Farmers' group to GPCB: Why refuse to seal industry-controlled 'polluting' borewells?

The Farmers Action Group (FAG), a Gujarat-based network, in a representation to the chairman, Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), taking strong exception to GPCB letters dated July 15 and 27 to the farmers of seven villages of Vadodara district seeking to seal their borewells, has wondered why is the top state government agency refusing to take a similar step against polluting industrial units in the region.

FAG said, if farmers’ bore wells in the seven villages are to be sealed citing the Supreme Court order May 7, 2004, GPCB should simultaneously “consider sealing of all other borewells emitting chemically polluted water, including all bore wells located in industrial units and villages”, as required by the apex court. It insisted, GPCB should help implement the order “in letter and spirit, and not in piecemeal.”
Asking GPCB to take necessary remedial measures, as required by the apex court, FAG said, prior to sealing the borewells, GPCB should inform all the owners two months prior to their closure after making “appropriate arrangements within six months for drinking water and water for irrigation”.
Telling GPCB not to “frighten small farmers” by its decision to seal borewells, FAG said, “GPCB’s actions need to be reasonable. A constructive way forward needs to be determined. It needs to show compassion and tolerance. We do not want this important social issue to turn into a game of football with GPCB.”
FAB said, the 2004 apex court order had directed the state government to supply drinking and irrigation water to the villages around the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporations (GIDCs) or Vapi, Ankleshwar and the Effluent Channel Project (ECP) of Vadodara district, including to the seven villages lying along the ECP of Vadodara district, Luna, Ekalbara, Sherkhi, Umraya, Nana Ekalbara, Bhimpura and Bhavpura, whose borewells GPCB is seeking to seal.
Wondering why GPCB is “misconceiving” the Supreme Court order, which not only talked about “closure of all the hand-pumps and bore wells in the areas and wherever possible”, FAB said, it sought implementation of a project to decontaminate ground water within a time-frame.
Further, FAB said, the order had insisted that

The water for agricultural purposes should be made available to the farmers two months prior to the closure of the borewells which are contaminated,
Supply water to the affected communities through tankers on a daily basis at the cost of the government and the concerned industry associations, and
Release permanent water connections through pipes for drinking purpose and some appropriate arrangement for irrigation purposes so that the dependence on tankers is removed.

Suggesting that groundwater contamination is mainly caused by industries in the region, FAB said, “Sixteen years have passed and remediation steps have not shown any material reduction in chemical contamination of groundwater. We, or for that matter, anyone would, feel that 16 years is a very long time, and pollution is still not under control.”

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog