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TOPIC : GS 3 Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

 

A fine line

What is the news?

  • The need for infrastructure development in the Himalayan region rubs up against the environmental and ecological challenges that they pose.
  • The Uttarakhand government has for decades envisaged hydroelectric projects as the way forward to power the State, premised on the region’s undulating topography.
  • The rising frequency of intense rains has been contributing to landslips, avalanches, and the loss of lives and property.
  • All of this has a bearing on hydroelectric projects being situated in terrain prone to environmental shocks.

Environmental Degradation

  • The devastating Kedarnath floods of 2013, the Supreme Court ordered a halt to hydroprojects in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basins pending a review on whether they exacerbated the damage.
  • The last few years have seen considerable friction on this issue, especially because the future of hydroprojects is closely linked to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programme.
  • For the health of the river, it must be allowed to flow unimpeded, and hydropower projects are an obstacle.
  • A committee of experts recommended to the Court that almost all hydropower projects, cleared by the Government for construction, be scrapped.
  • Proponents of six of these projects approached the Court on the grounds that they had obtained prior clearances and scrapping projects would entail significant losses.
  • Since then, the Centre has been trying to walk a fine line between salvaging some of them while acknowledging, at least on paper, the environmental costs.

Way Forward

  • There have been divisions even within various Central ministries: the Water Resources Ministry, which manages the NMCG, is opposed to hydropower projects while the Ministry of Power roots for them.
  • Through the years, a group of experts has recommended a cessation of infrastructure development, there is always another group of experts, usually affiliated to government institutions, that differ and recommend the
  • The avalanche in Chamoli , that destroyed two power projects and killed , was only the latest reminder of the fraught risks that committees and their tussles inadequately account for.
  • The Centre has been saying that it is not too keen on new hydropower projects and is only permitting those that are at least 50% complete to go ahead given the sunk costs.
  • While such statements have been made in Parliament, they do not appear in the latest affidavit to the Court; so there are concerns on whether this is indeed a lasting policy commitment.
  • Uttarakhand, like all other States, is not immune from the demands for reliable power and infrastructure from its people.
  • Along with better dialogue, power companies and the Centre must inspire greater trust in the residents of the region infrastructure development will have to necessarily account for the region’s constraints

Mains Question

Explain how Infrastructure development and eco-conservation should go hand-in-hand ?

 

 

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/a-fine-line-the-hindu-editorial-on-development-and-conservation/article36170833.ece

 

PRELIMS PUNCHERS

  1. Kyaukpyu

It is a major town in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar. It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island on Combermere Bay, and is north-west of Yangon. It is the principal town of Kyaukpyu Township and Kyaukpyu District. The town is situated on a superb natural harbor which connects the rice trade between Calcutta and Yangon. It has a tropical monsoon climate. Temperatures are very warm throughout the year, although the winter months are somewhat milder.

Kyaukpyu Viewpoint, or more popularly known as Point is perhaps the best known attraction in Kyaukpyu. It is at the end of the Strand Road and looks out into the Bay of Bengal and the mouth of the Thanzit (Kyaukpyu) River. Gant-gaw-taw, is one of the most sacred Buddhist shrine, believed to have built in the Vesali period. Kyauk-ta-lone phaya, built by King Min-ba in the Mrauk U period, is the focal point of Kyaukpyu’s Buddhist environment, beside Gant-gaw-taw shrine.  The Japan-Myanmar Relationship Pagoda, in the outskirts of the city, is popular among the city’s small Japanese population.

Sources : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/turbulence-in-myanmar/article33784919.ece

 

  1. The Alaknanda

It is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In hydrology, the Alaknanda is considered the source stream of the Ganges on account of its greater length and discharge; however, in Hindu tradition and culture, the other headstream, the Bhagirathi, is considered the source stream

The Ganges as Alaknanda rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the Tibet border. On the Satopanth Glacier up from Alaknanda’s origin at its snout, the triangular Lake Satopanth is found . The five main tributaries joining with Alaknanda in order includes Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhagirathi all rising in the northern mountainous regions of Uttarakhand. After the last tributary merging at Devprayag the river is known as the Ganges. The Alaknanda contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi.

Sources: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/the-gangas-message-the-hindu-editorial-on-microplastics-pollution/article35499495.ece

 

  1. The National Crime Records Bureau

It abbreviated to NCRB, is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws . NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. Crime and Criminal Information System was implemented at district level during the period 1995–2004. Common Integrated Police Application was implemented at police station level during the period 2004–2009 in three phases. Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems is approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

 

NCRB was set-up in 1986 to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators. It was set up based on the recommendation of the Task force, 1985 and National Police Commission, 1977 by merging the Directorate of Coordination and Police Computer (DCPC), Inter State Criminals Data Branch of CBI and Central Finger Print Bureau of CBI. Earlier Statistical Branch of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) was also merged with NCRB, but was later de-merged.

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/uttar-pradesh-tops-in-crimes-against-women/article30526919.ece

 

  1. The Strait of Malacca

It Straits of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, between the Malay Peninsula  and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. As the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, it is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. It is named after the Malacca Sultanate that ruled over the archipelago , the center of administration of which was located in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia.

The strait is the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking major Asian economies such as India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. The Strait of Malacca is part of the Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast towards the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-to-require-foreign-vessels-to-report-in-territorial-waters/article36170508.ece

 

PRELIMS QUESTIONS

  1. Consider the following statement with regard to Kyaukpyu
  2. It is a major town in Rakhine State, in western China
  3. . It is at the end of the Strand Road and looks out into the Bay of Bengal

Select the correct statement using code given below.

(a). 1only       (b) 2 only

(c).Both       (d). None of above

Answer : B

It is a major town in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar. It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island on Combermere Bay, and is north-west of Yangon. It is the principal town of Kyaukpyu Township and Kyaukpyu District. The town is situated on a superb natural harbor which connects the rice trade between Calcutta and Yangon. It has a tropical monsoon climate. Temperatures are very warm throughout the year, although the winter months are somewhat milder.

Kyaukpyu Viewpoint, or more popularly known as Point is perhaps the best known attraction in Kyaukpyu. It is at the end of the Strand Road and looks out into the Bay of Bengal and the mouth of the Thanzit (Kyaukpyu) River. Gant-gaw-taw, is one of the most sacred Buddhist shrine, believed to have built in the Vesali period. Kyauk-ta-lone phaya, built by King Min-ba in the Mrauk U period, is the focal point of Kyaukpyu’s Buddhist environment, beside Gant-gaw-taw shrine.  The Japan-Myanmar Relationship Pagoda, in the outskirts of the city, is popular among the city’s small Japanese population

 

  1. Consider the following statement with regard to The Alaknanda
  2. It is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand
  3. Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhagirathi all rising in the northern mountainous regions of Uttarakhand

Select the correct statement using code given below.

(a). 1only       (b) 2 only

(c).Both       (d). None of above

Answer : B

 

It is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In hydrology, the Alaknanda is considered the source stream of the Ganges on account of its greater length and discharge; however, in Hindu tradition and culture, the other headstream, the Bhagirathi, is considered the source stream

The Ganges as Alaknanda rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the Tibet border. On the Satopanth Glacier up from Alaknanda’s origin at its snout, the triangular Lake Satopanth is found . The five main tributaries joining with Alaknanda in order includes Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhagirathi all rising in the northern mountainous regions of Uttarakhand. After the last tributary merging at Devprayag the river is known as the Ganges. The Alaknanda contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi.