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Association for India’s Development

Delhi Chapter
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AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005

Edition # 4

Our Mission
“Learning humility, purity and simple-living from those who
don't take too much from the earth...
Targeting the problems of hunger, disease and oppression
that sadden their lives...
Inspiring in each other trust, confidence and support for
one another...”
INDEX
EDITOR’S DESK
By Riputapan, Peeyush
1 Editor’s Desk
2 Activity Highlights Being an AID-Delhi newsletter editor is a
2 Articles privilege in itself with AID-Delhi scaling
2 v Kashmir Earthquake: new heights each month. We’ve spread
Live from the scene our wings across Gurgaon and Noida,
5 v Holistic Education: so much so that it has become
A need of the time absolutely essential to have local CSH’s
8 v EIA Draft to better coordinate the volunteer
Notification Campaign efforts. As always, the enthusiasm of
10 Project Updates new volunteers is the biggest motivating
10 v Parichay factor.
11 v AID Prayas, Noida
12 v Prayas, Jahangirpuri The biggest challenge that still remains
12 v Nai Disha for AID-Delhi is to consolidate the
12 IT cell existing projects while effectively
13 Volunteers speak orienting the new volunteers. AID India
13 v Somen Conference next month should serve as
13 What’s Next a great avenue to learn from others’
14 Volunteer Requirements experiences and utilize them to achieve
14 Donations / Funds the best.
15 Publication Team
15 Contact Us This edition features “Kashmir
Earthquake” as the cover story. It’s a
first hand report of the ground realities
as captured by live experiences. Also
featured in this edition are the details of
EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment)
Amendment draft.

We wish to thank AID well-wishers and

volunteers who’ve always supported us
and helped us in making the newsletter
a success. We look forward to your

AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4 http://delhi.aidindia.org

 comments about this newsletter, as it’ll ARTICLES
help us improve further.
Kashmir Earthquake :
This edition is numbered #4 to corrects Live from the scene
the anomalies which occurred when we By Riputapan
increased the newsletter frequency from
quarterly to monthly. Within an year of the Tsunami disaster
in south India, the Earthquake shook the
northern part of India killing 1400 people
and leaving thousands homeless. And
ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS with Kashmir being a sensitive area, not
many NGOs have come forward to
v AID Delhi volunteers – Mayank & Ripu participate actively in the relief /
– visit the Kashmir quake scene. rehabilitation operations. From my visit
v Parichay stalls put up at MDI Gurgaon, to Kashmir three weeks after the
HCL, Cadence, Tata Infotech, LSR disaster, I've brought back memories
college, ST Microelectronics, BITS that will be imprinted on my mind
Pilani. forever.
v Volunteers informal meet (VIM) held in
Noida and Gurgaon.
v "Meal a month" pledge form made
available online.
v AID India conference (17th-19th Dec.)
venue decided at AIIMS and
accommodation decided at IIT Delhi.
v Jatin Garg took over as the
coordinator of Prayas, Jahangirpuri
v "Say no to crackers" campaign carried
out online and in colleges & offices.
v Anirban (Volunteer coordinator, AID
Delhi) meets students of NSIT
(Dwarka) and IP University (Kashmiri
gate) involved in teaching under-
privileged children in their respective Going from Srinagar, Baramulla is the
campuses. first place where the damage due to

AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4 http://delhi.aidindia.org

earthquake is quite apparent. Here,
most of the houses with weak
foundations have fallen. Damaged
buildings include schools and banks. As
we move from Baramulla to Uri, the
destruction becomes widespread.
Kamalkot (close to LoC) is the last place
that one can visit on a motor vehicle.
The damage in this place is close to
100%. After Kamalkot, one has to trek
through the mountains to reach the
remaining villages.
Amidst all the disaster, there were some
soothing facts I came across. Even
though people have suffered a lot, their
belief is strong that they will come out of
it. They do not yet know how they'll do it,
but still there's no fear in their eyes as
was the case with Tsunami victims.
Most of the people were concerned
about the future of their children.
Sattarjaan, a widow who also lost her
father and brother, said, "I may have lost
everything and may have no means to
earn but I'll still educate my children".
On asking how she'll manage to do it,
she said, "I'll even beg if I've to do so
but will not allow my children to work
and hence, compromise their future". It
was simply amazing to see such a
resolve. There were numerous such
huseholds who lost their earning
members due to the earthquake.
AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4
Fortunately, the relief has penetrated
well to almost all parts of Kashmir (with
Indian Army doing a commendable job
along with the NGOs). However, still a
lot more needs to be done if number of
casualties due to this disaster has to be
kept at the present number. The
inhospitable terrain and expected heavy
snow in the winters will only make the
matters worse. As of now, only
temporary shelters (tents) have been
provided to the people rendered
homeless and these shelters are not at
all sufficient to last them during the
biting cold in the winter months.
The urgent need is to provide the people
with corrugate galvanized iron (CGI)
sheets so that they can build a house for
themselves. Some of them will also
need space for their houses as the
ground below their existing destroyed
houses is not firm enough. The biggest
challenge is to provide such material at
a rapid pace and even in the most
isolated regions. The government has
started with distribution of CGI sheets in
Tangdhar (where it has snowed already)
but it seems to be a daunting task to be
able to complete the distribution in all
parts of Kashmir before the winter
setting in completely (which is as early
as December). Here the role of NGOs
becomes critical as they can coordinate
http://delhi.aidindia.org
and reach different parts and help with
this distribution.
Rehabilitation through livelihood
generation is another area to be looked
into. Many families have lost their
livestock. Many widows and youngsters
are unemployed. It's estimated that due
to snow, most of the affected regions
will be inaccessible during December -
February, which means that true
rehabilitation can not begin until March
next year. Also, it's feared that many
NGOs will disappear by then. I
interacted with lots of villagers and tried
to find out the way they could be truly
rehabilitated in the long run. Provision of
livestock will greatly supplement their
income. For the widows and other
ladies, sewing classes have enormous
potential. Dry fruit packaging could also
be moved from Srinagar to these places
so that Self-Help Groups can be formed
with a sustainable income. Masonry is
another occupation which the villagers
can take up, given the training.
Government and NGOs may be working
hard to help the affected families but
they cannot do so without much-needed
funds. And that's where all of us can
play our part by contributing generously
through trusted sources. Let's hope and
pray that all the affected families recover
quickly from the aftermaths of the
earthquake.
AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4
"I am only one,
but still I am one;
I cannot do everything,
but still I can do something;
And just because
I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do
the something that I can do."
--Helen Keller
Holistic Education :
A need of the time
By Peeyush
The highest function of education is to
bring about an integrated individual who
is capable of dealing with life as a
whole". These words were said by J.
Krishnamurti, one of the great
philosophers and an eminent
educationist of recent time. Words are
few but the message is profound and is
getting increasingly meaningful in the
present state of Indian society. From the
time of Vedas the basic function of
education has been to develop a
complete individual out of a child.
Completeness not only in terms of
physical or material skills, but also in
terms of various softer aspects of
humanity and individuality. System of
Gurukul was designed quite
appropriately on the above premise and
http://delhi.aidindia.org
proved very successful during its time.
As time proceeded, India went through a
series of social changes, especially
during the British rule and, as a result,
what remains today is nothing but a
highly distorted form of our long
cherished social and cultural heritage.
Education system is one of them.
Education has a very deep meaning and
an equally deep impact on the society.
Today, when the world is growing
materialistically, people living in it are
forced to go through a high level of crisis
for individuality and identity. People are
lost and they do not know the difference
between right and wrong. Lack of logical
thinking and decision making power is
making them slip into the pits of social
mischief, public crimes and even
terrorism. The reasons are many, but a
prominent among them surfaces when
we try to analyze the underside of
education system in the present day
India.
Education system today, quite contrary
to its promises, fails to prepare young
minds to think logically and rationally. It
fails to develop a sense of curiosity and
awe towards the innumerable wonderful
facets of nature bestowed to us by God.
And most importantly it fails to inculcate
a basic sense of responsibility towards
society and environment a person
AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4
nurtures in. Is this problem critical? Yes,
it surely is. Is there any approach
towards solution? Fortunately, yes. The
key is Holistic Education.
What is Holistic Education?
Holistic education, as the words
suggest, targets the overall
development of a child, equipping
him/her not only with the material or
physical skills but also with the softer
skills of compassion and responsibility.
Broadly an education can be considered
as holistic if it provides the following,
along with the technical skills.
v Understanding of relationships with
family, friends and society in general
v Importance of human life and
compassion towards other's pain.
v Curiosity and a sense of admiration
towards beauty of nature
v Relationship with nature and the
associated responsibilities
v Emotional strength
v Basic etiquettes and social
responsibilities
How does it help?
All the premises listed above can be put
under one broader category, Basic
Human Values. These are the values
which make the humans different from
other species and every human should
adhere to them. Holistic education helps
children to find their place in society and
develop a sense of responsibility
http://delhi.aidindia.org
towards it. They learn to appreciate the
importance of human life and feel
compassion when others suffer. They
learn to understand the delicacies of
human relations, for example with
friends and different members of their
family. Along with the technical skills,
Holistic Education strengthens their
emotional strength as well, which helps
them counter various problems of
adulthood, such as lack of self-
confidence, excessive mental pressure
for material success and their future
relationships with their own children. In
a nutshell, holistic education builds
complete and stable human beings
which in turn build a stable society and
finally a stable nation.
How can it be provided?
Holistic Education is being provided in
many parts of world today, including
AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005
Europe and many parts of North
America. In India J. Krishnamurti
foundation (JKF) has set up many
schools in various parts of country, such
as Rishi Valley School in AP and The
Valley School in Bangalore. Some other
international schools are also being
setup on similar lines. Apart from these
schools, many other Govt. and non-
Govt. aided initiatives are being taken to
develop teaching aids for holistic
education. These aids can be used with
children in conjunction with their regular
curriculum and yet impart the essence
of holistic education to a reasonable
extent. One example of such initiative
was taken by AVEHI organization of
Maharashtra, in their ABACUS project.
The group worked with Government
school children for many years and
finally came up with a kit, named as
Sangati, which can be used by any
professional/unprofessional teacher or
volunteer. The kit deals with the subject
of holistic education in a play-way
method and is very enjoyable to
children. The curriculum is divided into
sessions, one session per week, which
is ideal for volunteers working on
weekends. The kit also contains a
teacher's manual detailing each session
and the way to carry it out. Currently it is
being tried out by AID Delhi volunteers
at Nai Disha School.
What you can do?
Edition # 4 http://delhi.aidindia.org
Lot of research has been done on the
subject of Holistic Education, across the
globe. Interested people can search
them on internet or through books
written on the subject. The
methodologies are not stringent. One
can intuitively develop his/her own
teaching methods as long as the basic
premises are taken care. As a teacher,
one can try inducting these ideas as part
of regular curriculum. As a parent, one
can start parallel regular sessions for
children at home and supplement them
with their regular schools. As a
volunteer, one can visit any school and
take holistic education sessions on
suitable days. And of course, you can
join holistic-education team of AID Delhi.
“Do not wait for leaders;
Do it alone person to person.”
—Mother Teresa
EIA Draft Notification
Campaign
Compiled by Peeyush
EIA or Environmental Impact
Assessment Amendment draft
notification is recently promulgated in
2005 by Ministry of Environment and
Forests (MoEF). Put forward as a
AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4
betterment of existing rules, the new
draft EIA notification is a severe blow to
an already abused law. To better
understand the implications it is
necessary to understand the facts
embedded inside the history of this ill-
framed law.
What is EIA
v MoEF, under the Environmental
(protection) Act 1986, passed a
notification in 1994 making
environmental clearance mandatory
for expansion or modernization of
any activity or for setting up new
projects listed in the notification.
v A 1997 amendment mandated a
public hearing for almost all type of
projects before final clearance. The
entire exercise sought to minimize
environmental and social damages,
or mitigate such effects in the ones
that could not be avoided.
v The entire objective of EIA was to
make sure environment, people and
industry do not get dragged down
into unsustainable development
thereby endangering people,
environment and also the industry
into prolonged issues.
1994 to 2005…
v The 1994 notification today is
grievously amended: 12
amendments in 11 years. Some
http://delhi.aidindia.org
 amendments, like the one making a
public hearing mandatory, have
been good. But most others have
only diluted the original notification.
These amendments have made sure
that EIA can be flouted wilfully.
v As an example of the amendment, a
site visit by MoEF (or its committee),
and interacting with the affected
people, was originally mandatory.
But later the phrase ‘if necessary’
was added and the entire exercise
was left to discretion.
v Another example of amendment:
Pipeline projects were completely
exempted from doing an EIA,
although such projects had to hold
public hearings in each district a
pipeline passed through.
v In August 2001 occurred a
regressive alteration: mining projects
of major minerals with lease up to 25
hectares (ha) were exempted from
carrying out a public hearing. This
meant that any rule abuser wanting
a lease of 100 ha could take four
leases of 25 ha and get exempt from
a public hearing.
2005 amendment –
death blow to EIA
v Complicated and Poorly Drafted:
The EIA notification draft does not
even have paragraph numbers to
allow for easy critiquing. The
AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4
language is convoluted and the
procedures set out complicate the
clearance process rather than
simplify it.
v Restricts access to Public Hearings:
The draft notification prevents
people who are not local residents
from participating in public hearings,
thereby eliminating the possibility of
participation by public interest
organisations, professionals and
advisors to communities in public
hearings.
v Caves in to builder lobby pressure:
Despite widespread public outcry
over the role of unregulated
construction over the Mithi River in
the Mumbai floods earlier this year,
the Environment Ministry further
eases the regulatory requirements
for buildings within cities. Only
buildings larger than 100,000 square
metres now require detailed EIAs
and central clearance. To put that in
perspective, virtually none of the
sprawling Mumbai mill-lands
redevelopment is likely to exceed
this threshold floor space area. Also,
skyscrapers within congested areas
will not require any EIA or public
hearing.
v Sponge iron delisted: Sponge iron
industries have been at the centre of
some of the worst environmental
abuses in Orissa, Andhra,
Chattisgarh and Jharkhand. Sponge
http://delhi.aidindia.org
 iron industries are notorious air and
water polluters.
v Exemption for industrial estates:
Individual units coming up inside
dedicated industrial estates with
prior environmental clearance will
not be required to obtain individual
environmental clearance. This
exemption again is a direct result of
pressure from the companies and
done with the sole aim of easing the
environmental clearance process for
industries.
v Allows for cancelling of public
hearings: The proposed notification
provides for the cancellation of
public hearings in the event that
local conditions are not conducive
for hearing the views of the public in
a free and fair manner.
v Expert Committees Lack Experts:
The Expert Appraisal Committees to
be constituted at State and Central
levels no longer have social
scientists or ecosystem experts.
Most of experts are businessmen,
industrialists and consultants
themselves.
v Discretionary powers to do away
with EIA: The State Expert Appraisal
Committees have been given
discretionary powers to do away with
EIA/public hearings for projects
based on criteria’s that are not spelt
out.
AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4
Some examples of EIA abuse
v Narmada Sarovar dam
v Athirapally dam – Kerala
v BMIC, Karnataka
v Sethu Project, TN
v Numerous dam projects in NE India
Steps taken
Kalpavriksh, a Pune based NGO has
prepared a detailed rejoinder and point-
by-point summary of the amendment
draft. If legal and possible, we can do
the following :-
v We as AID chapter can pass a
resolution approving the letter
v We as AID chapter can send the
letter via email/fax to MoEF
v We as individuals can send
emails/letters/faxes to MoEF
v Work with other chapters to do the
same
PROJECT UPDATES
Parichay
Coordinator: Somendra
Last Month’s Activities
v Stalls put up at several places:
Cadence, HCL, Tata Infotech, LSR,
STMicroelectronics
v Nutrition Program for children at
Parichay continues
http://delhi.aidindia.org
v Special classes for ladies, v Duty has been delegated to monitor
volunteered by Ruchika Singh on the progress of sponsored children
Sundays so that sponsors remain updated
v A significant milestone reached as about the child's progress.
the Masala unit has expanded with
the procurement of a new machine. Volunteers
v A Science magazine in Hindi has Selva, Somendra, Swina, Swati, Anchal,
been introduced by the project Puneeta, Deepak
coordinator.

Funds raised
v Rs. 6500 for the Nutrition program.
v Rs 1700 for the monthly expenses. AID Prayas, Noida
v Sales from stalls are still awaited. Coordinator : Rahul

Funds needed for the next month Activities taken up in last month
We need a monthly contribution of Rs. Continued Hindi teaching. The volunteer
1000/- more. The details for the same team has almost finished teaching the
can be furnished on request. Hindi varn-mala.

Activities planned for this month

v Teaching Hindi - reading and writing
v Distributing books among students
v Low attendance of children being
one of the major issues, Prayas will
work towards increasing the strength
of the class
v Diversifying the portfolio of current
curriculum to gain and retain the
interest of students

Volunteers
Activities planned for this month
Rajat Maheshwari, Mayank Agrawal,
v Installation of the computer
Sambit Patra, Rahul Rekhawar
v Shooting for the documentary will
start soon.

AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4 http://delhi.aidindia.org

Prayas Jahangirpuri
Coordinator : Jatin
Activities taken up in last month
v Classes for students of VI & VII
Volunteers
Jatin, Mayank Jain
Urgent Needs
With Mayank and Jatin out of Delhi, we
are in dire need of volunteers for this
project
Nai Disha
Coordinator : Mayank Agarwal
Activities taken up in last month
v Maths/English/Computer classes for
class IV and V
v Holistic Education for class III
v Session on Dental Hygiene
Activities planned for this month
v Discussions on the modalities of
museum trip. (The trip is being
planned for Dec 4)
v Training the children for cultural
program at AID India Conference
(Workshop to be conducted by
Saurabh Chaturvedi), Hindu College
dramatics and AID enthusiast.
v Continuing ongoing classes. The
team wishes to explore more
v
AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005
innovative ideas to capture and
retain the student's attention.
v Compiling a computer syllabus.
v Mobilizing volunteer support to
sponsor education for students
(beyond primary level): Col Jaiswal
mentioned that for studies beyond
Class V, the school fee is too high to
be afforded by the children's
parents. Therefore, he has
suggested that for a Rs. 500 monthly
fee, Rs. 250 would be borne by the
student's family, while the remaining
half can be contributed by Nai Disha.
To implement this measure, Col
Jaiswal is looking for donors to
sponsor children's education. He
has handed a duly signed Nai Disha
letterhead to the team to circulate
this message, and to mobilize the
volunteer support in this direction.
Contributions from 'Meal a Month' of
willing contributors could be a part
solution.
Volunteers
Anand, Shammi, Rahul, Mayank, Rajat,
Peeyush, Monica Sharma, Monica
Gupta, Aditya, Gunjan Sharma
IT CELL
Coordinator : Manish
Edition # 4 http://delhi.aidindia.org
Activities taken up in last month
and work combined. Personally I feel it
v Diwali campaign was strengthened
is a duty on everybody's part to work for
by Pledges and Posters campaign.
the socially deprived people.
The campaign was coordinated by
Contributing towards people is not only
KP and saw active participation from
a prerogative of the NGOs. We all
volunteers.
should be responsible to the society
v Content additions to Conference
which gives us so much. After all man is
website
a social animal. People have become so
v Online report submission forms
self-centred that everybody believes in
evaluated and made fully functional
'I' and nobody identifies himself/herself
v Meal a Month form made available
as 'We'.
online.

Activities planned for this month Earlier these were mere thoughts but
v Email submission for website after my association with AID my
v Updating conference website thoughts stand vindicated. We have a
form/content wonderful team full of vibrant, agile and
dynamic personalities in AID-Delhi. In
Volunteers spite of being physically part-timers to
Super Admins: Manish Agarwal, the social cause we all have engrossed
Anirban Mudi, ourselves mentally to a common cause.
Krishna Prasad I feel with my one year experience in
Admins: Riputapan Singh AID and Parichay, I can write a book
Registered: Yogesh Seth, which might as well become a best
Prasoon Kumar seller. My best wishes to AID Delhi for
New Volunteer: Anandhi Chandran the ongoing great work.

VOLUNTEERS SPEAK WHAT’S NEXT

AID India conference from
Somen December 17 -19

For me working with AID is not just

volunteering, rather it is more of a duty

AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4 http://delhi.aidindia.org

VOLUNTEER Dwarka, to teach on weekends.
REQUIREMENTS Things like getting her connected with
NSIT students and the parents are still
v AID Prayas, Noida: Volunteer pending.
required to conduct science
sessions with some experimental If you wish to volunteer for any of the
demos. above activities, please write to
v Volunteers required for fund-raising aid.delhi@gmail.com
activities
v Parichay (East Delhi): Volunteers
required to conduct English classes
thrice a week & to conduct literacy
program for ladies DONATIONS / FUNDS
v Prayas (Jahangirpuri): Volunteers
required for teaching during v To donate for Earthquake relief, you
weekdays. can write a cheque to AID-India &
v AICB: Volunteers required for contact Anuj at 098182-48459
teaching blind students and v Parichay
recording material. • Funds to buy a computer monitor
v Media Relations : 2-3 volunteers & UPS
needed preferably from Mass • Additional Room required on rent
Communication background (Rs. 700 p.m.)
v Volunteer coordinators are required • Other monthly expenditures
for the following zones:
1. North Delhi: The task involves v AID Prayas (Noida)
contacting and motivating DU students • Funds required for renting the
2. East Delhi: Somen is doing the job room (Rs. 500 p.m.)
but ideally someone from east is • As the winters are approaching,
required. funds are required for purchase
3. South Delhi: There is a dearth of of a mattress for classroom.
volunteers at the moment as most • Funds required for purchase of
volunteers from south are engaged in books, charts etc.
Parichay.
4. Dwarka: A project initiated by NSIT v Nai Disha
students can be taken up by AID. We • Col Jaiswal mentioned that for
expect Anju Kejriwal, who is staying at studies beyond Class V, the

AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4 http://delhi.aidindia.org

 school fee is too high to be CONTACT US
afforded by the children's
parents. Therefore, he has Postal Address: AID Delhi ,
suggested that for a Rs. 500 B-121,
monthly fee, Rs. 250 would be MIG Flats, Phase-IV,
borne by the student's family, Ashok Vihar,
while the remaining half can be Delhi - 110052
contributed by Nai Disha. To
implement this measure, funds E-mail: aid.delhi@gmail.com
are required to sponsor
children's education. Website: delhi.aidindia.org

To donate funds for above purposes, Tel: 9818248459 (Anuj)

you can write to us at :-
aid.delhi@gmail.com Group Mail IDs :-
aid_del@yahoogroups.com
You can also help raise funds by aid_delcore@yahoogroups.com
v Buying or facilitating the sales of AID
Delhi T-shirts.
v Pledging to donate a fixed amount
every month to our meal-a-month
program (www.oneforindia.org) BE
THE
CHANGE…
PUBLICATION TEAM
Overall coordinator: Riputapan
VOLUNTEER
Chief Editor : Peeyush
Editors: Puneeta, Gunjan
WITH
Graphic Designer: Shweta
AID

AID Delhi Monthly, Oct 2005 Edition # 4 http://delhi.aidindia.org