Karnataka. Sakala MAY March of. Guaranteed Services to Citizens. Annual Subscription ` only

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1 Karnataka March of Annual Subscription ` only MAY 2012 Sakala Guaranteed Services to Citizens

2 Dr C Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, called on Chief Minister Sri D V Sadananda Gowda, in Bangalore. March of Karnataka

3 March of Karnataka Volume-2 Issue-12 Page-28 May Editor- in -Chief K S Bevinamarada Editorial Advisory Panel N Bhrungeesh K Gopala Gowda Editor T C Jagadamba Published by The Director of Information #17, Vartha Soudha Bhagawan Mahaveer Road (Infantry Road) Bangalore Phone : , Printed at: Abhimani Prakashana Pvt. Ltd. No. 2/4, Dr. Rajkumar Road Rajajinagara Bangalore Phone : , info_mok@yahoo.co.in marchofkarnataka@gmail.com Annual Subscription ` only Subscription amount may be sent through D.D., drawn in favour of The Director, Department of Information Bangalore Views expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the Government MARCH OF KARNATAKA C O N T E N T S Page No Cover Story Sakala Guaranteed Services to Citizens G Vaz Removal of Regional Imbalances, Inclusive Growth are Priorities : CM Lalbagh during Historical Times S Srinivas Your Rights Against Misleading Advertising Somasekhar V K Pick A Pearl Buddha Vihar, Gulbarga

4 Sakala Guaranteed Services to Citizens I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I 4

5 Karnataka unveiled a major iniative of guaranteeing services to the citizens in a timebound manner, thereby putting an end to the running around from pillar-to-post for getting services, with the launch of Sakala throughout the State from April 2. G Vaz In fact, the scheme promising to deliver services to the citizens within a stipulated time-frame was launched on a pilot basis in four select taluks of Aurad, Puttur, Dharwad and Chitradurga in the districts of Bidar, Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad and Chitradurga respectively and in the Brhuat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits from the Jayanagar revenue office in Bangalore from March 1 itself. ``Sakala (right time) or Guarantee of Services to the citizens in a time-bound manner comes with the attractive catchline, ``No Today or Tomorrow henceforth; Delivery Promise Shall be Honoured (indu naale innilla, helida samaya tappolla). ``It is a milestone in the political history of Karnataka and a major administrative reform, said Chief Minister Sri D V Sadananda Gowda, while launching the programme. He said the long queues of citizens during the Janata Darshans with almost 30 to 35 per cent of citizens approaching him on their pending applications in government offices spurred him to find a solution to the problems of citizens. Though there were a large number of welfare schemes and projects to help different sections of the people, the Chief Minister said Sakala was unique as it reached everyone by covering all aspects of life from birth certificates to death certificates. ``April 2 (when Sakala was launched) is a day which can be written in golden letters in my political life of 35 years, said Law and Parlimentary Affairs Minister Sri S Suresh Kumar, who played a key role in framing the scheme. ``I will be the happiest person if an ordinary citizen can come out of a government office and exclaim that he could get his work done without greasing any palms, he said promising to interview such a person. 5 I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I

6 The Genesis A democratic government is often described as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Citizens or people come first and are supreme. In fact, that is precisely the reason why the Indian Constitution begins with the words in the preamble, ``We, the people of India and states in the last part of the enacting words, `` in our constituent assembly...do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution, signifying the democratic principle that power is ultimately rested in the hands of the people. The Constitution is made by and for the Indian people and it emanates from the people. Therefore, the political system will be accountable and responsible to the people. By declaring at the outset that ``having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, the Constitution implies that the country has a free government directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern the people. The citizens elect their representatives in elections held for parliament, state legislature and local bodies as well. When citizens or people come first, the governments at all levels must be accountable and citizen friendly, responsive to the people, ensure transparency in their functions and actions besides guaranteeing the rights of all citizens, especially in preventing undue hardships due to delays, cumbersome procedures or any other arbitrary norms and even curbing miscarriage of justice, which are the essential prerequisites for good governance. Of course, the judiciary is there to interpret the law, watch over and monitor the functions and actions of the legislature or the executive. But then, the judiciary should be the last resort of the citizens. All the decisions of the government and the services mandated to be delivered to the citizens must be provided in an efficient, transparent and the least hassle free manner within a reasonable time schedule because that in essence is the meaning of the Constitutional guarantee of social equality, under which everyone has equal status and opportunities without any discrimination of any kind. I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I 6

7 British Legacy However, the concept of citizen s charter is of recent origin. It originated as a major political initiative launched by the then British Prime Minister, John Major, of the Conservative Party on July 22, When it was first mooted in the United Kingdom, it was aimed at improving public services by making administration accountable and citizen friendly, ensuring transparency and the right to information, taking measures to cleanse and motivate civil service, adopting a stakeholder approach and saving time of both executants and the clientele. The programme was re-launched in 1998 by the Labour Government of Tony Blair, which rechristened it ``Services First. The UK Citizen s Charter initiative aroused considerable interest around the world and several countries like Australia (Service Charter, 1997), Belgium (Public Service Users Charter, 1992), Canada (Service Standards Initiative, 1995), France (Service Charter, 1992), Jamaica (Citizen s Charter 1994), Malaysia (Client Charter, 1993), Portugal (The Quality Charter in Public Services, 1993) and Spain (The Quality Observatory, 1992). The Indian Scenario Over the years, India has made significant progress in economic development, improvement in the health status and delivery system and enhancement of literacy rates. Consequently, Indian citizens became increasingly aware of their rights, more articulate and expect the administration not merely to respond to their demands but also to anticipate them. It was in this climate that a consensus began to evolve in the Government on effective and responsive administration in At a Conference of Chief Ministers of various States and Union Territories held on May 24, 1997 in New Delhi, an Action Plan for Effective and Responsive Government at the Centre and State levels was adopted. One of the major decisions of the Conference was that the Central and State Governments would formulate Citizen s Charters, starting with those sectors that have a large public interface such as Railways, Telecom, Posts, Public Distribution Systems and the like. These Charters were to include the standards of service as well as the time limits that the public can reasonably expect for service delivery, avenues of grievance redressal and a provision for independent scrutiny through the involvement of citizen and consumer groups. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances in Government of India (DARPG) initiated the task of coordinating, formulating and operationalising Citizen s Charters. The guidelines for formulating the Charters as well as a list of dos and don ts were communicated to various government departments/organisations to enable them to bring out focused and effective charters. For the formulation of the Charters, the government agencies at the Centre and State levels were advised to constitute a task force with representation from users, senior management and the cutting edge staff. The Indian Citizen s Charter, which is basically an adaptation of the UK model, has an additional component of ``expectations from the clients or ``obligations of the users. Involvement of consumer organisations, citizen groups and other stakeholders in the formulation of the Citizen s Charter is emphasised to ensure that the Citizen s Charter meets the needs of the users. Regular monitoring, review and evaluation of the Charters, both internally and through external agencies has been enjoined. 7

8 As many as 107 Citizen s Charters had been formulated by the Central Government Ministries/ Departments/Organisations and 629 Charters by various agencies of State Governments and Administrations of Union Territories as on March Most of the national Charters are posted on the government s websites and open to public scrutiny. The organisations with Citizen s Charters have been advised to give publicity to their Charters through print/electronic media and awareness campaigns. Website on Citizen s Charters A comprehensive website on Citizen s Charters in Government of India ( has been developed and launched by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances on May 31, It contains the Citizen s Charters issued by various Central Government Ministries/ Departments/Organisations and gives useful information, data and links. Even as the overall efforts and initiatives of the government on Citizen s Charter were on, it was realised that exemplary implementation of a Charter in a major public interface area of government would not only establish a new concept in the inertiaprone bureaucracy, but also act as a role model for replication in other sectors/areas. The banking sector was identified for this purpose keeping in view the second phase of economic reforms and the fact that this sector was fairly advanced in terms of customer service and was also taking advantage of information technology to speed up various processes. The primary objective of this exercise was to build the Banking Sector as a model of excellence in the implementation of a Citizen s Charter. To begin with, three major nationalised banks - Punjab National Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce -- were selected for a hand-holding exercise by the DARPG in the year After an evaluation of the status of the Charters by the identified banks through independent agencies, Action Plans were chalked out to rectify shortcomings. The Charters were, accordingly, revised and standardised on the basis of the model/mother Charter developed by the Indian Banks Association (IBA). Training for employees of selected branches through master trainers, trained by the National Institute of Bank Management using a module developed in consultation with DARPG was organised. Several measures to give wide publicity to Citizen s Charter were also undertaken. I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I 8

9 SUMMARY REPORT ON GSC RECIEPTS, DISPOSALS & PENDENCY STATISTICS Records shown below as on District-Wise NO. OF GSC NO. OF GSC NO. OF GSC NO. OF GSC NO. OF MAIN RECIEPTS DISPOSALS RECIEPTS DISPOSALS PENDENCY DEPARTMENT DURING DURING THE DURING THE DURING THE AFTER DUE THE DAY DAY MONTH MONTH DATE Belgaum Bagalkot Bijapur Bidar Raichur Koppal Gadag Dharwad Uttara Kannada Haveri Bellary Chitradurga Davanagere Shimoga Udupi Chikmagalur Tumkur Bangalore Mandya Hassan Dakshina Kannada Kodagu Mysore Chamarajanagar Gulbarga Yadgir Kolar Chikkaballapura Bangalore Rural Ramanagara Total I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I

10 circulated to all Ministries/Departments and State Governments/Union Territories to enable them to undertake an in-house evaluation of their Citizen s Charters. These organisations were also advised to undertake external evaluations, preferably through NGOs. During the Year , DARPG engaged a professional agency to develop a standardised model for internal and external evaluation of Citizen s Charters in a more effective, quantifiable and objective manner. The agency also carried out evaluation of implementation of Charters in 5 Central Government Organisations and 15 Departments/Organisations of States of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The Agency was also required to suggest methods for increasing awareness, both within the organisation and among the users and to suggest possible methods for orientation of management and the staff in the task of formulating and deploying Charters. The Government of India decided that all its offices and agencies should have a computerized public interface, aimed at dissemination of information to the public for a nominal fee or free of charge. The Central Government Ministries and their agencies should take steps to ensure the provision of all unclassified information on procedures and decisions to the public through facilitation counters which should be set up near the Reception Hall of the Ministry, offices etc. similar to the Lakhina model in Maharashtra. An external agency was engaged to reassess and re-evaluate the implementation of Citizen s Charter of these banks and at the end of this exercise also to document the hand-holding Exercise. The National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) was assigned this task, which was executed and a document about the exercise was brought out in the Year Evaluation of Citizen s Charters An evaluation of the Citizen s Charters of various government agencies was carried out by DARPG and Consumer Coordination Council, New Delhi, an NGO, in October The results were quite encouraging given the nascent stage of this initiative in India. A brief questionnaire has been These counters would be operated continuously during the day by trained officials with courteous approach, with the ability to converse in English and the local language and capable of using computers. These counters can be provided with computer consoles to provide instant information on the status of pending cases, waiting lists, etc. and also print out permits and licenses across the counter wherever possible. So far 105 Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations have set up Information and Facilitation Counters (IFCs) / May I Help You / Enquiry Counters. These Ministries / Departments / Organizations have designated a senior officer as Contact Officer who is overall in-charge of the IFC and can be contacted in case of any difficulty or feedback. The Union Ministry Personnel Public Grievances and Pensions in its efforts to provide more responsive and citizen-friendly governance coordinated the efforts to formulate and operationalise Citizen s Charters. I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I 10

11 In Other States Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat became the most active participants to this concept by incorporating the charter in many departments and local bodies. The Regional Transport Department, Hyderabad, the subsequent charter brought out by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and the Jan Sewa Kendras in Vadodara and Ahmedabad in Gujarat and the Citizen s Charter of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board was issued in Tamil Nadu are some of the earliest initiatives by the States. However, the first state-wide legislative measure on citizen s charter was launched by Madhya Pradesh when it enacted the Lok Sevan ki Guarantee Act It was followed by Right of Citizens to Timebound Deliverty of Services Act in Delhi covering 82 services of 11 departments, The Right to Service Act 2011 of Bihar covering 10 departments and 30 services followed by the legislation in Punjab covering 67 services. Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Jharkhand are among the other states which are in the process of enacting similar legislative measures. Karnataka Covers Largest Number of Services But, it is Karnataka, which has created a record in unveiling many path-breaking policy initiatives in different fields, has come out with by far the most comprehensive and far-reaching legislation through its ``Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act Incidentally, it is the first major initiative of the Government headed by the Chief Minister Sri D V Sadananda Gowda, which was passed in both houses of State Legislature towards the end of last year, with the avowed objective of improving efficiency, transparency in administration and also ending corruption by guaranteeing time-bound delivery of services. Under the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act 2011, as many as 151 of the State services under 11 government departments including Urban Development and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Municipal Corporations or Local Authority, Revenue, continued to page I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I

12 Removal of Regional Imbalances, Inclusive Growth are Priorities : CM

13 Speech of Shri D V Sadananda Gowda Chief Minister of Karnataka Annual Plan Meeting between the Hon ble Chief Minister of Karnataka and Hon ble Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission on Respected Deputy Chairman, Hon ble Members and Senior Officers of the Planning Commission. At the outset let me express my appreciation to the Planning Commission for organizing this meeting to finalize Karnataka s Annual Plan for Karnataka is one of the few major States, that has consistently realized more resources than what was budgeted in the Five Year Plans. We are likely to achieve an expenditure of Rs.1,14,152 crore against an allocation of Rs.1,01,664 crore in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. All the sectors have performed reasonably well. The outlay of Annual Plan is placed at Rs.42,030 crore representing an increase of about 10.40% over the Annual Plan outlay of , which was Rs. 38,070 crore. The per capita plan outlay of Karnataka at Rs in is one of the highest among major States. Due to uncertain and challenging Macro Economic situation globally and nationally and widespread drought like situation in the state, the economy could not grow at the pace planned during the year But we are optimistic about the year , wherein we pledge to consolidate the strategies and achievements made so far through governance reforms, tightening the belt, better monitoring, effective targeting of subsidies and informed decision making through independent evaluation. I am happy to inform that to ensure better service delivery with efficiency, transparency, timeliness and accountability; and to curtail red tape and delay tactics, we have implemented the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizen s Act, 2011 covering 151 services across 11 departments. In the first week of April 2012 alone, 1.34 lakh applications were received, 1.15 lakh cases were disposed off in time, pointing out that the success rate is 99.3%. Karnataka is among the few states to launch the outcome based monitoring through the Result Framework Document developed by the Government of India. A pilot project is planned with the help of World Bank to build institutional capacity for better performance management through effective result measurement and learning from the best practices from other countries to enhance effectiveness of public expenditure. We are in the process of examining and implementing the Karnataka s Expenditure Reforms Commission s report, which focuses on the planning process, size and nature of schemes and subsidy, sunset clause for schemes, shifting plan priorities, bringing inclusion, increasing capital investment, ex-ante appraisal of projects and schemes, adopting project management approach, independent evaluation of schemes and impact studies, regional imbalances etc. We are committed to removing regional imbalances and a more inclusive growth during the 12th Plan, for which we propose to further strengthen our Special Development Plan. We are also evolving a Policy framework for human development to ensure adequate long term investment in human development guided by need rather than politics. We have initiated the process to bring out a State Human Development report and District Human Development report in phases to bring forth region specific issues for advocacy and redressal. We seek support from the Planning Commission- UNDP Project on, Human Development-Bridging inequality, for enhancing the quality of our Human Development Report and its usage. We are strengthening transparent resource allocation, better decentralised expenditure monitoring and improved implementation of all the plan schemes and programmes through a Computerised Comprehensive Integrated Decision Support System. 13 I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I

14 We have set up the Karnataka Evaluation Authority during the year for result oriented and outcome based evaluation and we will be strengthening it further to enable evidence based policy and programme formulation. We are accelerating the use of e-governance across departments to enhance efficiency and transparency. State s Fiscal Deficit, total liability as a percentage of GSDP, own Tax Revenue as a percentage of GSDP, Revenue surplus, Per capita plan expenditure, Capital expenditure as a percentage of GSDP are all on the positive side. On the resource side we are constrained by the high tax to GSDP ratio, which limits tax elasticity. On the demand side we are constrained by the high committed expenditure on salaries, pensions, subsidies, administrative expenditure, devolution to PRIs and ULBs, etc. Containing the committed expenditure which is largely revenue in nature vis-avis capital expenditure would be one of our key challenges. These constraints have also impacted the plan size. Our annual Plan for reflects the priorities of the Government of Karnataka. As compared to the current year, we have increased the allocations considerably in for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Welfare of SCs, STs and OBCs 28%, Urban Development 27%, Education 19%, Health 15%, Irrigation 11% and Energy 9%. I have always given top priority to agriculture. Like last year, Karnataka has made a novel attempt to formulate a separate budget for the agriculture sector for this year also. Rs.11,382 crore has been set apart for development of Agriculture and allied services and Irrigation under Plan. The agriculture sector has shown a decline in growth of 2.9% for the year due to drought. Inspite of drought condition, State has achieved 92% of the targeted food grain production of 124 lakh tone. I would now like to bring to your notice some critical areas which need the intervention of the Planning Commission: Karnataka has the capacity to sustain larger amount of debt. Planning Commission is requested to advise the Ministry of Finance to set the borrowing limit for each State based on their debt sustaining capacity rather than applying the fiscal roadmap in a mechanical manner irrespective of the debt level of each State. Planning Commission is requested to advise the Central Government ministries to desist from bypassing the State budget in routing of funds for implementation of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes including some of the flagship programmes. The Accountant General, Karnataka has also objected to such practices as it is difficult to keep track of such programmes. A memorandum seeking central assistance of Rs.2606 crore to tackle drought situation has been submitted to the Government of India. Central teams visited 13 districts of the State from December 15 to 18, 2011 to assess the severity of drought and losses caused to the State, and submitted reports to Union Ministry of Agriculture. The State Government is in touch with the Central Government, and their response is awaited. Silk import duty reduction from 30% to 5% should be reexamined to protect the interest of the farmers. Some of the generation projects are stalled for want of fuel coal linkages / coal blocks / environmental clearance. Planning Commission s intervention is sought in this behalf. Environmental clearance for Edlapur Project, Godhna Project and Gundia Hydro Electric project is to be provided. I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I

15 Karnataka s NH density is 2.10 km per 10,000 sq. Km, whereas it is 3.60 km for Tamil Nadu. Govt. of India requested to upgrade 23 State Highways of length 4381 km into National Highways. The railways may be persuaded to finalize the PPP Policy as in the case of Airports, Ports Sector and Highways. Railways to speed up the implementation of 2118 kms of on-going projects costing Rs.6000 crore. In order to cope up with massive urbanisation in Bangalore, the commuter rail system is needed to de-congest the traffic in Bangalore and surrounding area helping a larger number of commuters. The Ministry of Railways is requested to accord approval. To extend Mid-Day Meal Programme for high school students (Ninth and Tenth Standard). Government of India to be persuaded to relax committed liability clauses under SSA/ RMSA and other programmes to incentivize reforms. Allocate funds in the ratio of 75:25 on the line of RMSA to be provided (instead 65:35) to implement Right to Education Act. 12 high focus C-category districts with very low health indicators deserve higher resource allocation under NRHM on par with high focus states. As MMR and IMR is comparatively low in Urban Areas, funding and strengthening of Urban Health system is requested. Planning Commission may provide resources to Karnataka under UNDP-Planning Commission project on Human Development Bridging inequality. Planning Commission may facilitate release of grants for the 500th year celebration of Guru Nanak s visit to Bidar city being celebrated as year long International Cultural Festival. Planning Commission may support the constitutional amendment on the lines of 371D applicable to Telangana for the Backward Hyderabad Karnataka region for its equitable growth and development. Thank you. Jai Hind Jai Karnataka MoK

16 Lalbagh during Historical Times S. Srinivas I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I 16

17 The Lalbagh or the Mysore Government Botanical Gardens was the chief center of Horticulture in South India during the rule of Late Mysore Wodeyars ( ). The original garden of about 40 acres which was started by Hyder Ali was expanded during the rule of the British Commissioners and the Wodeyars. After the fall of Tipu in 1799, Lalbagh was owned by a military botanist, Major Waugh, who in 1819 gave the garden as a gift to the Governor General Marquiss of Hasting. When Mark Cubbon became the Commissioner of Mysore, he handed over the garden to a Horticultural Society which was formed in Bangalore in But in 1842, the Society was dissolved and Lalbagh was handed over to the Government. On the recommendation of Dr. Hugh Cleghorn and Jaffrey (Superintendent of the Garden at Madras), who visited Lalbagh in July 1856, it became the Government Horticultural Gardens. William New took charge of the Garden in April He resigned in December 1863 and was succeeded by A.A.Black, who due to poor health resigned in 1865 and once again William New was reappointed as Superintendent till his death in August After Rendition, the Garden was maintained by the Maharaja s government. Some of the famous Superintendents who contributed to the growth of Lalbagh were John Cameron, G.H.Krumbiegal, H.C.Javaraya, M.H.Marigowda and others. In between and about 38 acres of land in the east was added and the area of Lalbagh was doubled to 80 acres. During an area of 13 acres of rock called the mantapam rock (housing the Kempe Gowda tower) and in another nine and a half guntas of land was added to the park. Subsequent periods saw the expansion of the garden. 17 I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I

18 The Lalbagh furnished seeds, plants and information to the public and also exchanged specimens with other gardens in British India and outside. It was frequented by the general public for pleasure and recreation. Such was its attraction. Because of that, in September 1928 the municipal councilors of Bangalore city unanimously passed a resolution requesting the Government to keep Lalbagh exclusively opened for ladies once a week. In fact all dignitaries like the Governor Generals and native rulers like the Raja of Kolhapur and Gaekwad of Baroda who visited the state, made it a point to visit Lalbagh. For students of natural science, the place was a laboratory with rich flora and fauna. As Horticultural shows were held regularly in the Lalbagh it was decided to construct a permanent building for holding these shows. Prince Albert Victor laid the foundation stone and the building was finished in at a cost of Rs.75, 000. It was called the Albert Victor Conservatory, popularly known as Glass House. Earlier, the Lalbagh had in its collection not only a variety of flora but also wild animals like lions, tigers, bears, rhinoceros, black panther and also variety of monkey species, deer and birds including black swans, peacocks, cockatoos, etc. In 1920 the carnivorous animals were shifted to the Mysore zoo. In 1930 due to lack of proper accommodation, even the monkeys were sent to the Mysore zoo. The Monkey house was converted into a picnic house particularly for veil wearing ladies. During 1938, the Forest department had

19 gifted an elephant to Lalbagh and the animal was giving joy rides to the public at two annas for an adult and one anna for a child. There were several sections in Lalbagh like the fernery, pot garden, orchid house, shade garden, flower beds, shrubberies, lawn, Japanese garden, medicinal herb garden, economic garden, rosary and tropical garden. During a Rock garden with a water fall was formed near the Lotus pond. The Glass House was used as venue for giving civic receptions to dignitaries like Governor Generals and Indian rulers. For instance, when Viceroy Lord Curzon visited Bangalore in December 1900, a garden party was hosted by the Maharani of Mysore in his honour. In 1892 the Viceroy was entertained here. A grand entertainment was given by the public of Bangalore to the Nizam of Hyderabad at Glass house at around In 1948, Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister paid a visit to Lalbagh. In August the same year, a civic reception was given in the Glass house to the then Governor General by the city and C&M (Civil & Military) station municipalities. At present, the Lalbagh occupies an area of 240 acres and has become the guiding centre for research, extension and developmental activities of horticulture. On Republic Day and Independence Day flower shows are held in the renovated Glass house (It was renovated in 2004 at a cost of more than Rs. 3 crore) and draws massive crowds. MoK

20 NEWS Chief Minister Sri D V Sadananda Gowda visited Lava Kusha Vana during his visit to Alamatti Dam. Chief Minister Sri D V Sadananda Gowda Launched GIM-2012 in Bangalore. I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I 20

21 NEWS Chief Minister Sri D V Sadananda Gowda discussing about drought situation in the All Party Meeting convened recently at Bangalore. Chief Minister Sri D V Sadananda Gowda inaugurating Naada Prabhu Kempe Gowda s Birthday Celebrations in Bangalore. 21 I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I

22 Your Rights Against Misleading Advertising Somasekhar V K I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I 22

23 More often than not, one has come across misleading advertisements on television channels. These advertisements are often disgusting not only to the viewer but in poor taste and even vulgar, especially when viewed with family. One wonders if there is no regulation or control to censor such things. Very few know that there is but we are not using it. Yet somewhere there is some effect. Whenever we go for awareness programmes, this is a common refrain especially from ladies who want to know the action being taken against misleading Advertisements. Most of them simply do not know the way forward. Though there is no regulatory body appointed by the Government as such, there is a self-regulatory system in place in the form of ``Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a voluntary organization of the advertising industry. Established in 1985, ASCI is committed to ensuring the protection of the interests of consumers. It was formed with the support of all four sectors connected with Advertising, Advertisers, Ad Agencies, Media (including Broadcasters and the Press) and others like PR Agencies, Market Research Companies etc. Unfortunately, voluntary Consumer organisations are not included. But that is another matter. The main objective is to promote responsible advertising and thereby enhance the Consumer s confidence in Advertising. ASCI is represented in all committees working on advertising content in every Ministry of the Government of India. ASCI s membership of the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) ensures that it gets valuable advice, learning and even influence at the international level. ASCI s Code for Self-Regulation in Advertising is now part of ad code under Cable TV Act s Rules. Violation of ASCI s Code is now deemed a violation of Government Rules. ASCI aims to achieve the goal: To maintain and enhance the Consumer confidence in advertising. The Consumer Complaints Council is ASCI s heart and soul. It is the dedicated work put in by this group of highly respected people that has given tremendous impetus to the work of ASCI and the movement of self-regulation in the advertising. This group comprises 21 persons drawn from various disciplines, including 12 eminent people not associated with advertising (such as lawyer, doctor, journalist, teachers, technical experts, consumer activist etc) and 9 from industry (advertisers, media, ad agencies and allied professionals.

24 If Consumers see an Advertisement, which they consider misleading or offensive, they should write to the Advertising Standards Council of India. Complaints received from the general public should be in the prescribed format providing relevant particulars including clipping or copy of print Ad/promotion material/timing, date and channels of TVC broadcast. However, in order to facilitate the General Public making complaints, the secretariat will not insist on accepting complaints in the prescribed format or requiring a copy of the clipping as long as details of product/service, publication/channel/ location, date/time and nature of complaint is clearly stated. The Secretariat using services of ad tracking agency will collect the ad in case person from General Public is not able to furnish clipping etc. The Secretariat will accept telephonic complaints also as is done by SRO s outside of India. It will confirm and verify the complaints by writing to the party concerned when complaint is made orally. A single complaint alleging that an advertisement is misleading or offensive is usually enough to require the Advertiser to correct the Advertisement. On receipt of a complaint (should be complete with relevant particulars including clipping or copy of print Ad/promotion material provided by complainant), the Secretariat will acknowledge the complaint and request the advertiser/agency to provide comments/ response in respect of the complaint. Both the Advertiser and the complainant are advised of the decision of the Consumer Complaints Council. Pre-Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) Meeting Procedure: ASCI s letter to the advertiser will carry an annexure, which contains verbatim the entire complaint of the complainant (with annexures/attachments), but care will be taken to see that the identity of the complainant is not revealed. In case, if the attachments include laboratory test reports, the identity of the laboratory or the source of authentication will be concealed. Complainants, who are advertisers themselves, are required to provide an additional copy of the complaint and annexures/attachments, if any, on plain paper so that the additional set may be forwarded to the advertiser for their comments. ASCI will give the advertiser 2 weeks for response, from date of receipt of ASCI letter. ASCI Secretariat will allow 3 days for receipt of letter by the advertiser. In the first instance, if the complaint appears extremely frivolous and there seems to be no basis for the complaint, then the Secretary General will not send out a letter to the advertiser but will put up the same at the next CCC meeting to decide whether the complaint should be processed or not. The CCC will direct further action. Complaint with all supporting information provided by the complainant and the advertiser/ agency complained against, along with CCC s technical experts opinion, if any, will be placed on the agenda of the next CCC meeting (usually held in the 4th week of each month). If the matter requires deeper technical evaluation, the CCC should refer the complaint to independent expert/s, if available, chosen from a list of experts nominated by the Board as experts in certain areas like soaps and detergents, drugs, lubricants, white goods, etc. {The author is the Managing Trustee of Grahak Shakti and also a freelance columnist} MoK I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I 24

25 continued from page 11 Home, Finance, Transport, Labour, Education, Health and Family Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayat raj, and Women and Child welfare come under the ambit of the bill. The 151 services have been fixed a specified time-limit for delivery to the citizens. If there is any delay in delivering the service by the officers, then citizens have the right to question the designated officer. Some of the important services that come under the act are FIR copy, age certificate, caste certificate, birth/death certificate, ID card for senior citizens, driving licence, answer sheet revaluation, ration card etc. The public servant or the designated officer who fails to deliver citizen related services to a citizen within the stipulated time (only if the applications are duly filled), shall be liable to pay compensatory cost at the rate of Rs 20 per day for the period of delay subject to maximum of Rs 500 per application. Workers belonging to D group are exempted from paying fine. Further, if any employee is found guilty of not providing timely services for over 25 times in a year, steps would be taken against him. If the officer fails to deliver the service even then, the citizen can approach the competent officer notified by the government who can examine and impose penalty against the designated officer or his subordinate public servant who has defaulted. The citizens can also know the status of their application by dialling the round-the-clock helpline or by visiting or nic.in Novel Feature of Sakala An interesting and novel feature of Sakala is the facility of updating citizens on the progress of applications through SMS on the mobile phone numbers listed in the applications. The entire process of Sakala from filing of applications to disposal is handled online in a transparent and trackable model. The software programme dealing with Sakala is equipped to have a database containing mobile numbers of all staff, who deal with the files concerned in different government offices. This will have multiple uses in sending SMS alerts to officials if the file is pending with them. Personnel handling applications in remote villages without computers or internet facility will be able to update the database in the central server by sending an SMS and generating an acknowledgement number. Ms Shalini Rajneesh, Sakala Mission Director, who is monitoring the implementation of the Scheme, explains: ``It (Sakala) will not just ensure guarantee of services to the citizens in time but also establish systems and processes in government and thereby strengthen the people s faith in the government. ``Sakala is a long overdue administrative reform tool in governance, says Ms Rajneesh and believes that it will definitely helping in reducing corruption in administration by curbing unnecessary delays and red-tapism besides improving the quality of governance. As the popular adage goes, the proof pudding is in the eating, the success of Sakala can be best judged from its implementation and the figures speak for themselves. During the first month from March 1 to April 1 when the scheme was implemented in five taluks and in the Jayanagar revenue division of BBMP or later during the first fortnight of state-wide implementation from April 2 to April 17, the number of applications received and disposed of (see tables) demonstrate the efficacy of Sakala. MoK 25 I MARCH OF KARNATAKA I MAY 2012 I

26 Pick A Pearl Buddha Vihar- Gulbarga Gulbarga is one of the major Buddhist pilgrim centre in South India. The Buddha Vihar located six kilometres away from Gulbarga, adjacent to the Gulbarga University campus. The Buddha Vihar complex has been constructed in conformity with traditional Buddhist architecture. Spread across 18 acres, it can be divided into the main building which has a meditation centre at the cellar and a Lord Buddha chaitya (temple in Pali) on the ground floor. The dome is 70 ft in height and 59 ft in diameter.besides, it has 48-ft tall four Ashoka pillars in the corners of the main building. It has an attractive Sankalpa stupa, 26 ft in length and 30 ft in diameter. The other attractions are ft open-air theatre with a 2,500-seat capacity, four large Mahadwaras (arches) known as Sanchi gates and a group of 11 cement statues led by a bronze statue of Dr B R Ambedkar, indicating the Dhamma Kranti Yatra of The prayer hall is 15,625 sq ft with 170 pillars and 284 blocks. Each block has a carving representing the architecture of Buddha temples of Ajanta, Ellora, Nagpur, Bodh Gaya, Saranath, Rajgir, Lumbini, Kusinara, Thailand, Singapur, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Japan and Rome. The marbled floor of the hall has a seating capacity of There are 28 huge ventilators named after Buddhas of various eras. The main attraction in the complex is a gold coated 8.5 ft tall panchaloha statue imported from Thailand of the seated Buddha, perhaps the tallest Buddha statue in the South. The statues of Buddha s disciples Ananda and Kashyapara are also part of the complex. A beautifully landscaped garden is another attraction. The dome is 75 ft from the ground and has a 10-ft-tall panchaloha kalasha.the white arch is in the shape of a peepal leaf (Bodhi tree) which symbolizes enlightenment.

27 March of Karnataka Chief Minister Sri D V Sadananda Gowda offering floral tributes to the portrait of Dr. B R Ambedkar, on the occasion of his birth anniversary in Bangalore.

28 March of Karnataka MAY RNI No. KAR KAN/2010/4081 Regd No. KARN 34 CPMG/KA/BGGPO/2525/ under WPP No. 55 Licenced to post at GPO Bangalore (pages 28) On 29th & 30th Every Month March of Karnataka Lalbagh, Bangalore