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Cse In News

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.”

India plans 1200Km E-Highway on Delhi-Mumbai

The Modi government plans to construct an e-highway, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, through a 1,300 km long road project. As a result of rapid urbanization, India’s vehicular pollution has increased at an alarming rate. And this unbelievable speed of motorization can be seen by the rising number of registered vehicles in the country. The Indian population increased 700 times between 1951 and 2015, from 0.3 to 210 million. This is according to the environmental study Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The public transport system states, “Every car or two-wheeler trip pollutes seven to 14 times more than a trip made in a bus in New Delhi.” The Delhi-Mumbai Highway project The Indian government’s recent efforts to develop electric vehicles are a leapfrog to Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emissions standards. The new vehicle scrappage policy reflects the Centre’s commitment to addressing pollution concerns. Presently, the union transport ministry is considering a more innovative solution to control its vehicle pollution. It’s looking to construct a separate highway on the 1,300 Km long Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. This highway can make trucks and buses run at a speed of 120 Kmph. In May 2019, Germany introduced the technology on 6 miles long stretch near Frankfurt city. It uses 670-volt DC overhead cables. This let electric trucks draw down power and recharge their batteries on the Movement. Furthermore, on Thursday, the Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari said, “the company- Siemens has used this technology and constructed a similar road in Germany.” The e-Highway Specification Siemens says that the technology, without significant effort, can be integrated and operated within the existing road infrastructure. It can also combine the efficiency of electrified railroads with trucks’ flexibility and energy consumption while maintaining full mobility. At the moment, the plan is yet to be approved. However, the Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari estimate that the step would bring the logistics cost down by 70%. Moreover, the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai highway project construction work will be completed in 51 packages. Once the project work is completed, the Delhi-Mumbai highway length will be 1,320 km. Then this highway is set to become one of the country’s longest expressways. Earlier, it has been reported that with the opening of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, the travel time between the national capital and financial capital would reduce to 12 to 13 hours from 24 hours. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project also offers easier connectivity to Kota, Jaipur, Chittorgarh, Ujjain, Indore, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, and Vadodara. Besides, once this highway is opened, travel time and distance reduction are expected to have significant economic benefits.

Jharkhand activist to speak at international webinar

Aloka to raise discrimination against tribals and women and suppression of voices Ranchi-based tribal and women’s rights activist Aloka Kujur will represent India as a speaker at a webinar as part of the Israel Apartheid Week campaign of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement (a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments and economic sanctions against Israel) on April 3. Kujur will be speaking at the webinar whose theme is “Crack in the Wall: Resistance to Racism and Discrimination in Asia Pacific”. “I got a call from the Delhi unit of BDS on Sunday evening informing me about the webinar. I will be speaking on discrimination against tribal people and women in Jharkhand and in our country and the suppression of voices raised against such discrimination by the current BJP-led government,” she said. Kujur, who was in Jamshedpur on Sunday evening, has written several research papers on tribal and women’s rights, especially on atrocities committed against them in stone mines and bidi factories. She had been at the forefront of the protest demanding the release of jailed octogenarian Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy. She said that there will be selected activists from New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia at the webinar who will share their views on racial discrimination in their own country. Kujur had written on the witch-hunting menace prevailing in the state in the Jharkhand Encyclopaedia and is a member of the National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM). She is also a recipient of the National Foundation for Media Fellowship, the Jharkhand government media fellowship and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) award. She has also written the script for the documentary Burugadha (rivers of hills) in 2008, which received an award from the then President Pratibha Patil. Kujur has been at the forefront of raising her voice against alleged fake encounters of tribals in the name of anti-Maoist operations, displacement related issues, etc. Israel Apartheid Week is a tool for mobilising grassroots support on the global level for the Palestinian struggle for justice. It is a grassroots mechanism to raise awareness about Israeli “apartheid” and to mobilise support for strategic BDS campaigns to help bring an end to this system of oppression. It provides an opportunity to network and strengthen the links between the Palestinian liberation struggle and other struggles against racism, oppression and discrimination.

Report lauds city’s effort to curb pollution

A new report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) states that though Delhi has to reduce the level of a major pollutant in the air by 60%, the city has done more to curb air pollution than other cities in the country. The report ‘Capital Gains-Clean Air Action in Delhi NCR: What next?’, lays down a roadmap on what the national capital and NCR towns should be doing to curb air pollution in the region.The measures to be taken range from changes in cropping patterns to reduce cultivation of paddy and from minimising stubble burning to scaling up pedestrianisation in high footfall areas to create low emissions zones. “Delhi has seen it [PM2.5] drop by almost a quarter. But even after this drop, Delhi has to reduce the three-year running annual average of PM2.5 by yet another 60%,” it said. Talking about industrial pollution, the report said that Delhi has seen more progress, but that is partly because a lot of industries could be shifted out of Delhi to neighbouring NCR, while continuing to “pollute” the common airshed. “Delhi requires stringent enforcement of approved fuel notification. Even though Delhi has adopted one of the most progressive clean fuel policies, its implementation remains a challenge as entry and illegal use of dirty fuels in informal industry clusters has continued,” the report read. The report said that Delhi have closed down all its coal power plants, but it has to ensure that it procures only clean or cleaner electricity from plants that are meeting the standards or are close to meeting the standards. “Currently, Delhi is procuring electricity from some of the dirtier power plants in the country,” the report said. Stating that Delhi has done well in restricting the entry of diesel trucks, the report said: “NCR cities will also require a well thought out strategy to address heavy duty traffic by rationalising movement patterns, routes and logistic infrastructure, spacing of warehouses/wholesale marts, entry points, and timing.” On vehicular pollution, it said that government should strengthen periodic auditing of Pollution Under Control (PUC) centres and calibration of equipment and third-party checks. Also, vehicle labelling or sticker programme to identify old and polluting vehicles, as directed by the Supreme Court should be implemented. The report said that Delhi’s bus service reforms must be “accelerated”. “CSE review has shown how bus ridership in Delhi has declined steadily since 2014 and bus procurement has been considerably delayed in Delhi and needs to be accelerated. While bus numbers fall woefully short of the court mandated 10,000–11,000 buses, there is also a huge service deficit. However, reforms have started to rationalise the routes and improve tracking of services, along with increasing use of electronic ticketing systems and public information system,” it said.

India Plans 1200 Km E-Highway On Delhi-Mumbai Expressway For Electric Vehicles

With the rapid urbanisation, vehicular pollution in India has grown at an alarming rate. And this staggering pace of motorisation can be seen by the rising number of registered vehicles in the country, which went up 700 times from 0.3 million in 1951 to 210 million in 2015, according to a report by environment think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). “Every trip made in a car or two-wheeler pollutes around seven to 14 times more than a trip made in a bus in Delhi,” the study added, stressing the need for an overhaul in our public transport system. Traffic Jam BCCL The government’s recent efforts to promote electric vehicles, a leapfrog to Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) emissions standards as well as the new vehicle scrappage policy reflects the Centre’s commitment to address pollution concerns. And now, the union transport ministry is thinking of a more innovative solution. It’s looking to construct a separate 'e-highway' on the 1,300-kilometre-long Delhi-Mumbai Expressway where trucks and buses can run at a speed of 120 kmph. Siemens eHighway in Germany Siemens This road freight transport powered by electricity is expected to be similar to that in Germany, which introduced the technology on a six-mile-long stretch near the city of Frankfurt in May 2019. It uses 670-volt direct-current overhead cables which let electric trucks draw down power and recharge their batteries on the go. Although the plan is yet to be approved, the Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari estimates that the step would bring the logistics cost down by 70 per cent. Not to mention the environment benefits that come with it. Siemens says that the technology can be integrated and operated within the existing road infrastructure without significant effort and combines the efficiency of electrified railroads with the flexibility of trucks, halving energy consumption while maintaining full mobility.

AMR is deadlier than Covid-19, but action on it is slow – Health experts

We are running out of time in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We do not have the luxury of words anymore, we need action and we need it now,” Director-General for India-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Sunita Narain, told a three-day Africa-Asia Virtual Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The CSE’s Virtual Webinar provided an opportunity to discuss how to address the scourge of AMR through the ‘One-Health’ approach. AMR is a phenomenon whereby disease-causing microbes become resistant to drugs designed to kill them. An estimated 700 thousand deaths occur annually worldwide as a result of AMR. Scientists say if the world does not act by 2050, 10 million lives will be endangered each year due to the phenomenon, and 90 per cent of them will come from Africa and Asia. One-Health approach implies greater synergy among human, animal, environmental health sectors and emerges as an optimal response to AMR. Sunita Narain says One-Health should focus on transforming the global and national food system. “To be true to its name, One-Health needs to focus on global and national food system transformation. It needs to work intensely on animal health. It needs to recognise the role and importance of the environment with regards to AMR. And it needs to achieve all this in the context of national and local backgrounds, which vary widely and may have specific requirements,” he said While the need to address AMR has been recognised globally and institutionalised through national action plans (NAPs), progress on the on-ground has been slow. “How do we make progress on NAPs? We need to prioritise and focus on low-hanging fruits and accept that we cannot do everything at the same time. We need political support. We also need to make AMR everybody’s business”, Said Anuj Sharma, technical officer-AMR, Lab and IPC, WHO Country Office for India. Anthony D So of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (USA) said that there is a need to find political funding for action. “We need to find the political will to muster funding for NAPs and other AMR action.” The workshop, titled ‘Containing the Silent Pandemic’, was organised by CSE to discuss the future agenda to address the scourge of AMR through the ‘One-Health’ approach. Programme Director for Food Safety and Toxins Unit of the centre, Amit Khurana, further explained that “low and middle-income countries agendas should be given due importance when designing global guidelines on containment of AMR.” According to him, the financial, social and environmental realities in the Global South do not translate into a universal protocol of action. Narain also highlighted important programs to prevent AMR. “We cannot follow the trajectory of the developed world in the developing world, of first polluting and then cleaning. The cost of cleaning is high and we cannot afford it. Therefore, we need a preventative agenda in the developing world, to minimise pollution due to an overuse of antimicrobial drugs.” Many panelists talk about the slow pace of action on AMR, a pandemic deadlier than COVID-19. The need to rope in all stakeholders, civil society, media, educators, students, among others to raise awareness about AMR was on the table for discussion. Head of Drug-Resistant Infections Priority Programme at Wellcome Trust, Timothy Jinks, gives a cautionary note that the issue of tackling AMR is complex but it should not be allowed to become a barrier to act. “The issue of tackling AMR is complex, but this complexity should not be allowed to become a barrier to act. We have enough information and clarity to act. We must act now. Time is running out,” he said. Over 100 experts from 26 countries, including Ghana, attended the workshop. Speakers from Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, also addressed the issue. Other countries included Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Delhi has bent pollution curve, says report

New Delhi: A new report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has claimed that long-term trend shows Delhi has already bent the pollution curve downwards and the annual level of particulate matter, PM2.5, is declining every year. Titled ‘Capital Gains-Clean Air Action in Delhi NCR: What next?’, the report lays down a roadmap on what the national capital and NCR towns should be doing to curb air pollution in the region. The measures to be taken range from changes in cropping patterns to reduce cultivation of paddy to reduce stubble burning to scaling up pedestrianisation in high footfall areas to create low emissions zones. “The rolling three-year averages, a firmer indicator of change, have reduced by about a quarter since 2014–15… However, even after that decline, Delhi needs more than 60 per cent cut in annual PM2.5 concentration to meet the national ambient air quality standards,” it said. Multi-sector action has to gather speed, scale, and urgency. This requires strategic shifts to achieve mobility transition, clean energy transition, circular economy at a scale, and clean energy access at a regional scale, the group said.

In Some Good News For Delhi, The Toxic Pollution May Be Coming Down, PM2.5 On The Decline

Over the past few years, Delhi and its adjoining areas have gained notoriety for having some of the most polluted air in the world. In 2020, for the first time in many years, Delhi-NCR saw blue skies and clean air, partly due to the lockdown. While the lockdowns may have helped, it however is not the only factor at work. Delhi Pollution BCCL/FILE PM2.5 declining every year A new report has said that the long-term trend shows Delhi has already bent the pollution curve downwards and the annual level of particulate matter, PM2.5, is declining every year. The report titled "Capital Gains-Clean Air Action in Delhi NCR: What next?" by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). "The rolling three-year averages, a firmer indicator of change, have reduced by about a quarter since 2014–15… However, even after that decline, Delhi needs more than 60 per cent cut in annual PM2.5 concentration to meet the national ambient air quality standards," the report said. Delhi Air Quality BCCL Multi-sector action has to gather speed, scale, and urgency. This requires strategic shifts to achieve mobility transition, clean energy transition, circular economy at a scale, and clean energy access at a regional scale, the green advocacy group said. Our Popular Products See More It said that further measures ranging from changes in cropping patterns to reduce cultivation of paddy to reduce stubble burning to scaling up pedestrianisation in high footfall areas to create low emissions zones should be taken. After the ban on furnace oil and petcoke in the industrial sector, coal will also have to be replaced with clean fuels. Delhi's most ambitious clean fuel policy Delhi has implemented the most ambitious clean fuel policy that has also outlawed coal. But the airshed cannot clean up if coal combustion remains dominant in industrial clusters of the NCR, the report said. Delhi Pollution BCCL "The implementation of 2015 emissions standards for coal-based thermal power plants has to be done in a time-bound manner by 2022. The plants are already capable of meeting the particulate standards," it said. "While scaling up action for the entire region, there is urgent need for the hyper local action agenda in the targeted polluted hotspots so that the local solutions for solid waste, construction and demolition waste, industrial waste, plastics, and unpaved roads and vehicular movement can be implemented," the CSE report read. It said Delhi has closed down all its coal power plants, but it has to ensure that it procures only clean or cleaner electricity from plants that are meeting the standards or are close to meeting the standards. "Currently, Delhi is procuring electricity from some of the dirtier power plants in the country," the report said. Air Pollution BCCL Stating that Delhi has done well in restricting the entry of diesel trucks, the report said, "NCR cities will also require a well thought-out strategy to address heavy duty traffic by rationalising movement patterns, routes and logistic infrastructure, spacing of warehouses/wholesale marts, entry points, and timing." On vehicular pollution, it said that the government should strengthen periodic auditing of Pollution Under Control (PUC) centres and calibration of equipment and third-party checks. Recently another report had said that toxic fumes emanating from the 12 thermal power plants located in the 300km-radius of Delhi could be killing 218 people each year in the national capital. According to the study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that estimated 4,830 annual deaths nationally due to emissions from power plants. Out of this, 682 was across Delhi-NCR.