Editorial 1 : A lesson from Taiwan in quake resilience
Context
On April 4, 2024, the region around Manali in Himachal Pradesh was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 5.3.
Earthquakes
- Earthquakes occur in certain regional bands.
- The spatial distribution is explained by the theory of plate tectonics, which explains how the Earth’s outermost layer, the lithosphere, is broken into 15 major fragments or plates which are constantly moving relative to each other.
- This is why powerful earthquakes are concentrated along convergent plate boundaries like the Himalayas, a tectonic product of the convergence of the Indian and Eurasian plates.
- The earthquake in Nepal in 2015 caused severe devastation in central Nepal, but spared India. This was an example of an earthquake originating from under the Himalayas.
The story of two earthquakes
- In the Taiwan region, the Philippine Sea plate is moving northwest towards the Eurasian plate at a velocity of about 7.8 cm per year, which is faster than the motion of the Indian plate.
- Lying 160 km off the coast of China, Taiwan was formed at a convergent boundary of the Philippine and Eurasian plates in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a country of strong earthquakes.
- In 1999, the Chi-Chi earthquake of magnitude 7.7 occurred in the central part of Taiwan and impacted the western region and killed more than 2,430 people and left 11,305 wounded but the recent Hualien earthquake killed at least 13 people and injured about 1,000.
- Despite being of nearly comparable magnitude, the 2024 earthquake has caused minimal damage compared to the 1999 earthquake.
- The 1999 earthquake was a major wake-up call that led to critical administrative reforms to improve emergency response and reduce disasters.
- The government passed the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act and set up two national centres to handle earthquake coordination and training.
- Between the Chi-Chi and Hualien earthquakes, Taiwan mounted a consistent effort in implementing building codes.
- Today, Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness is among the most advanced in the world. The island nation has the most advanced earthquake-monitoring network and early warning systems.
- Widespread awareness campaigns and drills on earthquake safety have improved the public’s understanding of earthquake risks.
- The government constantly updates the earthquake safety requirements of the new and existing building stock and incentivises residents by offering subsidies to improve the quake resistance of buildings.
- With the knowledge of the frequency of earthquakes in each source and how severely the ground shakes in a particular area, specific seismic codes can be designed, and specific construction norms can be followed.
- Taiwan could also use new technologies such as seismic dampers and base isolation systems.
What India can do
- As India is going through a major phase of infrastructural expansion in many tectonically unstable regions including the Himalayas, sometimes flagrantly violating the norms that should be followed in ecologically sensitive areas, earthquake safety should be of particular concern.
- All infrastructural projects must comply with seismic safety regulations.
- The Taiwan earthquake provides important lessons for India. These include following seismic codes, constructing safer engineered structures, and overcoming inadequacies in the enforcement and non-compliance of seismic codes.
- These codes, unique to a particular region, are prepared based on local earthquake activity, building types, and construction materials.
- Indian code IS 1893 specifies seismic designs based on seismic zonation maps so that buildings do not collapse.
- In some parts of India, traditional architectural styles possessing earthquake resistivity can be rediscovered and encouraged.
Conclusion
India needs to emulate the policies of countries like Japan and Taiwan to be better prepared to handle earthquakes and minimise losses.
Editorial 2 : What are rules around star campaigners?
Context
Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was appointed as a ‘star campaigner’ by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for its campaign in Gujarat.
The legal provisions
- Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RP Act) provides for law relating to expenditure incurred by ‘leaders of a political party’. These ‘leaders of a political party’ are popularly known as ‘star campaigners’.
- These star campaigners are usually the top leaders of a political party but can include other celebrities as well.
- The only requirement is that these persons have to be members of the political party that appoints them.
- The RP Act provides that a recognised political party (national or State) can appoint a maximum of 40 star campaigners while a registered unrecognised political party can appoint up to 20.
- These names are to be communicated to the Election Commission (EC) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the States as applicable within seven days from the date of notification of such election.
- In case of a multi-phase election, a political party can submit separate list of star campaigners for different phases.
The benefits
- The RP Act provides that expenditure incurred by the ‘leaders of a political party’ on account of travel by air or any other means of transport for campaigning for their political party shall not be deemed to be part of the election expenditure of a candidate of such party.
- The election expenditure limit for candidates is ₹95 lakh per Lok Sabha constituency in larger States and ₹75 lakh in smaller States.
- Hence, these star campaigners would be vote-fetchers for candidates set up by respective parties without affecting their expenditure limit.
- However, this is applicable only if the star campaigners limit themselves to general campaigning for the party.
The issues
- The EC has issued an advisory to all political parties to maintain decorum and restraint in campaigning and raise the level of election to ‘issue’ based debate. It also put star campaigners on notice in case of any violations.
- The star campaigners of all parties have been guilty of using inappropriate and abusive words against leaders of other political parties — appealing to caste/communal feelings of electors and making unsubstantiated allegations.
- The court observed that the EC does not have any such powers.
- Another issue is with respect to the assessment of expenditure incurred for the rally/meeting of such star campaigners which is always significantly lower than the actual expenditure.
- This may be due to the rate card used by the EC that does not reflect current market rates for various items. This results in lower apportionment of expenditure to contesting candidates.
Suggestions
- At present, the RP Act stipulates that political parties can appoint or revoke the appointment of star campaigners.
- As per Article 324 of the Constitution, the EC is the highest authority that has been vested with the powers of superintendence and control of elections.
- Hence, the law may be amended to authorise the EC to revoke the ‘star campaigner’ status of a leader, in case of any serious violation of Model Code of Conduct, thereby depriving the party candidates of expenditure relief for their campaigns.
- Also, the assessment and apportionment of rally/meeting expenses where star campaigners’ campaign for particular candidate(s) should be made more robust.
Conclusion
The law amended would hopefully instil a sense of responsibility among them and ensure that campaigns maintain the necessary decorum and restraint.