VOX POPULI
by
S Kamat
as
Aam Admi
Issue: 216 Date: 28.08.2017
by
S Kamat
as
Aam Admi
Issue: 216 Date: 28.08.2017
Contents:
2. Railway Operations & The Minister's Resignation
3. Stop Tree Cutting Otherwise Be Prepared To See India Becoming A Desert
Across the country there is a massacre going on of trees. Giving any kind of excuse trees are being cut, left, right and centre. From 91 trees slated for the axe for the East-West Metro in Kolkata; to random trees being cut in Rabindra Sarobar, the green zone in South Kolkata. In the name of development, small or big, trees are at the first line of attack. Be it for street widening or for any reason a tree will surely fall. It is not only in Kolkata that this is happening but across the country in every town and city.
Cut to Mumbai and you will find the contractors for the construction of various development projects in the city be it the Metro mainly and any other are the first to raise the axe against trees. In this they show no scruples and are adept at bending and/or breaking rules, even BMC decisions and the judgments of the courts. For the Metro some 400 odd trees were allowed to be cut but activists there have found that close to double some 700 odd trees were felled. Not only that in commitments made by construction authorities to the courts about planting of new saplings close to the number of trees cut, it was found that in many cases no action was taken to plant new saplings even though 1-2 years had passed. There have also been more than 1400 incidents since this year's rains started in June of trees or branches falling out of which there have been 40 odd human fatalities apart from other injuries to people and destruction of public and private property like cars parked in the street etc. The reason for this is that if you go to Mumbai and walk around you will see that the concrete pavers used for pavements or concreting is done right up to the trunk of the tree. Thus over time with lack of water and nourishment the tree starts to weaken and progressively die. So by natural circumstance it falls and then it hurts or kills people and damages property. Similarly when it comes to the trimming of trees, it is done in a lopsided manner and only the portion of the tree that is assumed to be dangerous is trimmed leaving the tree unbalanced. This leads to the tree growing in a lopsided manner and again poover time it collapses on the side which is heavier. In both the instances cited above the complete lack of supervision by engineers and leaving the work to illiterate or semi-skilled labour is what is at the crux of the issue. If the work is properly supervised then there will be be less of tree falls and with the labour being properly trained, we can at the least expect to have better times ahead. When it comes with dealing trees that grow by the roadside, why the PWD cannot have a standard to be applied across India that a 1 meter radius should be ensured around each tree so that the tree can continue to flourish is something that one cannot understand. Also for trees in the middle if the road why they cannot build a verge for it or have the road pass around it like in a traffic island is something that is beyond comprehension.
Now move to B'lore, first it was for the Metro that the trees were cut and well-laid out gardens which the Metro wanted to dig up. The citizens protested and put up a stop to some of that in certain areas. Now the Metro in those stretches and areas moves to elevated sections or avoided the green areas. Thus the Metro in the city because of citizen protests were compelled to respect green cover. Though some trees were lost forever. Here again like in Mumbai, the authorities in charge of construction, private of otherwise, cut more trees than they were permitted and planted lesser number of saplings to compensate for the trees that they had cut. The latest in B'lore is that Indira Canteens are coming up across the city on the lines of the Amma Canteens in Chennai to serve cheap food to the people. To construct these canteens some 300 or more the Municipality is appropriating children's playgrounds, open spaces etc. and wherever there are trees they are being cut indiscriminately since the Indira canteens are a political initiative and the first brunt for that is borne by open spaces and trees.
In Goa where we live, the story is the same with some irony being thrown into the issue for good measure. About a year ago, the coconut tree that is represented in every ad or brochure that the government puts out was declared a Grass and the protection for its cutting was withdrawn. The idea behind this was to demean this tree of which every single portion is of use to mankind and more so Goans to the status of a grass so that you could cut it randomly just like mowing the grass on your front lawn! The citizens of the State were up in arms seeking restoration of the protection of the coconut tree. Thankfully with the new government led by Manohar Parrikar that has come to power, it has not only restored the status of the coconut tree and the protection given to it but raised it to the level of the State Tree. Now the last part was not required but it is a case of overdoing something when you have made a mistake. But elevating coconut tree to State Tree has dislodged another tree. This has set the cat among the pigeons among the tree lovers questioning the displacing etc. but all this one would believe will end with both trees getting the same status to satisfy the rival lobbies. Like they say in democracy everyone gets to be heard. Other than this the situation about tree cutting is the same as enumerated above with the road widening and 4 laning of National Highways that crisscross this small State taking its toll on the trees and green cover. Not only that Nitin Gadkari's pet project of converting the Goa-Mumbai highway into a beautified expressway involves cutting of some 1000 trees in Ratnagiri district alone. Though activists have raised their arms in uproar one doubts whether they can withstand the might of the Minister of Surface Transport.
In all this sometimes the Forest Ministry and Depts., both Central as well as State, are complicit in cutting of trees. Thus when protectors turn killers the harm is more grievous and irreparable. As one knows and there is no need to recount here, the reason why this is done is corruption both of the kind like for promotions etc. and in normal material terms. Since when these people from the Forest Dept. are brought in as experts, they give strange logic. Like the tree the older it gets the roots go deeper into the ground and there is no need to leave any space around the tree trunk and if the tree is old like 40-60 years there is no harm in cutting it! To the latter logic then the government should launch a pogrom to kill all those humans who are older than 60 years so that the younger are better served! Another thing that they claim is more saplings will be planted than the number of trees being cut but there is no guarantee that first, the saplings will be planted as the Mumbai Metro has seen inspite of a commitment given to the High Court and whether these will grow to trees like who will tend them, protect them from stray cattle eating them etc. etc. Then the Forest Dept. Is prone to quote more often than not that the forest cover in the State and/or country is going up. Now this figure is not verifiable by any independent agency and whatever they say goes.
Thus if we are at all serious in this country about protecting trees and our green cover then our laws should be recast and stringent punishment given for any unauthorised tree cutting and damage to green cover. All trees should be treated as sacred as our scriptures have instituted and they should be cut in absolutely necessary and unavoidable circumstances. Otherwise whether it be in construction of private dwellings, housing complexes, public buildings and large projects, the tree should be the primary focus for saving and construction should be around it and avoiding it. If at this present rate the destruction of trees continues in the whole country, then in the course of the next century India will get denuded and will become a desert like the Gobi or Kalahari or Sahara and with temperatures going up our future generations will wonder why it is so hot and it will be because we failed in our duty to stop tree cutting now.
BJP: Nouveau In Power?
There is a term nouveau rich which qualifies those who are newly rich and who in their speech, manner and actions flaunt their wealth. In adapted manner if you coin the phrase nouveau in power, it would appropriately fit the BJP. If you introspect on the various issues that have dogged their rule since 2014, you will see that this phrase suits them like they say to a T. Whether it was the secularism issue unfairly tagged as intolerance, then the sacred cow issue notorious as the beef ban, etc. etc. The list is long but we can fast forward to what has been on the national scene for the last month or so. Take the case of stalking that was reported in Haryana where a State BJP's son was supposedly involved. But for the spunk shown by the victim girl and her father to come onto national television and expose the perpetrators, the matter would have gone the way of the celebrated Nirbhaya rape incident in December some 4 years ago in Delhi or the way of hundreds of rape incidents since that day that have taken place across the country and particularly in northern India. Even in the above stalking incident, the case took the usual turns with first denial by the perpetrators, then the father, the BJP leader, being judgmental about women behaviour like what was she doing out alone near about midnight, then casting aspersions on the victim's character with the police putting in their bit in assisting those with power by first not registering the case, then not testing the perpetrators for alcohol, then claiming that CCTV footage was missing. But the victim and her father admirably stuck to their guns and finally a case registered, eureka the CCTV was recovered/reconstructed and the perpetrators arrested. The father, the BJP leader, when he found that there was no other way to hush up the case pontificated - Let justice take its course. Whether the case will run its course is another matter but at least a start has been made. The problem with the BJP is that they believe that by throwing their weight around things can be suppressed and when this does not happen, they are somewhere all at sea as to how to handle the adverse publicity. This is where they fail in experience. Is it that in previous regimes across the country such incidents did not happen? They did even including under the Congress but with the experience in handling many such embarrassments a lid was put on such incidents so that it did not splash all over in the media generating bad publicity for the persons involved and the party concerned. When it comes to pursuing women, we need to recognise that in northern India, it is a bloodsport. It is the satisfaction of the men that counts and the woman is purely an object to give pleasure.
In another context related to death of babies in Gorakhpur be it because of lack of oxygen or because of advanced encephalitis, the manner in which the BJP government in UP got negative publicity also shows a lack of deftness to avoid the public eye. Not only that Amit Shah while commenting on the incident, questioned - Did babies not die during the Congress rule? Now that is a blaise remark like no other and absolutely insensitive considering that the fatalities involving babies are at issue. Are we keeping count on how many babies died during your regime and how many in mine? And the one with the lower number WINS! Is this the mentality of the BJP top leadership? Babies have died in similar number in West Bengal in a number of incidents across the State a couple of years ago at which time the BJP made a big noise about it but now when it happens in UP governed by the BJP everyone should put a finger on their lips and keep quiet. The TMC in power then was smart enough to get the issue off the public radar and quickly. But the BJP in the Gorakhpur case was running around like a bull in a China shop and digging themselves deeper and deeper into a mess with each pass. Maturity counts and the ability of dealing with public issues with tact and diplomatic acumen. It will come with time but the BJP has still a lot to learn.
Concluding, the BJP does not lack in the will to do things but unfortunately it has not harnessed yet the ability to put through things with ease and efficiency. Examples are as we have seen the Demonetisation exercise and thereafter the GST exercise that we are currently going through. The people at large and those directly in the line of implementation are being put to untold confusion, difficulty and nuisance. A wiser and more balanced approach would probably have brought better returns. This rawness in handling operational matters which slows down the process of reforms is what has resulted in imported gurus like Arvind Panagariya, the ex- vice Chairman of the Niti Aayog, the new incarnation of the erstwhile labouring Planning Commission, to return back to their foreign pastures claiming a Columbia University is the job of his life which he does not want to put at stake!
In another context related to death of babies in Gorakhpur be it because of lack of oxygen or because of advanced encephalitis, the manner in which the BJP government in UP got negative publicity also shows a lack of deftness to avoid the public eye. Not only that Amit Shah while commenting on the incident, questioned - Did babies not die during the Congress rule? Now that is a blaise remark like no other and absolutely insensitive considering that the fatalities involving babies are at issue. Are we keeping count on how many babies died during your regime and how many in mine? And the one with the lower number WINS! Is this the mentality of the BJP top leadership? Babies have died in similar number in West Bengal in a number of incidents across the State a couple of years ago at which time the BJP made a big noise about it but now when it happens in UP governed by the BJP everyone should put a finger on their lips and keep quiet. The TMC in power then was smart enough to get the issue off the public radar and quickly. But the BJP in the Gorakhpur case was running around like a bull in a China shop and digging themselves deeper and deeper into a mess with each pass. Maturity counts and the ability of dealing with public issues with tact and diplomatic acumen. It will come with time but the BJP has still a lot to learn.
Concluding, the BJP does not lack in the will to do things but unfortunately it has not harnessed yet the ability to put through things with ease and efficiency. Examples are as we have seen the Demonetisation exercise and thereafter the GST exercise that we are currently going through. The people at large and those directly in the line of implementation are being put to untold confusion, difficulty and nuisance. A wiser and more balanced approach would probably have brought better returns. This rawness in handling operational matters which slows down the process of reforms is what has resulted in imported gurus like Arvind Panagariya, the ex- vice Chairman of the Niti Aayog, the new incarnation of the erstwhile labouring Planning Commission, to return back to their foreign pastures claiming a Columbia University is the job of his life which he does not want to put at stake!
Railway Operations & The Minister's Resignation
With 2 derailments in 4 days in the Railways, Minister Suresh Prabhu's resignation and PM Modi's asking him to hold on for some time is all like play acting to the gallery and for consumption of the general public to anoint a halo around Prabhu's head. In fact if Prabhu is really taking responsibility for the accidents then he should have resigned long back since many accidents and more serious than the last 2 have taken place earlier. If you look at the record of accidents in the Railways since 2014 and for similar period going back 3 years from 2014, you will find that the number of accidents ad fatalities in Railway operations have actually increased. This has been primarily because the Railways have neglected the creaking infrastructure of tracks, rolling stock and signalling. Instead the emphasis has been on faster trains, needless facilities like wi-fi connectivity on trains and luxury features to ape airline travel and lastly the Bullet Train that is supposed to ply between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. All this when the focus should have been for clean, safe and secure travel for common citizens with hygienic catering. We need not ape the developed countries but concentrate what is good for our country and its people while improving our Railways. This way we will set up another standard for the rest of the world to recognise and maybe emulate. That precisely is not being done. Concluding, changing the Minister is not going to help the Railways and the country. What needs to be done is an exhaustive SWOT analysis of the Railway operations and concentrate on removing the obvious flaws.
Stop Tree Cutting Otherwise Be Prepared To See India Becoming A Desert
Across the country there is a massacre going on of trees. Giving any kind of excuse trees are being cut, left, right and centre. From 91 trees slated for the axe for the East-West Metro in Kolkata; to random trees being cut in Rabindra Sarobar, the green zone in South Kolkata. In the name of development, small or big, trees are at the first line of attack. Be it for street widening or for any reason a tree will surely fall. It is not only in Kolkata that this is happening but across the country in every town and city.
Cut to Mumbai and you will find the contractors for the construction of various development projects in the city be it the Metro mainly and any other are the first to raise the axe against trees. In this they show no scruples and are adept at bending and/or breaking rules, even BMC decisions and the judgments of the courts. For the Metro some 400 odd trees were allowed to be cut but activists there have found that close to double some 700 odd trees were felled. Not only that in commitments made by construction authorities to the courts about planting of new saplings close to the number of trees cut, it was found that in many cases no action was taken to plant new saplings even though 1-2 years had passed. There have also been more than 1400 incidents since this year's rains started in June of trees or branches falling out of which there have been 40 odd human fatalities apart from other injuries to people and destruction of public and private property like cars parked in the street etc. The reason for this is that if you go to Mumbai and walk around you will see that the concrete pavers used for pavements or concreting is done right up to the trunk of the tree. Thus over time with lack of water and nourishment the tree starts to weaken and progressively die. So by natural circumstance it falls and then it hurts or kills people and damages property. Similarly when it comes to the trimming of trees, it is done in a lopsided manner and only the portion of the tree that is assumed to be dangerous is trimmed leaving the tree unbalanced. This leads to the tree growing in a lopsided manner and again poover time it collapses on the side which is heavier. In both the instances cited above the complete lack of supervision by engineers and leaving the work to illiterate or semi-skilled labour is what is at the crux of the issue. If the work is properly supervised then there will be be less of tree falls and with the labour being properly trained, we can at the least expect to have better times ahead. When it comes with dealing trees that grow by the roadside, why the PWD cannot have a standard to be applied across India that a 1 meter radius should be ensured around each tree so that the tree can continue to flourish is something that one cannot understand. Also for trees in the middle if the road why they cannot build a verge for it or have the road pass around it like in a traffic island is something that is beyond comprehension.
Now move to B'lore, first it was for the Metro that the trees were cut and well-laid out gardens which the Metro wanted to dig up. The citizens protested and put up a stop to some of that in certain areas. Now the Metro in those stretches and areas moves to elevated sections or avoided the green areas. Thus the Metro in the city because of citizen protests were compelled to respect green cover. Though some trees were lost forever. Here again like in Mumbai, the authorities in charge of construction, private of otherwise, cut more trees than they were permitted and planted lesser number of saplings to compensate for the trees that they had cut. The latest in B'lore is that Indira Canteens are coming up across the city on the lines of the Amma Canteens in Chennai to serve cheap food to the people. To construct these canteens some 300 or more the Municipality is appropriating children's playgrounds, open spaces etc. and wherever there are trees they are being cut indiscriminately since the Indira canteens are a political initiative and the first brunt for that is borne by open spaces and trees.
In Goa where we live, the story is the same with some irony being thrown into the issue for good measure. About a year ago, the coconut tree that is represented in every ad or brochure that the government puts out was declared a Grass and the protection for its cutting was withdrawn. The idea behind this was to demean this tree of which every single portion is of use to mankind and more so Goans to the status of a grass so that you could cut it randomly just like mowing the grass on your front lawn! The citizens of the State were up in arms seeking restoration of the protection of the coconut tree. Thankfully with the new government led by Manohar Parrikar that has come to power, it has not only restored the status of the coconut tree and the protection given to it but raised it to the level of the State Tree. Now the last part was not required but it is a case of overdoing something when you have made a mistake. But elevating coconut tree to State Tree has dislodged another tree. This has set the cat among the pigeons among the tree lovers questioning the displacing etc. but all this one would believe will end with both trees getting the same status to satisfy the rival lobbies. Like they say in democracy everyone gets to be heard. Other than this the situation about tree cutting is the same as enumerated above with the road widening and 4 laning of National Highways that crisscross this small State taking its toll on the trees and green cover. Not only that Nitin Gadkari's pet project of converting the Goa-Mumbai highway into a beautified expressway involves cutting of some 1000 trees in Ratnagiri district alone. Though activists have raised their arms in uproar one doubts whether they can withstand the might of the Minister of Surface Transport.
In all this sometimes the Forest Ministry and Depts., both Central as well as State, are complicit in cutting of trees. Thus when protectors turn killers the harm is more grievous and irreparable. As one knows and there is no need to recount here, the reason why this is done is corruption both of the kind like for promotions etc. and in normal material terms. Since when these people from the Forest Dept. are brought in as experts, they give strange logic. Like the tree the older it gets the roots go deeper into the ground and there is no need to leave any space around the tree trunk and if the tree is old like 40-60 years there is no harm in cutting it! To the latter logic then the government should launch a pogrom to kill all those humans who are older than 60 years so that the younger are better served! Another thing that they claim is more saplings will be planted than the number of trees being cut but there is no guarantee that first, the saplings will be planted as the Mumbai Metro has seen inspite of a commitment given to the High Court and whether these will grow to trees like who will tend them, protect them from stray cattle eating them etc. etc. Then the Forest Dept. Is prone to quote more often than not that the forest cover in the State and/or country is going up. Now this figure is not verifiable by any independent agency and whatever they say goes.
Thus if we are at all serious in this country about protecting trees and our green cover then our laws should be recast and stringent punishment given for any unauthorised tree cutting and damage to green cover. All trees should be treated as sacred as our scriptures have instituted and they should be cut in absolutely necessary and unavoidable circumstances. Otherwise whether it be in construction of private dwellings, housing complexes, public buildings and large projects, the tree should be the primary focus for saving and construction should be around it and avoiding it. If at this present rate the destruction of trees continues in the whole country, then in the course of the next century India will get denuded and will become a desert like the Gobi or Kalahari or Sahara and with temperatures going up our future generations will wonder why it is so hot and it will be because we failed in our duty to stop tree cutting now.
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