COMMENTS ON THE
DRAFT ENVIRONMENT POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF KERALA, 2006
Dr. P. R. Sreemahadevan Pillai, Principal, Sree Chitra Thirunal College of
Engineering, Thiruvananathapuram 695018. Phone: 9447490572 E-mail: [EMAIL
PROTECTED]
(Presented at the seminar organized by CISSA at Thiruvananthpuram on 6th
January 2006)
The State Government in October 2006 has circulated to the
members of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, the draft Environment Policy for
the State and it is time now for the civil society organizations and policy
analysts to come up with their comments. The policy document was approved in
February 2006 by the United Democratic Front regime, but has been brought out
without much change by the Left Democratic Front Government now. An environment
policy for the state has been long awaited and the present one is supposed to
be comprehensive enough to alleviate the apprehensions of all the stake holders
and activists.
Kerala is a state having active environmentalist groups and the
absence of a comprehensive policy has always led to legal disputes and mass
movements in almost all the parts of the state. Be it the exploitation of
water, discharge of waste water, mining of river sand, blasting of rock,
emission of pollutants it all causes concerns in the state because of its low
per capita availability of land, high population density, high literacy rate
and awareness on health and hygiene. As the first statement of the
draft policy states, there has been progressive pressure on the environment
and the natural resources of Kerala over the years
The 38 page draft policy has 7 parts: introduction, the
environmental scenario of Kerala, environmental management initiatives, agenda
for action, priorities and strategies for action, policy implementation
structures and linkages and at last, the conclusion.
The purpose of the environment policy can be contained in a nut
shell by the concluding statement, the initiatives highlighted in the
preceding paragraphs are expected to resolve the conflicts that often arise
between the environmental concerns and developmental pursuits that have a
direct bearing on the very fabric of our society and life styles. The policy
is prepared in line with the National Conservation Strategy and Policy
Statement on Environment and Development adopted by the Union Government in
1992. The specific local conditions of the state of Kerala and the States
economy are supposed to be taken care of by the policy.
The specific environmental scenario of the state the low per
capita land area, the 3 tier terrain of the topography, the impact of the long
coast and high rainfall, indiscriminate use of resources, the cultivation
pattern, the uncontrolled dumping of wastes are addressed properly in the
document. Most of the national level Acts/ Rules / Notifications with regard to
environment are mentioned in the 3rd part of the document. The initiatives
taken so far by the Centre and State are highlighted thereafter. The fourth
part lists the actions to be taken, mainly from the Government side. The fifth
part lists the priorities for action in the areas of conservation and
sustainable utilization of natural resources (land and water resources,
agricultural practices, forests and wildlife, land use in hill ecosystem,
animals and wildlife, mining and quarrying, human settlements, waste land
development), water resources (drinking water, coastal and marine resources,
irrigation, wetland reclamation), air and noise pollution, biodiversity,
energy, industrial development & tourism and transportation. The sixth part on
policy implementation structures and linkages deals with strengthening of
institutions and legislation, state environment department, state and district
advisory councils, environmental audit statement, natural resources accounting,
promoting environmental education, training and awareness, R&D and promotion of
Technologies, rehabilitation of affected people in projects, role of
non-governmental organizations and general strategies.
A good number of items in the draft policy require serious
consideration. Clause 6.2 stipulates the formation of a state Environment
Department. Though a Department of Environment has been formed in the State, it
is yet to have the necessary manpower support and budget allocation, sufficient
to run the show. There is a Kerala State Council on Science Technology and
Environment at present and it is advisable that the Environment related
activities be separated and attached exclusively to the newly formed Department
of Environment. The effective implementation of the policy is hampered by the
separation of the Forest Ministry and the Environment Ministry by the present
government. As in the Union Government, it is advisable to have a single
Ministry of Environment and Forest, for convenience of policy implementation
and administration.
As mentioned in clause 3.2, Kerala is one of the first states to
constitute a State Pollution Control Board. This Board has been under the
Health Minister and only recently it was attached to the Department of
Environment. So far Environment was only at the tail end of the Science,
Technology and Environment Department and research on Environment was also
getting this tail end consideration. The newly formed Department of Environment
should have people with academic credentials and experience in the field of
environment than the usual administrative gurus.
Of late, the output of the state level R&D organizations such as
CESS, TBGRI, KFRI, CWRDM, RGCB and ANERT listed in clause 3.3 has been very
minimal. The policy needs a definite action plan to revive these organizations
and to bring it under a common umbrella. Providing proper linkages between
these organizations also needs consideration.
Clause 3.5 mentions the relevance of non-governmental
organizations in the field and it is worth mentioning that so far in Kerala,
the environmental related studies and activities were done by these
organizations beyond that by government. In the draft policy, there is no
clear cut frame work for pooling in the resources of these organizations. Some
of these organizations have much more qualified human resources in the field
than the concerned government department. If a separate wing is formed for
coordinating the activities of these organizations, with nominal funding, it
can bring-in good results.
Some suggestions are given herewith for consideration in the
finalization of the policy.
The agenda for action mentioned in clause 4.5 may include the
following also.
· Promote the establishment of self sustained eco-villages
for the aboriginal inhabitants of the forest land
· Proposal for alternate livelihood activities for the
population actively involved in environmental degradation as a means of
subsistence
· There should be state preparedness for environmental and
natural calamities and a separate wing formed under the government for the same.
· There is no environment monitoring system and agency at
present in the state and this should be met by the formation of an integral
system
In the section 5 under priorities and strategies for action, in
clause 5.1.1, land and water resources, the following points may also be
considered
· A total mapping of the entire land and water resources
available in the state should be made, using the available data as well as
remote sensing tools.
· The legal controls for the encroachment of the water bodies
is not effective and suitable legislation with assigned agencies should be
thought of.
In clause 5.1.2, under agricultural practices, the points to be
noted are,
· Wetland cultivation is now an ignored area, mainly because
paddy cultivation lost its charm in Kerala. Profitable schemes and alternate
models for wetland cultivation should be sought
· Introduction of huge quantum of pesticides and fertilizers
in to the ecosystem is a matter of concern and control of the same should be
of relevance. Substitute methods like biological fertilizers / pesticides needs
promotion.
In clause 5.1.6, the additional point to be considered is
· The construction industry is the biggest industry in
Kerala, though in the disorganized sector. The extraction of construction
materials, especially sand is causing concern for the water bodies.
Action plan for alternative construction materials like manufactured sand
should be taken up as major project.
In clause 5.2.2, the addition required is
· The salinity intrusion of the coastal zone and rivers is
alarmingly increasing and steps to curb it should be sought.
In clause 6.1 on general strategies, the following also may be
included
· There is no unified agency and centralized scheme for
coastal protection works and hence it is now done by various agencies in a
haphazard way. The coast protection works should be under the control of a
single agency and repetition of mistakes should be avoided.
· The habitat development and sanitation should be taken up
as a priority area by the local authorities, in the wake of the spreading of
epidemics.
---------------------------------
Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check.
Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala run by
Global Alternate Information Applications (GAIA)
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
