The NACEJ has strongly condemned, what it terms as “the abject failure of the Government in systemically addressing the air pollution crisis and the brazen, arbitrary detention of peacefully protesting citizens, students, parents, environmentalists, workers and activists, who are courageously organizing against this public health catastrophe.” The Chief Minister (Rekha Gupta) owes a public apology to the protestors and the people of Delhi for the government’s failure, unjust detentions and use of police force against peaceful citizens. The NACEJ has called for withdrawal of cases registered, if any, against the protestors.

The indiscriminate action by authorities not only violates democratic rights, but also blatantly disregards the dire health emergency faced by millions in Delhi NCR, as air pollution soared to its highest levels in four years, especially following Diwali on October 21, 2025, as confirmed by official monitoring stations. In the backdrop of the severity of the issue, the short-sighted, politicised response of the government will only exacerbate the air pollution crisis further in Delhi NCR. 

The group has also demanded that the Delhi Government, the Union Government and all authorities must immediately, without delay or evasion, recognize the magnitude of this public health emergency and the legitimate outrage of the people of Delhi NCR, instead of treating it as a ‘law and order issue’ or a political blame game. This unchecked governance failure-fuelled has directly led to record-breaking pollution, with hazardous air choking the region and pushing public health to the brink.

Besides, the NACEJ has called all for urgent, transparent, and scientifically accountable actions; not repression and diversion, to protect the lives, rights, and dignity of every Delhi NCR resident. The Government needs to initiate year-round air pollution crisis management, built on long-term policy preparedness and a prioritization of public health and justice. It is high time for political and bureaucratic authorities to address the rightful angst of the people, setting aside political calculations and vested interests.

Despite years of crisis and public outcry, air pollution remains a severe and escalating public health hazard, with Delhi NCR and several other Indian cities suffering the world’s worst air quality. This crisis causes millions of preventable deaths and immense economic losses, while disproportionately impacting poor and marginalized communities, outdoor and informal workers, women, elders, children and those living in congested or industrial areas. Government actions have consistently excluded the most vulnerable, widening environmental injustice.

What is most alarming this year is that, despite clear evidence and expert warnings, the government prioritised appeasement-based political interests over scientific and public health advice, specifically legalizing the sale and use of so-called ‘green’ crackers for Diwali. This move led to rampant illicit use of fireworks, ignoring the Supreme Court’s limited hours order, leading to its weak implementation. The result was record-breaking PM2.5 levels and a dangerous spike in air pollution, with Delhi reporting levels as high as 675 µg/m³ (CPCB data) – the worst in four years.In parallel, non-compliance and apparent fudging of data such as the reported use of water sprinklers near AQI monitors to artificially lower recorded pollution further erode trust and delay meaningful action. The persistent blame games over stubble burning also do not address the reality, especially since, in 2025, its contribution to Delhi’s PM2.5 was notably lower than previous years. Year-round vehicle and industry emissions remain the primary drivers. Delhi’s pollution emergency demonstrates a deeper governance failure where populist politics has been allowed to overshadow public health and science-led environmental policy.

To genuinely address the roots of Delhi’s air pollution emergency, the following immediate and structural measures are essential:

• A time-bound, transparent policy and plan of action to reduce air toxicity and fixing answerability and accountability of all statutory authorities, as per law.

• Pro-active promotion and comprehensive upgrades to Delhi’s public transport as a clear alternative to odd-even private vehicle restrictions. Odd-even schemes are not novel and have demonstrated mixed results, while similar restrictions already exist as part of GRAP. What is urgently needed is a sharp pivot away from political optics and towards policies that truly discourage the daily use of private cars and SUVs by improving public transport and reducing road congestion through measures like congestion pricing.

• Differentiate between public transport modes: A renewed emphasis is needed on both bus and metro infrastructure, as well as the neglected surface rail network, which can provide cleaner, more inclusive mass transit, if upgraded and integrated into a unified transport system.

• Implementation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes alongside metro enhancements, for high-frequency, accessible public bus services, rather than segregated bus lanes. Upgrading, expanding, and integrating these modes is essential for sharply reducing waiting times and increasing convenience for commuters.

• When calling for tackling vehicular pollution “at source,” new concrete measures are needed: leapfrogging to BS6 fuel and emission norms and promoting EVs are steps already taken. What is needed now is a rapid phase-out and strict control of all non-BS6 diesel vehicles in Delhi NCR, combined with the elimination of diesel fuel subsidies for non-commercial vehicles. Non-BS6 diesels remain a disproportionate source of PM2.5 and PM10 compared to petrol vehicles—despite diesel’s lower price, its use for private transport is now obsolete and counterproductive for clean air.

• Highlight the persistent neglect of Delhi’s extensive surface rail infrastructure. Investments and integration with bus and metro systems are urgently needed to maximize sustainable, mass transit and reduce the reliance on polluting road vehicles.

• Reference existing scientific source apportionment studies (IIT Kanpur 2023, etc.) that establish the root sources and their respective shares – vehicles, dust, construction, waste and industry, so that measures are not misdirected.

• A clearly statement that stubble burning is not a major year-round pollution source. Recent studies confirm its limited, seasonal contribution, while vehicle and industrial emissions remain chronic drivers of Delhi’s poor air quality. Victimising and vilifying farmers while subsidizing or ignoring much larger polluters like the automobile sector is unjust and must be stopped.

• A firmly implemented year-round ban on firecrackers and a credible transition plan for firework-industry workers. WTE incinerator plants, and all unchecked construction and waste burning, must be banned or relocated beyond residential and ecologically sensitive areas, given their toxic emissions. Scientific evidence fully rejects their ‘green’ branding while they continue to drive air toxicity and perpetuate health crises.

• Recognize innovations, but emphasize their futility when major pollution sources, notably ‘green’ WTEs and vehicular fleets, remain inadequately regulated and incentivized.

• Government must set up an effective and permanent mechanism for inputs from and dialogue with environmental, civil-society organizations and collectives.

• Government must release real-time, credible and accessible air-quality data and health advisories in different formats.

• Government must respond to peaceful protest calls with dialogue and not intimidation, threats, detentions and arrests of citizens and activists.

• People at large must reject any political or religious narrative that undermines or delays urgent public health actions in response to environmental emergencies.

In conclusion, the NACEJ has also called for a scientifically informed, health-centred, long-term air quality management framework for Delhi NCR and all Indian cities. This must feature enforceable bans on new WTE plants and place existing WTEs in the Red Category. Year-round prohibition on firecrackers, strict controls on construction and vehicular emissions (with a focus on outdated diesel vehicles), and a fundamental reorientation of urban, transport and industrial policy towards safeguarding public health are equally important. ‘Innovations’ and civil society efforts cannot succeed while major polluters remain unchecked and unaccountable, especially under the guise of ‘green’ solutions.

Addressing air pollution requires an integrated, inter-sectoral, institutional accountability approach rooted in public well-being and aligned with broader environmental, economic, and development goals. India’s future depends on putting public health, social and ecological justice and constitutional rights of all citizens at the very centre of all environmental and urban policymaking.

Signatories to the Statement: NACEJ Members: 

1. Alok Shukla, Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, Raipur
2. Apoorv Grover, People for Aravallis, New Delhi
3. Dr. Babu Rao, Scientists for People, Telangana
4. Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran, Centre for Financial Accountability, Selam, Tamil Nadu
5. Disha A Ravi, Fridays for Future India
6. Dr. Gabriele Dietrich, Penn Urimay Iyakkam & NAPM, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
7. John Michael, NACEJ and NAPM Telangana
8. Krithika Dinesh, Legal researcher, NAJAR, Delhi
9. Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan and NAPM, Madhya Pradesh
10. Meera Sanghamitra, NACEJ Telangana
11. Neelam Ahluwalia, Founder Member, People for Aravallis, Haryana
12. Nirmala Gowda, Mapping Malnad, Bengaluru
13. Prasad Chacko, Social Worker, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
14. Rajkumar Sinha, Bargi Bandh Visthapit Evam Prabhavit Sangh, Madhya Pradesh
15. Ramnarayan K, Natural History Educator and Independent Ecologist, Uttarakhand
16. Ravi S P, Chalakudypuzha Samrakshana Samithi, Kerala
17. Soumya Dutta, Movement for Advancing Understanding of Sustainability and Mutuality (MAUSAM) & NACEJ, New Delhi
18. Soutrik Goswami, Environmental Researcher and Activist, New Delhi
19. Stella James, Researcher and Independent consultant, Bengaluru, Karnataka
20. Dr. Suhas Kolhekar, NAPM & NACEJ (Pune, Maharashtra)
21. Sumit (For Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective, Himachal Pradesh)
22. Tarini, Independent Filmmaker, Delhi
23. Yash, Environmental Rights Activist, New Delhi

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The post Say No to ‘Toxic Governance’: Arrest air pollution, not activists and protesters: NACEJ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

There is evidence that the Government is now going ahead full steam to pander to the advancement of these corridors, which have no demonstrated benefit to people at large, whether in Goa or in Karnataka. For a small state like Goa to have to lose its resources and become a ‘corridor’ towards the Corridor, spells complete disaster. Its air, waters, its rivers, its agriculture, its fishing and fish-drying spaces, its forests, its peoples’ health and livelihoods, are all under threat from coal dust and infrastructure being set up to make coal transportation through the port, roads, railways and waterways of Goa possible.   

The NAPM has also condemned the questionable legal architecture systematically introduced to facilitate these plans that enable corporate expansionism, even as existing laws and regulations around environmental protection, social impacts, land acquisition and rehabilitation are being violated.

In a statement issued yesterday, the NAPM has also joined the active people’s movements of Goa and Karnataka in resisting the reduction of the region to a coal transportation and corridors hub, and in their struggles to safeguard the ecology, livelihoods and people’s well-being, for current and future generations.

Goans have been demanding the de-notification of the rivers of Goa, which have been declared as National Waterways under the National Waterways Act, 2016. Similarly protesters have been demanding stoppage of the railway double-tracking project and return of lands acquired through draconian legislation.

NAPM further calls for an immediate halt to port expansion, by respecting the will of the people as even articulated in the public hearings in Mormugao taluka.

The people of Goa held a Chalo Lohia Maidan mass protest on Sunday November 9 in Goa.

Related:

NAPM condemns Delhi authorities for deserting over 700 Dhobi Ghat residents

NAPM condemns Delhi authorities for deserting over 700 Dhobi Ghat residents

The post Solidarity with protests of locals against projects facilitating coal transportation (Goa to Karnataka): NAPM appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A beginning was made by the 12th Finance Commission which allocated a total of ₹1000 crores for this purpose, which was termed a Green Bonus; the share of Himachal was a paltry ₹20 crores. Signatories to the communication are among those former bureaucrats “who have worked with the central and state governments and have come together to speak out on actions of the governments which we consider are against the interests of the people of India and/or in violation of the Indian Constitution.”

This idea of a Green Bonus must be amplified and taken forward by the 16th FC. The signatories that they have learned that the Himachal Chief Minister has taken up this matter of the creation of a  Green Fund or Green Bonus with the 16^th Finance Commission on June 6, 2025, requesting for an outlay of ₹50000 crores for incentivising the mountain states. This proposal must be considered seriously; the additional devolutions would go a long way towards ameliorating their financial condition and removing their present compulsion to ruthlessly exploit their forest and ecological capital to meet budget deficits and development expenditure.

Himalayan states like Himachal, Uttarakhand, Kashmir and Sikkim are slowly going to pieces, literally, under the onslaught of cloudbursts, flash floods, land subsidence and collapsing infrastructure. In just the last four years (2022-2025) Himachal has lost 1200 lives and suffered a loss of ₹18000 crores in these disasters (and this does not include the indirect loss to trade and economic activities). The position of Uttarakhand is even more dire: in just the last ten years (as of 2022) it has recorded 18464 “natural disasters” in which 3554 lives were lost (not including the colossal number of deaths in the Kedarnath disaster of 2013). We have not been able to lay our hands on the total financial/economic loss caused, but an indication is available in the official figures of the Kedarnath calamity: US$ 3.8 billion. Just this year, 2025, the economic losses are estimated at ₹5000 crores.

The entire text of the crucial letter may be read here:

To

Dr. Arvind Panagariya

Chairman, 16^th Finance Commission

Cc: Members of the Finance Commission

Secretary, Finance Commission

Dear Dr. Panagariya,

We are a group of former civil servants who have worked with the central and state governments and have come together as the Constitutional Conduct Group to speak out on actions of the governments which we consider are against the interests of the people of India and/or in violation of the Indian Constitution. We are not affiliated to any political party, individually or collectively.

2. The 16^th Finance Commission, which you head, is in the midst of interacting with various state governments and formulating its recommendations for the devolution of funds from the Centre to the states. We feel that this is an appropriate time to bring to your notice a vital issue concerning the environmental integrity and very survival of some of our northern states, which has not received the attention it merits in this era of global warming and climate change. Previous Finance Commissions have, at best, made only a passing mention of it, but it now deserves to be brought to the forefront of your deliberations.
3. Himalayan states like Himachal, Uttarakhand, Kashmir and Sikkim are slowly going to pieces, literally, under the onslaught of cloudbursts, flash floods, land subsidence and collapsing infrastructure. In just the last four years (2022-2025) Himachal has lost 1200 lives and suffered a loss of ₹18000 crores in these disasters (and this does not include the indirect loss to trade and economic activities). The position of Uttarakhand is even more dire: in just the last ten years (as of 2022) it has recorded 18464 “natural disasters” in which 3554 lives were lost (not including the colossal number of deaths in the Kedarnath disaster of 2013). We have not been able to lay our hands on the total financial/economic loss caused, but an indication is available in the official figures of the Kedarnath calamity: US$ 3.8 billion. Just this year, 2025, the economic losses are estimated at ₹5000 crores. Whether these are natural disasters, as the central and state governments would like us to believe, or man-made disasters, is debatable; but we are not delving into that aspect for now. We are on a larger and more fundamental point: can the country afford the destruction of the Himalayas and do these Himalayan states need help?
4. North India and its Gangetic plain would not survive without the forests, the glaciers and rivers that originate from Himachal, Kashmir and Uttarakhand, and would soon become a desert: these rivers sustain a population of almost 400 million people and are a lifeline for many cities. The Himalaya Hindukush ranges help to moderate the climate, enable the monsoon precipitation and snow that recharge the rivers every year. They contain some of Hinduism’s most revered religious shrines and pilgrimages. They are the green lungs which enable north India to breathe and provide relief to 40 million tourists every year. We cannot afford to lose this landscape.
5. But losing them we are, mainly because of financial compulsions. Himalayan states suffer from a double whammy: on the one hand they are revenue deficit because they have limited sources of income. They have no industrial or manufacturing base, services sector or surplus agriculture (other than some fruit crops), employment creation potential is limited. On the other hand, the cost of providing basic development to the people is much higher than that of the plains because of topographical, connectivity and climatic reasons. The only low hanging source of income they have are their natural resources – the forests and rivers – and these are therefore being exploited ruthlessly for hydel projects and tourism, causing immense damage to the ecology, and resulting in the death and destruction we have been witnessing in the last few years (Himachal and Uttarakhand have diverted 11000 and 50000 hectares, respectively, of dense forests for various non-forestry projects in the last 20 years alone). According to successive State of the Forest Reports the denudation of forests in the north-eastern Himalayan states is even more severe. The disastrous, and predictable, consequences of the depletion of green cover is being further exacerbated by climate change which is drastically altering the hydrology of the rivers, accelerating glacial melt and the threat of GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood). The increased incidence of EWEs (Extreme Weather Events), landslides, flash floods, land subsidence is, according to the available science, directly attributable to this combination of over-development and climate change. This reckless squandering of their natural assets must be stopped in the national interest.
6. The irony, and tragedy, is that this need not be a zero-sum game, if only the central government and Finance Commissions were to recognise the real wealth and contribution of these states to the national economy and well-being, and compensate them accordingly. According to a 2025 report of the Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, the total forest wealth of Himachal was valued at ₹9.95 lakh crores. The report calculated the annual Total Economic Value (TEV) of Himachal’s forests at ₹3.20 lakh crores; this includes ₹1.65 lakh crores for carbon sequestration, ₹68941 crores for eco-system services, ₹32901 crores as the value of bio-diversity, ₹15132 crores for water provisioning and ₹3000 crores for regulatory services such as flood control and sediment retention. We are not aware if the other Himalayan states have carried out similar surveys but they would be on similar lines. These contributions benefit the whole nation, not just these states. Unfortunately, these are neither acknowledged nor taken into account while disbursing central assistance to the states.
7. But this must change. Himachal (and other Himalayan states) must be compensated by the central government for their non-monetary, but vital, contribution to the country’s wellbeing, quality of life and in sectors like agriculture, climate control, hydel power, carbon capture and tourism. The mechanism to do so already exists – the Finance Commissions, which determine the formula for devolving central funds to the states. A beginning was made by the 12th Finance Commission which allocated a total of ₹1000 crores for this purpose, which was termed a Green Bonus; the share of Himachal was a paltry ₹20 crores.
8. This idea must be amplified and taken forward by the 16th FC. We learn that the Himachal Chief Minister has taken up this matter of the creation of a Green Fund or Green Bonus with you on the June 6, 2025, requesting for an outlay of ₹50000 crores for incentivising the mountain states. This proposal must be considered seriously; the additional devolutions would go a long way towards ameliorating their financial condition and removing their present compulsion to ruthlessly exploit their forest and ecological capital to meet budget deficits and development expenditure.
9. In this regard, we would like to make two methodology- related suggestions for your consideration:

[1] The current (15^th FC) weightage given for Forests and Ecological services is only 10%. This is wholly inadequate considering the imperatives of climate control goals and only dis-incentivises states from bringing more area under green cover. This weightage needs to be increased to at least 20%; the additional 10% can be located by reducing the weightages for some of the other indicators. For example, weightage for Population should be brought down from 15% to 10% as there is a contradictory logic in allocating a higher weightage for population than for Demographic Performance (currently 12.5 %). Similarly, the weightage for Income Distance could be reduced to 35% from the current 45% (which penalises states with higher per capita incomes).

[2] The present methodology for calculating the area under Forests and Ecology is faulty and disadvantages the mountain states insofar as it excludes the area above the tree line. Much of their geographical area lies above the tree line and comprises of snowfields, alpine pastures and glaciers. These areas are vital natural habitats for many rare and endangered species of animals and have a unique ecological value. They also function as the “water towers” that charge the river denying them their ecological value in the weightage matrix is illogical and self-contradictory. These areas should be included in the definition of forests.

10. We are strongly of the view, however, that the Himalayan states should not be given a free pass with the Green Bonus as finally decided by the Commission. Release of these funds should be indexed to improvement in environmental parameters, sustainability of development and tourism projects, protection of rivers, framing of proper urban development and building plans, and curbing of illegal mining and construction. You would no doubt be aware that the Supreme Court too has taken serious note of the environmental devastation in Himachal Pradesh and has said that at this rate the state would “vanish from the map of India”.
11. We earnestly hope that your Commission too shares this concern and would also play a role in ensuring that the Court’s fears do not come true. Protecting the Himalayas has to be seen as a shared responsibility, not as the concern of the mountain states alone. If the Himalayas lose their forests, rivers and glaciers it won’t be long before north India goes the way of the Indus Valley civilisation.

SATYAMEVA JAYATE

With deep regards,

Yours sincerely,

Constitutional Conduct Group (103 signatories) 

Related:

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SC: The right to be free from adverse effects of Climate Change is a fundamental right

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The post Stop destruction of Himalayas, potential desertification of Gangetic plain, compensate Himalayan states for climate control, carbon capture etc.: Former Civil Servants appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The new Government of India (GoI) rules exempt approximately 79% of India’s coal-fired power plants (those over 10 km from major/densely polluted cities) from installing FGDs, while 11% near critically polluted areas face case-by-case reviews. Only about 10% of plants within dense urban areas like Delhi-NCR must comply, with an extended deadline of December 2027—an effective 12-year delay.

Critics question the logic of an urban-rural divide, highlighting that pollutants like Sulphur dioxide (SO2) from coal plants, which convert into harmful secondary PM2.5 linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, do not respect geographical boundaries. An independent analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air

(CREA) revealed that SO2 accounts for 12-30% of PM2.5 and that the rollback will undermine public health, despite claims of low ambient SO2 levels.

The report emphasizes that 462 plants (78% of units) are now fully exempt, even though studies show FGDs reduce sulfate aerosol concentration by 10-20% up to 200 km away. The short half-life of SO2, transforming rapidly into hazardous PM2.5 and sulfuric acid, underscores the urgency of pollution control. This move stands in stark contrast to the principles of the MC Mehta case, which established “polluter pays,” while the current policy seems to enable “polluter profits.”

Economically, the rollback is seen as regressive. While the government cites high costs (₹2.4 lakh crore nationwide) and minor CO2 increases from FGDs, experts argue that these deferred costs will translate into a substantial public health bill, including increased healthcare expenditure, lost productivity, and premature deaths. Data indicates a rising trend in deaths attributed to coal-fired power plants, potentially exceeding 3 lakh in 2024.

“We dare the Government to place a financial value on these potentially one and a half million deaths over the last decade,” states the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA). “Even if we take the figure of Rs. 1 crore paid to each victim of the recent Air-India plane crash in Ahmedabad, the total cost would come to about ₹15 lakh crore – 6 times more than the cost of installing FGDs nationwide.”

Furthermore, the decision jeopardizes significant investments already made. India committed over US30 billion for FGDs under the 2015 plan, with NTPC alone having spent approximately US4 billion. This rollback could undermine these investments, discourage future environmental upgrades, and signal a concerning trend of easing environmental norms under the guise of “ease of business.”

Such actions, driven by corporate lobbying from entities like Adani, Reliance, and Jindal, as revealed by the Reporters Collective, prioritize financial gains for a few over public welfare. This contrasts sharply with the automobile industry, which has seen stringent emission norms implemented consistently, even leapfrogging to BS VI standards, with industry support and higher costs for consumers but cleaner emissions.

“The bottom line is that the rollback of FGD rules is a shortsighted, unhealthy, and economically flawed move,” the CFA stresses. “It sacrifices Indian lives by boosting particulate air pollution with long-term consequences, while giving the illusion of cost savings. In reality, those savings will be eroded by skyrocketing health expenditure, lost lives and productivity, and the costs of retroactive cleanup, besides stalling India’s clean-energy trajectory.”

The organization demands the Union Government reinstate and fast-track FGD installation across all coal-fired plants, mandate CO2 and PM2.5 accounting in cost evaluations of pollution-control technology, and align with the National Clean Air Programme and global climate goals. The CFA concludes that this rollback trades immediate industrial cost relief for chronic public health degradation, economic leakage, and a derailed transition to cleaner energy, urging a pivot back toward strict, science-driven pollution standards.

Courtesy: CounterView

The post Polluter profits? Corporate lobbying behind GoI coal power plants emission rules relaxation appeared first on SabrangIndia.

An action research report, “Invited Disaster: Khadi Floods in Surat City”, published by two civil rights groups, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Surat, states that nearly half of Gujarat’s top urban conglomerate—known for its concentration of textile and diamond polishing industries—is affected by the dumping of debris and solid waste, along with the release of treated and untreated sewage into the khadis (rivulets), thereby increasing the risk of flood disaster.

Conducted by two post-graduate students from Azim Premji University, Avadhut Atre and Buddhavikas Athawale, with assistance from environmental lawyer Krishnakant Chauhan, architect Sugeet Pathakji, environmentalist Rohit Prajapati, and urban planner Neha Sarwate, the study is based on field observations of the khadis passing through the South Gujarat town.

Using available secondary data, the study corroborates and confirms observed changes in these rivulets—intended as natural stormwater drainage channels for the urban area—through historical satellite images from Google Earth and interviews with stakeholders.

According to the study, authorized and unauthorized constructions, land reclamation along khadis, and resectioning and remodeling of khadi flows have severely compromised their capacity to carry stormwater. “In many areas in Surat city, smaller natural waterways have been levelled and converted into roads to facilitate traffic flow, overlooking the critical need for smooth stormwater drainage,” it asserts.

The study notes, “It can be said that the rainwater falling in city areas is unable to exit due to the ‘development’ of the city. The flooding of khadis impacts the eastern part of Surat city, affecting over 50% of Surat’s population. The textile trade also suffers during flooding, leading to economic losses.”

It estimates that khadi floods affect East Zone A, East Zone B, South East Zone, South Zone, and South West Zone, which collectively house approximately 43,75,207 of Surat’s total 82,32,085 residents.

More alarmingly, the study points out that the khadis are fed by discharges from sewage treatment plants. Moreover, numerous illegal outlets release both domestic and industrial effluents into the khadis. In fact, the city’s expanding periphery contributes untreated sewage into these waterways.

Containing a large collection of Google Earth images—compared from 2011 through 2025—of several rivulets such as Mithi Khadi, Koyali Khadi, Bhedwad Khadi, and Kankara Khadi, the study criticizes the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) for undertaking desilting as part of pre-monsoon preparedness “without due caution,” which, it claims, harms floodplain areas and reduces the capacity of the khadis to handle excess monsoon water.

One such example is a bridge over Mithi Khadi, now surrounded by a high wall over land that previously acted as a floodplain. Landfilling has raised the terrain above the natural flood level, pushing water toward other low-lying areas. “The obstruction around the bridge hampers smooth flow of water during the monsoon,” the report says.

The study further observes that construction and reclamation have reduced floodplain areas and the width of khadi stretches. Dumping and landfilling have drastically altered the elevation profile. At one site, a compound wall built in 2018 has resulted in the khadi being embanked by a concrete wall, shrinking its original area.

At another site, textile waste is directly dumped into the khadi, while accumulated solid waste and soil significantly hinder water flow. “A sewage outlet was observed discharging domestic and chemical wastewater—particularly from nearby units—into the khadi.”

Focusing on Koyali Khadi, the report notes that road construction over it restricts natural water dispersion, causing severe waterlogging in the surrounding areas during monsoon. Particularly concerning is the ongoing project from Bhathena Naher bridge to Jeevan Jyot bridge, where the khadi is being fully concretized, drastically reducing its natural capacity.

The researchers warn, “With little to no space for excess water to flow or merge into other channels, this development poses a high risk of urban flooding and long-term stagnation during monsoons.” They add that the silt removed during desilting is often dumped on the banks, only to wash back into the khadi during heavy rain.

A comparative analysis of Google satellite imagery from 2011 to 2025 at Saniya Hemad village, located on Surat’s fringe, reveals “a noticeable alteration in the khadi’s flow pattern.” The 2011 image shows a naturally meandering khadi, while the 2025 image reveals a straightened course.

“Although this engineered modification may appear efficient in the short term, it shortens flow duration and reduces water retention, diminishing both ecological and flood-buffering functions,” the researchers highlight.

Near the Raghuvir Trade Market on Bhavani Road, earlier imagery showed a visible khadi flow, which by 2025 has vanished due to construction. Built-up structures over the khadi’s path have obstructed this natural drainage, increasing the risk of urban flooding.

Examining the impact of development on water flow, the study notes that the Bhedwad Khadi followed a wider, more continuous path in 2011. By 2025, construction near Bamroli cricket ground has narrowed its course and reduced its flow capacity.

It adds that near the Dindoli Water Treatment Plant, the Bhedwad Khadi’s course has been significantly altered and straightened for aesthetic reasons, severely compromising its natural flow.

In the area around Om Industrial Estate in Saroli, researchers found the khadi’s path constantly shifting. Its older flow, once almost gone, reappeared in 2025 imagery. “Taming a khadi and constructing concrete embankments drastically alters its natural behavior,” they say, “leading to unintended consequences such as heavy silt accumulation.”

At the Kankara biodiversity park, a 2016 image shows the right bank of Kankara Khadi concretized with a diaphragm wall. The park and a road were built by raising the land level. By 2025, both banks have diaphragm walls, eliminating the khadi’s natural meander and floodplains.

Further, near Gabheni village on the city outskirts, the khadi’s course has changed due to drastic land use alterations. “Legal and illegal shrimp farms have contributed to this change. Industrial waste dumping here has led to severe water and soil pollution,” the report adds.

During fieldwork, most respondents identified poor stormwater drainage as the key issue. “Drains are too narrow, broken, or absent in some areas,” the study says. These are further clogged by solid waste, particularly plastic, discarded by residents and industries.

Shopkeepers highlighted the lack of regular SMC clean-up. They reported repeated losses during monsoon, as inventories are damaged and earnings suffer. Businesses shut down for days due to prolonged water stagnation.

In low-lying markets, encroachment on khadi banks and lack of flood management lead to backflow during heavy rainfall. Locals noted a rise in unseasonal rains, aggravating waterlogging. Builders acknowledged that unplanned urbanization has severely disrupted the city’s hydrology.

“Residents, particularly near Koyali and Mithi khadi, emphasized the interlinkage among the khadis. When Kankara Khadi overflows, water backflows into Mithi Khadi, causing flooding in homes. This is devastating in low-lying areas with poor housing,” the study notes.

“Loss of income is the most immediate impact,” residents report. For shopkeepers and daily wage earners, flooding forces closures for several days. One woman said, “I am the sole earner. When it floods, work halts for 4–5 days. My shop remains shut for a week. We then rely on SMC for food and water.”

Mobility is another major issue. Waterlogged streets restrict access to work and healthcare. Children miss school, and both public and private transport becomes unreliable due to submerged roads.

The report concludes by stressing health risks. Waterborne diseases like fever, diarrhea, and skin infections, along with vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria, increase after khadi floods. Residents mentioned rising medical expenses, adding strain to financially stressed households. “Stagnant water near homes, especially by khadi banks, becomes mosquito breeding grounds, worsening health conditions,” it warns.

Courtesy: CounterView

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One village I particularly remember is because of the great enthusiasm and happiness I saw among the people, particular women, due to the recently taken up water conservation efforts which had improved their life in a very significant ways. This is Markhera village of Tikamgarh district (Madhya Pradesh) in Central India. People of this village had been facing increasing difficulties due to water shortages. Water table was declining and water level in wells was going down too. Hand pumps were often reduced to just a trickle. As women here bear most water related responsibilities, their drudgery in fetching water from more distant places increased. Many of them had back ache from drawing water which was too low down in wells.

It is in this condition that a social activist named Mangal Singh contacted villagers. He told them that the organisation he belonged to (SRIJAN) had a program of digging saucer shaped structures in water courses or seasonal water flows so that some of the rain water would remain in them for a much longer time for the dry season. As this is exactly what the villagers needed, they agreed readily.

When this work was taken up, villagers could also take the silt that was use it for bund construction in their fields. The main benefit from the conservation of water in the newly constructed structures, called dohas, started being visible all too soon. Soon the demand for more dohas upstream and downstream came up. These benefited more and more farmers including those in neighbouring villages.

While this work was being taken up the activists developed a closer relationship with the community and together they reached an understanding that to get fuller benefits, several broken structures (like check dam gates) of previous water conservation work taken up by the government in the past also needed to be repaired. Here again the initial results were so encouraging, with substantial benefits of increased water availability resulting from an expenditure of just INR 20,000 (about 250 US dollars) at one repair site, that there were demands for repairing other structures upstream and downstream of this. When this work was also completed, the water scene of the village changed from one of acute scarcity to abundance.

As I learnt from several villagers, many more farmers are now able to irrigate their farms properly and crop yield has increased for several of them by about 50% or so. Some of them are able to plant take an additional crop as well. The water level in wells and hand-pumps has risen so that drinking water too can be obtained more easily. Women do not have to spend much time in getting essential supplies of water, nor do they have to take up very tiring work. It has even been possible to obtain the water needed for creating a beautiful forest, not far from the water course and the main repair work site, which in turn would also contribute to water conservation. As a young farmer Monu Yadav said, the benefits have been many-sided and far reaching. One of the less obvious but nevertheless important gains in fact relates to increased cooperation for tasks of common benefit. As the benefits of dohas would be lost after a few years if these are not cleaned and not maintained properly, groups of farmers have been formed with farmers closest to a doha being made collectively responsible for maintenance work.

Such small-scale water conservation work can be very cost effective. The entire work of repairs and pits at this place has cost just around INR 400,000 (about 5000 US dollars) or so while many-sided and durable benefits have spread to several villages. In fact in its entire planning for water conservation work SRIJAN has emphasised low-cost works such as doha pits as well as repair and renovation of already existing structures. In neighboring Niwari district, the experience of dohas dug in Gulenda village water-channel has been particularly encouraging.

Another benefit of such small scale water conservation works is that in such cases the prospects of involving the community in planning and implementation and benefitting from their tremendous knowledge of local conditions are immense and therefore such small water conservation schemes are invariably more creative and successful compared to big, costly, centralized ones.

Till just about five years ago, in Nadna village of Shivpuri district (Madhya Pradesh) the situation for most households was quite distressing. As several women of this village related recently in a group discussion, most of the rainwater rapidly flowed away from the village quite rapidly on sloped land, leaving hardly anything for the longer dry season ahead and contributing very little to water recharge. What is more, on the sloped land the rapid water torrents carried away a lot of the fertile topsoil as well.

With all the rainwater being lost quickly and even carrying away fertile soil, the farm productivity in the village was very low, and in fact very little could be grown in the season devoid of monsoon rains. Some of the land even remained uncultivated. In this village located in Pichore block, water scarcity remained a constraint not just for farming but also for animal husbandry. Not just villagers and their animals, but wild life also suffered due to water scarcity.

Due to low development prospects in farm and animal husbandry based livelihoods, people of this village, particularly those from poorer households, were becoming heavily dependent on migrant labour. The work which most of the migrants from here could get was frequently exploitative and also uncertain, but due to lack of alternatives, villagers had to resort to this as a survival mechanism despite all the distress and difficulties they suffered.

However about four years back a number of water conservation steps were initiated in this village. These included the creation of bunds and digging of small ponds in fields and construction of a gavian structure to keep a good part of rainwater in the village. In the two nullahs which drain the rainwater, about 80 spots were selected in consultation with the local villagers for digging dohas.

All this helped to conserve rainwater at many places but in addition also increased the overall water level in the village and its wells so that it has become possible to get more water more easily from wells and hand-pumps. Now farm animals as well as wild animals can find more water to drink even in dry months. Moisture conservation has resulted in the sprouting of more grass and related greenery, resulting in better grazing for animals.

At the same time, farm productivity has gone up. Now there is more cultivation of non-monsoon crops like wheat and in addition some of the land left more or less uncultivated earlier has also been brought under cultivation now. With soil erosion being checked too, soil quality is getting better. As a result of all this the dependence of villagers on exploitative migrant labour has reduced considerably.

The situation in Umrikhurd village in this district has also changed in a somewhat similar way, thanks to the digging of farm ponds and dohas as well as the creation of bunds in farms. An additional livelihood of pond fisheries has also emerged. As women related happily in a recent group discussion, now you can find water at several places where earlier it used to be dry by now.

These initiatives in the two villages of Shivpuri district were taken up by SRIJAN voluntary organization with support from Axis Bank Foundation and IndusInd Bank. The trust and involvement of these communities is also evident from their willingness to contribute their share of voluntary work as well as some economic resources.

In many villages of Bundekhand region of Central India, SRIJAN implemented a special program called BIWAL (Bundelkhand Initiative for Water, Agriculture and Livelihoods), also involving other leading voluntary organizations of the region in its implementation. In this initiative water conservation has been well integrated to improvement of soil and increase of farm yield by mobilizing the village community for a simple program.

In Bundelkhand region, comprising 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states, a very important contribution to water conservation has been made historically by well-constructed water tanks some of which go back to about 1000 years or even more. The ABV Institute of Good Governance has identified nearly 1100 such tanks. However several of them have become heavily filled with silt due to cleaning and de-silting work having been neglected for years. In this situation SRIJAN offered to arrange the de-silting work while farmers volunteered to carry away the mounds of highly fertile silt taken out from the tanks to their fields. As silt was taken out, the capacity of tanks to retain more rainwater increased. As more fertile silt was deposited in farms, the chances of making a success of natural farming, without using chemical fertilizers, increased.  Hence both the tasks of water conservation and farm improvement were well integrated. While SRIJAN and Arunodaya organizations initiated this work in Baura village of Mahoba district (Uttar Pradesh), a community organization was formed to take this forward and later the community came forward to take to take up the de-silting work on its own.

This approach was particularly useful in the Karauli district (Rajasthan) where in the rocky land of Makanpurswami village, deposition of a lot of fertile silt led to many acres of unproductive land becoming cultivable, again providing a great example of linking water conservation and improvements in farming. Here the villagers had initiated water conservation work on their own but the arrival of SRIJAN helped and motivated them to take it up on a much bigger scale.

In Teen Pokhar village land and soil conditions are difficult and wild animals also disrupt farming, but several farmers are hopeful even in these difficult conditions as SRIJAN and other voluntary organizations have created several new pokhars or ponds in the village apart from repairing earlier ones. Several of these are linked to each other so that excess of one can flow to another. In Rawatpura village of this district, the once difficult situation is now looking even more hopeful as the creation of several new ponds has made it possible to take farming to more and more land that could not be cultivated earlier.

These are only some examples of villages where the optimum utilisation of relatively quite low budgets led to very significant improvements in water conservation, bringing many-sided benefits to villagers and in some cases changing the situation of villagers from despair to hope. These achievements of water conservation are also very useful in terms of contributing to climate change adaptation.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine, Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071)      

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Plenty of ‘tokenism’ and ‘cosmetic’ action – most of which, will be forgotten tomorrow. Trees are necessary but is there someone who will nurture the saplings and ensure their growth? Public awareness on the importance of the environment is a prerequisite – but then words ring hollow when the ones who wax eloquent are the very ones who are in nexus with the land mafia who cover our waterbodies for their high-rise building and who cohort with the mining mafia to plunder our precious natural resources.

Interestingly, the theme for World Environment Day 2025 is ‘Ending Global Plastic Pollution’. It focuses on the widespread impact of plastic pollution, from visible waste to micro plastics in various ecosystems, and calls for action to reduce and eliminate it. But who cares? Some of the big manufacturers will continue rolling out their reams of plastic without any qualms of conscience – after all, they will always have the protection of the powerful. Our seas and rivers are polluted with plastic waste. There are practically no checks and balances, to ensure that plastics below 120 microns are not used as carry-bags or for that matter there is strict segregation of garbage disposal and nothing is dumped into our seas, rivers and other water-bodies,

On the 2024 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), India is ranked at a pathetically low position of 176 out of 180 countries. The low ranking is due to poor air quality, high projected emissions and low biodiversity scores. The EPI uses 58 indicators to assess a country’s environmental performance. Indicators, include biodiversity, air pollution, air and water quality, waste management, emission growth rates, projected emissions, etc., under the three main heads of ecosystem vitality, environmental health and climate change.

To assess how well countries are safeguarding their natural treasures, the EPI added a new category this year: biodiversity and habitat. This category revealed a worrying trend – many protected areas worldwide are being overtaken by buildings and agriculture. India’s heavy reliance on coal is a key factor hindering its environmental performance across multiple indicators. Coal use not only fuels high greenhouse gas emissions but also contributes significantly to India’s severe air pollution problem. This is reflected in India’s rankings: 177 for air quality (above only Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal).

This grim reality, cries for Environmental Justice! It is the cry of the poor! The cry of the earth! ‘Environmental justice’ is today a global social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has generated hundreds of studies showing that exposure to environmental harm is inequitably distributed. Additionally, many marginalized communities, including the LGBTQIA+ community, are disproportionately impacted by natural disasters.

The primary goal of the environmental justice movement, is to achieve agency for poor and marginalized communities (particularly the excluded and exploited) in making environmental decisions that affect their lives. The global environmental justice movement arises from local environmental conflicts in which environmental defenders frequently confront multi-national corporations in resource extraction or other industries. Local outcomes of these conflicts are increasingly influenced by trans-national environmental justice networks.  In India we experience today how mega-corporations and the mining mafia are literally ruling the roost. What is happening in the tribal areas of Manipur and the Adivasi areas of Bastar, Chhattisgarh today are clear examples of how environmental justice is denied to these sections of people!

In a few days from now, the 62nd sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB 62) will convene from June 16 to 26, at the World Conference Centre Bonn in Germany. The outcomes of SB 62 are expected to shape the agenda and inform decisions at COP30 later in the year. The 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that is COP30 will take place from 10 to 21 November in Belém, Brazil.  During this climate summit, governments must take new steps to limit the climate crisis and achieve the target of a maximum of 1.5 degrees of global warming.

In the context of the above two meetings, the Society of Jesus have launched globally ‘Jesuits for Climate Justice SB62 and COP30 campaign’ stating that, “the climate crisis can no longer be denied. Its most severe effects are felt in countries where extreme weather devastates communities, rising sea levels threaten coastal regions, and ecosystem collapse jeopardizes livelihoods. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warns of “a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” This crisis demands immediate and decisive actions, and COP30 is a critical event for the global community in addressing the climate emergency. In the spirit of the Jubilee of Hope, we call upon all people of goodwill to advocate for a just and sustainable future, urging delegates to COP30 and governments to: 

1. Cancel the debt of underdeveloped countries and strengthen the Loss and Damage Fund. Unjust and unpayable debts from underdeveloped nations should be cancelled so that resources could be free for climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and a grant-based Loss and Damage Fund must provide adequate resources to address the devastating impacts of climate change. 

2. Accelerate agreements and set targets for a Just Energy Transition to reduce CO2 emissions. A Just Energy Transition should consider historical responsibilities, respect Indigenous rights, value nature, and prioritize sustainable livelihoods over profit-driven models. 

3. Set concrete targets to build a Global Food Sovereignty System based on agro ecological practices. A system that promotes culturally adapted modes of production, transformation, distribution, and food consumption, applying ecological principles to agriculture. 

The COP process is imperative for making international progress on the climate crisis. Pope Francis stated, “It is a matter of establishing global and effective rules that can permit ‘providing for’ this global safeguarding” (LD, 43). All are invited to join in this important campaign.

Long years ago Mahatma Gandhi reminded us that, “the world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed.” In his path-breaking Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’, our beloved late Pope Francis echoes a similar sentiment “we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”  These are genuine cries for environmental justice! But is the world listening? Are we listening? If so, radical and prompt action is demanded immediately – NOW! 

(The writer is a human rights, reconciliation, environmental & peace activist/writer)

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While this has been well recognised for a long time, what is often not appreciated adequately is the extent to which the skills and wisdom of several traditional communities was advanced in matters relating to seeds conservation.

Dr. R.H.Richharia, former Director of the Central Rice Research Institute of India, was among those few senior scientists who understood this, lived closely and inter-acted with communities in very remote villages, Adivasi communities and it was this intimate engagement that enabled him to develop an understanding of seed conservation strengths of rural and tribal communities. It was this people-based and community-based work of this senior scientist and his colleagues which led him to prepare a great compilation of over 17,000 cultivars of rice grown in India.

As he once told me, he was particularly impressed by the ability of Adivasi (tribal, indigenous) communities to remember and pass from generation to generation knowledge concerning the characteristics of hundreds of rice varieties and cultivars, the suitability of different varieties for various kinds of land, their water requirements or drought resistance, their different cooking qualities, their different aromas and even medicinal properties etc. Most of this rich knowledge was gathered in the context of farmers of Chhattisgarh region including Bastar where the tendency of most other experts has been to dismiss tribal communities as being very backward. However Dr. Richharia on the basis of his own deeper understanding was able to better appreciate the richness of the knowledge of tribal communities and he also encouraged his co-workers to do so, as I could also understand when I met some members of his team later.

Dr. Richharia, who was one of the earliest and youngest scientists from India to get a doctorate in Botany from Cambridge while studying in the middle of great resource constraints in Britain, told me that some farmers including women farmers were particularly well-skilled in this and took a very keen interest too. However as not all farmers could be expected to have equal skills and ability regarding this, some of the learnings were sought to be captured in the form of some rituals which could be more easily observed as a part of daily life by most community members and farmers.

While traditional skills of farming communities for seed conservation needed to be valued greatly and constantly strengthened and encouraged, unfortunately exactly the reverse has happened due to a number of adverse factors.

From the mid-1960s onwards the strategy of farm development based on new exotic green revolution varieties and seeds was based largely on uprooting the greater diversity of existing crop-varieties grown in time honoured systems of mixed farming and rotations on the basis of the accumulated wisdom and experience of many generations of farmers relating to local agro-ecological conditions.

While this sudden change was inherently wrong and harmful, the situation worsened further as powerful corporate interests, including multinational companies and the research institutes allied to them,   made seeds the main source of trying to forever increase their profits as well as their control over farming and food. Towards this end, it was these corporate interests that exerted pressure to realize the monster objective of patents and IPRs over life forms and plant varieties, as well as to promote highly harmful technologies that could facilitate this.

Hence what then started happening was that as crop and seed diversity began vanishing (or was made to vanish) from the fields of farmers, this traditional knowledge was being concentrated in the labs and gene banks controlled or accessed more readily by the big corporates who then used and stole the accumulated work of generations of farmers to release ‘their’ patented varieties, sometimes after manipulating them genetically to increase their control and monopoly over them. All this was sought to be promoted under the name of ‘science’ and ‘development’, with accolades and awards being distributed for this.

It took some time for communities to recover from this deception and shock. Once, Adivasi’s and indigenous peoples realized the extent of the harm being caused, they started assuming the responsibility of again strengthening their seed conservation efforts.

As the displacement of farm and seed diversity was far from complete particularly in the more remote villages, several communities could still take up the task of conserving seeds. These communities noted that some disruption and harm had been caused, and legal changes had also created problems, but if the farmers and their communities acted with increasing unity and wisdom to protect their seeds diversity and sovereignty, the diversity of seeds could be saved and protected on the fields of farmers.

Traditional knowledge re-applied, re-born

Hence, in recent years, we have seen several communities taking up the task of protecting seeds diversity and sovereignty with a renewed and increasing sense of urgency, in India and in many other countries. I was myself present at a recent such effort in the form of a seed festival organized by a voluntary organization Vaagdhara in parts of three states in Central India. The mostly young men and women members of this organisation mobilized themselves very enthusiastically to organise nearly 90 gatherings of tribal communities, in turn reaching out to people of about a thousand villages and hamlets. At these gatherings people of various villages assembled with their collections of various seeds which have become more difficult to find in recent times, so that these and/or the knowledge relating to these cold be shared with farmers of other villages. Visiting such gatherings, I could see that the villagers assembled here were so happy and enthused by this entire effort that they wanted such seed festivals to be organized very regularly. Women in particular were very enthusiastic participants.

This could not have been such a big success if earlier efforts had not been made to prepare a strong base for seed conservation as an integral and important part of the many-sided development efforts initiated in this region by Vaagdhara in recent years. This has helped to strengthen the earlier inclinations of these tribal communities for seed conservation, although some disruption had appeared earlier to disturb the continuity of this effort.

Earlier in the course of my work in the Himalayan region, particularly in villages of Garhwal, I could learn much from the efforts of Beej Bachao Aandolan (Save the Seeds Movement). The efforts of this movement led to much better appreciation of seed diversity saved on the farms on the basis of traditional mixed farming systems like ‘barahanaja’ ( growing 12 or more crops together on a small plot of land to ensure balanced nutrition and self-reliance in food).

Before this effort too root, some locally posted officials and even ‘scientists’ were speaking in terms of uprooting such excellent traditional systems declared to be backward by them, much in tune with the terrible trends of the ‘green revolution’. The Save the Seeds Movement helped to confront and change this highly distorted thinking. The movement organised several foot marches in which marchers went from one village to another, carrying with them those seeds which had been getting rare to find. They provided some of these seeds to those farmers in the visited villages who wanted them. At the same time they collected information on the seeds which had been preserved and saved in this village. In very joyful ways, a lot of information on diversity of traditional seeds was collected and in addition farmers could also exchange seeds. The valuable contributions made by women farmers were also highlighted in the course of these important initiatives.

Clearly there is need for many more such efforts as well as for protecting the seeds sovereignty of farmers, their rights to conserve, protect, grow and exchange their seeds without any obstructions being placed in this.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food, Saving Earth for Children, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071)   

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These are questions which sometimes excite the passions of people on all sides. Politicians can inflame these feeling further. A statement that is very often made by many of them has been—I’ll not give even a drop of extra water to the other side.

Those who are asked to mediate and find workable solutions for settling the disputes are also often impacted by this rhetoric. They are more concerned with somehow finding a solution that will satisfy all sides or at least lead to a common meeting ground, even if this is at the cost of sacrificing significant aspects of protecting river ecology.

Politicians and pressure groups have shrill voices, however rivers and fish cannot speak in ways that would be heard by decision makers. Hence the side of protecting river ecology and river life often remains unrepresented at river talks. In the USA and some other countries sometimes indigenous communities have been coming forward to speak for protecting rivers and river-life including endangered species.

Technocrats who are often given important roles in taking decisions on river projects often do not have a great understanding of river ecology. They often take decisions in favor of excessive river water exploitation including diversion and long-distance transfer, regardless of adverse impacts on river ecology. They are supported in this by big business interests.

In the prevailing conditions of decision making two important aspects are likely to be neglected. Firstly, any river in the course of its natural flow and free flow also fulfils very important ecological functions. Secondly, while transfer of water over vast distances is often justified in the name of ending water scarcity of some areas, it is often forgotten that more ecologically protective, sustainable and less costly local solutions are also generally available.

Instead of constructing many big projects on a river and thereby impeding its free flow, causing several adverse social and ecological impacts, a much better alternative is to take up several small structures, bunds and afforestation projects to save as much rain water as possible at the local level, contributing to water security of various villages, helping to maintain water balance all around the year and reducing considerably the harm from floods as well as droughts. Time honored methods of water harvesting and conservation, based on specific conditions of various regions, are often available and highly creative efforts based on them have been giving very useful results at low cost in several places.

Technocrats supported by big construction companies sometimes tend to push back the scientifically established reality, well-recognized by common people, that free-flowing rivers provide many significant benefits and useful services to people and settlements all along their flow. Apart from supporting many species of fish and water life as well as river bank related biodiversity, free-flowing rivers provide irrigation water and water for many other uses to people and all forms of life. They contribute to maintaining proper groundwater levels over a vast stretch of land. They deposit fertile silt to support low-cost bountiful farming and animal husbandry. They support livelihoods related to growing several kinds of fruits and vegetables that grows best in river bank conditions, as well as livelihoods related to boats and fisheries. In the lower reaches while approaching the sea, they play a crucial role in stabilizing and supporting ecology and biodiversity of coastal areas, mangroves and deltas.

Once all this is recognised in much better ways it follows that river engineering in the form of dams, barrages and embankments by changing, depleting or restricting river flows in various ways can have adverse effects on all these beneficial roles of free-flowing rivers, apart from bringing several unintended new adverse impacts and risks.

While all these factors, whether recognized adequately or not, have always been significant, their importance has increased further in times of climate change which have introduced several more uncertainties and risks.

Hence long overdue changes relating to understanding of rivers and river-projects are needed, so that there can be much better planning for protecting rivers and utilizing their water for various beneficial purposes while minimizing adverse impacts and risks.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071)     

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These indigenous Adivasi communities have been known for long for their more self-reliant life patterns integrated closely with forests and their protection. However they suffered heavily during colonial rule in terms of introduction of new exploitative practices, assault on their life and livelihood patterns and the resource base which sustained it. Subsequently there were several revolts against colonial rule and its collaborators. Apart from some of the better-known struggles such as those led by the valiant BirsaMunda, there were several less known but also no less important struggles such as those led by Govind Guru among the Bhils and related tribal communities in Central India. The extent of repression by colonial forces and their close collaborators here was also very extreme, perhaps even more than some of the widely known events of extreme repression such as the Jalianwala Bagh massacre.

In the post-independence period it was a well-recognised aspect of government policy that Adivasi communities constitute a particularly vulnerable group and special efforts for ensuring a fair deal to them should be made. This led to several development initiatives aimed particularly at benefiting these communities, while of course there are other schemes and programs open to all sections which benefit these communities as well.

There are reservations for scheduled tribes in jobs as well as in other aspects. Above all, there is recognition of their more autonomous path of development in keeping with their traditions and life-patterns, and a special law PESA (Panchayati Raj Extension to Scheduled Areas) has been enacted in recognition of this, also protecting the rights of tribal communities over resource bases in several ways.

However at the implementation level, the admirable aims of protecting Adivasi communities and their rights and interests could not be achieved to any desirable extent. In several areas these indigenous communities have been displaced on a very large scale or their life has been significantly disrupted by ecologically destructive projects. It is clear by now that several such distortions and mistakes need to be corrected.

This is all the more important in view of several fast emerging new factors that are re-emphasising the importance of strengthening these tribal communities and preserving and promoting sustainable livelihoods of such communities by integrating this task more closely with protection of environment. In this emergent thinking based on relatively new understanding, the progress of tribal communities is seen not in terms of individual beneficiaries, but in terms of a more holistic strengthening of tribal communities and their sustainable livelihoods in ways that are at the same time very helpful in reducing very serious environmental problems.

In recent years there has been increasing evidence-based recognition that a number of environmental problems led by but not confined to climate change are becoming serious enough to emerge as a survival crisis. In fact in the context of several vulnerable communities this survival crisis can already be seen. Along with climate change, related local problems of deforestation, changing land-use and resource use patterns including emergence of highly destructive ones, increasing water scarcity and threatened water sources are seen as parts of this survival crisis.

As a part of the sincere efforts for mobilising an adequate, credible, hope-giving and sustainable response to this emerging crisis, among more enlightened sections there is a refreshing trend to question the dominant development paradigm which has resulted in this deeply worrying crisis. This enlightened viewpoint argues that there is increasing need to give more importance to the alternative patterns of thinking and living (on that basis) which can give much greater hope for protection of environment. In this context the commitment and capability of several tribal communities to have a life-pattern integrated closely with forests and protection of forests has attracted much attention. On a deeper inquiry, several of these communities are found to be making much more careful and sustainable use of resources to meet their needs in ways which minimise waste and are more self-reliant in terms of satisfying needs on the basis of well-informed utilisation of local resources, including sustainable , protection-based, careful use of forests and other bio-diversity.

Hence it is increasingly realised that these communities, their life-pattern, world-view and thinking can contribute a lot to protection of environment. Despite there being increasing evidence of this, the bigger conservation projects even in the areas inhabited by such communities are often based on the displacement of these communities or on disrupting their life-pattern based on close integration with forests.This comes on top of other kinds of displacements and disruptions caused by various ‘development’, mining and other projects supported by powerful interests.

There is thus a clear need to bring suitable changes in the existing policy framework togive the highest importance to strengthening tribal communities and their sustainable livelihoods and integrating this task with a wider vision of protecting environment. This would be a great way forward for taking forward the welfare of tribal communities and at the same time achieving significant success in environment protection on a firm base with community involvement, the kind of success that would be welcomed and admired all over the world.

(The author is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071)  

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