A joke heard in Germany is: “If you want to see German
efficiency, go to Switzerland.” While it has German engineers squirming, most
can only nod in agreement. It is certainly hard to imagine such a prestige
project happening in Germany these days. Most of the country’s recent
high-profile construction schemes have become great national embarrassments,
beset by massive delays and huge cost overruns. One newspaper reported of the number 174,630,000 – the no. of minutes German
passenger and goods trains have been losing every day over a particular year,
with train delays said to have risen by almost a third since 2009.
In
India, people at the drop of hat would blame ! – and cry hoarse that Railways
always run late (which is not the truth) .. recently there was this
technological advancement of “Clean My
Coach” initiative as part of ‘Swachh
Rail, Swachh Bharat’ campaign. “It is a new beginning in cleanliness efforts
with the use of technology,” Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi said
after launching ‘Clean My Coach Scheme’ at New Delhi, Mumbai Central and
Lucknow stations through video-conferencing. As per the scheme which is part of
the rail budget 2016-17 proposals, for any cleaning in a coach, a passenger can
send an SMS to 58888. Passenger’s request is immediately acknowledged through
SMS on mobile phone along with a code. Dedicated
SMS Mobile Number caters to Clean My Coach initiative is 58888. Dedicated Website for the scheme is
www.Cleanmycoach.com. There is also the
Mobile App. Satisfaction Code ensures
Passenger Satisfaction otherwise Complaint is treated as not closed; it provides
for different types of request like Cleaning, Watering, Pest Control and Linen
related request. Clean My Coach Scheme
is operational in 43 divisions and with the formal launching, 24 more divisions
will also be covered in the current year.
Away, there is some castigation arising out of cleaning ! – not exactly. Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is the government
agency responsible for supply of potable water to the most of the National
Capital Territory region of Delhi, India. Delhi Jal Board was constituted in 1998 through an Act of the Delhi Legislative
Assembly incorporating the previous Delhi Water Supply and Sewage Disposal
Undertaking. DJB is also responsible for treatment and disposal of waste water.
Today’s Economic Times states that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has castigated
the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and slapped a fine on it for not filing its response
on a plea alleging that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was extracting
groundwater to wash its trains, despite promising to do so in a few days a
fortnight ago.
A bench headed by Justice U D Salvi slammed the counsel for the
DJB and slapped a fine of Rs 2000 on the department for making loose statements
before it. "DJB had made a statement on August 22, 2016 that the reply
will be filed within two to three days. No reply has been filed till date. We
depreciate this practice of making loose statements before the Tribunal. We,
therefore, saddle the DJB with the cost of Rs 2,000," the bench said. The
green panel directed the DJB to deposit the amount with the NGT Legal Aid
Service Committee within two weeks and submit the receipt of payment before it
on September 8, the next date of hearing.
The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Delhi resident Kush
Kalra who had alleged that DMRC was extracting groundwater instead of using
wastewater to wash its trains, resulting in depletion of water table. Advocate
Kush Sharma, appearing for Kalra, had said that at a time when water crisis has
hit 12,000 villages across Latur in Maharashtra, DMRC is busy shining its
trains by illegal extraction of groundwater. Referring to a RTI reply, the plea
said that DMRC's water requirement was met through borewells and the DJB
connection. It also said that in order to draw water from the borewell, 3 to 5
HP pumps were used.
"No bottled water is used, groundwater after treatment as
per requirement is used for train washing. Borewells have been provided in the
depots from where water is sourced. Around 400 to 500 litres of groundwater is
used for washing of one metro train. The water, after washing of metro train,
is sent to Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). The treated water is then used for
gardening and the excess sent to drains," the RTI reply had revealed. Further,
another RTI response received from the DJB said no permission had been granted
to DMRC for digging the borewells.
So – keeping things clean
does not augur well for the DMRC and Delhi Jal Board !
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
6th Sept. 2016.
