For accountable cities

Since vast sums of money are to be spent on recasting India's city landscape over the next five to six years, this is the right time for the Centre to take the initiative in bringing about big changes in urban governance

If cities are to be the engines of India's growth, they need better governance. The Union urban development minister has talked about the central government alone provisioning over Rs 3 lakh crore on recasting the urban landscape over the next five to six years. State governments are also expected to come in with a similar amount; this, plus urban local bodies (ULBs) raising resources, means we have a huge developmental spending agenda of Rs 7-8 lakh crore in our 4,000-plus urban areas.

What this spending will need is good city-level leadership - both elected and bureaucratic. The fact is that our third level of governance still needs substantial strengthening. Given that such major spending is provisioned, this is the right time for the Centre to take the initiative to bring about big changes to urban governance.

One of the first steps should be to look at the spirit of the74th Amendment of the Constitution and develop an understanding with the chief ministers of all states as to what changes they will incorporate into state municipal legislation to enhance the powers and responsibilities of elected ULBs. A road map should address whether and when to have directly-elected mayors and chairpersons; and the role of para-statals like development authorities, water boards and so on.

One of the key points is which functions of those listed in the Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution (added when the 74th Amendment came into force) will be fully and effectively transferred to these bodies. Along with these functions, required funds and functionaries should also get transferred to the local body regime. Just to illustrate, when water supply is a local body function, why should a state-level water board continue to control this activity?

There is a good starting point for the dialogue. In the erstwhile National Development Council, a sub-committee of chief ministers had some time back recommended that ULBs should be empowered by the devolution of all functions listed in the Twelfth Schedule - and a framework law passed by Parliament could ensure that there is a fair degree of uniformity in the legislative and institutional framework for these bodies.

It would also be desirable to arrive at an agreement as to whether functions like those relating to urban transport and housing - which are essentially major city-level issues but currently do not figure in the Twelfth Schedule - can be or need to be added to that list.

A five-year road map can be worked out by chief ministers to implement the recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, before the next Commission becomes due in less than five years. As the FFC said, there is considerable scope for local bodies to improve revenues from their own sources by taking already-recommended steps. The measures which states need to take are listed in the report.

It is also the case that our urban bodies lack the governance capacity required for today's requirements. It is important that there is a major effort to revamp the municipal cadre structure and strengthen it. Also, the personnel must have continuous professional training opportunities. The working group report on municipal capacity-building could be the framework to take this agenda forward.

What we need is better, accountable urban bodies. Just as with the "City Challenge" competition for identifying the hundred "smart cities", as another open and transparent initiative in this direction the Centre could institutionalise an arrangement whereby city bodies' performances are ranked every year in terms of service delivery, overall performance and resource generation. Assessment of service delivery should be in terms of improvements in basic services, given benchmarks; while performance should be judged in terms of the implementation of schemes like the Swachch Bharat Mission, e-governance and housing schemes, and so on. Local bodies have to find more resources - and with better credit ratings, taking recourse to municipal bonds and such market mechanisms becomes an option. Thus they could generate more resources - which would be the third area of performance ranking.

It would encourage our cities and our citizens if the three best mayors and commissioners of the country from out of 4,041 urban bodies receive such rating awards from the prime minister once every year.

With such a spirit of constructive competition among local bodies it is also possible that city-dwellers also start taking various initiatives on their own to demonstrate their pride in their city of residence.

Once this essential dialogue takes place between the Centre and the chief ministers, the timelines jointly worked out could be incorporated in the "smart cities" mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, or AMRUT.

Does India need so many ports?

Vietnam has suddenly woken up to a new and unusual problem. On its 3,400-kilometre coastline, which is along one of the world's busiest sea routes, it is dismayed to find that its policy of encouraging the establishment of more and moreports has only led to over-capacity - which has put a question mark over its ability to attract the sort of high-value manufacturing that depends on efficient logistics systems. Almost every province along the coast has managed to grab a port project and the Vietnamese government has projected private investment of more than $32 billion by 2020 to develop transport infrastructure. As a result, the country finds that port capacity lies idle, cranes are silent and investors are counting their losses.

This is typified by Vietnam's only deep-sea facility, the Cai Mep Port, set up at the mouth of the Cai Mep River and the South China Sea at a cost of $2 billion in 2009. It was seen as a crucial step in boosting shipping volumes by 130 per cent by the end of the decade. South Sea consultants, Asia, estimate that the port has already lost about $1.5 billion since then - mainly because there are just too many ports nearby. Traffic is routinely siphoned off to other ports in the area; and, with each port fighting for the same cargo and wooing the same lines, the future for Cai Mep looks bleak.

Vietnam is not the only country that has sought quantity over quality in the port sector. Gujarat, which has what is arguably one of the best Maritime Boards in the country, also tried to hard-sell the state's coastline by encouraging huge private investments in a large number of ports. The difference is that hard-headed businessmen in India studied capacity creation in Gujarat and made their own investment decisions. Many sites offered for port development did not attract any bids - so over-capacity is not a problem for Gujarat.

Unfortunately, governments do not always exercise the same care and consideration when they make investment decisions with public funds. In a mis-guided move in last year's Budget speech, the finance minister announced the setting up of two new major ports on the east coast. Estimates put government outlays for these ports in excess of Rs 5,000 crore. And even this is not enough. Not long ago the ministry of shipping said it would approach the finance ministry for Viability Gap Funding for these ports, because on their own they would not be able to attract investment.

One of these ports, in West Bengal, is expected to offset the disadvantages of a long riverine channel and shifting currents from which both Kolkata and Haldia ports suffer. There is some justification for this move, because to access Kolkata port ships must traverse a channel of 236 km with a dodgy draft and excessive silting. Huge amounts have to be spent each year on dredging this channel and even then a minimum depth is not guaranteed. A port located at the point where the ocean meets the river can easily receive large vessels that can be lightered so that smaller vessels could deliver cargo at Kolkota and Haldia. Even here however, it is not clear why Paradip port, which is not very far from the site of the new proposed new port, was not dredged and developed for this purpose. Why create another port when an existing one can perform the same function after being suitably upgraded at a much smaller cost?

The real killer however, is the proposed port in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Planned for location at Dugarajapatnam in Nellore district, it will have to compete with both major and non-major ports that have been established much earlier and are therefore better placed to offer cargo handling facilities at greatly lower cost. Andhra Pradesh already has a major port at Vishakhapatnam that is one of the largest among the major ports in terms of cargo handled. In addition it has two other private ports, at Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam, which have been set up at considerable cost and will leave no stone unturned to attract cargo. Finally, there is Kakinada port, which has been in existence for a long time and which receives a good deal of liquid cargo.

Faced with this embarrassment of riches, why would the government want to spend good money on setting up yet another port in this area? If P G Wodehouse once talked of a very stout man whose several chins were continually fighting for a place on his collar, one can only pity the state of Andhra Pradesh as port after port fights for place on its coast and for a share of its cargo.

More ports do not necessarily bring in more cargo. The extent of a country's exim trade is a function of its policies and its openness to international commerce. When growth rates pick up, existing port capacity will definitely be inadequate. But the best and most cost-effective way of addressing this is to upgrade and refurbish existing ports to enhance their capacity. In other words, quality over quantity every time.

The unfortunate part is that the budget for building new ports is needed but not where the government is spending it. There is a crying need for investment in small new ports in India that can more effectively cater to vessels on coastal and inland waterway runs. In spite of a massive 7,500 km of coastline and five national waterways, the amount of cargo moved by water is negligible. Instead of concentrating on the development and expansion of infrastructure that would make water transport more attractive, we have prioritised road transport and turned our already over-crowded highways into death traps.

There are many policy initiatives needed to promote coastal shipping and inland water transport, but one vital input is a series of small ports dotting the coastline which will be accessed only by such vessels. Coastal vessels find it extremely difficult to use large ports, whether managed by the Centre or the states. Such ports are usually expensive, they are congested and priority is invariably given to larger foreign-going vessels. Most important of all, such ports come under the jurisdiction of the Customs department and coastal vessels find it extraordinarily difficult to persuade Customs officials that their writ does not cover coastal shipping. There is a huge amount of paper work that must be gone through before coastal or inland vessels can move out of these ports and this only adds to transaction costs.

All this points to the need for a string of small ports around the coast, meant exclusively for short sea and inland shipping. Shippers and shipping lines will find such ports much less costly and more user-friendly. They will encourage the growth of coastal shipping and decongest our heavily polluted road network

Who rules cyberspace?

A new architecture of social power and control is getting built with its core in the U.S. India should work through the BRICS group to develop an alternative to this Internet hegemony

The Internet evokes a deep dilemma of whether ‘to govern or not’. Few things work as well as the Internet does: it’s always on, always obliging, and consists of endless possibilities, routinely conjuring wonders that we have not dreamt of. On the other hand, it is difficult not to be troubled by how the Internet is everywhere, but without any clear means of accountability and political reaction to how much it is changing around us. But without sufficient clarity regarding the nature of the problems and the required solutions, mere general political scepticism cannot hold a candle to the populist governmental-hands-off-the-Internet sentiment. The latter is expectedly strongest among the richer classes, who trust the devices of the market to get the Internet to do their bidding. Other than routine knee-jerk reactions over people freely expressing themselves on the Internet, which could threaten various kinds of power elites, while also sometimes causing genuine security and cultural concerns, there exists no serious political conceptions around the Internet in India today, much less its appropriate governance in public interest.

This state of affairs is quite detrimental to society as the Internet is becoming closely associated with social power and control in almost all areas. It has become like a global neural system running through and transforming all social sectors. Whoever has control over this neural network begins to wield unprecedented power — economic, political, social and cultural. Two elements of this emerging system are the connectivity architecture and the continuous bits of information generated by each and every micro activity of our increasingly digitised existence — what is generally known as Big Data. Even a superficial scan of how the triple phenomenon of digitisation, networking and datafication is occurring in every area will suggest the nature of consolidation of power in the hands of anyone who can control these two elements.

Every sector is impacted

Take the agriculture sector for example. Monsanto is now increasingly a Big Data company, as it holds almost field-wise micro information on climate, soil type, neighbourhood agri-patterns, and so on. Such data will form the backbone of even its traditional agri-offerings. It is easy to understand how data control-based lock-ins are going to be even more powerful and monopolistic than the traditional dependencies in this sector. Recently, John Deere, the world’s largest agricultural machinery maker, told the U.S. Copyright Office that farmers don’t own their tractors. Because computer code runs through modern tractors, farmers receive “an implied license for the life of the vehicle to operate the vehicle”. There is a pattern of end-to-end informational controls.

Similar developments are occurring in every other sector. Policymaking and governance are becoming dangerously dependent on Big Data, even as the public sector is all but giving up its traditional responsibilities for public statistics. The state is increasingly dependent on data collected and controlled by a few global corporations. Data companies such as Google are entering verticals like automobile and health in a manner that is threatening the traditional players in these sectors. Doctors subscribing to medical information networks carrying patient data, disease demographics, pharma information, and so on could soon become but appendages of the network. The network they think right now is a mere support may become the primary agent in the relationship. Such is the power of the network, vis-a-vis its peripheral users. Network and data providers in the education sector sell their services in the name of personalised offerings for every student, and every context. Schools with resources may find them alluring, but then they merely add to the power of the monopolistic networks, at the expense of their peripheral users. As their power consolidates, so do the terms of engagements mutate in the favour of the network controllers.

Here we have deliberately used examples of power shifts across whole sectors induced by digital networks. On the individual-use front, it is perhaps even easier to see the kind of social power exercised by those who can at will alter the algorithms of Facebook and Google, which increasingly provide us the logic and pattern of our social relationships and of means of accessing information and opinion making.

All this should set us thinking about who really controls the digital connectivity patterns and Big Data. In this regard, one can speak of a global unipolar networked-digital complex, with its elements of political and commercial power, both overwhelmingly concentrated in the U.S..

We are therefore witness to a phenomenon which is of extreme social importance, spanning all sectors of society. And the powerful levers of control of this phenomenon almost entirely lie in an eco-political domain over which the Indian society or state has no control, and very limited influence. This should be a public policy nightmare. However, you would not suspect it if you were watching the political discourse in India, not only inside the government but also outside. One comes across periodic discussions on freedom of expression issues, while the state, and some civil society actors, have begun to show heightened security-related anxieties. But one hears nothing about the overall new architecture of social power and control that is getting built, with its core in the U.S. It implicates very significant long-term economic, political, social and cultural issues that should greatly concern a country like India. Even freedom of expression and security are significantly related to this new power architecture.

Governments are traditionally slow on the take with regard to such rapidly moving phenomena, however socially important they might be. Civil society engagement in this area is dominated by middle class interests, whereby markets tend to be considered as essentially benign. Their major struggle is against the excesses of the state, the Internet no doubt being a significant new arena for such excesses. This has resulted in serious blind-spots regarding the larger architectural issues about the global Internet, with far-reaching economic, social and cultural implications. It is urgently required to undertake a systematic examination of these issues, situating them in the geo-political and geo-economic logics that overwhelmingly drive them. Appropriate domestic and foreign policies have to be developed within such a larger understanding.

India’s geopolitical options

Even for a country of India’s stature, it is not easy to play the geo-political game on its own, and certainly not in an area viewed by the dominant actors as among the most crucial for establishing global political and economic domination. No quarters will be given here, as has been clear from the pronounced non-activity in the limited UN-based global forums dealing with Internet governance issues. This, therefore, is not a field for the faint-hearted; it requires strong real politik approaches.

The only option left for India is to go with the strong nations that are similarly placed with respect to U.S.’s digital hegemony. Although this is one area where the EU countries are almost as much the victims as other countries, it is unlikely that they will break their geo-political alliance with the U.S. any time soon. They would either keep suffering silently, or seek solutions at the bilateral level with the U.S., and through strengthening EU level regulation. Just last month, the economic ministers of Germany and France sought a “general regulatory framework for ‘essential digital platforms’” at the EU level.

India should work through the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to develop an alternative to the U.S.-based global unipolar networked-digital complex. This may be the only viable path right now. It could be difficult for BRICS to work together on issues involving civil and political rights, for which reason the cooperation could focus on economic issues. The global architecture of the Internet today is mostly determined by its geo-economic underpinnings.

Going beyond the typical one-off treatment of Internet and big data issues, BRICS must begun to see them in a larger geo-systemic framework. The last BRICS summit gave a resounding response to the global financial hegemonies by setting up a New Development Bank, and an alternative reserve currency system. The next BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia, in July 2015 should come up with a similar systemic response to the U.S.-centred Internet. This can be achieved by pulling together a strong framework for BRICS cooperation on digital economy. That would be the biggest game changer with respect to what is now a complete stalemate over global governance of the Internet.

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Protection of Environment For Sustainable Development

The protection of environment is needed for sustainable development. The Industrial pollution, degradation of forests, depletion of ozone layer, the green house gases results in global warming and climate which will have an adverse impact on environment and human health. There is a need for conservation of Biodiversity, protection of wetlands and prevention of environmental pollution, promotion of ecological balance enables sustainable development. There are several provisions provided in Indian Constitution for Protection of environment. There are certain legislations enacted viz. Environment Protection Act, Wildlife Preservation Act, Biodiversity Conservation Act, water and Air pollution prevention Acts etc The Judiciary playing a vital role in protection of Environment.  Through Judicial Activism the Supreme Court can issue directions under writ Jurisdiction under Article 32 of Indian Constitution. The United Nation Organisation passed several UN conventions like Ramsar Convention on protection of wetlands, and UN convention on Biodiversity etc. World Environment Day is being celebrated across the world on 5^th June every year.

Global Warming and Climate change

Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. Even though it is an ongoing debate, it is proved by the scientists that the planet is warming. Global warming is for real The average global temperatures are higher than they have ever been during the past millennium, and the levels of CO in the atmosphere have e crossed all previous records. The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and  increasing extremities in weather patterns. Climate Change resulting from increased green house gases concentrations has the potential to harm societies and eco-systems. In particular, agriculture, forestry, water resources, human health, costal settlements and natural eco-systems will need to adapt to a changing climate or face diminishing functions. The changing climate patterns, and especially increased frequency and severity of extreme events, will increase vulnerability to the natural disasters, both slower on set ones such as drought and rapid onset disaster such as flood and cyclones.

Forest Conservation

The role of forests in the national economy and in ecology was emphasized in the 1988 National Forest Policy, which focused on ensuring environmental stability, restoring the ecological balance, and preserving the remaining forests. Other objectives of the policy were meeting the need for fuelwood, fodder, and small timber for rural and tribal people while recognizing the need to actively involve local people in the management of forest resources. Also in 1988, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 was amended to facilitate stricter conservation measures. The 2009 Indian national forest policy document emphasizes the need to combine India's effort at forest conservation with sustainable forest management. India defines forest management as one where the economic needs of local communities are not ignored; rather forests are sustained while meeting nation's economic needs and local issues through scientific forestry.

Protection of Wetlands

Wetlands are complex ecosystems and encompass a wide range of inland, coastal and marine habitats. They share the characteristics of both wet and dry environments and show immense diversity based on their genesis, geographical location, hydrological regimes and substrate factors. They include flood plains, swamps, marshes, fishponds, tidal marshes natural and man-made wetlands. Among the most productive life support, wetlands have immense socio-economic and ecological importance for mankind. They are crucial to the survival of natural biodiversity. They provide suitable habitats for endangered and rare species of birds and animals, endemic plants, insects besides sustaining migratory birds. India has a wealth of wetland ecosystems distributed in different geographical regions. India is also a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Convention of Biological Diversity; Apart from government regulation, development of better monitoring methods is needed to increase the knowledge of the physical and biological characteristics of each wetland resource, and to gain, from this knowledge, a better understanding of wetland dynamics and their controlling processes. India being one of the mega diverse nations of the world should strive to conserve the ecological character of these ecosystems along with the biodiversity of the flora and fauna associated with these ecosystems. The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 158 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1758 wetland sites, totaling 161 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Ramsar Convention is the only global environment treaty dealing with a particular ecosystem. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was developed as a means to call international attention to the rate at which wetland habitats were disappearing, due to lack of understanding of their important functions, values, goods and services. Governments which have joined the Convention are expressing their willingness to make a commitment for helping to reverse that history of wetland loss and degradation. In addition, many wetlands are international systems lying across the boundaries of two or more countries, or are part of river basins that include more than one country.

Conservation of Biodiversity

Conservation of Biodiversity is the need of the hour. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is a federal legislation enacted by the Parliament of India for preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of use of traditional biological resources and knowledge. The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a party. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 to implement India’s Biological Diversity Act 2002. The NBA is a Statutory, Autonomous Body and it performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory function for the Government of India on issues of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources.

Wildlife Conservation

Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting endangered plant and animal species and their habitats. Among the goals of wildlife conservation are to ensure that nature will be around for future generations to enjoy and to recognize the importance of wildlife and wilderness lands to humans.  Many nations have government agencies dedicated to wildlife conservation, which help to implement policies designed to protect wildlife. Numerous independent nonprofit organizations also promote various wildlife conservation causes. Wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the negative effects of human activity on wildlife. Wildlife Conservation Act 2002 was enacted to protect wildlife in India. The main objective of Project Tiger is to ensure a viable population of tiger in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values and to preserve for all time, areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people. Project Elephant (PE), a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched in February 1992 to provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing States in the country for protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors.

Ozone Depletion

Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer), and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon is referred to as the ozone hole. In addition to these well-known stratospheric phenomena, there are also springtime polar tropospheric ozone depletion events. The details of polar ozone hole formation differ from that of mid-latitude thinning, but the most important process in both is catalytic destruction of ozone by atomic halogens. The main source of these halogen atoms in the stratosphere is photo dissociation of man-made halocarbon refrigerants (CFCs, freons, halons). These compounds are transported into the stratosphere after being emitted at the surface. Both types of ozone depletion were observed to increase as emissions of halo-carbons increased. CFCs and other contributory substances are referred to as ozone-depleting substances (ODS). This is used to protect the ozone layer which protect humans from ultra-violet rays of Sun.

Environmental Impact Assessment

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the possible impacts that a proposed project may have on the environment, consisting of the environmental, social and economic aspects. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the environmental impacts when deciding whether or not to proceed with a project. The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an environmental impact assessment as "the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made." EIAs are unique in that they do not require adherence to a predetermined environmental outcome, but rather they require decision ­makers to account for environmental values in their decisions and to justify those decisions in light of detailed environmental studies and public comments on the potential environmental impacts.

Environment and Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution guarantees justice, liberty and equality to all citizens of the country. In Maneka Gandhi's case the court gave a new dimension to Article 21. It held that the right to 'live' is not merely confined to physical existence but it include within its ambit the right to live with human dignity. The same view was reflected by Court in Francis Coralie V. Union Territory of Delhi said that the right to live is not restricted to mere animal existence. Article 21 also constitute right to get pollution free water and air. Article 48 of Directive Principles of State Policy directs that the State to take steps to organize agriculture and animal husbandary on modern and scientific lines. Again Article 48-A requires the State to take steps to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country. In M.C. Mehta (II) V. Union of India, the Supreme Court, relying on Article 48-A gave direction to Central and State Governments and various local bodies and Boards under the various statutes to take appropriate steps for the prevention and control of pollution of water. Article 51-A says that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and impove the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living.

Role of Judiciary in Environmental Protection

One of the most innovative parts of the Constitution is that right to enforce the fundamental rights by moving Supreme Court is itself a fundamental right under article 32 of the Constitution. Writ juridisdiction is conferred on Supreme Court under Article 32 and High Courts under Article 226 of the Constitution. Under these provisions Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to issue any drections or orders writ, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo-warranto and certiorari, whichever is appropriate High Court is wider in scope than that of Supreme Court. However, it may be pointed out that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all Courts within the territory of India. Moreover, the Supreme Court in exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it. The Supreme Court and also various High Courts have taken innumerable measures in a series of their landmark judgements. Over the years the apex Court has been paying special attention for the protection of environment by giving effective directions to all the persons concerned with the matter by invoking its powers under the Article 32. An analysis of the various decisions of the Supreme Court reveals that the Apex Court has exercised its writ jurisdiction when there was leakage of hazardous gases like Chlorine from the Shri Ram Industries, throwing of waste material of alchohal plants into the adjoining nala resulting in spreading of obnoxious cells being released apart from mosquito breeding, discharge of highly toxic affluent by the tanneries, safety and insurance for the benefit of workers at the cost of employer, to entertain public grievances relating to environment in the nature of public inters litigation for banning of harmful drugs, pollution of holy Ganga by municipal sewage and industrial affulents, illegal mining of effecting ecology, pollution of waters in river polar in Tamil Nadu due to discharge of untreated affulents, assuring sustainable development detrimental to the forest growth, damage to the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, protecting the people from suffering of respiratory and other diseases reminding the enforecment agencies to do the job. The Environment pollution is not confined only to any particular country or particular region. It is widening and crossing over the state and political boundaries affecting land, water, air, space, perversely. Realising the degraded consequences of the environmental pollution and its future impact on living being the battle legal, political and scientific, has started in all forums of international, regional and national organizations.

The National Green Tribunal was established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice. New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other four places of sitting of the Tribunal.

Legislations on Environment

Environmental quality has deteriorated during past two decades. This is because of the gap between the intent of the policy and the actual achievement. India's environmental problems are mainly due to its high population and limited natural resources. Protection of the environment poses a fundamental challenge to the nations desire to industrialize faster. Various efforts are being made to control India's environmental problems. The government has recognized the need for planned land and water resource management and the protection of environmental resources is included in the constitution since 1976. The constitution, 42^th amendment act of 1977 obligates the Government to protect and improve environment for the good of society as a whole. It also makes an environmental protection an obligation of the state and individual citizen and reads, "The state shall Endeavour to protect and improve the environmental and to safeguard forests and wildlife of the country." Article 51-A (9) states "It shall be duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures." A lot of Acts like Biodiversity Conservation Act, environment Protection Act, Wildlife Preservation Act, Water Pollution Prevention Act, Air Pollution Prevention Act etc. are enacted from time to time for environment preservation.

Sustainable Development

Economic development also refer as generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policy makers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area. Economic development can also be referred to as the quantitative and qualitative changes in the economy. Such actions can involve multiple areas including development of human capital, critica infrastructure,  regional competitiveness, environmental,sustainability, social,inclusion, health, safety, literacy, and other initiatives. Economic development differs from economic growth. Economic development is a policy intervention endeavor with aims of economic and social well-being of people, economic growth is a phenomenon of market productivity and rise in GDP. Consequently, as economist Amartya Sen points out: “economic growth is one aspect of the process of economic development. We should handover Quality Air, land and environment to future generations.

World Environment Day is being celebrated across the world on 5^th June every year.

Achievements of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs

Achievements of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs

   The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is committed to overall development (including health and education) of the people belonging to Scheduled Tribes and to protect the rights of such people and preserve and promote tribal culture and heritage.

The Ministry takes a gap filling role in the activities of various line ministries insofar as the welfare of the tribal population is concerned and implements a number of schemes through the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations or organizations recommended by the Multi-Disciplinary State Level Committee of the concerned State Government/UT Administration.

The capacity of tribal people to harness the fruits of development and to access various schemes for delivery of public goods and services has remained limited. The Integrated Tribal Development Agencies were the institutions assigned with the role to facilitate such access. But over the years, several scheme-specific bodies at District level became stronger whereas ITDAs/ITDPs have become weak or non-existent in most of the states. Similarly, Tribal Research Institutes have become weak in many states. This has reduced knowledge support to persons in charge of tribal development. Urban areas have seen increasing number of tribal people but there is no agency to look after their special problems. During the current year, the Ministry has taken up the strengthening of these institutions on priority and also to create new ones so that they can deliver goods and services more effectively. Under the existing scheme of SCA to TSP, Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution and the scheme of ‘Grant-in-Aid to Tribal Research Institutes’, the guidelines have been revised so that these institutions may be equipped with proper infrastructure, manpower and flexibility.

RECENT INITIATIVES TAKEN BY THE MINISTRY:

HEALTH & NUTRITION

Sickle Cell Anemia: A protocol for identification of Sickle Cell Hemoglobin in tribal students through a low cost “Turbidity Test” has been developed by ICMR.Training workshops organized by the Ministry to carry out these tests within this financial year. A card is being issued to each child on sickle cell status which would be used to counsel parents of sickle cell carriers not to marry other sickle cell carrier. The State of Gujarat has already completed more than 80% screening. Training workshops have been held in the states of Odisha, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

MALARIA: To reduce the incidences of Malaria amongst the tribal population, composite fish cultures in the ponds has been advocated. Using space technology mapping of existing ponds and potential ponds has been started and training workshops been held in all States/UTs with ST population. This prevents the breeding of mosquitoes.

Other initiatives include:

Ø  Bring all pregnant mothers under immunization programme.

Ø  A protocol for including Folic Acid, every Monday immediately after the afternoon meal has been put in place.

Ø  To ensure regular intake of green leafy vegetables, kitchen gardens are encouraged. Traditional foods like minor millets, etc. are encouraged for cultivation and included as a part of the school meals.

Ø  Habit of hygiene and sanitation, use of recyclable material amongst school children, reduction in generation of garbage.

Ø  Circulars regarding hygiene and cleanliness were issued to the Tribal Welfare Departments of all states and union territories.

Ø  Engagement of trained lady health workers as Warden/Asstt. Wardens in girls’ hostels.

Ø  Suggestions obtained from citizens through MyGov.in platform on Low Literacy and High Dropout rates. Existing and potential dropouts are being targeted for suitable skill training with a livelihood focus.

Ø  Involvement of Parents and community in the education of the ST children and in the school management.

Ø  Role of Teachers expanded to include mentoring of students and counselling of students and parents. 

Ø  Utilising long summer vacation for Remedial coaching and vocational/skill development classes.

Ø  Special coaching for English and Mathematics after class V and Mathematics and Science after class VII to overcome barriers in curriculum.

Ø  Schools being positioned as nursery grounds for spotting and nurturing of natural talents of ST students for Academics, Sports, Traditional and Modern Skills etc.

Ø  Expansion of Scope of Education for Tribal children to include sports, physical education, work education, vocational education, Tribal Art, painting, crafts, kitchen gardening, health, hygiene and nutrition, etc to make the school education useful and relevant for the children and tribal communities.

Ø  Development of Bilingual Primers containing text both in regional and tribal languages but in local official script through Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)

Ø  School curriculum for ST children in the age group of 5-16 years is improved to make it contextually relevant and culturally appropriate for the local tribal culture.

Ø  Long school vacation being synchronised with local tribal festival and harvest season.

Ø  Construction of functional girl’s toilets to address hygiene, sanitation and dropout of girl’s students.

Ø  Co-education Residential schools (200-300 student’s capacity) in block headquarters for quality education and physical safety.

Ø  Promotion of traditional food (minor millet and greens) in school meals.

Ø  School managements are empowered to engage teachers per class basis to overcome acute shortage.

Ø  100% screening of children for Sickle Cell Anemia Trait and counselling of parents.

Ø  Engagement of trained lady health workers as Warden/Assistant Wardens in girls hostels

Ø  Promotion of Education, in celebration and campaign mode. In collaboration with the states/UTs, local bodies and also with the All India Radio, Ministry is planning for wide publicity for admission, enrolment and education of Tribal children. Awareness drive in campaign and celebration mode is being designed targeting the Tribal children, parents, communities, teachers and school administration and will continue throughout the year.

VANBANDHU KALYAN YOJANA, a strategic process to converge resources to achieve desired outcomes through appropriate institutional mechanism, was launched on 28^th October, 2014. This approach envisages comprehensive development of tribals by shifting the working character into a holistic approach rather than focusing on physical and financial achievements. This approach commensurate to the Gujarat Model for over all development of the tribal people with sustainability.

CULTURE

National Tribal Festival – Vanaj

The Ministry is providing a national platform for conservation and promotion of cultural heritage of the tribals. A national festival was organized from 13 – 18 February, 2015 in Delhi to showcase tribal art, craft, food, literature, medicines and also display and sale of tribal art and crafts. This would be an annual event to be held between second Friday and third Wednesday of February.

e-GOVERNANCE

Ministry’s website www.tribal.nic.in has been awarded “Web Ratna Gold Icon 2014 Awards” for outstanding Content.

Ø  In addition to the tech enabled trade information and information of the Ministry including its financials being kept in public domain through the Ministry’s website, continuous updation of website and use of social media through twitter (@tribalaffairsin) and facebook (Ministry of Tribal Affairs) have been undertaken.

Ø  Launching of MFP net – for real time prices across various mandees (www.trifed.in).

Ø  Linking Kisan Call Centre (1800-180-1551) with MFP Net to provide trade info of not only Minor Forest Produce, but also about agricultural products.

Ø  Launching of e-commerce portal for sale of tribal crafts and produce collaboration withwww.snapdeal.com for online sale of tribal products by TRIFED.

Ø  e-File Tracking System (for tracking files and correspondences), e-Samiksha (Real time Online Monitoring), PRAGATI (Public Grievances), AEBAS (Bio-metric Attendance System) my GOV (for seeking public views on various topics related to the Ministry), VLMS (VVIP Letter Monitoring System) are extensively used.

Ø  All payments in the Ministry are made through electronic transfer.

Ø  All procurements are made through tenders which are uploaded on the relevant portals.

Livelihood-

Ø  Livelihood activities which can provide regular, sustainable incomes have been supported and advocated e.g. promotion of Dairy Development through co-operatives and linking with Milk Federations would provide a range of veterinary services and regular income that has women participation. Similarly, backyard poultry can reach large number of households and help in providing protein and additional income.

Ø  Composite fish culture is for both containing mosquito population, providing protein supplement and income to the family. Usage of Space Technology for mapping existing water bodies and developing potential through MGNREGS has been promoted. In addition, Horticulture, Floriculture, improved varieties of traditional minor millets advocated and supported. Minor millets are more nutritious than polished rice or maize and hence recommended for menu in schools also.