Drainage Crisis of Kosi

Abstract: Kosi is an international river and all interventions must show utmost sensitivity that does not bring a bad name to our country. The onus is the central government to avoid a situation, which makes North Bihar a case study for mismanagement of rivers. It has emerged from the field study undertaken by a Fact Finding Team that a list of "what not to do in Kosi basin" must be prepared before relying on the suggestions of retired or serving officials. Why Kosi has been flowing at a level higher than its adjoining mainland is a statement on the poverty of common sense. The reduced cross-section of the river due to embankments was expected to facilitate the dredging of its bed. Instead, the Kosi offloaded silt into the river and raised the level of its bed. That the Kosi is among one of the highest silt-laden rivers in the country makes matters worse. Had the river been free to meander, it would have deposited fertile silt, collected from the slopes of Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga, across the plains of north Bihar. But that was not to be, as most of the silt carried over the years lies trapped between river banks, reducing the stream flow on the one hand and making the embankments vulnerable to breach on the other. People of Kosi basin are victims of development and the arrogance of governmental knowledge that are used to scare common people into silence and submission by their declarations such as "I Know the facts". All proponents of "solution" must be made to solve the drainage crisis and adopt Ganga basin approach before undertaking any further intervention.

Introduction
Kosi is one of the major tributaries of Ganga synonymous with the history, culture of not only Mithila but whole of the Indian sub-continent. One cannot think of the Indian sub-continent without thinking about Ramayana (Sita) and Mahabharata (Karna). Ramayana and Mahabharata cannot be even imagined in the absence of Mithila. The structural solutions have already distorted the landscape of the Kosi-Mithila region, structural solutions like Kosi High Dam would turn out to be a monument of foolishness for generations to come. Like the villains of embankment proposal, all the kosi high dam proponents must be identified and dealt with by something like a Kosi Parliament.

Nearly 33.55 lakh people in five districts of north Bihar were affected by the devastation caused by the Kosi deluge due to the breach in the embankment at Kusaha in Nepal on August 18.

After Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Bihar too is initiating the misplaced project of linking rivers even as it is being predicted that "Ganga would soon become a seasonal river-flooded in monsoons and dry in the summers." Out of the 30 links in the controversial National Interlinking of Rivers project that includes 14 links in the Himalayan component, 6 river-link canals are directly related to Bihar. It is noteworthy that quite like Tamil Nadu, Bihar too is proposing its linking of rivers projects as independent of the national project. Unmindful of the global ecological changes and river basin approach Uttar Pradesh has already launched Ganga Expressway Project in 2007 to construct a 1047 km access controlled eight-laned expressway running along the Ganga river to provide connectivity and as a flood control measure although the catastrophe brought about by such measures is quite evident.

Continuing the same trend, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Bihar's Water Resources Development Minister informed the Bihar Legislative Council on 4, December, 2008 that inter-linking of rivers could rid the state of perennial problems of flood and drought. Replying to a special debate on drought like situation prevailing in many districts of south Bihar, Yadav said "unless and until rivers are inter-linked the twin problems can not be solved." Yadav said the inter-linking of Bihar rivers would cost more than Rs 4,000 crore. Stating that 26 percent area of the state are drought-hit, Yadav informed the Vidhan Parishad that the state did not have any reservoir which was crucial for irrigation. It was either in Nepal or in Uttar Pradesh. Replying to a debate on perennial problem of flood in the state he referred to the devastation caused by the Kosi deluge and the probe by judicial commission underway.

The Centre has constituted a high level committee, consisting of three representatives of the Centre, two from Nepal and five from Bihar government, for the repair and maintenance of the embankment.

In the aftermath of Kosi deluge, such ecologically disastrous engineering projects have been dismissed as a "solution". Most recently, even 'development' advocates like Suman K Bery, Director General of New Delhi-based National Council of Applied Economic Research advised the governments to forgo its mega public private partnership projects and concentrate on strengthening the existing infrastructures in the light of the crash of US and the European markets as a response to the upheavals in the world economy.

Sterile Discourses
At a talk and a day long Panel Discussion in Patna on "Kusaha Breach and Thereafter", heated exchanges between pro-"Kosi high dam" engineers and proponents of "living with floods" ended with an apparent conclusion that high dams & embankments are less of an engineering interventions and more of a political intervention. On 17 October, on the eve of two months of the Kosi breach, the talk was delivered by Dr Dinesh Kumar Mishra, a well known voice of sanity with regard to Kosi crisis. Failure of dams as flood control structures has been demonstrated in Orissa, Gujarat, Maharasthra and Jharkhand.

A white paper was demanded, while sharing the Hindi version of the Fact Finding Report on Kosi "Kosi "Pralay": Bhayaavah Aapada Abhi Baaki Hai" sought accountability of Kosi High Level Committee (KHLC) and provide a remedy for the drainage crisis in North Bihar as was promised by the UPA government's Common Minimum Programme. All the activities of KHLC should be put in suspension till the time their liability is fixed and Justice Rajesh Balia Judicial Commission of inquiry set up on September 9, 2008 is completed. The commission's recommendations must not meet the fate of several dozens of committees and it must recommend criminal charges against acts of omission and commission.

It is noteworthy that Union Water Resources Department Secretary, in a letter to the Bihar Irrigation Secretary on September 24, 2008 has questioned the locus standi of the judicial commission. The letter read: "The Kosi agreement is a bilateral agreement between two sovereign states, India and Nepal, and Bihar is not a party to either 1954 or the 1966 agreement. "Water and Power Consultation Services, a central government's public sector undertaking has provided technical inputs to the Bihar government on possible ways to plug the breach at Kusaha in Nepal.

Participants included victims of embankments who expressed their anguish at the Delhi, Kathmandu and Patna centric deliberations and decision making. They called for a movement against Kosi High Dam, embankments and changing the current course of Kosi.

Amid news reports that Kosi's course will be restored by December 15 and the breach would be plugged by March 31, 2009 citing Kosi Breach Closure Advisory Technical Committee chairman Nilendu Sanyal and Ganga Flood Control Commission chairman R C Jha on 14 October, 2008 to finalise modalities on plugging the breach, some participants were opposed to the repair of the breach in Kusaha. Government must hear the views of these people before undertaking repair works.

Meanwhile, central government has sanctioned Rs 40 crore for the project and Bihar Cabinet has sanctioned Rs 197 crore. Bihar Water Resources Minister Bijendra Yadav has said tenders for the breach closure have been invited and bidding will take place after October 21.

Proposed "Sapta Kosi Multi Purpose Project" claims to irrigate 68,450 hectares in Nepal and provide remedy for drought-prone areas measuring 1,520,000 hectares in India. It is claimed that alongwith irrigation and flood control, about 3,500 MW of electrical power would also be generated from water stored in the 269-meter-high reservoir. According to a preliminary impact study, the proposed high dam will displace 75,000 people from about 79 Village Development Committees (VDCs) in nine districts of Nepal alone. About 111 settlements in the 79 VDCs, sprawling over the banks of the Sun Kosi, Tamor, and Arun rivers, will be totally submerged, while 47 settlements will face partial submergence, and 138 will become fractionally submerged.

Opinions available in public domain say, "If the dam is going to cause such upheaval, can the crops produced from the 68,450 hectares of irrigated land in Nepal compensate for this huge loss?" argued the bimonthly magazine, Pro Public/Good Governance, in its report. Estimated losses in the North Bihar are yet to be ascertained. Earlier, the meeting of the Indo-Nepal Joint Committee on Water Resources in Kathmandu on October 2, 2008 agreed to expedite work on preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) on Saptkosi High Dam on the Kosi. Both sides reiterated their commitment to expediting the work on preparation of the DPR of Saptkosi High Dam project during the meeting which concluded on Wednesday in Kathmandu. Nepal assured full administrative support and security to Indian engineers.

After the breach, on August 18-19, 2008 Nepal government had said that Kosi treaty is a "historic blunder" but Nepal government's inconsistent and ambiguous position now on the Kosi High Dam proposal based on the same treaty must be exposed in the Nepali parliament and media.

The Worst is Still to Come
In order to save Kosi region from an ecological and human disaster, Nepali and Indian legislators must take a categorical position based on a referendum on Kosi.

On August 19, 2008, the chairman of the Expert Committee on the Implementation of recommendations of Rashtriya Barh Ayog, R Rangachari said, "It is my impression that not much has been done to implement the suggestions made by the committee's report." Rangachari was on the Prime Minister's Task Force on Flood Control in 2004.

The National Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the Government of India made a solemn pledge to the people of the country in 2004 to undertake "Long-pending schemes in specific states that have national significance, like flood control and drainage in North Bihar." Despite acknowledging the problem, it is shocking that neither the Central nor Bihar Government conducts any survey to assess the effect of flood control measures on the socio-economic conditions of society.

On August 20, 2008, after the breach in the embankment at Kusaha in the Kosi region, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal `Prachanda', took stock of the post-calamity situation in the Kosi region and said "Kosi agreement was a historic blunder. The people are suffering due to this". The agreement had led to the construction of embankments and proposals for a high dam.

Following an aerial survey of the flood affected areas of Bihar, the Indian Prime Minister on August 28, 2008, termed the flood crisis as "a national calamity". More than four years have passed since the Indian Prime Minister made the promise in the CMP. Now, in August 2008 he declared, "A high-level team would be set up to coordinate matters with the Government of Nepal." He also promised protective structures and technical assistance to state government to prevent further deterioration in the embankments. Such dangling of carrots and
providing band-aid remedies are horribly insincere and it has been going on for over 60 years.

Bihar's floods in August 2008 caused the eighth breach in the embankments. According to the Bihar Government's own reports, last year 48 lakh people in 22 districts were in need of assistance due to floods. Clearly, it is not the extent, but the unpredictable intensity of the crisis that makes it a catastrophe. The primary function of floodwater is to drain out excess water. It has not been allowed to perform its functions due to engineering interventions.

Hundreds of reports prepared by Commissions of all ilks are gathering dust. At most, they become election campaign tools. The Commission should recommend fixing charges of criminal neglect against the members of the Kosi High-Level Committee, who waited for the calamity despite having information that could have led to timely evacuation of the people.

The drainage problem has failed to alter the policy regime of the country that favours structural solutions regardless of the natural drainage it may impede. Proposals like a high dam on the Kosi are as good as jumping from the frying pan into the fire, if the experience with embankments is anything to go by. Even when one chooses to ignore the changing morphology of the river, the estimated lifespan of a dam and embankment being 25 and 37 years respectively, underlines the transitory nature of the technocentric interventions. The Union Ministry of Water Resources misled the Rajya Sabha on March 11, 2008 claiming, "Government has taken various steps in the direction of water management to stop the flood in north Bihar coming from the rivers of Nepal." There has been no significant shift in the way the Kosi issue was perceived in the 1950s and in 2008.

The issue of the Kosi High Dam, first raised in 1948, has been sold to the victims as one of the 'permanent' solutions to recurring floods. Ironically, embankments as temporary solutions have become reasonably permanent whereas the 'permanent' solution has remained elusive. What is 'permanent' and how permanent is 'permanence'? It must be acknowledged now that there is a condemnable insincerity in proposing multi-purpose high dams for flood control, because the dams are proposed to tap the hydropower potential. Is it not clear that when the multipurpose — flood control, irrigation and power — dam is talked about, the real motive of the proposal in question is ignored? Clearly, political parties hold a stake in such power projects that make them little concernend with the masses struggling to remain afloat. A few days ago, Nepalese Prime Minister, Prachanda, conveyed his affirmation for the hydel power project in a meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Conclusion
There is a compelling logic behind seeking immediate review of the Indo- Nepal Kosi Treaty that created the rationale for embankments and dams. Continuing with it would amount to flogging a dead horse. The congestion in North Bihar and Nepal is a problem of permanent water-logging that has remained overlooked for several decades. Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes or tsunamis cannot be controlled. But the catastrophe they cause can be predicted, anticipated and
prevented. Drainage of the river must remain sacrosanct, besides timely evacuation of human and animal population and the establishment of robust public health systems.

Given its distinct geo-morphological features and complicated hydrological characters, the Kosi is one of the Himalayan rivers that is yet to be understood in its entirety. It is high time that policy makers gave up their outdated 'conquest over nature' paradigm. We have to learn to live with the floods, only this time, in far more readiness.

Ecological and futuristic vision based state interventions must treat natural flow of rivers as sacrosanct and natural habitats must not be tampered with, which we must maintain if we want life to exist on Earth. Instead of a gigantic dam, what is needed is a gigantic network of very small scale water management schemes, including a vast network of small dams in Himalayas.

The author is a member of the Fact Finding Mission on Kosi.

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Minutes of the 4th Meeting of the Experts Committee on Interlinking of Rivers project

Minutes of the 4th Meeting of the Committee of Environmentalists, Social
Scientists and other Experts on Interlinking of Rivers held on 8.1.2008 at
New Delhi.

The 4th Meeting of the Committee of Environmentalists, Social Scientists and other
Experts on Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) was held on 8.1.2008 at New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources.

The list of participants of the Meeting is given at Annexure-I.

Secretary (WR) welcomed all the members of the Committee, Special Invitees and other
participants and requested Director General, NWDA & Member-Secretary of the
Committee to take up the agenda items for discussion.

Item 4.1 : Confirmation of the Minutes of the 3rd Meeting

As no comments were received from any of the members/invitees, the minutes of the 3rd
meeting were confirmed.

Item 4.2.1 : Follow up action on the decision of the 2nd Meeting.

It was decided that after ascertaining their convenient date, NWDA will arrange field
visit for the interested members to visit the Ken-Betwa Project area.

Item No. 4.2.2 : Follow up action on the decision of 3rd Meeting.

As decided during the 3rd meeting, Director General, NWDA informed the members that
the suggestions/queries, fortythree in number which were received on the website of
NWDA had been compiled and annexed to the Agenda. He intimated that all queries
have been appropriately replied to.

Director General, NWDA informed the members that the suggestion of Shri Ranjit Kumar, Amicus Curiae, Supreme Court has been referred to the Ministry of Water Resources.

Reacting to this, Shri Ranjit Kumar mentioned that under the River Board Act, 1956
there are certain powers vested with Govt. of India and the subject of water including
Interstate Rivers/ILR may be dealt by Centre without any modification so no fresh
constitutional amendment is required. Centre have adequate power under Entry 56 of
List-II read with the River Board Act 1956.

Shri Z. Hasan mentioned that Entry 56 empowers the Parliament to enact laws for
development and regulation of the Interstate Rivers and the subject of interlinking of rivers may be considered keeping in view the broader perspective of water resources development & planning.

Secretary (WR) mentioned that the issue regarding inclusion of provisions related to
water in the concurrent list has been referred to the Inter State Council for inclusion of the same in the Terms of Reference for the Commission on Centre-State Relations.

Item No. 4.3 : Preparation of Detailed Project Report of Ken-Betwa link –
Environmental Impact Assessment and studies of socioeconomic aspects.

Director General, NWDA informed the members that the suggestions given by the members of the Committee on the ToR for carrying out EIA studies of Ken-Betwa link
during the 3rd meeting have been incorporated in the ToR. The modified ToR has been
approved by MoE&F on 10.4.2007.

Members were of the view that the letter of MoE&F dated (10.4.2007) conveying the
approval of the ToR should have been attached to the Agenda. It was decided that it
will be circulated to the members. Dr. S. Bhowmik from MoE&F informed that a
clearance from Supreme Court may also be required as Panna Tiger Reserve Forest area
is coming under submergence. He also stated that this condition was clearly stated in

MoE&F clearance/approval letter. Secretary (WR) instructed NWDA to take necessary
action in the matter.

Shri Hasan mentioned that issues related to climatic change should have been included
in the ToR under the Item “Air Environment”.

Shri Rajinder Singh mentioned that adequate steps should be taken for public
acceptance for the ILR project. During the last meeting, the suggestion made by him
for inclusion of more members in the Committee or hearing the views of experts like
Shri G.D. Agarwal, Smt. Vandana Shiva & Smt. Medha Patekar have not been considered. He was of the opinion that public acceptance of the project is necessary to avoid future social conflicts. For this purpose, public seminar should be organised in the project area to generate a favourable public opinion at large.

The Chairperson clarified that public hearing is a part of the EIA studies. There is no question of ignoring the stakeholders and their views are duly considered. She also
mentioned that keeping in view the size of the Committee, it is not possible to include all the experts working in the field of water resources, environment, social science etc.

However, as a follow up to the views expressed by Shri Rajinder Singh and Supreme
Court observations, two more members namely Shri Himanshu Thakkar and Prof. Vijay
Paranjpye have been included in the Committee. As far as the consideration of the
views of various NGOs /institutions/individuals, organizing a seminar/symposium may be
considered at the appropriate time.

Shri Himanshu Thakkar expressed the need to add some more items in the ToR of Ken-
Betwa link. He was of the opinion that the feasibility report/their gist may be prepared in Hindi and sent to all the Gram Sabhas in the area for their comments, though this is not a legal requirement. Reacting to the award of the consultancy work of EIA studies of Ken-Betwa link, he opined that M/s Agricultural Finance Corportation Ltd. was not the right organisation to carry out such studies as per its past record. A major role of this Committee is to advise the Government on environmental and socio-economic issues covered in the ToR for preparation of detailed project report. The Committee did not have the opportunity to apply its mind on such issues as the meeting is taking place after a long gap. It is better to make mid course correction rather than deliberating after report is completed.

Director General, NWDA informed that as the ToR have already been finalised after
incorporating the suggestions from members of the Committee and the work awarded to
the consultant therefore, it may not be appropriate to review the ToR for EIA studies of Ken-Betwa link at this stage. However, the suggestions made by the members will be
considered while awarding the work of EIA studies for DPR of other links to be taken up in future by NWDA. As far as, the award of consultancy work for EIA studies of Ken-
Betwa link is concerned, due procedure has been followed by NWDA. The Chief Engineer (HQ) explained that initially, NWDA invited the Expression of Interests from
various firms through advertisements in leading national newspapers. The same were
evaluated by a committee constituted for this purpose under the Chairmanship of Chief
Engineer (EMO), CWC. Based on experience, firms were short listed for sending the
Request for Proposal Document (Tender Document). In response to this, technical and
financial bids submitted by the short listed firms were evaluated by the Committee.
Finally, on the basis of the recommendation made by the Committee and approval of the
competent authority, the work was awarded to M/s Agricultural Finance Corporation
Ltd., Hyderabad.

Prof. M.N. Madhyastha desired the intervention of the Committee of Experts for useful
contribution to the EIA studies to have mid-course correction if needed. Dr. (Mrs.) Mala
Kapur Shankardass mentioned that as the consultant has already submitted the
Inception Report, the same may also be shared with the members of the Committee.
Director General, NWDA informed the members that the consultant is carrying out the
work according to the ToR and is likely to submit the first interim report by April, 2008 and that can be circulated to members for discussion in the next meeting.

The members, in general, wanted that the frequency of the meetings of the Committee
should be increased. The Secretary (WR) appreciated their concern and it was decided
that henceforth the meetings of the Committee will be held quarterly.

Prof. Vijay Paranjpye expressed the opinion that the NWDA proposals should also be
made available in regional languages to have a general public opinion about the ILR
project. The public hearing as a part of EIA studies in respect of individual project is something different from the public opinion about such a large project. The issue
alongwith the work done so far should be publicly debated. Considering its national
importance, a public debate involving media and people should be there to dispel the
fears in the minds of the general public. He also mentioned that the NCAER report is not kept in the public domain.

Secretary (WR) clarified that the matter of ILR has been discussed widely at various fora as well as the media during the last few years. She added that the working of NWDA is very much transparent and efforts are being made to put everything on the website so that it is accessible to all. Regarding the NCAER report, the Chairperson informed that it has not been finalized and it will be put up on the website after its finalization.

Chief Engineer (N), NWDA informed that FR of Ken-Betwa link and Executive Summary
of some links in Hindi have been put on the website along with a brief summary of the
Ken-Betwa link project also in Hindi. The same has also been distributed by NWDA
officials during their field visit to villages. Shri Ranjit Kumar suggested that all such material, minutes and agenda of all the meetings of the Committee may be uploaded on the website of NWDA. As it is not possible to interact with all the NGOs/public
representatives/individuals in a conventional manner, therefore, to involve all these in the discussions related to ILR, it is better to invite suggestions on the website and clarified by NWDA.

Shri Himanshu Thakkar mentioned that the water balance assessment made by NWDA
in its studies does not indicate its impact on the ground water resources specially in the downstream and upstream areas of storage/diversion structures. Further, sub-basinwise assessment has not been made regarding the rain water harvesting potential. He informed that he has carried out some studies in this regard and would like to present it in the next meeting. He also mentioned that no additional irrigation potential has been created in the last few years and irrigation potential created is not utilized. He quoted irrigation potential data available on the website of Ministry of Agriculture.

Reacting to this, Commissioner (PR), MOWR informed that the actual data based on information from the States, field monitoring by CWC and satellite imaging relating to irrigation potential created and irrigation potential utilized is available with the Ministry of Water Resources. MOWR is taking up the matter with Ministry of Agriculture & Planning Commission to reconcile the figures.

Prof. Vijay Paranjpye mentioned that DPR stage level improvements are always there.
For these improvements, recent 3-4 years data pertaining to rainfall and stream flows
should be used in the studies carried out by NWDA. He also wanted that climatological
effects should be considered in the report.

Dr. Ashok Khosla expressed that in addition to the environmental issues, there are some more issues like cropping pattern, industrial changes, type of water distribution system etc. which need to be considered. He was of the view that impact of ILR projects on other sectors need to be kept in view.

Shri A.C. Kamaraj mentioned that priority of the Govt. is to take up peninsular component of the ILR. The work of preparation of the DPR of the links are being taken
up only after arriving at the consensus amongst the concerned States. In the process,
many precious years are being lost thereby also causing cost overrun. In order to have
a faster implementation, we must have a target for each link.

Shri Kamaraj also mentioned that he has framed a proposal as a complimentary project
to the ILR. He had held discussions with the officers of various State Govts. on his
proposal. The Chairperson requested him to make available copies of his proposal to
members of the Committee.

Item No. 4.4: Suggestion of Shri P. Sen, Member regarding extension of
Krishna (Almatti) – Pennar link upto Palar river.

Director General, NWDA explained that the suggestion of Shri P. Sen for extension of
Krishna (Almatti) – Pennar link upto the starting point of Palar river to benefit the water scarce region of Kolar district in Karnataka has been examined by NWDA. It is observed that Kolar and its adjacent area is situated at an altitude ranging from 700 m to 1300 m and it is not viable techno-economically to provide irrigation to the areas of Kolar district by pumping through Krishna (Almatti)- Pennar link. Shri Sen mentioned that if ILR projects in South India are fully implemented, it will be an achievement par excellence, in the whole world. He complemented that the peninsular links prepared by NWDA are very well done. However, he gave a number of suggestions for improvement of the studies which are at Annexure-II.

The Director General, NWDA appreciated the suggestions given by Shri Sen and assured
that appropriate directions will be issued to the field offices of NWDA for taking action on the suggestions.

Shri Z. Hasan expressed the opinion that the ILR project may be implemented in two
phases. In its first phase, the projects already planned and investigated by the State
Govts. (Manibhadra, Inchampalli, Polavaram, Ken) etc. may be taken up as normal
water resources project. In addition to the storage proposed by the State Govts., extra
storage may be considered for ILR projects. In the second phase, the Interbasin Water
transfer links can be taken up.

Item No. 4.5: Re-constitution of the Committee of Environmentalists, Social Scientists and other Experts on Interlinking of Rivers.

The information was noted by the Committee members.

Item No. 4.6: Any other Item with the permission of Chair.

Shri Himanshu Thakkar mentioned that during the 3rd meeting, DG, NWDA mentioned that the ILR project will be implemented in the most transparent manner and after consensus amongst the concerned States. He expressed apprehension that the Polavaram project which is also a component of ILR is under construction. However, till date no consensus has been reached among the concerned States.

Even Ministry of Environment & Forests has not given the forest clearance and R&R plan has not been approved by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. CWC has not cleared the project. The State Govts. of Orissa and Chhattisgarh have reservations about the area coming under submergence in their States. Public hearings were not held in the project area in an appropriate manner and some human right violations were also reported in the project area during public hearing. Considering the above, recently National Environmental Appellate Authority (NEAA) quashed the environmental clearance given by MoE&F to the Polavaram project. He mentioned that the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) assessment for the project is also not assessed in an appropriate manner. He further mentioned that FRs prepared by NWDA need to be reviewed by some reputed agency for improvement. He mentioned that it is necessary to find a least cost alternative for the purpose for which the ILR project is proposed as per the basic requirement given in ToR of EIA studies.

Responding to this, Commissioner (PR), MOWR mentioned that there is an interstate
agreement on the execution of the Polavaram Project between the State of Andhra
Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh (now Chhattisgarh), which is also taken as records
in the Godavari Tribunal Award. Ministry of Water Resources and Central Water
Commission are working within the framework of provisions of Godavari Award.

The project is at present under techno-economic appraisal in CWC. Several meetings have been held with the concerned States and as a outcome of these meetings some fresh surveys have been planned to assess the submergence. There is nominal submergence in the State of Orissa and Chhattisgarh and it is proposed to construct embankments to avoid submergence. Major submergence is in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Based on the Supreme Court’s directions, Ministry of Tribal Affairs have considered the projects proposal and given clearance. He also mentioned that the PMF is mainly designed for the safety of the dam and not for R&R plan.

Shri Hasan mentioned that as per the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal Award, the
States can use their shares as per their planned uses and Godavari is having a large
surplus of the water above certain level which can be used for hydropower generation
which will also minimize the submergence. Considering the complex nature of the
subject of hydrology generally 100 years flow series is considered to work out the 75%
dependable flows.

Prof. Paranjpye expressed that (a) Maharashtra is transferring about 18% of Krishna
water from a deficit basin to a highly surplus basin (b) the committee may have a look
on a best water balance study of a river basin and a best DPR of a link project as a
Benchmark and may come out with suggestions.

Shri Rajinder Singh mentioned about the problem of non-availability of water resources
data.

Secretary (WR) informed that specific data can be obtained by the members from CWC.
Dr. Mala Kapur Shankardass suggested that members can discuss such issues on the
website of NWDA and for this, password may be provided to the members for online
discussions. Secretary (WR) agreed that NWDA website can be modified to have an
online forum for discussion by members.

The meeting ended with a vote of thanks.

Annexure-I

List of Participants who attended the 4th Meeting of the Committee of Environmentalists, Social Scientists and other Experts on Interlinking of
Rivers held on 8.1.2008 at New Delhi.

Mrs. Gauri Chatterjee, Secretary, MoWR In Chair

Members of the Committee:
S/Shri
1. Dr. Ashok Khosla Member
2. Sh. Rajendra Singh Member
3. Prof. M.N. Madhyastha Member
4. Sh. Z. Hasan Member
5. Dr. (Mrs.) Mala Kapur Shankardass Member
6. Sh. A.C. Kamaraj Member
7. Sh. P. Sen Member
8. Prof. Vijay Paranjpye Member
9. Sh. Himanshu Thakkar Member
10. Sh. M. S. Gupta, Representing Chairman, CWC
Director (BPMO), CWC
11. Dr. S. Bhowmik, Addl. Director, MOE&F Representing Secy, MOE&F
12. Sh. A.D. Bhardwaj, DG, NWDA Member-Secretary

Apology:
1. Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment

Special Invitees:
1. Shri S. Manoharan, Addl. Secretary (WR)
2. Sh. Indra Raj, Commissioner (PR), MoWR
3. Sh. Ranjit Kumar, Sr. Advocate, Amicus Curiae, Supreme Court

NWDA:
1. Sh. M.K.Sinha, Chief Engineer (N), NWDA, Lucknow.
2. Sh. N.K.Bhandari, Chief Engineer (HQ), NWDA, New Delhi.
3. Sh. P.R. Rao, Chief Engineer (S), NWDA, Hyderabad.
4. Sh. Muzaffar Ahmad, Superintending Engineer, NWDA, New Delhi.
5. Sh. Jabbar Ali, Deputy Director, NWDA, New Delhi.

Annexure-II

PRASAD SEN 57/1 Raja Direndra St.
Chief Engineer (Retd.), CWC & Kolkatta-700006
Member, Committee of Experts, ILR Tel. : 033-2350-4759
8th January, 2008.

Suggestions of Shri P. Sen, Member, Committee of Experts for ILR for
consideration of the Committee on 8.1.08.

First of all kindly allow me to express my extreme gratitude to the NWDA engineers
for critically analyzing my humble proposal of extending a branch of the Krishna-
Almatti link channel to the water scarcity area of Kolar in eastern Karnataka.

During my service period in CWC, I had the opportunity to visit various places in
South India where water scarcity is acute. Even after my retirement, I am often
staying at a water scarce zone in Karnataka and know the plight of the poor people.

If the ILR projects in South India are fully implemented, it will be an achievement
par excellence, incomparable in the whole world.

I have studied the brief description of all the Peninsular links prepared by NWDA.
These are very well done.

A few humble suggestions came to my mind, which I would like to place before the
august body of experts present here, for their kind consideration.

1. Due to the wide variation of altitude in the Peninsular region, large areas
which are drought prone have to be left out from the commands of the links.

My request is please prepare a map superimposing the drought prone areas in South
India vis-à-vis the command areas of the different link channels. A drought area
map is already available in the Central Water Commission.

2. A statistical analysis may be prepared from the agriculturists of the areas,
identifying the period when drought condition generally develops there.

3. In the above mentioned super-imposed maps locate the existing lakes and tanks which normally serve for the irrigation and drinking water.

4. Let the trunk canal routes of the links proposed by NWDA remain intact. In addition to that a few branches may be identified (pipe-lines, tunnels and open canals) which can serve those left-out drought prone zones by occasional pumping, when drought become acute. These pumping may be resorted to only during 2 or 3 water scarce months in a year. If the weather forecasts can predict drought, the pumping can be started even earlier.

5. The cost of these pumping and maintenance of the pumping systems can be shared by the beneficiary States and the Central Govt. jointly.
6. The extra cost for the construction of the pump houses, pipe-lines, tunnels,
channels, booster systems etc. may be included in the main project itself, to
be borne by the Centre.

If the above proposals are considered acceptable, it will definitely make the link
project all encompassing and highly beneficial for all the suffering villages in the
Southern India.

Sd/-
(P. Sen)

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Linking of Rivers will lead to Aral Sea type disasters

Linking of rivers, a monstrous project
Interlinking of rivers, the world's biggest project which entails rewriting the geography of the sub-continent is based on the same flawed economic ideology and philosophy that privatizes profit and socializes cost. India occupies 2.45 per cent of the earth's surface and 72 per cent of South Asia. If one analyses the topography of the country, one can see that there can be no acceptable way of making a water network in the country as it entails diverting the natural course of the rivers, which would lead to several Aral Sea type disasters (where two Siberian rivers were diverted).

Even before one proposes such mega projects it is reasonable to seek a performance assessment of all hydro power projects built till date.

The National Commission for Water Resource Development, set up by the ministry of water resources under the chairmanship of S.R. Hashim, had submitted a report, namely the Integrated Water Resource Development Plan. The report says: "The Himalayan river linking data is not freely available, but on the basis of public information, it appears that the Himalayan river-linking component is not feasible for the period of review up to 2050."

Ganga, deemed as a "surplus" river is a trans-boundary river from which water is planned to be removed to relieve flood by means of barrage-canal works for transfer to Subarnarekha-Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery flows during monsoon flood at the average rate of 50,000 cumecs, creating an annual disaster. If Ganga is indeed a surplus river why has the Prime Ministers Office chosen to create a Ganga River Basin Authority and advocate Ganga river basin approach.

However, the if flood is to be relieved, water in substantial quantity needs to be removed by means of the link canals that will "be 50 to 100 m wide and more than 6 m deep", according to government's website explaining the modus operandi of "benefits." When a 10 m deep 100 m wide lined canal can at most carry about 1,500 cumecs of water, that would relieve flood only to the extent of 3 per cent and that too only downstream of the canal.

In the present scheme of things, if the Himalayan links are not being taken up as per the Government of India's statement to Bangladesh, there is no reason to take up the peninsular links because Brahmaputra or Ganga water will not reach Godavari and the system of water supply to Cauvery will fail. The scheme appears to be poorly conceived and designed, and is unworkable. Therefore, claim of flood and drought relief is misplaced.

The ministry of water resources has prepared a master plan suggesting that the water requirements can be met through artificial recharge of the ground water at a very minimum cost compared to ILR. It was in the backdrop of rejection by a high powered committee, which has deemed the project undesirable that the GoI used the President of India to re-propose this project on August 14, 2002.

Besides, this project involves major international rivers such as the Ganga and the Brahmaputra with their tributaries. Even the peninsular component is linked with them through the Subarnarekha-Mahanadi and Mahanadi-Godabari links. The transfer of water from the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries and distributaries will affect all co-riparian countries.

Bangladesh as the downstream country will be particularly affected immediately, whose deltaic ecology and economy depend crucially on the water of the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, and other international rivers that flow through India . The annual monsoon inundation is a normal feature of the delta formation process in Bangladesh, and hence it cannot be used as a ground for large-scale water transfer from these common rivers.

The withdrawal of the Ganga water at Farakka has already caused serious damage to the ecology and economy of south-western districts of Bangladesh, including the Sundarbans, the unique mangrove forests along the Bay of Bengal. Further withdrawal of water of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, as envisioned, will threaten the country's economy and ecology, making it impossible for Bangladesh to concede to this project. Apart from presenting a considerable technical challenge, that of having to transfer the Brahmaputra and the Ganga waters, it will contravene basic principles of international law and their standard practices, and would adversely impact India's relationship with Bangladesh.

Unmindful of such a backdrop, it is noteworthy that Parliamentarians like Suresh Prabhu and Rajeev Chandrasekhar are known for their advocacy of Interlinking of Rivers. Not surprisingly, Chandrasekhar who is also the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has referred to linking of rivers as a solution to Kosi floods. Most recently, he has constituted a FICCI Task Force on Kosi River Management with Prabhu as its Chairman. Not long ago, Prabhu was also the Chairman of the Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers and had launched his work with a National Conference organised by FICCI. Chandrasekhar, former Chairperson of Government of Karnataka’s Infrastructure Task Force has contributed Rs 1 crore for Bihar flood victims. It may be recollected that Rajinikanth, the film star too had donated Rs 1 crore for interlinking of rivers in India.

Earlier the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources had invited comments on the project from the public for a debate in Parliament, but even before any such thing happened an agreement on Ken-Betwa was signed between the states and the Central government. The government, courts and the parliament ought to take cognizance of the adverse ecological consequences of such a massive scheme. But these institutions have emerged as a threat to our ecosystem in general and rivers in particular because they remain wedded to the idea of mega projects which has emerged from the same economic ideology that has led to financial collapse and the ecological crisis.

Gopal Krishna

1. National Projects & Interlinking of Rivers: Union Water Resources Ministry

The States of Maharashtra and Gujarat have given their concurrence on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for taking up work of preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) of two more priority river links namely ‘Par-Tapi-Narmada’ and ‘Daman-Ganga-Pinjal’. The works of preparation of DPR of the Ken-Betwa Link project is constantly under review and is likely to be finalized shortly.

The 24th Annual General meeting of National Water Development Agency (NWDA) held in July 2008 reviewed the progress of Interlinking of Rivers programme in the presence of Water Resources ministers of many States.

The Central Government has declared 14 water resources projects as National Projects subject to working out the mode of financing in consultation with Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission. For these projects, it is proposed to provide 90 per cent project cost of irrigation and drinking water component of the project as Central grant after techno-economic appraisal of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and investment clearance by the Planning Commission. The irrigation benefit from theses projects is estimated to be about 21 lakh ha apart from additional indirect benefits and availability of drinking water.

These National Projects are: Nao Dehang Dam Project and Upper Siang Project (Arunachal Pradesh); Kulsi Dam Project (Assam) ; Renuka Dam Project and Gyspa Project (Himachal Pradesh) ; Kishau Project (Himachal Pradesh/Uttarakhand) ; Bursar Project and Ujh Multipurpose Project (Jammu & Kashmir) ; Ken-Betwa Project (Madhya Pradesh) ; Gosikhurd Project (Maharashtra) ; Shahpur Kandi Project and 2nd. Ravi Vyas Link (Punjab); Lakhvar Vyasi Project (Uttarakhand) ; and Teesta Barraga Project (West Bengal).

2. Bihar Government seeks Rs 3580 crore for linking of rivers

Bihar Government on December 11, 2008 made a strong pitch before the 13th Finance Commission for Rs 4.18 lakh crore for all-round development of the state.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Water Resources Development Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Chief Secretary R J M Pillai and departmental secretaries made a presentation before a delegation of Finance Commission, headed by its chairman Vijay Kelkar.

The state government requested the Commission to make available Rs 17,886 crore as special package to the state to take up flood moderation, relief and rehabilitation exercises in Bihar, which suffered a devastating deluge by the Kosi.

The package included a sum of Rs 5098 crore for desilting of rivers, Rs 3580 crore for inter-linking of river basins, Rs 2055 crore for reconstruction of rural roads, Rs 4200 crore for construction of houses that could withstand onslaught of deluge in districts ravaged by this year's flood and Rs 1843 crore for reconstruction of highways.

3. Linking of rivers will lead to industrial growth

Guntur (AP) (PTI): Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources R Sambasiva Rao on demanded implementation of the interlinking of rivers programme in the country.

Speaking at the inauguration of Kodanda Ram Lift Irrigation Scheme at Dharanikota village in Guntur, Rao said, the programme will boost agriculture production, create employment, generate power and a give a fillip to industrial growth.

By transferring excess water the programme averts floods in some rivers and mitigate drought caused for want of irrigation facilities in other areas, he said.

Rao said the Standing Committee has identified five links for priority consideration. They are Godavari-Krishna, Ken-Betwa, Parbath-Kalisindh, Par-Tapi, Naramada and Daman-Ganga-Pinai.

4. Hooda advocates inter-basin transfer of river water

Chandigarh (PTI): Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday said that future of Water Management in the country including the ambitious project for inter-linking of all major rivers depends on inter-basin transfer of river waters without conflict.

The Chief Minister was addressing the North-Western Regional Workshop on Re-thinking Centre-State Relations in India organized by the Panjab University under the aegis of the Commission on Centre-State Relations here.

He urged the Central Government to adopt a pro-active stance on projects involving inter-basin transfer of river waters and suggested the execution of such projects by a central agency.

The second Ravi-Beas link purposed by Haryana State and included in the list of National Projects could come up early if taken up by a central agency, he added.

He said that Article 262 of the Constitution of India provides for adjudication of Inter-state water disputes by Tribunals and bars the jurisdiction of the Courts for this purpose.

5. Interlinking of rivers can rid Bihar of flood and drought: Bihar Minister

Patna: Bihar Water Resources Development Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav on December 4, 2008 told the Legislative Council that inter-linking of rivers could rid the state of perennial problems of flood and drought.

Replying to a special debate on drought like situation prevailing in many districts of south Bihar, Yadav said "unless and until rivers are inter-linked the twin problems can not be solved."

Yadav said the inter-linking of Bihar rivers would cost more than Rs 4,000 crore.

6. Is linking of rivers a solution to depletion of water resources in Vellore district?

G.Viswanathan, Chancellor, Vellore Institute of Technology University (VITU), said that the district was now facing a dangerous situation where the existing water sources were fast depleting. The main reason was failure to conserve rainwater. No steps had been taken to carry floodwater to drought-hit areas. During the previous regime, the Union government had constituted a committee for inter-linking rivers. But, no headway was made, he regretted.

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USA's trashed TVs, computer monitors can make toxic mess

Note: Few weeks back even Madras High Court returned the waste sent from US. Given the fact that US is looking for places all over the developing world to dump its waste in different disguises, Indian agencies must heighten their vigil instead of letting the country become a dustbin US in the name of recycling.

But Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 which is meant to deal with is a disappointment. Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation has invited comments on it. Hopefully, the Committee will get the current rules and institutions overhauled and brings Union Ministry of Environment and Forests under parliamentary control because this Ministry's acts of connivance is too grave to be ignored. Even Commerce Ministry's role does not bring it any glory. It is
germane to recollect that Japan and India have signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that may facilitate dumping of Japanese toxic wastes in our country.

Gopal Krishna

SEATTLE — Hong Kong intercepted and returned 41 ship containers to U.S. ports this year because they carried tons of illegal electronics waste from the U.S., according to the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department.

By turning the containers away, Hong Kong thwarted attempts by U.S. companies to dump 1.4 million pounds of broken TVs or computer monitors overseas and an estimated 82,000 pounds of lead, a known toxin, in the devices.

But thousands of other shipments probably slipped through, says Jim Puckett, head of the Basel Action Network, or BAN, a three-employee environmental non-profit that over eight years has become a respected watchdog over the rapidly growing electronics recycling industry.

Puckett expects much more e-waste will be exported from the U.S. once the broadcasting industry switches to digital signals on Feb. 17 and millions of households junk their old analog TV sets.

That's one reason BAN and other activists have ramped up efforts to slow the unfettered export of the USA's e-waste to poorer countries. There are signs they're getting results. Since August, when the Government Accountability Office released a blistering investigative report declaring that exported U.S. e-waste was often disposed of unsafely in countries such as China and India, BAN has received pledges from dozens of electronics recyclers that they won't export. It also has won more support for its ambitious plan to set standards for recyclers so that customers can identify the environmentally responsible ones. Meanwhile, more companies of all kinds — fearful of being exposed as global polluters — are auditing recyclers to make sure they don't export refuse from electronics to poorer countries.

"We are at a tipping point," says Robert Houghton, president of e-waste recycler Redemtech of Ohio, one of the industry's leaders. "More companies recognize that people care about this, and there's a bit more regulatory attention being paid to people defrauding the system."

Puckett, 54, a former Greenpeace worker, was among the first to show U.S. consumers the impact of toxic e-waste on China. In 2001, he traveled to Guiyu, China, with a handheld camera and a Chinese translator. There, he documented tens of thousands of peasants soaking spent electronics in acid baths or burning them in open-air fires to recover the gold, silver and copper within. The rudimentary techniques left behind toxic sludge, air and water. BAN and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition turned his investigation into a film, Exporting Harm, which was distributed throughout the electronics industry and helped publicize the issue.

This past May, Puckett returned to the same village with a news crew from 60 Minutes and found that the situation had worsened. 60 Minutes dubbed Guiyu "one the most toxic places on Earth," where tests have shown seven of 10 children have high levels of lead in their bodies.

Still, the landscape has shifted measurably. In 2001, Puckett and the one other BAN employee could find no U.S. recyclers who weren't exporting e-waste to developing countries. No U.S. law prevented the export of e-waste to developing countries.

Since then, BAN — working on a shoestring budget from an office in Seattle with mismatched furniture and concrete floors — has had 40 recyclers take its E-Steward pledge not to export to poorer countries. In the wake of August's report from the GAO, Congress' investigative arm, 82 other recyclers have joined BAN's waiting list to earn its E-Steward designation.

What's more, more businesses and institutions are requesting that their recyclers be E-Stewards. Earlier this year, Wells Fargo started seeking recyclers that have taken the E-Stewards pledge or plan to. Last year, the University of California started requiring that its recyclers be E-Stewards. Also in 2007, Sony became the first electronics maker to take BAN's pledge requiring that its recyclers not export to developing countries.

Samsung Electronics America says it modeled its recycling program on BAN's standards. "They are the most stringent, and we wanted to set a high bar," says Steven Cook, Samsung senior vice president.

Equally important, more companies are auditing recyclers. "Four years ago, the corporations called and said, 'I've got stuff. Can you come and get it?' " says Mike Wright, CEO of Guaranteed Recycling Experts in Denver. "Now they say, 'I've got stuff. What are you going to do with it, and our auditors will check that out.' "

Tougher audit process

BAN (www.ban.org), too, is strengthening its audit procedures. In 2010, it'll launch a voluntary certification program for the USA's 300 to 500 e-waste recyclers. The EPA estimates the industry recycles 60 million electronics products a year, most of which are exported.

Now, E-Stewards must pass a "desk audit" by BAN. The audit includes a check of a recycler's paperwork and phone interviews with their subcontractors to track e-waste from collection to disposal. To be BAN-certified, recyclers will have to pay for more rigorous audits by trained inspectors. Those will include onsite visits of recyclers and subcontractors. BAN's current E-Stewards have pledged $400,000 — double BAN's annual budget — to help BAN develop its standard, hire consultants and train auditors to track e-waste through what can be a maze of recyclers, brokers and wholesalers.

"We know all the tricks that people use to hide exports," says Houghton of Redemtech, one of the E-Stewards. He says companies that hire recyclers and "want to do the right thing" lack auditing expertise to track e-waste. He estimates that 80% of U.S. e-waste collected for recycling is exported and that most recyclers "defraud their clients when it comes to exporting."

The recycling industry's trade association, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, disagrees.

"I have to believe the majority are doing the right thing," says Robin Wiener, ISRI president. She says illegal exports should be stopped but that a ban on e-waste exports to developing countries would punish companies in those countries that have high-tech recycling capabilities.

Instead of a ban, ISRI supports another new certification effort, dubbed R-2, which is also supported by the EPA. To be R-2 certified, recyclers can export to some developing countries, but they have to verify that those exports are recycled responsibly, says the EPA's Tisha Petteway.

Puckett says R-2 is full of loopholes, including one allowing unrestricted export of old circuit boards as long as they're shredded — which doesn't remove some toxic material.

ISRI also says that the U.S. should help China and others upgrade their recycling facilities. Focusing on exports is a "red herring," says Eric Harris, ISRI's director of international affairs.

While BAN and others have long charged that U.S. e-waste was polluting poorer countries, the GAO's August report lent weight to their claims.

The GAO, after a 10-month investigation, lambasted the EPA for failing to enforce the USA's only regulation regarding e-waste exports. That rule says that broken cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) — the lead-containing picture tubes in older TVs and computer monitors — cannot be exported unless the U.S. recycler notifies the EPA and gets permission from the importing country.

Posing as buyers of broken CRTs in Asia, the GAO investigators e-mailed 343 U.S. recyclers looking for old CRTs. Of the 64 companies that responded, 43 agreed to export the CRTs in apparent violation of the CRT rule, the GAO said.

When contacted by the GAO, many of the companies claimed not to export CRTs even though their employees offered just that to undercover GAO investigators. Many of the recyclers also touted their environmental images on websites. None had notified the EPA of their intent to export, and some told investigators that the CRT rule was never enforced, the GAO report said.

Given that the CRT rule was enacted in 2007, the EPA says it was more focused on educating recyclers than on enforcement. But it also said that it's undertaken 20 investigations of recyclers and fined one recycler $10,000. The agency refused to give further details.

Increased vigilance

Because of the GAO's investigation, "EPA enforcement went from non-existent, to them actually doing something," says John Stephenson, the GAO's lead investigator on the e-waste report.

He says the GAO consulted BAN, and other groups, when doing its investigation. BAN, in particular, showed investigators from both the GAO and the EPA how to track illegal exports.

BAN's tactic? It stations volunteers near recyclers' loading docks and photographs container numbers as the containers get filled. Then, BAN tracks the containers' movement via public websites and alerts officials in the receiving country that a suspect container is on the way.

Some of the containers turned back in Hong Kong resulted from tips from BAN, its records indicate. Hong Kong refused to name the companies involved.

Puckett says recyclers are so aware of BAN that they've tried to hide container numbers from photographers. He says BAN, traditionally funded by environmentally focused foundations and individuals, will continue that work, as well as its certification business.

"The industry is scared," he says. "That's a good thing."

By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/2008-12-29-environmental-toxic-waste-watchdogs_N.htm

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Ganga more important than development, its ecological entity is non-negotiable

True Basin Approach a Must to Combat Adverse Water Quality & Depletion of Ecological Flow
Citizen Groups Seek Environmental Audit before formation of Ganga River Basin Authority

A Round Table held at Indian Social Institute tdwelt on how water quality in Ganga can be positively impacted by seeking Zero tolerance towards hazardous chemicals, wate water and how depletion in ecological flow due to uncalled for hydro projects adversely affects the water quality.

In view of the declaration by the Prime Minister's Office of its sane intent with regard to basin approach for development, the participants sought review of Industrial Policy, Environmental Policy, Water Policy, Agriculture Policy and the recently announced Integrated Energy Policy. They called for an environmental audit of all the industrial activities in the Ganga basin. As auditing and accounting are inextricably interlinked, the important pre-requisite for effective environmental auditing is sound environmental accounting.

Taking note of the unregulated industrial pollution in general and chemical pollution in particular, the participants called for inventorisation of chemicals so that certain chemicals whose environmental health impact is known can be phased out.
Participants were highly critical of the current externalization the cost of pollution and criminal neglect of it impact on human health and ecosystem.

The fact that "Polluter Pays Principle" has been only lip service so far even as the heavily polluting industries to continue to poison the food chain with impunity due to their donations to political parties illustrated what was referred to as absence of state and death of accountability.

Responding to the declaration of Ganga River Basin Authority in the aftermath of the recent acknowledgment by the Prime Minister's Office which says, "there is a need to replace the current piecemeal efforts taken up in a fragmented manner in select cities with an integrated approach that sees the river as an ecological entity and addresses issues of quantity in terms of water flows along with issues of quality," the participants at the Round Table agreed that the ecological flow of water too impacts the quality of water.

In pursuance of the same identifying chemicals is important in order to seek its elimination from the water resources in general and Ganga in particular was stressed. The key player and key body with regard to Ganga is all set to be the River Basin Authority. Therefore, it was opined that if the Ganga basin approach is indeed adopted then as per Comptroller Auditor General's audit reports there was a need to strengthen the environmental clearance process emanating which has been manifestly weakened.

In the backdrop of misplaced enthusiasm about mega projects like Ganga Expressway and 'interlinking of rivers' scheme, it was unanimously agreed that these are ecologically destructive. Driven by free market fanatics such "economic growth at any cost" mindset of development fundamentalists bulldozing massive land use change in the Ganga basin, oblivious of the grave threat it poses our ecosystem. It emerged that it is pursued by an economic ideology that led to a financial collapse in US and Europe and which has brought about the climate crisis.

Participants concluded Ganga is more important than development and the ecological entity of the river basin is non-negotiable.

Given the fact that parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, environment and forests has concluded that Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the nodal body for regulating environmental norms parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, environment and forests is "a near-defunct body", in the context of the Ganga basin, there is an immediate need to conduct full fledged Environmental Auditing (EA) reports with Performance Audit framework, applying guidelines and benchmarked best practices.

Data on environmental costs and liabilities can be used for better decision making in areas like use of inputs, choice of technology for processing and handling of hazardous chemicals, hazardous wastes and byproducts. These can in turn help decision making of the River Basin Authority relating to usage of alternative raw materials, consumption of utilities like water and power, choice of processing technology based on environmental cost of treating discharge into water, adverse environmental aspect and impact on flora fauna and human beings and treatment of byproducts.

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Dow's Bhopal Waste Comes to Supreme Court

The Gujarat government has decided to move the Supreme Court over the issue and asserted that the toxic waste cannot be allowed to be disposed at Ankleshwar after the interim order of High Court of Madhya Pradesh directing Dow Chemicals's Bhopal toxic waste to be incinerated in Gujarat with a warning of contempt proceedings if attempts were made to stop it.

Gujarat government had already filed a petition and even obtained a stay against the threat held earlier by the Madhya Pradesh High Court to initiate contempt proceedings against it and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).

Gujarat argued that the toxic waste be moved to Pithampura, about 180 kms from Bhopal, where the Madhya Pradesh government has already developed a dumping site.

Gujarat also relied on the observations of Supreme Court Monitoring Committee, which in their April 2004 report, had stated that groundwater of the area is so polluted that it is not fit to drink, to argue its course.

It was following that report that an order was passed directing Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh Governments to supply fresh drinking water through tanks or pipes.

According to PTI, villagers in Jitali and surrounding villages near Ankleshwar have decided to launch an agitation opposing the Madhya Pradesh High Court order allowing the disposal of 346 tonnes of toxic waste of the Union Carbide at a unit there.

As per the High Court order, Union Carbide waste is to be disposed off at a plant called BEIL (Bharuch Enviro Infra Ltd) at Ankleshwar.

Jitali gram panchayat 'upsarpanch' (deputy village headman) Mehboob Bhai and other office bearers of the panchayat claimed this would risk the lives of the people staying just 500 meters away from BEIL.

They claimed the facilities there were not enough to take care of toxic waste and demanded court officials should visit Ankleshwar for verification.

Chairman of water works committee of the village, Siraj Keli claimed that people want that waste should be incinerated before disposal at Ankleshwar so that they can avoid any possible hazard.

Meanwhile, Rohit Prajapati of Vadoara based Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti criticising the order of the High Court, asked how it could direct the Government of Gujarat, "which is not a party in the case".

Sources in Gujarat Pollution Control Board said that it has its own backlog of 7,000 tonnes of toxic waste waiting to be incinerated at BEIL and asked how could they allow solid waste from another state for disposal.

Disregarding an objection raised by the Gujarat Government, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed that 350 tonnes of toxic waste, lying at the site of the 1984 gas tragedy in Bhopal, be incinerated at Ankleshwar. In its interim order, a Division Bench of Chief Justice A K Patnaik and Justice Ajit Singh warned that obstruction to disposal of the waste by any individual or institution will be treated as a contempt of court, advocate Naman Nagrath told The Indian Express on 17 December.

The court had earlier ordered disposal of the waste at Ankleshwar, but the Gujarat Government had opposed it, first by citing opposition from local NGOs and later because of a fire in the incineration facility. The Gujarat Government had challenged in the Supreme Court the contempt of court proceedings initiated against it.

On 16 December, the High Court took cognizance of a report submitted by a team that visited the Ankleshwar facility on October 15 after the Gujarat Government's opposition. The team said at the time of its visit only stock that would have taken 30 days for incineration was waiting for disposal and that the Bhopal waste could be disposed of after that.

The disposal of the waste has been a point of disagreement among the NGOs in MP with some arguing that Dow Chemical should be asked to clean up and ship the waste to the US. About 40 tonnes of the hazardous waste from the site was recently disposed of in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh. The Government had carried out the operation at night to pre-empt the NGOs, which warned that they would not let the waste to be removed.

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Carbon Trade Verifer Suspended by UN

Note: Based in Oslo, Det Norske Veritas has in the past four years validated and certified almost half of the 1,200 projects approved under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The suspension of the work of the main company that validates carbon-offset projects in developing countries has sent shock waves through the emissions-trading business.

Critics of the UN's carbon trade through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) have been vindicated. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) was suspended from verifying CDM projects after an investigation carried out in early November, 2008 revealed flaws in its auditing processes and found that the individual who had signed off reports on five separate projects had not actually surveyed them.

DNV company is the largest single verifier of CDM projects and is responsible for checking that those projects permitted to sell certified emission reduction (CER) carbon credits are delivering the additional carbon emissions reductions that they promise.

UN has recently worked with a number of designated verifiers to produce a verification manual which clarified the necessary processes for approving and verifying projects. The manual was formally accepted at the last meeting of the Executive Board of the CDM and is in the process of being applied by verifiers.

Analysts say failure in establishing whether a project is additional or not may have resulted in this suspension. The concept of additionality has been a vexed topic for the CDM since its inception. A verifier must prove that any project that receives funding through the CDM would not have happened if that funding had not been forthcoming, but this has often proved difficult to ascertain given the project operators have a financial incentive to claim that they can only operate with the revenue generated from the sales of CERs.

If the UN agrees with verifiers who wish to do away with the current case-by-case method that slows down the process, it would compromise its own environmental integrity further. DNV investigation and suspension is meant to demonstrate that the efficacy of methods for accreditation being practiced.

Gopal Krishna

Top Kyoto CDM credits verifier suspended

Det Norske Veritas has been suspended from verifying projects under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

The company was one of the first auditors to gain CDM accreditation in 2004, and is the first to be suspended (ENDS Report 351, p 12 ). It has validated nearly half of the 1,261 projects qualifying for certified emission-reduction credits (CERs).

The CDM’s Executive Board decided to suspend Det Norske Veritas at its 28 November meeting, after a spot-check at its Oslo office earlier in the month found five so-called non-conformities. These related mainly to internal auditing procedures and documentation.1

In a review of five sample cases, the board concluded that "validation activities could not be demonstrated to be based on appropriate sectoral expertise", due to a lack of written evidence.

While it is suspended, Det Norske Veritas cannot submit new projects for registration or request new CERs, but ongoing registrations can continue.

In a statement, the firm said it was surprised at the board’s "strong reaction".2 It acknowledged some shortcomings and said it will do its "utmost" to regain accreditation, which it expects to take one to two months. They expect 20-30 projects in process to be delayed.

If confidence in validation and verification of projects fails, the whole CDM could be undermined. Critics point to a broader potential for conflict of interest among auditors, who might not be best served by highlighting the shortcomings of prospective customers’ plans (ENDS Report 395, pp 38-41 ).

Further information

* 1. List of non-conformities (http://cdm.unfccc.int/EB/044/eb44_repan02.pdf)
* 2. DNV statement (http://www.dnv.com/press_area/press_releases/2008/dnvtakesactiontoregaincdmaccreditation.asp)

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Who Gains by not Protecting Occupational Health of Workers?

Once upon a time our legal system through held that, "Occupational accidents and diseases remain the most appalling human tragedy of modern industry and one of its most serious forms of economic waste." And "Therefore, we hold that right to health, medical aid to protect the health and vigor to a worker while in service or post retirement is a fundamental right under Article 21, read with Articles 39(e), 41, 43, 48A and all related Articles and fundamental human rights to make the life of the workman meaningful and purposeful with dignity of person."

The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Bill that has just been passed by the parliament on December 17 awaiting the assent of the president does not provide for occupational health infrastructure in cognisance of occupational health rights among other things.

Revealing the true nature of the Bill, Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour observes, “As a matter of fact, most of the security welfare measures are being given to insurance companies. Insurance companies are not created in this country for social service. The workers from 18 years to 58 years of age are covered under life insurance and medical insurance. In spite of repeated efforts by the labour ministry, the insurance companies are not agreeing to increase the age limit to 70 years for the coverage. That means, at a time when the worker is vulnerable to death, they are not ready to give that coverage”. In a occupational health case related to asbestos, the Supreme Court The Bill has disregarded the views of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, trade unions and voluntary organisations. Hannan Mollah, a member of the parliament dubbed the Bill as “cosmetic” because it does not recognize social security as a right.

Non-enforcement and dilution of national laws which provides for the regulation of the health of workers like the Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952,The Dock Workers (Safety, Health & Welfare) Act, 1986 has just been revealed by a recent study that examined the role of the medical community and inferred that “occupational health is a neglected subject…” Currently, the occupational health of the workers looks all the more grim if one takes note of what National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector has revealed. It has found that 47 % of all workers in the organized sector are working as informal workers and informal sector workers account for almost 92.4% of all labourers in the economy. Amid a hitherto ignored “global cancer crisis” due to which some 84 million people across the globe will die of cancer by 2015, what has not been factored in is that in India, majority of individuals in general and workers in particular will not receive the required treatment, and many would not even be formally diagnosed because of the consistent neglect of the decaying public health infrastructure. This is clearly evident in the case of victims of asbestos and silica related diseases.

Showcasing its myriad acts of omission and commission, central government has also failed to ratify ILO’s Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, the only international instrument based on basic social security principles which establishes globally agreed-upon minimum standards for medical care; sickness benefit; unemployment benefit; old-age benefit; employment-injury benefit; family benefit; maternity benefit; invalidity benefit; and survivors' benefit.

Indian government remains manifestly apathetic towards existing Occupational Safety and Health Conventions of International Labour organisation (ILO) besides other relevant international and national labour laws. It is revealed by its unpardonable indifference towards international labour legislations like Occupational Cancer Convention, Working Environment Convention, Occupational Safety and Health Convention, Occupational Health Services Convention, Radiation Prevention Convention, Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work Convention, Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention, Asbestos Convention & others which have not been ratified by the government.

In a consistent demonstration of anti-worker approach, although on an average 450,000 Indians go abroad annually for employment, India has not ratified the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families entered into force on July 1, 2003. This UN treaty defines the term ‘migrant worker’ as “a person who is to be engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.” The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 18 December International Migrants Day. India chooses not to celebrate this day. The Convention constitutes a comprehensive international treaty regarding the protection of migrant workers’ rights. It is noteworthy that majority of workers even within the country are migrant workers and their rights deserve protection through a national legislation.

The UPA government can make a beginning by doing the needful for the migrant workers who go abroad and who migrate from one state to another within the country. It must be remembered that the condition of migrant workers within Indian states is also really bad besides appalling working conditions they face apartheid like discrimination. The recent violence in Assam, Maharashtra and the plight of informal, casual and migrant workers in Alang, Gujarat and government’s connivance in all these instances is a case in point. One wonders, which nation-state can ever gain by not protecting the health and security of the workers?

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India Refuses to Celebrate International Migrants Day

On an average 450,000 Indians go abroad annually for employment. The United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families entered into force on July 1, 2003. India has not ratified this treaty so far. This UN treaty defines the term ‘migrant worker’ as “a person who is to be engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.”

The Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) monitors implementation of the convention, and is one of the seven UN-linked Human rights treaty bodies.

These seven bodies are as under:

1)The Human Rights Committee promotes participation with the standards of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a a United Nations treaty based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that entered into force on March 23, 1976.

2)The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights monitors the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and entered into force from January 3, 1976.

3)The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination monitors the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

4)The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

5)The Committee Against Torture monitors the United Nations Convention Against Torture and receives states' reports on their performance every four years and comments on them. It may visit and inspect individual countries with their consent.

6)The Committee on the Rights of the Child monitors the Convention on the Rights of the Child and makes comments on reports submitted by states every five years. It does not have the power to receive complaints.

7)The Committee on Migrant Workers was established in 2004 and monitors the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) and makes comments on reports submitted by states every five years. It will have the power to receive complaints of specific violations only once ten member states allow it.

In 2005, the number of international migrants was between 185 and 192 million. This represents approximately three per cent of the world population, and is comparable to the population of Brazil.

The Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families constitutes a comprehensive international treaty regarding the protection of migrant workers’ rights. It emphasizes the connection between migration and human rights, which is increasingly becoming a crucial policy topic worldwide. The Convention aims at protecting migrant workers and members of their families; its existence sets a moral standard, and serves as a guide and stimulus for the promotion of migrant rights in each country.

The primary objective of this UN treaty is to foster respect for migrants’ human rights. Migrants are not only workers, they are also human beings. It does not create new rights for migrants but aims at guaranteeing equality of treatment, and the same working conditions for migrants and nationals.

It that legal migrants have the legitimacy to claim more rights than undocumented migrants, but it stresses that undocumented migrants must see their fundamental human rights respected, like all human beings.

This treaty proposes that actions be taken to eradicate clandestine movements, notably through the fight against misleading information inciting people to migrate irregularly, and through sanctions against traffickers and employers of undocumented migrants.

Indian government's callousness towards workers gets illustrated even by the fact that it has not ratified most of the ILO Conventions with regard to Occupation Health in general and Occupational Cancer in particular.

In December 2000, the General Assembly, taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world, proclaimed 18 December International Migrants Day. On that day, in 1990, the Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

The UPA government can make a beginning by doing the needful for the migrant workers who go abroad. Having said that it must be remembered that the condition of migrant workers within Indian states is really bad. The recent violence in Assam, Maharashtra and the plight of workers in Alang, Gujarat is a case in point.

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Touching faith in technology to clean Yamuna

Sheila defends new technology for Yamuna

NEW DELHI: Defending the interceptor sewage system as the best method of cleaning the Yamuna, Sheila Dikshit said that the earlier technologies under the Yamuna Action Plan, on which crores had been spent, were "not correct''. With the new technology, she said the river would be clean in another seven to eight years.

Having headed the environment ministry earlier, Dikshit said that even this term, environment will get special attention by her cabinet. "The Yamuna and air pollution are under special scrutiny. However, our aim is to ensure that we have maximum participation in this effort by all Delhiites,'' said Dikshit.

The interceptor system has come in for a lot of flak from both environmentalists and certain segments of the government despite which Dikshit and Delhi Jal Board have gone ahead with the plan. The initial project report has just been submitted to DJB and work on it is likely to be completed by 2012.

"The technologies we had applied earlier were not suitable for the project. The Yamuna has a character of its own and we feel the interceptor sewage system is best suited for it. It will take about seven to eight years to clean the river and I am hoping the effects start showing much earlier,'' she said.

On Sunday, Dikshit attended the annual eco-club meet at Pragati Maidan, organized by the environment ministry. Several Delhi eco-clubs and local NGOs have set up stalls at the meet, that will go on till December 17.

Dikshit also added that her department was strongly promoting the use of CFLs that had crossed the one million mark in the city. It was also providing a 30% subsidy on the purchase of electronic cars and two-wheelers, a programme that had received a phenomenal response from Delhiites. "Those who have purchased battery-operated vehicles are extremely happy with them. Rs 2 crore, that has been collected as cess on diesel from the city, has already been sanctioned for this project,'' revealed J K Dadoo, secretary, ministry of environment.

TOI

DJB’s plans to tackle unclean Yamuna: more drains, sewage treatment plants

New Delhi Untreated sewage and industrial waste dumped in the city’s drains and eventually flowing into the Yamuna, along with no desilting or channelisation of drains, are among the major factors polluting the river’s 22-km stretch in Delhi. This was pointed out by the DJB at Water Asia 08 — a three-day exhibition on the water industry to tackle the unprecedented growth in the demand of water.

The exhibition-cum-conference saw over a 100 participants from more than 12 countries exhibiting the latest technologies and equipment in sewage water treatment and wastewater treatment.

A presentation made by the agency’s Chief Engineer R S Tyagi on ‘Pollution in River Yamuna and Action Plan of Delhi Jal Board’, underlined the fact that a large part of Delhi that still remains without sewerage facilities — none of the 189 rural villages in Delhi have municipal sewerage yet. The 1,500 unauthorised colonies and 1,080 JJ clusters too share the same fate. Out of a total number of 567 unauthorised-regularised colonies in Delhi, 44 are still to have sewage, while 27 out of the 189 urban villages in Delhi are in the same boat.

Among the top priorities for the DJB and the Delhi government will now be to provide sewerage facilities in these areas, and desilting and refurbishing the old sewerage lines. Work on the same has already been taken up by the Board. A detailed report by its project management consultants, M/s Engineers India Limited, is due by December 15. The groundwork on DJB’s Interceptor Sewage Plan is slated to begin in March 2009 and will be completed by January 2012.

Another solution was the construction of sewage treatment plants (STP) on the mouth of major drains. The total discharge of the 17 drains in Delhi is over 613 million gallons per day.

At least 78 small drains fall into the Najafgarh drain, 40 into the Shahdara drain and at least 103 fall into the supplementary drain. The DJB recommended intercepting the sewers along these drains, which will in turn be treated at the nearest STP. DJB plans to tap 13 in the existing trunk sewers. The capacity of the existing STPs will be increased to treat the total discharge.

Indian Express

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Will Supreme Court take note of High Court's Order on Waste Trade?

Note:One hopes even Supreme Court bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia will adopt the wisdom of the Madras High Court with regard to Waste Oil, Obsolete ships and other hazardous wastes. The next date of hearing is on January 9, 2009.

A hazardous wastes case is pending in the apex court since 1995. But in the absence of sound approach like asking the Central Government to initiate civil and criminal proceedings against officials who mastermind illegal and anti-national deals, imposing cost of waste clearance on importers and slapping litigation cost; illegal traffic in toxic waste has become a routine affair in our country.

A Supreme Court order had banned import of hazardous waste. Officials of easy virtue in the Environment Ministry have acted to undermine the order with impunity at the behest of hazardous waste traders. The situation has worsened after the order.

Shockingly, there are numerous instances in the ongoing case in the Supreme Court where importers were reported non-existent and toxic ships enter Indian waters with fake national flags!

Our hazardous wastes regulation is one of the most weakest in the world and even the new that Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 is a disappointment. Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation has invited comments on it. Hopefully, the Committee will take cognisance of Madras High Court's order and get the current rules and institutions overhauled and brings Union Ministry of Environment and Forests under parliamentary control because this Ministry's acts of connivance is too grave to be ignored. Even Commerce Ministry's role does not bring it any glory. It is germane to recollect that Japan and India have signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that may facilitate dumping of Japanese toxic wastes in our country.

Given the fact that our municipal waste remains quite toxic and household hazardous waste has been totally ignored, the parliamentary committee must treat mixed municipal waste too as having characteristics of hazardous waste. It appears that Madras High Court order of November 21, 2008 has done the same.

Gopal Krishna

Madras HC orders to return containers imported from United States
*
The Madras High Court ordered to send back the 40 containers of hazardous municipal waste imported from the United States and rotting at Tuticorin Port for three years.

While dismissing a writ petition by ITC, the division bench comprising Justice Elipipe Dharmarao and Justice S Tamilvanan said, ‘The cargo is municipal waste shipped to India, which cannot be sold or allowed to be disposed of in any manner in India, since it will cause danger to Mother Nature, as has been correctly observed by the Customs Department and Pollution Control Board.’ The bench also rapped ITC Limited for importing the ‘undesired cargo’. The Judges directed the company to
clear out the waste at its own cost and slapped a litigation cost of Rs 50,000. Judges also asked the Centre to initiate civil and criminal proceedings against officials who masterminded such illegal ideas within a period of 12 weeks.

ITC sourced the material from US-based Evergreen Specialities, which was meant to supply mixed wastepaper in August 2005. But on examination, the Customs found that consignment contained plastic carry bags, pet bottles, used clothes, metal cans and dirty liquid emitting foul smell.

Officials said hazardous municipal waste had characteristics of Eco-toxic and infectious substances.

UNI

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UN Climate Conference ends amid gulf of differences

Stress on corporate profit rather than real policy changes make climate negotiations sterile

Amid evident pessimism at the Poznań, Poland conference powerful resistance of global business, now that the 14th Conference of Parties (CoP 14) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has come to end, it is clear that gulf of differences still need to be bridged before an agreement on how to tackle climate crisis can be reached at next December's UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen.

The CoP 14 to the UNFCCC concluded on December 12, 2008 in Poznan has been working since December 1, 2008 to build consensus on the global agreement before the next conference of parties in Copenhagen in 2009. COP 14 was meant to set the stage for the 2009 COP, at which the design of the international climate change regime after 2012 is expected to be finalized. The deliberations focussed on four pillars of the Bali Action Plan—mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer and finance and investment—as well as capacity building for developing countries and reducing emissions from deforestation (REDD).

Instead of treating mitigation measures as the primary task, adaptation economics had a field day and mitigation needs were dealt with through fictitious proposals. It appeared that the pace of negotiations factored in US President-elect Obama’s prioritization of the climate issue. The course of international climate negotiations is expected to change after he takes over although views emerging from US Senate do not inspire “hope” for any “change”.

At CoP 14, the manner in which European Union, Australia, Japan and Saudi Arabia have pushed Carbon capture and storage for its inclusion as technology under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) demonstrates the manner in which fictitious efforts still find takers despite having witnessed the crisis in the world economy due to fictitious economy. Failure of COP14 to do away with “a corrupt and convoluted mechanism” and fake efforts like carbon trade and Clean Development Mechanism illustrates that global business remains committed to fishing in troubled waters and is driven by naked lust fore profit. Revealing the same, carbon dioxide emissions of most “developed” countries and global businesses have increased by 14.5 per cent.

Ministers from the 189 countries attended the Poznań Conference. The High-level Segment of the gathering of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change started with the speeches by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, four Heads of State and Government, as well as 145 Environment Ministers and senior government representatives. The Poznań conference, which has drawn 11,600 participants, constitutes the half-way mark in the negotiations on an ambitious and effective international response to climate change, to be agreed in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 and to take effect in 2013, the year after the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol expires.

Ban Ki-moon said, “Together, we face two crises: climate change and the global economy. But these crises present us with a great opportunity—an opportunity to address both challenges simultaneously. Managing the global financial crisis requires massive global stimulus. A big part of that spending should be an investment—an investment in a green future. An investment that fights climate change, creates millions of green jobs and spurs green growth. We need a Green New Deal.” He added, “It is an idea that was embraced with enthusiasm at the recent development conference in Doha, Qatar, and at the meeting of finance ministers in Warsaw which concluded this past Tuesday. China is dedicating one-fourth of its sizable economic stimulus plan to scale-up renewable fuels, environmental protection and energy conservation. India has launched a comprehensive National Climate Change Action Plan that lays our the path for shifting to greater reliance on sustainable sources of energy, particularly solar power. India is also fourth in the world in terms of new wind capacity.”

The presentation by Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), a Delhi-based NGO, chaired by R. K. Pachauri, director general and the chairman of Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) on December 9, 2008 announced that India’s emissions will increase by more than seven times under business as usual scenario from the existing levels by 2031/32. Such findings seem questionable and motivated because it is far higher than all estimates done so far by various national and international organisations on projected CO2 emissions from India. Ironically, it supports fictitious solutions like carbon trade and transfer of dubious technologies.

All the lessons learnt from the previous UNFCCC meetings to combat climate crisis underline that global business rather than national bureaucracies should be recognised as the main driver to climate change solutions. It has rightly been said that “global business is the link between millions of global consumers and thousands of suppliers all over the world. They have a huge influence over global ecosystems; not least because they have the scale, scope and infrastructure to enforce sustainable standards. We tend to forget that the most successful global institution today is global business.” But the narrative which will have us believe that national governments and communities need not “…be afraid of profit motivated business driving the solutions to climate change” is willfully ignoring that the political patronage to corporate greed is at the root of the climate crisis.

It is true that in the current global discourse on climate change currently 90% of the discussion focused on compliance (policy and legislation), 7% on consumer behaviour and only 3% on change through business innovation. This trend has come to rule the climate negotiations because global business is the enemy of climate change solutions. There is indisputable evidence to corroborate it.

Environmental groups and alliances against pollution hold global business and the protection given to them by national governments responsible for the climate crisis and the adoption of Ostrich pOlicy.

The world is already close to 430 ppm of co2e, the negotiations underway aim to limit emissions to 450 ppm co2e, thus accepting a 2 degree target as a politically palatable objective by implication. The need is to need to achieve at least 350 ppm in the atmosphere. “We must have a politically ratifiable outcome that can enter into force in 2013,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary.

Over 160 civil society organizations from around the world issued a statement voicing support for the establishment of a major new Global Climate Fund under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The statement builds upon the position of the G-77 and China, who also prefer to see climate funds under the UNFCCC. The statement supported the demand that there be no funds outside the UNFCCC process, particularly those of the World Bank, be "counted toward binding commitments of financial support by developed to developing countries." It is noteworthy that in July 2008, the World Bank had launched the Climate Investment Funds to provide finance for mitigation and adaptation activities in developing countries.

Interestingly, over 650 dissenting scientists from around the globe challenged man-made global warming claims made by the United Nations Intergovernemntal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former Vice President Al Gore. A new 231-page U.S. Senate Minority Report report -- updated from 2007’s groundbreaking report of over 400 scientists who voiced skepticism about the so-called global warming “consensus” -- features the skeptical voices of over 650 prominent international scientists, including many current and former UN IPCC scientists, who have now turned against the UN IPCC. “I am a skeptic…Global warming has become a new religion,” says Nobel Prize Winner for Physics, Ivar Giaever.

See the full report here: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=4fabcdd2-6567-4c62-8e5b-2a1411df5804

Some the views expressed in the report are as under: “Since I am no longer affiliated with any organization nor receiving any funding, I can speak quite frankly….As a scientist I remain skeptical. “The main basis of the claim that man’s release of greenhouse gases is the cause of the warming is based almost entirely upon climate models. We all know the frailty of models concerning the air-surface system,” says Atmospheric Scientist Dr. Joanne Simpson, the first woman in the world to receive a PhD in meteorology, and formerly of NASA, who has authored more than 190 studies and has been called “among the most preeminent scientists of the last 100 years.” Warming fears are the “worst scientific scandal in the history…When people come to know what the truth is, they will feel deceived by science and scientists.” - UN IPCC Japanese Scientist Dr. Kiminori Itoh, an award-winning PhD environmental physical chemist. “The IPCC has actually become a closed circuit; it doesn’t listen to others. It doesn’t have open minds… I am really amazed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given on scientifically incorrect conclusions by people who are not geologists,” says Indian geologist Dr. Arun D. Ahluwalia at Punjab University and a board member of the UN-supported International Year of the Planet. “So far, real measurements give no ground for concern about a catastrophic future warming.” - Scientist Dr. Jarl R. Ahlbeck, a chemical engineer at Abo Akademi University in Finland, author of 200 scientific publications and former Greenpeace member.

Ignoring such motivated skepticism, at least three major UNFCCC gatherings will take place next year before the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the first two in Bonn, Germany (29 March - 08 April and 1 - 12 June). With 192 Parties, the UNFCCC has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has to date 183 member Parties. Under the Protocol, 37 States, consisting of highly industrialized countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy, have legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments. The ultimate objective of both treaties is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. Poland is the land of Copernicus but no “new Copernican revolution—a revolution in thinking, a revolution in action” for ecologically sensitive future is visible.

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