Whether it was creating biosphere reserves or establishing the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as Environment Impact Assessment Reports, the Government had intent, even if it didn't always have effect, as was clear in the Ganga Action Plan of 1985. The people haven't been passive observers either, spontaneously stepping in when those wielding political power did not seem to care.
From the villagers of Garhwal hugging their trees to keep the axe away in the evocatively named Chipko movement to a 100-day long padayatra across the hills to save the Western Ghats to living for months in submerged homes in the Sardar Sarovar, people power stopped many disasters.There's a long way to go yet; the pressure of population on the environment is only growing, and there are newproblems like global warming, but the road is mapped out.
1. FIRM CLAW
Project Tiger, 1973
The Rs 230-lakh Project Tiger was a Union Government and the World Wildlife Fund joint endeavour in 1973, to check immediate threats to the national animal. It registered a marked increase in most animal populations in the first decade (India Today, December 1983). With 1,550 sq km under its canopy, including 15 sanctuaries and national parks, the project cordoned off a third of this land for conservation activities and demarcated the rest as a buffer area, relocating the villages around.
2. A CLEAN DOMAIN
Neeri, 1974
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) brought to light the case of Hindustan Agro-Chemicals that had set up a chain of chemical units in Bichri, near Udaipur in the 1980s. NEERI put the total damage suffered by the village at Rs 342 crore with the damage to the environment at around Rs 37 crore (India Today, March 1996).
3. LAW OF THE LAND
Ministry of Environment and Forests, 1985
It was a milestone in the history of the Government of India, when in 1980, the Department of Environment was given an autonomous identity. By 1985, it grew into the full-fledged Ministry of Environment and Forests. Since then it has implemented the Coastal Zone Management Plan in Gujarat and defined the terms for environmental clearance for industries.
4. RIGHT RESERVATION
Biosphere Reserves, 1985
Anew concept in conservation made its hesitant debut in the country, in 1985 when the Union Department of Environment finalised the details of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the first of 12 such reserves to be set up in the country, noted India Today in October 1985.Even though the concept was introduced 12 years after its conceptualisation in 1973 by UNESCO, today the number stands at a healthy 14 with reserves like the Sunderbans and Gulf of Mannar.
5. WATERED DOWN
Ganga Action Plan, 1985
It's a symbol of purity for many Hindus but the Ganga today is a foul receptacle of sewage and toxic waste (India Today, January 1997).
The authorities woke up, though belatedly, to its condition and it was in 1985 that the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was launched the largest clean-up operation in India worth Rs 1,700 crore.
Today the plan is a telling example of how things can go terribly wrong. It had entailed setting up sewage treatment plants, electric crematoria and toilets. GAP has been criticised for misuse of funds, overspending and tardy progress, said India Today in 1997, All the stress points on the Ganga have today been found polluted because of ill-conceived schemes.
6. CHECK POST
Environment Impact Assessment Reports, 1982
It was in 1982 that the Government decided to put a stop to the indiscriminate concretisation by enforcing the Environment (Protection) Act. The enforcers constituted expert appraisal committees under the Environment Impact Assessment Project at the Centre as well as the state level. These were to look into matters concerning environmental flashpoints like the Sardar Sarovar Dam, the Posco steel plant in Paradip, Orissa, and the bauxite refinery project in Kalahandi.
7. THE BENCH'S MARK
Supreme Court activism, 1993
The fate of the 350-year-old Taj Mahal hangs in a delicate balance in Delhi's Supreme Court where judges fight more passionately than the Union Government, observed India Today in February 1994.
The Supreme Court joined the battle against environmental degradation when it ordered the closure of 212 polluting industries in and around Agra, in 1993. Another incident where the judiciary was seen taking up the work of civic agencies was when it ordered the closure of the President's Estate Polo Club, saving the 86,40,000-sq m Central Ridge in the Capital that had a total encroachment of 72 per cent (India Today July 1995).
8. NO SMOKING
Checking vehicular pollution, 1996
For two-wheeler manufacturer Escorts Yamaha, the April 1-deadline for complying with the new autoemission norms was no joke. While the date was fixed three years ago, most companies had assumed that it would be extended by three to six months, said India Today in April 1996. But the Ministry of Surface Transport paid no heed and the norms were implemented to reduce pollution caused by two-and threewheelers that comprised 64 per cent of the pollution in the country.
9. FUEL FOR THOUGHT
CNG, 2001
Delhi could well have the world's cleanest transport system when the entire 10,000-strong CNG-driven fleet is pressed into operation. It will be a world's first too, observed India Today in April 2001.
The Supreme Court in 1998 had moved in favour of the less polluting compressed natural gas, marking a new green era.
But soon the Delhi Government found itself battling allegations of a CNG conversion kit deal .
10. GREEN FOUNDATION
Eco-friendly Buildings, 2004
Sustainable architecture is catching on as many organisations realise that environment-friendly architecture also makes eminent economic sense in the long run, said India Today in October 2004. It employs concepts of energy efficiency, water conservation and the use of eco-friendly materials. It has advantages like low cost of power, less waste and easy maintenance. It is due to these reasons that the Indian Green Building Council is targeting 1,000 Leadership in Energy and Environmentcertified buildings by 2010, said India Today in February 2008.
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