31 Oct PDF

INTERNATIONAL
DownToEarth
DAY OF CLIMATE
ACTION
16-31 OCTOBER, 2019
SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

FORTNIGHTLY ON POLITICS OFFORTNIGHTLY
DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH Subscriber copy, not for resale `60.00
WEATHER
MEANS
BUSINESS
Meteorological data is a public resource that
private players now want to monetise
+
tiger reserve
Mudumalai tribal
residents swindled of
their relocation money
P22
land
Ravines spreading in
central Gujarat
P26
01Cover.indd 1 11/10/19 12:39 PM

Five day training
programme on
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT ASSESSMENT
COURSE FEES
Rs 28,000 per person (for double
occupancy accommodation)
E nvironmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an important tool to inform
decision-makers, regulators and stakeholders, about the possible
environmental, social and economic costs of the proposed project. To be
Rs 35,000 per person (for single
effective, it requires the active involvement of all concerned stakeholders.
occupancy accommodation)
There is a genuine need to develop the capacity of all concerned stakeholders
(Includes Tuition fee, Training material,
including regulators to screen and scope the EIA process, to conduct transparent
External expert lectures and sessions,
Boarding and lodging, Transport from public consultations and to evaluate the EIA reports. At the same time, there
New Delhi to AAETI and back) is a need among environmental managers and NGOs to review and interpret
EIA report; and for consultants, institutions and academicians to conduct an
COURSE DURATION effective EIA process.
November 18 to 22, 2019
Centre for Science and Environment recognises this need and has
COURSE VENUE developed a hands-on five-day training programme aimed at giving exposure
Anil Agarwal Environment Training to the participants on EIA with specific reference to mining, power sector
Institute (AAETI), Nimli, Alwar
and infrastructure projects (road and highway). After the programme, the
(Rajasthan)
participants shall have an understanding of:
LAST DATE FOR APPLYING
1. Legal requirements: Environmental Clearance Process, Circulars and Office
November 10, 2019
Memorandums and other Laws and regulations applicable on projects
OPEN FOR ALL 2. Filling of Form 1 and Formulation of ToR for development programme
Functional Area Experts, Environment 3. Data Collection, Evaluation, Interpretation and Validation
Consultants, NGOs, Regulatory 4. Tools and thumb rules for environmental impact
Institutions (such as SPCB, State 5. Development of Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and Sector
Environment Impact Assessment Specific best practices for Mitigation
Authority), Students, Decision Makers
6. Risk Assessment
and Industry Professionals
7. Biodiversity Assessment and Conservation Plan
8. Socio-Economic Impact and Gender Inclusion
9. Review and Evaluation of EIA Report
Selection will
be done on first For registration: Kindly email at: vikrant@cseindia.org or
come first arjunvir.chak@cseindia.org
basis
For details contact: Vikrant Wankhede, Programme Officer or Arjunvir Kol Chak, Research Associate
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi-110062
Email at: vikrant@cseindia.org or arjunvir.chak@cseindia.org
Mobile: +919999160725 / +919140693585 / +919650737735 / +919899676027
Phone: +91-11-2995 5124/ 6110 (Ext. 383) • Fax: +91-11-2995 5879 Website: www.cseindia.org
02Five day training programme on Environmental Impact Assessment.indd 2 09/10/19 3:12 PM

SUNITA NARAIN \ EDIT
The battle for clear skies and lungs

W
INTER IS nearly here and we in Delhi are waiting not to exhale, as the cold heavier air will settle
and air pollution will choke us. But with a difference—there is outrage and there is action. There is
even evidence that we have bent the pollution curve—though not enough, it does suggest that action
is beginning to have an impact. This is what we need. I say this because often, in our combined anger, we forget
to stay focused on the need to act, and in a way that we can see the difference, so that we can do more. This is
critical. As only when we remain focused on what we must do, can we get our non-negotiable right to breathe.
So, what has happened. First, there is public information about the state of air quality and its link to our
health. Some years ago, government brought in the air quality index (aqi), in which, we were told, at each
level of pollution its impact on our health. Then, we have a large number of air quality monitoring stations
providing real-time information. This knowledge, available on a breath to breath basis, is on our phones, in
our face. We know when it is toxic to breathe. We know and we are angry. Let’s also be clear, this network of
stations does not exist in any other part of the country—most cities have one or two monitors, and so they
don’t know. But in Delhi, toxic air has become a political issue—almost a tug of war between different parties
vying for credit. This is great.
Two, there is action. Over the past few years, much has been done—from the introduction of the much
cleaner BS VI fuel ahead of schedule to the closing of coal-based power plants to the fact that today all use of
pet coke, furnace oil and even coal in Delhi has been completely banned for industrial use. This is good, but not
enough. Delhi needs a complete transition to clean fuel—gas or electricity.
Diesel car sales are down, partly because of government policy to reduce the price differential between diesel
and petrol. And partly because courts have come down heavily on these
vehicles, mandating age limits and in general making people aware of the Diesel car sales are
toxicity of this fuel. A few years ago, the Supreme Court put the first congestion down, partly because
charge to deter trucks from traversing through the city, spewing pollutants. of government policy
This year this step will fructify. The eastern and western expressways to reduce the price
designed for heavy duty traffic to bypass the city, have been finally made differential between
operational. Then entry points into the city have been made cashless, using diesel and petrol
rfid technology and this means deterrence will be effective. The number of
trucks entering will reduce, as will pollution. We now need to supplement this with public transport
augmentation at a scale that will take us all out of private vehicles. Right now, this is not happening.
More has been done. But what is important is that these steps are showing up in numbers. My colleagues
have analysed decadal air quality data and they find the following. One, the periodicity of the smog period is
getting shorter—it is starting later and ending earlier. Two, data from air quality stations that have been
operational for the past eight years or so, for which there is comparative data, show a downward trend—close to
25 per cent decline in the past three years, as compared to the previous three-year period. This is corroborated
by data from all stations as well. This is good news. Now the bad new: there is a decline, but it is not good
enough. We need to reduce another 65 per cent to get air of the quality we deserve.
It also means that we have run out of small options—the first and second generation reforms are done. And,
with all this done, we still have a huge distance to go. The transition to clean air requires massive change in the
way we burn fuel. All coal use must be banned or enforcement of pollution from this dirty fuel stepped up big
time. We must reduce the number of vehicles on the road by investing in buses, metros, cycling tracks and safe
pavements for walking. We must also replace the older vehicles with BS VI, at least the more polluting varieties.
But all this will not add up until we address local sources of pollution—simply burning garbage, dust and
smoke from all cooking sources and the rest. These are difficult to control unless we have effective ground level
enforcement, or we have alternatives that can be used. Plastic and other industrial and household garbage has
to be segregated, collected and processed so that it is not dumped and burnt. But local enforcement is the
weakest link in the anti-pollution fight. But let’s stay focused—engaged and outraged. We will win this battle
for our blue skies and clear lungs. D T E @sunitanar
FOR ALL EDITORIALS, SCAN DOWNTOEARTH.ORG.IN 16-31 OCTOBER 2019 DOWN TO EARTH 3
03Editors.indd 3 11/10/19 12:39 PM

Down To Earth
Founded in 1992 to arm you with
knowledge critical to shaping a better world
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18 Warming oceans
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K C R Raja, raja@cseindia.org
As intense marine heatwaves 50 Interview
become frequent, glaciers are Government policies have stalled
melting like never before the income growth of the poor
26 Gujarat's bane 58 Civil Lines

Ravines are spreading in four Relentless urbanisation of India
districts of the state poses a threat to agriculture
Cover design: Ajit Bajaj
Down To Earth does not endorse the content of advertisements printed in the magazine. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only.
04-05Credits+content.indd 4 11/10/19 12:39 PM

Contents INTERNATIONAL DAY
OF CLIMATE ACTION
OCTOBER 24
22
54
Conned tribal
residents of
Mudumalai
Tiger Reserve left
with neither land
nor money to
relocate
A celebrity
veterinarian's
memoir on how
he learned
the tricks of
the trade
56
Once the hottest
chilli, bhut jolokia
loses flavour. Blame
it on large-scale
cross-pollination
04-05Credits+content.indd 5 11/10/19 12:39 PM

WE ARE LIVE NOW!
WE ARE LIVE NOW!
PAGEVIEWS
2 5 8 7 0 5 0 4
USERS
0 9 5 6 0 0 9 2
AND COUNTING...
Kn wledge
LOG IN
www.downtoearth.org.in
For up-to-date information, critical analysis

and a better insight into issues related to
INDIA | WORLD | AFRICA | CLIMATE CHANGE | HEALTH | AIR | FOOD | ENVIRONMENT | AGRICULTURE |
MINING | WATER | NATURAL DISASTERS | URBANISATION | WASTE | ENERGY | WILDLIFE & BIODIVERSITY |
ECONOMY | SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | GOVERNANCE | FORESTS | LIFESTYLE
Note: Figures for a year till August 2019
06DTE Ad knowledge NEW.indd 6 09/10/19 3:12 PM

Engage editor@downtoearth.org.in
@down2earthindia
@dtemagazine
www.downtoearth.org.in
 A number of studies have

cautioned the government that
areas are turning into deserts due
to degradation of forests. Climate
change is only exacerbating the
process. A shrinking cultivatable
land has already started threaten-
ing our food security. Successive
governments have offered lip
service but not taken concrete
measures to increase the green
cover and to safeguard forests from
the mafia. It’s time drastic steps are
taken on a war footing to increase
forest cover.
K R SRINIVASAN
SECUNDERABAD
 Desertification is a concern for

most countries now. Humans have
played a major role in this process
by harmful activities. There is a need
Desertification an for concerted government policies

both at the state level as well as at
eye-opener the Centre. The government should

not only allocate exclusive funds to
fight desertification, it should also
This refers to the cover story “A quarter under desertification” set up an expert committee to
(1-15 September 2019). Desertification never occurred to me as a suggest remedial measures. People
catastrophe until it was highlighted as such by Down To Earth and at the living near deserts should be part of
recently concluded United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in the fight.
Greater Noida. I viewed deserts as existing naturally in Rajasthan. The statistics D B N MURTHY
BENGALURU
showing 41 pert cent of Himachal Pradesh as desert alarmed me. Then I
recollected my service days in Kaza in Himachal Pradesh in the 1980s, when
the state forest department was undertaking a desert development Fortification will
programme. They used to plant willow saplings every year perfunctorily but only help cartels
cared least to protect them. The saplings were eaten up by the yaks during This is with reference to “Fortunate
winters, leaving the patches denuded again. five” (16-30 September 2019).
P H OTO G R A P H : M I D H U N / C S E
In addition to the natural factors, such as wind, drought and excessive Fortification of grains with
rains, I think that humans, to a great extent, are also responsible for desertifica- micronutrients, like vitamin B12, iron
tion. Over population, urbanisation, developmental pressure on forests are and folic acid, only benefits cartels
human-made catalysts that cause desertification. It is good that now there is a and the corrupt. It is also bad for
global programme that aims at reclaiming the desertified and degraded lands. health and the environment.
L R SHARMA VIJAY SARDANA
SUNDERNAGAR VIA EMAIL
DOWNTOEARTH.ORG.IN 16-31 OCTOBER 2019 DOWN TO EARTH 7
07-09Engage.indd 7 07/10/19 4:19 PM

DTE TV
Damming the drought

Most in Jharkhand’s Bero block,
near capital Ranchi, refer to
Simon Oraon as “Baba”, and for
a reason. He managed to
drought-proof several villages by
inspiring people to set up check

dams and ponds to conserve
water, and by protecting sal
forests of the area. Watch this
video to find how the Padma Shri
recipient has helped protect 500
ha from water shortage.
Rich harm planet,poor face heat
This is in reference to “Chilly twist to ozone war” (16-30 September 2019). It
FOR MORE VIDEOS, SCAN
is the elites who damage the planet using artificial cooling techniques,
whereas the climatic repercussions affect the poor more. By money power,
the rich escape the repercussions, but the poor have to face unbearable
DATA CENTRE climatic conditions leading to physical discomfort on the one hand and loss
of livelihood leading to financial infirmity on the other. Thus, climate change
No water, no wheat deepens the societal inequalities and manufactures poverty. People say that
Almost 60 per cent of the world’s a mother does not discriminate between her children, but it appears that
wheat-growing areas will face Mother Nature is unkind towards her poorer children.
severe water scarcity by the end VENKATESH PRASAD
of the century unless climate NELLORE
change is mitigated.
Punjab needs its water
Under-5 mortality This is in reference to “Punjab can’t scrap water-sharing agreements with
down globally states: Supreme Court” published online on November 11, 2016. If Punjab
The under-5 mortality rate in the will continue sharing the water with other states, then the day is not far
world fell to 39 per 1,000 live when its land will become unproductive because the groundwater level is
I L L U S T R AT I O N : TA R I Q U E A Z I Z / C S E
births in 2018, down from 93 in dropping every day. Land requires a specific amount of moisture to grow
1990. Despite the progress, on wheat and paddy. Farmers require water to feed a million mouths. Punjab
an average, 15,000 children died can recover if other states start paying the royalty for using Punjab’s water.
every day in 2018, down from So technically, neither the Supreme Court is making a fair judgement nor is
34,000 deaths a day in 1990. it willing to provide financial aid to farmers to set up other sources to boost
the water table.
FOR MORE INFOGRAPHICS, SCAN RAMANDEEP K
VIA EMAIL
07-09Engage.indd 8 07/10/19 4:20 PM

Improving farming practices not enough FACEBOOK
This is in reference to “Value of soil” (1-15 September 2019). Improving
agriculture practices is not the only solution for sustainable land management. Government wants to
What about the use of land for industry that creates enormous waste and dump excess food grain
pollution? What about waste management? These too should be addressed for in Africa
sustainable soil conservation.
Posted on September 19, 2019
KIRAN JOHNSON
VIA EMAIL Obviously, the National Food Security
Act does not sync with the current
dispensations in the food ministry
Just loans don’t help nor with higher-ups that matter
This is in reference to “Need public spending to fund Sustainable Development
JACOB GEORGE
Goals: UNCTAD” published online on September 26, 2019. The new global
financial mechanism to achieve the SDGs, said the report, should create a Why can’t they release excess stocks
long-sought global environmental protection fund to support poor and developing in market to bring local food grain
countries without strict prices to lower levels?
policies and conditional- RAHUL PATHAK
ties. It should also include

How can there be excess food grain
easy lending programmes when there are still starving people,
to achieve SDGs for low do tell ?
and lower-middle-income
DERICK JOHNSOHNE
developing countries till
2030. If the world really facebook.com/down2earthindia
wants to lift poor countries

out of poverty, this is not NOTICE BOARD
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these rural communities will rise above the poverty line and become food and Apply for brochure and application form to:
water-secure. By giving them loans you are not really lifting their status. Brian Jenkins BA (Hons.,) Sussex University.
Email:cloaat@yahoo.com Website:www.cloaat.com
DORNADULA CHANDRASEKHARAM
HYDERABAD
Highest Organic
tea garden in the World
Give Narmada victims their due
This is in reference to “Narmada dam oustees not satisfied with Madhya Pradesh
Green, White
government assurances” published online on September 12, 2019. The affected Oolong &
people need to get their dues right now. It is sad enough to lose your home and Speciality Teas
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Down To Earth welcomes letters, responses and other contributions from readers. www.unitednilgiritea.com
Write to Sunita Narain, Editor, Down To Earth, 41,Tughlakabad Institutional Area, Shop online at
New Delhi - 110062 or send email to editor@downtoearth.org.in www.chamrajtea.in
07-09Engage.indd 9 07/10/19 4:20 PM

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your preferred emailing address to: cse@cseindia.org. Thanks a lot.
10Toolkit ad.indd 10 09/10/19 3:12 PM

Digest
WHAT’S INSIDE
Organic farming by father and Not even 1 per cent of the India recorded 1,250
daughter converts wasteland Earth’s carbon reserves high rainfall days this
into food forest P12 are above surface P13 monsoon P16
1,000 WORDS VIKAS CHOUDHARY
Chandu Lal Prajapati of Kumhar Gram in New Delhi’s Uttam Nagar area is worried about his livelihood. Since January, the
Municipal Corporation of Delhi has shut down over 22 wood-operated kilns in the locality that has over 700 families engaged
in pottery. The families have recently staged protests at Jantar Mantar demanding the government to provide subsidies to
migrate to cleaner electric kilns that cost `6-7 lakh
FOR MORE PHOTOS, SCAN
11-16Digest.indd 11 11/10/19 1:53 PM

Digest/IN FRONT
Trees of hope
IN 1988, Sabarmatee and her father
Father-daughter pond, which is at the lowest elevation,
Radhamohan were warned by the people has enough water for the paddy fields. It is
when they decided to buy half a hectare duo reclaim designed in such a way that the water flows
(ha) of degraded land in Nayagarh district degraded land in like a spring into the paddy fields, eliminating
of Odisha to start organic farming.“It was the need for irrigation.
a little known method then so we thought Odisha by creating Sabarmatee today runs a non-profit
of experimenting with it to not just revive a food forest called Sambhav which trains farmers from
the small land but the entire area,” says across the country on organic farming.
Sabarmatee.Today, she has converted over SRIKANT CHAUDHARY She has also started an initiative called
36 ha of degraded land into what she calls “Adopt a Seed” where she gives region-
“food forest”.While 32 ha of the forests specific seed varieties for free to farmers on
have fruit trees such as mango, coconut the condition that they will popularise it in
and lemons, 1 ha is used for growing paddy the region. She says the right seed variety
and half a ha for vegetables.The forest also can sustain extreme weather events and
supports a seed bank that has over 700 provide a secure livelihood.The initiative
indigenous seed varieties, nearly 500 of also promotes crop diversification, which
which are of paddy. can protect farmers during extreme
The father-daughter duo achieved the weather events or pest attacks.“In the
feat by introducing soil and water conse- case of monoculture, the entire crop can
rvation methods.“The first step was to revive be destroyed during a natural calamity.
the top soil. So we planted specific species But if farmers follow multi-cropping, then
like bamboo, sabai grass and hill brooms that varieties that are resilient to a particular
arrest erosion. At the same time, we allowed weather phenomenon will survive and the
natural vegetation to grow,” says Sabarmatee. farmer will not lose the entire crop. During
They relied heavily on mulching to improve cyclone Phailin in 2013, she had cultivated
the moisture levels of the soil.“Soon insects 365 varieties of paddy. Of them, 34 varieties
and white ants started burrowing the land remained standing, the rest flattened.
that further helped in percolating water. “We also have varieties that can sustain
Next, we introduced leguminous plants to droughts, others that repel animals,”
improve the nitrogen content,” she says. Over she says.
time, they created three rainwater harvesting In 2018, Sabarmatee was awarded the
ponds of varied sizes at different elevations Nari Shakti Award by the President of India
that are connected to each other. The third for her conservation work.
11-16Digest.indd 12 07/10/19 4:20 PM

QUERY\ Digest
Humans now emit enough CO2
to cause mass extinction
RAJIT SENGUPTA
NOT EVEN one per cent of professor of Petrology at

the Earth’s total carbon— Queensland University of
about 43,500 gigatonnes Technology in Brisbane,
(Gt)—is above surface, in Australia and a dco
the oceans, on land and collaborator. The Earth
in the atmosphere. The needs carbon dioxide
rest—an estimated 1.85 (CO2) in its atmosphere
billion gigatonnes—is to sustain the natural
stored inside the Earth, greenhouse effect
according to the Deep that prevents us from
Carbon Observatory freezing. At the same
(dco), a 10-year-long time, roughly equal
collaboration of over 1,000 amounts of atmospheric
scientists across the world carbon returns to the
who were studying the Earth through the
quantities, movements, downward subduction
forms and origins of of tectonic plates
carbon in the Earth. A researcher collects gas samples at Lastarria Volcano, Chile and other processes,
“For over billions of the atmosphere via the oceanic ridges keeping the carbon
years, carbon from the prominently visible where new oceanic plates cycle in equilibrium.
interior of the Earth volcanoes and from less are formed,” says “However, anthropogenic
has been released into visible emissions along Balz S Kamber, combustion of fossil
fuels has completely
“WE ARE DISRUPTING EARTH’S CARBON CYCLE” overwhelmed the natural
New Zealand-based volcanoes.Why is it a cause emissions,” adds Kamber.
volcanologist Cynthia Werner, for concern? The researchers found
who was part of the decade- In Earth’s history, there that volcanoes emit 280
long research talks about how have been a number of to 360 million tonnes of
CO2 each year, and that
P H OTO G R A P H : Y V E S M O U S S A L L A M , L A M O N T D O H E R T Y E A R T H O B S E R VATO R Y
humans are disrupting the catastrophic events such as

carbon cycle meteor impacts or massive this is 40 to 100 times less
volcanic eruptions that lasted than CO2 emissions due to
How does Deep Carbon tens of thousands of years. human activities. This is
Observatory’s findings These events increased worrying because in the
change the current under- atmospheric carbon dioxide past 500 million years, the
standing of global warming? levels drastically and are period when complex life
Before the industrial which took millions of years to often correlated with mass forms arrived on Earth,
revolution, the Earth’s deep form as fossil fuels and would extinctions.The amount of the carbon equilibrium
carbon cycle was roughly have otherwise been locked carbon dioxide emitted in has been disrupted four
in balance.This means the inside the Earth, and emitting it 10 years by human activities times and they resulted
amount of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere rapidly. This is similar to one of these in mass extinctions. “In
emitted to the atmosphere is upsetting the balance of the catastrophic events. Without the future, the 20th and
by volcanoes was removed carbon cycle. intervention, the Earth will 21st centuries will be seen
by the weathering of rocks eventually consume this as a period that recorded
and subduction of the Earth’s The findings suggest that the excess carbon dioxide, but the extinction of a large
plates.What humans are now anthropogenic CO2 emission studies have shown this may number of species,”
doing is taking that carbon, is 40 to 100 times more than take 100,000 years. says Kamber.
11-16Digest.indd 13 07/10/19 4:20 PM

CROSS HAIRS SORIT GUPTO
FOR MORE CARTOONS, SCAN
India has highest multi-drug resistant TB cases

OVER 21.5 million tuberculosis (TB) cases were recorded to diabetes. The percentage of paediatric TB cases have
in 2018, which is 17 per cent higher than the year before, also gone up.According to the 2019 report, as many as
suggests the Annual India TB Report 2019. Uttar Pradesh 133,059 paediatric TB patients were notified, which is over
has the highest TB burden (20 per cent), followed by 6 per cent of the total notified cases. In the last report, the
Maharashtra (10 per cent) and Rajasthan (7 per cent). corresponding figure was only 6 per cent.The country also
The country has also recorded a spike in TB in hiv-infected recorded high drug-resistant tuberculosis. India has 26,966
people—from 43,253 cases in 2017 to 50,000 cases a year mdr-TB (multi-drug resistant TB) patients, the highest in the
later. Besides, over 0.5 million cases of TB can be attributed world, and 2,130 xdr-TB patients.
14 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 OCTOBER 2019 DOWNTOEARTH.ORG.IN
11-16Digest.indd 14 07/10/19 4:20 PM

National Remote Sensing Centre
Indian Space Research Organisation
Government of India
Only Organisation in the Country

to Acquire & Supply
Satellite Data to Users
Aerial Acquisition for Speciﬁc
User Demands &
Disaster Management Support
A Smart
Destination
for
Geospatial Solutions
Open Data & Thematic
Products Dissemination
Through Bhuvan
Development of Techniques
for Remote Sensing Applications Region Speciﬁc Solutions
through RRSCs
Turnkey solutions
for National Projects
Capacity Building in
Remote Sensing Applications
through Training & Outreach Facility
www.nrsc.gov.in www.bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in data@nrsc.gov.in
15nrsc ad.indd 15 09/10/19 3:13 PM

Digest/MONSOON
Heavily Weather forecasters initially predicted a deficit monsoon this year on the
back of a delayed start and slow progress. But heavy rains later have
delayed
made this monsoon the wettest in 25 years. Even its withdrawal, which
should have started on September 1, is delayed by 40 days
Normal onset and progress

-21% -10%
(Actual onset and progress)
Jammu & Kashmir
Himachal Normal withdrawal
Pradesh (Projected withdrawal)
-18% -15%
Uttarakhand
-9% -17% Meghalaya
-42% Uttar West Bengal
-5% Haryana Pradesh -11%
(July 19)
Punjab
July 15
3% -10% Arunachal
Assam Pradesh
-15% Bihar
Chandigarh (UT) 22%
Sikkim
-35%
Delhi
40%
Rajasthan er 1
te mb 10) y1 )
Sep tober Jul 4-18 June 15
( O c l y
(Ju (June 28-July 3)
43%
Gujarat
44%
Madhya Pradesh Jun -5%
(Jun e 10 Tripura
e 24
) -9%
34% -18% Mizoram
Daman & Diu (Ut)
Jharkhand
68%
Dadra & Nagar e5 ) 7%
Jun 20-23 Odisha
Haveli
ne -56%
(Ju Manipur
June 1 ) 6% 10%
-9
32% (June 8 Telangana Chhattisgarh
Goa
10%
32% Andhra Pradesh
Maharashtra 30% -13%
23% Puducherry Nagaland
Karnataka
41%
22% Andaman &
Lakshadweep 17% State-wise rainfall deviation
13% Tamil Nadu
Nicobar between June 1 and September 30
Kerala
DOWNPOUR
This monsoon
saw 1,250* very high
rain days
123* 458* 399* 270*
June July August September
Large Excess (>60%) Excess (20 to 60%) Normal (-19% to 19%) Deficient (-20 to -60%)
* Days when rainfall exceedes 124.4 mm Source: India Meteorological Department; Data updated till October 3, 2019; Design: Vijayendra Pratap Singh
in a district Analysis: Giriraj Amarnath, International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka
11-16Digest.indd 16 07/10/19 4:20 PM

ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT IN INDUSTRIES
TRAINING PROGRAMME
November 12-15, 2019
Environmental issues like climate change, water availability, 2019 at its exclusive training centre at Alwar, Rajasthan to
pollution, waste generation and disposal are commanding provide hands-on experience to industries.
considerable global attention. Industries, being a major The takeaway from this training programme includes
consumer of natural resources and also a significant improved understanding on:
contributor to increasing pollution and waste generation, 1. Environmental Laws for better compliance;
have a key role in addressing current and emerging 2. Pollution assessment of various sources (unit
environmental issues. Lack in fulfillment of this role has operation and process wise)
adversely affected the overall image of the industries. 3. Performance evaluation of pollution control devices
4. Protocol for stack monitoring with on-site
The key to industrial transformation lies in achieving demonstration
sustainability by working in harmony with the environment 5. Issues and Challenges with Continuous Emission
and society. This will require development of expertise Monitoring System
among industrial professionals to deal with upcoming 6. Introduction to ISO 50001: A tool for sustainable
environmental challenges along with professional skills energy management
for stakeholder engagement. Centre for Science and 7. Protocol for conducting environmental audit for
Environment (CSE) recognizes this need of the hour and improving resource management;
is conducting a four-day training programme in November, 8. Public engagement and outreach
FOR REGISTRATIONS mail at: ishita.garg@cseindia.org

COURSE FEES
Rs 23,000/- per participant for
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Rs 30,000/- per participant for
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(Fees includes training material,
boarding and lodging, travel from
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COURSE DURATION
COURSE VENUE
Anil Agarwal Environment Training
Institute (AAETI), Nimli, Rajasthan

October 30, 2019
OPEN FOR
Environment Managers; Production
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bodies, NGO’s
For further queries contact: Ishita Garg, Programme Officer

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Ph: 91-11-40616000 (Ext. 251) Email: ishita.garg@cseindia.org
Mobile: +91-9899676011 Website: www.cseindia.org
SPECIAL OFFER:
15% off for group participation (2 or more) from the same organization
17Environmental management in industries (Nov 12-15, 2019).indd 17 10/10/19 10:23 AM

INTERNATIONAL DAY
OF CLIMATE ACTION
OCTOBER 24
Towards turbulence
T
As countries grapple with HE TIMING could not have been more coinci-
dental. As the ocean off the western coast of
intense marine heat waves North America warms up at an unusually rapid
pace, triggering fears of drought and warnings of harm
and stronger storms, the latest to salmons, sea lions and other marine life, the Inter-
IPCC report says climate governmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc) has re-
leased a report that says marine heat waves have
change has already altered become twice more frequent in the past four decades
our oceans, polar regions and and are lasting longer.
“The world’s ocean and cryosphere have been ‘taking
P H OTO G R A P H : R E U T E R S
high snowy mountains the heat’ from climate change for decades, and conse-
quences for nature and humanity are sweeping and se-
AKSHIT SANGOMLA NEW DELHI vere,” Ko Barrett, vice-chair of ipcc, said while releasing
the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a
Changing Climate (sroccc). Prepared with reference to
18-20 Special Report-01.indd 18 10/10/19 11:29 AM

OCEAN \CLIMATE CHANGE
The report finds that human marine productivity in the North
activities are responsible for 84 to Atlantic, more storms in Northern
90 per cent of the marine heat Europe, less Sahelian summer
waves that occurred in the last one rainfall and South Asian summer
decade, and says the ocean will rainfall, a reduced number of tro-
continue to warm throughout the pical cyclones in the Atlantic and
21st century. By 2081, the frequency an increase in regional sea level
of marine heat waves could jump by along the northeast coast of North
20 to 50 times. America, the report warns.
These events would particularly
become frequent in the Arctic and SLOW WIND SPEED was a
tropical oceans. Since ocean warm- reason behind intensification of
ing reduces mixing between water extremely severe cyclone Fani, of
layers and, as a consequence, the category 4, which battered the east-
supply of oxygen and nutrients for ern Indian coast in May this year.
marine life, marine heat waves will sroccc says there is an emerging
have disastrous effects on several evidence of an annual increase in
ecosystems as well as economies. percentage of category 4 and 5
For instance, in 2014-15, when the storms in recent decades. These
northern Pacific Ocean had seen storms further sustain their stren-
such unusually warm water, it had gth by feeding on the moisture over
boosted the growth of toxin-produc- warm ocean waters. The link
ing algae and suppressed the became evident during late Sept-
growth of small organisms at the ember, when in a rare occurrence,
Hurricane Lorenzo hits the
Azores islands of Portugal on base of the ocean food chain. The tropical storm Lorenzo waltzed
October 2, 2019. Lorenzo evolved impacts rippled through ocean eco- across the unusually warm north-
into a category 5 hurricane after
it waltzed across the unusually systems, with mass die-offs of eastern Atlantic Ocean for a few
warm Northeastern Atlantic salmon, seabirds and other marine days and then evolved into a cate-
Ocean for a few days
mammals, and the closure of gory 5 hurricane.
In the absence of an El Niño
event, the World Meteorological
FROM 1993 TO 2017, BOTH THE RATE OF OCEAN
Organization (wmo) has already
WARMING AND THE AMOUNT OF HEAT INTAKE UP TO hinted at global warming as a cause
A DEPTH OF 2,000 METRES HAVE DOUBLED AS of current increase in sea surface
COMPARED TO THE 1969-1993 PERIOD temperatures around the world. Its
warning sits well with long-term
7,000 scientific publications, sroccc several fisheries. ocean warming trend observed by
is the first such report to look into But a more pronounced effect of sroccc, which says from 1993 to
the impacts of climate change on such marine heat waves would be 2017, both the rate of ocean warm-
the planet’s vast oceans and fragile on wind circulation. The direct ing and the amount of heat intake
ice sheets, which are home to some cause of heat is weak winds. And, up to a depth of 2,000 m, have dou-
1,500 million people and influence as the report indicates, the Atlantic bled as compared to the 1969-1993
everything from climate and energy Meridional Overturning Circula- period. By 2100, this figure could
to trade, transport and culture tion (amoc), which ensures north- increase up to five to seven times.
worldwide. “The rapid changes to ward flow of warm, salty water in Along with the expansion of
the ocean and the frozen parts of the upper layers of the Atlantic and warmer ocean, growing water inp-
our planet are forcing people from a southward flow of colder, deep uts from ice sheets in Greenland
coastal cities to remote Arctic com- waters, has already weakened. Any and Antarctica, and meltwater
munities to fundamentally alter substantial weakening of the amoc from glaciers in polar and mountain
their ways of life,” said Barrett. would cause further decrease in regions are contributing to an in-
18-20 Special Report-01.indd 19 10/10/19 11:29 AM

CLIMATE CHANGE /OCEAN
Warming seas
During the 20th century, the sea level rose globally by about 15 cm relative to 1986-2005 5
average. It is now rising twice as fast and could reach up to 60 cm by 2100

4
*
Projected sea level rise in a low greenhouse gas
emission scenario, high mitigation future 0.84m 3
Metres
0.43m
Projected sea level rise in a high greenhouse
gas emission scenario in absence of policies to 2
combat climate change
*
1
0
1950 2000 2050 2100 2150 2200 2250 2300
Year
Note: Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2019
creasing rate of sea level rise. While AHEAD OF THE summit, UN annually. The EU announced to
the sea level rose globally by about Secretary General Antonio Guterr- devote 25 per cent of its next budget
15 cm during the 20th century, it is es had called on world leaders, on climate related activities. Prime
now rising twice as fast and could private companies and international Minister Narendra Modi reiterated
reach up to 60 cm by 2100, even if organisations to come to uncas with India’s previous commitments to
greenhouse gas emissions are shar- enhanced commitments. But expec- combat climate change and annou-
ply reduced and global warming is tations dampened when four of the nced a new target of achieving 450
limited to below 2oC. top 15 highest net emitters of GW renewable energy without
However, the report warns, sea greenhouse gases—the US, Japan, giving a specific date for the same.
level rise could reach 60 to 110 cm if Brazil and Australia—refused to Though 65 countries committed to
emissions continue to increase revise their commitments and the enhance their ndcs and cut green-
strongly. “The more decisively and oil-rich Saudi Arabia and South house gas emissions to net zero by
earlier we act, the more able we Africa did not participate. Most cou- 2050, it did not raise the global
will be to address unavoidable ntries only announced to boost their commitment even by three-fold. “At
changes, manage risks and achieve national action plans. China said it the current rate of emissions the
sustainability for ecosystems,” says would pursue a path of low-carbon world can end up with an average
Debra Roberts, co-chair of ipcc development and announced nature- warming of anywhere between
Working Group II. based solutions that could unlock up 2.7oC and 3.7oC which would have
These were also the concerns to 12 billion tonnes of global devastating impacts, especially on
highlighted in the United in Sci- emissions reductions and removals the oceans,” Guterres said.
ence report, prepared by the world’s “You are failing us. But young
leading climate science organisa- people are starting to understand
tions for the UN Climate Action AT THE CURRENT RATE your betrayal. The eyes of all future
Summit (uncas), held in New York OF EMISSIONS, THE generations are upon you, and if
on September 23. The report calls WORLD CAN END UP you choose to fail us, I say, we will
for a five-fold increase in nationally WITH AN AVERAGE never forgive you.” This was
determined contributions (ndcs), 16-year-old Swedish climate activ-
WARMING OF
volunteered by countries under the ist Greta Thunberg’s appeal to
2015 Paris Agreement, to limit glo-
ANYWHERE BETWEEN world leaders at the summit. The
bal warming to within 1.5oC above 2.7OC AND 3.7OC, world leaders’ response to her ap-
pre-industrial levels and a three- WHICH WOULD HAVE peal was little more than business
fold increase to stay below 2oC rise. DEVASTATING IMPACTS as usual. D T E @down2earthindia
18-20 Special Report-01.indd 20 11/10/19 1:54 PM

21AMWAY's new creative.indd 21 09/10/19 3:13 PM
FOREST /INVESTIGATION
M Kamalechi of
Pulliyalam village was
conned into paying
`3.70 lakh for land that
cannot be sold
Relocation
charade
21 tribal families say forest officials
allied with property dealers to dupe
them of the money they received
for relocating from Tamil Nadu’s
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
ISHAN KUKRETI THE NILGIRIS
I
T’S A case of lies, deception and by fraudulently selling him
dubious land deals. And com- poramboke land in Gudalur block.
The Nilgiris
TAMIL NADU munities living in the pristine Poramboke land is common land
Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu are that cannot be owned by anyone.
at the receiving end of it all. “They did not tell me this was not
Fifty-something S Kannan, for their private property,” he says.
instance, who belongs to the Paniya Kannan is not the only one che-
tribe, used to live in Pulliyalam ated. As many as 21 tribal people,
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve village set deep inside the district’s looking forward to the relocation
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (mtr) till programme that would have finally
September 2018. But fraudulent given them land ownership, have
activities by the officials responsible suffered a serious setback. Collecti-
for a relocation programme from vely, they have been swindled of `2
the reserve’s core area have left him crore. They filed an fir on
squatting on a tiny 14 sq m patch of September 3, this year, in which
land outside the forest which he can Kannan is the main complainant.
never own. But Adivasi Munnetra Sangam,
P H OTO G R A P H : I S H A N K U K R E T I / C S E
As the first instalment, the state a tribal-led non-profit working in

government paid Kannan `4 lakh Gudalur, believes the scam has a
to leave his ancestral home inside much bigger magnitude. In
mtr to create inviolate space for January this year, it sent a letter to
tigers and elephants. But land the National Commission for
brokers, in connivance with the Scheduled Castes stating that 93
forest range officer and an advocate, families have been duped of `6.70
extracted the amount from Kannan lakh each.

40 YEARS OF STRUGGLE
The demand for relocation of communities from the
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) dates back to the 1980s.
Five communities live in seven hamlets inside the reserve:
the Paniya, Katunaicka, Kurumba and Irula are Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), and Chetti is non-tribal.
The Chettis came after the PVTGs settled in MTR.
They are cultivators and have titles for their land.The
tribals, apart from sustaining on non-timber forest produce
from forest land, also worked as labourers on Chettis’
farms.As the protection and population of elephants grew
over the years, the Chettis demanded they be moved out
of the reserve.
In 1992, the Gudalur Revenue Divisional Officer
created a relocation plan for them and identified a forest
land in Ayyankoli village.The administration did not act
on it, and in 1998, the Chettis move high court, where the
community was represented by advocate C Sukumaran. In
2007, the high court ordered their relocation within a year.
Between 2007 and 2014, the government de-
notified 395.11 ha forest land in Ayyankoli for relocation.
In December 2014, the government sent the first proposal
to National Tiger Conservation Authority for the relocation
of 255 families.The Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change approved the proposal in January
2016.The three-phase relocation process began in
October 2016.
IT ALL BEGAN in October 2016 Aiyankolli village. But people like kolli and Patavail villages in the
after the relocation programme Kannan, who did not have land fringe areas of mtr. This was their
took off in mtr in three phases. The titles, were “given” Option I. This strategy. “The brokers would visit
first phase, completed in 2016-17, meant each family would get a total the village, take four to five people
involved relocation of 58 tribal and of `10 lakh in three instalments. along and show them the land.
177 non-tribal families from Bennai Lawyer C Sukumaran and Kumar and Sukumaran would also
and Nellikarai villages. This was Nellakottai range officer Suresh take people there in the forest
followed by the relocation of 55 Kumar, who are on the District department vehicle. They never told
tribal and 200 non-tribal families Level Committee (dlc) in-charge of us that it was government land that
from Mandakarai, Nagampalli and relocating people, swung in action we could not buy,” says Kannan.
Pulliyalam villages in 2017-18. The on June 9, 2018, when the Ministry He decided to buy 14 sq m in
last phase, that should get over in of Environment, Forest and Climate Machhikolli because it has road
2019, involves 25 tribal and 186 Change sanctioned `25.50 crore for connectivity. E J Joseph, one of the
non-tribal families from Mudugulli the scheme. They allegedly began land brokers, pretended to be the
and Gundital villages. persuading the affected comm- owner of the land. On September 6,
As per the 2008 relocation plan unities to buy land. 2018, the day the first instalment of
of the National Tiger Conservation “Kumar pretended to be friendly `1 lakh came to Kannan’s bank
Authority, people can choose and told us not to worry about account, Sukumaran told him to
between Option I (money for land) finding or purchasing land,” says transfer `70,006 to Joseph’s account.
and Option II (land for land) as Kannan. “He first showed me land “Sukumaran had my passbook. In
compensation for their own land. in Aiyankoli. But it was far from fact, he had the passbooks of all of
The Chetti community, living in the forest area with no means of us. He filled in the withdrawal slip
the core area as landowners, chose collecting forest produce, so I as well,” says Kannan. This land
Option II (see ‘40 years of struggle’), refused,” says Kannan. He then transfer was made on the promise
and has been rehabilitated in showed poramboke lands at Machhi- that Kannan would pay the balance

FOREST /INVESTIGATION
THE CONSPIRACY TRAIL to Joseph as soon as the second
How a handfull of officials robbed tribal residents of instalment arrived.
Similarly, K Kujan of Pulliyalam
their relocation compensation
village paid `5,43,000 to land
broker Baby for 20 sq m land in
June 29, 2018 Machhikolli. He knew he had been
Union Environment Ministry sanctions `25.50 crore to relocate people from the core area of
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Two members of the committee set up to oversee the relocation, duped as soon as he started building
lawyer C Sukumaran and Nellakottai range officer Suresh Kumar, allegedly persuade the tribal a house there. “Forest officers told
families to use the compensation money to buy land. They take the families to nearby areas to
see land and interact with brokers
me I could not construct a house on
revenue land. The revenue officers
refused to provide electricity and
September 6, 2018 water connections saying the land
Families receive the first instalment of `1 lakh. The amount is immediately transferred
to brokers’ accounts on the promise of land in Machhikohli, Pattavayal or Aiyankolli did not belong to anyone,” says
villages. When they start building their houses, forest officials inform them that it is Kujan. “The brokers were trusted
government land that cannot be sold to individuals members of the Chetti community.
The tribal people knew them,” says
K T Subramani of Adivasi Munne-
October 2, 2018 tra Sangam.
A Madhavan, head of Nagampalli gram sabha, gives written complaint to the Nilgiris
district collector J Innocent Divya Meanwhile, Kannan worsened
his situation by transferring
`305,029, the second instalment on
November 29, 2018 November 29, 2018. Kumar and
The second instalment lands in people’s account, which is
again transferred to the brokers’ accounts
Sukumaran convinced him that he
would soon get his land title since
he is a tribal and can live anywhere.
January 26, 2019 “This is the reason I gave the money
Adivasi Munnetra Sangam sends a complaint letter to National Commission for a second time,” says Kannan.
Scheduled Castes saying 93 families have been cheated of `6.70 lakh each A Madhavan, head of Nagam-
palli gram sabha, paid `3.70 lakh
for a patch of 20 sq m land in
February 2019
The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department asks Ooty Machhikolli. He says Kumar
superintendent of police to probe the case assured him that the land was
good. The deceit has come as a big
blow to them.
September 3, 2019 Investigation into the case
21 tribal people file an FIR saying they have been duped of a total of `2 crore
began in March under T Kaliselvan,
Ooty superintendent of police, soon
after the National Commission for
Schedule Castes ordered a probe.
The 21 tribal people have filed the
fir accusing land brokers E J
Joseph, Baby, Srinivas, Radha-
P H OTO G R A P H S: I S H A N K U K R E T I / C S E
krishan and Babu; lawyer C

Sukumaran; notary Jaya Joseph
and range officer Suresh Kumar of
criminal conspiracy, forgery,
cheating, fraud, falsification of
From left to right: KT Subramani (of Adivasi Munnetra Sangam), K Kunjan, V Vasu, M accounts and dishonesty. They have
Kuju, A Madhavan and B Balein are complainants in the FIR
also been charged under the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act, 1989. “We registered the fir
based on our preliminary investi-
gation. Our probe is still on and
more people are likely to come
forward,” says Kaliselvan.
DESPITE THE FIR, Kumar

continues as the range officer.
Giving him a clean chit, mtr field
director K K Kaushal says, “We
completed the relocation process of
the first two phases without any
complaint. Some people tried to
create problems in the last phase.
They have named one of our range
officers. I do not know what is his
involvement, but the department
has nothing to do with it.”
Kumar feigns innocence: “I got
the money transferred to the
B Balan of Pulliyalam village says he was happy living in the forest. Now, he has been
people’s accounts. What more can I deceived of `3.70 lakh and left with no land to call his own
do? If they decide to buy a piece of
land, it is their wish. I have nothing happened and the fir was lodged?” communities did not have title for
to do with it.” He says he was not Nilgiris district collector J Innocent their ancestral land and mostly
aware of the deal and denied taking Divya argues. She claims the probe cultivated coffee. But life was
the people to the disputed spot. began after she received a written comfortable. M Kamalechi of
Sukumaran is absconding. complaint from Madhavan on Pulliyalam village, who paid `3.70
Down To Earth (dte), however, October 2, 2018. lakh, says, “We were happy in the
managed to track him down. He mtr deputy director S Senbaga- forest. We knew the place. We would
claimed people are being incited priya, also dlc’s member-secretary, get fish from the rivers and
against him. “It’s a false controversy says the committee could not hold vegetables from the Chettis’ fields.”
created by the Rashtriya Swayam- an inquiry due to lack of evidence. B Balan of Pulliyallam had been
sewak Sangh which wants to make “We got the letter but people did not cultivating 0.6 ha for generations.
political inroads into Gudalur.” produce proper evidence,” she says. They now find themselves cheated
dlc in-charge of the relocation “In our records, all transactions of `3.70 lakh and squatting on 14 sq
process, of which Sukumaran and are proper. They first bought legal m land.
Kumar are members, also compr- land and we helped them, but then “Tribal people depend on the
ises district collector as its chair- they bought poramboke land on Chettis for employment. They use
person, deputy director of mtr as its their own. We cannot control how their vehicles for going to markets.
member-secretary and officials they use the money. You can see the Many of them live on lands owned
from revenue, agriculture and sale deed of the person who has by the Chettis. So when the Chettis
water departments. Under the filed the fir. It is all legal,” she says, decided to move out of the reserve,
National Tiger Conservation Auth- showing the sale deed of Kannan. tribal families decided to do so too,”
ority guidelines, when people On examination, dte found the sale says Subramani.
choose the money package, dlc has deed belonged to Kannan, son of But now all that remains in the
a “handholding” role to ensure that Balan. The fir has been filed by name of their ancestral home is
they get the land. Kannan, son of Subban. Clearly, `16,577 in their bank accounts and
“I did intervene. Why else do something is amiss. a tag of being “squatters” on
you think the investigation Before the relocation process, revenue land. D T E @ikukreti

LAND /RAVINES
Ravines such as these have started appearing in Sarnal village of Gujarat’s Kheda district
Chambal in T
HE RAVINES have always been
there, lining the riverbank, but af-
ter the floods in 1973 they started
the making
expanding towards the village,” says
73-year-old Chaggan Bhoi of Sarnal vil-
lage in Gujarat’s Kheda district. The vil-
lage is barely a kilometre from the Mahi
Soil erosion has triggered river in central Gujarat. “That year, it
P H OTO G R A P H : A D I T H YA N P C / C S E
rained for 24 straight days and the water

expansion of ravines in four from the river entered the village, forming
districts of Gujarat, threatening a maze of streams. Since then, massive
soil erosion has happened, mostly on the
agriculture and livelihood periphery of the village. Residents fear
that if left unchecked, the ravines would
SHAGUN KAPIL KHEDA, GUJARAT swallow the village and they might have
to migrate,” Bhoi adds.

Kheda is one of Gujarat’s four
Unchecked spread The reason Nageen could not
districts—Panchmahal, Vadodara avail help from a government
and Anand being the others—sev- Ravines are moving scheme for ravine reclamation is
erly affected by expanding ravines beyond the banks of the that Gujarat does not have one.
(see ‘Unchecked spread’). This Mahi river in Gujarat With the rest of his farmland also
monsoon season, the region saw partially eroded, Nageen has given
heavy rainfall due to which new up full time farming and only
ravines have been formed in Kh- grows fodder crops for his animals.
adol, Gadia and Rania villages of Kheda Panchmahal “There is a need for a country-
Kheda and Nani Sherdi of Anand. level ravine reclamation progr-
In last four to five decades, ravines amme,” says S K Singh, director,
have increased by 60-70 per cent in Mahi National Bureau of Soil Survey and
the four districts, estimates Satish Land Use Planning, Nagpur.
Macwan of Foundation for Ecologi- ‘There is a programme for manage-
cal Security (fes), an Anand-based Anand Ravines ment of river courses but it doesn’t
non-profit working to check soil cover ravines,” he adds. “The gov-
erosion. “Nearly 30,000 hectares Vadodara ernment has money but no plan-
(ha) is currently affected by extre- ning,” says Dinkar Panchal, field
me land degradation and ‘ravina- coordinator, Kheda, fes. “Madhya
Source: Foundation for
tion’ and the rate is increasing. A Ecological Security Pradesh has a dedicated pro-
decade ago, the figure was 20,000 gramme for ravine reclamation
ha. Every year, there is a loss of but in Gujarat most work is done
about 0.58 million tonnes of soil ALMOST ALL OF INDIA’S under other government program-
due to erosion,” Macwan adds. RAVINES ARE IN THE mes, such as the Mahatma Gandhi
Ravines in India are a geological VICINITY OF THE National Rural Employment Guar-
feature formed millions of years VINDHYAS, WITH OVER antee Act (mgnrega),” he complains.
ago when the peninsular plate This approach has its own limi-
60 PER CENT IN UTTAR
pressed against the Himalayas. tations. mgnrega is mostly related
Almost all of India’s ravines are
PRADESH, GUJARAT to construction of roads or infra-
found in the vicinity of the MADHYA PRADESH structure building and ravine rec-
Vindhyas, with over 60 per cent AND RAJASTHAN lamation is not a priority. “The
being in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya magnitude of erosion is so huge
Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, says Chetan Jha, team leader, fes. that it requires a lot of investment.
as per the National Remote Sensing “The destruction started after In- Even short-term land levelling is
Centre, Hyderabad. However, dependence, when people encro- cost-intensive. Reclaiming land
ravines get aggravated by soil ached upon forestland and felled under mgnrega is just not enough,”
erosion, mostly caused by a flowing trees to farm. Earlier, districts like says Macwan. “At the village level,
waterbody. The adjacent land gets Kheda had huge forest cover. Now people or small groups should be
eroded to form narrow depressions when rain falls, the arable topsoil given long-term tenure rights over
with sharp slopes. Over time, gets washed away,” says Macwan. the village commons land they
ravines widen, rendering land “I have lost 0.3 ha of my 2 ha reclaim. Then they would feel a
uncultivable and infertile with the farmland to ravines in the past five sense of ownership,” he argues.
erosion of the topsoil. years,” says Nageen, 62, of Sarnal. fes has been working in the
Parts of these four districts “I talked to government officials, region since 1987 and is currently
form the second largest ravines in who visit our village, about any undertaking initiatives in about 60
India after the Chambal region of scheme under which I could get ravine-affected villages in the four
Madhya Pradesh. “Undulating some monetary assistance for districts. Along with the help of
topography and loose soil structure, ravine reclamation. I was willing community members, the organisa-
along with increasing loss of to bear 50 per cent of the cost but tion primarily focuses on using low
vegetative cover, has led us here,” did not get any help,” he recollects. cost soil and water conservation

GREEN THOSE 1996
RAVINES
A village in Gujarat has
shown that blocking gullies
and planting trees can arrest
spread of ravines
Khorwad village in Anand district knows

that reclaiming ravines pays.A pilot
project started in the village brought a
turnaround for the degraded land and
people’s livelihood. In 1993, the gram
panchayat leased 40 hectares (ha) of 2008
the village common land for 15 years
jointly to the Khorwad Tree Growers’
Cooperative Society (TGCS) and the
Foundation for Ecological Security
(FES), an Anand-based non-profit, for
ravine reclamation.
These organisations started by
blocking the gullies using simple
sandbag structures called bori bandh.
Then bamboo and locally available
tree and grass species were planted
to strengthen the soil. Over 100,000
saplings were planted including neem
Plantation of 100,000 saplings in the terrain surrounding Khorwad village of
(Azadirachtaindica) and gandaba awal Gujarat’s Anand district checked the expansion of ravines
(Prosopisjuliflora).The grass species
planted were Cenchrusciliaris and nutrients, 72 different species of plants of 40-50 families. It has also produced
Stylosanthashamate. By 1995, there have taken root on their own. Some more than 50,000 kg of firewood.
was a significant increase in vegetative of these are precious commodities Over time, a set of rules for sharing
cover as well as a decrease in erosion. like sandalwood that favour only very and distribution of benefits was
In an evaluation in 2011, it emerged that specific soils.This is evidence to the developed.The beneficiaries paid a
the annual rate of soil loss had fallen increased nutritive value of the soil due nominal fee (R10-R50) for collecting
from 20 tonnes/ha to 8 tonnes/ha. to the efforts of the village residents, food or fuel from the plantation.
Initially the land was suitable says Satish Macwan of FES. Between Collectors were allowed to carry only a
for the growth of only 11 species of 2002 and 2011, the plantation head load of fodder to ensure that the
grass, thorny shrubs and trees, but produced 449 tonnes of fodder, produce is distributed fairly.The process
due to improvement in soil quality and meeting 15 per cent of annual needs was monitored by the gram panchayat.
measures to check ravines. The two levelled. On the other hand, planta- suitable species. The plan, however,
things that it has done extensively tion of the fast-growing bamboo is yet to be executed,” says Singh.
are building check dams in affected helps in arresting the run-off (see “We also need a comprehensive
areas and large-scale bamboo plan- ‘Green those ravines’). “Indian Co- study of country’s ravines. We can-
tation. Small earthen check dams uncil of Agricultural Research is not manage them unless we under-
in gullies prevent the ravines from already talking about bamboo stand their formation and the local
spreading, and as the silt keeps plantation in ravine-affected areas. variables,” he adds. D T E
depositing, the degraded land gets It has identified some spots and the @shagun_kapil
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THE
weather
PAYWALL
There will be heavy rainfall in... (subscribe to read on).
That’s how all weather information will be delivered in the
future, if private players are allowed to have their way.
The chase to control and commodify forecast data is
heating up. Competition could lead to greater accuracy
in predictions, but it might also corrupt the public service
that has so far been free. AKSHIT SANGOMLA captures
the debate
30-46Cover story.indd 30 11/10/19 12:40 PM

30-46Cover story.indd 31
I L L U S T R AT I O N S: R I T I K A B O H R A / C S E
11/10/19 12:40 PM
COVER STORY /WEATHER BUSINESS
E
ARLY THIS year, when infor- siasts across the world and from hund-
mation and technology behemoth reds of millions of smartphones, whose
ibm announced that its Weather “pressure” and “location” sensors keep
Company had created a powerful new relaying data even as the user is on the
global weather forecasting system, it move, talking or taking a nap. These
evoked hope and fear at the same time. data are then processed by the artificial
The company claims that its new Global intelligence-powered graf to issue 12
High-Resolution Atmospheric Fore- trillion pieces of forecast information
casting System, or graf, will provide the for virtually every 3 sq km patch of the
“most accurate local weather forecasts globe on an hourly basis. By comparison,
ever seen worldwide” and can predict the best available government or inter-
something as small as thunderstorms governmental models have a resolution
or as fickle as tropical cyclones that of 13 sq km and can update forecasts
keep meteorologists on their toes till only once in every six hours.
making the landfall. “The information we generate and
Every day at Weather Company’s distribute consists of observations (real-
office in Brookhaven, in US’ state of time and historical), short- and long-
Georgia, some 600 meteorologists, data term, seasonal and impact-based
analysts and a supercomputer analyse information, such as how crop yields or
weather-related information gathered power generation will be impacted by
by governments and intergovernmental weather,” says Kevin Petty, director of
agencies through their weather stations, science and forecast operations at ibm.
sophisticated radars, aeroplanes and Such accurate and timely information
spy satellites, and feed those into is precious in a warming world. About
graf. To ensure that the forecasts 80 per cent of all businesses in the world
reflect localised and near-real-time want and buy weather forecasts to make
atmospheric, land and oceanic condi- critical business decisions, especially
tions, the team also harnesses data with regard to risk assessment. The
from some 270,000 personal weather World Meteorological Organization
stations (pws) run by weather enthu- (wmo) estimates that the annual value
Forecast 1859 1897-98 1922 1951

landmarks Scientist Robert
Fitzroy drew the first
Vilhelm Bjerknes identified
seven variables that define
Mathematician Lewis Fry
Richardson organised a
The International Meteorological
Organization was rechristened
Events, inventions synoptic charts, which the state of atmosphere at a forecast factory of 64,000 as the World Meteorological
give hourly updates given point: density, pressure, people to calculate real Organization (WMO) and was
and discoveries in on storms and other temperature, humidity and three time weather changes by designated as a specialised
weather forecasting climatic systems components of wind velocity hand; it turned out wrong agency of the United Nations
1844 1848 1873 1918 1950

The invention of Smithsonian The first congress of the Scientist Vilhelm Bjerknes set up The first successful numerical
telegraph gave Institution used International Meteorological the Forecasting Division of Western prediction was calculated using a
an opportunity the new telegraph Organization was held in Norway; later called the Bergen digital computer by meteorologists,
to communicate networks to send bad Vienna, and attended by 20 School; and, its methods would be mathematicians and programmers
weather information weather alerts governments adopted by weather agencies from USA and Norway

WMO wants private companies to play a greater
role in forecasts, as was reflected in its Open
Consultative Process in June this year to include
all stakeholders on one platform
accrued from weather services by and for free, now wants private ventures
companies globally is US $100 billion. to play a major role in weather forecasts.
The weather industry itself is worth $7 In June this year, for the first time wmo
billion and is growing by 10-15 per cent rolled out its open consultative process to
every year (see “Big data on weather”, debate the roles of private players in
p34). Though ibm plans to launch graf weather data management. “The traditi-
towards the end of the year, it is already onal public good approach by entities like
selling weather forecasts churned out the National Meteorological and Hydrolo-
by the Weather Company to a range of gical Services (referring to government
companies that include Google, Apple, nodal meteorological department like
Facebook, television stations around India’s meteorological department) is not
the world, insurance companies, and suitable for commercial suppliers, so
travel and tourism agencies. balances need to be found that allow sha-
ring data and products under different
B
ut its increasing prowess is dis- scenarios,” says Dimitar Ivanov, director
turbing at a time when there is a at wmo to Down To Earth.
push from several quarters to Speaking at the wmo congress, Louis
fundamentally change the way the world Uccellini, Director of the US National
gathers and disseminates meteorological Weather Service (nws), said, “The dem-
data. wmo, which has so far ensured that and pie for what we do is getting bigger.
weather data generated through public There is no way the public sector can
agencies is shared for greater public good supply all the information needed for
1955 1960 1966 1991

The first operational A rocket launched TIROS I (Television The first geostationary weather Jeff Masters, a graduate student at the
numerical weather Infrared Observation Satellites), the first satellite was launched which University of Michigan, USA, published the
predictions started as a joint experimental weather satellite. This polar could continuously observe first weather forecast on the internet and
project of the army, navy and orbiter or a Low Earth Orbit satellite takes one particular region of started a movement of what is now called
weather agencies 102 minutes to circle the Earth the Earth Weather Underground
1954 1961 1962 2015

A rocket launched from Information by TIROS US meteorologist Harry Wexler The Weather
White Sands in USA crash II about Hurricane worked with Soviet counterpart Company published
landed, but captured the first Carla helped evacuate Viktor Bugaev on a report the first weather
clear snapshot of a tropical 350,000 people along proposing a World Weather forecast without
storm over the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico Watch human intervention

BIG DATA ON WEATHER sectors including energy, agriculture,

recreation, transport or health.”
Why private players are The US government, whose National
competing with governments Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration (noaa) is the world’s largest
A lucrative business weather and climate data provider, also
appears to be pushing for an increased
World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) provides services worth role of private players in the manage-
ment of weather data. Earlier this year,
$100 billion annually
when Uccellini was contesting for the
Similarly, National Weather presidential post of wmo, he was backed
Service, USA, provides services worth by US President Donald Trump. For the
$30 billion annually past three years, Trump has also been
trying to appoint Barry Myers, former
The private weather industry
ceo of private weather forecasting
made $7 billion in 2017.
It is growing 10-15 per cent agency AccuWeather, as the head of
every year noaa . Though Myers is not a scientist,
Trump has nominated him for the post
thrice since 2017. The US Senate has
rejected him twice, and after the third
High on information nomination Barry is waiting for the
There are 300 communication Senate to give its approval.
satellites that generate data through radio
Myers is known for his publicly
occultation, a remote sensing technique
used for measuring the physical properties stated stand that people should pay for
of the atmosphere weather information, just the way his
company’s products are being paid for.
WMO has an additional 19,300 Scientists and administrators in the
monitoring stations, of which 4,400 US, especially at noaa, say Myers’
are high-tech appointment would lead to a dilution
IBM, the largest weather forecasting of the scientific rigour of noaa and its
company, has 270,000 monitoring associated agencies like nws,
stations. It also collects information through whose climate research work goes
0.5 billion smartphones globally far beyond forecasting.
Myers may have stepped down
WMO which has 111 data processing as AccuWeather’s ceo, but his
and forecasting centres. shares family continues to own and run
information with 193 countries the company. Besides, for the
through its 15 telecom hubs
past 60 years, AccuWeather
Weather forecasting computers can process over has competed with nws, try-
40 million observations in a day and ing to undermine its work.
can compute 90 trillion calculations For instance, in 2005,
per second. IBM's supercomputer can store AccuWeather tried to
3,500 terabytes push for a piece of legislation in the
US Senate through Republican
Senator Rick Santorum that would
Sources: The Weather Machine, National
have restrained nws from publis-
Weather Service, WMO, media reports, and
the report "Impacts of Assimilating hing weather forecasts, which would
Smartphone Pressure Observations on then be issued by private agencies.
Forecast Skill during two Case Studies in
This would have limited nws’
the Pacific Northwest," published in the journal of
American Meteorological Society in October 2018 scope of work to only predicting

35Himalaya bleed ad.indd 35 09/10/19 3:15 PM
AccuWeather’s Barry Myers is slated to take

over the world’s premiere weather organisation.
He has stated that weather information, which is
free now, must be paid by customers
With weather data under private

parties, the consequent financial burden
on countries would force governments
and authorities to charge citizens for
weather information. This would have a
disastrous impact on those who are
vulnerable to extreme weather events
in the world that is fast warming up.
“You find yourself in a scenario where
the best forecast on the planet is actually
for purchase, and you’re separating the
haves and have-nots when it comes to
life and property,” says Neil Jacobs,
acting administrator of noaa.
J
acobs’ views highlight a grave con-
cern that is now bothering many—
whether private companies should
be allowed to control a resource that was
always meant to be free and issued by
governments in public interest!
The technologies that have helped us
extreme weather events like hurricanes understand the Earth’s climate have
and snowstorms. The fear is if Myers always gone hand in hand with the
becomes the administrator of noaa, then technologies that can aid in our possible
nws will become a subsidiary arm of annihilation. The Second World War
AccuWeather, which would use nws marked the beginning of a transfor-
infrastructure and resources to churn mation of weather observation from a
out profits. collection of disparate points into a
This would not only set a prece- global system that began to use rocket
dent, but also have a cascading effect on technology and satellite technology.
other countries. If Myers gets appointed In 1961, US President John F Ken-
as noaa’s head, it may kickstart a nedy said at the UN General Assembly:
process to privatise the weather data “We shall propose further cooperative
industry. This will force every other efforts between all nations in weather
agency, such as the European Space prediction and eventually in weather
Agency (esa) or the India Meteorological control.” This footnote in political
Department (imd), to pay noaa and other history became a transformative mom-
organisations for using their weather- ent in meteorology, says Andrew Blum
related data or near-real-time satellite in his recent book The Weather Machine.
data that are now available for free. TURN TO P40

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“Public good approach to
weather data is not suitable
for commercial purposes”
DIMITAR IVANOV, director at Geneva-based World
Meteorological Organization, speaks to DOWN TO EARTH
What is wmo doing to quell today offers enormous new private companies and
the public and private opportunities for observing and public institutions as a
concerns of the weather monitoring the environment. competition or a
data sharing debate? Many useful data could be collaboration?
We do realise that the current derived from non-traditional We strongly encourage
data generation and data sources and platforms forming establishing mutually beneficial
sharing landscape is different the “Internet of Things”. There partnership and collaboration
and it is an area of rapid are new opportunities in the between the public, private and
development. The technology of satellite observations, ocean academic sectors. The 18th World
observations, etc. The demand Meteorological Congress
for information and services adopted a landmark policy Act
from weather sensitive titled Geneva Declaration 2019:
industries requires all these new Building Community for
opportunities to be considered in Weather Climate and Water
the global, regional and national Actions. This declaration
information gathering and demonstrates a policy evolution
sharing. There are challenges in over the last two decades
this regard related to the towards a weather enterprise
different funding and business that accommodates three main
models utilised by stakeholders sectors—public, private and
from the different sectors. The academic, as well as civil society
traditional “public good” as a whole, in order to build a
approach by entities like concerted response to the global
National Meteorological and societal challenges related to
Hydrological Services is not extreme weather and climate
suitable for commercial change. The declaration sends a
suppliers, so balances need to be clear signal that collaboration is
found that allow to share data the preferred mode of engage-
and products under different ment between the sectors, based
scenarios. Recognising those on a set of basic principles to
challenges, the 18th Congress guarantee “win-win” solutions.
in June, 2019 decided that Having said that, it is unavoi-
the existing wmo data dable to have some competition
policies need to be reviewed within the enterprise, in
and updated and this is particular in the provision of
what we are going to do value added business-to-
through our technical and business services. And this is
policy bodies during the next not a bad thing, in many
two years. occasions it nurtures innovation
and fast uptake of science and
Do you see this ongoing technology advancements into
interaction between operational practices.

“As far as forecasting is concerned,
we do not want the private sector”
MRUTYUNJAY MOHAPATRA, Director-General, India
Meteorological Department, speaks to DOWN TO EARTH on the
changing business of weather
What role should the private is always done by the national localised forecast without
sector play in the weather weather service. It is not under considering large scale forecasts
services industry? private enterprise. If you want then I will say they are just
What has been our principle so to forecast the weather over bluffing. It is not possible right
far is that the private sector Delhi, then you cannot depend now. I have heard that private
should complement our work; only upon what is happening companies are claiming that
they should not compete. There over Delhi, you have to consider they can provide village level
can be a collaboration. For the weather conditions over forecasts and signed MoUs as
example, in the case of Pakistan, Afghanistan and a well. Let’s see what happens.
thunderstorms and hailstorms lot of other places in Asia
we have been issuing early and beyond.
warnings. This year for the first
time we are issuing early Is the imd officially involved
warning for lightning. For the with the wmo open
dissemination of this early consultation process for
warning, we have an agreement weather data sharing
with grassroot non-profits that between private, public and
are working in this field. academic organisations
As far as forecasting is that is going on?
concerned, we do not want any In the last wmo-Congress in
private sector to come up as a June this year, there was a
forecaster as it is simply not discussion on this and the
possible for them to do it. They processes are going on. Nothing
are indeed adding value to our much has moved since then. In
warnings (from non-profits), also principle, public private
verifying our forecasts and partnership is being encouraged
explaining to the people about by wmo. But again it is left to
them. We are providing our individual countries to decide on
forecasts to Red Cross and they this. wmo cannot interfere in
are also utilising them to the internal policy decisions
prepare for extreme events. of a country as it is an
There is a similar collaboration advisory body.
in place for heat action plans
where we are giving the Many people believe
meteorological support. that the imd can do
short, medium and long
With private forecasters in range forecasting for the
the fray, will the scientific country but the more
rigour required for the field of localised forecasting can
meteorology come down? only be done by the
If you look at the international private sector companies.
arena, core weather forecasting If somebody can give a highly

It led to the formation of wmo in 1951 “We get access to data from the
under the UN, and other countries meteorological organisations of other
gradually followed suit by starting or countries. wmo oversees data exchange
integrating their weather organisations between all its member countries,”
(see ‘Forecast landmarks’, p32). says Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-
Over the decades, free sharing of general of imd, which has a vast
weather data has become a cooperative infrastructure and personnel to issue
effort between the weather agencies forecasts. He adds, “What has been our
of different countries to predict cycl- principle so far is that the private sector
ones, rain, heat waves and dust storms. should complement our work. They

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The weather forecasting systems market

is projected to grow from an estimated
$2.3 billion in 2019 to $3.3 billion by 2025
shouldn’t compete.” a stock exchange. Saverin earned

But private organisations are already around $300,000 in a matter of three
setting up infrastructures to exploit months from his investments.
the exponential demand for customised Similarly, Climacell is a start-up
weather data. The weather forecasting based in Boston, usa, with 105
systems market—prediction systems employees. It is integrating data from
designed to carry out atmospheric the Internet of Things devices like
research and operational weather fore- mobile phones, smart vehicles, street
casting—is projected to grow from an cameras, aeroplanes and other wireless
estimated $2.3 billion in 2019 to $3.3 communication networks, instead of
billion by 2025. Expectedly, it has relying just on government provided
spawned a new generation of start-ups to sources. With this varied set of data,
exploit this situation. they claim to make hyper local forecasts
In 2004, Eduardo Saverin, an econ- based on which companies can take
omics student at Harvard University, decisions. Climacell has till now sold
usa , who had a knack for predicting how forecasts to over 1,000 companies which
weather will behave, decided to make include Ford Motors, Tata Group and
money out of his skills. He knew global events like the US Open. Ford Motors,
crude oil prices rise and fall with for instance, will use Climacell’s real
changing temperatures, rainfall and time forecasts to allow its autonomous
extreme events like floods, thunder- vehicle fleet to escape bad weather
storms and cyclones. This is because conditions on their routes.
the demand for products made of crude Climacell is also using an advanced
oil depends on prevailing weather technology, known as radio occultation,
conditions. The demand for fuel is the to harness weather data. In this
highest during peak summer and technology, radio wave signals, sent and
winter months. While in winter people received by gps satellites to their ground
require more oil to keep houses warm, receivers, get refracted and slow down
during summer people move out on while travelling through the atmos-
drives for vacations which increases the phere. The bending of the signal reflects
demand for natural gas. the vertical variation of refractivity
The real play though is in the relative which, in turn, depends on temperature,
intensities of hot and cold temperatures pressure and water vapour in the
during extremes. Taking all this into atmosphere. By calculating the angles
account, Saverin invested in crude oil by which these signals bend, scientists
futures—buying and selling them at can reconstruct the data regarding
exactly the right times. Futures are a these variables with the help of physical
type of financial derivative that derives and mathematical models.
its value from an underlying asset, such As private firms do not have access
as a stock, bond, currency, index or to detailed satellite-related data from
commodity and can be traded either public institutions, they are also
privately between parties or publicly at launching their own weather satellites.

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43CSE store ad bleed.indd 43 june 30, 2013 Down10/10/19
To Earth10:2559
AM
Climate change variability is bothering the

weather industry. Different weather
agencies make different forecasts and one
cannot be correct always
For instance, Weathernews, the world’s

largest provider of ocean weather data,
became the first private company to
launch its own weather satellite on July
14, 2019.
Another data source for start-ups
and private companies is the
millions of pws located across the
world. Sridhar Balasubraman-
ian’s pws is installed on top of
his house at the Indian Insti-
tute of Technology-Bombay,
where he works as an assistant
professor and teaches a course
on the “basics of weather dyna- For instance, explains Moha-
mics”. “From my pws, I get to see patra, often referred to as the
the daily variation of pressure and cyclone man of India for his
wind at the surface. I combine this expertise in the field, imd predicted
with some upper atmosphere level data a “low probability” of the formation of
(available with imd and other climate a “low pressure area” in northern Bay of
models) and use it to come up with a Bengal on September 29 based on his
forecast and ‘nowcast’ for different assessment of seven different global
regions in India,” says Balasubramanian. and regional weather models. The
The data is then sent to ibm ’s Weather warning meant a slim chance of
Underground, from where it can be excessive rainfall in Bihar. But the
accessed by the interested companies. forecast fell flat as the region was
already experiencing a delayed with-
T
he mushrooming weather for- drawal of the southwest monsoon, which
ecasting ventures have opened should have ended on September 30.
up another front of conflicts Bihar experienced a deluge, in which
between public and private agencies. over 100 people died.
Experts, mostly associated with experi- A month earlier, in mid-August,
enced public agencies, say most of these imd made similar prediction of heavy
start-ups might be issuing inaccurate rainfall for Himachal Pradesh. But it
forecasts as a changing climate has could neither predict the extent of
made weather prediction extremely rainfall nor its exact location. On
difficult. Though weather agencies keep August 18, the state received 1,064
correcting themselves about their per cent more than the normal rain-
forecasts all the time, thereby reducing fall for the day, which triggered flash
the scope of error, it is not an easy task. floods and landslides and killed 25

data from pws because of quality and
incomplete data issues. “There is no
ancillary data (like the altitude of the
station where measurements are being
done) from pws which is required to be
used as an input into imd’s weather
models. If this ancillary data becomes
available then pws data can be incor-
porated, says V S Prasad, a scientist at
the National Centre for Medium Range
Weather Forecasting in Noida, Uttar
Pradesh. “Pressure data coming from
smartphones is also a good source and
research is ongoing to incorporate those
into weather forecasting models. On the
other hand, temperature data from
smartphones is not of much use,
as it changes when people
are inside air-conditioned
rooms,” he adds.
T
he “catch up
with climate
people. Shimla, for which imd change” is
downgraded the alert, received becoming the buzz-
20 times the normal rainfall. word the world over.
Around the same time, Hurricane But one cannot be always
Dorian hogged primetime television in correct in prediction. A forecasting
the US as despite using multiple model takes in weather data and
weather forecasting models, neither calculates what the future weather
noaa nor private agencies could predict would be like for different regions of the
the path of the tropical cyclone which world for the next six days. This
swelled to become the most intense information, along with other such
tropical cyclone on record to strike the models, is used by weather forecasters
Bahamas. “One should err on the side of around the world to make their
caution in such matters,” says Moha- predictions. So a weather model needs
patra, emphasising the granularity and observations of the weather, as many as
complexity involved in forecasting. possible, from varied sources. It also
This is the reason, wmo requires its needs physics—a set of equations to
data to be of the highest standards to describe how the atmosphere evolves.
maintain its consistency and accuracy. The model puts these two together
For instance, wind measurements have through computation, usually handled
to be made at a certain height, and by a supercomputer. The success of the
temperature-measuring instruments model depends upon the strength of
have to be housed in a certain way. But each of these three parameters. The
the quality of data coming from the models are of two types: experimental
private sector sources like pws s and and operational. Experimental models
smartphones remain doubtful. focus on problems like how clouds and
For example, imd cannot incorporate rain form while operational models do

Good forecasting has shown positive impacts.

IMD correctly tracked the changing course
of Cyclone Fani—from Tamil Nadu to Odisha—
saving thousands of lives
the everyday forecasting. revoke the alerts in time, if such a
These models are not simple algo- pattern has not emerged. After all,
rithms where you feed in data and weather forecasting is about predicting
expect an output. In between the input extreme events as well as normal events
and the output is the process of data accurately,” says Balasubramanian of
assimilation. The weather of the real iit-Bombay. But one should keep in mind
world is assimilated into the models, that inaccurate data of private players
matching the outside atmosphere with should not undermine the forecasts of
the model’s own version. This means the government-run met agencies.
actual observations are constantly
A
correcting the model’s earlier forecasts. successful collaboration between
If data assimilation is good enough, it the public and private sector
covers for the model's errors or for the needs to be built on trust. This
lack of observations in many places. means asking ethical and regulatory
In England, the European Centre for questions that also plague global
Medium Range Weather Forecasts debates on data.
(ecmwf), has the world’s top-performing “We have a dilemma. It’s about
weather forecasting model. ecmwf has intellectual property rights versus the
deployed two supercomputers, each the need for data to be part of the commons,”
size of a volleyball court and among the says Oystein Hov, Secretary General of
fastest in the world, with 260,000 the Norwegian Academy of Science and
processor cores capable of making 90 Letters, who heads the wmo Commission
trillion calculations per second (tera- on Atmospheric Science. He also says
flops). The computers are upgraded there is a risk of a “winner takes all”
every two years so that the processing approach. If that happens, then the
capability would keep increasing. powerful private sector players will
Together, these supercomputers inges- become the only conduit of data produced
ted 40 million weather observations a by national weather services and the
day and ran calculations at a rate of 90 age of altruism will be over.
teraflops to make the forecasts. Even This is the reason, wmo’s 1995 cong-
with this type of computation capability ress had adopted a resolution warning
and most skilled meteorologists at its that commercial meteorological activities
disposal, sometimes ecmwf gets its should not be allowed to compromise the
forecast wrong. free and unrestricted exchange of weather
As extreme events become more data. “This we must not give up,” says
common due to global warming, they Gerhard Adriaan, president of Deutscher
will also become more unpredictable. Wetterdienst, Germany’s meteorological
This means weather agencies, private or service. “This is a basic principle. That,
public, need to be even more careful without any discrimination, everyone has
about their predictions with climate the same access to the same data sets.” D T E
change. “One should also be willing to @Aks7489

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47Triveni ad.indd 47 09/10/19 3:17 PM

PATENTLY ABSURD /LATHA JISHNU
No end
to these
claimed the spongy sweet originated in Puri!
State governments appear most infected
by the GI craze since most of the tags have
silly GIs been given to official organisations and not

representative bodies of the producers. Then
there are the petty manufacturers,
horticulturalists, weavers and even temples.
I
T IS perpetual silly season at the The famous Balaji temple in Tirupati got a
Geographical Indications (GIs) registry. GI some years ago for its laddoos (Indians
The office in Chennai that hands out are clearly obsessed by sweets) in a contro-
these special trademarks to goods which are versial decision that set off reams of analysis
specific to a certain region appears to think and a counter-petition in the courts. But
it has the mandate to push up the number of encouraged by Tirupati’s victory, a Murugan
GIs it awards while blithely ignoring the temple in Tamil Nadu has now secured a GI
rules that govern its issuance. According to for its prasadam (an offering made to the
the global definition, GI is given to goods deity and given to
where a given quality and reputation are In their mad devotees), a mix of
drawn from its geographic origin. The tag is rush for banana, jaggery and
meant to protect such items from imitations. Geographical ghee. What a GI will
Like other intellectual property rights it is Indication tags do for this concoction
meant to safeguard monopolies, but it’s Indians are disbursed in a
a right given to a community of producers, ignoring the religious setting
not individuals. economic boggles the mind.
It made sense for the European Union to rationale It’s curious how
push for the recognition of GIs which were India invariably gets
intended to safeguard the markets for high- its priorities mixed up. The GI is intended to
end products like scotch, champagne and protect markets globally for products that
cheeses that earn millions of dollars in the enjoy a geographical usp, and is not meant to
global market. India, on the other hand, be a numbers game among states. Basmati
appears to believe in numbers and in rice, India’s best bet in GI-labelled exports
domestic competition if at all it exists. It has along with Darjeeling tea, did not get the tag
more than 600 GI products in defiance of for eight long years. At the same time, a host
logic, rules and any economic rationale. Take of ubiquitous products, from wet grinders to
the case of the rosagulla, which is the most embroidery, which could have done with a
popular GI story. No one has asked why standard trademark, jostled for the GI label
West Bengal has sought a GI for a in the mistaken belief that it would
sweetmeat that is available in every nook magically boost their business.
and cranny of the country. Or, why Odisha The added cost of a GI mark is
was handed a GI for the same item. There’s problematic in a country that is extremely
more to this madness. The Odisha GI has price conscious. Would consumers choose
been awarded to the Odisha Small “central Travancore jaggery” above others
Industries Corp (yes, you read that right) simply because it has a GI label in the small
based in Cuttack and a group of sweet markets where it is sold? D T E
makers from Bhubaneswar, both of whom @down2earthindia
48Patently Absurd.indd 48 07/10/19 4:22 PM

Palette
WHAT’S INSIDE
Interview: Pronab Sen, former Memoir of supervet Noel The history of the king
chief statistician of India P50 Fitzpatrick P54 of chillies P56
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49Palette Opener.indd 49 07/10/19 4:31 PM

Palette/INTERVIEW
“POOR ARE NO LONGER

MOVING TO HIGHER
INCOME BRACKET”
PRONAB SEN, FORMER CHIEF
STATISTICIAN OF INDIA AND CURRENT
PROGRAMME DIRECTOR OF THE
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH CENTRE’S
INDIA PROGRAMME, SPEAKS TO
KUNDAN PANDEY ABOUT HOW RECENT
GOVERNMENT POLICIES HAVE CRIPPLED
THE INCOME OF THE POOR AND
SLOWED THE ECONOMY
Q. Is there a low demand in the economy?

The demand is not low. The crisis is that the demand
is not growing. For a long time, people from lower
income groups were earning more and moving
into the higher income bracket. Their
consumption was shifting along with their
income growth. For the past two or two-and-a-
half years, this process has stalled. You still
have the middle class and the
upper-middle class families, but their
numbers are not growing. The income of
these families is growing but their
demand has reached a saturation point
as they have already acquired the
major consumer goods. Since last
year, the problem has started
hurting because the demand in the
urban corporate sector has gone
down. Rural India has also been reeling
from it for a while, which has triggered
widespread farmer protests.
50-52Interview.indd 50 07/10/19 4:23 PM

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Palette/INTERVIEW
Why has the upward income The picture is grim. The impact of target of 4 per cent (+ or - 2 per
shift stalled? a stagnant middle and upper- cent). Fair enough. The problem
It started with demonetisation (in middle class is that they, after a lies in its distribution. The
November 2016), which badly hit while, start buying imported government should ideally achieve
the informal sectors of agriculture goods and prefer foreign holidays. the 4 per cent by keeping the
and small businesses. The This has a downward pressure on agriculture inflation at 6 per cent
corporate sector was not hit the domestic economy, which is and non-agricultural inflation at
because it was not part of the what we are seeing today. 3 per cent. Instead, today, the
cash economy. While, small non-agricultural inflation is 6 per
businesses managed on informal Has demonetisation pushed cent and the agricultural sector is
credit, the agricultural market farmers into a debt crisis? seeing a negative inflation.
was cash strapped. This is the About 40 per cent of farm
reason we saw massive drop in investments come from the Can the Centre resolve the
agricultural prices. banking sector. And farmers situation?
Agriculture, which accounts cannot repay during times of The government’s decision to
for 18 per cent of the gross crisis. This has been a problem in phase out cash is extremely
domestic product, is at the centre agriculture for years and we damaging and should be reversed.
of everything in rural India. So, already have a system in place. It has recently taken several steps
all kinds of non-agricultural During a natural calamity, loan to discourage the use of cash. The
activities also got hit by the repayment of affected farmers is first one is demonetisation. It has
lower agriculture prices. This automatically deferred by one also made it mandatory that all
completely stopped the upward year, or two cropping seasons. cash withdrawals above `50,000
mobility of incomes. This provision was not are reported to the income tax
authority. As a result, the tax
authority is not only getting a
INDIA’S AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION IS GROWING sense of the income but also the
AT 3 PER CENT ANNUALLY. IT MEANS FARMERS ARE expenditure. This scares people.
PRODUCING MORE EVERY YEAR. YET THEIR INCOME The government has come out
IS NOT IMPROVING BECAUSE THE PRICES HAVE with another rule that says
possession of `2 lakh in cash is
EITHER GONE DOWN OR REMAINED FLAT illegal. When you are trading in
the market, you are really
Why has the rural income not implemented during handling about `20-30 lakh.
increased in the last few demonetisation, even though it The latest deterrent is an
years? had an equally devastating additional tax on individuals
India’s agriculture production is impact on farm income. As a whose total cash transactions in a
growing at 3 per cent annually. It result, a large number of farmers year exceed `1 crore. The problem
means farmers are producing defaulted, making them ineligible is that the government is trying
more every year. Yet their income for future bank loans. In other to discourage the use of cash
is not improving because the words, these defaulting farmers without providing alternatives.
prices have either gone down or have been left in the hands of
remained flat. When you connect moneylenders to come out of What can be the alternative?
this with the price increase of financial distress. India has spent The government has introduced
non-agricultural goods, it becomes over 40 years to bring farmers to upi (unified payments interface)
clear that the real income or banks and this move has undone and Bhim mobile app for online
purchasing power of the people is the effort. payments. But the infrastructure,
actually going down. That is the particularly in rural areas, simply
problem. Is the government’s obsession does not exist. A poor person, who
with controlling inflation needs to buy food on a daily basis,
How will this income adding to the problem? cannot wait for a stable
paralysis of the lower class Nobody likes inflation. The connectivity. D T E
impact India’s growth? government has set an inflation @kundanpandey158
50-52Interview.indd 52 07/10/19 4:23 PM

ANIL AGARWAL ENVIRONMENT TRAINING INSTITUTE (AAETI)
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53Training programme On Sustainable Rural Sanitation.indd 53 09/10/19 3:18 PM

Palette / BOOK REVIEW
What the dog saw

NOEL FITZPATRICK, “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend.
Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read”
THE CELEBRITY VET —Groucho Marx
BEHIND THE
T
CHANNEL 4 SHOW HE IRISH are fascinating
THE SUPERVET, people. Ireland has a popula-
tion of just 5 million but there
RECOUNTS HIS is something special about it.
OFTEN-SURPRISING Sigmund Freud, the Austrian who
JOURNEY IN A founded psychoanalysis, observed,
“The Irish are the only people who
MEMOIR THAT are impervious to psychoanalysis.”
CELEBRATES THE The small population has
produced giants that have left an
BOND BETWEEN imprint on the consciousness of
HUMANS AND humankind. The veterinary
surgeon Noel Fitzpatrick is one
ANIMALS
more addition to an already
impressive list. Fitzpatrick and
DEEPAN JOSHI his team star in the Channel 4
series The Supervet in which
pets that otherwise might be
beyond saving receive cutting-
edge treatments and surgery.
Fitzpatrick penned a memoir
of his journey starting as a
10-year-old boy, growing up on a
family farm in Ballyfin, Ireland, in
1978. He used to check on the sheep
in the night shift throughout the
lambing season in spring and his
Listening to the
father always did the morning shift.
Animals: Becoming
It is perfectly normal for an Irish
The Supervet
to write a book called Listening to the
By Noel Fitzpatrick Animals and it is even more normal
Publisher: Trapeze to visualise the Irish author doing it.
Price: `499 The 11-year-old Border terrier Keira
Pages: 384 is the love of the supervet’s life.
Fitzpatrick’s simple prose
generates an atmosphere
of almost palpable
authenticity; one reads
the book in a kind of
54-55Review.indd 54 07/10/19 4:23 PM

trance of trust, certain that the of this rubbed off on me, too.” The New Yorker’s Malcolm
writer is incapable of pretence and The farmers were initially Gladwell in one of his pieces
falseness. The Sunday Times averse towards the new kid on the wrote a profile of Cesar Millan,
bestseller is not about runaway block, but Fitzpatrick likes to the so-called dog whisperer.
specialisation and marks and think that he was accepted in his Millan can calm the angriest and
degrees, it is a book that shows the own capacity because of being at most troubled of dogs with the
reader the love of a craft. ease with the animals, and to touch of his hand or a nudge, he
Fitzpatrick’s father wanted his some extent sensing what was just knows what to do. Millan
son to work at a farm and his wish wrong with them, since that’s runs the Dog Psychology Center
got answered as the young man’s what farmers do all the time, in South-Central Los Angeles. He
first jobs after vet school were at without any formal training at all. is the host of Dog Whisperer, on
farm animal practices in Ireland.
Farm animal practice taught him IT IS PERFECTLY NORMAL FOR AN IRISH TO WRITE
to be resourceful and to make the
most out of what he had. He
A BOOK CALLED LISTENING TO THE ANIMALS
worked for three vets during that AND IT IS EVEN MORE NORMAL TO VISUALISE
time. He says that that taught THE IRISH AUTHOR DOING IT
him much more than could
ever be learned from a “I have my daddy to thank, too, for the National Geographic
book—how to “sense” much of this ‘perception’ training television channel. In every
what was wrong with by apprenticeship.” Fitzpatrick episode, he arrives amid canine
the animal. moved to Guildford, Surrey, in chaos and leaves behind peace.
Fitzpatrick 1993, where he is director and Millan has that indefinable thing
learned from them managing clinician at Fitzpatrick called presence. What goes on
that all of the Referrals. inside Millan’s head as he does
tests in the world He often yearns for those early that? That was what inspired
cannot replace a days on behalf of his interns and Gladwell to do the piece. But after
good clinical residents. “Back in the early he got halfway through his
examination. The 1990s, you needed to become reporting, he realised there was
longest period he sympatico, in harmony with the an even better question: When
spent in farm animal because often you were in Millan performs his magic, what
animal practice the middle of a field with a goes on inside the dog’s head?
was with David stethoscope in your ears, a That’s what we really want to
Smyth in West Cork thermometer in one hand and know—what the dog saw.
and he considers that palpating with the other, smelling Perhaps that is the reason why
time to be the most the animal’s breath and observing the Irish greats are a cut above
formative period of its behaviour. In other words, you the rest as they see the story
training in his life. He really did have to listen to the differently. James Joyce’s Ulysses,
learned how to be an effective animal to diagnose the problem.” considered to be the greatest
clinician, divorced from It is an Irish book. Fitzpatrick novel of the 20th Century, can be
instruments. “David knew what he was going to do but difficult as there is no narrator,
absolutely possessed a his eyes were opened by emotive no one to tell you what’s going on
sixth sense. He could tell poetry and descriptive prose, and as Joyce’s main characters—
the difference between a he thought that he would like to Stephen Dedalus and Leopold
cow with ketosis, study literature because he Bloom—are locked in their heads
hypomagne- wanted to understand why Oscar and you see what they see, it’s all
semia Wilde, Dylan Thomas, John subjective. That’s the last clue
tetany or Steinbeck or James Joyce could why I am positive that Noel
hypocalc- move him to tears. In music he Fitzpatrick can listen to the
aemia, just by loves U2. For the world’s best beer animals. It sounds like an
the look and you have to travel to Dublin and Irish thing. D T E
smell of her. Some perhaps order a Guinness. @JoshiDeepan
54-55Review.indd 55 07/10/19 4:23 PM

Palette / FOOD
Burst of spice
BHUT JOLOKIA, ONE
OF THE HOTTEST
CHILLIES, WENT
THROUGH A DIP IN ITS
INTENSE SPICINESS
AND PRICE WHEN ITS
PRODUCTION SPREAD
AND CROSS-
POLLINATION BEGAN
ON A LARGE SCALE
RHINUSMITA KAKOTY
LAHKAR
C
ALL IT bhut jolokia, raja
mirchi or king chilli, just one
bite of this excruciatingly hot
chilli can turn anyone into its
colour—red. It, therefore, came as
no surprise when in 2007 the
Guinness World Records recognised
it as the hottest chilli. It, howoever,
lost the status in 2011.
Bhut jolokia is delicate and
must be harvested at the first sign
of ripening. The chilli has a crop
cycle of six months, in which it
fruits for about three months.
Bipul Gogoi, a grower in Sibsagar
district of Assam, says, 1,500 to
P H OTO G R A P H : S H A R O N D R U M M O N D
1,600 seedlings can be planted per

bigha (around 0.13 hectare). One
plant yields an average three kg in
every crop cycle, which Gogoi
estimates fetches a profit of
Apart from its edible purposes, `15,000 to `20,000 per bigha.
bhut jolokia is also used in tear
gas and pepper sprays Buyers assess the chilli by its
spiciness and colour. Fresh chillis
56-57Food.indd 56 07/10/19 4:57 PM

can be bought in wholesale mar-
kets such as Machkhowa in
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
\ bhut jolokia pickle plant. Tissue culture from the
mother plant will give us over
Guwahati. Hiren Baruah, whole- 1,000 plants. Direct germination
Bhut jolokia: 100 g
sale dealer here, says his average from seeds lowers its quality and
Mustard oil: 1 cup
sale every day is between 50 kg Yellow mustard: 1 tbsp heat intensity,” he says. Serious
and 100 kg. In season—between Turmeric powder: 1 tsp farmers, therefore, prefer to plant a
March and July—prices range Lemon juice: 1 tbsp fresh crop every year.
from `150 to `300 per kg. A bulk of Salt to taste Leena Saikia, a bhut jolokia
the chillis bought here are tradi- grower, is known across Assam to
tionally dried under the sun, or in METHOD be the first to cultivate it profes-
machines before being sold again Chop bhut jolokia and keep it aside. sionally. She founded Frontal
or turned into paste. As a precaution, wear gloves and wipe Agritech Private Limited in Jorhat
Bhupen Barman, a vegetable the knife and chopping board well along with her husband. Produc-
before reuse. Heat mustard oil in a wok
vendor in a local market in Guwa- tion began in 2004, at a time when
till it smokes. Put off the heat and add
hati’s Ganeshguri locality, buys there was no market for the crop;
mustard seeds, turmeric and salt. Let
bhut jolokia at `600 a kg and sells it cool and transfer to a bottle.Add the in fact, the company was the first
it at `800 a kg in off season. chopped chilli pieces along with lemon to introduce it to the international
Rasween Das, who runs Giskaa, juice. Stir well and close the lid tightly. market. Now, the company exports
an online portal dealing with Leave it under the sun for a week to its produce to 22 countries, and
ethnic products from the north- get the best flavour. Have it with rice or was selected by the Spices Board
east, says it is a niche market. chapatis or as a garnish on pizza. as the top exporter of spices from
Giskaa sells products such as the northeast for 2015-16 and 2016-
pickles and pastes made from bhut 17. In India, Spices Board gives
jolokia. A 50 g pack of its flakes certification for the goodness of
sells for `294, while pickle is priced Guwahati, says his company has spices. Its export price depends on
at `290 per 150 g (see recipe). almost stopped dealing in bhut this certificate. With the increase
Babadhan Chutia from Tin- jolokia. Between 2007 and 2011, in demand, production began in
sukia district owns GreenF Saikia was selling the chillis for different parts of India as well as
Hygiene Food Private Limited, a over `2,000 per kg and could not in countries such as Mexico.
start-up founded in 2015-16. He keep up with the demand. But a Now, the current export price is
buys 25 tonnes of fresh bhut jolokia drastic dip in demand followed, an average `1,800 per kg. Frontal
every year to make pickles. Chutia because of the fall in the chilli’s Agritech exports 20 to 25 tonnes
says it has an enormous domestic heat quotient from 1-0.8 million per annum of oven-dried or
market as Indians love the chilli’s Scoville Heat Units (shus) to just smoke-dried bhut jolokia. Its
flavour. He sells products across around 0.3 million shus. Chiranjeet biggest buyer is the US.
the northeast and plans to reach Baruah, proprietor of Croma While almost 90 per cent of the
markets across the country by Hydroponic Nurseries in current production is being used
2020. Chutia buys fresh chillies Dibrugarh explains: “As the for edible purposes, Saikia says it
from about 40 farmers in Panitola, demand went up, farmers started is also used in products such as
Kakopathar and other areas cultivating it in large quantities. pepper sprays and tear gases.
adjoining Tinsukia at `150 per kg; This increased cross-pollination, Because of bhut jolokia’s
this price can rise to `400 per kg in bringing down its heat.” spiciness, Defence Research and
off-season. His average annual Usually, the plant yields a crop Development Organisation (drdo)
profit was `8 lakh in 2017-18. He for four to five years, but its size studied its properties and in 2009,
sells the finished product at `350 and intensity wanes with time. announced to use it in hand
for every 200 g. Baruah advises that farmers grenades as a non-lethal weapon.
should use a plant producing During research, drdo cultivated it
SOME SELLERS, HOWEVER, chillis of the hottest quality from under controlled conditions—the
are not convinced with the chilli’s areas such as Golaghat district in result was a crop of the hottest
profit potential. M Krishna Saikia, Assam which traditionally culti- chillis, thus showing the way for
ceo of Greencover Overseas, a vated bhut jolokia. “Cloning from bhut jolokia to attain its lost
major spice export agency in this plant will give us our mother status back. D T E @down2earthindia
56-57Food.indd 57 07/10/19 4:23 PM

Civil Lines / RICHARD MAHAPATRA
Urban-rural
conundrum For the first time in history, the
Census 2011 reported a decline in the
population growth rate of rural India. However,
C
ENSUS 2021 preparations are at that time India was still predominantly
underway for more than a year now. rural, with the urban population being just 30
One of the first tasks the Office of the per cent. Between Census 2001 and Census
Registrar General & Census Commissioner, 2011, the number of Census Towns increased
India was to identify the country’s urban and from 1,362 to 3,894. This indicates that people
rural areas. For this, officials created a base in rural areas are quitting farming or joining
map by applying the census criteria. Officials non-farm livelihoods. Millions of farmers have
involved in this process say it is surprising quit agriculture and, worryingly, very few from
how quickly urbanisation is spreading, and the current generation are entering the sector.
that rural India will be history sooner than In absolute terms, India is losing farmers. In
we think. Many of the urban areas identified fact, there are indicators that many rural
in Census 2011 have expanded while residents are not taking up farming despite
thousands of villages have turned into towns, being unemployed
as per the census definition, the officials say. We urbanise and and having small
This exercise usually captures the celebrate it as a lands. This shows
changing demography, geography and sure shot path to that India on the
economy of the country. As we wait for another prosperity, but cusp of a major
three years before the preliminary results of urbanisation change. In 1970,
Census 2021 emerge, what’s certain is that doesn’t provide three-fourths of a
India is changing from rural to urban. basic livelihoods rural household’s
What are the implications of this to people who income came from
change? It’s perilous, because with India’s have migrated farm sources. After
transition from a predominantly rural from rural areas 45 years, in 2015, it
economy to an urban one, people’s occupations is below one-third.
and preferences will also change. The Basically, most of the households now earn more
immediate concern is whether India’s farming out of non-farm sources.
population will remain the same or will it Another concern is that these non-farm jobs
migrate to non-farm occupations. The are mostly in urban areas. In recent years,
other big questions are who would be left in these urban employment sources have not been
the farming sector and whether agriculture able to meet the surging job demands due to
would survive by being lucrative enough to the exodus from agriculture. As the latest
provide for the survival of its practitioners? economic data points out, manufacturing,
Much would depend on the resolution of the construction and other related sectors have not
Catch-22 rural-urban situation. Going by the been able to generate employment as they
census definition, a habitation is declared used to earlier. All these sectors are
urban (excluding a municipality, corporation, experiencing slowdown.
cantonment board and a notified town area This leaves us with that big conundrum: we
committee) if it has a minimum population of urbanise and celebrate it as a sure shot path to
5,000; at least 75 per cent of the male working prosperity, but urbanisation doesn’t provide
population is engaged in non-agricultural basic livelihood to people who have migrated
pursuits; and the population density is at least from rural areas. This explains the current
400 people per sq km. Such habitations are slump in demand that is keeping the overall
also called the Census Towns. economy down. D T E @richiemaha
58Civil Lines.indd 58 11/10/19 2:16 PM

SCHOOL OF WATER AND WASTE
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SCHOOL OF WATER AND WASTE, ANIL AGARWAL ENVIRONMENT TRAINING INSTITUTE (AAETI), A UNIT OF CSE
59Upcoming Training Opportunities.indd 59 09/10/19 3:19 PM

R.N.I. NO. 53588/92 POSTAL REGN. NO. DL(S)-17/3109/2018-2020
ISSN 0971-8079. Licensed to Post without Pre-payment U(SE)-44/2018-2020 at Lodhi Road HO,
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INTERNATIONAL

16-31 OCTOBER, 2019

SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

01Cover.indd 1 11/10/19 12:39 PM

02Five day training programme on Environmental Impact Assessment.indd 2 09/10/19 3:12 PM

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03Editors.indd 3 11/10/19 12:39 PM

26 Gujarat's bane 58 Civil Lines

Cover design: Ajit Bajaj

04-05Credits+content.indd 4 11/10/19 12:39 PM

04-05Credits+content.indd 5 11/10/19 12:39 PM

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