Cheers! Death sentence on tea gardens is averted for now but...

The Kangra valley must have heaved a huge sigh of relief at the news item that the HP cabinet in its meeting held on 18 September 2017 decided against allowing the sale of land under tea gardens of the chosen few. If not my petition which I had launched on change.org against this government move, maybe at least our prayers were heard. (And at this juncture I would like to heartily thank all my friends who stood up and signed the petition.) It is indeed wise and prudent of the HP cabinet to have  resisted the pressure and desisted from such an unsound move with terrible environmental costs. Wise and prudent for its own sake also because elections are around the corner and the present government can ill-afford to rub the पब्लिक  - 'जो सब जानती है' - the wrong way. So may be for a short term, the death sentence that was likely to be pronounced on this ‘green treasure’ of the valley has been averted at least for the time being. But the enlightened citizenry must remain vigilant and proactive to thwart such an attempt should it rear its head again…which it will, sooner or later. Being fence sitters and fuming and fretting with impotent rage will not help matters. Eternal vigilance is the price we have to pay for protecting and preserving our nature and its priceless wonders which help us keep our sanity, well-being and aesthetic health intact in this screwed up world. So my dear fellow citizens of Kangra, arise, awake and stop not, and do not let the  politicians of any hue befool us, take us for a ride and get away with their environmental misdeeds and misdemeanors: for posterity’s sake if not for ourselves. And we can do it in our own little, discreet, dignified ‘Gandhian’ ways without confrontation and street fighting.

                                                    

...But why land plots for legislators?

However, as we begin to put our hands together to clap our masters for the good deed, the good feeling engendered in us is at once dissipated and replaced with disgust by another act of the government in the very same meeting. As if the doles, perks and privileges being already enjoyed by our state’s lawmakers are not enough, the obliging cabinet in another grand gesture of generosity decided to offer them yet another bonanza: plots of land for homes at cheaper rates. When this already privileged class is already having the exclusive benefit of soft loans at dirt cheap rates of interest, what is the Goddamn rationale behind this act of munificence? Perhaps, with the election dates now closing in, the worthy legislators are in desperate hurry to grab whatever crumbs they can lay their hands on in this open and free loot, before the model code of conduct comes into play and puts paid to their dreams of a life of luxury and splendour at the cost of hard-pressed taxpayer’s money.

To conclude, I commend the government and the sane heads in the cabinet that helped good sense prevail and prevent the tea-garden sale, but I express my deep anger and anguish at the second move. 

                                                           

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