumption. Inflation has crossed 11 % and every week, it is shooting throughroofs. There are no signs of easing due to wishful thinking of suddencrash in global oil prices or bumper harvest with adequate rainfallall over the country. Despite knowing that inflation or high prices can not be reined inwithout any hopes of oil costs falling or receding, only alternativewith government is to adopt energy conservation measures byimplementing EC Act, 2001. This crippling disaster ought to be treated as God-sent opportunityfor beginning of Energy & Fuel Conservation in the country.Can Indians now, though too late, become sensitive to the needfor energy conservation? Regards, G.G.Dalal   _________________________________________________________________________ Dear friends, Today the inflation has crossed 11 % mark. The main reason beinginternational OIL prices. I am very sure that if the government takesthe implementation of the EC Act,2001,The Electricty Act,2003 ,TheIntegrated Energy Policy,2006 ,and other useful policies and encourages Special Environment Zones rather than "Special Economic Zones" , theinflation can again be brought down to below 5% level. We need toinclude conservation efforts in the GDP. The word Economics itself contains Eco but our economist friends donot seem to care. (Sunil Sood)