Prakash Javadekar's one year as India's minister of state (independent charge) of environment, forests and climate change has been an unmitigated disaster, says activist Himanshu Thakkar.
Can we laugh away the Supreme Court order on implementation of inter-linking of rivers as a comedy or tragedy, asks Himanshu Thakkar.
Jairam Ramesh's tenure as Minister of Environment and Forests cannot be assessed in a hurry; there are lots of positives there, but also many question marks, says Himanshu Thakkar
Now 60 per cent of India's agriculture is rainfed and rainfed farmers and areas have the largest concentration of poorest people.
The Indian and Chinese premiers have an unprecedented historical opportunity to create such a mechanism for sharing international rivers. It will not only help the two countries but it has the potential to create a remarkable example for the rest of the world, says Himashu Thakkar.
Foodgrain production in current is fiscal is likely to fall by at least 10%, if not more. It may be better to be realistic in our estimates than give unrealistic positive spin to these figures, says Himanshu Thakkar.
If the government had woken up on August 18, then a more planned evacuation was possible and most of the lakhs of people marooned today would not be there. It is clear that there has been a series of grave and criminal blunders that have led to this disaster of huge proportions. The trouble is, even now we do not know who people are whose neglect caused this disaster, and going by our track record we may never know who they are
To begin with, inter linking of rivers is neither well thought out plan nor a development plan. It is essentially an extension of the big dam agenda that the Indian water resources establishment has been pursuing since the last 60 years. That agenda is not the best available option and has not been giving any additional benefits for over a decade.
The methane emission from India's dams could be 27.86% of the methane emission from all the large dams of the world, which is more than the share of any other country
The trouble is, in backward areas where infrastructure is weak, the impact of SEZ on access to water would be even more serious.
The award fails on some crucial tests of equity, efficiency, technology and science, says water expert Himanshu Thakkar.
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