Due to No support from eco-conscious Indians, Despite Amid protests, coal block in Hasdeo gets stage-II forest clearance
Despite continuing protests and a recent 330km foot march by affected villagers of Hasdeo Arand region against coal mining projects, the Central government accorded stage-II forest clearance to Parsa coal block in the forest area on Thursday.
The Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA), which has been spearheading the protest movement of Hasdeo villagers, has strongly opposed the move and demanded immediate revocation of the clearance. The organisation has said the stage-I forest clearance itself was based on fake gram sabha consent documents and this makes the stage-II clearance illegal.
According to Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, one of the groups fighting for the Hasdeo Aranya forest, this will lead to the destruction of at least 1 lakh trees in 841 hectare area.
The Hasdeo Arand forests were declared an entirely ‘No-Go area’ in 2010 based on a joint study of the ministry of coal and ministry of environment and forests. Such ‘No-Go’ areas are less than 10% of India’s coal-bearing areas deemed as “out of bounds” for mining.
Even after multiple policy revisions, the maximum portion of Hasdeo Arand are still deemed “inviolate”. Yet, new mines are being opened in violation of the policy, Alok Shukla of CBA has said.
Lessons not learned: Environmentalists on Uttarakhand, Kerala tragedies
Nature experts and activists are questioning the poor adaptation measures by governments and local authorities in dealing with the rain-related flood and landslide disasters in Kerala and Uttarakhand, where extreme weather events have become sort of a routine.
Both the states had information about the weather events well in advance if one looks at the weather reports of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and private weather forecaster Skymet. But, both the states were found lacking in local-level disaster reaction mechanisms—which is largely done by national and state disaster forces— advanced landslide prediction systems and evacuation process in low-lying vulnerable areas, which were the most affected and where most lives and properties were lost, according to some experts and environmentalists.
Environmentalists have raised questions over the development work that is allowed in these ecologically fragile regions, which are prone to such extreme weather events repeatedly. And development works lead to deforestation and erosion of natural ecology which results in devastation during such extreme weather events.
How many more disasters would it take in Uttarakhand for decision makers to realise their follies and firstly understand that their developmental model of ‘build at any cost’ is most inappropriate to the fragile Himalayan environment ?
Arunachal college spots 3 new fish species
The Department of Zoology of Dera Natung Government College of Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh has discovered three new species of fish of genus Aborichthys of family Nemachelidae, according to a recent report.
They have been named Aborichthys uniobarensis, Aborichthys barapensis and Aborichthys palinensis. The discovery has been published in international journals like Asian Journal of Conservation Biology, Journal of Threatened Taxa and FishTaxa.
“The three fish species are distributed in streams like Senki, Barap and Palin, which are the tributaries of Brahmaputra river system,” Prasanta Nanda, associate professor and head of the department of Zoology in the Dera Natung Government CollegeTill date, more than 250 fish species have been identified in the region, which is quite less than its potential, said Nanda.
👉DTE
Powai Lake a wetland, needs to be conserved accordingly: Maharashtra forest department
The state forest department’s mangrove cell upheld the status of Powai Lake as a protected wetland, in line with previous orders of the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court, in a letter to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) earlier this month.
As such, the forest department voiced objections to MCGM’s proposal to build a cycle track within the boundary of the lake, which has come under fire from citizens and environmentalists.
Powai Lake itself is a man-made wetland, planned as an anti-famine measure for Mumbai and sanctioned by the Standing Committee in November 1889. It was built in 1891.
Since its creation, the water in Powai Lake has been severely polluted and has remained so despite several remediation measures. The water was declared unfit for drinking purposes in 1893. The lake continues to remain polluted due to entry of raw sewage and siltation, which has led to growth of invasive water hyacinths across the water spread.
Central govt to amend Wildlife Protection Act
The Central government will amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, by making some changes and seeking suggestions from states. The amended Act will give powers to the Centre to declare areas which it deemed fit to declare them as conservation reserves.
These powers were wrested with the states till now. It will also allow the states to constitute the standing committee of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) on the lines of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), which is the topmost body deciding project proposals affecting tiger reserves and sanctuaries.
The SBWL standing committee too will have similar powers. It will consist of the vice-chairperson, member-secretary and not more than 10 members to be nominated by the vice-chairperson from amongst the members of the SBWL.
The amendments give SBWL or its standing committee powers to constitute committees, sub-committees or study groups as may be necessary from time to time in the proper discharge of the functions assigned to it.
👉TOI
Environment India 