WHO CARES ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT?
By Ruma Dubey
Some time ago, when some factions of the Govt were at least working, there was a time when Environment had got its due importance. The then Environment Minister – Jairam Ramesh, labeled now as a ‘maverick’ had given the spot of priority that the Ministry deserved. Because he did show some concern about the forests, animals and the flora and fauna, it was considered to be ‘anti-development’ and India Inc wanted his shunted off as fast as possible. And shunted out he was. In his place came Jayanthi Natarajan; quietly doing her work – clearing all projects like there is no tomorrow. So from a time when this ministry had gained the prominence which it should have, today, it is once again a ministry which has become more of tokenism. After all, in the battle between development and environment, it is always the former which will always win; two hoots to the forest and environment! And if the developed countries make a big deal about it? Well, they are developed and we are developing so we do not have the luxury of showing any care for the environment. That is a nutshell is the attitude.
As an Environment Minister, Ms.Natarajan would have surely visited a few national parks and tiger reserves over the past one year that she has been in tenure? Well, she was so busy clearing the backlog created by her predecessor that she simply did not have time to visit even one! And she is the environment minister.
More damaging is the way she has been clearing projects, despite being advised by her own Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) to not do so. The FAC had rejected the 300 MW Alaknanda hydro-electric project being developed by GMR. This project is coming up right at the mouth of the Ganga tributary, Alaknanda and the FAC has warned that it will be an ecological disaster as the dam will damage parts of the rich Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve which houses snow leopard, brown bear and 16 endangered plant species. Well, overruling the FAC, she has given the green signal to the project.
The FAC had also objected to the construction of the Lower Demwe hydro project in Arunachal Pradesh, which would mean cutting down 50,000 trees and submerging precious wild life. But Ms.Natarajan surely knows more and despite the FAC, has cleared the project. She cleared the project, refuting all reports and tribal protests stating that the dam is 8.5 to 9.3 kilometres from the nearest boundary of the Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary though she remains silent about the reservoir created behind the dam will submerge forests up to 50 metres from the Sanctuary's edge. So as an Environment Minister, especially because she is responsible more for development, she prefers to submerge forests to protect an artificial reservoir. Now that’s a duty very well done!
What is the purpose then of the existence of FAC when not even the Environment Ministry listens to them? A toothless watchdog can only bark. What is shocking is that the FAC members had written a letter to Ms.Natarajan stating that there were doubts over the expertise of the site-visiting officers where most submitted poor reports and this was the basis on which approvals were based. The FAC members shockingly stated that a retired forest officer, while making an evaluation report on the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa, raegarding Vedanta’s bauxite mining could not even differentiate between a tiger and a hyena. And these are the reports based on which the Ministry grants or rejects approvals?
The likes of Jayanthi Natarajan are all about everything that is wrong in the country today. Like the outgoing President Pratibha Patil, who was merely a figurehead, this environment minister is simply a rubber stamp, working only for India Inc, making a complete mockery of her position.
On talking to a wide spectrum of people, it becomes clear that no one ever expects any huge, path breaking environmental action to jeopardize the gargantuan amounts of money invested by these companies. A strong rap by Ms. Natarajan could make the companies, probably, more responsible. They might give due importance to environment issues as well as development. But as we all know, anything is 'chalta hai' in India. Remember, in our country, most of the times, is it indeed money power which always wins.