In the name of development? Gujarat urban authority seeks to 'murder' Vadodara lake

By Rohit Prajapati*
The Sursagar Lake precinct is a vital identity of Vadodara on the national map and local citizens. Emphasis on a higher quality of urban landscape design and architecture along with the lake’s ecological connections and impacts must be given priority while envisioning and designing the (re)development of such important landmarks in the city.
Instead, completely opposite to that Vadodara Municipal Corporation has made conscious attempts to destroy the Sursagar Lake and its ecological and urban landscape design existence. Actually, we the Citizens of India, should file the FIR against the Vadodara Municipal Corporation under Section 307, “attempt to murder”.
The order dated August 2, 2002 in the Special Civil Application No 10621 of 2000 clearly states: “5.7 … It was then stated in paragraph 3 that, in deference to the suggestion made by this Court, the State Government will notify in the Gazette the water bodies and will ensure that no lands forming part of the water bodies be alienated or transferred by the various Area Development Authorities or the Local Authorities and will oversee that the water bodies are maintained and preserved as water bodies.
“…The Local Bodies and Area Development Authorities will be requested and instructed to see that desiltation may be undertaken in a phased and gradual manner and encroachment is removed also in a phased manner.
“Care will be taken that water bodies are not converted to any other use in the town planning schemes / development plans that may be made hereafter and the Local Authorities and the Area development Authorities will be instructed to ensure that no debris of buildings is dumped by any person or institution in the existing water bodies.
“The General Development Control Regulations which are now framed take care as regards the distance to be maintained between the development zone and the water bodies, which was minimum of nine meters, as stated in that affidavit.
“The Regulations also provide for percolating well to be provided if the area of building exceeds 1500 sq. mtrs. and up to 4000 square meters. The State Government in that affidavit assured this Court that proper monitoring would be undertaken to oversee the preservation and maintenance of water bodies.

What is done in the name of beautification is encroachment on the lake, imposition of insensitive design and waste of public money

Order further stated at the end:
“24. To sum up, we issue the following directions:
“...[B] The State Government and all Area Development Authorities and local Bodies will protect, maintain and preserve all the waterbodies in the State which are identified as per the development plans, town planning schemes and the government records and which will be notified in the official gazette, as waterbodies and they will not be alienated or transferred or put to any use other than as waterbodies...
“[D] The State Government, the Area Development Authorities and the Local Authorities should take urgent measures to rejuvenate the waterbodies which are to be notified in the gazette by undertaking a declared phased programme of desiltation and make adequate provisions for recharging them by appropriate storm water drains and other feasible means and to take measures against pollution of such waterbodies.”
Existing flow connections will be negatively affected along with the severance of the water flows from the city and to the Vishwamitri River via Sursagar to the Machhiya kaans. The reduction in soil water interface will result in increase in eutrophication and hamper the microbial activities resulting in increase in the water temperature by about 2 degrees.
Inlet and outlet points are not considered in the design. These, along with their built-up or natural channels, must be studied and restored. The reduction of surface area of the water and addition of concrete ghats will also affect the visual (experiential) quality as well as collective cultural memory of and attachment to this historic place.
What is done with Sursagar in the name of so-called beautification is encroachment on the lake, imposition of an insensitive design, and waste of public money. The citizens should demand involvement in decision-making for such top-down developments in the name of public-private-partnership which, in fact, is power-private-profit sharing deal.
Present works at the Sursagar Lake is in contempt of the Gujarat High Court Order dated August 2, 2002.
---
*Environmental activist, researcher and writer, with Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Vadodara

Comments

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat* The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam* The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani* A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid* We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra* Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Counterview

Search This Blog