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How keeping parks green is running Delhi dry

NEW DELHI: Even as a political row simmers over the sealing of borewells in municipal parks, the depleting groundwater table is an issue that cannot be easily brushed aside. While the borewell points irrigating the parks are being sealed in accordance with the orders of National Green Tribunal, the civic authorities want the drive to be halted till alternative arrangements are made. The three corporations collectively manage over 15,064 parks with more than 4,000 tubewells being used for irrigation. Jai Prakash, mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation, which manages 6,095 parks spread over 2,159 acres, said the law department had filed a review petition in NGT to consider halting the drive till a new arrangement of getting water from sewage treatment plants was made. The north civic body has 1,862 borewell points, of which 99 have been sealed so far. This has affected over 400 parks, officials say. Delhi government has maintained that the spectre of parks turning barren and contributing to pollution is looming large because of the "mismanagement and misrule" of BJP even as Delhi Jal Board provides free treated wastewater. The civic functionaries, on the other hand, have blamed DJB for the sealing drive. Leader of the house in South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Narendra Chawla, claimed that DJB was ordered by the green tribunal to arrange water tankers for the parks. SDMC has 6,872 parks in its jurisdiction and uses 1,398 tubewells. Of these, 167 have been sealed so far. Senior civic officials say that while treated wastewater from DJB may be available for free, transporting it in a separate fleet of tankers will be costly affair. According to estimates prepared by the civic bodies, north corporation will need 540 tankers of 5,000-litre capacity to replace borewell-based irrigation, which will involve an expenditure of Rs 162 crore annually. Similarly, SDMC will need 600 tankers and an annual cost input of Rs 180 crore. Of the three corporations, SDMC has taken the lead in creating new mini-STPs to replace the old borewells. Officials say 132 parks are currently being irrigated using STPs and 56 tubewells have been closed as a result of this initiative. In east Delhi, around 474 borewells have been closed while 20 tankers are being used to irrigate key parks. A recent Central Groundwater Board (CGWB) report has stated that Delhi’s groundwater table is declining at a rate of 0.2 metres each year. In some parts of Delhi, mostly in south and southwest Delhi, the groundwater table has fallen to around 80 metres below the ground level. In joint surveys conducted by DJB and the revenue department, 12,350 illegal borewells were identified till March with the maximum concentration in the North West and South West districts. Only the Central district in Delhi is currently in the “safe zone” with all remaining districts either in “critical” or “over-exploited” categories, according to CGWB. It is clear the two-year-old NGT order to create alternative irrigation arrangements from STPs has not been acted upon with the urgency it required. CGWB has also pointed out that in almost 15% of the capital, groundwater now lies at a depth of 40-80 metres. In almost all of south Delhi and parts of central and east Delhi, the volume of groundwater withdrawn is much higher than what is replenished. A Delhi Parks and Gardens Society (DPGS) official said they were already providing financial assistance to parks up to Rs 3.5 lakh to set up decentralised sewage treatment plants, which could water parks as well as cater to other localised demands. However, borewells need to be shut down completely to comply with the directions. A study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has advocated water harvesting in parks and open spaces of Delhi as a way to augment the drainage system and also address issues related to urban flooding. Spread over 8,000 hectares, Delhi has more than 16,000 parks and open spaces where stormwater harvesting can be implemented, CSE has stated. The city has the potential to harvest 12,800 million litres of rainwater every year. Instead of being points of crisis, the NGT order can be used to make these green spaces water conservation hotspots.

Water in the age of climate change

We know that climate change impacts are about heat - increased and scorching temperatures - and about variable and extreme rain. Sunita Narain March 22 every year is observed as World Water Day. This year as we celebrated, and reiterated, the importance of water, we remembered the difference — this was the World Water Day in the age of climate change. This means we have to do everything that we know we need to do: Augment water availability by harvesting every drop of rainwater; use it much more efficiently so that every drop of that rainwater is valued in the food we eat or the water we flush; and ensure that every drop of that used water is reused and recycled and not degraded by pollution. This we already know and practise. But this will not be enough in the age of climate change — we will have to do all we know at a faster pace, on a massive scale, and differently. Why do I say this? We know that climate change impacts are about heat — increased and scorching temperatures — and about variable and extreme rain. Both have a direct correlation with the water cycle. So, climate change mitigation has to be about water and its management. Every year, we know now, is the hottest year in recorded history — till the next year comes around and breaks the record. In India, temperatures in parts of Odisha crossed 40 degree C as early as February. North Indian states are breaking all records in terms of rising heat and higher than normal temperatures. And this is when 2021 is the year of La Nina — the Pacific water currents that are known to bring cool temperatures globally as compared to El Nino. But Indian weather scientists say global warming has offset this cooling effect of La Nina. Rising heat has many implications for water security. First, it means that there will be greater evaporation from waterbodies. It means that we need to work not just on storing water in millions of structures, but also plan for reducing losses due to evaporation. One option is to work on underground water storage — wells in other words. India has for too long discounted the management of groundwater systems as irrigation bureaucracies have been built on planned canals and other surface water systems. But this will need to shift in this age of climate change and water scarcity. We need to find ways to reduce losses from tanks, ponds, and canals as well. It’s not that evaporation losses didn’t happen in the past; but now the rates will increase with temperatures soaring. We need to plan; we need to do more. Second, increased heat means it will dry up the moisture in soils; it will make the land dusty and increase the need for irrigation. In a country like India where the bulk of the food is still grown in rainfed regions, it will intensify land degradation and dust bowl formations. This means water management must go hand in hand with vegetation planning to improve the ability of soils to hold water, even in times of intense and prolonged heat. Thirdly, and obviously, heat will drive up the use of water — from drinking and irrigation to fighting fires in forests or buildings. We have already seen devastating forest fires rage in many parts of the world, and in the forests of India. This will only increase as temperatures go up. The demand for water will increase with climate change, making it even more imperative that we do not waste — either water or wastewater. But this is not all. The fact is that climate change is already showing up in terms of the increasing number of extreme rain events. This means that we can expect rain to come as a flood, making the cycle of floods followed by droughts even more intense. India already has fewer rainy days in a year — it is said that it rains for just 100 hours on average in a year. Now the number of rainy days will further go down, but extreme rainy days will increase. This has a huge impact on our plans for water management. This means that we need to think more about flood management, not only to embank rivers but to optimise the floodwaters so that we can store them in underground and overground aquifers — wells and ponds. But it also means that we need to plan differently for the capture of rainwater. Currently, our water structures, the many millions that are being constructed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, for instance, are designed for normal rainfall. But now, as extreme rain becomes the normal, the structures will need to be redesigned so that they last over the seasons. The bottom line is that we must plan to capture every drop, not just of rain but of floodwater, in this age of climate change. Let’s then be clear; we needed to be obsessive about water and its management yesterday because water is the basis of health and wealth. But now we need to be more than obsessive — we need to be determined and deliberate. This is the real make or break of our future.

Pollution in Delhi has decreased by fifteen per cent

New Delhi: Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday announced that the Kejriwal-led government has been successful in curbing pollution in the national capital. Rai presented two reports to substantiate the claim. According to a report by Iqair.com, a Sweden-based organization, Delhi has dropped down to the 10th spot among the polluted cities in the world. Another report by the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE) reveals that Delhi’s PM 2.5 has decreased at the rate of 25% between 2018 and 2020. The report also revealed that Delhi is the first state in India to have shut down the power plants which emit harmful gases and also the first state to have 39 Air Quality Monitoring Systems. The BJP and Congress units have constantly criticized the Kejriwal-led government for not taking Delhi’s pollution and its impact on the people seriously. “BJP is in Opposition and it’s their job to criticize. We are talking about the reports of the independent organizations. These outcomes are coming because we are constantly working towards them. Whether it’s the initiative on stubble issue or turning off vehicles during red light, we are constantly working. The Delhi government has also made it mandatory that anti-smoke guns should be installed in all construction sites more than 20,000 sq ft. You can see that we have started working on this in March. Generally, governments talk about this after September. Delhi government is working on long-term plans too. We are also working on switching at least 25% of vehicles to e-vehicles. EV policy is one of the major steps launched by the Delhi government. Earlier, Delhi used to be the second or third polluted city in the world; now it’s on the 10th rank. Almost eight polluted cities are from Uttar Pradesh. The most unfortunate thing is if the nearby states are polluted, it has a direct impact on Delhi because of wind directions. Despite all the politics and criticism, we are constantly working,” an official from Delhi’s Environment Department said. While addressing the press conference, the Delhi Cabinet Minister also highlighted several other firsts that Delhi has achieved in terms of curbing environmental pollution like the Green-Delhi App, Transportation policy, Expansion of Green belt, and the EV Policy. The CSE report also reveals that Delhi’s pollution has decreased by 15%, Gopal Rai said. Underlining the five major points mentioned in the report by the Centre for Science and Environment, the minister said, “First, the report highlights that Delhi is the first state to have shut down those power plants which emit harmful gases. Despite Supreme Court’s rulings, 12 such plants are operational in the neighbouring areas of Delhi, and the Central government hasn’t done anything in this regard. I have been requesting them for the past six months. The second one being, Delhi is the first state to have initiated 13 hotspots which initiate measures at the micro-level to curb pollution, right from dust particles to expansion of the green-belt. The third one, Delhi is the first state to have provided PNG Gas at subsidized rates to its industrial sector. The fourth one is, Delhi is the first state to have installed 39 Air Quality Monitoring Systems which analyze and take concrete steps to decrease the AQI index. A lot of other neighbouring states which have these systems do not work effectively, leading to increased air pollution. The fifth one is, the EV policy launched by the Delhi government and its constant efforts to enforce it will help in curbing air pollution.” Rai said that Delhi provides 24×7 electricity to its citizens, which has been a helpful measure in controlling pollution. “War rooms which are set up to control pollution, are operational 24 hours, seven days of the week. It has Green Marshals who monitor on-ground realities. The Green Delhi App helped us in analyzing efforts to manage the AQ Index round-the-clock. The war room received as many as 20,000 complaints, of which 93% have been resolved,” the Environment Minister said. “Delhi is the first state to have launched the Tree Transplantation Policy, which is inclusive of afforestation measures. Moreover, we have made a policy in which 80% of the plants will be transplanted,” Rai added. Meanwhile, the Delhi government will conduct a round-table conference with environmental experts and various organizations on 12 and 13 April, to make a long-term action plan to combat air pollution in the national capital.

Govt issues new deadlines for thermal power plants to meet emission standards

Non-attainment cities are those which have consistently failed to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards New Delhi: The Environment Ministry has amended rules allowing thermal power plants within 10 kilometres of the National Capital Region (NCR) and in cities with more than 10 lakh population to comply with new emission norms by the end of 2022, according to official notification. A task force will be constituted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to "categorise thermal power plants (TPPs) in three categories on the basis of their location", the ministry said in the notification dated April 1. Also, TPP units in "non-attainment cities" and those within 10 kilometres of critically polluted areas are required to meet the emission norms by December 31, 2023. Non-attainment cities are those which have consistently failed to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The CPCB has identified 124 such cities. Coal-fired power plants in the rest of the areas have to comply with the new standards by December 31, 2024, according to the notification. TPPs declared to retire before December 31, 2025, are "not required to meet the specified norms in case such plants submit an undertaking to the CPCB and the CEA (Central Electricity Authority) for exemption on ground of retirement", the notification said. The Environment Ministry had revised emission norms for particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen for TPPs in December 2015, requiring them to install emission control systems by December 2017. The deadline was pushed to December 2022 for all power stations in the country in view of implementation issues and challenges. However, power stations in the national capital region were required to comply with the revised norms by December 2019. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Power requested the Environment Ministry to extend the deadline for meeting emission norms for all thermal plants from 2022 to 2024, citing delay due to various reasons, including the coronavirus pandemic and import restrictions. Major pollutants from coal-fired power plants are oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM). According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), TPPs account for more than 60 per cent of total industrial emissions of particulate matter; 45 per cent of SO2; 30 per cent of NOx; and more than 80 per cent of mercury, in the country. These are also responsible for 70 per cent of the total freshwater withdrawal by all industries, according to an analysis by the green think tank. A recent compliance report by CSE showed that out of the 12 power plants located around Delhi, SO2 control technology was available only in two plants. According to a study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), 218 people die every year in Delhi from exposure to a toxic cocktail of fumes from the 12 thermal power plants located in a 300km radius of the national capital.

A Watershed Summit

On World Water Day, a virtual round table session organised by India Today brought together some of the best minds working to resolve the daunting water crisis facing India. Water is the world’s most replenishable substance,” said Sunita Narain, kicking off the India Today Water Round Table on a positive note. “It is not necessary that India will face water shortages or a water war,” added the director general of Centre for Science and Environment. ADVERTISING Moderated by Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director (Publishing) at the India Today Group, the virtual session had on its panel experts like Narain working in the field of water conservation. The session was held on March 22, observed as World Water Day. It also explored innovations and tech-based solutions which can be utilised to address India’s water crisis. Harvesting and utilising every drop of rain water India receives was something every speaker stressed on. “Every roof in India needs to be a catchment area. Every drain needs to be worshipped and every tank and pond has to become a temple,” said Narain. According to Arumugam Kalimuthu, programme director, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Institute, the decreasing water table level is a major concern. “As per the water resources ministry, in 1955, the fresh water availability in India was 52 lakh litre per person per annum. This had come down to 22 lakh litres by 2000,” he said. As a result, the country looked to groundwater for its needs, but the presence of fluoride and arsenic has made ground water potentially dangerous. The variation in rainfall over the past 10 years, though, adds Kalimuthu, has not been significant. Thus, the answer to India’s water woes lies in water harvesting and conservation. advertisement According to Narain, the big challenge comes from urban India since cities use clean water and give back waste. And, as India industrialises further, more water will be needed for this sector. To combat this, Narain advocated a shift in the way water supply is managed in urban areas, especially in the treatment of sewage and waste water. “What makes me feel good, though, is that over the past few years, governments, both at the Centre and state levels, have come to recognise the need to make changes in our strategy for water management,” she said. Amit Chandra, managing director and chairman, Bain Capital India, believes the country’s approach to water needs to be based on “common sense”. “India has 4 per cent of the world’s fresh water and 16 per cent of the world’s population...our water usage has to be sensible,” he said. The Centre and state have been stepping up their conservation efforts too. According to Bharat Lal, additional secretary, Jal Shakti ministry, and mission director, Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the Union government’s flagship programme is different from the programmes of the past. “The JJM’s focus is on functionality of tap water, to provide adequate, clean and regular supply,” Lal said. “Use of technology is a major feature of the JJM.” As per Lal, when JJM was launched, 32.3 million of the 191 million rural households had tap water connections. Within 15 months, JJM had ensured there was a tap water connection in 31 million additional households. The water for these connections is being provided for using treated and grey water to reduce the stress on fresh water sources. Apoorva Ajay Oza, CEO, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India), listed four reasons behind the success of programmes such as the JJM. “Decentralisation in decision-making processes helps the community take responsibility and enter mutually respectful partnerships with professionals. Technology for monitoring and scaling up and setting up special purpose vehicles is crucial,” he said. Using technology as a conservation tool was something Divyang Waghela, head, Tata Water Mission, also stressed on. It helps communities understand and plan their own consumption patterns, he said, adding that farmers should be encouraged to adopt low-cost tech innovations as well. “Unless there is data, issues of wastage cannot be addressed,” he said.

Deadlines for coal-based power plants to meet new emission norms extended, environmentalists fume

NEW DELHI: The Centre has extended deadlines for coal-based power plants to adopt new emission standards by up to three years and even allowed the defaulters to continue their operations after paying penalty if they miss the new timelines. Thermal power plants (TPPs) located in different regions will, however, have different deadlines with maximum three years being given to those in comparatively lesser polluting areas. New deadlines were issued by the the environment ministry on Wednesday. As it will be the third deadline since notification of new emission norms for the coal-fired TPPs, the move drew criticism from environmentalists who said the extension will have grave repercussions for fight against air pollution. Though TPPs located within 10 km radius of the national capital region (NCR) or the cities having more than one million population will have to adhere to the December 31, 2022 deadline, others including retiring units will have graded deadlines up to December 31, 2025. The TPPs will have to install pollution control equipment such as flue gas desulphurization (FGD) units within the extended deadline to meet the new emission norms of sulphur dioxide. “Given that this is the third deadline, the environment ministry needs to clarify what commitments they have received from power companies and ministry of power, which ensures the implementation at least this time around,” said Sunil Dahiya, analyst, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). According to the notification, a task force will be constituted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to categorize thermal power plants in three categories on the basis of their location to comply with the emission norms within the different time limit. In case of non-compliance, the defaulter units will have to pay a penalty of up to 0.20 rupees per unit electricity generated for continuing the operations beyond the new deadlines. “Unless the environment ministry has got a commitment from the power companies to award the contracts for construction for pollution control equipment in the next few months and start penalising those who miss to do so, this will turn into an interim milestone for dirty power plants to seek more extension after 2025 at the cost of the public health,” said Dahiya. The environment ministry has issued the notification after getting request for it from the power ministry. The extension of deadline was sought for 448 operational power generating units, citing uncertainties and delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and other issues including import restrictions and liquidity crunch in the power sector. “Extending the deadline once again will have grave repercussions for the fight against air pollution. It will also mean a complete mockery of the Supreme Court and Indian regulators’ efforts to control pollution from the coal-based thermal power sector over the last five years,” Sunita Narain, director general of the Central for Science and Environment (CSE), had said ahead of the extension. She had made this remark in February while cautioning against extending the deadline. Narain had then said, “The power ministry’s move seems to have been influenced by the industry’s consistent efforts to dilute and delay the norms. The industry is obviously not bothered about the health risks posed by pollution from these coal-based power plants.”

Centre gives thermal plants new deadlines to meet emission norms

The notification dated March 31 replaces the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, with the Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules, 2021. The Union environment ministry has amended rules allowing thermal power plants within 10 kilometres of the National Capital Region (NCR) and in cities with more than 1 million population to comply with new emission norms by the end of 2022, official notification has said. The notification dated March 31 replaces the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, with the Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules, 2021. Thermal power plants within 10 km radius of critically polluted areas or non-attainment cities (that did not meet the annual national standard for particulate matter emissions from 2011 to 2015) will have to meet the standards by December 31, 2023, the notification said. HT has seen the notification. The environment ministry joint secretary Naresh Gangawar confirmed that the notification has been issued but did not divulge details on why the deadlines were deferred. The plants that do not fall in these two categories and are not scheduled for retirement will have to meet the norms by December 31, 2024, the notification said. MORE FROM THIS SECTION Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a top-level meeting with senior officers on the Bijapur encounter, at his residence in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI Photo) Home minister Shah to visit Chhattisgarh encounter site, meet injured jawans Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel News updates from HT: BJP says Baghel was campaigning in Assam after jawans died Representational Image. (File photo) Widespread rains over western Himalayas till April 8: IMD Raman Singh claimed Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel treated elections as his first priority. PTI Photo Maoist ambush: Baghel was campaigning in Assam after jawans died, says BJP The ministry notified superior emission standards for thermal power plants in December 2015 for implementation by the end of 2017. The deadline, however, was pushed to 2022 due to resistance from the thermal power industry. The environment ministry agreed to extend the deadline to 2022, and approached the Supreme Court, which also ordered for an extension. Later, the power ministry approached the environment ministry last year seeking a further delay in the deadline citing the Covid-19 associated economic slowdown. The power ministry also said that the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign made it difficult to procure systems for flue gas desulphurization (FGD) that help to control SO2 emissions from thermal power plants. “Power ministry has approached us. They are finding it difficult to meet the 2022 deadline both because of Covid-19 and curbs on imports from China. We are considering the matter. We may have to give the thermal power plants time to deliver on the deadline,” RP Gupta, secretary, environment ministry said in August last year. Environmental experts said that the ministry was only favoring the power industry by delaying the deadline. “It is very unfortunate that MoEFCC sides with the polluters and law offenders time and again to give them extensions and dilutions rather than with the common public who is suffering from severe pollution and health impacts, whose interest MoEFCC is duty bound to protect. It’s not even a day since the extension and we can confidently say that many plants will not meet even the new deadline given that they are yet to even award any contracts to install pollution control equipment which would take three years to build by the power company’s own admission. Given that this is the third time this notification has been extended, MoEFCC needs to clarify what commitments they have received from power companies and ministry of power, which ensures the implementation at least this time around, otherwise it merely seems that the role of MoEFCC is just to extend deadlines and not to regulate their own laws and pollution,” said Sunil Dahiya, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in a statement on Friday. “This notification in one stroke has delayed the deadline for majority of the power plants in the country as there are only a few plants within 10 km radius of million plus cities that have been prioritised to meet the standards by 2022. While the plants that have already taken steps to meet the standards have not been incentivised, the laggards who have not acted on time, have been rewarded. This will perpetuate locking in of pollution and carbon when we are expected to accelerate our roadmap for clean air and low carbon growth path. Moreover, the effectiveness of the proposed penalty will have to be examined carefully,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment. A 2017 paper in the journal Nature warned against rising SO2 levels in India. The paper, India Is Overtaking China as the World’s Largest Emitter of Anthropogenic Sulfur Dioxide, said that India and China are on opposite trajectories for sulphurous pollution. Since 2007, emissions in China have declined by 75% while those in India have increased by 50%. With these changes, India has been surpassing China as the world’s largest emitter of anthropogenic SO2, the paper said.

How Can We Help Address the Harmful, Enduring Legacy of Bhopal?

Last year, IChemE’s President Stephen Richardson took the unusual step of writing to India’s Prime Minister about the aftermath of the accident in Bhopal. Ken Patterson and Fiona Macleod discuss the background to the letter and ask for members’ help in bringing this tragedy to a final end IN 2014, on the 30th anniversary of the world’s worst industrial accident, the Loss Prevention Bulletin (LPB) published a special edition with all its articles focussed on the Bhopal tragedy. One article was from the New Delhi-based research and advocacy body, the Centre for Science and Environment. It summarised work by state and non-state bodies concerning the soil and water on and around the Bhopal site. The message was distressingly clear: the site was still significantly contaminated; the contamination was leaking into the groundwater; the contamination of the site and groundwater continued to seriously affect the health of those around the site. Having visited Bhopal, Fiona also contributed an article. Alongside a technical discussion of the accident was her personal response as a chemical engineer to seeing the abandoned plant and meeting the community still affected by the aftermath of the accident. Photos of the plant rusting in the sun and being reclaimed by nature are almost beautiful. But they conceal the truth of the pollution still seeping out to pollute the environment and harm local people. The sites of every other major industrial accident have or are being remediated. Flixborough is now an industrial park; Toulouse is a public green space; the Chernobyl reactors are encased, and the surrounding area is a wildlife-rich exclusion zone. In 2021 it cannot be right for the grandchildren of those children harmed by the Bhopal accident, to continue being harmed by its aftermath. We know what to do. Waste as harmful as that at Bhopal is dealt with daily around the world, and India has the knowledge and skills to treat it. The problem is not technical; it is political and institutional: how do we gain the support of all stakeholders and organise the work, ensuring it is done correctly? In 2019, we wrote to The Chemical Engineer, raising the issue again. Fellow chemical engineers in India, led by DP Misra (former President of the Indian IChE) suggested a letter to the Indian Government. LPB’s Editorial Board and the newly-formed IChemE Major Hazards Committee both supported the idea, which led to the letter being sent to the President of IChemE. Given the strength of support, Stephen Richardson willingly agreed to sign the letter (pictured) in his position as President. The letter was sent to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi last September. In February IChemE received an email to say that that matter had been “disposed”. The response, originated by the Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances Department, stated that it was not its responsibility to deal with such matters and that it considers the case to be closed. The Institution’s professional code of conduct says that members “must hold paramount the health and safety of others, draw attention to hazards and prevent avoidable danger to health or safety”. So, in writing to India’s Prime Minister, we have written to the appropriate authority that is ultimately responsible for tackling the hazard. But Bhopal clearly presents an ongoing avoidable danger to health and necessary action seems absent. As independent professionals, none of us can say that we are content with the status quo. Yet, sadly we do not yet seem able to shift the impasse and move towards solving the problem. Can you, the Members and Fellows of IChemE, suggest ways or offer help to move forward? If you can, please contact us, via aduckett@icheme.org. Surely it is time to stop damaging children with the debris of a factory abandoned after an accident almost four decades ago?

City’s pollution down by 15% due to Govt’s efforts: Rai

Delhi Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday claimed that the measures taken by the AAP-led Delhi Government to curb pollution have been successful as according to a study, Delhi’s pollution has decreased by 15 per cent Rai presented the report by iqair.com, a Sweden-based organisation and the second one was by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The report by IQ Air revealed that the capital has dropped down to the 10th spot among polluted cities in the world and the one by CSE revealed that Delhi’s PM 2.5 has decreased at the rate of 25 per cent between 2018 and 2020. “Among the world’s most polluted cities, Delhi has dropped down to the 10th position, as the report by IQ Air revealed. Among the top 10 of this report are seven of Uttar Pradesh’s cities and states, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Noida, and Bulandshahr. The report also reveals that Delhi’s pollution has decreased by 15 per cent,” he said. The CSE’s report also disclosed that Delhi is the first state in India to have shut down those power plants which emit harmful gases and the first state to have 39 Air Quality Monitoring Systems, he said, accusing the municipal corporations in Delhi carelessness is behind the fire incident of the Ghazipur landfill as revealed by the ‘Delhi Pollution Control Committee’ report. Following the unfortunate incident of the fire in Ghazipur Landfill, Rai made an earnest request to the central government to analyze these reports and said that the incident was a result of careless working by MCD and the Delhi government shall file a complaint against the Delhi Municipal Corporation. Underlining the five major points mentioned in the report by the Centre for Science and Environment, he said, “First, the report highlights that Delhi is the first state to have shut down those power plants which emit harmful gases. Despite Supreme Court’s rulings, 12 such plants are operational in the neighbouring areas of Delhi, and the central government has not done anything in this regard.” The second one is that the city is the first state to have initiated 13 hotspots which initiate measures at the micro-level to curb pollution, right from dust particles to expansion of the green-belt. The third one, Delhi is the first state to have provided PNG Gas at subsidised rates to its industrial sector. The fourth one is, Delhi is the first state to have installed 39 Air Quality Monitoring Systems which analyze and take concrete steps to decrease the AQI index. A lot of other neighbouring states which have these systems do not work effectively, leading to increased air pollution. The fifth one is, the EV policy launched by the Delhi government and its constant efforts to enforce it will help in curbing air pollution,” he said. Delhi government’s efforts in expanding its green-belt have been successful, whose report the government will be publishing very soon. “Delhi is the first state to have launched the Tree Transplantation Policy, which is inclusive of afforestation measures. Moreover, we have made a policy in which 80 per cent of the plants will be transplanted,” Rai said. Rai further added that the Delhi Government is going to conduct a two-day conference with environmental experts that will primarily focus on curbing pollution of the national capital. Highlighting the complacency of neighbouring areas, Rai said “Neighbouring states play a major role in curtailing pollution in Delhi. If Ghaziabad has a high pollution rate, Delhi will inevitably suffer. Furthermore, Noida, Greater Noida or Gurgaon are polluted severely, it will have an impact on the state of Delhi’s air pollution. Hence, I request the central government to analyze these two reports and make efforts like shutting down dangerous power plants or putting an end to diesel-oriented generators by providing 24-7 electricity.

Measures to curb pollution have been successful, says Gopal Rai

Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday said the measures taken by the Delhi government’ to curb pollution had been successful, according to two reports published by environmental organisations at both the national and international levels. Mr. Rai made the remark while presenting two reports: one by iqair.com, a Sweden-based outfit, and an other by the Centre for Science and Environment. The report by IQ Air stated that the Capital had dropped down to the 10th spot among the most polluted cities in the world. On the other hand, CSE said Delhi’s PM2.5 has decreased at the rate of 25% between 2018 and 2020. The Minister said it was mentioned in the CSE’s report that Delhi was the first State in India to have shut down power plants, which emit harmful gases. It is further stated that Delhi is the first State to have 39 Air Quality Monitoring Systems, he added. “The report also stated that Delhi is the first State to have initiated 13 hotspots, which initiate measures at the micro-level to curb pollution right from dust particles to expansion of the green-belt; the first State to have provided PNG Gas at subsidised rates to its industrial sector,” he added. “According to report IQ Air, among the world’s most polluted cities, Delhi has dropped down to the 10th position. Among the top 10 of this report are seven of Uttar Pradesh’s cities and States, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Noida, and Bulandshahr. The report also reveals that Delhi’s pollution has decreased by 15%,” he said. He said Delhi launched the EV policy to help curb pollution. That the city provides 24x7 electricity to its citizens had also been a helpful measure in controlling pollution. Power cuts, he said, meant that the industries were operating with diesel-oriented generators which were extremely detrimental for pollution. With 24-hour electricity, this had been avoided extensively. The government’s efforts in expanding its green belt have been successful, a report on which the government will be publishing very soon, Mr. Rai said, adding: “Delhi is the first State to have launched the Tree Transplantation Policy, which is inclusive of afforestation measures. Moreover, we have made a policy in which 80% of the plants will be transplanted.” “Neighbouring States play a major role in curtailing pollution in Delhi. If Ghaziabad has a high pollution rate, Delhi will inevitably suffer. Hence, I request the Centre to analyze these two reports and make efforts,” he also said. Mr. Rai on Tuesday also said strict action will be taken against the East Delhi Municipal Corporation for not taking steps to prevent fire at the Ghazipur landfill site. A section of the landfill had caught fire on Sunday, worsening pollution levels in the area, he said.

EDMC to face strict action for Ghazipur landfill fire: Rai

Gopal Rai said the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) inspected the landfill and prepared a detailed report that showed lapses on the part of the EDMC. Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said “strict action” will be initiated against the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for its alleged apathy in preventing a fire that broke out at the Ghazipur landfill on Sunday. Addressing the media, Rai said the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) inspected the landfill and prepared a detailed report that showed lapses on the part of the EDMC. “The report states the EDMC made no efforts or arrangements in preventing the fire. Strict action will be initiated against the civic body,” said Rai on Tuesday adding that such fires were responsible for deteriorating the pollution levels in the Capital. A portion of the Ghazipur landfill in east Delhi caught fire around 5.30pm on Sunday, which lasted nearly for an hour. Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the blaze. Officials from the Delhi Fire Service said toxic chemicals from the heap of waste aggravated the blaze and it took longer to douse the fire completely. Nirmal Jain, mayor of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), who had inspected the site after the blaze had called the fire a “natural phenomenon.” The EDMC spokesperson did not respond to calls and messages requesting comment. Meanwhile, while higher temperatures and improved wind speeds kept the air quality mostly in the moderate category last week, a dust storm caused the air pollution levels in the city to spike to the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recordings showed that the overall air quality index (AQI) of Delhi on Tuesday was 232. An AQI reading of 101-200 is considered to be moderate. Rai said the DPCC has written to various agencies, asking them to monitor such sites, where chances of fires breaking out are higher due to rising temperatures. “Delhi has been making efforts...Two organisations -- IQAir and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)-- have acknowledged that air pollution levels in the city have reduced,” he said. According to IQAir’s report, Delhi has succeeded in reducing pollution levels, especially PM2.5 levels, by 15%. A CSE report says PM2.5 levels in Delhi have reduced by 25% since 2014-15, said the minister. IQAir is a Swiss group that measures air-quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging fine particles known as PM2.5. It is also a manufacturer of air purifiers. “Delhi is the first state to shut down thermal power plants. We have identified pollution hotspots and taken specific action. All industrial units are now operating on piped natural gas. We are the first state to launch an electric vehicle policy,” said Rai, listing the steps taken by the government to curb pollution levels in Delhi. “However, pollution in Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Bhiwadi, also affects Delhi,” he said.

'Strict action will be taken against East Delhi civic body': Gopal Rai over fire at Ghazipur landfill site

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai also urged the Centre to develop action plans to reduce pollution levels in the northern states. NEW DELHI: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday said strict action will be taken against the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for not taking steps to prevent fire at the Ghazipur landfill site. A section of the landfill sit A team of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) inspected the landfill site managed by the EDMC and submitted a report. It states that the civic body has not made any arrangement to prevent such incidents at the site, Rai said. "Strict action will be taken against the EDMC," he said. The minister said the DPCC has also written to various agencies, asking them to monitor all such sites where fire may break out due to rising temperature.e had caught fire on Sunday evening, worsening pollution levels in the area, he said. Rai also urged the Centre to develop action plans to reduce pollution levels in the northern states. "Delhi has been making efforts...Two organisations -- IQAir and the Centre for Science and Environment -- have acknowledged in their reports that air pollution levels in the city have reduced," he said. According to IQAir's report, Delhi has succeeded in reducing pollution levels, especially PM2.5 levels, by 15 per cent. A CSE report says PM2.5 levels in Delhi have reduced by 25 per cent since 2014-15, the minister said. IQAir is a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging fine particles known as PM2.5. "Delhi is the first state to shut down thermal power plants. We have identified pollution hotspots and taken specific actions. All industrial units are now operating on piped natural gas. We are the first state to launch an electric vehicle policy," Rai said, listing steps taken to curb pollution levels in Delhi. "But, pollution in neighbouring cities of Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Bhiwadi...also affects Delhi. I urge the Centre to make action plans to reduce pollution levels in northern states while it has time," he said. Rai also demanded that the Centre analyse the reports by IQAir and CSE and take required action.

Strict action will be taken against east Delhi civic body: Gopal Rai over fire at Ghazipur landfill site

NEW DELHI: Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday said strict action will be taken against the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for not taking steps to prevent fire at the Ghazipur landfill site. A section of the landfill site had caught fire on Sunday evening, worsening pollution levels in the area, he said. A team of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) inspected the landfill site managed by the EDMC and submitted a report. It states that the civic body has not made any arrangement to prevent such incidents at the site, Rai said. READ: Thick plumes of smoke rise as section of landfill catches fire "Strict action will be taken against the EDMC," he said. The minister said the DPCC has also written to various agencies, asking them to monitor all such sites where fire may break out due to rising temperature. Rai also urged the Centre to develop action plans to reduce pollution levels in the northern states. "Delhi has been making efforts... Two organisations -- IQAir and the Centre for Science and Environment -- have acknowledged in their reports that air pollution levels in the city have reduced," he said. According to IQAir's report, Delhi has succeeded in reducing pollution levels, especially PM2.5 levels, by 15 per cent. A CSE report says PM2.5 levels in Delhi have reduced by 25 per cent since 2014-15, the minister said. IQAir is a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging fine particles known as PM2.5. "Delhi is the first state to shut down thermal power plants. We have identified pollution hotspots and taken specific actions. All industrial units are now operating on piped natural gas. We are the first state to launch an electric vehicle policy," Rai said, listing steps taken to curb pollution levels in Delhi. "But, pollution in neighbouring cities of Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Bhiwadi... also affects Delhi. I urge the Centre to make action plans to reduce pollution levels in northern states while it has time," he said. Rai also demanded that the Centre analyse the reports by IQAir and CSE and take required action.

How MGNREGS transformed rural India in an environmentally sustainable manner

MGNREGS — this is the 15th year of the scheme — has turned around lives, mainly through its natural resource management (NRM) works which includes a large number of waters harvesting structures and soil moisture conservation works To quench the thirst of her cattle, Raina Devi had to chase her cows and goats to a hand pump and pump water for them so each one could get their day’s share of drinking water. This was eight years ago. Such was the water crisis in her village that most villagers couldn’t think of growing wheat or other crops ever. Since women in her village got their Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) job cards, the village and their lives have undergone a dramatic transformation. “Women have found dignity. I did not have money to buy even chillies or salt on my own. Now I have enough money in my bank account to care for my children and household needs. There is enough water for our cattle and a beautiful grazing ground that we have made for them under MGNREGS. We can also comfortably grow food and fodder crops,” says Raina Devi over the phone from Bhawanipura in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara. West Bengal chief Mminister Mamata Banerjee addresses a rally on the last day of the campaign for the 2nd phase of assembly elections, in Nandigram on Tuesday, March 30. (PTI) In Raina Devi’s village, three water harvesting structures (WHS) have been constructed on the common land for improved water availability. Water availability in around 12 wells near pastures has improved immensely, improving water availability for agriculture and crop diversification, according to assessments by Foundation of Ecological Security which has been working with women there. Around 158 acres of commons are covered under MGNREGS in Bhawanipura which includes digging trenches, making bunds, bori bunds, boundary trench, grass seeding and planting of native tree species such as Desi Babool (Acacia Nilotica), Ber (Ziziphus), Khejdi (Prosopis cineraria), Neem (Azadirachta indica) etc. for improved water, fodder and fuel availability. There are norms for managing restored commons such as monthly meetings of village institutions, rotational grazing, no felling of trees on common land among others. Raina Devi’s story captures how MGNREGS — this is the 15th year of the scheme — has turned around lives, mainly through its natural resource management (NRM) works which includes a large number of waters harvesting structures and soil moisture conservation works. To be sure, the scheme has come under criticism, but it has played a key role in transforming rural India in an environmentally sustainable manner, while providing a safety valve to citizens in distress and in need for work, visible during the pandemic. The nature of MGNREGS work The MGNREGS Act, which came into force on February 2, 2006, guarantees at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a year to those households whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. In phase I, it was introduced in the 200 most backward districts in the country, and 130 additional districts in phase II during 2007-08. The remaining districts were covered in phase III after 2008. In 2014, MGNREGA Schedule-I was amended, which mandated that at least 60% expenditure will be on agriculture and allied activities. Consequently, a list of permissible works under the Act now include nearly 75% activities that directly improve water recharge and water conservation efforts. The major works taken up under NRM include check dams, ponds, renovation of traditional water bodies, land development, embankment, field bunds, field channels, plantations, trenches etc. In 2020-21 alone 298,323 water related works worth ₹8,80,917.25 were carried out according to data on MGNREGS website. According to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment, based on data from MGNREGA management information system, in the last 15 years, 30 million water conservation-related works; or 50 works/village were taken up. Potentially, these structures conserved 28,741 million cubic metres of water which can fill up, say the entire area of the Udaisagar lake in Udaipur, the analysis said. “We think 100 days’ guaranteed employment is only a limited aspect of MGNREGS, in fact an ornamental one. It is much more than that. We visited 16 villages where MGNREGS was implemented 2006 onwards and saw the transformation ourselves. By law, MGNREGS has to devote 60% of all works to water-related structures. This has helped immensely in countering drought, harvesting water in parched areas, making agriculture and cattle rearing possible and arresting migration of people from these villages. It’s a climate adaptation strategy. The government should study the scheme’s potential carefully,” said Richard Mahapatra at Centre for Science and Environment. The human impact Rukmani Devi of Kundeli village in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district said each of the 200 women in her village who are engaged in MGNREGS works earn nearly ₹20,000 a year. “It’s not small. For women who couldn’t earn anything, its very significant. But I think we have benefitted more by building common water harvesting structures. For example, because of the grazing ground, we have developed we now keep a large number of cattle. The cattle give us milk which helps support the nutrition of our children. A water source for our cattle was 5km away before these structures were developed. Now there is water available during all seasons in our wells also.” Also Read | ‘Spend every penny under MNREGA for water conservation, supply’: PM Modi Around 350 families are able to grow crops such as wheat, mustard and gram etc after the implementation of MGNREGS here. The scheme also turned out to be a life saviour for many who returned back to their villages during the Covid 19 lockdown. “Many women came to seek help. We helped them get job cards. They have worked with us in building some major structures this year. They will not return to the cities — Mumbai, Surat, Delhi anymore because they can see how MGNREGS can help them sustain here,” said Leela Devi, also from Kundeli. In Bihar, which witnessed the return of around 2.5 million migrants during Covid 19 lockdown last year, MGNREGS helped the state government to provide instant jobs. Principal secretary, rural development department, Arvind Chaudhary said about 2.174 million man days of work were created under MGNREGS this year (2020-21) as compared to 1.427 million man days last year. “During the pandemic, when a large number of migrants were forced back to their villages, programmes like MGNREGS provided critical support through wage employment and helped them cope with the crisis. This, combined with restoration and creation of durable community assets like water harvesting structures and regeneration of grazing lands have contributed to the resilience of local agriculture and livestock production systems, said Sanjay Joshie, Executive Director, Foundation for Ecological Security. He added that the scheme has been crucial in improving the resilience of rural economies and mitigating the impact of climate crisis. HT visited Kokdakhar, a village in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdhan district in 2019, where farmers were bracing for their crops to fail for the second year in a row because of an erratic monsoon. The only resource that was helping them tide over monsoon vagaries was a large earthen dam, 4.5m deep and 62m long, that the villagers particularly tribal women toiled for months to build. The dam captures the flow from ridge to valley, stores water and arrests erosion. Tiharo Bai, who was among the 1,100 people who has built the dam, farm ponds and check dams under MGNREGS, said the assets had become life savers. “We got some money under the 100 days scheme when there was no work. We also got water to survive the drought. There are only three hand pumps, everything else has run dry,” said Tiharo Bai, who belongs to the Baiga tribe. Returning to where it all began Bandlapalli, a sleepy village in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapuramu district hit national headlines on February 2, 2006, when the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh launched the MGNREGS here. Bandlapalli, with a population of 2,560 people, was perennially drought-affected and witnessed distress migration of labourers due to lack of sufficient water to raise any crops. But, one-and-a-half decades later, Bandlapalli has become a role model for others in implementing water conservation schemes, thanks to MGNREGS. According to the project director of Anantapuramu District Water Management Agency, N Venugopal Reddy, MGNREGS has transformed the lifestyle of the villagers who used to migrate to long distances in search of livelihood. “Distress migration has halted. Every eligible person was given the job card and works were taken up for creation of water storage infrastructure to store runaway water from hill slopes,” he said. The government took up construction of “staggered trenches” with a gap of three to four metres between two trenches, which served as a sort of watersheds to capture water from the streams passing through the hill slopes. These water ponds have not only improved the groundwater table to a large extent, but also helped development of greenery that retained moisture. The villages were able to raise horticulture crops and regular crops like maize, Bengal gram and green gram. The groundwater table in the village has increased substantially by 12.6 metres. “Now, there is a perennial water source in the village,” Reddy said. According to official figures, in the last 15 years, as many as 517,000 man days of work were created in Bandlapalli, and an amount of ₹9.33 crore was spent on MGNREGS works, including ₹7.92 crore towards the wage component. As many as 2,128 households were provided 100 days wage employment during this period. The place where India’s most ambitious rural employment scheme began 15 years ago is, today, reaping the dividends of this avatar of India’s welfare state.

CSE Report Reveals How Harvesting Raindrop is Transforming Lives

Water-stressed communities in rural and urban Nigeria will benefit from a new report on the benefits of harvesting raindrop for use in daily living, published on World Water Day, recently. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi India, and a fortnightly magazine, Down To Earth, have published a special ground-report on villages using employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) not for drought relief, but for relief against drought. “By putting water conservation at its core, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has the power to transform India’s rural landscape and changing the lives of the country’s poor –our new nation-wide survey has found. What better way to mark the World Water Day than by celebrating this unheralded success story of rural India’s water warriors, our JalYodhas?” said Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and editor of the fortnightly, Down To Earth, recently inaugurated a webinar which featured the highlights of the report on villages that have made the transformation from drought to prosperity. The webinar brought together the JalYodhas – the representatives of the villages who have made this possible. Down To Earth and CSE had organised the webinar to release their findings of a country-wide survey of the impacts of MGNREGA after 15 years of its implementation. “Fourteen reporters of Down To Earth have travelled across the length and breadth of the country at a time when a pandemic was raging. They have covered 16 villages in 15 districts of as many states, and brought back incredible stories from the ground,” says Down To Earth managing editor Richard Mahapatra. He adds that finding the villages which had successfully executed MGNREGA was difficult as no recordsare kept of the sustainability of the works that have been undertaken under this programme. “The government only keeps a record of the ‘number’ of works done, and of whether they have been completed. But what is not known is if the structure built under MGNREGA has improved the water security of the village, or has contributed, as it should, to livelihood improvements. This is what our Down To Earth reporters wanted to find out,” says Mahapatra. As per government records, since 2006 more than 30 million water conservation-related ecological assets have been created; this totals to some 50 water structures in every village of India. Calculations show that these structures have potentially conserved roughly 29,000 million cubic meters of water in this period and have the potential to irrigate some 19 million hectares. “But harnessing the potential of these water structures requires that it is well planned and durable. In this way, it is not about distress employment during drought; but it will use the employment for relief against drought,” says Narain. The districts that the magazine has covered include the following: Ananthapuramu (Andhra Pradesh), Jalaun (Uttar Pradesh), Tikamgarh and Sidhi (Madhya Pradesh), Balangir (Odisha), Pakur (Jharkhand), Bankura (West Bengal), Kaimur (Bihar), Jalna (Maharashtra), Palakkad (Kerala), Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu), Dungarpur (Rajasthan), Sirsa (Haryana), Chitradurga (Karnataka), Ranga Reddy (Telangana) and Sabarkantha (Gujarat). The groundreports have brought back stories of how water conservation has changed the very face of the village and its development. Says the Down To Earthstory: “We visited Bandlapalli in Telangana’sAnanthapuramu district, the village from where MGNREGA was launched in February 2006 by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Distress migration has stopped there and the village is drought-proof now. In Barmani village in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district – we had visited this village 15 years ago when MGNREGA was just being rolled out – migrant labourers have come back to resume farming after implementing massive water conservation programmes.” “In Kerala’s Pookkottukavu village, MGNREGA has given birth to the country’s “largest group of trained women well diggers”. Such is the obsession with water conservation under the scheme that they have revived an entire river. Along with it, village after village has reaped a rich harvest in terms of increase in agricultural productivity and the resultant economic returns. In the perennially drought stricken Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and MP, there are villages that have used the programme to become water-surplus.” Narain says: “Water is a determinant of our present and future. With climate change we will see more rain and more heat and in this the management of water will be our make or break. Water security is also crucial for livelihood security. It builds resilience and the ability to cope with weather adversities. The MGNREGA is the world’s largest social security and climate risk management programme.” Adds Mahapatra: “One of the big findings of the report is that villages have reaped economic and environmental benefits of water conservation works defying all odds. This has only been possible due to the persistence and diligence of the water warriors in India’s villages. Every panchayat is mandated to make a five-year plan to implement MGNREGA. Our investigations have found that these plans are zealously pursued. Construction of the structures is locally controlled and gives people a sense of ownership. Therefore, they reflect local needs.” In its analysis, Down To Earth says “every pond and tank is a development instrument. MGNREGA has created millions of them. Thus, by any parameter, MGNREGA is also the country’s largest water conservation exercise. But, after 15 years, it is time we stopped counting the works in number. Government must now measure the potential harvested of these instruments. For this, it must turn its focus to track the impacts of water harvesting structures created in terms of impacts on local land and water resources. Our stories point at constant monitoring and maintenance of water works by communities so that they keep working. As government data shows half of water structures are either left unfinished or turn defunct after a few years due to lack of maintenance. This is a wasted opportunity.” Narain gives a call to action: “For the moment, on this World Water Day 2021, let’s celebrate the good news – the potential of using water as an agent of change. It shows change is possible. It is thriving in these villages. It should become the lighthouse for others.”