PPI: INTERNAL I

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT I

PUBLIC POLICY OF INDIA

(Citation method: Harvard’s Bluebook Citation method, 20th edition)

Name: Shubhit Gaur

Class: BA LLB (Division D)

PRN: 18010125346

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. ANSWER 1: UDAN AVIATION SCHEME..............................................................................4

1.1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................4

1.2 HOW DOES THIS WORK...................................................................................................4

1.3 BENEFITS.............................................................................................................................5

 Affordability and Reduction of Airline risks....................................................................5

 Destruction of Elitist Divide and Democratic Socialism..................................................5

 Better Regional Connectivity............................................................................................5

 Boost to Trade and Commerce..........................................................................................5

II. ANSWER 2: MARITIME ANTI PIRACY BILL, 2019............................................................6

2.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................6

2.2 KEY FEATURES..................................................................................................................6

2.3 IMPORATANCE OF THE LAW.........................................................................................7

III. ANSWER 3: RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CENTRAL VISTA..........................................8

3.1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................8

3.2 SUPERFICIAL CLAIMS......................................................................................................8

3.3 NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES...........................................................................................9

 Environmental Impact.......................................................................................................9

 Cultural Impact.................................................................................................................9

 Financial Impact................................................................................................................9

 Covid-19 situation...........................................................................................................10

3.4 SUGGESTIONS..................................................................................................................10

IV. ANSWER 4: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA), 2020.........................10

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4.1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................10

4.2 DEEPER UNDERSTANDING...........................................................................................10

4.3 IMPACT AND APPREHENSIONS...................................................................................11

Apprehensions:......................................................................................................................11

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I. ANSWER 1: UDAN AVIATION SCHEME

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The Aviation scheme launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (‘MoCA’) under the title head
“UDAN: Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik” is an initiative by the central government to provide for
low cost air travel to every citizen of the country.

The project was launched on 27th April 2017 and it aims to connect the entire country with
airports by the end of the year 2024. The ultimate aim is to construct as many as fully
functioning 50 Airports, 5 Heliports that will induce the connectivity of approximately 250 Air
routes in the country. 1

1.2 HOW DOES THIS WORK

The MOcA in its recent notification has announced that fare cap will be placed on the prices of
Air tickets after due evaluation. The current scheme suggests that the threshold decided for
flights whose duration of Air travel is less than 1.5 hours shall not levy more than 2,500 rupees
on its basic price availability. In that way, cheaper tickets are ensured.

On a large corporation level, the government asks the airlines to provide for low priced tickets by
undertaking mandatory measures which cut costs and if there is a deficit in profits after a certain
extent, the same shall be compensated to them from the Regional Connectivity Fund created
through levitation of connectivity Cess in Taxation.

Additionally, the airports which are created are supposed to be low cost, that is the infrastructure
must only be enough to sustain the number of routes and essential security checks and not
invested to the extent of providing lavish architectures such as that of the airports in Delhi or
Mumbai. In basic terms, they will be like a railway station format in a sophisticated manner.

Moreover, state governments are asked to reduce their taxes in form of SGST or VAT (earlier)
on fuel prices and other relevant operational products for airlines.

1
Devanjana Nag, “Aviation boost under UDAN scheme!”, Financial Express, 23 rd May , 2020, 11 :00 PM ,
https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/airlines-aviation/aviation-boost-under-udan-scheme-aai-plans-to-
develop-100-airports-waterdromes-heliports-by-2024-details/2111397/

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1.3 BENEFITS
The Ultimate result and benefit of the scheme can be summarised through the following points:

 Affordability and Reduction of Airline risks : Since, the flights will be cheaper ,
specifically for routes which have the Air travel duration of less than 2 hours, the
number of passengers who will be able to afford airline tickets will increase, which is
ultimately going to be beneficial not just for the public at large but also to the Airline
Corporations. Significantly, the effect is estimated to be such that the high risk associated
with airline business is supposed to fall substantially in comparison to the position at
which it stands today.
 Destruction of Elitist Divide and Democratic Socialism: Prior to entrepreneurial efforts
and the introduction of this scheme, Air travel was deemed elitist and restricted only to
the upper creamy layer of the society. The initiative marks as a big leap towards the
concept of democratic socialism as something as basic as “Commuting from one place to
another”, especially only within the domestic territory of the country has been made
accessible to all realms of the society.
 Better Regional Connectivity: With the introduction of more than 50 airports having
more than 200 routes across the country, the aspect of regional connectivity has been
enhanced which is a big step in enhancing passenger convenience.
The locations targeted are mostly those which can be described as places ranging
between the status of Metro cities and Mid Developed Cities from where there is
actually ‘Demand’ for air travel as people from that place seek to commute to large
distance in short times but instead they have to go to a nearby metro city having an
airport to board a flight. The author feels that an example of his Home City can be
made relatable.
Before, the introduction of the Kishangarh Airport in Ajmer, the residents had to first
travel to Jaipur to board flights till Pune or Delhi, irrespective of the huge demand for air
travel. Thus, apart from having a social aspect, the project seems to be reaching for
economic equilibrium as well.
 Boost to Trade and Commerce: Accessibility to Air travel ensures that more and more
people will be saving a lot of not just their money but also their time, which is an addition

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to the potential productivity of the human resources. Additionally, the reach to cities
forming economic hub gets enhanced through this augmented infrastructure which shall
ultimately boost trade and commerce.

In fact, the airports so created under the scheme even though not lavish will call for
minimum safety and security measure, requiring man power and a minimum amount of
commercial stakeholders for shops, sponsors and related economic activity.

Therefore, it can be rightly said that the UDAN Scheme is an administrative decision which was
absolutely necessary and remains to be so, thus its implementation and positive modification
must be continued.

II. ANSWER 2: MARITIME ANTI PIRACY BILL, 2019

2.1 INTRODUCTION
The Ministry of External Affairs (‘MoE’) had introduced India ‘s first Maritime Anti-Piracy
Bill (‘the Bill’) in 2019 which referred to protection from Piratical Acts on the High Seas but
the same has not still been passed in the parliament, despite the same being very important in
terms of national security.

The bill was introduced to ratify the International Law created through the United Nations
Convention on the Law of Seas (‘UNCLOS’), 1982 to which India became a signatory in 1995.

On the face of it, this seems like a matter pertaining to International relations but its ultimate
effect is significantly Domestic and it becomes increasingly important to implement the same in
form of a law owing to augmenting cases of Piracy at India’s Exclusive Economic Zone
(‘EEZ’) or just near it along with the threats created by resurging pirates near the territorial
waters of Somalia, which control the major trade routes such as the Suez Canal and Gulf of
Hormuz to which India’s trade and domestic economy is directly connected.2

2.2 KEY FEATURES

The key Features of the bill can be summarised as follows:

2
Piracy under international law, Oceans and Law of the Sea, United Nations,
https://www.un.org/depts/los/piracy/piracy.htm.

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 Definition of Piracy: The bill concerns itself only with piracy occurring at the High
Seas and thus it defines it as any violent act done towards any ship for private motives.
It includes the plundering, destruction and depredation of the ship or its crew members in
any form. Additionally, it includes abetment for the crime of piracy, through
participative behaviour shall also come under the larger ambit of a piratical act.3
 Punishment: Punishment prescribed under the bill ranges from 14 years of
imprisonment to Life imprisonment and even Death in certain circumstances,
depending upon the level and nature of crime.
 Conferment of Jurisdiction: Through the bill, the Indian Courts are conferred
Jurisdiction any person, be it an Indian national or a foreign national or even a stateless
person who is under the custody of Indian Navy or the Coast Guard.

2.3 IMPORATANCE OF THE LAW

The bill is very important mainly due to two reasons which can be summarised as below:

 India does not have a domestic Piracy Law: At present, the sections pertaining to
Admiralty under the Indian Penal Code (‘IPC’) are used for occasionally prosecuting
criminals causing piracy outside as well as within the territorial waters of India.
Territorial waters consist of 12 nautical miles from the Indian coast where as the EEZ
where India can conclude its economic activities reaches further 200 nautical miles.
Since, India does not have any law which deals with ‘Piracy’, no action can be taken by
the Indian state properly even in its territorial waters.
 Jurisdiction Issue: As already mentioned beyond the 12 nautical miles, India as a
sovereign nation can do economic activities up to the extent of the EEZ but cannot
prosecute over any crimes as the IPC only applies to offences occurring within the
territory of India. However, the UNCLOS gives the power to prosecute any other state
which is a signatory to it.
Thus, any other state can capture any pirate conducting piracy in India’s EEZ and
prosecute it as per the own domestic law, but the same cannot be done by India as it does
not have a domestic law in the first place. 4

3
The Piracy Bill, 2012, Ministry of External Affairs,
https://www.prsindia.org/sites/default/files/bill_files/piracy_bill_text___2012.pdf.

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Thus, for instance, if Pakistan funds pirates to disrupt economic activities in India’s EEZ,
we don’t have a domestic law to deal with the same. Instead we will have to rely on other
states to prosecute them either as per their law or the International law which is hardly
enforceable.
Essentially, this gives Pakistan in the above scenario a chance to prosecute the pirates in
its own way.

From the above discussion, the author feels that the Anti-Piracy bill is absolutely necessary yet
not introduced by the government as a law, despite being introduced as early as in 2012. The
recent Mumbai attacks of 2008, resurgence of pirates in Somalia and its linkage with the Suez
Canal makes it imminent requirement for protection of trade and commerce as well as national
security.

III. ANSWER 3: RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CENTRAL VISTA

3.1 INTRODUCTION
The central government has recently announced the re construction of the Central Vista
including the Ministries, the Legislative Houses and the President’s house. They aim to re
construct the 13 Km stretch from India Gate to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The existing Central
Vista is supposed to be converted as a ‘Museum of Indian History’. Additionally, as much as 12
landmark buildings over more than 4000 square metres of area will be demolished for the
project including Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts in the Lutyen’s Delhi.

3.2 SUPERFICIAL CLAIMS

The main claims made by the government for undertaking such a large project has mostly been
superficial accompanied by the fact that no studies have been conducted academically for the
need of a new central vista.

Instead, the ministry claims that the need is felt as per the testimonies given by the ministers
who feel difficulty in the existing framework, which is ironical as most MP’s attendance in the
Central Vista speaks otherwise of their utilisation of the framework.
4
THE GIFTS OF THE SEA.” Captured at Sea: Piracy and Protection in the Indian Ocean, by Jatin Dua, 1st ed., vol.
3, University of California Press, Oakland, California, 2019

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Inter Alia, the claims include that the current building does not have enough floors to
accommodate all ministries under the same building and thus commute from one place to another
causes inconvenience and unnecessary congestion of traffic. It is erratic and bit elitist on part of
the government to claim this as a valid reason for causing cores of expenditure as compared to
the hardships of its subject public to whom they, a year ago were not even considering the aspect
of increase in payment of college fees of one particular institute in Delhi as a direct cause of
them being denied of their higher education.

3.3 NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

The far reaching consequences of this administrative decision can be summarised as below:

 Environmental Impact: Many environmentalists have come up and claimed that the
dust and pollution arising from the demolition of buildings will have a severe
environmental impact on the already most polluted capital of the world. Additionally, the
area selected pushes itself with lush green cover and dully grown green trees which will
be cut down as part of the project, taking as much as at least 10 years to remedy.
Moreover, the multiple stories designed above and below the ground for the vista will
destroy the underground water absorption capacity of the region which has already been
concreticised beyond its capacity.
 Cultural Impact: The recreation of the central vista and the destruction of landmark
buildings is the destruction of Delhi’s beautiful landscape and marks as an unnecessary
alteration of things having cultural value.
 Financial Impact: As already mentioned, the needs of many in the situation of this
pandemic and even before it who struggle with basic necessities have been blatantly
disregarded and ignored by the government by incurring hundreds and thousands of cores
of expenditure on the project instead of creating a viable health infrastructure or welfare
program.
 Covid-19 situation: A recent plea in the Supreme Court was on the ground that engaging
of labor during lockdown period increases the risk of contracting with the virus not just to
the workforce but of the entire nation.

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3.4 SUGGESTIONS
There is absolutely no need for recreation of a new central vista to cater to minimal needs which
can be catered to even by the modification of the existing building. The objection of the desks of
the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha can be done by renovating the existing premises and upgrading
it with newer technology. If possible only a certain area should be used for providing other
facilities such as parking spaces for ministers and MP’s, who on some special occasion happen to
visit the parliament and get interested in the affairs of the country.

IV. ANSWER 4: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA), 2020

4.1 INTRODUCTION
EIA refers to Environment Impact Assessment which in basic terms is a mechanism put forth
through which the overall impact of undertaking a developmental project such as building a dam,
bridge, power plant on the environment stability is ascertained. How the surrounding
environment is affected and the impact of the project on the entire ecosystem is analysed and
approval is granted only when it is not adversarial to the environment beyond a reasonable limit.

4.2 DEEPER UNDERSTANDING

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoeFFC) had passed anew
draft of the EIA in 2020 to replace the erstwhile notification of 2006 in this regard under the
Environment Protection Act, 1986.

The assessment done under EIA notification of 2006 is based upon Scientific estimation of the
likely environmental impacts whereby views of the people are also taken into consideration
before the project gets the final approval and rectification steps are taken to concile the
objections made by the general public and the experts in this regard. Out of the two types of
clearances, namely, Environmental Clearance (EC) and Environmental Permission (EP)
were enshrined under the act where expert opinion was required in the former.

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4.3 IMPACT AND APPREHENSIONS

The new draft of EIA provides for doing away with various technicalities of getting the clearance
which can be summarised as below:

 Both of the clearances mentioned above are done away with in at least 40 types of
projects such as sand extractions, construction of thermal power plants, construction of
solar parks, effluent treatment plants etc. which have a huge impact on the environment.
 A specific type of category of projects known as B2 is included in the new draft which
includes heavy impact operations such as exploration of oil and gas, hydroelectric plants,
expansion of highways which are deemed to be constructed in highly sensitive ecological
areas.
 The draft exempts all B2 projects to be exempted from EIA, and Public Consultation
among various other oversights
 Notice for public hearing has been reduced from 30 days to 20 days.

Apprehensions:

 The main apprehension in this regard is that without technical approval by the expert
committees, highly sensitive projects such as those classified under the B2 category will
be crucially adversarial to the Environment and can potentially lead to natural disasters
such as landslides etc.
 Further, public consultation period is also reduced making it a possibility that proper
discourse will be avoided and considerations will not be taken seriously, apart from those
projects in which public comments are not even invited at all.
 Only the government authorities are entitled to report violations of environment policy
under the act and not common public. Violation can only be made by the appraisal
committee which is basically making the perpetrator a judge in their own case.
 A major apprehension also goes to the effect of saying that when a large project is
undertaken, it is not only the ecology that is disturbed; a lot of residents are also
displaced from their homes. Compensation is mandated to be given to such people under
Article 32 of the Constitution however the power to decide the extent of compensation

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lies only with the government and historically the record of the government in providing
a fair and equitable compensation has not been good.

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