Setback to Essar? Green Tribunal appoints committee to ascertain "destruction" to Gujarat's eco-sensitive zone

By Our Representative
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Pune Bench, has appointed a three-member court commission comprising of three Government of India officials to ascertain the environmental destruction, if any, caused by the Essar Bulk Terminal Ltd to the Salaya Marine National Park and Sanctuary, situated in the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat.
One of India’s topmost corporate houses, Essar has been setting up what it calls “a world-class marine infrastructure project with a state-of-the-art material handling facility at Salaya”, with the capability of handling 20 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of cargo. The project is said to cost around Rs 1,000 crore.
Located in Salaya harbour, which is naturally protected by two islands – Kalubhar Tapu and Dhani Be – the jetty would be spread over 320,000 square metres. Its dry bulk facility proposes to handle the import of dry bulk cargo like coal, limestone, fertilisers and bauxite.

Those who will form part of the court commission are – director, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), a senior scientist of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), and director, Marine National Park and Sanctuary, Jamnagar. It has been asked to submit its report before July 26, 2017.
Interpreted as a big jolt to one of India’s most powerful corporate houses, the NGT bench consisting of Justice UD Salvi and Dr Ajay Deshpande in an order said that the “local investigation” should be carried out to ascertain the extent of constructions going on and carried out by Essar.
Especially seeking to know the how much of “soil-bund” had been constructed, the order also wants the team to find out the navigation route as well as location of the constructions in the Salaya Marine National Park and Sanctuary, possible impact on the tidal water current, and destruction of mangroves, if any, in and around the Salaya Creek.
The order came in response to an application by the Salaya Fishermen’s Association, which claimed that Essar had undertaken “illegal” constructions by Essar encroaching upon the protected the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Salaya Marine National Park and Sanctuary, resulting into destruction of mangroves, obstruction to inter-tidal water in Salaya Creek, which is harmful to environment and biodiversity.
The Essar Bulk Terminal, however, said that it did not carry out any illegal construction.
Appearing on behalf of the Salaya Fishermen’s Association, advocate Asim Sarode submitted before the NGT that the notification dated August 22, 2013 declared an area admeasuring 326.26 sq.km around of Salaya Marine National Park and Sanctuary as ESZ, of which 208.58 sq km was towards landward side, 105.14 sq km towards seaward site, and 12.54 sq km area was covered by rivers.

Hence, Sarode argued, the communication dated April 28, 2014 by the chief conservator of forests, Marine National Park, Jamnagar, was “not a complete disclosure of the facts”, and that the Essar Bulk Terminal had not produced any layout or sanction-plan for the construction of the project.
On examining the letter, NGT decided to ascertain the exact location of the Essar Bulk Terminal where the proposed marine facilities, including conveyor corridor and jetty, were being constructed.
A preliminary examination of the letter suggested that the nearest point of the ESZ from the jetty was just 150 meters, and the distance of 4.6 hectare forest land diverted for the purpose was approximately 1.9 km from the nearest point of national park and sanctuary.

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Green revolution "not sustainable", Bt cotton a failure in India: MS Swaminathan

Counterview Desk
In a recent paper in the journal “Current Science”, distinguished scientist PC Kesaven and his colleague MS Swaminathan, widely regarded as the father of the Green Revolution, have argued that Bt insecticidal cotton, widely regarded as the continuation of the Green Revolution, has been a failure in India and has not provided livelihood security for mainly resource-poor, small and marginal farmers.
Sharply taking on Green Revolution, the authors say, it has not been sustainable largely because of adverse environmental and social impacts, insisting on the need to move away from the simplistic output-yield paradigm that dominates much thinking. Seeking to address the concerns about local food security and sovereignty as well as on-farm and off-farm social and ecological issues associated with the Green Revolution, they argue in favour of what they call sustainable ‘Evergreen Revolution’, based on a ‘systems approach’ and ‘ecoagriculture’.
Pointing out that Evergreen Revol…

Rejoinder: Inescapable to have Central Water Commission as strong technical body in India

By BN Navalawala*
This is with reference to Counterview Blog (December 5, 2018), "Modi govt 'shelves' water reforms report, shows 'no interest' in its recommendations", below mentioned are my comments/observations thereon:
A committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Mihir Shah, Former Member, Planning Commission, for restructuring of Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) for optimal development of water resources in the country in the backdrop of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

Some Hindu bodies in US defending BJP-RSS' divisive, violent activities: Agnivesh

Counterview Desk Last week, Washington DC saw speakers at a religious freedom roundtable, chaired by the US Ambassador for Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, express concern over "eroding" space for religious freedom in India. Dr Mike Ghouse, executive director, of the Center for Pluralism in Washington DC, referring to the roundtable, said in an email alert that Indian-Americans have "a moral duty to prevent India from being labeled as a Country of Particular Concern by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)".

Preventing childhood deaths: India performs worse than Bangladesh, "equals" Pakistan

By Rajiv Shah
A just-released study, “The Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report 2018”, prepared by the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has identified India among 15 other countries which are still far off the mark in achieving the targets of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD).

India's rewritten textbooks talk of demerits of democracy, praise Hitler, underrate Mughals

Counterview Desk
A detailed, 3,800-word review of the books rewritten under directions of the BJP rulers across India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014 has suggested that one of aims of the books is to instill a sense of doubt about India’s democratic polity among the country’s young minds. Reviewed in the prestigious US journal, “The New York Review of Books”, in its latest issue (December 6, 2018) by Alex Traub, the scrutiny insists, the effort has also been to paint Indian history from the angle of “Hindu triumphalism”, even as creating “Islamophobia”.

Karnataka: NGO Akshay Patra "not sensitive" to nutrition demands of school children

Counterview Desk
Well-known civil rights organizations, Right to Food Campaign and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, have sent a letter to the Union minister of human resource development, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, other concerned ministers and officials of the state expressing concerns regarding the mid-day meal (MDM) to school children, insisting, all contracts to the Akshay Patra for supply of MDM should be immediately terminated.

Govt of India "tarnishing" NGO reputation, dossier leaked selectively: Amnesty

Counterview Desk
Amnesty International India has said that a deliberate attempt is being made to tarnish its reputation by leaking a dossier, supposedly made by investigating agencies, to media without giving it access to any such information. The high profile NGO’s claim follows a Times Now report about proceedings launched by investigative agencies, including Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the rights body for “violations” of rules pertaining to overseas donations.

World Bank clarifies: Its 26th rank to India not for universal access to power but for ease of doing business

By Our Representative
In a major embarrassment to the Government of India, the World Bank has reportedly clarified that it has not ranked India 26th out of 130 countries for providing power to its population. The top international banker’s clarification comes following Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal’s claim that India has “improved to 26 position from 99” in access to electricity in just one year.

Four children die after poor UP Dalit, Muslim families forced to flee to forest area: PVCHR

Counterview Desk
Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) has said that the forest department police’s crackdown, allegedly without any prior notice, on Dalit and Muslim households in Dakhin Tola, Churk Bazaar, Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh, beating up “children and old people, women, and men in an inhuman way”, has led to “forced displacement, starvation and discrimination”. This has reportedly affected about 350 people.

Vedanta is out but corporate loot continues in Odisha: Local activists tell NAPM yatra

By Our Representative
Lok Shakti Abhiyan leader Prafulla Samantara, winner of the Goldman Environmental (also known as Green Nobel) Prize in 2017, has regretted that though Sundergarh in Odisha, like other forest areas, is a fifth schedule area, where Forest Rights Act (FRA) and Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) is applicable, but these laws are being “outrightly violated to facilitate corporate loot.”

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