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Greening coal-based power: Govt must seriously mull over shutting old, polluting plants

The government (both states and the Centre) must summon the political will to act against inefficient coal-based plants. An analysis by the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) posits India can save upto $1.2 billion year if shuts down 30 gigawatts (GW) of its old coal-based thermal power plants and runs newer ones for longer hours than the current rate. Apart from cost-savings on 42 million tonnes of coal that would have been otherwise utilised, there are obvious financial gains from the environmental impact. The cost avoided in terms of mandated pollution-control measures that are pending will also provide a boost. It will help address under-utilisation of power-generation capacity and free up investment in cleaner energy sources. The government (both states and the Centre) must summon the political will to act against inefficient coal-based plants. On the contrary, they seem only too willing to cut the polluters significant slack. On April 1, the Centre notified the Environment Protection (Amendment) Rules that push the deadline for GHG-emitting coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs) on compliance with the emission norms. The norms were announced in 2015, with a 2017 adoption projected at the time. But, litigation managed to push the deadline several times, and it was last (before the April 2021 extension) set at 2022. However, only a third of the TPPs have undertaken any meaningful action so far. And with mere months to the deadline, the government pushed the deadline—upto 2024-25 in some cases. What’s worse is that some plants that are scheduled to retire—that is, they are much older than the rest—have been given a later deadline. So, in a perverse way, the worse polluters will be allowed to pollute for longer. The April leniency covers 75% of the TPPs in India. How large the pollution footprint of this step would be is not too hard to imagine. As this newspaper has pointed out before, the issue is also that violation of the deadline won’t attract heavy punitive measures. Last year, an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had pegged this at Rs 5-11 lakh per MW. In contrast, the cost of installing the emission-control equipment is estimated to be Rs 40-100 lakh depending on plant-capacity and pollution generated. So, for a clutch of TPPs, the penalty won’t pinch, especially if retirement is in the horizon soon after the deadline expires. Those with the longest relief period will pay the lowest penalty sums as per the amended Rules, and the more inefficient plants—penalty is tied to generation, and smaller plants with lower load-running (meaning more pollution) will be charged a lower penalty—will face a lower punitive burden. TPPs account for 62% of India’s industrial particulate matter pollution and 45% of sulphur-pollution. So, if older TPPs seem unwilling, or incapable of moving towards cleaner generation, shutting them down would make eminent sense. It will, of course, require considerable political will, in view of the number of jobs involved and perfect coordination between the states and the Centre—given how many TPPs are owned by state governments—but it is worth exploring in view of climate gains.

Developed countries fail to meet pre-2020 climate commitments: report

All developed countries together emitted 25 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2eq) more than their estimated emission allowances in the 2008-2020 period, a Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report released on Wednesday said Most developed countries, including members of the G7 forum, collectively reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by only 3.7% by 2019 over the 1990 levels, a Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report released on Wednesday said. This is far short of their commitments made under the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol. All developed countries together emitted 25 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2eq) more than their estimated emission allowances in the 2008-2020 period, the report said. “CEEW’s analysis of developed nations’ pre-2020 climate actions have significant implications for the fate of post-2020 negotiations. Many developed countries have consumed disproportionate shares of the global carbon budget because they did not meet their commitments in the pre-2020 period. Trust in their long-term commitments will be regained only if their near-term actions free up carbon space for others. Further, the cost of mitigation efforts is set to increase significantly in the coming decade. While all countries must consider raising ambition, the burden of unmet promises and disproportionate use of carbon space cannot fall on developing countries,” said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW, in a statement. CEEW conducted a review of mitigation measures by all developed countries vis-a-vis their overall commitment under the Kyoto Protocol and the Doha Amendment. The report also presented a ranking of 43 developed countries based on their climate actions and mitigation efforts made in the pre-2020 period. Sweden, the UK, Belgium, and Denmark topped this ranking. But the US, Canada, Australia, and Russia featured in the bottom half. While nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement are essential for achieving the 1.5 degrees C global warming target, it is equally important to study the outcomes of the emission reduction pledges made by developed countries before the Paris Agreement, in the pre-2020 climate regime, the report said. It added that the fate of post-2020 negotiations for climate crisis crucially hinges upon the achievements, gaps, and issues recognised in the pre-2020 period. “The developing countries have concerns of bearing the burden of tackling the mitigation gaps from the pre-2020 period in the future. Furthermore, it has caused a further fissure between the developed and developing country groupings, contributing to mistrust on the next set of ambitions that were tabled in the negotiations,” the report said. Both Kyoto Protocol and the Doha amendment quantified emission reduction targets to developed countries, based on their 1990 emission levels. Under the Kyoto Protocol, an emission reduction target of 5% based on 1990 levels, was set to be achieved by developed countries in the first commitment period (2008–2012). Under the Doha Amendment, an emission reduction target of at least 18% would be met by developed countries in the second commitment period (2013–2020). Major economies like the US, Canada, Russia, and Japan did not participate in either one or both commitment periods. US non-participation in both commitment periods had several adverse effects on global climate action, including the withdrawal of other developed countries from critical agreements, the report said. The greenhouse gas emissions from all Annex I Parties (both industrialised and economies in transition [EIT] countries) declined by about 14.8% in 2019 compared to their base year emissions levels. This reduction when considering non-EIT Annex I Parties (majorly comprising industrialised countries) was only 3.7% by 2019 compared to their base year emissions levels. A fact sheet by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on “Status of the Country Commitments on the road to COP 26” highlighted that the NDC Synthesis Report 1 published in February 2021 by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) found that the world in 2030, as per the current level of country commitments/NDCs, will have 0.7% lower total greenhouse gas emissions than when it started its negotiations for a climate change agreement in 1990. A look at the pledges and emissions of the top emitters reveals a large gap between ambition, and the transformative short-term actions needed to decarbonise their economies and limit global temperature rise. “The two largest emitters, the US and China, are not definitively on track to achieve their 2030 targets and continue the unrestrained production and use of fossil fuels,” CSE said. “India is mostly on track to achieve its 2030 goals and has a minimal contribution when considering the size of its population.” “The implementation phase of the Paris Agreement began in 2021. The world needs the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement to succeed. For this, there has to be trust and confidence in the multilateral process. Thus, it is important to recall and review what were the promises made in the pre-2020 period and whether those were delivered. A clear and unbiased assessment of the pre-2020 commitments and mitigation as well as finance is the need of the hour,” said Richa Sharma, additional secretary, Union environment ministry, at the launch of the CEEW report.

COP26: From packaging to milk cartons, how the UK’s paper waste exports present a hidden climate threat

COP26The West is continuing to export its waste problem, wrapped up in a brown-paper package Unread newspapers, corrugated sheets discarded after unwrapping electronic gadgets, tissue or milk cartons from British homes arrive, tightly packed, at Indian factories in a growing stream. They are pulped and remade into fresh paper to meet India’s growing demand for it. Paper waste is sometimes seen as a shining example of how things can be almost endlessly recycled. But it is in fact a new example of a product exported to pollute distant parts of the world, environmental activists say, moving and reshaping waste to skirt regulations. British paper waste imports to India grew by nearly three times in four years, from 2016 to 2019, UN Comtrade – a global trade data organisation – shows. Overall, British waste exports to India rose nearly threefold in four years (from £35.5m in 2016 to £102m in 2019), despite tightened regulation shrinking plastic waste imports down to a tenth. “The biggest challenge is contamination,” says Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, deputy programme manager at the Centre for Science and Environment, a New Delhi based think-tank. Paper often comes with a film of plastic clinging to it. Bales of paper waste shipped from the US have contained plastic shreds too, says Jan Dell, co-founder of Last Beach Clean Up, a California-based nonprofit that works on reducing plastic pollution. At least a hundred thousand tonnes of non-recyclable plastic may have come along with paper waste, estimated a report by an Expert Working Group, tabled in India’s National Green Tribunal, last month. At Indian paper mills, the plastic bits are separated when waste paper is pulped, or immersed in water and sent away to be burnt at kilns in cement plants or ends up at unsanitary landfills, where waste decays slowly, releasing methane and other greenhouse gases. It was due to the polluting effect of such plastic burning and landfilling that China restricted the import of imported mixed waste paper, moving the problem to India, Turkey and other East Asian countries. Paper waste imports to India began growing when China, then the largest consumer of the world’s waste, banned it in 2018. It left western municipalities stranded, looking for new destinations. Indian paper mills welcomed the paper waste, taking in more than 6.4 million kilos of it in 2020-21 – twice as much as the three million kilos imported in 2016-17, according to India’s commerce ministry data. Plastic traders in Indonesia, Malaysia and India often separate the plastic from these mixed paper bales from the West and send the uncontaminated paper back to China, to be made into packaging and re-exported to western countries again – a highly inefficient process. Sirine Rached, an advocate for Zero Waste Europe, a Brussels-based NGO, said: “Disparate plastic mixed into imported paper waste in West Java [has been found], which is a hub for the paper trade. “This plastic waste may have been slipped in to paper bales by private operators to avoid the cost of disposing of these plastic wastes in the country where they were generated.” It was burned to fuel furnaces in tofu factories, releasing toxins. Both Indonesia and India have tightened norms for acceptable contamination of plastic with paper but implementing them remains a concern. “Inspection covers a minuscule fraction of the imports,” the Indian Expert Group report says. Contaminants in at least one of the four paper mills the group inspected were far higher than the pre-shipment certificate indicated, or that are premitted. Its report calls for stricter monitoring and labelling of imported paper waste. “We need paper to make more paper,” says Rohit Pandit, secretary general of the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association. Recycled paper is the most common type of paper in India and demand is growing. Paper can be remade six to seven times, Mr Pandit said, calling it a great example of how recycling can work across countries. Not everyone agrees. “This is not how we want to develop our economy, by bringing waste from others,” Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxic Links, a New Delhi based nonprofit that works to restrict e-waste and other hazardous waste. “The cost of dealing with the environment is higher than the cost of what is retrieved.” This April, the British government announced it would bring down carbon dioxide by 65 per cent to 1990 levels, by 2035. It was among the first developed economies to announce its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and its planned cuts remain the steepest worldwide. However, the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ed Miliband, said that the target was not accompanied by enough of a plan to get there. The US, EU and China announced their own greenhouse gas emission target cuts. Mr Sinha of Toxic Links says a roadmap for cutting polluting emissions must involve wealthier countries building capacity to deal with their waste instead of exporting it elsewhere, while developing countries need better oversight to implement laws restricting waste imports. While Ms Rached says Zero Waste Europe is lobbying the EU to curb plastic contamination in paper, the onus is also with importing countries to inspect and clamp down on it. Otherwise, the West is simply continuing to export its waste problem, wrapped up in a brown-paper package.

Initiative aimed at 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' launched by Namami Gange

With an aim to improve river's health and flow, a new capacity-building initiative on 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' was launched by Centre for Science and EnvironmentNational Mission for Clean in collaboration with research organization launch initiative on 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin'<br>The key focus areas of the programme will be Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning, Urban Water Efficiency and Conservation, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Local Reuse, Urban Groundwater Management and Urban Waterbodies / Lake Management.<br>As per a statement from the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning (WSUDP) is an emerging urban development paradigm aimed to minimise hydrological impacts of urban development on environment. This includes the method of planning and designing urban areas for optimum utilisation of water (a precious resource), reduce the harm caused to our rivers and creeks and focuses on entire management of entire water systems (drinking water, storm water run-off, waterway health, sewerage treatment and re-cycling).<br>In a virtual address, <a Senior Director Suresh Kumar Rohilla shared that the aim of the program is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities. CSE Director General Sunita Narain highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She shared that the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject. She emphasized the need of returning to roots and bringing back the traditional knowledge of rain water harvesting sharing the examples of Alhar - Pyne system of Bihar, wells in forts of Rajasthan and Cascade tanks of South India etc.<br>Ranjan Mishra, Director General of <a href="/topic/nmcg">NMCG</a>, reiterating the need for respecting traditions also suggested focus on the basics of water cycle in urban areas. He emphasised the need of protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about Jal Shakti Ministry's 'Catch the Rain' initiative for rain water harvesting. "There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities," he said.<br>An independent consultant from New Delhi presented a case study of a colony in Nizamuddin East through which 48, 531 cubic meters was harvested i.e. 39.6 per cent of total rooftop and surface runoff being harvested.<br>This initiative is part of the series of ongoing efforts by <a href="/topic/nmcg">NMCG</a> aimed to ensuring convergence of the <a href="/topic/namami-gange-mission">Namami Gange Mission</a> with national flagship urban missions (AMRUT, Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission, HRIDAY, NULM) and other missions (Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Jeewan Mission, Jal Shakti Abhiyan) at state/city level across Ganga basin states.<br>Under this initiative there will be more than 40 training programs supported with development of learning material/ practitioner's guides and spread over a period of 3 years. This will include residential trainings, online trainings, field visits and webinars etc. Initially, the project will be implemented in 3-4 pilot cities in the Ganga basin. Technical support will be provided to urban local bodies (ULBs). This is the first of its kind capacity building program. More than 840 people participated in the event from 240 cities across 33 countries. (ANI)

Initiative launched to make cities in Ganga basin water sensitive

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Tuesday launched a capacity-building initiative on "making water sensitive cities in Ganga basin", aimed at improving river health and flows. The key focus areas of the programme will be water sensitive urban design and planning, urban water efficiency and conservation, decentralised wastewater treatment and local reuse, urban groundwater management and urban water bodies and lake management. Launching the initiative, NMCG Director General Rajiv Ranjan Mishra emphasised the need for respecting traditions and suggested focusing on the basics of water cycle in urban areas. The NMCG is a body under the Jal Shakti Ministry that has been working on the rejuvenation of the Ganga and its tributaries. Mishra stressed the need for protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about the Jal Shakti Ministry''s ''Catch the Rain'' initiative for rainwater harvesting. "There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities,” he said. He also emphasised on how cities have largely been held responsible for the deteriorated state of rivers, and therefore, will need to play a vital role in the rejuvenation efforts as well. There is need to mainstream river sensitive approach while planning for the cities. He also mentioned about the “River Cities Alliance” which will provide a unique platform for river cities to collaborate for collectively achieving river rejuvenation through sustainable development and capacity building. Suresh Kumar Rohilla, Senior Director of CSE, said the aim of the programme is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities. Sunita Narain, Director General of CSE, highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She said the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject. PTI PR SMN SMN

Capacity Building Initiative on Making Water Sensitive Cities In Ganga Basin Launched

New Delhi : A new capacity building initiative on ‘Making water sensitive cities in Ganga basin’ aimed at improving river health/flows was launched by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Key focus areas of the programme will be Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning, Urban Water Efficiency and Conservation, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Local Reuse, Urban Groundwater Management and Urban Waterbodies / Lake Management. Launching the initiative, Director General, NMCG, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra reiterated the need for respecting traditions and suggested focusing on the basics of water cycle in urban areas. He emphasized the need of protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about Jal Shakti Ministry’s ‘Catch the Rain’ initiative for rain water harvesting. “There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities,” he said. DG, NMCG suggested a framework for integration between Urban Built Form including landscape and urban water cycle are needed. He also emphasized on how cities have largely been held responsible for the deteriorated state of rivers, and therefore, will need to play a vital role in the rejuvenation efforts as well. There is need to mainstream river sensitive approach while planning for the cities. For the first time, there is a paradigm shift in planning for River Cities. He also mentioned the “River Cities Alliance” which will provide a unique platform for river cities to collaborate for collectively achieving river rejuvenation through sustainable development and capacity building. Suresh Kumar Rohilla Senior Director, CSE shared that the aim of the program is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities. He also explained how the program will engage all the stakeholders which includes, SPMGs (State Program Management Group, Namami Gange), Municipal corporations, Technical & research constants, international organizations and local grassroot communities. Ms. Sunita Narain, Director General, CSE highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She shared that the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject. She emphasized the need of returning to roots and bringing back the traditional knowledge of rain water harvesting sharing the examples of Alhar – Pyne system of Bihar, wells in forts of Rajasthan and Cascade tanks of South India etc. This initiative is part of the series of ongoing efforts by NMCG aimed to ensuring convergence of the Namami Gange Mission with national flagship urban missions (AMRUT, Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission, HRIDAY, NULM) and other missions (Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Jal Shakti Abhiyan) at state /city level across Ganga basin states. Under this initiative there will be more than 40 training programs supported with development of learning material/ practitioner’s guides and spread over a period of 3 years. This will include residential trainings, online trainings, field visits and webinars etc. Initially, the project will be implemented in 3-4 pilot cities in the Ganga basin. Technical support will be provided to urban local bodies (ULBs). This is the first of its kind capacity building program. More than 840 people participated in the event from 240 cities across 33 countries. Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning (WSUDP) is an emerging urban development paradigm aimed to minimize hydrological impacts of urban development on environment. This includes the method of planning and designing urban areas for optimum utilization of water (a precious resource), reduce the harm caused to our rivers and creeks and focuses on entire management of entire water systems (drinking water, storm water run-off, waterway health, sewerage treatment and re-cycling).

Among 10 most polluted places in the Rajasthan, 3 are in Jaipur: Study

Among 10 most polluted places in the Rajasthan, 3 are in Jaipur: Study JAIPUR: In an indication that people of the state breathe polluted air for most part of the year, the cities in Rajasthan have recorded a particulate matter (PM) 2.5 concentration more than the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) safe limits of 40 ug/ m3 with only a few exceptions. For the first four months (January-April) of this year too, all the monitored cities of -Ajmer, Alwar, Bhiwadi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur and Pali have seen a PM 2.5 concentration of more than safe limits of 40 ug/m3 and more than triple the WHO limits of 10 ug/m3, according to National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), the country’s flagship programme for better air quality in 122 cities, launched in 2019. Out of the 10 most-polluted locations, three are in Jaipur - police commissionerate, Shastri Nagar and Adarsh Nagar. Sahil Singal, a naturopathy doctor and environmentalist, said, “The burning of garbage and diesel vehicles without pollution checks are a major contributor of air pollution in cities. There should be strict regulation and implementation to stem air pollution. Besides, non-motorised vehicles should be promoted to reduce carbon footprint.” “In 2020, while the country was in a complete lockdown from March-June, the cities of Jodhpur and Bhiwadi did not see pollution levels within permissible limits even once,”said the report. The city of Bhiwadi, which is part of Delhi-NCR and home to a range of large, medium and small-scale industries, from steel mills and furnaces to automobile and electronics manufacturing, is among the most polluted in the state with high PM 2.5, PM 10 and NO2 concentration throughout the three years (2019- June 2021). Among the operational Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in the state, the highest monthly average PM 2.5 concentration of 103 ug/ m3 was reported at Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation in Bhiwadi. According to an assessment by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Rajasthan Pollution Control Board in December 2020, the Bhiwadi Industrial Area contributes around 65% to the industrial pollution load of the region (Jaipur-Alwar-Bhiwadi air shed). Bhiwadi has a total of 328 air polluting industries. A source apportionment study done by IIT-Kanpur in Jaipur in January 2020 showed that while 47% of the PM 2.5 consists of road dust, vehicular emissions and industries contribute 20% and 19% respectively. According to Global Burden of Disease 2017, Rajasthan recorded the maximum number of child mortality which is 126 per lakh due to air pollution.

Capacity Building Initiative on Making Water Sensitive Cities In Ganga Basin Launched

New Delhi: A new capacity building initiative on ‘Making water sensitive cities in Ganga basin’ aimed at improving river health/flows was launched by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Key focus areas of the programme will be Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning, Urban Water Efficiency and Conservation, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Local Reuse, Urban Groundwater Management and Urban Waterbodies / Lake Management. Launching the initiative, Director General, NMCG, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra reiterated the need for respecting traditions and suggested focusing on the basics of water cycle in urban areas. He emphasized the need of protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about Jal Shakti Ministry’s ‘Catch the Rain’ initiative for rain water harvesting. “There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities,” he said. DG, NMCG suggested a framework for integration between Urban Built Form including landscape and urban water cycle are needed. He also emphasized on how cities have largely been held responsible for the deteriorated state of rivers, and therefore, will need to play a vital role in the rejuvenation efforts as well. There is need to mainstream river sensitive approach while planning for the cities. For the first time, there is a paradigm shift in planning for River Cities. He also mentioned the “River Cities Alliance” which will provide a unique platform for river cities to collaborate for collectively achieving river rejuvenation through sustainable development and capacity building. Related Posts Scaling the “Summit” of Dryland Food Systems: Research and… Jul 28, 2021 SRI Spinout Wingsure Develops AI-driven Mobile… Jul 28, 2021 Bluebot Bags the Digital Creative Mandate for Simplilearn Jul 28, 2021 Shri. Suresh Kumar Rohilla Senior Director, CSE shared that the aim of the program is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities. He also explained how the program will engage all the stakeholders which includes, SPMGs (State Program Management Group, Namami Gange), Municipal corporations, Technical & research constants, international organizations and local grassroot communities. Ms. Sunita Narain, Director General, CSE highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She shared that the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject. She emphasized the need of returning to roots and bringing back the traditional knowledge of rain water harvesting sharing the examples of Alhar – Pyne system of Bihar, wells in forts of Rajasthan and Cascade tanks of South India etc. This initiative is part of the series of ongoing efforts by NMCG aimed to ensuring convergence of the Namami Gange Mission with national flagship urban missions (AMRUT, Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission, HRIDAY, NULM) and other missions (Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Jal Shakti Abhiyan) at state /city level across Ganga basin states. Under this initiative there will be more than 40 training programs supported with development of learning material/ practitioner’s guides and spread over a period of 3 years. This will include residential trainings, online trainings, field visits and webinars etc. Initially, the project will be implemented in 3-4 pilot cities in the Ganga basin. Technical support will be provided to urban local bodies (ULBs). This is the first of its kind capacity building program. More than 840 people participated in the event from 240 cities across 33 countries. Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning (WSUDP) is an emerging urban development paradigm aimed to minimize hydrological impacts of urban development on environment. This includes the method of planning and designing urban areas for optimum utilization of water (a precious resource), reduce the harm caused to our rivers and creeks and focuses on entire management of entire water systems (drinking water, storm water run-off, waterway health, sewerage treatment and re-cycling).

Initiative aimed at 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' launched by Namami Gange

With an aim to improve river's health and flow, a new capacity-building initiative on 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' wa-> View it--> https://www.newkerala.com/news/2021/106071.htm National Mission for Clean Ganga in collaboration with research organization launch initiative on 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' The key focus areas of the programme will be Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning, Urban Water Ef-> View it--> https://www.newkerala.com/news/2021/106071.htm

30 years of economic reforms and environmental degradation

Faced with a severe Balance of Payment crisis in 1991, the Indian government embarked on an economic reform programme favouring decentralisation, de-bureaucratisation and globalisation. What began as a response to an economic crisis has led to an unprecedented environmental crisis that is set to reverse the little gains made in the last three decades. The prime objectives of the new industrial policy were to introduce liberalisation measures to integrate the Indian economy with the world economy, abolish restrictions on direct foreign investment, liberate indigenous enterprise and achieve international competitiveness. The past 30 years can be largely summed up as a story of spectacular economic performance and rapid environmental degradation. While India may have moved from a low-income country to a middle-income one, its growth has not been ‘inclusive’. A large number of poor, marginalised and vulnerable sections of the society have been left out of the growth process. While India may well be on the path to eradicating extreme poverty, it still lags behind in other important development indicators, especially regarding health and education. The reforms were largely in the formal sector of the economy, the agriculture and forest dependent communities did not see any reforms leading to uneven growth and unequal distribution. In his 1991 budget speech, Finance Minister Manmohan Singh made an emphatic declaration: “We cannot deforest our way to prosperity, and we cannot pollute our way to prosperity.” These were prophetic words. Three decades later, forests nearly two-thirds the size of Haryana have been lost to encroachments (15,000 sq km) and 23,716 industrial projects (14,000 sq km), according to government data. Artificial forests cannot compensate the loss of biodiversity, as the government recently acknowledged. The increase in air and water pollution is mainly from iron, steel, cement, coal, petroleum, fertilisers, synthetic resins, plastic, artificial fibres and chemical industries — all which benefitted from the reforms. Trade liberalisation in India systematically removed trade barriers and restrictions on foreign direct investments (FDI). As developed countries started cleaning up their environmental Act, not surprisingly most of the post-1991 FDI investments to India were higher in dirty technologies and polluting industries. According to State of Environment Report, 2021, by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), of 88 major industrial clusters in India, 35 showed overall environmental degradation, 33 pointed to worsening air quality, 45 had more polluted water, and in 17 land pollution became worse. The major greenhouse gases (GHG) added to the environment as a result of increased industrial activities include carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrogen oxide (NOx), nitrous monoxide (N2O) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). In a report published by Climate Watch (2018), India ranked among the world’s top-five contributors to GHG. India’s automobile industry boomed after economic liberalisation, with a host of collaborations between Indian companies and leading car manufacturers worldwide. Along with this boom there has been an increase in the levels of air pollution. Twenty-one of the world’s 30 cities with the worst air pollution are in India. Air pollution in India has caused losses of up to Rs 7 lakh-crore ($95 billion) annually, according to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). In India, environmental statutes, though impressive in range and coverage, are more often observed in breach than practice. Corruption, jurisdictional conflicts and lack of co-ordination among different agencies has resulted in poor enforcement. India was ranked 168th out of 180 countries in the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), according to researchers at Yale and Columbia universities. Interestingly, it is the courts, especially the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal that played a pivotal role in addressing the environmental crisis unleashed by economic reforms. The orders and directions of the apex court cover a wide range of areas, whether it be air, water, solid waste or hazardous waste. But none of it is enough to address the greatest threat to India’s economy – climate change. The World Economic Forum’s 2020 report on global risks indicates that biodiversity and climate-related risks are now widely acknowledged to be the risks with the highest likelihood and impact. India can no longer afford to have an isolated climate policy, or one that places business interests over environmental concerns — as the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020 proposes. Countries around the world are debating their versions of the green new deal. India must break from carbon-centric Keynesian economics and adapt to the 21st-century vision for carbon neutrality: Investments in its rural communities for forest restoration coupled with agroforestry, sustainable fisheries and horticulture, organic and low-carbon agriculture, green jobs through renewable energy, and energy-efficient green infrastructure. It remains to be seen whether it is the government or the judiciary that acknowledge that in essence, ecology is economy. Apart from the business case, moving to an integrated ecology-economy approach is a matter of survival in an increasingly uncertain future. Source: Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA)

US says FSSAI’s non-GMO certification requirement has hit its apple exports

In submission to WTO, India urged to withdraw measure, consider ‘non-discriminatory’ approaches The US has said that its apple exports to India have been disrupted due to New Delhi’s decision to mandate ‘non-GM (genetically modified) origin’ and ‘GM-free’ certificates for certain agricultural imports and has proposed that the measure be withdrawn. “The measure (GM-free certificate requirement) has disrupted US apple exports. Trade stoppages risk future product shortages and could lead to price increase for Indian consumers and further disruptions to Indian supply chain,” the US said in a recent representation to the Sanitary & Phytosanitary Committee of the WTO. subscribers exclusiveSubscriber Exclusive alt_text technical-analysis Nifty Call: Sell on rallies with a fixed stop-loss at 15,760 alt_text news-analysis Banking stress Retail stress tells on private banks in Q1 alt_text data-focus Has the National Health Mission been effective enough? alt_text news-analysis Analysis Export realisations, value-added products drive Q1 earnings of JSW Steel Last August, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) published an order specifying that every consignment of 24 identified food products need to be accompanied by a non-GM-origin-cum-GM-free certificate issued by Competent National Authority of the exporting country. Food items The order was to be effective from January 1, 2021, but was postponed to March 1. The food items requiring the certification include pineapples, apples, wheat, rice, tomato, potato, maize, melon, plum, papaya, potato, egg plant, bean, among others. Following the imposition of the non-GMO certification requirement from March 1 2021, apple exporters from the US have reportedly complained that the Indian market is technically closed for them as at present, the US Department of Agriculture does not issue such certificates. “Apple exports from the US to India had already taken a hit following imposition of additional import duties of 20 per cent in 2019, as retaliation for US action against Indian steel & aluminium. This increased total import duties on the fruit to 70 per cent. There has been a sharp drop in apple exports from the US to India over the last couple of years and shipments are expected to fall further this year because of the GM-free mandatory certification,” a person tracking the industry told BusinessLine. Fall in imports Import of fresh apples from the US to India dropped 32.91 per cent in 2020-21 to $34.60 million from $51.58 million in 2019-20. The US, in its submission to the SPS Committee this month, reiterated that India must provide the scientific justification and the risk assessment for the measure, or otherwise indicate the relevant international standards or guidelines on which this measure is based. “In the absence of this information, the US again urges India to withdraw its measure,” it said. The mandatory certificate requirement imposed by India follows a study carried out by research and advocacy body Centre for Science and Environment in 2018 which found that despite the FSSAI not allowing GM food in the country, several samples of edible oils, processed and packaged food and infant food items, produced locally and imported, were found to contain GM ingredients. While 32 per cent samples tested GM-positive, the bulk of it was imported. Washington suggested that India could consider alternative approaches that can be implemented in a non-discriminatory manner, and in a way that is not more trade-restrictive than necessary. In January 2021, the US had proposed technical cooperation with India to develop alternatives to the non-GM origin and GM-free certificate. “We look forward to the FSSAI response to this proposed technical cooperation opportunity as a means by which we can develop a mutually agreeable approach to this issue,” it said in its latest submission.

Path cleared for extension of Delhi’s Barapullah elevated corridor

The extension will provide signal free road access between east Delhi and south Delhi. Currently the Barapullah elevated corridor, known as the Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Setu, connects Sarai Kale Khan in south east Delhi to AIIMS in south Delhi. The Delhi government is in the final stages of acquiring an 8.5-acre land parcel in the Yamuna riverbed which will pave the way for the completion of the extension of the Barapullah elevated road corridor up to Mayur Vihar in east Delhi, senior government officials who are aware of the development said. The extension will provide signal free road access between east Delhi and south Delhi. Currently the Barapullah elevated corridor, known as the Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Setu, connects Sarai Kale Khan in south east Delhi to AIIMS in south Delhi. The road corridor was developed for ferrying athletes during the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The officials said this is the first land acquisition case processed by the Delhi government under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013, said two senior Delhi government officials. Almost five years after the government initiated the process to acquire two land parcels for the 790m-long section (500m and 290m) of the elevated corridor between Mayur Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan, the revenue department notified the draft Rehabilitation and Resettlement scheme identifying the beneficiaries last month. The land parcels belong to residents of Nangli Razapur village, located near Sarai Kale Khan ISBT. Villagers say that they have been waiting for compensation for the past five years. Rajbir Tanwar, a resident, said, “We have held several meetings with government officials in the past five years. But till date there is no clarity on when we will get the compensation amount.” A senior south east Delhi district official said, “This is the first case processed under the RFCTLARR Act, 2013, by the government. We recently held a public hearing on the matter and have sent the file for final approval. We have been informed that the PWD department has released part payment to the revenue department for the acquisition process.” Once the final approval is given, it will be sent to Delhi lieutenant governor for approval and declaration of the scheme. “We plan to notify the declaration by September. We will have to acquire the land within one year from the date of declaration,” said the official. Villagers said they want the government to confirm the compensation amount. Bhopal Singh Chauhan, a farmer and village Pradhan, said, “In the meeting, officials didn’t tell us about the compensation amount. Our demand is that the government should pay ₹3 crore per acre.” The compensation amount, the district official said, will be finalised at later stages. Delhi PWD officials said that the ₹1,260 crore-project, which is crucial for addressing traffic congestion on Vikas Marg and Delhi Noida Direct flyway, is more than 80% complete and the remaining work will be completed within one year from the day they get possession of the land. A senior Delhi PWD official said, “Just 18% of the work, mainly related to the two stretches which have to be constructed, on the elevated corridor is left. If we get the land by October this year, it should be complete by December 2022.” Ever since the RFCTLARR Act came into force in 2013, the Delhi government’s land and building department officials said that no land has been acquired till date. A senior official aware of the development said, “As this was the first to be processed, it took some time as we had to appoint a committee to do the Social Impact Assessment and follow all the provisions of the Act. We have 5-6 requests for land acquisition from DMRC and PWD. We are trying to expedite the process so that such delays don’t happen in the future.” Anuj Dayal, executive director corporate communication, DMRC, “Out of these, about 8.71 hectares of permanent land has already been received by us. Deliberations are in progress for the rest of the land requirement. We are not facing any major issue pertaining to land acquisition as yet for phase 4.” Infrastructure and urban planning experts say that the new land acquisition Act has made the process difficult. The DMRC has a direct purchase policy and even the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has provisions in its Act which makes land acquisition faster and easier. Experts say, there is a need to have a direct purchase policy for crucial infrastructure projects. Sarvagya Srivastava, former engineer-in-chief of Delhi PWD, under whose tenure the Barapullah Phase-III project was conceived, said, “There is a need to have a direct purchase policy so that crucial infrastructure projects don’t get delayed,” said Srivastava. He added, “It is due to bureaucratic inefficiency and indifference that such an important project has been stuck, which may lead to cost escalation and inconvenience to the public.” A Delhi government spokesperson did not comment on the matter. The DMRC has a procedure in place to ensure transparency in the acquisition process. Dayal said, “Only in exceptional circumstances, to avoid any delay in the completion of the projects, we enter into direct negotiation with private parties. In Phase 3, the DMRC acquired bare minimum land from private parties through direct negotiation.” The Delhi Development Authority’s Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) project, which is also referred to as the third ring road, is another case in point. The 79km-long corridor, which will connect four national Highways (NH 1, 2, 8 and 10), was approved by the UTTIPEC, the apex body for approval of traffic and transportation projects in Delhi, in 2016. But the DDA couldn’t start the work due to which it was transferred to the NHAI in 2018 to expedite the process. Sabyasachi Das, former planning commissioner (incharge) at DDA, said, “One of the reasons for the UER-II project being transferred to NHAI was land acquisition on the new approved alignment. NHAI and DMRC both have provisions to expedite the land acquisition process.” Nivit Kumar Yadav, director Industrial pollution unit, at the Centre for Science and Environment, said the Act of 2013 is aimed at protecting the interest of farmers who are directly or indirectly dependent on their land. “The acquisition process is time consuming. It provides for several opportunities to the government to discuss and negotiate with the local community whose land is being acquired. Moreover, to acquire land for crucial infrastructure projects the state government should come up with schemes or policies. Several states such as Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand etc have come up with alternative solutions to acquire land. Land pooling is one such solution which has been used in Andhra Pradesh’s Amravati,” said Yadav, who also looks after the environment impact assessment and land acquisition related matters.

For the first time, entire bus fleet operated by DTC declared ‘overage’

This age of the DTC buses has also started reflecting on its operational statistics. In 2015-16, the DTC used to operate 33,497 trips every day, which has now come down to about 30,000 trips on an average per day. The entire fleet of 3,760 buses run by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has been officially declared “overage” this year, a first in the history of the state transport utility, which was set up in 1971, according to data accessed and analysed by HT. The data also showed that 99% of the fleet has crossed the technical operational limit for low-floor CNG buses. The DTC categorises a bus as “overage” after a run of more than eight years. As per the procurement contracts under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the maximum operational life of a low-floor CNG bus is 12 years or 750,000km, whichever is later. Of the total 3,760 buses, none of them is even as young as 6-8 years. At least 32 of the buses are 8-10 years old, 3,072 are between 10 and 12 years old, and 656 are older than 12 years. The number is alarming considering that the city needs 11,000 buses, according to a government affidavit submitted to the high court in 2018, and that the DTC itself is mandated to have 5,500 buses. Even if the 2,990 cluster buses, which are run by private operators, are included, Delhi’s current state run buses strength goes up to 6,750 only. Delhi transport minister and chairperson of DTC Kailash Gahlot said the issue has been extensively discussed in recent board meetings of the corporation. “Yes, it is true, and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has also expressed concern as our state-run buses are the lifeline of Delhi’s public transport. Our DTC and cluster buses together carry at least one million passengers more than the Delhi Metro every day. So, we planned a revival of the DTC by pumping in 1,300 new buses in the next seven months,” he said. It has been difficult for the DTC to get a successful tender for procurement of buses. Records seen by HT showed that the last time DTC finalised a tender was in 2008, and buses from that tender kept coming in small batches till October, 2011. After that, the DTC floated five tenders between 2013 and 2019, but none of them could be executed either due to unreasonable comprehensive annual maintenance contract (CAMC) or due to lack of enough bidders. It was finally in 2020 that a tender for 1,000 AC low-floor CNG buses was finalised with two bidders getting the contract in 70:30 ratio. However, allegations of irregularities in CAMC has indefinitely delayed the acquisition of 1,000 AC low-floor CNG buses. A probe committee appointed by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal has given a clean chit to the DTC over the tendering and procurement of the buses. The three-member panel, however, recommended floating fresh tenders for its AMC over what it described as “procedural lapses” arising out of a “bona fide decision-making process”. Gahlot said, “The DTC and I personally worked for months to make this tender successful. This was the DTC’s biggest achievement in 12 years as all earlier bus tenders kept failing...We hope that of the 1,300 buses, at least 300 electric buses for which the work order was issued in March this year, is not obstructed. People need more buses and this has been reiterated not just by the Delhi government but also the Supreme Court and high court.” Once the buses attain their shelf life, they are ideally supposed to be scrapped. However, records showed that because new buses are not being added, DTC has been forced to operate all such buses. No buses have been sent to the scrapyard in the current financial year, and only two buses were scrapped in 2020-21. In 2019-20, 80 buses were withdrawn from operations owing to age-related maintenance problems. Between 2011 and 2017, 368 buses were scrapped on an average annually with 2,209 vehicles being withdrawn during this period. But running old buses is pushing up maintenance costs. Vijay Bidhuri, managing director, DTC, said the situation has been so precarious that the corporation urged the state transport authority (STA) to allow its buses to ply till the age of 15 years. “There was no other way but to run them beyond their prescribed age. Fortunately, the STA has now allowed us to operate DTC buses till they attain 15 years. But, this is only a stop-gap arrangement. It has given us 2-3 years maximum to replace our entire fleet. We need to add new buses to DTC’s fleet because our expenditure on maintaining these old buses is also increasing. Even as we are running overaged buses, we cannot compromise on safety and have to keep the buses in their best possible condition, which is an expensive affair,” he said. This age of the DTC buses has also started reflecting on its operational statistics. In 2015-16, the DTC used to operate 33,497 trips every day, which has now come down to about 30,000 trips on an average per day. Annual internal audits by the DTC have also shown that an overaged fleet was a key factor in low productivity. Besides, the number of breakdowns have gone up because the entire fleet is composed of low-floor buses as mandated by the high court and Supreme Court to make public transport more accessible to the disabled. Low-floor buses have lower ground clearance, because of which they are more vulnerable to breakdowns, especially where roads are not in good shape or flooded stretches. Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director and in-charge of research and advocacy, said because 100% of DTC’s fleet is “overaged”, the effective increment of Delhi’s bus fleet size has been very small. “Around 700 new buses have been added since 2019 in Delhi, but this is only under the cluster scheme. The DTC continues to operate with old buses, which effectively nullifies the increase in the city’s bus fleet because 56% of it constitutes DTC buses. Clearly, Delhi still needs a lot more buses to match the requirement of 11,000 buses as prescribed in the route rationalisation study by the Delhi government, and also to meet the growing demand,” she said.

30 years of economic reforms and environmental degradation

What began as a response to an economic crisis has led to an unprecedented environmental crisis that is set to reverse what little gains we made over the last three decades Faced with a severe Balance of Payment crisis in 1991, the Indian government embarked on an economic reform programme favouring decentralisation, de-bureaucratisation and globalisation. What began as a response to an economic crisis has led to an unprecedented environmental crisis that is set to reverse the little gains made in the last three decades. The prime objectives of the new industrial policy were to introduce liberalisation measures to integrate the Indian economy with the world economy, abolish restrictions on direct foreign investment, liberate indigenous enterprise and achieve international competitiveness. The past 30 years can be largely summed up as a story of spectacular economic performance and rapid environmental degradation. While India may have moved from a low-income country to a middle-income one, its growth has not been ‘inclusive’. A large number of poor, marginalised and vulnerable sections of the society have been left out of the growth process. While India may well be on the path to eradicating extreme poverty, it still lags behind in other important development indicators, especially regarding health and education. The reforms were largely in the formal sector of the economy, the agriculture and forest dependent communities did not see any reforms leading to uneven growth and unequal distribution. In his 1991 budget speech, Finance Minister Manmohan Singh made an emphatic declaration: "We cannot deforest our way to prosperity, and we cannot pollute our way to prosperity." These were prophetic words. Three decades later, forests nearly two-thirds the size of Haryana have been lost to encroachments (15,000 sq km) and 23,716 industrial projects (14,000 sq km), according to government data. Artificial forests cannot compensate the loss of biodiversity, as the government recently acknowledged. The increase in air and water pollution is mainly from iron, steel, cement, coal, petroleum, fertilisers, synthetic resins, plastic, artificial fibres and chemical industries — all which benefitted from the reforms. Trade liberalisation in India systematically removed trade barriers and restrictions on foreign direct investments (FDI). As developed countries started cleaning up their environmental Act, not surprisingly most of the post-1991 FDI investments to India were higher in dirty technologies and polluting industries. According to State of Environment Report, 2021, by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), of 88 major industrial clusters in India, 35 showed overall environmental degradation, 33 pointed to worsening air quality, 45 had more polluted water, and in 17 land pollution became worse. The major greenhouse gases (GHG) added to the environment as a result of increased industrial activities include carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrogen oxide (NOx), nitrous monoxide (N2O) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). In a report published by Climate Watch (2018), India ranked among the world's top-five contributors to GHG. historical-GHG-emissions India’s automobile industry boomed after economic liberalisation, with a host of collaborations between Indian companies and leading car manufacturers worldwide. Along with this boom there has been an increase in the levels of air pollution. Twenty-one of the world’s 30 cities with the worst air pollution are in India. Air pollution in India has caused losses of up to Rs 7 lakh-crore ($95 billion) annually, according to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). In India, environmental statutes, though impressive in range and coverage, are more often observed in breach than practice. Corruption, jurisdictional conflicts and lack of co-ordination among different agencies has resulted in poor enforcement. India was ranked 168th out of 180 countries in the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), according to researchers at Yale and Columbia universities. Interestingly, it is the courts, especially the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal that played a pivotal role in addressing the environmental crisis unleashed by economic reforms. The orders and directions of the apex court cover a wide range of areas, whether it be air, water, solid waste or hazardous waste. But none of it is enough to address the greatest threat to India’s economy - climate change. The World Economic Forum’s 2020 report on global risks indicates that biodiversity and climate-related risks are now widely acknowledged to be the risks with the highest likelihood and impact. India can no longer afford to have an isolated climate policy, or one that places business interests over environmental concerns — as the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020 proposes. Countries around the world are debating their versions of the green new deal. India must break from carbon-centric Keynesian economics and adapt to the 21st-century vision for carbon neutrality: Investments in its rural communities for forest restoration coupled with agroforestry, sustainable fisheries and horticulture, organic and low-carbon agriculture, green jobs through renewable energy, and energy-efficient green infrastructure. It remains to be seen whether it is the government or the judiciary that acknowledge that in essence, ecology is economy. Apart from the business case, moving to an integrated ecology-economy approach is a matter of survival in an increasingly uncertain future.

THAT SINKING FEELING ALL OVER AGAIN

Goa has just been through a flood that few have experienced before. After the waters inundated the villages, the politicians went on inspection visits. Within minutes there were pictures of Ministers and MLAs wading through even knee-deep waters to get a first-hand idea of the damage that was caused by the floods. It is good to show concern and we do understand that natural disasters cannot be predicted, but there is enough of evidence to indicate that policies and actions of the governments can change the way nature responds. Had the same politicians inspected the areas before the floods and noticed changes in the environment that had been wrought about would the situation have been different? As waters rose in the eastern talukas of Goa last week, that sinking feeling returned with a vengeance for this had been forewarned and yet everybody shut themselves to the warning. Take a short trip back in time to August 2018 when Kerala went under a flood like never before. At that time, ecologist Madhav Gadgil had said, “Certainly all sorts of problems are beginning to surface on the environmental front in the Western Ghats. Goa, of course, does not have the Western Ghats which are so high as in Kerala, but I am sure Goa will also experience all sorts of problems.” Herald had reported Gadgil’s warning which was then picked up by the media across the country. It was discussed in media and environmental circles, but it did not draw even a murmur from the political class. There was neither an agreement nor a refutation. Gadgil’s early forecast was ignored, but the raging waters that swept eastern Goa on July 23 are evidence of what was predicted and a precursor of what can still occur at a later date. The warnings were dismissed by a silence from the decision makers, but nature asserted that it cannot be tampered with and stormed through villages displaying its fury as Goa could only look on and let the tempest subside. Gadgil was chairperson of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, whose report was criticised for being too environment-friendly and anti-development. A member of that panel, Dr Ligia Noronha, is today the United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Head of the UN Environment Programme. If ever there was an urgency to extract the report of that panel from the depths of the government filing system where it has been consigned too, it is now. The Kerala floods of three years ago did not sound a warning loud enough for Goa to take measures. Will the floods of two days ago sound that alarm? Goa does not need to suffer the way Kerala did. Just last month, the environmental magazine Down To Earth had analysed data for the month of June from 2010 to 2021 from various meteorological departments and found that India had received a record amount of rainfall in June 2021, excluding the 2013 rainfall. “This worked as a catalyst for the flood-like conditions in various parts of the country,” the magazine had reported warning that Goa and Gujarat were already experiencing flood-like situations. So, in essence, Goa had been forewarned about what could happen, yet did little to protect itself from what might have occurred. That it happened is indicative of just how lightly Goa takes the warnings of experts in the fields of environment. The admission by Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant is that this is the most grim situation faced by the State since 1982. It has been a long 39 years since that flood and in the intervening period there have been cyclones, landslides and rising water levels, but little compares to what was just experienced. If measures are not taken soon, the experience in the future could only get worse.

India's Climate Crisis: Is The Disaster Really 'Natural'?

Nearly 150 people have died and 875 villages in Maharashtra affected after record breaking rain in Maharashtra and the Konkan region. Heavy rain in short spells is just the latest example showing that India is on the frontline of climate change. Experts analyse these patterns and talk about whether India's climate crisis is really a 'natural' disaster.