DownToEarth

16-31 MAY, 2016

SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

FORTNIGHTLY ON POLITICS OFFORTNIGHTLY
DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH Subscriber copy, not for resale `45.00

NO LINE OF
CONTROL
Bangladesh: Taka 58.00 / Pakistan: Rs 58.00 / Nepal: Rs 38.00 / Sri Lanka: Rs 117.00 / Maldives: Rf 28.00 Bhutan: Ngultrum 24 / Rest of the World (South): US $2.70 / Rest of the World (North): US $3.40

Why everybody failed

to put out the fire in
Uttarakhand's forests

01Cover.indd 1 09/05/16 3:38 PM

 A Down To Earth ANNUAL

STATE OF INDIA'S
ENVIRONMENT
2016
India's most credible annual survey
of environment, backed by more
than 30 years of research and
reportage, equips you with incisive
news and views.
This year it is bigger, better
and comes with 40 pages
of environment-related data.
IT COVERS:
Forest and wildlife | Rivers |
Urbanisation | Agriculture | Climate
change | Renewable energy |
Science and religion | Mining | Green
technology | Air pollution

Price: Rs. 350.00

YOU CAN GET YOUR COPY IMMEDIATELY FROM:

Delhi & NCR: M/s ML & Sons, 2594, Masjid Kalali Bagh,
Albert Square, Pocket C, R.K Ashram Marg, Gole Market,
New Delhi - 110001, Tel: 9868090583 / 9810861262
Western India: Crossword Book Stores at Pune, Mumbai
& Goa, Tel: 020-26059600 Society for Environmental Communications
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi 110 062
Southern India: Higginbothams Private Limited, 116, Phone: 91-11- 29955124, 29956110, 29956394, 29956399
Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002, Tel: 044-28520640 / Fax: 91-11-29955879. Email: sales@cseindia.org
28522420
In case of any query, write to
Eastern India: Earthcare Books, 10 Middleton Street,
Ramachandran at: rchandran@cseindia.org
Kolkata - 700071, Tel: 033-22296551 / 22276190

02DTE Annual 2016 Ad.indd 59 06/05/16 2:44 PM


SOLVING INDIAS
GARBAGE PROBLEM
W
E KNOW that we have a serious garbage problem.
But the problem is not about finding the right
technology for waste disposal. The problem is how
to integrate the technology with a system of house-
hold-level segregation so that waste does not end
up in landfills, but is processed and reused. It is clear that there will
be no value from waste, as energy or material, if it is not segregated.
But this is where our waste management system stops short.
It is the responsibility of the urban local body to ensure segre-
gation of waste at source as per the Municipal Solid Waste (msw)
Rules, 2015. This means the body must get citizens to segregate
waste at the household level and then ensure that this segregated
wastewet and dry, compostable and recyclableis collected sep-
arately and transported separately for processing.
The easier solution is to collect and dump. Or to believe that un-
segregated waste can be sorted out mechanical-
ly at the processing plant itself and burnt.
Officials of urban local bodies have been given
to believe this is the magic bullet: collect, sort
and burn. But as experience across Indiaand
from the rest of the worldshows, if waste is
not segregated then it will make poor quality
fuel. This will not work.
Segregation at source should therefore be
at the heart of municipalities solid waste man-
agement system. The only city that has truly
adopted segregation is Panaji. Municipal offi-
cials have ensured a citywide system that is de-
signed to collect household waste on different
days for different waste streams. This ensures
separation. It is combined with penalties for
SORIT / CSE
non-segregated waste and has promoted colo-
ny-level processing as well. Most importantly, for the bulk of com-
mercial establishments such as hotels it has a bag-marking system
so that any non-compliance can be caught and fined.
In Keralas Alappuzha segregation happens differently. Here
the municipality does not collect waste because it has no place to
take it to for disposal. The citys only landfill has been sealed by vil-
lagers who live in its vicinity. This withdrawal of the municipality
from waste management has meant that the people have to man-
age their waste, or be drowned in it. They segregate and compost
what they can. The compost is used for growing vegetables and
plants in their homesteads. The problem is how to handle all the
non-biodegradable wastepaper, plastic, aluminum tins, etc. This
is where the government has stepped in. It promotes collection
16-31 MAY 2016
03Editors.indd 3
EDITORS PAGE
www.downtoearth.org.in/blogger/sunita-narain-3
through the already well-organised informal waste-recycling sec-
tor. The municipality has ended up saving a huge capital cost it
would have otherwise incurred for collection and transportation.
But this is one part of the waste solution. The other is to make
sure there is no place for the unsegregated waste to go. This means
taking tough steps to manage landfills in cities. In fact, the msw
(draft) Rules, 2015, accept that landfills should only be used for re-
sidual waste that is non-usable, non-recyclable, non-biodegrada-
ble, non-combustible and non-reactive. It goes on to state that eve-
ry effort will be made to recycle or reuse the rejects to achieve the
desired objective of zero waste to landfill. This is an important de-
parture from previous policies, which ended up emphasising the
need for sanitary landfills.
The question is how to enforce this policy. Currently, all con-
tracts for waste management awarded by city governments to pri-
vate concessionaires have a perverse incentive
to bring larger quantities of waste to the dump-
site. Under these contracts the contractor is
paid against the volume of waste deposited on
the site. This tipping fee as it is known means
that the higher the volume brought the greater
the financial reward. City municipalities also
find that the collection, transport and dump-
ing of waste is an easier proposition than pro-
cessing it for reuse.
To change this, it is necessary to impose a
landfill tax. The contracts need to be rede-
signed so that instead of the municipality pay-
ing for the waste brought to the landfill, the
contractor should be made to pay a tipping fee
for the waste. In this way, instead of being paid
to bring waste to the landfill, the contractor or
city municipality would have to pay a fee to dispose of the waste. This
will provide financial viability to the waste-processing industry and
also ensure that as little as possible waste reaches the landfill.
We need to turn the system of garbage management on its head.
Only then will we really clean our citiesnot just sweep the dirt un-
der the carpet.
@sunitanar
www.downtoearth.org.in 3
10/05/16 10:34 AM
 Down To Earth
FORTNIGHTLY ON POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT,
ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH, SINCE 1992
ON THE WEB
WHAT'S HOT
FOUNDER EDITOR Anil Agarwal
EDITOR Sunita Narain
INTERVIEW
MANAGING EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Richard Mahapatra
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
`Water birds are declining in
Vibha Varshney, Archana Yadav,
S S Jeevan
Australia'
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Arnab Pratim Dutta Kate Brandis is joint research fellow at the
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ajit Bajaj
Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of New
GRAPHIC EDITOR Sorit Gupto
South Wales and Australian Nuclear Science
Technology Organisation. She speaks to Down To
REPORTING TEAM
Anupam Chakravartty, Jitendra Choubey, Earth about her recent study on the decline in
Kundan Pandey, Rajeshwari Ganesan, water birds in Australia. Brandis says that the
Shreeshan Venkatesh, Karnika Bahuguna. decline is due to a number of reasons, chief
Jigyasa Watwani
among them being the damming of rivers,
COPY DESK
alterations to natural water flow, reduced
Snigdha Das, Rajat Ghai, Jemima Rohekar,
Aditya Misra, Rajit Sengupta, Deepanwita wetland habitats and opportunities for water
Niyogi, Aakriti Shrivastava, Priya Talwar bird breeding.
COURTESY: ANSTO
DESIGN TEAM
Chaitanya Chandan, Shri Krishan,
VIDEOS BLOGS
Raj Kumar Singh, Tarique Aziz, Ritika Bohra
PHOTOGRAPHER Vikas Choudhary
PHOTO LIBRARY Anil Kumar
`Indigenous cattle breeds are being revived' A record 175 nations
signing the Paris
WEB TEAM
Agreement is a
Rajendra Rawat, Jaidev Sharma
welcome step, but
PRODUCTION
Rakesh Shrivastava, Gundhar Das tough work lies
INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SUPPORT
ahead, says Vijeta
Rattani
VIKAS CHOUDHARY / CSE

Kiran Pandey
www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in team
CONSULTING EDITORS Twenty European
Chandra Bhushan, Anumita Roychowdhury cities denounce a
Vol 25, No 1; Total No of Pages 80
loophole in diesel
Editorial, subscriptions and advertisements: Society for cars' pollution
Environmental Communications,
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, Union Minister for a number of schemes to limits. Are diesel
New Delhi 110 062, Agriculture, Radha Mohan improve such breeds, cars dying, asks
Phone: 91-11- 29955124,
29956110, 29956394, 29956399 Singh speaks to Down To which are better able to Anumita Roychowdhury
Fax: 91-11-29955879. Earth on a number of issues survive drought and thus
Email: downtoearth@downtoearth.org.in
2005 Society for Environmental Communications. including indigenous Indian support the livelihoods of POPULAR
All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction cattle breeds. According their owners. Singh said
in any manner is prohibited. Printed and published by
Richard Mahapatra on behalf of Society for Environmental to Singh, the National the schemes launched for On web
Communications. Printed at International Print-o-Pac Democratic Alliance the breeds would soon Even 0.5oC more global
Limited, B-204, 205, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase I, New
Delhi-110020 india and published at 41, Tughlakabad government has launched begin to yield results. warming can have big
Institutional Area, New Delhi 110 062.
To subscribe, sms 'dte Subscribe' to 56070 climate impacts
or visit www.downtoearth.org.in/subscribe No cock-and-bull story this
FOR ADVERTISEMENT CONTACT
tribal-dominated district On Facebook
SRIKANT CHOUDHARY / CSE

Jyoti Ghosh
jghosh@cseindia.org in the western corner of India and Germany sign
Madhya Pradesh, and finds agreement for cleaning
FOR SUBSCRIPTION CONTACT
K C R Raja out how a local breed of the Ganga
raja@cseindia.org poultry, the legendary
COVER DESIGN Ajit Bajaj Kadaknath, is resurrecting On Twitter
COVER PHOTO Vikas Chowdhary the livelihoods of farmers `Environment is not a
Down To Earth travels to affected by successive matter of luxury; it is one
the interiors of Jhabua, a rounds of drought. of survival'
Down To Earth editorial does not
endorse the content of advertisements
printed in the magazine @down2earthindia
@down2earthindia www.downtoearth.org.in

4 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

04Web & Credits.indd 4 06/05/16 5:25 PM

letters

VIKAS CHOUDHARY / CSE

The challenge of forecasting fog
This refers to the article Walking deep into the fog (1-15 February, 2016). Fog
is a complex micro-climate event, which needs precise monitoring of weather
and data analysis for a good prognosis. Historical data about its intensity,
onset, withdrawal as well as diurnal variation is equally important for a better
forecasting model.
Every winter, fog causes adverse conditions over large parts of north India,
disrupting trains and flights and causing huge revenue losses. Crores of rupees
are being spent on modernising airports across north India but unfortunately
there is a lack of modern equipment to precisely record fog data and the
parameters responsible for its formation.
As a weather scientist, I think that India has a long way to go in the field of
complex micro-meteorological events like fog, haze, mist, dew and frost which
are annual in nature. However, creating a good network of precise instruments for
monitoring fog, data collection and analysis can help in its accurate forecasting.
Nothing is impossible for the dedicated scientists of India, who can surely achieve
this goal.
K KAILASANATHAN
RETIRED PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST (CLIMATE RESOURCES),
IC AR, IARI, NEW DELHI

divisions and that most Jat miserable and they are

To affirm or not
(and other landed castes) not finding brides for their
to affirm
families are quitting farming sons due to poor financial
Down To Earth welcomes
The story of the Jat agitation and looking for jobs, appears conditions. This also does
letters, responses and
for reservation in government to be incorrect. If that were not hold water. No Jat can be
other contributions from
jobs as presented in Going the case, how is our food grain seen working as a labourer.
readers. Send to Sunita
backwards (16-31 March, production increasing every Instead, they are present
Narain, Editor, Down To
2016) is full of paradoxes. year with minor variations? in the highest echelons of
Earth, 41, Tughlakabad
Saying that farming is no Ditto for our fruit, vegetables society. The bride scarcity
Institutional Area,
more a sustainable vocation and dairy products. Further, is due to falling sex ratio,
New Delhi - 110062. Email:
because of shrinking land the narrative says that the which is of the Jats' own doing
editor@downtoearth.org.in
holdings due to family Jats are down and out and on account of their strong

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 5

05-07Letters.indd 5 06/05/16 3:10 PM

letters

VIKAS CHOUDHARY / CSE

preference for male children.
In shrinking land holdings too,
we can adopt micro-farming
techniques to raise cash crops.
The Jats know this very well.
The Jats are agitating for the
reservation in government
I agree with the views
expressed by the authors
that the happenings in
Haryana and other parts of
the country boil down to one
reason: an agrarian crisis.
The agriculture sector, the
produce remain a ticklish issue
while farmers are forced to
sell their produce as these
are mostly perishable due to
inadequate storage facilities.
D B N MURTHY
BENGALURU

jobs because their peers in backbone of our economy, is

other states have got it. It is a
ploy to assert themselves in
Haryana's political scene. In
fact, the entire reservation
structure has been badly
messed up by politicians to the
detriment of our national unity
and harmony.
NEERA J
KISHORE SHARMA
VIA EMAIL
in dire straits. Many reforms
are needed to bring back the
sector into good shape while
creating jobs relevant to it.
Private companies too should
show interest in this much-
neglected sector to usher in
management expertise as
well as technology in solving
agriculture-related problems.
Remunerative prices for farm
What happened in
Haryana was shameful. More
shockingly, in spite of what
happened, the Centre still
has not made up its mind to
put an end to the off-and-on
reservation crisis. The prime
minister has to clear the air
by taking into confidence
all political parties and
emphasising that reservations

http://www.facebook.com/down2earthindia
Disagree. It is just that science graduates are
taking the Indian Forest Service (IFS) exam and
clearing it. If forestry students are losing out on
their own turf, it is their problem. They should
study harder and better.
Do you agree with the ANKIT SAHAY
charge that forestry I agree. This could be happening. Our country
graduates are being is well-known for such oddities. And if it is
happening, then, what is the use of imparting
sidelined in favour of special forestry education to students?
the science ones for the RITA ANAND
Indian Forest Service? I agree. How can you select and entrust a
science graduate with the task of protecting
forests when s/he may not at all be interested
in the welfare of nature? It is simple logic.
BIPENDRA SINGH
I agree. The very fact that our forests are faring
poorly shows that those in charge of them are
not well-trained in the principles of forestry.
GHAFFAR AHMED
Disagree. It is very easy to form an assumption.
Do we have concrete proof that this is really
happening?
S D DANIEL

6 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

05-07Letters.indd 6 06/05/16 3:10 PM

 ANUPAM CHAKRAVARTTY / CSE

are not the panacea to all ills plaguing the
nation. He also needs to lay down clear-cut
policies on reservations. Otherwise, such
conflagrations will keep on recurring.
K R SRINIVASAN
SECUNDERABAD
By bowing to the demands of the
Jat protesters, the Haryana and Central
governments have only left the field
open for more such tragic incidents to
recur. Violent protest tactics are the
act of enemies of the nation. There is
no second opinion that the demand
for reservations is absurd as they are
a hindrance in the country's economic
development. Economically weaker
sections should surely be given more
opportunities to compete with others. But
under no circumstances should there be
reservations for anyone. Reservation must
be abolished in the national interest.
MAHE SH KUMAR
NEW DELHI
India's mining dilemma
This refers to the article Fight for
Khandadhar (16-31 March, 2016).
Except for oil and gas, mineral deposits
in India mostly occur in forests and hills.
The mining methods usedopen pit or
undergrounddepend on the geology
of the given deposit. While underground
mining doesn't call for large-scale land
evacuation or degradation, open pit
requires the complete evacuation of
any pre-existing habitation, forest or
other surface features, causing harm
to the ecology and community. But
given the alarming levels of poverty in
India, can we give up exploiting valuable
mineral deposits very much essential
for development of the local community
per se and the nation at large? On the
other hand, can we ignore the ecological
and community impact altogether? This,
then, is the dilemma of India, a densely-
populated and poverty-stricken country,
unlike the USA or Australia. Therefore, we
should look at problems like Khandadhar
from the perspective of sustainable
development solutions. But our problem is
that we do not strike a judicious balance.
When we think of development, we forget
about environmental concern and when
we look at the environment, we ignore our
developmental needs.
MUKTIPADA DAS,
KOLK ATA
Thanks, DTE
This refers to the article Long Walk (16-
31 March, 2016) on the water crisis in large
parts of India. The stark reality is that
Indians do not respect water and when
one does not respect nature, it retaliates
hard. The last two years have seen poor
monsoons due to the El Nio effect and
all this is very vividly brought out in great
detail in the article. My respect for Indian
women, especially in rural India, has
grown enormously after going through the
article. Thank you for creating awareness.
DEEPAK SE THI
VIA EMAIL
NOTICE BOARD
Pathashaala
Palar Centre For Learning
Krishnamurti Foundation India
(A Cambridge International School)
Invites teachers who are learners,
committed, brave...
ready to choicelessly work together
The newest residential school under KFI,
we focus on individual autonomy and
intelligent coexistence among the people
in our community.
80 kms from Chennai, the campus uses
solar and wind energy and has only dry
composting toilets. Staff & students learn
an environmentally sustainable way of
living while working towards a CIE
certication.
We offer a minimum CTI of Rs 3
Lakhs for experienced teachers and
an apprentice programme for teachers
without experience.
Work experience in any eld welcome.
APPLY AT
http://pathashaala.pc-k.org/
teacher-application/
Contact director@pc-k.org,
+917299938920

NOTICE BOARD

The Bhoomi College

Offers 1 year Post Graduate Programmes on
Science & Management for
Sustainable Living
Holistic Education
starting July 2016; Bhoomi Campus: Bangalore
Cutting-edge and unique curriculum, great teachers,
participative learning, focus on holistic science,
economics, meaningful field trips and exploration of
psychological and interpersonal strengths...
Contact: bhoomi.college@gmail.com
www.bhoomicollege.org
SHOLAI SCHOOL
Located in the campus of the Centre for Learning, Organic
Organic Agriculture and Appropriate Technology,
in a beautiful sylvan valley of the Palani Hills, we are
a non-conventional, 70 acre residential School
Green, White
registered with the University of Cambridge
International Examinations (IN499). The students
& Speciality
take IGCSE (Xth standard) and A level exams.
Having a teacher : student ratio of 1:6 we are able to
Teas
explore learning well beyond the confines of syllabi. For trade enquiries
The United Nilgiri Tea Estates Co. Ltd.,
Comprehension of conditioning and its limiting effect on
Chamraj Estate, The Nilgiris - 643 204, India.
the mind and reflecting on responsibility and sensitivity
Ph: 91-423-2258737, Fax: + 91-423-2258837
in relationships are some of the themes explored
e-mail: chamrajtea@gmail.com
between students and teachers. Send for brochure to:
www.unitednilgiritea.com
Sholai School, P.O.Box 57, Kodaikanal - 624 101.
Telephone-04542-230393/297/487
Shop online at
Email: cloaat@yahoo.com Website: sholaicloaat.org www.chamrajtea.in

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 7

05-07Letters.indd 7 06/05/16 3:10 PM

contents THE FORTNIGHT
Lethal malaise
Ovine rinderpest, a deadly disease
which affects sheep and goats, is
spreading across the globe
20
Not worth its salt
Desalination is neither an economic
nor environment-friendly solution to
solve Chennai's water woes

11

26

Magic of Kadaknath
Jhabua's indigenous chicken, which had
almost become extinct, is now providing
employment to drought-ridden farmers

NEW BUSINESS
Undermining authority Fresh and
State governments frame their own rules vis-a- calorie-
vis forests, overriding the Forest Rights Act
conscious
New start-ups, which deliver
fresh food that is also calorie- 24
proper, are entering the Indian
16 market

22

8 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

08-09Contents.indd 8 09/05/16 2:08 PM

 52 WILDLIFE
There she beaches
Scientists are still struggling to find out
what causes whales to beach

41
SCIENCE
Deadly particles
A new study says prolonged
exposure to PM2.5 could
increase cancer risk by 22
per cent 56
OPINION
Europa's fall
The European Union has
consistently been vacating
44 its leadership space to the
US in successive
48 INTERVIEW climate negotiations

`Cleaning
Ganga not
impossible'
Union Water Minister
Uma Bharati on
cleaning India's
holiest river
COVER STORY
Waiting to happen?
The forest fires that struck parts of One is
the Indian Himalayas could have company
been prevented, had authorities How did humans evolve
not been apathetic and forest into monogamous beings?
dwellers, alienated

REVIEW
d Drought
ng Understanding Musical
s emotion Pirates Inc. lessons
Where does A normal
A new book delves into the complex one draw the monsoon this
field of neuroscience to understand line between year won't help
what causes positive and genuine musical India unless we
negative feelings inspiration and harvest water
plain plagiarism? properly

EARTH SCIENCE 50
Far-reaching changes 54
ANALYSIS A year after a devastating quake
Mission modernisation struck Nepal, scientists are unearthing 58
Modernising India's coal plants to comply changes in the country's geology
with the new rules that come into force next
year would be an uphill task

38 42 20-PAGE DTE SUPPLEMENT

FOOD WITH SUBSCRIPTION COPIES

The other P L A N E T P E O P L E P O L I T I C S

side of
semal GOBAR TIMES
59-78
Silk cotton has
culinary uses too,
in addition to
serving as fuel Supplement Editor: Souparno Banerjee
and fodder Copy: Diksha Chopra and Arif Ayaz Parrey
Design: Ajit Bajaj, Ritika Bohra and Surender Singh
Illustration: Sorit Gupto, Tarique Aziz and Ritika Bohra
46

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 9

08-09Contents.indd 9 09/05/16 2:08 PM

 SUBSCRIBE

DownToEarth
www.downtoearth.org.in

A Good Addiction

S C I E N C E A N D E N V I R O N M E N T F O R T N I G H T L Y

DownToEarth
Sales & Despatch Department, Society for Environmental Communications,
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi-110062
Ph: 91-11-2995 5124 / 6394 Fax: 91-11-2995 5879 Email: dte@cseindia.org

(Please write in BLOCK LETTERS)

For myself To gift to a friend For my institution

Subscribers Name: Mr/Ms______________________________________________________Institution______________________________________________________________

Address: Off Res_________________________________________________State:__________________________________________ Pin Code

Phone: Off Res ___________________________________Fax: ___________________________________E-mail: ____________________________________________

I wish to pay Rs ___________________________ by Cash / MO Cheque / Demand draft (add Rs 15 for outstation / non-Delhi cheque) DD / Cheque No

Dated ____________________________ payable to Society for Environmental Communications, New Delhi.

For DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION ONLY or making online payment, visit www.downtoearth.org.in

For Bank Transfer payment write to us at: dte@cseindia.org
Allow 2-4 weeks for delivery

Government, Private Sector, Schools, Colleges/Universities, NGOs &

DTE Tariff w.e.f. April 1, 2016 R&D and all others Individuals Only

Option @ 45 You You You You

cover price Save Pay Only Save Pay Only
3 Years Sub. (72 issues)
q 4,540 1,520 3,020 2,170 2,370
+ Annual Issues of 2015, 2016, 2017
q 3 Years Sub. only 3,240 970 2,270 1,620 1,620
2 Years Sub. (48 issues)
q 3,060 940 2,120 1,370 1,690
+ Annual Issues of 2015 & 2016
q 2 Years Sub. only 2,160 540 1,620 970 1,190
1 Year Sub. (24 issues)
q 1,430 320 1,110 530 900
+ Annual Issue of 2016
q 1 Year Sub. only 1,080 220 860 430 650
The Annual Issues of 2015, 2016 & 2017 are offered @ `250 each if ordered with your subscription. You can order your subscription without Annual Issues also.

Avail your free gift offer + Digital Access to Down To Earth with archives +
gobartimes Environment for beginners, A Down To Earth Supplement.

10DTEsubscribe ad.indd 10 06/05/16 12:48 PM

 THE FORTNIGHT

CROSS HAIRS BY SORIT GUPTO

Rinderpest spreading across globe POINT

O V I N E R I N D E R P E S T known
scientifically as Peste Des Petits
Ruminants (ppr), a livestock disease
which severely affects goats and
sheep, is spreading across the world
and has already hit 76 countries.
Georgia recently reported its
first-ever case of ppr, while a new
outbreak has occurred in the
$26
Maldives. The outbreaks came on the
heels of similar episodes in western The amount German
Turkey and mainland China. In the nuclear firms should
past 20 years, ppr has spread rapidly, pay for financing the
mostly in Africa, Central and South country's nuclear
phase-out by 2022
Asia and the Middle East. ppr, which
was first detected in Cote d'Ivoire in
billion
1942, causes more than $ 2 billion of
losses each year. Source: German government panel

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 11

11-15The Fortnight.indd 11 06/05/16 3:12 PM

 THE FORTNIGHT

1 ,0 0 0 WO R D S BY VIKAS CHOUDHARY

THE HEAT IS ON A boy cools himself with water from a borewell on the floodplain of the Yamuna river in Delhi's Mayur Vihar neighbourhood.
Temperatures had been steadily rising across India from March this year and have peaked in May. Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan (46.3C) and
Titlagarh in Odisha (48.5C) have recorded the highest temperatures till now this summer. More than 300 people have died across India due to the
heat wave, especially in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

Ocean oxygen levels Only four states collect funds for

dropping due to mining-impacted areas
climate change A Y E A R since the Centre
amended the Mines and Minerals
Development and Regulation Act to
A N E W study has found that increasing global mandate the creation of the District
temperatures are decreasing the levels of Mineral Foundation (dmf), only four
dissolved oxygen in the world's oceans, which of 12 major mineral-rich states
would be evident between 2030 and 2040. The have been able to collect funds for
study, conducted by the US National Centre for it. As per the amendment, mining
Atmospheric Research (NCAR), was published in companies are to pay a certain
the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles. The percentage of their royalties to
research team simulated the impact of climate the dmf, which would use them for
change on deoxygenation on the Yellowstone the welfare of the people affected
AGNIMIRH BASU / CSE

supercomputer, which is operated by NCAR's by mining. Official data shows

Community Earth System Model. The team found that Odisha topped the list by
that deoxygenation in the southern Indian Ocean collecting ` 274 crore. Chhattisgarh
and parts of the eastern tropical Pacific and was second, followed by Madhya
Atlantic basins was widespread and by 2030 and Pradesh and Goa. But Andhra
2040, the regions would go without oxygen, which Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Telangana are yet to collect
would make it harder for marine life to breathe. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan any amount for dmf.

12 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

11-15The Fortnight.indd 12 09/05/16 11:24 AM

 THE FORTNIGHT

On April 27, the NGT expressed concern

I N FO C U S I N CO U RT
Avicenna's vision On April 19, the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) dismissed the appeal
in the case of Rajesh Kumar vs
Ministry of Environment which
assailed the environmental
clearance granted to M/s R S Joint
Venture for stone mining in Rajawas
village of Mahendragarh district on
July 3, 2015.
On April 28, the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and
Climate Change and Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation
informed the NGT that Metro
BLONDINRIKARD FR BERG
over the grave situation created by
dumping of municipal solid waste in the
vicinity of Srinagar's Anchar Lake and
admonished municipal authorities for
not making any effort to install a
Waste-to-Energy plant.
On April 19, the Himachal Pradesh
High Court issued notice to the
Central and state governments on
the issue of declaring monkeys
Jammu & Kashmir vermin within the Shimla Municipal
Corporation's jurisdiction.
Himachal Pradesh
Haryana On April 22, the ngt
ordered re-inspection of

Delhi Uttar Pradesh the premises of Coca-

rail projects were not
required to seek Bihar Cola's Hapur plant to
environmental clearance. investigate whether it was
discharging effluents into
Maharashtra
a nearby pond.
On April 18, the Supreme
On April 20, the Patna High Court
German researchers have uncovered evidence Court said in its order that
Tamil Nadu directed the state Public Health
of the Persian polymath Ibn Sina's (known as the NGT's order imposing
Engineering Department to
Avicenna in Europe) sighting of Supernova hefty fines on polluters
submit a status report and action
1006 (SN 1006). including state agencies
plan to meet the acute water
and industries of the
SN 1006 appeared without warning in April crisis in Patna city.
Ulhas and Waldhuni rivers
of the year 1006 AD (397 of the Islamic Hijri would remain effective.
calendar) and then gradually faded from view a
few months later. On April 28, the Supreme Court dismissed
At its peak, the celestial wonder was reportedly a fresh review petition filed against its
brighter than the planet Venus, even though it order permitting the Gas Authority of
was blazing at a distance of about 7,200 India to lay pipelines through farmlands in
light-years. western Tamil Nadu.

In their research paper, Ralph Neuhaeuser, Carl SO FAR...

Total cases on
Ehrig-Eggert and Paul Kunitzsch have stated SUPREME HIGH NATIONAL GREEN
environment and
that Avicenna had described seeing SN COURT COURTS TRIBUNAL
development tracked
1006 in his text, Kitab al-Shifa, that was
about subjects like physics, meteorology, and
since January 1, 2016, 33 47 338
till April 29, 2016
especially astronomy.
According to the Germans' translation, Ibn
Sina wrote that the object was tailless Gujarat HC issues notices to Centre,
which distinguished it from the more common
transient objects, comets with tails. state on power to frame forest policy
At the beginning it was towards a darkness and THE GUJARAT High Court has issued notices to the Centre and Gujarat on a petition
greenness, then it began to throw out sparks challenging the power of the state government to frame forest policy. The division
and then it became more and more whitish. The bench, led by Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy, issued the notices, seeking a response by
new star was getting fainter and fainter June 14. The petitioner, the owner of Saavaj Resorts in the Gir forest, filed the petition
until it disappeared, wrote Ibn Sina. through lawyer Hemang Shah. He has contended that according to Rule-5 of Section 3
SN 1006 was noted and described by of the Environment (Protection) Act, policy pertaining to environmental law is a Central
others around the world, from places subject. In July, 2015, the Gujarat government had submitted the draft of a uniform policy
as far-flung as Morocco, Japan, Yemen and on commercial establishments in the Gir forest before the court on a suo motu petition
China, but none of those descriptions included against illegal constructions in and around the reserved forest area.
information about the object changing colours. Compiled by DTE-CSE Data Centre. For detailed verdicts, visit bit.ly/1CIFrcf

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 13

11-15The Fortnight.indd 13 06/05/16 3:12 PM

 THE FORTNIGHT

Deadly wheat fungus appears in Asia

B A N G L A D E S H I A U T H O R I T I E S and farmers are struggling
to contain the first Asian outbreak of wheat blast, a fungal disease
that periodically destroys wheat crops in South America. The
disease was first detected in Bangladesh in February 2016 and has
already caused the loss of more than 15,000 hectares of crops in
the country. It is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and
was first discovered in 1985 in Brazil's Parana state. Scientists at
the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (bari) in Nashipur
have warned that the disease could spread through Bangladesh
to northern India and eastern Pakistan. Bangladeshi officials are
burning government-owned wheat fields to contain it. The reason
for the disease's appearance in Bangladesh is unknown.

EXTREME Q & A
W H Y : Efficient growth requires

2 years
Imprisonment a village inhabitant will be awarded
in Bihar if s/he cooks in the summer between 9
am and 6 pm. The government has ordered this
because of the scorching summer heat in Bihar.
66 The number of people who died in Bihar in
April due to the heat wave that has swept the
state, prompting the government decision.
300 The number of huts burnt in Begusarai
district on April 26 allegedly due to cooking fires
and scorching summer heat.
300 The number of deaths that have occurred
across India due to the heat wave of early
summer, especially in Telangana, Andhra
Pradesh and Odisha.
Low growth rate to blame
W H O : Yoginder K Alagh
Chancellor, Central University of
Gujarat, Gandhinagar
W H A T : The Labour Bureau has
released fresh data, according to which
no new jobs were created but there was
actually a decline of 20,000 jobs across
eight labour-intensive sectors in the
December quarter of 2015.
that the employment content of a
rupee of output falls. The same inputs
must produce more output. So, the
employment elasticity of output is
low. A one per cent increase in output
may lead to, say, a fifth of one per
cent increase in employment. But
this effect can be counterbalanced if
output growth is high. If GDP growth
is 2 per cent, employment growth
will be 0.4 per cent in the earlier
example. That is less than work force
growth so unemployment will rise.
But if GDP grows by 10 per cent,
employment will rise by 2 per cent.
Our challenge is to encourage labour
saving technologies, but we also have
a low rate of growth which makes the
unemployment story grim.

Myanmar bans lucrative logging to preserve forests

T H E N E W LY- E L E C T E D
government of Myanmar has
banned logging in the country
to preserve its rich forests.
We have been reducing
timber extraction, and now we
have decided to stop logging
completely. This measure will
cover teak and other hardwoods
all across the country,John
Swe Ba, a managing director at
HTOO TAY ZAR Myanmar's Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environmental
Conservation, told Reuters.
Myanmar's rich forests were
plundered by the former military
junta that ruled the country till
reforms began in 2011. Despite
a ban on export of raw timber in
2014, illegal logging has thrived
in northeast Myanmar, where
valuable teak and rosewood are
smuggled over the border to
neighbouring China.

14 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

11-15The Fortnight.indd 14 06/05/16 3:12 PM

 THE FORTNIGHT

India spends
very little
on health
T H E C E N T R E recently informed
Parliament that the total expenditure
on health as percentage to Gross
Domestic Product (gdp) for India in

2012 was merely 3.8 per cent. This was
less than the share poorest countries
were devoting to health. As per world
health statistics 2015 published by the
World Health Organization, the total
expenditure on health as percentage
of GDP in 2012 for India is 3.8 per cent
as compared to Burundi's 8.2 per cent,
Central African Republic 3.8 per cent,
Democratic Republic of Congo 3.6 per
cent, Malawi 9.2 per cent and Niger 6.1
per cent, Union Minister for Health J
P Nadda said in a written reply to the
Rajya Sabha. Nadda said the per capita
government expenditure on health
in India was $18 in 2012 as compared
to $3,618 for developed European
countries like Germany.
Hydro output in 2015-16 low
I N D I A ' S H Y D R O power generation
during 2015-2016 was lower than the
expected target due to less rainfall.
Hydroelectric power produced in
2015-16 was 121.34 billion units (BU)
against the target of 128 BU mainly
due to lesser rainfall experienced in
some regions of the country, Union
Minister of State with Independent
Charge for Power, Coal, New and
Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal said in
a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Goyal
IR.K.KHANNA
said the generation from hydro power
stations depended on inflow due to
rainfall in the catchment area, snow-
melt in the case of Himalayan rivers
and available storage. "The generation
will be generally less if there is
shortfall in rainfall in catchment
area. Any shortage in hydro power
generation is tackled on the basis
of increased generation from other
sources, depending on transmission
availability, he said.

L AT I T U D E V E R B AT I M
A new study has shown that
BOSTON UNIVERSITY/R. MYNEN

there has been significant

greening (increase in leaves of
plants and trees) on Earth over
the past 33 years. The
researchers attribute it to
increased carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere due to
industrialisation. This increase
in leaves is equivalent to an
area about twice the size of the
continental US. This could
fundamentally change the
cycling of water and carbon in "I believe that
the climate system. But the
climate change
denial is a form of
researchers say that this does
mental illness"
not mean steps should not be Alec Baldwin,
A map showing the change in leaf area across the globe from 1982-2015. Green colour depicts taken to curb carbon emissions.
increase while red depicts decrease in green cover
Hollywood Actor

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 15

11-15The Fortnight.indd 15 06/05/16 3:12 PM

 SPECIAL REPORT
VIKAS CHOUDHARY / CSE
Rights overruled
States are making their
own rules to reclaim the
authority over forests
from tribes, derailing
community forest rights
ANUPAM CHAKRAVARTTY
| new delhi
16 DOWN TO EARTH
16-18Forests.indd 16
W
HEN JUAL Oram, Union trib-
al affairs minister, wrote to
Odisha Chief Minister Nav-
een Patnaik earlier this ye-
ar, he fanned a simmering controversy. In a
letter dated February 23, Oram protested a
new forest management scheme launched
by the Odisha government.
The Ama Jangal Yojana (ajy) or My
Forest Scheme, implemented in 2015, em-
powers nearly 5,000 forest protection com-
mittees to manage forests. But Oram reit-
erated that gram sabhas were central to
decision-making on matters related to
community forest resources, and not the
forest protection committees formed under
ajy. As the nodal implementing agency for
the Forest Rights Act (fra), 2006, the
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (mota)
was concerned that ajy provisions were in
New rules are undermining
the authority given to
gram sabhas by the Forest
Rights Act
conflict with the provisions of fra. Activists
agree, saying that state governments are
setting up parallel structures to circumvent
fra and reinforce the authority of the for-
est department.
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Tradi-
tional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006, or fra, was the
first law to enable tribal communities to
claim rights over forest lands on which they
were traditionally dependent. It recognised
their community rights over common
property resources and the right to regen-
erate forest produce for their own use. But
activists say that by reintroducing the for-
est department in the management of for-
est resources, schemes like ajy ensure that
control over non-timber forest products
(ntfp) remains with the department.
Even as mota opposes Odisha, it has
16-31 MAY 2016
09/05/16 10:26 AM

maintained a stoic silence over similar de-
velopments in Maharashtra and Madhya
Pradesh, especially after facing heat from
within the Union government. The tussle
over forests is not likely to be resolved any-
time soon, with the tribal welfare wing of
the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (rss)
speaking out against bjp governments in
the two states.
Claim over forests
Over the past two years, attempts to dilute
fra have become more blatant (see Un-
dermining forest rights p18). On May 13,
2014, Maharashtra invoked a largely for-
gotten provision of the Indian Forest Act,
1927, and notified the Maharashtra Village
Forest Rules, 2014, without consulting
mota. Village Forest Rules (vfr) enable the
state government to extend the manage-
ment and collection of forest produce to
gram sabhas for protected and reserved for-
ests. At the time, the Prithviraj Chavan-led
government had said the move would help
improve the forest cover of the state. Since
then, 67 villages in Maharashtra have been
given village forest rights.
But vfr seems to erode the empower-
ing character of fra (see Fine print). The
new rules require the creation of a Van
Vyavsthapan Samiti or joint forest manage-
ment committee (jfmc) with a forest offic-
er as member-technical. This officer, con-
sidered equivalent to the secretary of the
panchayat, can advise the committee on
matters relating to extraction and manage-
ment of forest produce. The ownership of
all harvested products remains with the
forest department. Under fra, however,
decisions about forest produce are made by
the gram sabha.
Similarly, vfr does not allow a gram
sabha to reject a plan or suggest modifica-
tions. Suitable changes are suggested by
the Assistant Conservator of Forests based
on the broader working plan of the forest de-
partment. Under fra, such powers lie exclu-
sively with the gram sabha, and the forest
department is expected to integrate the
gram sabhas plans into its own. fra doesnt
have provisions like in vfr, confirms
Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, a Nagpur-based
forest rights activist. The gram sabha has
powers to make decisions about manage-
ment of community forest resources.
Maharashtra is not the only state to
16-31 MAY 2016
16-18Forests.indd 17
Claims in progress
States perform poorly when it comes to granting of Community Forest Rights
Madhya Pradesh
40,913
21,909
N/A
N/A
Maharashtra Chhattisgarh
7,152 NIL
(The state has not yet initiated
3,436 the process of Community
1,873 Forest Rights)
1,843
*Source: Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Fine print
How states are trying to wrest control from communities
FRA provisions
The gram sabha is solely empowered to pass
resolutions to manage forests. The National
Forest Rights Act Committee (NFRAC) states that
wherever community forest rights are
recognised, joint forest management committees
(JFMC) will be scrapped
No forest committee can charge a fee for
grazing or any other activity once community
forest rights have been settled for a village
FRA allows gram sabhas to make all decisions
related to the usage of forests
seek recourse to the Indian Forest Act,
1927, to dilute fra provisions. Madhya
Pradesh used Section 32 of this colonial era
legislation, which allows states to make
rules for protected forests. Accor-dingly,
the state enforced Protected Forest Rules
(pfr) in June 2015, giving district collectors
the power to attach a protected forest to any
village. The Gram Van Samiti (village forest
committee) constituted under these rules
FORESTS
www.downtoearth.org.in/forests
How to read graphic
XXXX (Number of community claims
made till Jan 31, 2016)
XXXX (Number of community titles
distributed till Jan 31, 2016)
XXXX (Number of community claims
pending till Jan 31, 2016)
XXXX (Number of claims rejected till
Jan 31, 2016)
Odisha
12,872
5,036
7,517
319
Violations by new rules
MAHARASHTRA: According to Village Forest
Rules, a forest officer is assigned to the
panchayat after the gram sabhas send
resolutions to manage forests. The
management of forests is carried out by JFMCs
MADHYA PRADESH: Under Protected
Forest Rules, residents may be asked to
pay the village forest committee for forest
produce required for their consumption
and livelihood
ODISHA: State government empowers forest
protection committees to manage forests
can, with the approval of the government,
share any produce from the attached forest
with any public or private company
developing that forest. The rules also allow
district and forest authorities to charge
village residents for timber and fuel wood
extracted for consumption and livelihood.
The rules place significant powers in the
hands of forest officers who can specify the
areas from which such produce is to be
www.downtoearth.org.in 17
09/05/16 10:26 AM
 FORESTS

Undermining forest rights | A timeline of attempts made to derail community forest rights
July 2009 | Centre scuttles department on the lines of JFMC. opposes VFR on several occasions, November 2015 | MoTA does a
attempt by Andhra Pradesh to May 2014 | Maharashtra notifies stating that it violates provisions U-turn on Maharashtra and
grant community forest rights Village Forest Rules (VFR), of FRA. withdraws opposition.
(CFR) to joint forest management 2014, empowering forest officers June 2015 | Madhya Pradesh December 2015 | MoTA skips
committees (JFMC). to advise on management of notifies Protected Forest Rules, Madhya Pradesh and writes
January 2014 | Odisha launches forest produce. 2015, with the provision to to Odisha government,
Ama Jangal Yojana, a scheme to August 2014 - May 2015 | charge village residents for protesting the Ama Jangal
be implemented by its forest Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) forest produce. Yojana (AJY).

obtained each year.
Chhattisgarh, on its part, set a danger-
ous precedent. On January 8, 2016, the state
cancelled the Community Forest Rights al-
lotted to tribals of Ghatbarra village in
Surguja district. The state government
claimed that village residents were using
their rights to oppose mining in coal blocks
outside the forest compartments allotted to
them. But activists term the move as a clear
violation of fra as there is no provision for
the cancellation of rights once recognised
under the Act.
Forest department officials reason that
introducing state-specific schemes like vfr
was necessary since fra and Panchayat
(Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (pesa),
1996, apply only to those areas that are un-
derdeveloped and have a dominant tribal
population. vfr doesnt work at cross-pur-
poses with cfr under fra and pesa, says T
S K Reddy, chief conservator of forests,
Nagpur division. It offers another option to
villages that cant claim rights under either
Act to manage their own forest.
However, forest rights activists say that
with these schemes, the government wants
the forest department to become the arbiter
for forest resources. Most of these changes
have happened in states which are rich in
minerals and where communities claims
over forests are yet to be settled, adds
Shankar Gopalakrishnan of Campaign for
Survival and Dignity, a non-profit working
on forest rights.
The progress of cfr claims in all four
states is dismal. Not only were more than
half of all community claims in Odisha
pending until January 31, 2016, Chhat-
tisgarh had not initiated the cfr process
until then. Also, the number of rejected
claims is high in Maharashtra (see Claims
in progress p17) .
Tacit support
mota had opposed Maharashtras vfr on
several occasions. But Union ministers Pra-
kash Javadekar and Nitin Gadkari wrote to
Oram, asking him to stop opposing the
rules. Finally, on November 27, 2015, the
tribal affairs ministry did a U-turn, stating
that the overlapping provisions of vfr and
fra must be harmoniously construed, and
withdrew its opposition. Three months lat-
er, Oram renewed his opposition to dilution
of fra, but wrote a letter only to the Odisha
state government.
Meanwhile, a motley crew has emerged
to support forest management structures
outside of fra. Maharashtras vfr found
support in land rights and anti-corruption
activist Anna Hazare, whose village
Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district is
considered a model for sustainable devel-
opment. Hazare wrote to Congress Presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi on January 26, 2016,
asking her not to oppose vfr. He stated that
his village would benefit immensely from
vfr as it would give them access to substan-
tial fodder from the forest.
In Kumbhwaghol village of Amravati
district in Maharashtra, a non-profit called
Khoj worked with the forest department to
implement vfr. Khoj coordinator Pur-
nima Upadhyay tells Down To Earth that
vfr has enabled village residentsthe 50-
odd Korku tribal families who had migrat-
ed from Madhya Pradesh in the late
1990sto regenerate their own forests and
Most of these changes
have happened in states
which are rich in minerals
and where communities'
claims over forests are yet
to be settled
sell timber. According to Upadhyay, since
the Korku families did not have any records
to prove their occupancy, they were not el-
igible for community forest rights under
fra. Many other villages around the Mel-
ghat region do not qualify to get rights un-
der fra or pesa, she says.
Hiralal disagrees. He says fra does not
insist on evidence of occupancy in the form
of records. The Act states that any member
of a Scheduled Tribe who has been cultivat-
ing forest land as of December 13, 2005, is
eligible to get rights. Korku tribal families
were cultivating land in Kumbhwaghol
well before this date.
RSS red flag
The new forest management rules are driv-
ing a wedge between the ideologically like-
minded in Maharashtra, with rss Vanvasi
Kalyan Ashram (vka) opposing vfr.
According to Thamatai Pawar, regional
president of Raigad vka, there was no need
to introduce a similar but diluted version of
fra. Asserting that vfr is against constitu-
tional provisions, Pawar adds, Before
bringing in any new legislation regarding
tribals, a consultation with the National
Council for Scheduled Tribes and State
Tribal Advisory Council has been made
mandatory according to Article 338-A(9) of
the Constitution. But no such consultation
has been done before bringing in the rules.
When Pawar met Maharashtra Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis in February
this year, he was told the state would not
make laws that impact forest dwellers and
adivasis. But there has been no move to
withdraw these rules so far. With states
making their own version of vfr, and mota
standing by, activists fear dilution of fra
will turn into the proverbial juggernaut.
@down2earthindia

18 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

16-18Forests.indd 18 09/05/16 10:26 AM

 19may31, 2016
19AMway ad.indd 19 06/05/16 12:48 PM
 WAT E R
www.downtoearth.org.in/water
Fishermen in Sureli Kattakuppam, 4km from a desalination plant, complain that the discharge is dumped directly onto the beach, contaminating groundwater
A salty resort
Is desalination the panacea for solving Chennai's water problems?
A
S SHORTAGE of water continues
across the country, coastal states
are eyeing sea water. In January,
Chennais fourth desalination
plant at Perur along the East Coast Road
was announced to solve its drinking water
woes. The government of Gujarat, too, is
creating a new policy to promote desalina-
tion plants at the coasts of Saurashtra and
Kutch regions. Andhra Pradesh and Maha-
rashtra are also exploring the option of de-
salination plants at a municipal level.
As of now, Tamil Nadu is the only state
in India where desalinated water is used for
drinking purpose at a municipal level. In
Chennai, the salinity of groundwater, one of
the major sources of drinking water, has in-
20 DOWN TO EARTH
20-21Water.indd 20
SUSHMITA SENGUPTA | chennai
creased many times above the permissible
limits, show studies (see Desalination im-
pacts). The question is whether making sea
water potable is a feasible solution to secure
the water future of a city which receives
plenty of rainfall anually.
In the budget of 2014-15 the state gov-
ernment announced two desalination pla-
nts with the capacity of 60 million litres per
day (mld) each in the coastal districts of
Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin. The pla-
nts will supply drinking water to a popula-
tion of 1.1 million.
A desalination plant produces potable
water from sea water or inland sources by re-
verse osmosis. In the process, highly saline
rejects are discharged into the sea. The lack
PHOTOGRAPHS: ZISHAAN AKBAR LATIF
of laws to monitor desalination plants, and
the effluents discharged are some of the fac-
tors which have raised concerns whether
Chennai should resort to desalination with-
out first utilising and managing its own wa-
ter resources.
Across the world, desalination plants
were constructed in areas where rain is
scarce, such as the Gulf countries, Israel or
drier parts of Europe like Spain, Malta,
Gibraltar, Cape Verde, Portugal, and Greece.
But Tamil Nadu receives 1,200 mm of rain-
fall annually, which is sufficient to feed wa-
ter sources like rivers, channels, wetlands
and groundwater aquifers in and around the
city. These are not only a source of irrigation
and domestic water, but also act as sponges
16-31 MAY 2016
09/05/16 11:09 AM

to prevent floods.
The brine discharge produced from a
desalination plant can also damage the en-
vironment if disposed of improperly. For in-
stance, in Sureli Kattakuppam village, 4 km
from the Nemmeli desalination plant, the
brine discharge has been dumped directly
onto the beach, contaminating groundwa-
ter. The residents sent petitions to the chief
minister, their mla and to Chennai Metro-
politan Water Supply and Sewerage Board
(cmwssb), the body which is running the
plant. Also, during the construction of the
plant, a pathway was built to bring heavy
machines. This reduced the width of the
beach, bringing the sea closer to habitation,
says Nitya-nand Jayaram, a Chennai-based
environmentalist.
S Janakarajan, Professor, Madras Insti-
tute of Development Studies, Chennai, says
that brine discharge can increase the tds
(total dissolved solid), a measure of salinity
of water, threatening fauna like turtles,
shrimp and fish. This can affect the availa-
bility of fish, and thus the livelihood of fish-
erfolk, he adds.
A 2011 study by Pilar Palmolar, Univer-
sidad de Cantabria, Spain, states that extinc-
tion of fish larvae has been observed near
brine discharges in Ashkelon, a coastal city
in the southern district of Israel.
Lack of regulatory laws
India does not have standards for the brine
concentration entering the sea. Janakarajan
says the lack of standards allows companies
which run and/or build desalination plants
to escape responsibility.
Although an environmental impact as-
sessment of the Nemmeli project was done
in 2008, the quality of brine entering the sea
has not been monitored periodically.
There are ways to cushion the adverse
effects of brine. In Kuwait, two desalination
plants, Subiya and Shoaiba, blend brine
with cooling water to lower its salinity.
According to a 2009 study, done by Ahmad
E. Al-Dousari and published in the Ame-
rican Journal of Environmental Sciences,
there was no serious impact of the brine dis-
charge from the two plants in the Kuwait sea
because the increase in the salinity was well
within the limits set by the Kuwait Envi-
ronment Public Authority. If implemented
stringently, such limits can reduce the ad-
16-31 MAY 2016
20-21Water.indd 21
At full capacity, the 100 MLD Nemmeli plant in Chennai discharges about 2,000 litres of effluents per second
verse effects of brine discharge, if not pre-
vent them.
Desalination plants are also energy-in-
tensive. Using coal to heat saline water me-
ans thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide is
produced in a 100 mld plant.
Building and maintaining these plants
is also an expensive affair. According to an
analysis done by the Centre for Science and
Environment (cse), a Delhi-based non-
profit, in 2012, the average cost of produc-
tion of the conventional piped supply of wa-
ter is almost one fourth of the cost of
production in desalination plants. Also, sea
water is the most expensive source of water
as compared to other sources. Vikram Ka-
pur, managing director, cmwssb, says that
they buy water from the Minjur desalination
plant at 54 per kilolitre (Kl). On the other
hand, conventional sources cost 13/Kl.
Mobilising natural resources
This is not the first time Chennai is grap-
pling with water scarcity problems. Hit by
a severe drought, in 2003 bye-laws made
rainwater harvesting mandatory for all buil-
dings, throughout the state. Over a period of
time, not only the groundwater table but the
salinity of groundwater improved as well.
According to a study conducted by cm-
wssb in 2007, the groundwater table in the
city increased by almost 50 per cent in three
years and tds of water in Chintadripet
dropped from 5,000 parts per million
(ppm) in 2004 to 300 ppm in 2007.
Currently, only 26 per cent of Chennais
drinking water comes from the two desali-
nation plants, with a total capacity of 200
mld. To meet the citys drinking water needs,
conserving and protecting lakes and wet-
lands is a cheaper and environmentally bet-
WAT E R
Desalination impacts
26
The salinity of groundwater, or
total dissolved solids (TDS),
along Chennai's coast was
almost 26 times the
permissible limit, says a 2014
study in Research Journal of
Chemical Sciences
12
At least 12 localities near the
eastern part of Chennai showed
TDS of 6,000 to 10,000 ppm, at
least 12 times the permissible
limit, said a 2015 study by Anna
University, Chennai
The cost at which CMWSSB buys a
K54 kilolitre (Kl) of water from a
desalination plant in Minjur.
Conventional sources cost 13/Kl
36,000
Tonnes of carbon dioxide will be produced
from a 100 MLD desalination plant
ter option than desalination. These wet-
lands will also save the city from urban
floods. An analysis by cse showed that post
2000, Chennai lost 50 per cent of its water
bodies due to urbanisation. This resulted in
seven major floods in the last 15 years.
Janakrajan suggests that the need of the
hour, thus, is for the Tamil Nadu govern-
ment to consider natural recharge systems
as an option to replace desalination plants.
@down2earthindia
www.downtoearth.org.in 21
09/05/16 11:11 AM
 NEW BUSINESS
Counting calories
Start-ups that not just deliver healthy food, but also count calories for
you are fast gaining ground in big cities
N
INE YEARS ago, when Sai Gunde-
war came to India to become an
actor, little did he know that his
love for fitness and food will lead
to a full-fledged business. I lived in Austra-
lia for many years. When I came back, I
found that the quality of food delivered on
film sets was quite bad. Being an actor, I un-
derstand the importance of eating right,
says Gundewar, who is set to act in a Marathi
film, Dot Com Mom, scheduled to release in
June. Gundewar co-founded his start-up
Foodizmin 2011 with Maxood Patel. The
company says it delivers fresh, healthy
meals. Most importantly, it ensures that the
calorie intake of their customers is right.
While awareness about eating healthy
has increased among working profession-
als, many do not have the time or patience to
prepare a low-fat, high nutrient diet. Heres
where start-ups like Foodizm come in.
FOODIZM
Sai Gundewar
started
foodizm in
2011. His
company
today
delivers
around 200
meals a day
22-23New Business.indd 22
KARNIKA BAHUGUNA | new delhi
According to a 2015 report by Nielsen, a
New York-based global information com-
pany, the Indian health and wellness food
market is worth R33,000 crore and grew six
per cent between 2014 and 2015.
Boasting a clientele that includes corpo-
rate honchos and Bollywood stars, Foodizm
operates only in Mumbai. It offers four types
of plans, with a minimum of five meals
which are to be utilised within seven work-
ing days , while the maximum includes 20
meals to be used over 22 working days. The
price ranges from R99275 per meal de-
pending on the category and portion. For in-
stance, there are Indian and international
meals which come in large and medium por-
tions. The large meal provides 600-650 kcal
while the medium one has 350-400 kcal
(see High on nutrition). For a 60 kg Indian
man with a sedentary lifestyle, 2,320 kcal
per day are required. The figure for a 55 kg
women is 1,900 kcal. The company also of-
fers grilled meals consisting of paneer and
tofu steaks for those wanting to eat high pro-
tein food throughout the week.
The market is lucrative but the chal-
lenge is to deliver quality meals at an afford-
able price, says Gundewar. Though he did
not share Foodizms profit margin, Gunde-
war says that companies in the health and
food business make 20-30 per cent profit
annually. Foodizm is also in talks with inves-
tors to expand its business. We plan to
launch our brand of health and wellness
products through an e-commerce site. The
products will include health supplements
and protein bars, he adds.
Similar to Foodizm is Tandurust, a
Bengaluru-based start-up. The company,
whose name means healthy in Hindi, was
started by two working professionals who
craved good food while they were staying
10/05/16 1:01 PM
 NEW BUSINESS
www.downtoearth.org.in/health

away from home for their corporate jobs. (Gurgaon), cities with a thriving IT industry Customised diets
Both of us are fitness enthusiasts. When we and a large working migratory population.
moved to Bengaluru, we used to manage our What seems to be working for Tandu-
Average Indian men require 2,320 kcal
food as per diet requirements. In the pro- rust is that their menu mainly consists of a day while women need 1,900 kcal
cess, we read up a lot on nutrition and real- Indian recipes, which are prepared with mi-
ised that normal meals can be tweaked to nor variations. For instance, they offer oats
fulfil health goals, says Sudhanshu Sharma, upma, multigrain poha, wheat pasta and
co-founder, Tandurust. Sharma and his flaxseed raita. The meals range from R60 to
business partner, Pushpesh Dutt, are man- R140 and come in both vegetarian and non-
Foodizm (Founded-2011)
agement graduates from the Institute of vegetarian categories. The start-up also Profit Margin not shared
Management Technology, Ghaziabad. The makes its own creams, sauces and mayon- Orders/day 150-200
two started with a group of 20-25 friends as naise, focusing on the low-fat requirement. Cost/meal K99-275
clients in early 2014 on a pilot basis. No processed food from outside is used,
We started preparing meals with very claims Sharma.
Calorie/meal 350-650 kcal
low quantity of oil and without any pro- Sharma says the target audience is the
cessed food. We used nutritious ingredients working population in the age group of 25-
TANDURUST
CalorieSmart (Founded-2011)
Profit Margin 15%
Orders/day 750
Cost/meal K89-350
Calorie/meal 300-700 kcal

Tandurust
(Founded-2014)
The Indian
food and
Profit Margin 25-28%
health product
market is worth
Orders/day 150-200
R33,000 crore
and is growing
Cost/meal K60-140
at six per cent Calorie/meal 280-650 kcal
annually

like flaxseeds and healthy fats like olive oil,
Sharma says. Having received a good re-
sponse, the duo started Tandurust in
December 2014 after quitting their full-time
jobs. The initial capital was R12 lakh. The
potential in the business is evident from the
fact that they were able to attract more in-
vestment within nine months of starting op-
erations. Tandurusts profit margins are be-
tween 2528 per cent, says Sharma, which
are mainly due to a very efficient delivery
service. Our delivery boys deliver up to 20
meals a day and plan it in such a way that the
resources are optimally utilised. The deliv-
ery cost is just R18-20 per meal, he says.
Currently, Tandurust delivers in select
locations in Bengaluru. We are in talks with
investors to expand our operations to the en-
tire city. That should happen in the next six
months, says Sharma. They also want to
launch the business in Pune and Gurugram
40. There is a big market for health foods.
We deliver 150-200 orders a day but aim to
tap the market further. We also plan to
launch over-the-counter products, he adds.
The common trigger
Most such start-ups began because there are
very few options to get healthy meals deliv-
ered at offices in big cities. Ashima Manek,
director-food planning and menu design of
Gurugram-based CalorieSmart, says that
when they started the business five years ago
Subway was the only healthy option.
CalorieSmart was launched by four young
food enthusiasts from their relatives base-
ment. Today, it delivers 750 meals a day in
Gurugram and plans presence across the
National Capital Region very soon. Manek
says their venture has received fantastic re-
sponse and they make 15 per cent profit.
CalorieSmart offers controlled-portions
and counted calories. The companys most
popular meals are the 500 kcal premium
meals which cost R139 for vegetarian and
R169 for non-vegetarian options. Its gour-
met boxes, which are designed for weight-
watchers, provide only 300 kcal, says
Manek. The cost of gourmet box is R300-
350. The contents change daily and include
salads, wraps and sandwiches. These are
prepared with ingredients like quinoa, bar-
ley, chickpea and fish.People who under-
stand the concept of healthy food love our
service. The proof of this is our growth
which we have attained without spending
anything on advertising, says Manek.
The Nielsen report says that peace of
mind is an important attribute for health
and wellness for many Indians. This is quite
evident from the kind of traction these ven-
tures have got in a short span.
@_karnika

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 23

22-23New Business.indd 23 10/05/16 10:43 AM

 ECONOMY

Black magic
W
An almost extinct HEN SHRUTI Bai Parmar was
elected sarpanch of Saad
indigenous breed of village last year, she had an
unusual ally to thank: black
poultry is improving chickens called Kadaknath. She says she
the lives of farmers in could bear the election expense because of
the profit from selling the almost extinct
drought-hit Jhabua poultry breed endemic to Jhabua district of
Madhya Pradesh. A few years earlier,
KUNDAN PANDEY Parmar had been struggling to sustain her
| jhabua , madhya pradesh family of five. With little irrigation and fre-
quent droughts, crop losses had made sur-
vival harder for the majority in Jahbua, one
of the poorest districts in the state.
In the same village, Ditu Devi has had
to borrow money at high interest rates for
basic needs such as her daughters educa-
tion fee and medicines. Today, both Parmar
and Ditu Devi are better off thanks to Ka-
daknath, or kali mans. One bird can fetch
them ~800.
The idea of rearing and selling Kadak- ers, kvk, Jhabua, is playing a pivotal role by
nath as a livelihood, Parmar says, emerged supplying 5,000 chicks every month to lo-
from a meeting organised by Krishi Vigyan cal farmers and poultry farm owners outside
Kendra (kvk), Jhabua. A Central govern- the state.
ment initiative to improve the lives of farm- Reared by tribal communities of Bhil

24 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

24-25Economy.indd 24 06/05/16 5:25 PM

 ECONOMY
www.downtoearth.org.in/economy

and Bhilala, Kadaknath, a black chicken Indian Council of Agricultural Research

The unique bird with black flesh and bone, was on the verge saw the results, they were impressed. They
of extinction. In 1998, Down To Earth re- sanctioned 50 lakh for setting up a hatch-
THOUGH KADAKNATH is
ported that due to over-consumption and a ing facility in Jhabua.
generally black, it can be
very low reproduction Today there is a huge demand for Kada-
seen occasionally in two
more colours, pencil and rate, the breed (see knath chicks from Maharashtra, Hydera-
golden. It has a poor The unique bird) bad, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and especial-
reproduction rate, with could disappear (Ro- ly states from South India, says I S Tomar,
only 70 to 100 eggs a oster calls no more, programme coordinator, kvk, Jhabua.
year. A Kadaknath cock dte, 15 May 1998).
weighs about 2.5 to 3 kg Today there are Community intervention
in six to eight months, more than 300 poul- Other than selling Kadaknath, other liveli-
while a hen weighs try sheds in Jhabua, hoods have also emerged since the revival
about 2 kg in the same and farmers are trai- of Kadaknath. In Saad, there are more than
period. Kadaknath is a ned in rearing and set- 335 families in the poultry business. Ditu
very delicate bird, ting up their own in- Devi, president of Gram Sangathan Samiti
vulnerable to changes frastructure. Under the of Saad, says she earns around 4,000-
in climate. The Central National Agriculture In- 5,000 from guiding farmers on how to take
Food and Research novation Project, the kvk of- care of poultry and vaccinating chicks, not
Institute, Mysore, found it fers help in constructing low just Kadaknath.
suitable for cardiac patients. cost poultry sheds; training on Many like Ditu Devi who supplement
It has high iron content and advanced technologies of pou- their income by providing veterinary servic-
less fat, says I S Tomar, ltry production; optimum feed es are called murgi sakhi and pashu mitra in
programme
and balanced diet; vaccination and their villages. Nilesh Desai from Sampark, a
coordinator,
exploring markets. local non-profit says there is one or more
KVK, Jhabua.
Last year, Parmar earned 1.8 murgi sakhis for each village and 140 mitras
lakh from selling Kadaknath. She who vaccinate at least 0.1 million chickens
purchased 400 chicks for 60 each and in a month.
sold 350 chickens at 800 each within Trained by Sampark, the mitras or
PHOTOGRAPHS: SRIKANT CHOUDHARY / CSE

five months. guides are responsible for providing vacci-

In 1983, the Madhya Pradesh govern-
ment had set up a Kadaknath breeding
farm in Jhabua to save Kadaknath but had
failed. In 2009, the kvk conducted a study
and established slow growth on natural
feeding and more than 50 per cent mortal-
ity rate as the reasons for the crisis. The kvk
then engaged 10 farmers and proved that
mortality could be reduced with optimum
feed and balanced diet along with proper
vaccination. When two experts from the
Rearing and selling
Kadaknath has
supplemented Shruti
Bai Parmar's income
and cushioned her from
severe effects of drought
nations, deworming, and motivating other
poultry rearers to adopt improved practic-
es. This community intervention is sup-
ported by South Asia Pro-Poor Livestock
Policy programme for strengthening indig-
enous poultry-based livelihoods in a select-
ed village cluster in Rama block of Jhabua.
About 22 km from Saad, in Padalghati,
farmers response to the business of Kadak-
nath is changing. Moonsingh Sehlot, a
farmer who got a shed from kvk says that on
a yearly investment of around 45,000, he
earns more than 1,00,000.
Sehlot has been in the business for three
years and leased 4 hectares of land from the
money he earned from selling Kadaknath.
Seeing Sehlots success, many farmers are
planning to venture into the business.
Who would have thought that the re-
vival of an indigenous poultry breed would
be mirrored in a districts economy?
@kundanpandey158
For a video story on this, visit
www.downtoearth.org.in/video

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 25

24-25Economy.indd 25 06/05/16 5:25 PM

 COVER STORY

DOUSING
flames
The Uttarakhand forest
fires that lasted for
over 100 days should
come as a warning to
the rest of India since
half of its forests are
vulnerable to fire

ARPITA CHAKRABARTY
from Uttarakhand,
SAMARJIT SAHOO
from Odisha,
ANUPAM
CHAKRAVARTTY,
KUNDAN PANDEY &
RAJESHWARI GANESAN
from Delhi

Uttarakhand
government has
already spent over
`85 lakh on water used
by choppers to control
forest fires in the state

26-36Cover story.indd 26 10/05/16 12:17 PM

 COVER STORY

O
n the evening of April 27, Digamber was startled by his mothers
panic-stricken voice at his home in Saru village of Pauri
Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. There is a fire in our forest,
she screamed. Digamber and his wife, Urmila, came out of the
house and saw the entire pine forest burning. Within minutes,
the fire reached their hay stacks, kept since November last year
for feeding their three cows. We ran to save the hay stacks from
fire. I had asked Urmila not to go towards the fire but she did not listen.
Seconds later, her clothes were in flames. I could do nothing to save her,
says Digamber, his voice almost inaudible.
Urmila was rushed to the district hospital at Pauri Garhwal where,
looking at the seriousness of the burns, she was referred to the base
hospital of the district. At the emergency ward of base hospital, Digamber
was told his wife had suffered nearly 90 per cent burn injuries. A day
later, he took Urmila to the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, where the
doctors declared her dead.
Urmila is one of the seven people who have died so far in the
Uttarakhand forest fires, which have been burning for more than
100 days. The fire that was first reported on February 2 has already
engulfed all the 13 districts of the state. The worst-hit districts are Pauri,
Nainital, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Almora and Uttarkashi where forests
neighbouring 1,500 villages are under fire. Forest fires are a regular
feature at this time of the year in the state, but this year, say village

26-36Cover story.indd 27 10/05/16 12:33 PM

 COVER STORY
PHOTOGRAPHS: VIKAS CHOUDHARY / CSE
residents, the trees are burning as if apocalypse
On April 27, Digamber
lost his wife to a forest
is near. Till May 7, over 1,828 incidents of forest
fire in his village in
fire in the state had affected 4,015 hectares (ha),
Pauri Garhwal district
of Uttarakhand. The
of which 102 ha are plantations. State forest
charred slipper and
department puts the monetary loss at a little over
a photograph are the
only memories of his
of `35 lakh.
wife now
Environmentalists say the real loss of the fires
will be the damage done to the ecology, something
that the forest department does not track.
Uttarakhand forests are home to a significant
population of insects and mammals such as tiger,
sambar, muntjac, leopard, common langur and
the yellow-throated marten. This is the breeding
season of birds. Thousands of birds eggs were
destroyed in the fire. It is not possible to measure
the loss of such diverse fauna, but for certain, some
species of birds, insects, butterflies, could be wiped
out from the jungles, says Diwan Nagarkoti, an
environmental educationist from Almora.
Bhawani Prakash Gupta, chief conservator of
forest, Uttarakhand, says the forest departments
priority is to save the forests and
human habitation areas. As far as
Over 20,667 forest
wildlife is concerned, the four-leg-
fire incidents have ged animals run towards habitation
been reported in to escape the forest fire. Birds too
the first four months find their safety spots. But for nests
of 2016, which is and other kinds of fauna, we have no
both a drought and method or policy to save them. He
El Nio year adds that they have recently doubled
28 DOWN TO EARTH
26-36Cover story.indd 28
the number of firefighters in the state to 6,000
on the direction of the state Governor. A total of
11,773 people including firewatchers, forest de-
partment staff, police, ndrf (National Disaster
Relief Force), fire officers and sdrf (State Disaster
Relief Force) team were employed to douse the
enormous forest fire that has nearly ravaged the
state. Two Indian Air Force choppers, each with a
capacity of 3,000 litres of water, were also pressed
into service in Garhwal and Kumaon regions. He
adds that till May 4, the state had spent `50 lakh
on the water that the two choppers dropped.
But 61-year-old Kundan Singh, a resident of
Hariyal village in Nainital district, says the state
is wasting money because the firefighting teams
do not know how to control fires. Despite having
forest fires every year, Uttarakhand does not have
a uniform plan. Each district decides its own fire
plan on the basis of common guidelines stated by
the department. The district fire plan is decided in
a meeting held between December and February
every year. The meeting is headed by the district
magistrate and attended by state and district
forest officials, police, fire officers and disaster
management officers.
Forest officials say the guidelines are hardly
ever met because of paucity of funds. Whether
district-level fire plans work or not depends on
funds. If there are insufficient funds, we are una-
ble to put the plan into action, says Prem Kumar,
16-31 MAY 2016
10/05/16 12:58 PM
 COVER STORY

conservator of forests, North Kumaon. The budg-
et is decided according to the fire plan. The funds
are released in two parts: once in November-
December for preparation, and then in April-May
when forest fires peak in the state. The state gov-
ernment has released `21.75 crore between April
and May this year.
Officials say delays in the release of funds are
a regular feature, which hampers fire-control. For
example, a delay in the releasing of funds during
November-December means sufficient number of
fire lines are not set up. Fire lines are wide clearings,
ranging from 20 to 300 m, made in a forest to stop
the spread of fire. Delays mean these lines are filled
with dry leaves and twigs, and as a result help in the
spreading of fire.
While admitting to the delays, Gupta says it
does not hamper the execution of the plan. Yes,
there is a delay in the release of funds from the
government. But the department continues the
work according to the plan. The payment is com-
pensated later. Guptas explanation has few tak-
ers. Environmentalists say firewatchers and forest
guards often do not receive payment because of the
delaya reason village residents are not interest-
ed in getting involved in fire prevention activities.
Firewatchers receive promotion when they near
retirement, unlike other officials who are promot-
ed regularly. Instead of hiring conservators, more
forest guards and watchers should be employed,
says environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt, who
pioneered the Chipko movement in 1970s.
In fact, environmentalists say that though for-
est fires are a natural process, acute ones are often
triggered by people, intentionally or due to negli-
gence. Even a burning matchstick can start a for-
est fire. In Uttarakhand, illegal timber trade and
intentional and negligent lighting of fire are ma-
jor reasons for fires, says Bhatt. He adds that vil-
lage residents often set fire to the forest floor of
pine needles to get a good cover of grass the next
year and to get rid of the slippery chir pine needles.
He also points out that village residents, fire offi-
cials and traders often burn forest portions and
smuggle wood. Between April 27 and May 7, 2016,
49 police cases have been lodged throughout the

Intense politicking is choking forestry of funds

Severe damage may not be repairable, but can be avoided
Though an annual spectacle, forest fires
can't be ignored. This year, the fires are
severe because of multiple factors. Other
than the scorching heat, there was neg-
ligence on the part of government agen-
cies and apathy on the part of the local
people. Fires are lit by people for a varie-
ty of reasons, but fires become rampant
when the fuel load is not removed and fire
lines are not cleaned.
The focus should be on prevent-
ing the fire from spreading. Local peo-
ple should be involved. A long-term meas-
ure can be an annual fire management
plan prepared with maps of vulnerable
areas and an early warning system in tan-
dem with the Forest Survey of India. The
plan should be ready by December. A con-
trol room should also be established by
December, through June. Incidentally, I
suggested these provisions in the 2001
guidelines and in the integrated forest
V K BAHUGUNA
protection scheme with emphasis on Joint
Forest Management (jfm) engagement.
During my last visit to Uttarakhand, I
was told by the state president of the van
panchayat, N S Tomar, that funds from the
state were not made available to main-
tain the fire lines. Even the top brass
has no seriousness about utilising funds
from sources such as the Compensatory
Afforestation Fund Management and
Planning Authority (campa). Due to in-
tense politicking in the Union Ministry
of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change, the forestry sector is choked of
funds. On the other hand, campa has funds
in excess of `40,000 crore. Joint Forests
Management Committees (jfmcs) have an
important role in controlling these fires. It
is essential to sign a memorandum of un-
derstanding with jfmcs and pay them 50 per
cent of the expenses to control fire lines
before the start of the fire season and the
remaining at the end. District forest offic-
ers should be made responsible.
The writer was part of India's first com-
mittee on forest fire management and is
retired Director General, Indian Council of
Forestry Research and Education

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 29

26-36Cover story.indd 29 10/05/16 10:40 AM

 COVER STORY

Jammu and Kashmir

19

Forests on Himachal Pradesh

155

FIRE Punjab
32
Uttarakhand
1,395
Over 10,634 incidents of forest fire Haryana
have been reported between April 33 Delhi
1 and May 2, 2016. This is five times 2
more than what was reported during Rajasthan
the same period last year 15 Uttar Pradesh
475 Bihar
Number of forest fires between April 1 132
and May 2, 2016
Forest areas in India
Jharkhand
Gujarat
35
Madhya Pradesh 394
1,215
Chhattisgarh

50 per cent
of forests in India are
Maharashtra
1,309

609
vulnerable to fire
Telangana Odisha
142 1,346

K440 cr
is India's annual loss due
Goa
7
Karnataka
129 Andhra Pradesh
810
to forest fires
Tamil Nadu
40
Kerela
31
75,456
Very low winter
Burning red 87,553 rainfall in the
Cases of forest fires over the years El Nio, months of
drought year January and
63,257 72,689 February
El Nio, 61,799 63,287 El Nio 69,197
55,142 drought year El Nio El Nio
25,056 El Nio 70,207
El Nio,
drought year

18,669

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: Wildlife Institute of India and India Meteorological Department

30 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

26-36Cover story.indd 30 10/05/16 10:40 AM

 COVER STORY

state for intentionally lighting a forest fire.

The weather also played its part in this years
forest fire. The official forest fire season in the
state is between February 15 and June 15, when
the air is dry and warm. But this year, first for-
est fire incidents were registered on February 2.
Arunachal Pradesh
30 This year, Uttarakhand received scanty rains in
December and January making it an abnormally
warm winter. Due to lack of rainfall in the win-
ter months, there was no moisture in the air and
soil, so the fires started early, says P Soni, senior
Assam forest ecologist and former head of the division of
732 Nagaland Ecology and Environment at the Forest Research
144 Institute (fri), Dehradun.
Meghalaya The state had been registering deficit rainfall
Manipur
227 502 since May 2015, but the forest department failed
to act on the warning. Government data suggests
Tripura Mizoram that except for June, all the months between May
297 352 2015 and February 2016 registered defecit rainfall.
In January 2016, Uttarakhand re-
West Bengal ceived just 5.4mm of rain instead of
14 the expected 52.1mm. In February, India does not have
there was just 29.2mm of rain a unified forest fire
against the expected 54.1mm. policy or national
We have to understand that plan. Forest fire is
we cannot stop forest fires, but we covered in bits and
can successfully control the fire so pieces under Acts,
that it does not wreck havoc. What policies, forest
we are seeing today is the result of
working plans and
years of negligence on the part of
the (forest) department and village
various government
residents, says Soni.
forest/wildlife
Andaman and
Large-scale migration from schemes
Nicobar Islands
Uttarakhand hills in the last dec-
10
ade is also responsible for the magnitude of for-
Source: Forest Survey of India est fires this year. Arvind Bijalwan from the
Infographic: RAKU Indian Institute of Forest management, Bhopal,
and Manmohan J R Dobriyal from Navsari
Agricultural University, Gujarat, say that earli-
88,189 er village residents used to collect the litter, in-
Drought year,
cluding inflammable chir pine needle and oak,
dry year
for bedding purpose of their domestic animals.
69,121 This used to reduce fire hazardous material in
68,721 Drought year forest areas. It was also easier to douse fires as
there were more people in the area, they say. But
15,937 most hill districts in the state have seen a reduc-
El Nio, tion in population growth rates. For example,
drought year Pauri Gawhal has witnessed a 136 per cent de-
cline in decadal population growth rates between
1991-2001 and 2001-2011.
Tree varieties in the forest aided the fire. The
pine trees in the forests have resin and are high-
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 ly flammable. Chir pine and banj oak trees domi-

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 31

26-36Cover story.indd 31 10/05/16 10:40 AM

 COVER STORY
Tech no help
Despite regular monitoring and pre-warnings,
Uttarakhand failed to control forest fires
1
The National Remote Sensing Centre,
Hyderabad, receives data from two
US satellitesTERA and AQUAthat
track all the countries in the world
every six hours. The satellites are
fitted with heat-sensitive sensors
that detect fire and capture the
exact locations
2
3
Besides monitoring, FSI
also has a pre-warning
alert system, which has
over 90 per cent accuracy.
The warning data is based
on several parameters,
including forest cover,
forest type, current
temperature in the forest,
and recent fires signals.
The data gives forest
officials information at
4
least 48 hours before the
fire. FSI had sent at least
two such warnings to
Uttarakhand in the last
week of April, when forest
fires peaked in the state
Source: As told by Sunil Chandra,
scientist Forest Research Institute
32 DOWN TO EARTH
26-36Cover story.indd 32
Data is emailed to the
Forest Survey of India (FSI)
within 25 minutes. FSI then
filters the data using forest
cover maps to identify
forest fires. Further
filtration is done using
specific data such as state,
district names, longitudinal
and latitudinal details
The monitoring data is notified
through emails and SMSes in a KML
format (which supports Google
maps) to the state forest fire nodal
officer. The notifications are sent
everyday at about 3 am, 12 pm,
5 pm and 11 pm
nate 24,240 sq km of forest in the state. Chir pine
trees make up 16 per cent of the states total forest
area, according to Uttarakhand Forest Statistics
2012-13. Environmentalist Radha Bhatt says that
the British promoted the tree because the wood
could be used to make train berths. The trees are
still a big revenue generator for the state. In 2016,
Uttarakhand sold 16.5 million kg of resin in a
nationwide auction and earned over `90 crore,
which is close to five times what the state has so
far spent on forest fires.
Gupta says that his department has floated an
idea of cutting down pine trees that are found on al-
titudes above 1,000 metres. The felling of tress at
high altitudes was banned by the Centre in 1980s.
We will approach the Supreme Court with our
proposal, once it is approved by the Union Ministry
of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(moef&cc), says Gupta. Environmentalists, how-
ever, warn that the move will further damage the
states ecology. When India is fighting climate
change, it is not wise to bring down thousands of
chir pine trees. It is more advisable to introduce
broad-leaved trees, says Diwan Nagarkoti, an en-
vironmental educationist from Almora.
Removal of pine will further degrade the eco-
logical capacity of the forest to prevent loss of soil
water, says Niyati Naudiyal, a PhD student work-
ing on forest fires at the department of natural re-
sources, teri University, New Delhi. Naudiyal says
pine is a hardy tree variety that normally survives
forest fires. So, she suggests, if the state effectively
controls forest fires, other tree varieties will grow
in due time.
Playing with fire
While Uttarkhand is burning, several other states
are merely waiting for a similar fate. An analy-
sis of forest fires across India between April 1 and
May 5, 2016 shows that Uttarakhand, with 1,395
forest fire incidents, is leading. But a close sec-
ond is Odisha with 1,346 firesjust 49 less in-
cidentsfollowed by Chhattisgarh with 1,309
fires. Both Odisha and Chhattisgarh have a huge
dense forest cover. In fact, Pauri Garhwal, which
is the worst-hit Uttarakhand district, is in news
with 419 incidents of fires, but it is Bastar district
in Chhattisgarh that has reported the maximum
number of forest fire incidents this year with 555
fires. Bastar, which has 60 per cent of reserved for-
ests, is twice the size of Pauri Garwhal.
Union government data on May 2 suggests
that over 20,667 incidents of forest fire have been
16-31 MAY 2016
10/05/16 10:40 AM
 COVER STORY

Forest fires and climate change

Black carbon released from forest fires can speed up melting of glaciers
The little known story of the raging for-
est fire in Uttarakhand hills, home to many
Himalayan glaciers, is how it fouls up both
lungs and climate. When forests burn,
stored carbon is freed from these ecosys-
tems which worsens warming. Forest fires
emit a mix of organic material as well black
carbon, or soot. Organic material scatters
light and cools and black carbon absorbs
light and heats up. But on snow and gla-
ciers, both can absorb heat and speed up
melting. In the air, black and brown carbon
absorbs solar radiation and warms up the
atmosphere, worsening snow melting and
interfering with cloud and rainfall.
This is bad news when Himalayan for-
ests are prone to wild fires. Though the
numbers are uncertain, studies in the
Himalayas show two-thirds of the Hindu
Kush Himalayan and Tibetan glaciers are
melting rapidly since 1950s. In addition
ANUMITA ROYCHOWDHURY
to the CO2 led global warming, high solar
heating by black carbon at an elevation
of 2 to 5 km is as much as 25-50 per cent
of the background solar heating. A 2010
study by Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory with others shows that from
1990 to 2010, the snow/ice cover over the
Himalayas decreased by about 0.9 per
cent due to aerosols. Indian black carbon
from a variety of sources is responsible
for 30 per cent of this decline.
In 2009, the Union Ministry of
Environment and Forest and Climate
Change in its report on black carbon re-
viewed studies which found significant
impacts of South Asia's Before Christ
emissions in the Mt Everest region. A sig-
nificant increasing trend in the Before
Christ radiative forcing was noted since
1990. The report states that Before Christ
concentrations over the Himalayas and
on glaciers cannot be neglected and has
asked for its systematic investigation.
The author is Deputy Director General
- Research and Advocacy, Centre for
Science and Environment, Delhi

reported in the first four months of 2016 (see
`Forests on fire p32). The Forest Survey of India
(fsi) says over 50 per cent of the forest areas in the
country are fire-prone. It also pegs the annual for-
est loss because of fires at `440 crore. This esti-
mate only accounts for the replacement cost of the
seedlings and does not include the losses to biodi-
versity, timber, carbon sequestration capacity, soil
moisture and nutrient loss.
The country should have been especially
prepared this year. There were enough indications
for the impeding forest fires this year. Both 2015
and 2016 are El Nio years, which is widely known
as a trigger for forest fires. In fact, dry El Nio
conditions in 1997-98 had resulted in forest fires
across the globe. There are also models that show
that simple rainfall data, generated regularly by
the India Meteorological Department (imd), can
be used to indicate the dry spell and therefore the
likelihood of fires.
But India does not even have a unified forest fire
policy or national plan. Forest fire is covered in bits
and pieces under Acts, policies, forest working plans
and various government forest/wildlife schemes.
The overall management of forest fires is the respon-
sibility of the forest department. But the forest pro-
tection division is entrusted with the Chhattisgarh's
job of forest fire management work
Bastar district
along with ndma, National Institute
of Disaster Management (nidm), in-
has reported the
ternational organisations, fsi, fri
maximum number
and six regional offices of moef&cc of forest fire
in the country. The regional offic- incidents (555)
es are then expected to act as coor- this year
dinating offices with the state forest
departments to look after forest fire.
There is again no uniform process to control for-
est fires at the state level and most state forest de-
partments are understaffed. There is a complete
apathy in fighting forest fires in states. In many
instances, forest range offices have failed to act to
control fires that have happened in their vicinity,
says Alok Shukla, a forest rights campaigner with
Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan.
What is equally startling is that the country
already has the technology to monitor and warn
against forest fires. fsi researchers say that they
send daily forest fire alerts to forest departments
in all the states on the basis of data collected by
satellites (see `Tech no help p34). With the help
of satellites, we are able to know how the fire is
spreading with details like speed and area, says fri

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 33

26-36Cover story.indd 33 10/05/16 10:40 AM

 COVER STORY

scientist Sunil Chandra. The institute has also de-
veloped an advance warning system which is cor-
rect in 95 per cent of cases.
But the technology is of little help because of a
more fundamental problem that has long plagued
Indias foreststhe growing distrust between for-
est officials and forest communities. In India, pol-
icy dictates that the forest department should sup-
press fires. This is against what communities across
the world have been doing for generations. It is now
considered more prudent to actively manage avail-
able fuel in the forest by controlled burning of litter
and dead wood in the region so that even if there is
an accidental fire in the area, it is small and man-
ageable. Savita, the first woman director of fri, says
regular clearing up of fire lines and engaging fire-
watchers in sufficient numbers is the best way to
prevent forest fires in the country. And this can only
be done by engaging local forest communities.
Village residents play a critical role in detect-
ing fire and limiting its spread. The forest depart-
ment neither has enough manpower nor robust
planning. The government must recognise villag-
ers efforts, says Subrat Nayak, a development ex-
pert from Bhubaneswar.
People problem
We never ask village communities to participate
in managing forest resources, but expect their sup-
port at times of crisis. If the present situation of
estranging communities from forests continues,
there will be fewer forests and more forest offi-
cials, says Bhatt.
Forest officials normally hold communities
responsible for the fires , which highlights their
distrust in the people. Anurag Srivastava, district
forest officer of Bastar, says most fires are caused
by mahua flower collectors (normally tribal
communities) as the season of collection begins
in February and lasts through April. In order to
collect mahua flowers and initiate coppicing in the
stumps, the forest floor is set on fire which on many
occasions goes out of control, he adds. Shukla says
this is not true as most tribal communities know
how to control fire. He, instead, says commercial
activities such as mining and plucking tendu leaves
are responsible for the fires. In order to clear large
swathes of forest lands quickly, mining companies
in connivance with the contractors often set forests
on fire, which no one talks about. He adds that
earlier village residents would help forest officials

Way ahead
Migration in many districts of Uttarakhand has impacted the way forest fires are monitored
In Uttarakhand, forest fire is a common
phenomenon. Earlier, villagers used to
collect the hazardous litter, especially chir
pine needle and oak, for animal bedding.
Due to migration, there are few people left
to monitor these fires. Most of the districts
in the state have seen a reduction in pop-
ulation growth rates too. For example, in
Pauri, there was a 136 per cent decline in
population growth rates between 1991-
2001 and 2001-2011.
The fires in other parts of the coun-
try are different from the Himalayan re-
gion where the steep and undulated ter-
rain and high wind velocity spreads the
fire within few hours.
Due to the lack of manpower in the for-
est department, fire lines are not cleaned.
Forest and beat guards have to look af-
ter impossibly huge areas, around 1,500-
ARVIND BIJALWAN M J R DOBRIYAL
2,000 hectares each. Most of the beats in
states are without beat guards and man-
power is shared with two-three beats.
There are many ways in which the
impact of a forest fire can be mitigat-
ed. Trees like Banj oak, Myrica, Alder,
Rhododendron should be included in chir
pine forest. Forest litter and humus can be
converted into bio bricks and vermi com-
post. Migration should be checked.
Modern fire fighting techniques
should be adopted such as the radio-
acoustic sound system for early fire detec-
tion and Doppler radar. There should be
stronger collaboration between the forest
department and villagers. A proper fire
forecasting and warning system should
be implemented. A separate wing for fire-
fighting should be created in the forest de-
partment. A fire danger rating system for
different types of forests should be fol-
lowed. The government can also look at a
forest insurance policy for at least valua-
ble forests.
Bijalwan is with the Indian Institute of
Forest Management, Bhopal, and Dobriyal
is with the Department of Silviculture
and Agroforestry, Navsari Agricultural
University, Gujarat

34 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

26-36Cover story.indd 34 10/05/16 10:40 AM


in fire fighting but now they fear they might be
persecuted for entering reserve forests.
Communities that have managed to re-
ceive forest rights under the Forest Rights Act
(fra), 2006, allege officials are unwilling to help
them fight fire. Down To Earth spoke to two
Uttarakhand communities that have forest rights
under fra, and both complained of gross govern-
ment apathy to save their forests. Tulsi Devi, sar-
panch of Rasiyabgarh van panchayat (forest com-
mittee), says, Forest officials refuse to help us by
saying the forest is ours and we have to save it.
Every year, during forest fires, we try to contain
it with tree branches and by removing dry vege-
tation. We burn our feet, hands, ears, but the fire
does not stop. Highlighting the apathy of local
officials, Devi says the village residents recently
caught a man who was trying to set the forest on
fire. We pressured the police at Nachni village to
lodge a complaint. But the police set the man free
after a meagre fine of `250.
Chandrakala Danu, gram pradhan of
Bhainskal gram panchayat in Pithoragarh dis-
trict, too, says that the forest department has failed
them. We have asked the forest department to ap-
point a fire-watcher. We are even willing to pay
the salary. But they have not done anything yet,
16-31 MAY 2016
26-36Cover story.indd 35
COVER STORY
says Danu. Left to themselves, 40 members of the Vikram Chetri is one of
two van panchayats have formed groups to douse the many people from
the Northeast who
the fires. The intensity of the fire increased every travel to Uttarakhand
day. We single-handedly fought for seven straight every year to extract
resin from pine forests.
days after the fire broke out in our forests, but He normally earns
could not even manage to save half of our forests. `25,000 per season,
but has earned nothing
Sometimes, we feel helpless, she says. this year due to the fire
Sparks of hope
There are several examples within India where
empowered communities have successfully saved
forests from fires. One such example is of Bilapaka
village in Odishas Mayurbhanj district where the
community started to keep a check on the forests
the moment they realised the summer is going to
be warmer and drier this year. The 54 tribal fam-
ilies, who received rights over 1,200 ha of forest-
land last year, have devised a simple and effective
Forest officials' apathy and distrust
towards forest communities can be seen
at two levels. Firstly, they blame local
communities for most fires. Secondly, they
refuse to extend help to communities that
have rights of forest management
www.downtoearth.org.in 35
10/05/16 10:40 AM
 COVER STORY

Uncontrollable destruction
Human-made fires and changes in the climate are the double whammy
Traditionally, natural forest fires or wild
fires were a way to ensure that the forests
were functioning normally. Wild fires in
earlier days played an evolutionary role in
shaping eco-systems and its component
species. Humans used it as a tool to re-
shape and dominate their world.
Then there were controlled forest
fires which were human-made, but people
residing in the forests knew exactly when
and how much to burn.
However, the reasons today are large-
ly human-made. People burn forests for
collecting forest produce, for pastureland
to graze cattle, and timber. Accidental
fires are caused due to campfires and cig-
arette butts. Even when the fire is started
due to natural causes, the spread is more
rapid due to an increase in the fuel load.
QAMAR QURESHI
Earlier, the population density was low
and extent of forest was vast in compari-
son. The increasing thrust of population
pressure makes the relationship between
the people and forest more destructive.
Of late, there has been the issue of dry
climatic conditions due to the El Nio and
consecutive droughts. The forests and the
soil that hold them have a very low-mois-
ture content, making it easier to catch fire
and to spread it. The water bodies which
act as natural barriers for fire are all dry
now. Therefore, while the natural causes
that started the fire have not changed, the
climatic conditions are just right for the
fire to spread. And once the fire spreads,
it is very cost-ineffective and unsustaina-
ble to put it out.
Qureshi is a scientist in Landscape
Ecology and Geographical Information
Systems and Remote Sensing, Wildlife
Institute of India, Dehradun

mechanism to check small fires in their forest.

They first passed a resolution and set up
the Bilapaka Jangal Surakshya Parichalana
Committee (bjspc). They then chalked out an ef-
fective warning mechanism and a process to im-
mediately stop fire incidents before they become
unmanageable. Two members of the village are
assigned the duty of patrolling our forests and
alerting village residents in case of a fire. And as
per the village resolution, we do not wait for the
forest department officers to bring fire under con-
trol. We ourselves curb the fire spread in the par-
ticular area, says proud resident Kurbeli Nayak.
In March this year, bjspc submitted the manage-
ment plan for forest with Sub-Divisional Level
Committee and District Level Committee.
Neighbouring Kohla village has also been able
to keep forest fires at bay by adopting a similar
mechanism. In the Similipal National Park area, Similipal National Park. Their efforts are directly Burnt forest near
43 villages have been awarded community forest helping the cause of tiger conservation. Pangot village in
Nainital district
rights. Seventeen of these villages have already Similar stories of forest dwellers coming for-
submitted forest management plans to the admin- ward to tackle forest fires are found in Madikhol,
istration. I have been regularly visiting these vil- Sapangi, Nedipaju and Sunamai villages under
lages. I have hardly seen fire continuing for more Jamjhari gram panchayat in Kandhamal district.
than an hour in the forest surrounding them, says So the solution is simple, communities will have to
Tanuja Mishra, a researcher who has been work- be empowered to manage forests. Till then, forest
ing with the tribals. Now more than 40,500 ha fires will continue, says Shukla. n
of forest are controlled by several communities in (With inputs from Ajay Kumar Saxena)

36 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MAY 2016

26-36Cover story.indd 36 10/05/16 10:40 AM

 Advertisements

FACULTY POSITIONS IN ATREE, BANGALORE

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), an applied environmental research
institute in Bangalore, invites applications for endowed faculty positions in its research programmes on

1. Climate Change Mitigation and Development: PhD plus 2 years research experience in Energy Studies,
Engineering, Urban Planning, Environmental Science, Public Policy, Economics or related fields. Strong
interest in carrying out interdisciplinary research on renewable energy and energy access, urbanization
and environment, co-benefits of GHG mitigation, drivers of consumption and efficiency, governance and
behavioural change.

2. Forests and Governance: PhD plus 2 years research experience in Political Science, Development
Studies, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, Geography, Forest Management or related fields. Strong
interest in carrying out interdisciplinary research on forest-based livelihoods, rural development, and forest
institutions and governance.

Deadline for receiving applications is July 15, 2016.

For more details, see http://atree.org/opportunities/jobs or write to:

The HR Officer
ATREE, Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur P.O. Bangalore 560 064, INDIA
Tel: +91 (80) 2363-5555, E-mail: hr@atree.org

37 may31 2016
37Auroville +Atree.indd 37 10/05/16 11:08 AM
 ANALYSIS
www.downtoearth.org.in/energy
Delayed by design
Retrofitting India's
coal-based power
plants as per the new
standards that will be
in force from
2017 remains an
uphill task
PRIYAVRAT BHATI
| new delhi
38-40Analysis.indd 38
S
IX MONTHS after the government of
India issued a set of strict regula-
tions for coal-based power plants
and 18 months before they come
into force, there is no clarity on how, or if,
they will get implemented in time. The reg-
ulations, published on December 7, 2015,
become effective from December 7, 2017.
They aim to drastically cut air pollutants
such as particulate matter (PM), sulphur di-
oxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx),
and reduce extraction and use of fresh wa-
ter. But the operators, who would need to
upgrade plants and install new pollution
control technologies, do not appear to be
taking steps to comply with the new norms.
While some of them hope the regulations
will be watered down, others are pushing to
have the implementation date postponed.
The impact of coal-based thermal pow-
er industry on air is disproportionately
high. In India it is responsible for over 60
per cent of PM, 45 per cent of SO2, 30 per
cent of NOx and more than 80 per cent of
mercury emissions of the industrial sector.
But as per the current regulations, the
plants need to keep only the PM levels un-
der check (see Overdue reforms). There are
no national emission standards for SO2,
NOx and mercury. A 2015 study, Heat on
Power, by Delhi-based think tank Centre
for Science and Environment (cse), found
VIKAS CHOUDHARY / CSE
06/05/16 5:26 PM
 ANALYSIS

that almost two-thirds of thermal power

plants in India were not complying with
Overdue reforms
PM emission standards, which are much The new emission standards for coal-based power plants are the first tightening
more lenient than the norms in the of norms in two decades and will come into force from December 7, 2017
European Union, China and the US.
Impact on air| Of all emissions from the industrial sector In India, coal-based power plants
New norms account for:
The new standards categorise power plants Currently,
power plants have
into three groupsunits that have been in
operation before 2003, those installed be- 60% 45% 30% 80% only PM norms (50-
tween 2004 and 2016, and the ones that 350 mg/Nm3). There
will be commissioned after 2016. The are no standards for
Particulate Sulphur Oxides of Mercury SO2, NOx and Hg
standards are based on a range of factors, Matter (PM) dioxide (SO2) nitrogen (NOx) (Hg)
including the age of plant, technology used
(which determines what upgradation and
retrofitting is appropriate) and the regula- New regulations | The new regulations divide coal-run power plants into three categories
tions and environmental clearances that on the basis of their date of commissioning and have different emission standards for them
were in force when the plant was commis- Commissioned before December 31, 2003 Commissioned between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2016
sioned. The categorisation was basically Commissioned after January 1, 2017 (Emissions in mg/Nm3)
done considering all aspects, including Particulate Matter Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
availability of technology and achievabili- 100 600 (for units
200 (for units > 500 MW)
ty, says S K Palliwal, senior scientist at the 50 600 < 500 MW)
Central Pollution Control Board (cpcb), 200 (for units > 500 MW)
30 100
who was instrumental in developing the
new standards.
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) Mercury (Hg)
But the signs so far are not encourag-
600 0.03 (for units > 500 MW)
ing. An informal survey by cse shows that
many companies have little idea about the 300 0.03
equipment needed by their plants to meet 100 0.03
the new standards and are in early stages of
hiring consultants or asking manufactur- Industry excuses | Most operators have not started upgrading their plants because they
ers for clarifications on how to undertake believe the guidelines will change or the deadline for their implementation will be extended

the process. Moreover, some projects are
still moving ahead as per old plans and will
require expensive modification later.
Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, chief engineer,
Suratgarh thermal power plant, Rajas-
than Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd
(rrvunl), says, We are confident that we
will get relaxation and after the installation
we will take up the modifications, if neces-
sary. Currently, it is very difficult to make
modifications as erection and construction
is under process. The truth, however, is
that it is easier to make changes now be-
cause the plant is still under construction.
M K Mishra, chief engineer-in-charge of
installation, Chhabra supercritical station,
rrvunl, also says, No modifications have
been made to the design; fgds (flue gas des-
ulfurisation equipment, which curbs SO2
emissions) are not being installed. We will
commission the plant in September 2016;
the modifications for pollution control will
be undertaken later if needed.
1 2
Not enough New norms don't take into
space to install account Indian coal's high
new equipment ash content/emissions
Industry objections
A major technical hurdle, argued Asso-
ciation of Power Producers, the industry
trade body, in a March 16 letter to the power
ministry, is the lack of space in the old units
for installing pollution control equipment
such as fgd or electrostatic precipitator
(esp), which is used to capture particulate
matter. M K Sunder Singh, director-
thermal, Andhra Pradesh Power Gener-
ation Corporation, says, We feel we have
space constraints as fgd will have to be
placed between the chimney and the boiler,
but we arent sure. We have consulted cea
(Central Electricity Authority) and ntpc
(National Thermal Power Corporation)
who advised us to approach our equipment
supplier, which is bhel (Bharat Heavy
3 4
New technology Modification
unproven for costs are
Indian coal too high
Electricals Ltd). We are awaiting bhels
report to take further action. Same is the
case with Haryana Power Generation
Corporation Ltd (hpgcl). Ashok Garj,
deputy secretary-generation, hpgcl, says,
In all our units, space is a major constraint.
We are planning to call our equipment
supplier sepco Electric Power Construc-
tion Corporation from China to understand
the feasibility.
However, there are ways to solve this
problem. Within the existing esp, more
collecting area can be provided by replac-
ing the esp internals with taller collecting
system or replacing the existing esp fields
with bag filters, says Kamatchi Rajavel,
corporate adviser-Mitsubishi Hitachi
Power Systems (mhps), Japan, which advis-

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 39

38-40Analysis.indd 39 06/05/16 5:26 PM

 ANALYSIS
es ntpc on pollution control equipment.
Moreover, cpcb officials say that environ-
mental clearances required all units larger
than 500 MW and set up after 2003 to
leave enough space to install fgd. This
should have been followed.
Another criticism levelled by the indus-
try is that the new regulations have been
framed disregarding the high ash content
and low calorific value of Indian coal. The
high emissions by power plants are due to
the use of this coal, they say. They also argue
that the technology used in pollution con-
trol devices is unproven for Indian coal.
There isnt sufficient data on performance
of advanced pollution control technologies
using Indian coal, said Sanjay Sagar, ceo,
jsw Energy at a conference on coal held in
New Delhi on March 18. Manufacturers of
these devices, however, have a different
view. Pollution control technologies are
mature and have been shown to achieve
these levels in various operating condi-
tions, counters Alok Jha, general manag-
er, GE Power. Manufacturers are also in
discussions to set up pilot plants to demon-
strate the success of these technologies. For
instance, use of catalytic selective catalytic
reduction (scr) can help in meeting NOx
emission standards even with Indian coal.
Another major hurdle, say operators, is
the huge investment required to upgrade
the plants. Association of Power Producers
contends the costs could range between
R1.25-1.5 crore per MW. We need to install
fgd and scr to meet SOx and NOx standard
in the new Ennore 660 MW units, which
will be commissioned in 2017-18. However,
the additional investment needs to be ap-
proved by the board. The process is time
consuming and tenders have to be finalised.
So at this juncture it would be difficult, says
T Balasubramanian, superintending engi-
neer, Tamil Nadu Generation and Dis-
tribution Corporation. But manufacturers
of pollution control devices are of a differ-
ent view in this regard as well. They say the
costs will be much lessfor older units
upgradation costs would be between R0.25
-0.7 crore per MW while the for the new
plants the figure would be around
R1 crore per MW. cse estimates, based on
discussions with industry experts, that to-
tal cost for upgrading all existing coal plants
may be in the range of R65,000 crore.
40 DOWN TO EARTH
38-40Analysis.indd 40
"The [new]
categorisation
was done
considering
all aspects,
including
availability of technology and
achievability"
S K Palliwal, senior scientist, CPCB
"Pollution
control
am Ltd, says, All of our plants in pipeline
technologies
are mature
and have
been shown
to achieve these [emission]
levels in various operating
conditions. Manufacturing
capacity will quickly scale as
demand rises"
Alok Jha, GM, GE Power
"There isn't
sufficient
data on the
performance
of advanced
pollution
control technologies using
Indian coal"
Sanjay Sagar, CEO, JSW Energy
Officials at the coal-based power
plants, which have been commissioned be-
fore 2003, say that the units need costly
upgradation to meet new standards and
there is little time left to recoup the invest-
ment. According to a 2015 report by cea,
approximately 36 GW of Indias 185 GW
coal-based power capacity is contributed by
plants that are over 25 years old and are
considered to have reached the end of their
design life. These plants are both polluting
and inefficient and should be shut since up-
grading them and installing expensive pol-
lution control equipment may be uneco-
nomical, says Chandra Bhushan, deputy
director general, cse. Piyush Goyal, minis-
ter of power, coal and renewable energy, has
asked senior officials to examine options to
shut old units or replace them with efficient
supercritical plants. For the remaining
plants commissioned before 2003 (around
25 GW, estimates cse), improvements in esp
and modifications in boiler should enable
them to meet the new standards.
Silver lining
But not all is lost. A few operators are of the
view that they will be ready for the new
norms in time. U S Hota, chief engineer,
Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nig-
at Hardurganj, Panki, Obra, Parichha,
which will come up in next three-four years,
will be 100 per cent complaint with the new
environmental standard. We recently mod-
ified the Hardurganj plants contracts with
the vendors as it is in the foundation stage.
ntpc too, in a written response to cse, said,
All new units are installed with high effi-
ciency esps which are capable of meeting
the new norms for PM. In view of this, we
are confident of complying with the stipu-
lated new norms on PM.
However, a comprehensive strategy is
required to make the transition a success.
First, the government needs to restructure
the state-owned distribution companies
that are distressed. Power generators will be
able to finance the investments only if their
customersthe discomsare viable. Sec-
ond, the government should also consider
using the coal cess of R400 per tonne levied
on all coal buyers to support the investment
through soft loans or other financing mech-
anisms. Third, the tariff regulators need to
work with power companies to expedite ap-
proval of these investments and build it into
tariff changes. cea and Power Grid Corp-
oration of India need to draw a plan for stag-
gered plant shut downs that would be re-
quired during upgradations to avoid
disruptions to electricity supply.
China retrofitted over 65 per cent of its
800 GW capacity with devices to curb NOx
in five years and over 60 per cent of the ca-
pacity with fgd in four years. India too can
achieve its goals of cleaning the coal-based
power sector, but it would need a concert-
ed and aggressive action plan. Indias loom-
ing health and environment problems de-
mand nothing less. @down2earthindia
16-31 MAY 2016
06/05/16 5:26 PM
 SCIENCE
BYTES
www.downtoearth.org.in/science-and-technology
Particulate matters
Long-term exposure to PM 2.5 could
increase cancer risk by 22 per cent
VIKAS CHOUDHARY / CSE
A
STUDY quantifies cancer risk levels due to prolonged
exposure to PM 2.5ambient fine particulate matter
of less than 2.5 micrometres of diameter. For every
10 microgram per cubic metre of increased exposure to
PM 2.5, the risk of dying from any cancer rose by 22 per
cent. PM 2.5 is largely produced by the transportation
and power sectors, among other sources. The researchers
studied 66,280 people aged 65 or older between 1998 and
2001 in Hong Kong, and followed the subjects until 2011,
ascertaining causes of death from registerations. Annual
concentrations of PM 2.5 at their homes were estimated
using data from satellite and fixed-site monitors. Cancer
Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, May 1
16-31 MAY 2016
41S&T Bytes.indd 41
MARINE ECOLOGY
Complexities of climate change
CLIMATE CHANGE is usually thought of as a
single environmental threat from increases
in atmospheric CO2. But researchers found
that as far as marine life goes, there are triple
threatsrising temperatures, decreased
oxygen levels and pH or acidificationand
their impacts are not uniform across oceans.
Organisms from each ocean basin have their
own unique threshold for the level and type
of stressor it could tolerate. For instance,
diversity of marine life in the eastern Pacific
Ocean is highly sensitive to declining oxygen
levels, while CO2 levels were of importance to
biodiversity in the Indian Ocean. Proceedings
of the Royal Society B, April 27
H E A LT H
ISTOCK
Mapping female
HIV transmission
FOR THE first time, researchers have found
that the HIV virus enters cells throughout the
entire female reproductive tractfrom the
labia to the ovaryand not just the cervix,
as previously thought. The finding could help
map which areas are vulnerable to HIV and
further research could investigate why the
virus enters these areas, and not everywhere
else. The medical insight could help scientists
design a more effective vaccine to protect
women from HIV. Cell Host & Microbe, April 13
A G R I C U LT U R E
Disease resistance
R E S E A R C H E R S H AV E isolated
novel disease resistance genes and could
successfully transfer resistance into soybean,
wheat and potato. Three research studies have
focused on wheat stem rust, Asian soybean
rust, and potato late blight, which are difficult
to control and each is capable of causing yield
losses over 80 per cent. The researchers
simply restored the ability of the plants to `see'
the pathogen. Once that's done, the plant does
the rest. Nature Biotechnology, April 25
www.downtoearth.org.in 41
06/05/16 4:04 PM
 SCIENCE
EARTH SCIENCE
www.downtoearth.org.in/science-and-technology
Geo jolt A
YEAR AFTER the 7.8 earthquake
struck Nepal on April 25, a num-
ber of studies have mapped the
impacts of the quake, and found
that the country is today vulnerable to a
The earthquake that range of long-term threats. The findings are
struck Nepal a year stunning: some parts of Nepal have shrunk,
while several mountains such as Mount
ago has exposed Everest have receded in height. The quake
multiple windows of has also left a lateral movement of about
4.8 metres in the Himalayan region towards
vulnerability the Indian subcontinent, indicating that the
region is highly seismic. Researchers have
JIGYASA WATWANI found new rupture points and accumula-
tion of stress in areas south of Kathmandu.
Physical changes
Geodesy (measuring geometric space, orien-
tation in space and gravity field) assessment
has confirmed that there was a movement of
physical landforms in all three dimensions:
while land around central Kathmandu ele-
vated by up to 1.4 metres, land north of Ka-
Some parts of Kathmandu have elevated, thmandu dropped by about 1.2 metres. In-
while others have shrunk terestingly, areas south of Kathmandu did
ISTOCK PHOTO
42-43Earth Science.indd 42
not move. But why did south Nepal not ex-
perience any slip, given that the country is
part of one fault plane?
C P Rajendran of the Jawaharlal Nehru
Centre for Advanced Scientific Research,
Bengaluru, says this is indicative of some sort
of heterogeneity in the region. There could
be differences in the rheology, geology and
geometry, he adds. For instance, there could
be more rocks blocking the propagation of a
rupture in the south (geological differenc-
es) or a perpendicular hindrance to the rup-
ture (geometrical differences). There could
also be differences in the frictional proper-
ties (rheological differences) that restricted
the rupture to Kathmandu and the region
north of it (see Marking the aftermath).
Though many seismologists could not
find ruptures on the surface, Revathy Para-
meswaran of the Indian Institute of Science
(iisc), Bengaluru, and her team observed so-
me breaks and fissures on the ground. People
in this region say that when the cracks were
formed, they were more than one metre in
depth. These fissures have now been filled
06/05/16 4:02 PM
 due to ploughing or rains. We consider
these to be potential surface ruptures, says
Parameswaran.
Some seismologists, on the other hand,
attribute the absence of a surface rupture
to the fact that the rupture slowed down
under Kathmandu. Supriyo Mitra of the
Indian Institute of Science Education and
Research (iiser), Kolkata, believes that this
coould be due to the fact that there is a grad-
ual 60 ramp on the Main Himalayan Thrust.
If true, this is a new insight on the seismo-
tonics of the region. Other seismologists say
the slowing down of the rupture happened
because there isnt enough stress driving it.
Another significant physical change
that resulted from the quake is the lique-
faction of soil. Liquefaction means that the
soil particles become loose and tend to flow
like a liquid. This spells doom for structures
as well as for the people. The Himalayan
Monitoring and Assessment Programme
(himap) of the International Centre for In-
tegrated Mountain Development, Kath-
mandu, has predicted an increase in the
number and frequency of glacial lake out-
burst flood. An assessment of Imja, Tsho
Rolpa and Thulagi glacial lakes revealed
there has been a loss of morainal material
mass of rocks or sediments brought down
by a glacier. This means heightened risk of
rockfall and avalanches. himap also noticed
that the outlet pond of these lakes had wid-
ened and deepened after the quake. If this
trend continues, the moraine will continue
to subside underneath and the hydrostatic
pressure against the terminal moraine will
increase, so much so that it could, one day,
release a catastrophic flood.
The earthquake tells us that Himalayan
events can occur over a very wide range of
sizes. Not all Himalayan earthquakes will
break the whole fault interface between
India and Tibet. If residual strain can be
stored in sections of the fault interface, then
observations of displacement from the his-
The quake has left a
lateral movement of
about 4.8 metres in the
Himalayan region towards
the Indian subcontinent
16-31 MAY 2016
42-43Earth Science.indd 43
Marking the aftermath
The quake has left several physical changes which throw new light
on our understanding of the geology of the region
Quake prone areas
EURASIAN Ruptures
Landslide risk areas
PLATE While some studies have
Liquefaction of soil
found breaks and fissures on Glacial Lake Outburst Flood
the ground, others say the The outlet ponds of many lakes have
absence of raptures is due to widened and deepened, which could
a gradual 6ramp on the Main release a catastrophic flood
Himalayan Thrust
Receding mountains
Mount Everest has receded in
height by a few millimetres
Fault line
The quake has left a
lateral movement of
about 4.8 metres Imja lake
towards the Indian Tsho Rolpa lake
subcontinent Kathmandu
Liquefaction of soil Changing Geology
INDIAN PLATE Soil particles become loose While land around central Kathmandu
and tend to flow like a liquid, elevated by up to 1.4 metres, land
which could spell doom for north of Kathmandu dropped by
structures as well as people about 1.2 metres
GRAPHIC: RAKU / CSE
torical and paleoseismic record might be tre potential slip, which can result in a mag-
misleading about the magnitude, frequen- nitude nine quake.
cy, and recurrence interval for Himalayan Scientists have also tried to inch closer to
quakes. Also, the characteristics of shaking better prediction of the cyclicity (recurrence
in the Nepal quake were unusual, with lit- interval) of earthquakes. For instance, the
tle high frequency energy that may have re- recurrence interval for Himalayan quakes,
duced the amount of destruction. This was such as the one in Nepal, is about 100-200
very lucky for the people affected. But we do years. Similarly, the recurrence interval
not know if future earthquakes will behave for quakes in the Hindukush Himalayas is
the same way, says Rebecca Bendeck of the about 50-100 years, says Mitra.
University of Montana, usa. As there was no apparent surface rup-
ture, physical damage from the Nepal earth-
Quake radar quake was observed largely in the form of
Areas south of Kathmandu were crumpled secondary effects like landslides. In fact,
by the quake. So, in essence, there is a stress landslides are compounded by the lique-
in the zone towards the Terai region and less faction of the soil. A number of organisa-
stress north of Kathmandu. Based on our tions have mapped the landslide risk areas,
past experience, we expect earthquakes in the most recent being the Yale Himalayan
the areas northwest and southeast of the Initiative, an initiative of the Yale School of
rupture zone, says Mitra. In areas south- Forestry and Environment Studies.
east of Kathmandu, there hasnt been a qu- Some experts believe changes in phys-
ake since 1934. The region has accumulat- ical landforms arent permanent. Seismic
ed 1.5 metres of slip, which can result in a stress will be relieved and Kathmandu will
seven magnitude earthquake. Areas north- once again come back to its original posi-
west of Kathmandu seem more vulnerable: tion, says Parameswaran. But Mitra says
no earthquake has occurred in the region in post-seismic relaxation hasnt happened as
the last 500 years. It has acquired a nine me- yet in Nepal. @ jigyasawatwani
www.downtoearth.org.in 43
06/05/16 5:16 PM
 COLUMN
H E D G E H O G TA L E S RAKESH KALSHIAN
The genesis of a knot
If our early ancestors were polygamous,
then how did we become monogamous?
M
ONOGAMY HAS amused and bemused think-
ers in equal measure ever since we acquired
the faculty to reflect on ourselves as a species.
Friedrich Engels, Marxs collaborator, theo-
rised that ancient men and women lived and loved freely
in a communistic Garden of Eden until they were conned
into the monogamy trap by the apple of patriarchy. In a
lighter vein, Oscar Wilde has quipped: Bigamy is having
one wife too many. Monogamy is the same.
In recent times, however, it is the evolutionary biolo-
gists who have had a field day untangling the complicated
knots of monogamy. According to the first and perhaps
the most well-known proposition,
monogamy became widespread as it
ensured some guarantee to the male
(assuming the female was not philan-
dering) that he was not being cuck-
olded, which in turn, improved the
survival rates of the offspring.
In the latest scientific aperu
on the subject, researchers from the
University of Waterloo in Canada and
the Max Planck Institute for Evolu-
tionary Anthropology in Leipzig,
Germany, propose that the threat TARIQUE AZIZ / CSE
from Sexually Transmitted Infections
(stis) and the punishing of polygamists may have been a
major catalyst of monogamy.
The study is based on a mathematical model of how
different mating behaviours evolve in response to the
changing pattern of stis in large societies. The model as-
sumes that in large groups polygamous men are more
prone to stis, which may render them infertile. Hence, it
would make sense for the entire community to switch to
monogamy as a means of preserving itself, and therefore
to create incentives and disincentives that would make
polygamy unviable. The researchers, however, emphasise
that stis were probably only one among the many other
drivers. Such is the explanatory zeal of evolutionary biol-
ogists that this is probably the third account in as many
years of how and why humans came to be monogamous.
44 DOWN TO EARTH
44Column.indd 44
In 2013, a team of British researchers concluded that the
threat of infants being killed by unrelated males is the
key driver of monogamy in humans and other primates.
A year earlier, Harvard Universitys Joseph Henrich had
postulated that monogamy became the norm because it
paid rich social and economic dividends. By not endors-
ing polygamy and thereby enlarging the pool of eligible
bachelors, he argued, such societies were able to not only
reduce crime rates, but also lessen the age gap between
spouses, and decrease gender inequality.
Notice that all attempts to explain the origins of mo-
nogamy assume that our ancestors were polygamous, just
like our closest primate cousins, the
chimpanzees and bonobos. This then
raises a fundamental question about
us: if our early ancestors were polyg-
amous then why, how and when did
we become monogamous? Husband-
wife team of David P Barash and
Judith Eve Lipton, both academics at
the University of Washington, discuss
this question in great detail in their
book The Myth of Monogamy. They
argue that even though as a species
we show the characteristic evolution-
ary imprint of polygamy, not lifelong
fidelity to one sexual partner, we embraced monogamy
because it is part of our egalitarian ethos; indeed, it may
have set the stage for social equality.
Evolutionary biologists will keep amusing us with
their colourful tales about the evolutionary origins of mo-
nogamy. However, we must see ourselves predominant-
ly as products of a long cultural evolution, rather than as
prisoners of our genetic past. As the psychologist Adam
Phillips, the ever-perceptive parser of human nature, has
observed: We are the only animals that think of ourselves
as being like animals. And yet the mating habits of swans,
the courting rituals of hyenas, the ants extended family
tells us nothing about our erotic lives; nothing we can use.
Monogamy is just one of the wonders of nature; nothing
in nature is more natural than anything else.
16-31 MAY 2016
05/05/16 12:26 PM
 45 MAY31 2016
45EFRAC ad.indd 45 06/05/16 12:49 PM
 FOOD
www.downtoearth.org.in/food

Taste the bud

Used across many cultures for fuel and fodder,
the medicinal-rich semal has a culinary angle too
SANGEETA KHANNA

SANGEETA KHANNA

46-47Food.indd 46 06/05/16 4:42 PM

 W
HEN A plant is used across cul-
tures and geographical bound-
aries as ethno-medicine and fo-
od, it indicates that the people
found the properties of the plant after gen-
erations of trial and error with their own lo-
cal produce, seasons and natural instincts.
Semal, also called kapuk or silk cotton tree
(Bombyx cieba), is one such tree that flowers
spectacularly in spring and becomes a bird
magnet. Birds definitely know what to eat.
Many tribal communities consume se-
mal because of its medicinal properties. Ot-
hers worship and protect the tree. A clan of
the Bhil tribe in Rajasthan, for instance, pro-
tects the tree because they considers it a tree
totem. The Khuman clan of the Meetie com-
munity in Manipur also protects and con-
serves the tree and uses the tree produce.
Many folk songs are dedicated to the semal
tree in the tribal regions across India.
Long ago, when we moved to the earst-
while Central Institute of Fuel Research in
Dhanbad, we inherited a huge semal tree.
We used to make soft pillows using the silk
cotton from the tree. Every season I noticed
that many local tribal women came to collect
the fallen flower buds to my surprise. I got
curious and asked what they do with it and
then they told me hesitantly that they make
subzi (vegetable dish) with it.
Later, I tried the subzi myself, but did
not like it much. But it triggered my interest
and thus began my quest to know more ab-
16-31 MAY 2016
46-47Food.indd 47
out semal. I learnt that the silk cotton and
even the tough thorns on the bark are used
to treat migraine.
In fact, various parts of semal are used to
treat gastrointestinal, skin, gynecological
and urogenital diseases. Many studies have
proved the plant to have antimicrobial, anti-
inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic and
oxytocic properties. The roots, stem bark
and seeds of semal have the ability to prevent
liver damage. Alcoholic extract of the bark
and thorns are used to treat acne. Being an
antioxidant, semal helps reduce blood pre-
ssure and is good for the heart.
Ecologically serene
When grown as natural bunds, this tree at-
tracts several pollinators and provides fod-
der for farm animals, apart from providing
the occasional firewood. Semal is a fire-resis-
tant tree and is also known for its cooling
properties. If one plants semal trees around
housing colonies, the environmental cost of
air-conditioning can be minimised.
The tree acts as a soil binder and pro-
vides huge amounts of fallen foliage and flo-
wers that are an excellent medium for vermi-
composting. It is considered a pioneer tree
that generates a rich biomass every season,
and has been used to reclaim wastelands. Its
leaves and flowers are large and leathery, and
return huge amount of carbon to the soil.
This ecologically active tree fixes carbon and
helps carbon sequestration by shedding all
leaves before flowering. Many researchers
believe the semal to be a bio indicatora late
flowering could mean a hot summer or a
delayed monsoon.
Though widely known as a great source
for fodder and fuel, semal has a culinary
utility too. A few months ago, we were wal-
king around the markets of Moradabad and
a cart loaded with semal buds caught my
attention. I asked the lady on the cart about
how she cooks it and she told me the right
way (see recipe). I asked her if the buds wou-
ld survive four days in the car trunk, and she
said we could peel and chop them, and also
sun dry them to preserve.
Once home, I made a subzione with
fresh semal and another with the sun dried
ones. The subzi made with fresh buds is a
little slippery in texture, almost like steamed
RECIPE
Semal ki subzi
INGREDIENTS
250 g of tender semal buds
One potato cubed
1/2 cup onion paste
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 cup fresh tomato paste
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
3 tbsp mustard oil
1 tbsp methi seeds
METHOD
You need to first separate the fleshy
green sepals from the red petals
forming inside. Chop the sepals (the
green covering of the bud) into four
parts lengthwise
Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil and add
the chopped semal sepals. Fry for 3-4
minutes. Add the cubed potatoes and
fry for 5 minutes more. Keep aside.
Heat the remaining 1 tbsp
mustard oil and tip in the methi
seeds. Wait till they turn light brown
and then pour the onion paste. Fry
the paste till it becomes pinkish
brown. Add the ginger-garlic and
tomato paste and salt. Cook till
the mixture gets glossy. Add the
powdered spices and mix well. Stir
and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the partly fried semal sepals and
potatoes to the cooked spice mixture.
Add water, mix well and cover the
lid. Cook for about 15 minutes on low
flame. Serve with chapatis.
okra. It tastes like any other green plant with
a faint fragrance. Sun dried semals need to
be rehydrated and they taste a little more in-
tense. But heres the sweet irony: some rural
communities believe semal is inauspicious.
This myth may have originated because the
spiny outgrowths on the stem bark have so-
me endophytic pathogenic bacteria, which
act as a biological defence, protecting the
tree from animals.
The author is a food and
nutrition consultant
www.downtoearth.org.in 47
06/05/16 4:42 PM
 `Industries easily
find political
protection
whenever we
are strict'
UMA BHARATI, Union minister of water
resources, river development and Ganga
rejuvenation, speaks to SUSHMITA SENGUPTA on
the challenges of cleaning the Ganga. Excerpts
People call you India's first Ganga minis-
ter. What do you plan to do?
Water is the key to life. But there has been
mismanagement of water, not only in In-
dia, but also across the world. In India, the
reason for this is the huge population. Ev-
ery Indian respects water. They only need
to be made aware of the problems in order
to fix them. It is a challenge, but not an im-
possible task.
How will you prioritise the problems to
search for viable solutions?
There can be no prioritisation, but there
can be timeline to tackle different sources
of pollution. I can certainly say that the
most challenging one is the wastewater
being dumped by industries. Some units
release poisonous chemicals. Therefore,
industrial effluents need proper manage-
ment and the industries themselves need
to come up with solutions. The problem is
48 DOWN TO EARTH
48-49Interview.indd 48
that industries easily find political protec-
tion, and escape whenever we are strict
with them on monitoring and compli-
ance. We have asked various state govern-
mentswhere the Ganga flowsto be
very strict with industries. Domestic sew-
age, on the other hand, can be treated and
reused. The ministry of urban develop-
ment is in charge of treating wastewater
from the cities. Now it is flowing into the
river and its tributaries. Treating waste-
water from the citiesbe it industrial or
domesticis the most challenging part of
Ganga cleaning. Tackling pollution from
the rural areas is comparatively easy. We
are confident of getting the support of vil-
lagers, where small-scale wastewater
treatment plants can be constructed. At
other places, we are innovating with local
solutions to treat wastewater. Planting
trees on the river plain, for instance, can
be a solution in some areas.
How is your plan different from that of
the previous governments? Can we bring
back the Ganga to her past glory?
I personally feel there was no proper plan-
ning to clean up the Ganga before the
National Democratic Alliance (nda) came
to power. The previous government de-
pended entirely on bureaucrats to devise
river clean-up programmes. And the bu-
reaucrats only pushed for setting up sew-
age treatment plants (stps) and effluent
treatment plants (etps).
But they underestimated the pollu-
tion load to be treated in the stps and etps.
During power cuts, untreated sewage
went directly into the river.
The construction and maintenance of
stps and etps are very expensive. More-
over, since it used to take 10-12 years to
make them operational, these technolo-
gies were completely outdated. They are
not the most important part of our plan.
16-31 MAY 2016
05/05/16 12:27 PM
 new infrastructure mindlessly, we are de-
stroying our traditional water wealth. We
have to be very strict about the ecological
flow of a river. It takes millions of years for
a river to regenerate, but it can be killed in-
stantly by constructing just one dam.
Everybody thinks I am against dams.
It is not true. I have only advised that we
should not construct a dam mindlessly in
the middle of a river, but construct it in
such a way that we leave enough water to
maintain the ecological flow. We need to
maintain the various properties of a river
across all its length. The National Environ-
mental Engineering Institute, which is
working on this, will complete its research
in two years.

Cleaning the Ganga and the project to in-

terlink India's rivers are the top priorities
of your ministry. Which one do you think
is more difficult and why?
Both are different projects. The first river
interlinking project is coming up at Ken-
Betwa in Madhya Pradesh. The project has
been delayed by three to four months as
environmentalists did not clear the pro-
ject. The country needs such projects as the
countrys gdp is agro-based.
BHASKAR JYOTI GOSWAMI / CSE
Can we see a clean Ganga by the end of
Now for the first time, we are making greater emphasis on desilting.
this year?
a holistic plan and this methodology will We have also brought together experts
The cleaning of the Ganga is being done in
be applied to other rivers as well. We are fo- from across the country. I was able to get
phases. The first phase of change will be
cussing on four to five important aspects. help from the seven Indian Institutes of
visible in October this year. In this phase,
For instance, we are researching plant spe- Technology. I have personally tried to br-
we are focussing on surface cleaning and
cies that can be grown on the banks of the ing the various stakeholdersfishing co-
solid waste management. Plastics, polyes-
Ganga so that the catchment area increas- mmunities, leather industries, pulp and
ter, polythene, bottles, bodies, which float
es. We are also exploring options to store paper industries, wine industries, Forest
on the river, will be removed completely.
monsoon water near the river, so that it can The ghats will also be cleaned. Solid waste
Research Institute and the Central Inland
be released into the river during dry peri- entering the river through the drains will
Fisheries Research Instituteon the same
ods, or during drought. also be checked.
platform to enable us to plan better.
To maintain a healthy river flow, the The construction of etps and stps will
most important role is played by the flora,
The concept of ecological flow is still tak- take some time. There will be a proper bid-
fauna and human settlements near the riv-
ing roots. Can the Ganga set an example? ding process for setting up these plants.
This concept is very new to India. Indians This bidding process will take about 12-18
er. We are trying to revive such aquatic fau-
have begun to realise that by developing months. The construction will take place
na and flora in the Ganga. We are laying a
one year later, and we will follow the guide-
lines of the Central Pollution Control Bo-
We should not construct a dam mindlessly in the ard for this.
middle of a river, but construct it in such a way @lakewarriors
that we leave enough water to maintain the For full interview, log on to
ecological flow of the river www. downtoearth.org.in/interviews

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 49

48-49Interview.indd 49 06/05/16 2:43 PM

 BOOK
www.downtoearth.org.in/reviews

Anatomy of
happiness
Stefan Klein explores the complex interplay
between positive and negative emotions
DINESH C SHARMA

THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS: HOW OUR

BRAINS MAKE US HAPPYAND WHAT WE
CAN DO TO GET HAPPIER Stefan Klein
Speaking Tiger | 2 96 pages | `450

I
N OUR fast-paced lives, we are constantly looking for things and
situations that will make us feel happy. While chasing the
mirage of a stress-free life, people often try out different sol-
utionsmeditation, yoga, physical exercise, chanting, herbal
concoctions, self-help camps, motivational talks and so on. All this
has given rise to a happiness or feel good industry in recent years.
But we seldom peep into ourselves, our body and the brainwhich
is the seat of all feelings and emotions, including happiness. In
recent years, scientists have done phenomenal research in under-
standing the biological basis of human feelings like happiness, anger
and sadness. Advances in molecular biology are providing scientists
new ways of exploring different mechanisms and circuits in the
human brain and how they control our behaviour. It is now possible
to see changes occurring in the brain circuitry as people experience
emotions. We read about the results of new studies on various
aspects of the human brain, but often miss out on the bigger picture.
German physicist and science writer, Stefan Klein, has tried to
fill this gap. And the bigger picture that emerges is quite fascinating.
Two recent and significant discoveries explain the human urge for
happiness. The first reveals that the human brain has a kind of a
special circuitry for joy, pleasure and euphoria, and the other shows
that our brain continues to change even after we grow up. This me-
ans the brain can reprogram itself using external experiences as well
as learning on its own. Citing innumerable research findings, on-
going experiments, interviews with scientists as well as real exam-
ples from everyday life, Klein has pieced together an absorbing acc-
ount of the human brain. While doing so, he has quoted numerous
philosophers, gurus, writers and poets (including Tagore) and
demolished some popular myths about the human brain. Without
sounding preachy or technical, the author has conveyed the complex
scientific ideas and concepts in an easy-to-grasp narrative.
Emotional circuits
Many of the new discoveries about the brain seem to
confirm the age-old wisdom of the Greeks and the
Romans, as well as eastern cultures. Happiness and
unhappiness have their own brain circuits and
chemistry. But this does not mean that they are
independent of one another. The brain sys-
tem for positive and negative feelings is en-
twined in such a way that a good feeling
can prevent a bad one and vice versa. The
author explains the interplay between
negative and positive emotions this
way: Every neuron is in contact wi-
th other nerve cells, some of which

50 DOWN TO EARTH

50-51Book Review.indd 50 05/05/16 12:29 PM

 provide signals that stimulate activity in the neuron. From others
EXCERPT
come inhibiting impulses, and the result is a contest of strength
between the stimuli. Like a small computer, the neuron draws its
conclusion from the contradictory signals and communicates it, in RECENT DISCOVERIES in
turn, to other cells. neuroscience, especially on
The author details the role and mechanisms that brain chem- the insight that the brain
icals or neurotransmitters like dopamine, opioids, oxytocin, beta- is malleable and that it can
endorphin and luliberin play in the manifestation of different change in adulthoodwhich
is what enables us to train
our relationship with our
emotions. And neuroscience
has shown something else:
happiness is more than simply
the absence of unhappiness.
We have dedicated circuits in
our heads for positive feelings,
enabling pleasure and
enjoyment to thwart negative
emotions such as sadness
and fear, much as wind drives
away fog.
Our ability to make our lives
happier rests on these two
basic principles: we can
strengthen the circuits for
the positive feelings with
conscious practice, and we can
seek out situations that give us
pleasure and enjoyment.

forms of happiness such as love, desire, sexual attraction,

passion and friendship. While dealing with the dark side
of desire such as drug addiction, the author explains:
Like many things that have multiple applications, the
brain circuits for pleasure are vulnerable to misuse. This
-

is significant because the human brain has a single, all-

purpose system for desire and its gratificationand not
separate circuits for controlling our desire to eat, another
for love and a third one for social recognition. Thats why,
he says, Deadly sins can be seen as an overshooting of our
natural desire for happiness. The experience of addiction
permanently transforms the functioning of certain nerve
cells in the brain, altering the way in which genetic infor-
mation is read and changed into proteins.
The brain has a survival mechanism that helps us to
deal with dangers or negative thoughts. More impor-
tantly, it has the ability not just to recognise threats, but
also to imagine them. This system can sometimes result
in problems like depression, which is nothing but chronic
sadness. Depression, Klein says, is: The price we pay for
our imagination and intelligence. More than pills, it se-
ems small activities can bring a feeling of success that can
help overcome sadness. Physical activity too helps a great
dealit stimulates neuron growth and works against de-
pression and overall health of the brain.
The book drives home the point that there is no for-
mula to achieve happiness, yet it gives some general tips
about the well-being of the brain. At the beginning of the
book, the author promises that after you have read this
book, your brain will look different than it did when you
started. Not sure about the changes that have occurred
in the reviewers brain, but the book is certainly a treatise
SORIT / CSE

for anyone even slightly curious about this vital function

of human body.
The author is a science journalist
@dineshcsharma

www.downtoearth.org.in 51

50-51Book Review.indd 51 05/05/16 12:29 PM

 WILDLIFE
Whale of
a problem
Incidents of whale beaching and
deaths are increasing by the day.
Yet, scientists are only fishing for
the exact cause of the phenomenon
RAJESHWARI GANESAN
52 DOWN TO EARTH
52-53Wild life.indd 52
A
STRING OF whale beaching incidents and deaths
in India has shocked marine scientists, more
so because they dont know the cause. Of the
100-odd, short-finned pilot whales that bea-
ched in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, on January 12, 45 died. Bar-
ely two weeks later, a nine-metre dead whale washed ashore
on Mumbais Juhu beach. A week later, a 10-metre-long
sperm whale beached on the coastline of Ganjam district,
Odisha, and two days later, a 20-metre-long whale washed
ashore on an uninhabited island in Kendrapara district,
also in Odisha.
These incidents only mirror the global pattern. Between
January and February this year, nearly 300 whales have
been found stranded across the world. Many theories are in
circulationfrom increasing global temperatures, disrup-
tion of underwater environment by natural causes or
human-made noise to water pollution, including oil spills
and eutrophication (enriching of an ecosystem with
chemical nutrients leading to an algal bloom). But while
marine biologists agree that stranding is a natural pheno-
menon, they are unable to understand the cause of the
increased frequency of eventsthe primary cause remains
unknown and it could be more than one factor.
16-31 MAY 2016
05/05/16 12:29 PM
 www.downtoearth.org.in/wildlife-and-biodiversity
REUTERS
peril themselves, adds Murugan.
This was the reason cited when nearly
200 pilot whales were stranded in New
Zealand on February 12, of which 140 died.
Scientists believe that a pod typically gets
stranded after one animal gets stuckoften
an older or sick individual weakened by
disease, hunger or pollution. The rest get
caught up in tide fluctuations and they get
lost, because they focus on being with the
sick individual, says Trevor Spradlin, a
marine mammal biologist with the US Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration. In fact, scientists do not know the
exact reasons for their deaths even though
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of
whale stranding in the world (with an aver-
age of 300 cetaceans stranding every year).
Another cause could be pollution. In
Germanys North Sea coast, 13 sperm whales
were washed ashore up near the state of
Schleswig-Holstein in early-February this
year and died due to heart failure. Necropsy
of four of the beached whales revealed that
A nine-metre
dead whale
there was garbage, including a nearly
found washed 13-metre-long shrimp fishing net, a plastic
ashore on
Mumbai's
car engine cover and the remains of a plastic
Juhu beach on bucket. However, according Whale and
January 28
Dolphin Conservation (wdc), a non-profit,
the link between plastic ingestion and heart
Probability axis failure is ambiguous. Instead, they flout
Whale stranding is a grey area and there isnt another theory. Sperm whales are used to
enough research to pin down the exact cau- very deep waters. The whales might have
se. Whales have very strong social bonds. A entered the North Sea chasing squid and
group of whales may be drawn to the shore with the sea floor not being deep enough,
by the distress signals of one member which they might have got disoriented and lost
may have got stranded. It could also be po- their way, says Danny Groves of wdc.
ssible that the pilot or the leader whale
could be sick, injured or disoriented, and by Direct and indirect causes
following the leader, the entire group could One of the most possible direct causes is the
be beached, says A Murugan, head of de- disruption of the underwater environment
partment of marine ecology and conser- by human-made noise. It could include
vation at V O Chidambaram College in Tuti- active sonar and sonic discharge for seismic
corin, Tamil Nadu. The disoriented leader testing. We have found correlated occur-
may make one error in navigational judg- rences, says Iain Kerr of Ocean Alliance, a
ment and lead the group to be beached. research organisation working to conserve
Another speculation is that they could whales. Says Groves, Noise from military
be trying to rescue their leader and end in exercises (using loud explosions or powerful
Whales have strong social bonds. A group of whales
may be drawn to the shore by the distress signals of a
sick member or follow a disoriented leader to the beach
16-31 MAY 2016
52-53Wild life.indd 53
sonar) or from exploration surveys at sea for
oil and gas could also cause whales and
dolphins to be stranded on the shoreline as
they live in a world of soundusing it to
communicate, find food and navigate. Sci-
entists add that the cause could be as natural
as heavy underwater activity like earth-
quakes or volcanoes on the ocean floor that
could disturb whales, leading to a distress
movement towards the shores.
A probable factor could be red tides
caused by algal blooms that not only
discolour coastal waters, but deplete oxygen
and release harmful toxins. This was the
reason cited by conservationists when they
found 337 cetaceans305 carcasses and 32
skeletonsfrom a section of the Gulf of
Penas and Puerto Natales in Aysn region in
southern Chile in June 2015.
Red tides can be caused or exacerbated
by nutrients from sewage and fertiliser,
although its often very difficult to find one
person or corporation culpable, says
Carolina Simon Gutstein, an evolutionary
biologist at the Universidad de Chile and
Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales in
Santiago, who is about to publish a scientific
paper on whale deaths.
A theory often overlooked is changes in
their food supply due to climate change.
Whales are intelligent air-breathing mam-
mals and adaptable to a wide range of water
parameterstemperature, salinity and ch-
emical composition. Changes in tempera-
ture could influence the location of prey spe-
cies for the whales long before it affects the
whales directly. This means that foraging
whales could stray into unfamiliar waters
where the danger of mass stranding increa-
ses, says Paul Sieswerda of Gotham Whale,
an organisation tracking marine life.
Theres also a strong belief that some of
the dead whales belong to the bigger Azo-
rean population of sperm whales and per-
haps, as their populations recovered, they
have lost the knowledge on how to get to the
winter feeding grounds. The importance of
getting to the animals as soon as possible to
conduct post-mortems cannot be under-
stated. Only further research and analysis
will help us to find out the cause of their
deaths, adds Groves.
@ rajeshwariyer
www.downtoearth.org.in 53
05/05/16 12:29 PM
 COLUMN
PAT E N T LY A B S U R D L AT H A J I S H N U
Stairway to Heaven...and court
As cases of music plagiarism abound, we need to ask
how original is original?
F
OR FANS of Led Zeppelin, there was heart-
break last month. A US district court decided in
April that the biggest name in 20th century rock
should face trial on charges of having filched the
tune for its most popular Stairway to Heaven from a lit-
tle known bands song Taurus. For the generations that
grew up with that song, released in 1971, it was discon-
certing to think that guitarist Jimmy Page and singer
Robert Plant, who were credited as writers of the British
bands most iconic song had ripped them off. And the
original composer.
Last month, a judge ruled that Stairway to Heaven
had enough similarities to the previously composed song
Taurus by the lesser-known band,
Spirit, with whom Led Zep had trav-
elled in the 1960s. But the question
many people are asking about the
lawsuit is why now, some 45 years
after it was released. In the US, the
statute of limitations for copyright
infringement lays down that action
has to be within three years after
the claim accrued. Besides, Spirit
guitarist and Taurus author Randy
California is no more.
The case has been facilitated, say TARIQUE AZIZ / CSE
copyright lawyers, by the reissue of
the Led Zeppelin IV album which includes Stairway to
Heaven in October 2014. Since a new master recording
was created, it helped to get around the statute of limita-
tions. So, a lawyer acting on behalf of the estate of Randy
California has filed the lawsuit, hoping to set the record
straight. There is also the question of the estimated half
a billion dollars that Stairway to Heaven has earned for
the band. Curious, indeed.
In the US, music copyright cases have involved some
big names and big money. Shakira, Beyonce and in earli-
er times, George Harrison of the Beatles have all been ac-
cused of ripping off the original composer. In India, con-
versely, few such cases come to court although plagiarism
is the leitmotif of song compositions in the Hindi film in-
54 DOWN TO EARTH
54Patently Absurd.indd 54
dustry. The most celebrated is the 2008 case against the
high profile Roshans for copyright violations in their film
Krazzy 4. They had lifted part of Ram Sampaths mu-
sic which he had created for a TV commercial for Sony
Ericsson. The judge said that even to his untrained ear,
some tracks of Krazzy 4 were similar to the TV jingle
and awarded Sampath the `2 crore compensation he
had sought.
It was a rare order in the Hindi film industry which
is known for its blatant lifts, not just from regional films,
folk songs but also from a host of international com-
positions. The fine line between plagiarism and inspi-
ration is hard to define and the benefit of doubt has al-
ways been in favour of the copier.
How does one categorise subcon-
scious copying? Can it be termed
copyright infringement? Theres the
case of Harrisons My Sweet Lord
which a band called The Chiffons
thought was a copy of its Hes so
fine. Harrison, however, claimed to
have used a Christian hymn as his
inspiration and the judge hearing
the suit believed that the ex-Beatles
member did not copy intentional-
ly and had only been inspired by it
subconsciously.
Lawrence Liang, a legal researcher and lawyer who
has written extensively on popular culture and piracy, ar-
gues that the act of copying is central to the ways in which
culture flows through the world, transcending the limi-
tations set by space and time. Liang who has a passion
for tracing the origins of some of the most memorable
compositions in Hindi cinema discovered that the lilting
Dil Tadap Tadap Ke number from the Bimal Roy classic
Madhumati was based on a Polish folk song. That song
has become part of Indian popular consciousness through
Salil Chowdhurys adaptation. Was it conscious or sub-
conscious copying? The creation of music has always re-
lied on adaptation, influence and inspiration. So who is to
say how original is original?
16-31 MAY 2016
09/05/16 3:01 PM
 Advertisement
Advertisement

THE WATER ENGINEERS

P
& Hi g h u ri t y S yst
a tio n e
li n
m
a
s
De

nsat
e Polishing Sy
de ste
n m
o

C
Ind
ust ors
rial & Municipal Sect

astewater Trea
&W tme
er nt
at
W

De
gn

s
si

nt
an e
dM ipm
an ufacture of Equ

ENGINEERING WATER TO PERFECTION

WATER PURIFICATION WATER RECYCLING WATER MANAGEMENT WATER ECONOMICS

Global partnerships. Over 25 years in the business. Cutting-edge technology. Multi-industry experience. Well
respected client base. Innovative, customised solutions. If there's anyone in the country who thoroughly
understands the dynamics of water treatment: from purification to recycling and management to
economicsit's Triveni. The Water Engineers.

TRIVENI ENGINEERING & INDUSTRIES LTD.

WATER BUSINESS GROUP
A-44, Hosiery Complex, Phase-II Extension, Noida - 201305,
National Capital Region (NCR), India.
Phone: +(91)-(120)-4748000. FAX: +(91)-(120)-4243049
Email: wbg@projects.trivenigroup.com
www.trivenigroup.com

55Triveni ad.indd 55 15, 2011 Down

Janmay31,16 To
To Earth
Down06/05/16
Earth 55
12:49PB
PM
 OPINION

LOSING
THE BATON
The European Union has consistently
been vacating its leadership space
to the US in successive climate
negotiations. Will it continue to
remain an exclusive and unfair actor?
VIJETA RATTANI
SE
T/C
SORI

56 DOWN TO EARTH

56-57Opinion.indd 56 05/05/16 12:29 PM

 T
HE PARIS Summit was a watershed in the history of glob- and formed the High Ambition Coalition, which was endorsed by
al climate politics where the world adopted a new climate countries including the US and Brazil. Its indc talked of a 40 per
agreement in its supposed quest to save our planet from cent emission reduction by 2030 against 1990 levels, the highest
the hazardous impacts of climate change. The European pledge in the developed world. Before the summit, the EU released
Union (EU), whose performance has been highly disparate in past its negotiating position for the creation of the new Paris Protocol: a
climate summits, managed, in some ways, to get its act together in five-year cycle for strengthening mitigation commitments; a tem-
Paris, more so to gain from the new climate order than on norma- perature goal; linking of carbon markets and transfers of mitiga-
tive considerations. tion commitments between countries; robust review and transpar-
This is contrary to its earlier position. On numerous occasions, ency system to track governments performance on their targets;
the EU has claimed its normative leadership on the issue of cli- and, the financial provisions reflecting the parties evolving capa-
mate change. It played a crucial role in bilities and responsibilities.
getting the Kyoto Protocol ratified after
the US suddenly opted out. However, its Throughout the summit, Playing second fiddle
role has steadily declined subsequent- the EU had to give in many But many of its significant goals such as
ly, and at the Copenhagen Summit in times to USA's demands, review and transparency, temperature
2009, it actually collapsed and was mar- which meant no targets on goals and ambition cycle got material-
ginalised by other actors, including Chi-
reductions, no serious financial ised in the final agreement. Throughout
na and India. Since Copenhagen, there
has been a partial recovery. While at the
commitments and no ambitious the summit, the EU had to give in many
times to usas demands, which meant
Durban Summit, it was more flexible in
mechanism for ratcheting up no targets on reductions, no serious fi-
its negotiating stance and had modest targets. It failed to push for an nancial commitments and no ambitious
goals, it wasnt efficient in Doha and lat- equitable agreement mechanisms for ratcheting up targets.
er meetings. Several factors explain this In the absence of non-quantified miti-
inconsistency, prime among them being the EUs incoherence ow- gation targets, it is highly questionable as to how much this agree-
ing to its vast heterogeneity, lack of flexibility in decision-making ment will actually be able to address climate change. Moreover, the
and financial crises. EU has also failed to push for an equitable agreementhistorical
responsibility for past emissions of industrialised countries stands
Between norms and expectations deleted from the agreement text.
Analyses also reveal that the EU has fallen drastically short of its Nevertheless, given the time crunch, urgency of a new agree-
normative claims of being an inclusive actor in climate negotia- ment and external circumstances involving multiple players with
tions. It has deliberatively ignored the demands of the developing their respective passionate and rather stubborn stances, the EU was
worldissues of equity and differentiation have been highly dilut- a visible and largely coherent actor. To a large extent, it was success-
ed much to the dismay of the developing countries. Promises of fi- ful in using its diplomatic capabilities, forging consensus in push-
nancial contributions have mostly remained unmet and nothing ing for many of its goals in the final Paris text. In that context, as
substantial has been attained in terms of technology transfer. Thus, compared to past summits, EUs performance was relatively bet-
issues central to the developing world discourse have not been ad- ter. However, given that the US was the undisputed dictator of most
dressed till date. of the crucial elements in the Paris Agreement text, the EU was left
Nevertheless, though inconsistent and often not inclusive, EUs without much of a leadership role to play.
role has been remarkable in setting the agendawhether pushing It would now be interesting to watch and analyse the role of the
for the polluter pays principle in the Kyoto Protocol, setting up EUhow soon it ratifies the Paris Agreement and pushes others
the first global carbon market under the Emission Trading Scheme to do the same; whether it formulates its interim targets by 2025,
or domestic initiatives such as the European Climate Change Prog- how it engages on the US $100 billion financial commitment; and,
ramme. Its Vision 2020 includes a 20 per cent emission cut by its role in creating an ambitious mechanism for review, transpar-
2020 and it was the first to come up with the Intended Nationally ency and carbon markets. Will it regain its leadership position or
Determined Contributions (indc). will it slide down further, given its inconsistent performances in cli-
To prove its mettle in cracking a deal, in the days preceding the mate negotiations?
summit, it forged alliances with two of the current pivotal players The author works with the Climate Change Division at
the US and Chinaurging them to push for a legally binding, am- the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi
bitious climate agreement. It also engaged with small island states @ vijeta88

16-31 MAY 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 57

56-57Opinion.indd 57 05/05/16 12:29 PM

 LAST WORD
CIVIL LINES R I C H A R D M A H A PAT R A
What would happen now?
A normal monsoon will be useful only if we
learn lessons from the current drought
B
Y THE time you read this edition, the monsoon
might have entered mainland India. This is go-
ing to the first normal monsoon in three years,
says the India Meteorological Department. The
severity of water crisis and the drought that has 13 states
under its grip, have made us wait desperately for a nor-
mal monsoon. But will a normal monsoon wash away the
drought that has impacted 330 million people? Would it
ensure there would be no drought in the future?
At a time when hope is the only commodity one
would love to trade, the answers to
the above questions could be inhu-
manly negative. The current drought
or those in the past have not hap-
pened just because of a deficit mon-
soon. Less rainfall creates water stress
situations but our policies make them
persist. During a recent consultation
on drought, organised by the Swaraj
Abhiyan in Delhi, many farmers from
drought-impacted states argued that
lack of rain per se didnt result in the
situations we witness now. While
they demanded drought relief, the
consensus was more on how to get
TARIQUE AZIZ / CSE
relief from drought, which is a long-
term goal. But the definition of long-term is subjective.
In the 1950s, when famine was frequent in India, similar
demands were made. It means, in the last five decades, we
have not taken a call on that long-term goal. In between,
there have been many droughts, impacting more people.
During the recent Budget session, Parliament did
discuss drought, although just 80 parilamentarians at-
tended the discussion, and without the the nodal minis-
ter in charge of drought management. The debate was a
senseless repeat of the water crisis that had already been
reported and debated widely. No solutions were offered.
The message was clear: drought is a direct result of defi-
cit monsoon, which is beyond anybodys control. Sending
a water train to the nearest railway station seems to be
58 DOWN TO EARTH
58Last word.indd 58
the governments best ever innovation in drought man-
agement even if India has sent such trains during past
droughts as well.
This is where the benefits of a normal monsoon will
not be availed again. It is clear that the millions of wa-
ter harvesting structures created under the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(mgnrega) in the last one decade have failed to show
results. It is because the government took a short-term
view of the problem: just focus on employment-gener-
ation, while the structures should
just be by-products treated as waste.
Many villages that gave importance
to such structures are reaping a good
harvest. They get more employment
out of agriculture than mgnrega by
using it for creating rural assets.
Everything is not lost. Despite
rampant technical problems, there
are still millions of water harvest-
ing structures that can be revived. To
drought-proof the country, the gov-
ernment should focus mgnrega la-
bour exclusively on reviving these
structures. Starting immediate-
ly, this exercise should continue till
July by when the monsoon would have covered most of
India. This will not only provide employment but also
ready these structures to harvest water from a normal
monsoon. Down To Earths August 15,2001, edition had
a cover story on how people reaped the many benefits of
rainwater harvesting. It evaluated how states took up ex-
tensive rainwater conservation in face of the 1998-2000
drought and later benefitted from a normal monsoon.
These villages are considered prosperous now and have
not been affected by the current drought.
That is the potential of rainwater harvesting. A nor-
mal monsoon can be beneficial only if we are prepared to
hold rainwater. Otherwise, it will continue to be the same
old story of drought in India.
16-31 MAY 2016
10/05/16 11:58 AM
 First-ever
environment impact
study of Indias coal
thermal power sector,
covering 47 plants
with 55% of the
countrys thermal
electricity capacity
Y T O D AY
U R CO P
GE T Y O

You can order this or

other CSE books by
visiting our online store
http://csestore.cse.org.in

For further details contact rchandran@cseindia.org

Centre for Science and Environment, 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi-110 062
Tel: 91-11-40616000, 29955124 Website: www.cseindia.org

79Heat On Power ad.indd 3 10/05/16 11:14 AM

 R.N.I. NO. 53588/92 POSTAL REGN. NO. DL(S)-17/3109/2015-2017
ISSN 0971-8079. Licensed to Post without Pre-payment U(SE)-44/2015-2017 at Lodhi Road HO,
New Delhi-110003. Published on 14-15 every month. POSTED ON: 16-17 of the same fortnight.

Training programme
EIA PROCESS: SCREENING
TO DECISION MAKING

COURSE FEES
Rs 15,000 for developers, government
officials and consultants, Rs 10,000 for
academicians, NGOs and researchers,
Rs 7,500 for students
Note: Accommodation can be arranged
nearby the training centre, would incur
extra charges
COURSE DURATION
July 4-8, 2016
E nvironmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an important tool for decision-
makers, regulators and stakeholders to understand the potential impacts
(adverse as well as favourable) of the developmental activities on environment
and society. EIA is a process to internalize the externalities associated with the
project activities and cost for decision-making.
Centre for Science and Environment is conducting a five-day training
programme aimed at giving practical inputs to participants on conducting
sector-specific EIA for mining, thermal and cement sectors specified under
EIA Notification 2006.
The training inputs to participants would improve their understanding of:

TIMING 1. Screening and scoping of the study, including identification of legal

9.00 am to 5.30 pm requirements and formulation of ToR
2. Understanding relevant baseline data to be collected (primary and secondary)
COURSE VENUE and the methodology of data collection
CSE, 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area,
New Delhi 62 3. Interpretation of data to assess assimilative capacity of the study area

LAST DATE FOR APPLYING 4. Impact and risk assessment of project activities
June 26, 2016
5. Mitigation and monitoring plan

OPEN FOR ALL 6. Environment Management Programmes (EMP)

Functional Area Experts, Environment
Consultants, NGOs, Regulatory 7. Budgeting and Project Benefits
Institutions (such as SPCB, State
Environment Impact Assessment
8. Public Hearing
Authority), Students, Decision Makers 9. Evaluation of quality of EIA Report
and Industry Professionals
10. Presentation of EIA Report

Selection will
be done on first For registration: Kindly email at: digvijay@cseindia.org
come first
basis

For details contact: Digvijay Singh, Sr. Research Associate, Industry and Environment Unit
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi-110062
Ph: 91-11-2995 5124 / 6110 (Ext. 204); Fax: 91-11-2995 5879
Mobile: +91 9891921959, +91 9899676027 Website: www.cseindia.org

80GRP EIA Course ad July 4-8, 2016.indd 17 06/05/16 2:58

may31,16, BC PM