Environmental Issues

By committing itself to improving environmental conditions in the core region of the national capital, the new master plan for Delhi makes no significant departure from its predecessors. But the strategy for a balanced regional development, a relocation of industrial units to the peripheries, which appeared as a window-dressing in the first two master plans, has been entirely given the go-by.

Of Myths and Movements: Rewriting Chipko in the Himalayan History by Haripriya Rangan; OUP, 2001, (first published by Verso, 2000); pp 272 + xvi, Rs 595

With the recent Supreme Court verdict on Kudremukh Iron Ore Company, the associated discussions on mining by KIOCL are coming to a close. However, the environmental movement it spawned has several other issues to address, and importantly, the task of creating space for a larger debate from within.

The proposals of three state governments to lease the mining rights for monazite-ilmenite to private parties need a thorough debate on all aspects with regard to the release of radioactive elements, storage and safety of wastes, and impact on the environment and food chain, before the plans are pushed through.

The Aral Sea, a terminal lake fed by two major rivers, the Syrdarya and Amudarya forms a natural border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In 1960 it was the fourth largest lake in the world; today it is on the verge of deteriorating into a small and dirty waterhole. The destruction of the Aral Sea is an example of how quickly environmental and humanitarian tragedy can threaten a whole region. The destruction of the Aral Sea is a textbook example of unsustainable development.