Rampant Destruction of Nature and Man-made Disasters

Rampant destruction of nature in the name of development has virtually made India a sitting duck against adverse weather conditions. Alarmed by the situation, the Supreme Court has sought reports from the Centre, along with several states, about steps taken to preserve nature.

The apex court issued the directive after being informed about a staggering number of logs being transported from mountainous states, which indicates the failure of authorities in protecting our natural wealth. It is for the Supreme Court to decide whether such dereliction of duty is a punishable offence, but the country is paying heavily for this negligence. The situation reminds us of events in the 1970s when mass-scale cutting of trees for commercial purposes fueled the ‘Chipko movement,’ a non-violent environmental movement that successfully prevented the menace. With no sign of such movement to save the fragile ecology of the Himalayan region, all hope rests on the Supreme Court.

However, the apex court should not restrict itself to passing orders for hilly states only. A framework on preserving nature, that is applicable across the country, should be formulated. This is required, as the coastal states also face the wrath of nature due to unplanned urbanisation. The situation demands a relook at our developmental plans as sustainable development has become the order of the day amid the threat of climate change looming large. No place from Kashmir to Kanyakumari or Saurashtra to Silchar is safe from nature’s fury today. The Supreme Court will have to apply its mind on this reality, rather than concentrating on the issues that have been brought to its notice. This is imperative to reduce risk from unprecedented floods, landslides and other related events.

Infrastructure development is a necessity but it should not destroy ecology, the ramification of which will be huge including disasters. This is why strict scrutiny of development projects is a must. It may be mentioned that many development projects that can be detrimental to the environment have been taken up in disaster-prone areas, taking advantage of loopholes in the laws. For instance, 14 tunnels have been taken up between Chandigarh and Manali to promote tourism in Himachal Pradesh, but it now poses a serious threat to travelers during the rainy season. Whereas in Bengaluru, the IT capital of India, water scarcity has become a serious problem due to rapid depletion of groundwater caused to unplanned urbanisation. Likewise, the national capital Delhi has become a virtual gas chamber. These issues should be addressed comprehensively to alleviate the burden of living amid constant threat of natural disasters, which pose a significant risk to India's very existence. This threat must be tackled decisively and effectively.