निम्नलिखित का हिंदी में अनुवाद कीजिए:
A) The government has given itself a 90-day breather to implement transparency provisions under the Lokpal law and has set September 15 as the deadline for government servants to file their assets and liabilities declaration.
Under the Lokpal law, all government servants irrespective of their rank will have to declare their assets and liabilities every year.
The assets declarations for central government employees will be put in public domain.
Government sources said orders were issued for giving officials some more time since conduct rules for different services and ranks were yet to be finalized in the light of the suggestions received from various cadre controlling authorities.
On its part, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has laid down the process and finalized the ground rules to be followed by public servants in this regard.
The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 had made it mandatory for every public servant to make the annual declaration and not just senior officials, as required under existing provisions.
Under rules notified by DoPT last week, the competent authority would have discretion to exempt public servants from declaring assets valued at less than four months’ basic salary or Rs. 2 lakhs.
Government officials said the exemption clause had been incorporated so that the exercise to improve transparency did not end up harassing public servants.
The DoPT also has adapted declaration forms for assets and liabilities filed by candidates in Lok Sabha and assembly elections to enlarge the scope of the forms.
The original version of the forms left room for officials to provide vague information or skip certain information. This would not be possible in the new formats,’ a government official said, pointing to provisions that require officials to declare the weight and value of jewellery owned by them, spouse and dependents.
The practice of government officials declaring their assets – and information about their immovable assets being made public – is only a couple of years old.
B) Loni and Mandoli situated on the out-skirts of Delhi are at great risk of being permanently damaged by toxins released from e-waste, a city-based environmental organization has found.
According to the Toxic Link’s report ‘Impact of E-waste Recycling on Water and Soil’, toxic elements like mercury, lead and zinc along with acids and chemicals released during e-waste recycling are contaminating soil and water in the surrounding areas of Delhi.
After laboratory testing of soil and water samples, the report found water and soil contaminated with heavy metals and other contaminants. Both Loni and Mandoli have multiple recycling units engaged in hazardous processes for recovery of materials from e-waste.
“It was found that both sites discharge their effluents into open lands in the absence of drains. They also dispose of their solid waste in open lands, while most residual matter is disposed by open burning causing severe damage to the environment,” Programme Coordinator of Toxics Link, Prashant Rajankar said.
Drinking water contains exorbitant amount of toxic metal at both the locations. At Loni, some samples of water reveal mercury level as high as 20 times the prescribed limit. The level of zinc in a sample was 174 times higher at Mandoli.
“Increased amount of toxic elements are clear indicator that water at both the places is not fit for drinking. Toxic metals such as lead and zinc slowly damage vital organs and reduce the IQs and understanding capabilities of children,” Rajankar said.
Similarly, soil samples suggest that the soil characteristics have changed significantly. The findings also show lead level in soil at Loni to be very high, with one sample as high as 147 times the prescribed limit. At Mandoli, lead level in one of the samples is 102 times higher than the prescribed limit.