Centre for Science and Environment masthead Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Donate

Cse In News

Cse In News

How The Disposable Company helps brands meet recycling goals every month

An average day for Mukesh involves wearing a safety suit and gloves and getting his hands dirty collecting plastic waste from one of the several heaps at the landfill in Ghazipur, Delhi. “For the last two years on somedays I collect waste and sell it independently in markets and on other days we are asked by the company to collect a certain amount of plastic waste from the landfill. In exchange we get money from the recyclers and additional incentives from the company,” he tells SocialStory. As many as 100 such ragpickers are presently working with the Mumbai-based startup— The Disposable Company. The company—founded by Bhagyashree Bhansali in 2020—helps brands neutralise plastic waste by recycling an equal amount from the Ghazipur landfill. According to the data shared by the Centre for Science and Environment and experts, landfills receive almost 3,000 metric tonnes of waste from the national capital every day. TDC collaborates with rag pickers and waste segregators to retrieve plastic waste from the landfill. For their safety, they are provided with proper safety gear, gloves, and more. It has generated 500 jobs in NCR through this process.

Where the Sun Pays the Bills: How a Village in India Is Testing the Limits of Solar Power

Around 80 kilometers from Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, Modhera went from being a little-known tourist spot to becoming India’s first fully solar-powered village in October last year. In Modhera, no one pays for electricity any more. Instead, villagers look at their electricity bills every month to see how much money they’ve earned from selling solar-generated electricity to the main grid. As part of a large-scale solar electrification project funded by the government, over 1,300 of the 1,700 houses in the village were installed with 1kW rooftop solar panels last year. Connected to a 15 mW-hour Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) located in the neighboring Sajjanpura, this system generates more than enough electricity to fulfill Modhera’s power needs. Over 1,500 households are now almost entirely reliant on solar energy, cutting down conventional energy use from 60% to 100%, but experts have cast doubts on the replicability, financial viability and socioeconomic impact of this project. Nonetheless, the immediate impact is clearly positive. The around 6,500 residents of Modhera are mainly potters, artisans, tailors, shoemakers and farmers – and freed from large electricity bills, they have been able to as much as double the amount of the shoes, clothes, and earthenware they produce. They have also been able to use the money saved in electricity bills: on improved education, more nutritious food, and to invest in their livelihoods. Solar Energy Lights Up Modhera Residents of Modhera have used the money they save on electricity bills to buy an electric sewing machine, an air conditioner, an electric pottery wheel, and more. Without high electricity bills to contend with, many of the villagers are able to afford more nutritious diets, spend more on education, and use electrical tools to sew, make earthenware, and produce handicrafts. Land prices around Modhera have also skyrocketed, and many large land-owners have been able to sell off their land to builders for crores of rupees. While the immediate economic impact is obvious, it is unclear whether this will have longer term benefits for Modhera, or will just be a temporary economic boost as the villagers get used to paying less for electricity. Dr. Niti Mehta, a rural economics researcher and Acting Director at Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research in Gujarat, told Unbias The News that it is too early to comment on the impact of this project. She pointed out the importance of conducting a socio-economic impact assessment before embarking on large-scale projects of this kind. An expensive solution The solar energy installation has 3 elements – a 6 mW ground-mounted solar power plant, a 15mW storage system, and 1,300 rooftop photovoltaic panels that have been installed on most of the houses in the village. The system generates about 6,332 kWh of power a day, of which about 6,000 kWh is used by Modhera, and the rest goes back to the grid, making the village a net energy-generator, the first of its kind in India. But India’s first and only fully solar-powered village has come at a steep price – both figuratively and literally. The solar electrification project, a joint effort by the central and state government of Gujarat, cost taxpayers a massive Rs. 80 crores ($9.7 million). It also took away prime grazing land from the nearby Sajjanpura, and has impacted the livelihoods of pastoralists in the area. India’s entire budget for off-grid solar projects in 2023-24 is Rs. 361.50 crores. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has a total budget of Rs 10,222 crore in 2023-24. Using up the entire MNRE budget would only solar-electrify 127 Modhera-like villages. “This project caters to the energy needs of just one village. There are more than 650,000 villages in India,” said Jaychand Shiv, Programme Director – Renewable Energy, at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a public interest research and advocacy organization based in New Delhi. “I would not say there is significant environmental impact,” Shiv told Unbias The News. “[In the grand scheme of things], this is a very minuscule project,” he said, adding that it could still have teachings for the world. “This is a one-off model project but it can have teachings for the entire world, especially for Global South countries which still have a hard time providing energy to villages. It can show us how a renewable energy project should be designed and developed in a rural set-up.” Jaychand Shiv Another concern is the question of who will foot the subsequent maintenance bills associated with this solar installation? Thousands of mini solar grids in India are already lying defunct for want of maintenance funds. India’s rush to develop new solar projects may mean existing grids end up neglected and unused. Although the solar electrification of Modhera has improved the lives of residents by providing an economic boost and improved livelihood opportunities – given the capital and land outlay, it seems unreasonable to expect similar initiatives elsewhere in India. Experts are questioning whether installing solar panels in just one village moves the needle on meeting global emissions goals at all. Greener Pastures… for Some Additionally, the socio-economic impact hasn’t been positive all around. While residents of Modhera are rejoicing at the prospect of free electricity and increased land rates, less than 6 km away, pastoralists in Sajjanpura, a nearby village, feel shortchanged. The energy storage system connected to the solar panels in Modhera has been constructed in Sajjanapura, occupying 12 hectares of what was previously prime grazing land. The loss of pastoral land means that most of Sajjanapura’s residents are now struggling with increased cattle feed costs. Many villagers are distraught at the loss of grazing land, and some have had to sell part of the cattle that make up their livelihood. A field investigation supported by Thomson Reuters revealed that many villagers ended up selling cattle to cope with the increased cost of feeding them. This includes farm laborer and pastoralist Sunil Singh, who sold 2 of his 9 bovines. Another resident, who owns 10 buffaloes, reported that the cost of buying hay to feed his cattle is as high as Rs. 60,000 a month – and selling the milk they produce only brings in Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 a month. Sajjanapura is home to about 1,000 villagers, most of whom belong to the Bakshi Panch community and are considered part of OBC (Other Backward Classes), an official categorization referring to traditionally lowered castes, protected by law. Cattle pastoralism is the main occupation and source of income, and landholding is low. Energy Transition: Green, But Not Always Just India generates the second most coal-fired electricity in the world, behind China – and any proposed shift to cleaner forms of energy, however small, is good for the environment and global climate goals. But often, these shifts to cleaner energy come at a cost – and that cost may be too high for most developing nations, holding them back economically and pushing the most financially vulnerable people into poverty. Reducing coal use, for instance, will impact the 3.6 million people who are directly or indirectly employed in the coal mining and power sectors in the country.

‘From voices of the marginal to voiceless species, G20 can help to forge environmental justice’

Mahesh Rangarajan is professor of history and environmental studies at Ashoka University. Speaking to Times Evoke, he discusses the evolution of climate justice — and the G20’s potential: The G20 Summit brings the notion of environmental justice to the fore. The environment itself came onto the international agenda formally in 1972 at the Stockholm Conference. There were agreements before, such as the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, motivated by concerns about what radioactive fallout would do to Earth. A notion of ecological safety and the future had begun. But the first global conference on the environment was in 1972. One of the strongest fissures then was between communist and capitalist countries or the Soviet and US-led blocs. The other was between the global North and South. Even though broad agreement emerged that the environment should be protected, there was disagreement on who’d pick up the bill for this. Many developed countries said ecological problems were due to population, looking askance at Asia, Africa and Latin America. 4 (1) Developing countries argued the historical trajectory of imperialism and industrialisation was crucial and development could not be denied to latecomers — if environmental costs were to be controlled, technology and finance would have to be shared. In 1992, the UN Environment Conference met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By then, as much scientific climate work had come into public prominence, concerns about global warming had grown more central. Yet, divisions had also become sharper. It was clear now that greenhouse gases would be global in their impacts, encompassing everything from precipitation to oceans, crops to human health. But this was a post-Cold War world where the US saw economic growth as the major driver of solutions. A strong critique of this was made in ‘Global Warming in an Unequal World’, authored by Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain, who used a car park analogy where a small number of people had taken a great deal of space and others couldn’t even park a bicycle. They questioned how the global atmosphere could be apportioned now — would it be as per histories of growth, country size or per capita? Today, a lot has developed, including agreement on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. The Sharm El-Sheikh COP in 2022 also saw concerns about global warming exceeding a safe margin. The issue of climate justice is now posed in a very stark form — all governments agree that something must be done. But the question remains — who will pick up the costs? One difference is that today, partly because of international cooperation stemming from globalisation, there is an idea of involving the private sector, mobilising capital and making technology accessible to more countries than possible earlier. Climate justice is now also about those who would like modern development while minimising environmental harm — this applies to both developing and industrialised economies. The notion of climate justice is also important because different nations have different relationships to the world order which took shape after World War II. This gave great weightage to the countries which led the Allied coalition. But the world today is politically and economically different — hence, it must be environmentally different as well. The global ecological agenda needs to reflect shared concerns with different viewpoints. That includes costs, technology and choices about livelihoods and lifestyles. There is a recognition that humanity must reduce its collective environmental footprint without overburdening those who contributed the least to this.

The Disposable Company: Reducing Plastic Waste Through Recycling

The Disposable Company (TDC) is a Mumbai-based startup founded in 2020 by Bhagyashree Bhansali. The company’s mission is to help brands neutralize plastic waste by recycling an equal amount from the Ghazipur landfill in Delhi. With the help of ragpickers and waste segregators, TDC collects plastic waste from the landfill and provides them with proper safety gear. Since its establishment, TDC has generated 500 jobs in the National Capital Region (NCR) and has collaborated with 65 brands, including mCaffeine, Slurrp Farm, and Bombay Shaving Company. The company recycles an average of 45,000 kilograms of plastic every month. As part of its process, TDC first educates brands on improving their packaging and reducing plastic usage. They then assess the types and quantities of plastic used in each product and calculate the total waste generated by the brand. Collaborating with ragpickers, TDC retrieves the plastic waste from the landfill and sends it to recycling companies. Once converted into granules, these granules are sold to businesses that use them to make various products, effectively recycling the plastic waste. Ragpickers are rewarded with a minimum of Rs 50 per kilogram of waste from the recyclers and receive additional incentives from TDC. This work has provided a source of income for individuals like Mohit, a 21-year-old graduate, who has earned as much as Rs 14,000 per month as a ragpicker. Bhansali, motivated by her personal experiences and a desire to create a cleaner world for future generations, started TDC with a purpose. The company’s efforts not only address the pressing issue of plastic waste but also contribute to the reduction of environmental pollution and the promotion of sustainable practices. Sources: Centre for Science and Environment

How 'half-hearted' ban has failed to check plastic use

NEW DELHI: A report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which conducted a survey from June to December 2020, states that Delhi-NCR has emerged as a major user of banned single-use plastic (SUP) items. In National Capital Region, most complaints related to the violation of the ban had come from Delhi, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Gurgaon. ban plastic use The report, Ban on single-use plastics implementation status: a report, which was released on Thursday, stated that of the total complaints, 35.5% were reported against carry bags, followed by straws at 22.4% and cutleries at 18.4%. The Centre banned 19 single-use plastic products from July 1 last year while a ban on carry bags with less than 120 microns in thickness came into effect from December 31, 2022. According to the data compiled by Delhi Pollution Control Committee, around 1,113.2 tonnes per day (TPD) of plastic waste is generated in Delhi. Calling it a "half-hearted ban", the report said, "The ban is ambiguous. It gives manufacturers of banned single-use plastic items avenues to escape penalties for violations and makes it difficult for state pollution control boards to penalise manufacturers." For instance, it added, thermocol has been banned, but only for decoration. "This means that action cannot be taken against manufacturers who manufacture thermocol for use in packaging, making it difficult for the enforcement agencies to implement the ban," it pointed out. The report added that manufacturers of plastic film couldn't be penalised since the use of film was prohibited in just three applications - greeting cards, sweet boxes and cigarette boxes. "Enforcement agencies do not have control on who buys single-use plastic items after they are manufactured. The ambiguity leaves room for violators to sidestep paying environmental compensation." The report also pointed out that there was no data on the number of manufacturers and producers who were fined over banned SUP items either by the state boards or pollution control committees or Central Pollution Control Board. Carry bags below 120 micron continue to be the most widely circulated banned item, with multiple surveys revealing that almost a third of all banned single-use plastics are carry bags. CSE recommended investment in the alternative market by creating avenues like subsidies and reduced tax rates to let alternatives compete with conventional items. Enforcement is the biggest gap in making India single-use plastic free, it added.

Pure vs adulterated honey: Mixing sugar syrup, extensive processing can lead to health issues

Pure, unadulterated honey is a treasure trove of health benefits, a must-have in any home remedy for stress relief, wound healing and much more. Adulterated honey, on the other hand, is often mixed with sugar syrup, and is bad for your health. Don't fall for misleading food misleading labels and potential contaminants. An essential kitchen staple, honey is a wonderful ingredient that you can use in many ways. Not only does it add sweetness and flavour to your dishes, but it also has healing properties that can help you with various health problems. You can mix honey with other natural remedies and take it orally or apply it on your skin. Honey's versatility, however, depends on its purity. In its natural, unadulterated form, honey is a treasure trove of health benefits, full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds. Adulterated honey, on the other hand, often undergoes extensive processing and dilution, and can have detrimental effects on your health. Pure, natural honey plays a crucial role in any home remedy for alleviating stress, combating fatigue, addressing insomnia, as well as offering relief for sore throats, promoting wound healing, and supplying a natural energy boost. Needless to say, adulterated honey lacks these beneficial properties. A study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) shed light on a concerning practice: mixing sugar syrup into honey. The study revealed that out of 13 tested honey brands, 10 were found to have this adulteration. Understanding the types of honey and their qualities is essential for making informed decisions about its consumption: Pure honey: It is derived from the nectar of flowers and minimally processed, typically involving straining to remove large particles. It contains various beneficial compounds, making it best for soothing sore throats, wound healing, and providing natural energy. Adulterated honey: Unlike pure honey, adulterated honey is often mixed with substances like sugar syrup and undergoes extensive processing, including pasteurisation and filtration, which diminish its natural goodness. Consuming adulterated honey can also pose health risks. Reasons why adulterated honey can have a negative impact on your health: It has high sugar content: If you have diabetes or are dealing with weight issues, then beware of adulterated honey. This type of honey often contains high levels of added sugars, which can lead to an increase in blood sugar levels and contribute to health issues like obesity and diabetes. It lacks necessary nutrients: Honey is made by bees in their natural process. Introducing sugar syrup into it diminishes the innate qualities that make bee-made honey healthy. Adulterated honey, in contrast, lacks the necessary antioxidants and antimicrobial properties present in pure honey, the qualities that make honey good for your health. The labels can be misleading: Many a time adulterated honey is labeled as ‘pure’ or ‘natural’, misleading you into thinking you are purchasing a healthier product. Beware of the potential contaminants: The added ingredients in adulterated honey, such as corn syrup, may not undergo the same quality control standards as pure honey, increasing the risk of contamination.

Cuộc cách mạng 90 giây xuất xưởng 1 chiếc xe máy điện

Ấn Độ đang diễn ra một cuộc cách mạng xe 2 bánh và 3 bánh điện, với mục tiêu xe điện sẽ chiếm 1/3 tổng doanh số bán ô tô tư nhân và 80% doanh số bán xe hai và ba bánh vào cuối thập kỷ này. Giới chuyên gia nhận định muốn hiện thực hóa tham vọng trên, Ấn Độ cần khắc phục nhiều trở ngại lớn trong đó có giảm giá và nâng cấp cơ sở hạ tầng. Ảnh: CNN Trong một nhà máy khởi nghiệp tại Hosur, thành phố phía nam Ấn Độ, dây chuyền lắp ráp đang hoạt động với tốc độ chóng mặt; cứ 90 giây lại cho ra đời một chiếc xe máy điện mới. Ông Tarun Mehta, Giám đốc điều hành Ather Energy, một công ty sản xuất xe máy điện cho biết, cách đây 3 năm, mỗi tháng công ty bán được khoảng 200 chiếc. Hiện tại doanh số mỗi tháng dễ dàng đạt 15.000 chiếc. Thậm chí công ty này còn không cần phải xuất khẩu, bởi thị trường trong nước đã quá đủ với họ: “Ngày nay, Ấn Độ là một trong những thị trường xe máy điện hiện đại và tiên tiến nhất so với bất cứ nơi nào trên thế giới”. Ngoại trừ pin phải nhập khẩu, mọi linh kiện tại nhà máy này đều được sản xuất tại Ấn Độ. Thế nhưng việc sản xuất hàng loạt xe từ ban đầu không hề dễ dàng. Ông Swapnil Jain, Đồng sáng lập Ather Energy, chia sẻ: “Chuỗi cung ứng linh kiện lúc đầu không hề có nên chúng tôi phải xây dựng toàn bộ chuỗi cung ứng”. Thị trường phương tiện cá nhân chạy điện Ấn Độ được dự đoán sẽ trở thành ngành công nghiệp trị giá 100 tỉ USD vào năm 2030. Ở quốc gia đông dân nhất thế giới, xe 2 bánh và 3 bánh là trọng tâm chính – vượt xa các phương tiệnkhác, nhiều gấp bốn lần số lượng ô tô.. Đi bộ xuống một con phố ở New Delhi hoặc Bangalore là đủ để chứng minh điều đó. Những chiếc xe máy điện có giá thấp nhất 1.000 USD đang chạy trên những con đường tắc nghẽn. Chúng được các nhà bảo vệ môi trường và chính phủ quảng bá như một cách giảm bớt khí thải gây ô nhiễm. Bà Anumita Roychowdhury, Giám đốc điều hành Trung tâm khoa học và môi trường, nêu ý kiến: “Nếu chúng ta có thể kết hợp cả hai, kết hợp quá trình chuyển đổi xe điện và quá trình khử carbon trong điện, thì đó thực sự là việc đôi bên cùng có lợi và chúng ta sẽ có được lợi ích to lớn về môi trường và sức khỏe”. Lượng đăng ký xe máy điện trong 3 năm qua tăng gấp 10 lần. Tại Ấn Độ, nhiều chiếc xe kéo đầy màu sắc, từng chạy bằng sức người, giờ đây chạy bằng pin để đưa hành khách rong ruổi qua các thị trấn. Giống như nhiều quốc gia khác, Ấn Độ đang nỗ lực xanh hóa với mục tiêu đến cuối thập kỷ này xe điện chiếm 1/3 tổng doanh số ô tô cá nhân cũng như chiếm 80% doanh số xe 2 và 3 bánh. Thế nhưng, giới chuyên gia nhận định muốn hiện thực hóa tham vọng trên, Ấn Độ cần khắc phục nhiều trở ngại lớn trong đó có giảm giá và nâng cấp cơ sở hạ tầng. Chuyên gia Brajesh Chhibber, thuộc công ty tư vấn quản trị toàn cầu McKinsey, cho biết: “Chúng tôi dự đoán tổng thị trường xe 2 bánh đến cuối năm 2030 sẽ vào khoảng 25 triệu chiếc. Và trong số đó, chiếm tới 60 – 70% sẽ là xe điện”. Sở dĩ, thị trường xe điện phát triển như vậy là bởi Ấn Độ đã thông qua chương trình Sản xuất và Sử dụng xe điện nhanh hơn (FAME). Chương trình bắt đầu từ năm 2019, chi hơn 1,2 tỉ USD trợ cấp cho người dùng xe điện cũng như thiết lập hàng nghìn trạm sạc. Việc trợ cấp đóng vai trò to lớn đối với làn sóng xe điện hiện nay. Tuy nhiên, đây mới chỉ là sự khởi đầu. Theo Diễn đàn Kinh tế Thế giới, mặc dù đã đạt được một cột mốc quan trọng nhưng 1 triệu chiếc được bán ra vào năm ngoái chẳng thấm vào đâu so với tổng số 250 triệu chiếc xe 2 và 3 bánh tại Ấn Độ, vì vậy cơ hội tăng trưởng vẫn rất lớn. Mặc dù vậy, các chuyên gia cho rằng, giống như nhiều quốc gia khác, Ấn Độ còn tụt hậu trong cơ sở hạ tầng sạc điện, chưa đáp ứng đủ nhu cầu. Trong một báo cáo vào tháng 11 năm ngoái, Diễn đàn Kinh tế Thế giới ước tính Ấn Độ cần khoảng 285 tỉ USD để điện khí hóa hoàn toàn thị trường xe 2 và 3 bánh. Anmol Singh Jaggi, Giám đốc điều hành BluSmart, một công ty chia sẻ chuyến đi sử dụng đội xe chạy hoàn toàn bằng điện, cho rằng việc thiếu trạm sạc là “trở ngại lớn nhất”. Ông cho biết: “Ngành công nghiệp xe điện là một trong những lĩnh vực lớn nhất trên thế giới. Tôi nghĩ chính phủ cần làm nhiều hơn nữa, không chỉ khuyến khích về tài chính”. Còn tại Việt Nam, trong những năm gần đây, xu hướng sử dụng xe máy điện dần trở nên phổ biến hơn ở các thành phố lớn, đặc biệt là Hà Nội và TP.HCM. Đáng chú ý, khác với dòng xe máy chạy xăng, thị trường xe máy điện có sự tham gia của khá nhiều nhà sản xuất trong nước như VinFast, Pega, Dat Bike, Detech, DKBike… Gần đây, các hãng xe điện tăng cường hợp tác với các đơn vị vận chuyển để sử dụng xe máy điện trong giao hàng, chở khách, như Vingroup đã thành lập Công ty cổ phần Di chuyển xanh và thông minh cung cấp dịch vụ taxi xanh, gần đây đã cung cấp thêm dịch vụ xe ôm xanh. Tuy nhiên, hiện nhiều người dân vẫn e ngại khi quyết định mua xe điện bởi sự hạn chế về cơ sở hạ tầng cũng như giá thành còn cao so với xe chạy bằng xăng. Các chuyên gia cho rằng, để thuyết phục khách hàng mua và sử dụng, các doanh nghiệp sản xuất xe máy điện trong nước cần nghiên cứu phát triển, đưa ra những sản phẩm có thời gian sạc nhanh hơn đồng thời phát triển mạng lưới trạm sạc pin, đổi pin xe rộng khắp để giảm thiểu bất cập của xe máy điện so với xe xăng.

Editorial: Apathy in the air

A noxious mix of vapours in New Delhi is shaving off nearly 12 years from a resident’s life expectancy There is a familiar air to the global reports on air pollution. Year after year, ominous signals emanate from these surveys, bracketing Indian cities among the most polluted in the world, but it is again back to business as usual for policymakers. The latest report has warned that a noxious mix of vapours in New Delhi is shaving off nearly 12 years from a resident’s life expectancy. This reflects the pathetic state of affairs. The Air Quality Life Index 2023 report of the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) — which calculated the global loss in life expectancy across 245 countries and territories — found that Delhi, Noida and Gurugram were the worst global performers. In India, the northern plains — home to nearly 40% of the population — were found to be the worst performers with the average resident losing about eight years of life expectancy due to pollution. The deteriorating air quality reflects the failure of the current set of anti-pollution strategies. No country can achieve economic prosperity without taking care of public health. There is an urgent need to step up investments in state-specific air pollution control strategies to improve population health. Vehicles are one of the major sources of air pollution in India, especially in urban areas. According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment, vehicles contribute to 40% of the PM2.5 (Particulate Matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres) emissions in Delhi, 30% in Mumbai, 28% in Kolkata and 20% in Bengaluru. Industries are another major contributor to air pollution in India, especially in the northern and eastern regions. According to a report by Greenpeace India, 139 of the 287 coal-based thermal power plants in India violated the emission norms set by the Ministry of Environment in 2019. These plants emitted sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, lead and mercury. Power plants, factories and households that use coal, oil or natural gas as fuel also contribute to air pollution by emitting greenhouse gasses. According to the World Bank Group, India is the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, after China and the United States. In northern States, air quality is worsened by stubble burning, denuding of the Aravalli ranges and unchecked vehicular emissions. The government needs to take the health hazards of pollution seriously. Some of the major challenges in tackling air pollution in the country are weak enforcement and compliance with existing regulations and standards that can prevent polluting activities, inadequate financing and incentives for clean technologies, lack of proper research and innovation, low public awareness and mushrooming of unregulated small-scale industries without proper environmental permits or controls. There is a need to develop and promote low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, wind turbines, biogas plants and electric vehicles that can reduce the dependence on fossil fuels.

Last-mile fleets are spearheading electrification in India

The world’s most populated country has had enough of pollution, and is now rapidly electrifying its mobility. That means something different in India than it does in Europe, though: the main vector for electrification are two- and three-wheeled light vehicles instead of cars. In August 2022, there were around 5.5 million two-wheelers and 8 million three-wheelers in India, typically powered by high-polluting combustion engines. The pollution they cause is so bad that, according to a 2022 study by CMSR Consultants, 78% of residents in six major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata) said last-mile delivery vehicles were an important source of pollution, with 67% supporting the idea of switching to EVs. In the pandemic, both pollution and oil prices in India fell to historically low levels. Now they’ve crept up again. Simultaneously, electrification has regained momentum. According to Statista, the demand for electric two-wheelers alone will hit more than 8 million units by 2030. Both the Indian government and the last-mile delivery industry are aiming for even higher figures. In fact, that industry – which has ballooned in size thanks to the proliferation of e-commerce in India – is now spearheading electrification in India, supported by government incentives and international collaboration. However, the path towards electrification in India will be long. A report by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment that examines electric-vehicle sales since 2012 projects no more than 2.05 million units sold by 2030, mainly due to lack of infrastructure improvements. The International Energy Agency is even more pessimistic, predicting no more than 1.9 million EV sales in India by the same year. Electrification examples It’s not just environmental concerns that have kept electrification high on the agenda in India after the pandemic. The switch to EVs also offers considerable economic benefits. A study by Boston Consulting Group finds that total cost of ownership of a high-speed two-wheeler EV is around 35% lower than the same model with a combustion engine. And an electric three-wheeler is 25% cheaper than its diesel counterpart. India’s e-commerce and last-mile delivery industries have been aware of those benefits for a while now, and as a result are now boosting the share of EVs in their fleets. Here are some examples: Last year, the Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company Zomato partnered with Jio-bp, a joint venture of Reliance Industries and BP to help it electrify its entire fleet by 2030. As of 2022, the company had around 4,000 riders with EVs. The strategy of Zomato includes increasing awareness among its drivers on EVs across India and partnering with OEMs and leasing companies to electrify its fleet. Also in 2022, Amazon India partnered with TVS Motor, one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the country. This was to enhance EV deployment through electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers for last-mile deliveries. The roadmap of Amazon India is to add 10,000 EVs to its fleet by 2025, following Amazon's global strategy to adopt 100,000 EVs by 2030. Flipkart, the first Indian e-commerce company to introduce EVs to its fleet and join The Climate Group's EV100 initiative, has announced the goal of becoming 100% electric by 2030. Swiggy, India's leading on-demand convenience delivery platform, partnered with Taiwanese battery-swapping company Gogoro last August to switch to electric intelligent scooters. A rival, the online supermarket BigBasket based in Bangalore, aims to electrify 90% of its fleet. In August, Mærsk, a Danish shipping and logistics company, announced that it would deploy an additional 500 EVs to its fleet in 26 cities in India to ramp up electrification in first-, middle- and last-mile delivery in the country. Maersk took the first step in September 2022 by launching electric three-wheelers and four-wheelers in Mumbai, intensifying the importance of EVs in distribution logistics. UK-based Saietta has released a cost-effective Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) specifically for three-wheeled and four-wheeled light electric vehicles (LEVs) in collaboration with HCLTech. Saietta will start manufacturing the VCU in India and deliver over 80,000 units to Indian LEV manufacturers over five years.

Mumbai’s thespian is making climate change conversations more accessible, and how!

This is a theatre performance. A selfish one, to be very honest (sarcasm). The artist is a pessimist and knows that the world is ending. To be very blunt, people will die. And, she is out on a quest to find “Plan B/C/D/E” to save her beloved Mumbai, and everything which she associates with the city. At least, most of it. A theatre performance called “Plan B/C/D/E”, written-improvised-perfomed-(produced) by Meghana T, through her company, “Tafreewale”. Here she is to share our anxieties and come up with some bizarre ways to tackle climate change! All of them to save Mumbai. Meghana, a theatre practitioner from Mumbai. Interestingly, this is an improvised play, in theatre of the oppressed style. Hence, relies on the remarks and insights of the audience. I went for the show at Bangalore Creative Circus (BCC). People joined slightly later than the allotted time due to early morning drizzle, and Bangalore’s infamous traffic. Meghana welcomed them with some heartfelt humour layered with sarcasm. This tonality lingered all throughout the play. Some context The news on extreme weather events is a very common occurrence. As per a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India witnessed these events for more than 300 days in 2022. But, there is a certain feeling of helplessness or pessimism which seeps in when we see the news on heatwaves, sinking cities, droughts, or incessant rainfall leading to floods, or wildfires. We also think, what can we do to save whatever have? Will the bamboo toothbrush help, or carrying a non-plastic bottle change the fate of the climate? Or do we just think as if we’re the only one who has read about sustainable development in the school textbooks? The above-mentioned feeling is mostly described as, “climate anxiety or eco-anxiety”.

Expansion of renewable projects threatening India’s food security?

As India plans a diverse energy landscape with capacities from hydro, nuclear, solar, wind, and bioenergy, there are concens over large-scale renewable energy projects using agricultural and ecologically sensitive land, posing environmental and socio-ecological risks. As per data provided in the Lok Sabha last month, the Indian government has sanctioned 50 solar parks, with a total capacity of 37,990 MW across 12 states in India. Of these, 11 solar parks are complete and seven are partially finished. As India powers ahead with expanding its renewable energy capacity, there is a concern over how it will manage its dual priorities: achieving renewable energy targets while safeguarding food security in a country with a rapidly growing population. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar projects demand more land, often three to twelve times more, than that required for fossil fuel-based energy generation. In India, over 74 per cent of solar development In India is built on landcover types that have natural ecosystem preservation, or agricultural value, according to a study published in the Nature journal in 2022, conducted by The Nature Conservancy (TNC-India) and Microsoft. “We had reached out to multiple organisations and governments to provide us data on where all these solar and wind farms are going, but we always had difficulty getting the data. That’s when we thought of making use of this technology for our study,” said Shivaprakash Nagaraju, Senior Applied Scientist and one of the authors of the study. Deploying a mix of remote sensing satellite data and machine learning, the researchers began by compiling point labels of known solar farms and creating weak segmentation labels through human-machine interaction. This pixel-based data was then paired with the geo-referenced Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to train a supervised segmentation neural network and was further refined through Hard Negative Mining. Through this, they further estimated the timelines when these solar panels were installed and assessed the land use pattern prior to their installation. According to the study, more than 74 per cent of solar projects were on land with ecological preservation or agricultural value – 67.6 per cent of agricultural land and 18.7 per cent of natural habitat – with 38.6 per cent of agricultural land having the potential to cultivate seasonal crops such as kharif, rabi, and zaid along with 28.95 per cent of the land having plantation crop/orchards. Analysing the results of the study, Binit Das, Programme Manager, Renewable Energy, Centre for Science and Environment and not associated with the study, told Mongabay India, “Given the substantial land requirements necessary for achieving India’s ambitious RE goals to generate 420 GW of power from solar and wind projects, the study suggests potential environmental and socio-ecological risks. As a result, this effort might contribute to food insecurity in the years ahead, since the country will need approximately 400,000 hectares of land by 2030 to meet its renewable energy targets.” Currently, India’s non-fossil fuel installed capacity, including hydro and nuclear energy, is at 184 GW and the country needs 177 GW of renewable energy capacity in the next seven years – that’s more than 25 GW per year – to achieve its goal of 500 GW (gigawatt) of renewable energy capacity by 2030. As per the latest NITI Aayog projections, India’s total foodgrain demand is expected to increase to 215 million tonnes by 2033-34 to feed its population. In 2030, the estimated demand for food grain will be 252.05 million tonnes for the entire country, with 171.68 million tonnes needed in rural areas and 80.37 million tonnes in urban areas. The supply projection for the same period is 350.42 million tonnes. Bhargavi S. Rao, Senior Fellow and trustee at the Environment Support Group (ESG), points out that India requires about 225-230 million tonnes of foodgrains to feed its population in a year. But, due to incompetent policies and food wastage, India is unable to feed its population despite an increase in production which is testified by India’s 107th rank out of the 121 countries in the 2022 Global Hunger Index. Adding to the woes, a 2030 projection by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) states that climate change could cause a decline of 16 per cent in India’s food production, increasing the number of people vulnerable to hunger by 23 per cent. “When it is required for India to prepare well in advance for the upcoming food crisis, allocating large chunks of lands of ecological and agricultural importance for solar farms doesn’t make for a well-thought-out approach,” Rao emphasised. Rao explains, “Agriculture is an activity that is interwoven with a variety of other agro-pastoral livelihoods such as animal rearing, weaving, fishing, etc. that supplement the rural household economy and thereby guaranteeing nutritional security at the household level. Once land is diverted all other livelihood activities cease to exist and nutritional security at the household level will be depleted.” According to the Nature study, there have been at least 15 reported instances of conflicts associated with solar and wind energy projects in India since 2017. These conflicts have been on the rise, impacting the livelihoods of many individuals and the substantial investments made by renewable energy (RE) developers. India has a considerable potential for solar energy generation (~550 GW) on rooftops, artificial water bodies (such as canal tops and reservoirs), and spaces along national and state highways. A 2021 report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis notes that protection of farmland is essential, but nurturing an Indian agrivoltaics sector could secure benefits to farmers and reduce pressure on other types of land. “Measures include supporting a major expansion of agrivoltaics research and incentivising agrivoltaics uptake where crops, soils and conditions are suitable and yields can be maintained or improved,” it recommends. Leveraging these resources could significantly reduce the land required for RE expansion and could result in fewer social, ecological, and environmental impacts compared to land with high ecological, agricultural, livelihood and biodiversity value. However, the study emphasises that harnessing renewable energy on these less conflict-prone lands won’t happen by chance; it requires intentional effort. Policymakers and decision-makers hold the responsibility of ensuring that chosen project sites do not compromise communities’ livelihoods, land rights, biodiversity, and natural ecosystems. “Understanding the factors associated with renewable energy development and predicting future expansion patterns will allow for the proactive identification of potential conflicts between renewable energy and other important land uses. This information can be used to guide renewable energy development toward areas with lower conflict, which will be important to avoid conversion to productive agricultural land and minimise the food-versus-energy controversy,” Das said.

India’s coal-fired power plants shun clean tech, with a little help from the government

Repeated extensions of the deadline for installing equipment to control toxic sulphur dioxide emissions point to a government that is unable to face down a strong fossil fuel lobby. In Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, the cooling towers of the state’s largest coal-fired power plant dwarf everything around them. Smoke billows out of giant chimneys as the super critical thermal plant churns out electricity that meets a quarter of the state’s needs. The plant, run by the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company, or Mahagenco, has gained notoriety over the years for flouting emission norms. Locals have long complained of respiratory illnesses and deaths due to the plant's operations. A team of researchers, currently facing a defamation suit from MahaGenco, were able to link 85 premature deaths in Chandrapur and 62 deaths in Nagpur in 2020 alone to emissions from the power plant. In January 2022, the National Green Tribunal imposed an interim fine of Rs 5 crore on the Chandrapur thermal power plant for violating pollution norms. It was found that two of the plant’s five units were emitting nearly twice the sulphur dioxide allowed under limits prescribed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The other three were emitting five times more sulphur dioxide than the prescribed limit. The NGT ordered the plant to implement remedial measures within 3 months, barring which it would be penalized Rs 1 crore every month. This included installation of flue gas desulphurisation technology that would scrub sulphur dioxide and fly ash from the exhaust gases before their release. The power plant got away without paying any penalty. MahaGenco moved the Supreme Court, which stayed the NGT order. The matter is still pending before the apex court, and the power plant is yet to install any FGD scrubber systems. The Chandrapur power plant’s case is emblematic of how lax regulations have allowed thermal power producers—a powerful lobby with the likes of Adani Power, Jindal Power, JSW Energy and Vedanta (other than the government itself) as constituents—to get away with pumping toxic sulphur dioxide into India’s already polluted air. The country is the largest emitter of the gas in the world—two-thirds of which comes from burning fossil fuel in power plants. According to the World Health Organization, prolonged exposure to the pollutant can reduce life expectancy, weaken lung function and cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Sulphur dioxide emissions, carried by wind currents, can react with water and come down as acid rain to hurt larger ecosystems. Yet, India has continued to delay implementing norms that would force power plants to install FGD technology that reduces such emissions. As a result, the decades-old technology, which is widely present at power plants across major economies, has largely remained absent from India. A reply by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state for environment, to the Rajya Sabha during the recent monsoon session of Parliament shows the scale of the problem. Only 23 of India's 600 thermal power plants have installed FGD systems, and only six claim to meet the sulphur dioxide emission limits. According to the Centre for Science and Environment, only 5% of the country’s thermal power capacity is in compliance with sulphur dioxide emission norms. It is hard to make a justification for why power plants are being given so much leeway on installation of a technology that has clear benefits. A June 2022 study done by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi found that FGD reduces sulphur dioxide emissions by 55% in a 60-80 km radius around the plant. Installation of the technology at NTPC's Vindhyachal plant in Madhya Pradesh was found to reduce emissions by 83-85%. These translate into huge savings for the exchequer too—it would have to spend less on public health emergencies arising out of air pollution. “It is the failure of the government in ensuring that pollution control regulations are implemented. They have never been able to penalize or shut down non-complying plants,” says Sunil Dahiya, analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, who was part of the team that studied the effect of the Chandrapur plant’s emissions. “Instead, non-compliance has been rewarded with extension of deadlines and dilution of norms. That's what the problem is. There is no seriousness from the government or the industry to implement this.” And nothing explains this inaction better than the repeated revision of rules and the apathy of the Central Electricity Authority—the statutory supervisory arm of the power ministry—to the issue. Rinse and repeat India was already late to the party in bringing in norms to govern sulphur dioxide pollution when it first notified emission standards for power plants in December 2015. In contrast, the US started regulating such emissions back in 1990, and now has FGD scrubbers in 83% of its operational coal power fleet. China too, by 2013, had ensured 95% of its plants had the technology installed. Under the 2015 notification, all power plants had to comply with the new norms within two years. When the December 2017 deadline was close, it became clear that most plants would fail to meet it. In fact, right before the deadline, the power ministry submitted a recommendation to the environment ministry to extend it by 2 years for plants in Delhi-NCR region and 5 years for the rest of the country. The environment ministry accepted the recommendation and gave the plants more time to comply. Come 2019 and most power companies had still not installed FGD units at their plants. The Association of Power Producers, a lobby group, approached the Supreme Court in June 2020 seeking yet another extension—this time from 2022 to 2024. The Supreme Court refused to provide any relief and dismissed the application. Still, in March 2021, the environment ministry yet again amended the rules and extended the compliance deadline. It also set up a task force to classify thermal power plants into three categories based on their location and staggered the cutoff for implementation of FGD technology. The three categories are: Category A: plants within a 10-km radius of cities with a million-plus population Category B: plants within a 10-km radius of critically polluted areas Category C: All other plants While category A plants were still required to comply by 2022, those in B and C were given 1 and 2 more years, respectively. The power ministry, on its part, also proposed to levy an environmental compensation for non-compliance beyond the deadlines. But the threat did little to move the needle. Just two months before the expiry of the first of those deadlines, the environment ministry caved again. For a third time, it extended the cutoff to install FGD units. Power plants near populous cities and New Delhi would now have time till December 2024, while those in less polluting regions could complete installation of the technology by December 2026. Plants that did not comply with sulphur dioxide emission norms by 2027-end would be forced to shut down. “The power sector lobby has quite the heft, so it is not a surprise that they were able to successfully push for another extension,” says an official aware of power companies’ representations to the government, requesting anonymity. “This is not something new either. Coal-fired power producers have been lobbying for less stringent norms for a long time.” The CEA, too, has a part to play in the delays. The statutory body sets the technical standards for construction of plants, transmission lines and grid connectivity. And yet, it waited two years after the first notification was issued in 2015 to draft an implementation plan for installation of FGD scrubbers. It finally published the standard technical specifications in 2018, well after the first deadline had passed. Then it further undermined the existing deadlines in a June 2021 report, where it said that an “unworkable time schedule” was creating “unnecessary burden” on power companies. It suggested that power plants in category C be given time till 2035 to adopt new emission standards that were originally proposed in 2015. “That same report even tried to imply that we don't need FGDs at all. There have been all kinds of arguments that have been pushed forward to delay and do away with these norms,” says Dahiya. “CEA has been successful in getting multiple delays, and while they were at it, they suggested impractical timelines such as 2035.” Even with another extension, the picture still looks grim. The analysis by CSE in June found 43% of category A plants are unlikely to meet the December 2024 deadline. That said, there are signs of some action on the compliance front. As of April 2023, bids for FGD unit installation had been awarded for 36.3 gigawatt of power capacity, while bids had been invited for 14.6 GW. Feasibility studies were on for a further 11.49 GW of capacity.   Anubha Aggarwal, programme officer at the industrial pollution unit of CSE, says that non-compliance should be dealt with strictly as enough time has already been given to power plants. “Any violation of the norms at this stage should be considered as a deliberate act, signifying unwillingness to adhere to the norms.” That may turn out to be wishful thinking as power companies continue to highlight the challenges, in an attempt to make a case for further delays. Difficulties or excuses? When India extended the deadlines for a third time in 2022, it highlighted “techno-economic” constraints and the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons. The view mirrored that of the Association of Power Producers, which had been batting for an extension on similar grounds for the last 2 years. In July 2020, the lobby group wrote to the Prime Minister's Office seeking more time to complete the process. They said that the pandemic had led to supply disruptions of equipment from China. The group claimed that the industry is dependent on imports for 70-80% of emission-control components. It added that the “growing clamour for boycott of Chinese goods” was another hurdle. Industry body FICCI also put pressure on the government for an extension of the deadline for installation of emission-control equipment. A power industry executive, who asked not to be named, says there are a handful of reasons why movement has been slow on the FGD front. “There is no business case for this, so where is the incentive to install the technology? There is also a cost burden associated with this. It will lead to increased tariffs as the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has allowed us to recover these costs from the consumers.” There’s more. “Another challenge that these activists don’t talk about is that it takes 2-3 three years to install FGDs. There will have to be planned shutdowns of power plants. With India's electricity needs rising rapidly, and renewable [power] still not contributing enough, can we afford shutting down plants for so long?” he asks. “Countries that have FGDs adopted them over two-three decades, our pace of adoption will still be faster.” But these claims don’t hold up anymore. According to an analysis done by ICRA, the per-megawatt cost of installing an FGD system is less than Rs 0.9 crore. That works out to just a tenth of the per-megawatt cost of setting up a power plant which, according to the power ministry, is Rs 8.34 crore on average. The ICRA analysis was based on the bids awarded for FGD installation by NTPC. Further, the extent of planned shutdowns is exaggerated, says Dahiya. “The construction work takes 18-24 months, but the plants are operational during that period. The synchronization takes about 2-3 months and that is when the plants have to be shut down. NTPC's Vindhyachal plant has clearly shown us the timeline," he explains. “These concerns have already been addressed for the past 7-8 years, but the power industry keeps citing them.” And the challenges on account of pandemic-related disruptions don't make much sense either. “It is unclear how one or two years of the pandemic would contribute to delaying the implementation process by 5-6 years,” says Nivit Yadav, programme director at CSE’s industrial pollution unit. And, finally, the health benefits that flow from installation of the technology counter all cost arguments. “The benefits of installing FGDs outweigh any cost of investment that is required,” says Dahiya. “If you don’t do it, the health damage and the economic cost that comes with it is way higher than whatever you are estimating FGD will cost. Every day that it is delayed, more people are at risk of losing their lives or having a degraded quality of life.” There is thus a clear need to improve stringency around regulation of thermal power plants. Necessary from an energy security perspective, they continue to cause immeasurable damage to public health. Will the government hold its ground when the next deadline approaches, or will we see another extension? Lead image by Rajat Baran/ The Morning Context. Graphics by Ahmed Raza Khan/ The Morning Context.

2014 like Flood Threat in Kashmir Persists | Environmental Dangers Looming Large

Rapid urbanization in Kashmir, encroachment of water bodies and adjoining river banks and disappearance of wetlands have disrupted the natural drainage patterns The recent report of the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has called for taking more corrective measures to prevent 2014 flood-like disasters. The report has mentioned ‘haphazard developmental activities and infrastructure projects being implemented without sufficient consideration of environmental safety and sustainability.’ Then it has picked ‘mining operations on the flood plains of river Jhelum, construction of railway lines and poorly planned urbanization’ as threats to environmental safety and sustainability for the same reason. The report has also pointed out that ‘the developmental activities are carried out with little regard for environmental, geological, geomorphological and ecological conditions of the region’ and that 'the ongoing construction boom, fueled by indiscriminate mining of sand, gravel and boulders from riverbeds weakens the existing flood control infrastructure making the rivers more susceptible to flash floods.’ The report mentions that rapid urbanization in Kashmir, encroachment of water bodies and adjoining river banks and disappearance of wetlands have disrupted the natural drainage patterns. By way of corrective measures the report has called for construction of an alternate flood channel, improvement of the drainage system in urban areas, restoration of natural drainage in Jhelum basin, conservation and restoration of degraded wetlands in Jhelum basin, sewage treatment and city and town planning from the point of view of floods and earthquakes. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, a reputed and old environmental NGO had also pinpointed unplanned urbanization in the Jhelum basin as a major factor contributing to flooding, apart from unprecedented rainfall and lack of preparedness on the part of the then government authorities. CSE has also said that ‘ in the last 100 years, more than 50 percent of the lakes, ponds and wetlands of Srinagar have been encroached upon for constructing buildings and roads. The banks of river Jhelum have been taken over in a similar manner, vastly reducing the river’s drainage capacity. Naturally, these areas have suffered the most.’ CSE had also observed, ‘ the Kashmir floods of 2014 are a grim reminder that climate change is now hitting India harder. In the last 10 years, several extreme rainfall events have rocked the country and this is the latest calamity in that series.’ Status of Flood Control Measures Barring the project prepared for improvement of the carrying capacity of the existing flood spill channel in Srinagar, not much by way of other measures has been done. This project was phase 1 of the Flood Management Plan (FPM) costing about 399 crore. The phase 2 of FPM costing about 1600 crore is reportedly still unfunded. This however does not include the proposed alternate flood spill channel (Dogripora to Wullar) which, as of now, is non-doable due to very huge cost including cost of land acquisition. Some works under phase 2 have reportedly been started. In this scenario, barring a few thousand cusecs more of flood water that may get drained out through the improved flood spill channel, there would hardly be any decrease in the extent of devastation if similar rainfall, as in 2014, is experienced in the south Kashmir catchment areas causing a discharge of over one lakh cusecs in river Jhelum on entry into Srinagar. Flood protection works executed by the department in the valley since 2014 would generally have only localised impact to provide protection in the local area. Unplanned Development Unplanned development has been the bane of urbanization in Kashmir and also of rural expansion. The biggest culprit is construction of residential houses in an unplanned way. Only Srinagar, Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg and possibly the new Tourism Development Authorities (TDAs) have master plans; most of rest of the towns don’t have. Despite a master plan in Srinagar for the last over 40 years, the city has expanded in all directions in violation of zonal and land use plans causing mushroom growth of unauthorized colonies. In the absence of master plans and land use plans for other towns, construction has been taking place in the most haphazard manner everywhere devouring valuable agriculture land. Although the residential houses being built are big and expensive, their construction is environmentally destructive, needing lots of stone, sand, cement, iron, timber and materials whose extraction and manufacture by itself is environment unfriendly and polluting. The local engineers have failed to provide alternative weather friendly and material friendly architectural designs for construction of residential houses in Kashmir. Unplanned construction prevents provision of satisfactory civic amenities like internal roads, lanes and drains which in turn result in sanitation problems and frequent water logging. Jammu and Kashmir has long neglected urban and rural land use planning and, barring exceptions in Jammu, Srinagar and a few major towns where some government authorized residential colonies have come up over the years, has no system in place to authorize construction of residential houses in identified and specifically earmarked colonies. Although prior permission for construction is required to be obtained under relevant laws in both urban and rural areas, there is no enforcement of the land use in the absence of land use plans. This is also leading to large scale diversion of agriculture land for construction which if not prevented will soon transform the valley of Kashmir into a chaotic concrete jungle with no land left for growing paddy or vegetables or fruit or flowers, a tragic scenario for Kashmir, the Jannat-e-Benazir and Switzerland of the East, whose God given natural beauty is still part of the folk lore. There is need for implementation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) in Jammu and Kashmir, as the central law now stands extended but in the absence of a duly constituted RERA, implementation is perhaps not happening. A functional RERA will expectedly force the Municipal and Development Authorities to prepare land use plans for residential colonies and commercial centres and also implement those. Encroachments, a chronic problem The NIDM report has mentioned about the problem of encroachments on river banks, water bodies and wetlands resulting in blocking of natural drainage and consequent flooding. The CSE report mentions about loss of 50 percent of water bodies over the last hundred years due to encroachments. As of now Aanchar lake is almost gone, Wular lake (a Ramsar convention site) and Manasbal lake are fast shrinking, Hokersar wetland (Ramsar site) is struggling to stay afloat and Hygam wetland (Ramsar site) has reportedly turned into a marsh and been encroached by the locals for agriculture and construction. Banks of river Jhelum and its major tributaries like Lidder, Brengi, Sandran, Vaishav, Rambiara,, Romsho, Ferozpur Nallah, Sindh etc have also been encroached at many places resulting in narrowing down of water passage, siltation and blocking of adjacent low lying areas into which flood water would otherwise spill over in the event of river in spate. Within Srinagar city, Dal lake and Nigeen lake are managing to stay alive while Brarinambal is dying. Khushalsar has been sufficiently revived thanks to the efforts of that tireless conservation activist Sh. Manzoor Ahmed Wangnoo and his Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation (NLCO), the district administration of Srinagar and the divisional administration. Revival of the adjacent Gilsar waterbody is reportedly in the pipeline by the same team. Jhelum banks and the banks of khuls of the Jhelum system in Srinagar city are already encroached and contnuously facing threat of encroachment. It is high time that the entire river and lake systems within Srinagar city are brought under the control of a single authority namely Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) which may be rechristened as the Lakes and River Conservation Management Authority (LRCMA) to do away with the present system of dual control by LCMA and Irrigation and FC deptt. This restructuring would need strengthening of LCMA through transfer of posts, budget, equipment and machinery and sanction of additional manpower of engineers and experts. Challenges thrown by the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 The new Forest ( Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 has relaxed the provisions of the original Central Act of 1980 to facilitate diversion of forest areas for important development activities and for raising strategic linear projects of national importance and security related infrastructure. Before the August 2019 changes, J&K had its own Forest Conservation Act of 1987 which had rather strict provisions to prevent diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes. Its rules prescribed a strict and centralised administrative process for giving clearances for use of forest land for non- forest purposes and for felling of forest trees. That Act stands repealed and replaced by the Central Act of 1980. The amendments of 2023 have thrown new challenges for J&K, the Himalayan states and the North Eastern states having international border or line of control (LOC) as forests located within 100 kms from the International Border (IB), LOAC and LOC have now been exempted from the application of the provisions of the Forest Act, 1980 when raising strategic linear projects of national importance, defence related projects or a camp for paramilitary forces or public utility projects as may be specified by the central government and up to ten hectares when raising security related infrastructure. Although, the amendment Act says that the exemption shall be subject to such terms and conditions of planting trees to compensate for felling of trees undertaken on the lands, the real impact of these exemptions and changes will be seen in the next few years. For now, many forestry experts and environmentalists in the country have been critical of the amendments for according such blanket and unprecedented exemptions. Moreover, the amendments have also been criticised for excluding certain othe categories of forests from the application of the provisions of the Act, apparently against the spirit of Supreme Court’s Godavarman judgement of 1996. The UT government will need to estimate the likely impact of the amendments over the next 5 to 10 year time frame and prepare reafforestation and repair plans to compensate for the impact and the damages. The experts and environmentalists have cautioned that the relaxations allowed by the amendments of 2023 will open up rich and deep forests to various types of activities thereby endangering the forests themselves, the biodiversity and the livelihood of people who are dependent on forest produce. Environmentalists have also raised red flags in respect of the amendments in the Biological Diversity Act with the passage of the Biodiversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021. Although, J&K has been registering increased tree cover year after year during the last decade or so, this increase, creditable though, is largely due to social forestry undertaken by the government departments and local people themselves outside the demarcated forests and also due to conversion of agriculture land into orchards in Kashmir division. The coniferous forests in Jammu and Kashmir within the demarcated forests are in a state of decline and if no special efforts are made for reafforestation of coniferous forests, the glaciers, mountain lakes, streams and rivulets and nallahs will soon wane and dry up resulting in acute water shortages during summer with serious implications for agriculture and drinking water availability. The forest department in Jammu and Kashmir must not pat itself by the achievements of plantations outside the forest areas or even non-coniferous plantations within demarcated forest areas, its real test lies in reafforestation of coniferous forests to compensate for past deforestation and future deforestation consequent upon the new amendments. Need to educate the common people about the dangers of damage to our environmental assets and natural resources Unfortunately, there has always been unwillingness among the people in Jammu and Kashmir to concern themselves with common community issues in comparison to individual issues. J&K may be one area in the country which has least number of functional and dedicated NGOS working for societal issues and causes. Dependence on government has always been high in comparison with other states. It is therefore necessary for the more informed ones among us to educate the less informed, about the duty of each one of us to contribute to environmental protection. Protection of environment is also listed as one of the fundamental duties under Article 51A of the Constitution of India and as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy under Article 48A. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India has handed a list of 75 life style actions as part of LIFE (life style for environment) which has also been included under India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). We need to make local people understand how adoption of LIFE cannot be delayed any further. The UT government through its various departments has the duty to educate common people about LIFE and encourage them to adopt the same in day today life. It is important to do everything possible to protect and conserve the forests of Jammu and Kashmir for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their progeny. And always remember the timeless advice of Nund Reshi ( Shaikh ul Alam) to the people of Kashmir that Ana posh teli yeli van posh - meaning, food will last as long as the forests last. That great saint had understood the linkage way back in fourteenth century AD.

Deadline looming, but only 149 of 4k DG sets modified to use cleaner fuels

Gurgaon: Winter is coming, and so is the deadline to retrofit diesel generator sets to cut down pollutants. Still, just 149 (less than 4%) out of the 3,890 large DG sets operating in the city have been converted so far. Beginning October 1, diesel generators can’t be operated in NCR – not even for essential services – if they haven’t been retrofitted with emission control devices or converted to run on cleaner fuels, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had announced in June. Government data shows that north Gurgaon has 1,676 DG sets and south Gurgaon has another 2,214. In total, just 149 have been converted or retrofitted according to CAQM guidelines. Many of these generators are operating in housing societies and institutes such as hospitals and offices across the city. With such a low conversion rate, CAQM may be left with no option but to allow relaxation in the deadline. Asked about the lack of adherence with just around three weeks left to the October deadline, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) chairperson P Raghavendra Rao told TOI that officials have been asked to sensitise the public about the norms and comply with the guidelines. CAQM set the guidelines earlier this year to phase out diesel generators – a key source of emissions in Delhi-NCR. The commission also announced additional restrictions in using DG sets when it enforces the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) during the winter months. At the turn of winter every year, Delhi-NCR turns into a chamber of hazardous pollutants that get suspended in the air due to a combination of meteorological conditions, low temperatures and high emissions. CAQM norms say DG sets with capacity between 19kW and 125kW will have to operate on dual-fuel mode from the next month, but these devices can only be used for a maximum of two hours a day when GRAP is in effect. DG sets with a power capacity of 125kW to 800kW will have to run on dual-fuel mode and will also have to be retrofitted with emission control devices (ECDs). Gensets over 800kW have to be retrofitted with dual-fuel kits or with ECDs, but these too can be operated up to 2 hours a day if GRAP is in place. There is no bar to new gensets (up to 800kW) that adhere to CAQM’s standards, the order said. According to data collected by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the organised sector in NCR adds 1.2 lakh DG sets every year, and another 30,000-40,000 machines are annually bought by the unorganised sectors. Diesel, when it is used up in a generator, emits oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide along with tiny pollutants called particulate matter. These emissions deteriorate air quality and are hazardous to health when inhaled, especially for people with existing respiratory ailments. Still, CAQM’s efforts to phase out DG sets over the years has been resisted by residents’ associations and industry representatives, who say the cost of modifying the devices is high or switching to cleaner fuels isn’t an option when there is no availability of piped natural gas (PNG) in some areas. “A DG set of 500kW needs Rs 12 to 15 lakh for conversion. Also, the CAQM’s revised guidelines make it mandatory for everyone, including societies and hospitals, to modify their generators. Emergency services and lifts in common areas of societies can’t be shut down,” said Praveen Malik, RWA president of SARE Homes in Sector 92. The HSPCB chairperson said pollution board teams will carry out surprise checks at societies, industrial units, hospitals and commercial hubs from the next month. “If anyone is found violating the norms, notices will be served. The party will be given time to respond to the notice and penalty will be imposed accordingly,” Rao said. Experts told TOI on Monday that the only lasting way to stop people from using generators is to ensure that power backup isn’t needed at all. “What needs to be done is to ensure that the hospitals, industries and housing societies get uninterrupted electricity supply during winter. This will lower their dependency on DG sets. Diesel emissions are carcinogenic to humans as its DG sets are operational in close proximity to human beings. That’s why emissions need to be controlled and they should be run on dual fuel kits,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhary, executive director for research and advocacy at the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE).