Indian
subcontinent is very much dependent on yearly and timely monsoons, in particular
the South West monsoons. It is an important source of life sustaining water that
rejuvenates the ecosystem, it also is the source of rivers and precious groundwater.
It breathes life into myriad forms of living beings, not to forget the agriculture crops and therefore food security of a nation. The Western
Ghats is home to amazing biodiversity of flora and fauna. The intricate web of life
that is playing its magic for millions and millions of years. These hills form
an important source for monsoons pattern and distribution. They are the
starting points of not only life but are also the cradle of culture, the
folklores and myths. There are thousands of species that are endemic, many yet
to be discovered, many on the verge of extinction. Western Ghats therefore is
our heritage and needs protection. 
It
is in this context Madhav Gadgil report becomes significant, it is a definitive
starting point for public discussion in deciding how natural resources must be
utilized. There is cartel existing who are exploiting (plundering is a better
word) earth/nature for profit. They are gnawing on our future. They include the
unscrupulous business, politicians, bureaucrats so on. They have been looting the
nature for easy money for many decades now, but no more. It’s going to get
difficult from now on. They have brought delicate balance of life in Western
Ghats into serious crisis because of their myopic decisions for short term gains.
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) has designated the entire hill
range as an Ecologically Sensitive Area and suggested the formation of a
Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA), a statutory authority which enjoys the
powers under the Environment (Protection) Act.
It
has recommended to assess the current status of ecology of the Ghats region,
demarcate areas within the region that were to be notified as ecologically
sensitive ones and make recommendations for the conservation, protection and
rejuvenation of the entire area. Also a comprehensive study on the impact of
mining on the ecology, environment, human health, and biodiversity by a
competent multidisciplinary team. The report
has strongly criticized the government for its poor implementation of
environmental laws, serious systemic flaws that help culprits get away with
environmental destruction and how the benefits of many developmental projects
never reach some section of society.
The
Economists and Meteorologists are similar in that they live a charmed existence
and are never responsible for their decisions. It seems to fall into benevolent
nature of life they live, avuncular presences of 'underachievers' (pun intended!!). They are here, we are made to believe, trying to help. The question is not
whether economists are competent as economists but are economists competent as
human beings, do they have necessary quality as sensitivity to surrounding and
sensibility to the context called life. Or has the insular life in pits of GDPs
and fiscal deficits made them uniquely immune to existential realities. Forget
Indian economy but the lives of most people (i haven’t even come to biodiversity)
in this part of the world is connected to monsoons. The nature has been quite
benevolent for last many years. One can safely say that Indian economy -the
policy making hinged on pandering service industry and consumer products which
in turn work because of the population –would collapse if the monsoon fails.
The fact is human being live on food and plants needs proper climate and water.
In case one forgets water is needed for drinking; high GDP can never compensate
for water needs. Lakes, rivers, forests... are critical for our survival. 
Western
Ghats therefore needs protection, and immediate conservation measures need be
adopted. The policies for short term gains by economists, politicians/business
and bureaucrats need be checked by society. Policies that impact long time
survival and are unsustainable need be resisted. Policies that accentuate
social disparities should be prevented. Yes energy and power demands are high
but focus needs to be on renewable sources and most importantly existing
sources has to be made efficient (may i remind here that fuel guzzled in matter
of seconds by formula one juvenilities took millions of years to produce and is
depleting at a very fast rate). You cannot use resources to waste, that surely
is criminal. This blogger doesn’t really want it but wishes that monsoons
fails, and fails for many years, maybe that will be a wakeup call from slumber.
Then these economists (who are having stranglehold on policies) and policy
makers will realize the importance of sustainable development. Then maybe they
will understand the importance of conservation and significance of Western
Ghats.
Borsalino wins Bangalore Derby
It was a fantastic win by Borsalino (trained by Padmanabhan,
jockeyed by young Sandesh). A rare start to finish in a derby, and wining by 8 lengths.
Bravo!!!
