Photo courtesy Flickr/dodo_anji

“In bureaucratic system obedience to power and self-goals have pushed self-consciousness and uprightness into darkness.”

These words, written by a forest department official in his retirement letter were in response to the mining controversy that has brought the state of Haryana under scrutiny for indiscriminate mining policies. Following a stern report by the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court, the state of Haryana (which neighbours Punjab), has finally stepped up towards stopping the unsustainable mining in the Aravalli range. The Supreme court has ordered a ban on all mining activities in the region.

But is this a little too late? Despite the lapse of a seven year lease that had ravaged the range, and a Supreme Court labelling the area as a prohibited mining zone, the Haryana government proceeded to auction two quarries in the area earlier this month.  The Forest Survey of India made satellite imagery available to the public that clearly documents the land change:  water bodies in the area have dried up and the region is suffering severe droughts.  According to this article, local people have said that not only have nearby lakes dried up in the space of three months but also that large scale sand mining was taking place, “damaging the water retention capacity” leaving few traces of the lake and “truck marks all around”. There are clearly bureaucratic loopholes aplenty, allowing the culpability to bounce from the irrigation department to fisheries to mining. The unchecked mining also played an important role in decreasing the ground water level.

The mining groups argue that the high demand for construction is forcing them to look beyond the outer limits of the national capital and to mine indiscriminately, bringing to the fore once again the often used argument of the perceived conflictual nature of development and environmental sustainability in India.

The Centre for Science and Environment recently released a  report detailing the “environmental and social footprints of mining in India”. In it, it highlights the sheer lack of regulation in mining that has spawned a booming illegal trade, adversely affecting the environment and not allowing for any recourse to legal aid by the people who work in the mines or live in the surrounding areas.  The states tend to turn a blind eye because of the profits and the overall ‘development’ that ensues.

Unsustainable mining practices are rampant all over India. Parts of Karnataka that have witnessed unsustainable mining now suffer from a host of problems: from a lack of access to water, to unsafe and illegal labour conditions, health problems, environmental devastation and pollution. Orissa is another good example. The already palpable pressure on land will only get more severe, and although the government has brought out a national biodiversity plan which lays out best practice guidelines, Indian authorities need to really take control of biodiversity conservation and land change, step up initiatives to protect the natural habitat, and soon. A sustainable approach would of course require addressing the issues mentioned before: the problems of EIAs , inclusion of participatory methods, introduction of regulation and importantly better accountability of those in public service and positions of power.   

 

 

Electricity woes. Photo Courtesy Berni???/Flickr

 Bangalore hasn’t been the best of cities to stay in these past few days. Reeling under the burden of a severe power crisis, multiple endless unscheduled power cuts crippled the IT city and the southern state of Karnataka. Falling right in the middle of unseasonably hot weather, end of year exams and pre-election momentum, these daylong power cuts has hampered day to day living, so much that people – including young students – have taken to the streets protesting the lack of electricity.

So what’s the short term answer to the problem?

In order to beat the power crisis and perhaps the polls too, the state asked Karnataka’s power corporation (Karnataka Power Corporation Limited – KPCL) to step up power generation from its hydel reserves. But, as the corporation’s Managing Director pointed out, while this might solve the problem in the short run, it could trigger a much larger problem later on. For, if the KPCL falls back on its water reserves generate greater power output and if the monsoon fails or is late, these reserves might not replenish in time, affecting production for the whole year.  The Economic Times also notes that the Chief Minister has asked his Gujarati counterpart to spare some power for the state.

So what’s the sustainable answer to the problem?

One avenue the government is looking at is alternate energy sources. Karnataka’s hydel sources are already stretched to the limit and according to this report, Karnataka has set itself a target of 5450 MW from renewable sources by 2012 and 11700 MW by 2018. Bringing down the cost of renewable energy will be the real challenge, if the demand for power tariff revision by (mostly private) renewable energy generators is taken into consideration.

Coupled with new energy sources, the KPCL is also looking to create more awareness on energy management and renewable energy. This too will be an uphill task as a recent survey of urban Bangaloreans showed that the large majority of the citizens are not environmentally conscious and while they demand better services, they aren’t willing to pay more for it or do their bit in conserving what little there is.

Karnataka aims to be energy secure by 2013. In order for this to happen all the stakeholders – public, private, consumers and suppliers need to find a middle ground. A long term vision of conservation, awareness and energy management along with sustainable long term policies and the promotion of different renewable energy sources is required in order to overcome this power crisis. And in the meantime, the vicious cycle of unscheduled loadshedding, citizen apathy and government shortsightedness will continue.