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Subject: Conservation & Mitigation

1. Conservation Progs.
2. Worldwide initiatives
3. Mitigation Strategies
4. Conventions and Protocols

  • Indus and Ganges river dolphins are two different species

    Detailed analysis of South Asian river dolphins has revealed that the Indus and Ganges River dolphins are not one, but two separate species.

    About Gangetic Dolphin

    • The Gangetic river system is home to a vast variety of aquatic life, including the Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica).
    • It is one of five species of river dolphin found around the world.
    • It is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems.
    • An adult dolphin could weigh between 70 kg and 90 kg. The breeding season of the Gangetic dolphin extends from January to June.
    • They feed on several species of fishes, invertebrates etc.

    Indus Dolphin is the divergent specie

    • Currently, they are classified as two subspecies under Platanista gangetica. The study estimates that Indus and Ganges river dolphins may have diverged around 550,000 years ago.
    • The international team studied body growth, skull morphology, tooth counts, colouration and genetic makeup and published the findings last month in Marine Mammal Science.

    Conservation status

    • The Indus and Ganges River dolphins are both classified as ‘Endangered’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
    • It is the national aquatic animal and had been granted non-human personhood status by the government in 2017.
    • It is also protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
    • Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) in Bihar is India’s only sanctuary for the Gangetic dolphin.
    • It has been categorised as endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species by the IUCN
    • Physical barriers such as dams and barrages created across the river, the declining river flows reduced the gene flow to a great extent making the species vulnerable.

  • ‘Seechewal Model’ of wastewater management

    A new wastewater treatment plant opened recently in a village in Punjab’s Patiala district uses a unique method devised to treat, recycle and reuse wastewater.

    Seechewal Model

    • The plant in the village of Patiala aims to achieve the following objective using the ‘Seechewal Model’ of wastewater management:
    1. Recycling and reusing the treated wastewater for irrigation
    2. Preventing further contamination of groundwater
    • The model is a pipe-and-pump formula used to remove heavy solid particles, oil and other material from water.
    • It was introduced by Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and was first used in Seechewal, Punjab.
    • The project aims to implement a combination of processes through four-well systems of wastewater treatment for reuse apart from human consumption.
    • The water wells need to be cleaned regularly; otherwise, they produce extremely poor effluents with high suspended solids, which can be detrimental to the constructed wetland and cause clogging of beds.
    • To ensure continuous and effective operation, the accumulated material must be emptied periodically.

    Benefits  offered

    • The project will reduce the usage of freshwater by providing an option of treated water to farmers. It will aim at water sustainability with appropriate technologies of water recycle-reuse-recharge.”
    • The project has engaged, empowered and evolved community sustained processes for water management and strengthened community collectives.

  • Why forest fires break out in the spring?

    Uttarakhand has witnessed over 1,000 incidents of a forest fire over the last six months, including 45 in the last 24 hours alone.

    Forest fires this year

    • Since the start of 2021, there has been a series of forest fires in the Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland-Manipur border, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, including in wildlife sanctuaries.
    • April-May is the season when forest fires take place in various parts of the country.
    • But forest fires have been more frequent than usual in Uttarakhand and have also taken place during winter; dry soil caused by a weak monsoon is being seen as one of the causes.

    As of 2019, about 21.67% of the country’s geographical area is identified as forest, according to the India State of Forest Report 2019 (ISFR) released by the Forest Survey of India (FSI).  Tree cover makes up another 2.89% (95, 027 sq km).

    How vulnerable are forests in Uttarakhand?

    • Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are the two states that witness the most frequent forest fires annually.
    • In Uttarakhand, 24,303 sq km (over 45 per cent of the geographical area) is under forest cover.

    What causes forest fires?

    • Forest fires can be caused by a number of natural causes, but officials say many major fires in India are triggered mainly by human activities.
    • Emerging studies link climate change to rising instances of fires globally, especially the massive fires of the Amazon forests in Brazil and in Australia in the last two years.
    • Fires of longer duration, increasing intensity, higher frequency and highly inflammable nature are all being linked to climate change.
    • In India, forest fires are most commonly reported during March and April, when the ground has large quantities of dry wood, logs, dead leaves, stumps, dry grass and weeds that can make forests easily go up in flames if there is a trigger.
    • Under natural circumstances, extreme heat and dryness, friction created by rubbing of branches with each other also have been known to initiate fire.

    Why Uttarakhand?

    • In Uttarakhand, the lack of soil moisture too is being seen as a key factor. In two consecutive monsoon seasons (2019 and 2020), rainfall has been deficient by 18% and 20% of the seasonal average, respectively.
    • But, forest officials say most fires are man-made, sometimes even deliberately caused.
    • Even a small spark from a cigarette butt, or a carelessly discarded lit matchstick can set the fire going.
    • For example, in Odisha, which saw a major fire last month in Simlipal forest, villagers are known to set dry leaves to fire in order to collect mahua flowers, which go into preparation of a local drink.

    Why are forest fires difficult to control?

    • The locality of the forest and access to it pose hurdles in initiating firefighting efforts.
    • During peak season, shortage of staff is another challenge in dispatching firefighting teams.
    • Timely mobilization of forest staff, fuel and equipment, depending on the type of fire, through the thick forests, remain challenges.
    • As it is impossible to transport heavy vehicles loaded with water into the thick forests, a majority of fire dousing is initiated manually, using blowers and similar devices.
    • But there have been incidents when forest fires were brought under control using helicopter services.
    • Wind speed and direction play a critical role in bringing a forest fire under control. The fire often spreads in the direction of the winds and towards higher elevations.

    What factors make forest fires a concern?

    Forests play an important role in mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

    • Carbon emission: They act as a sink, reservoir and source of carbon.
    • Livelihood loss: In India, with 1.70 lakh villages in close proximity to forests (Census 2011), the livelihood of several crores of people is dependent on fuelwood, bamboo, fodder, and small timber.
    • Destruction of animals’ habitat: Heat generated during the fire destroys animal habitats. Soil quality decreases with the alteration in their compositions.
    • Soil degradation: Soil moisture and fertility, too, is affected. Thus forests can shrink in size. The trees that survive fire often remain stunted and growth is severely affected.

    Various efforts taken

    • Since 2004, the FSI developed the Forest Fire Alert System to monitor forest fires in real-time.
    • In its advanced version launched in January 2019, the system now uses satellite information gathered from NASA and ISRO.
    • Real-time fire information from identified fire hotspots is gathered using MODIS sensors (1km by 1km grid) and electronically transmitted to FSI.
    • This information is then relayed via email at state, district, circle, division, range, beat levels. Users of this system in the locality are issued SMS alerts.

  • Satellites and Light Pollution

    Objects sent to space that orbit the Earth can increase the overall brightness of the night sky by 10 per cent above natural levels, showed a new study.

    Light Pollution

    • Light pollution is the presence of anthropogenic and artificial light in the night environment.
    • It is exacerbated by excessive, misdirected or obtrusive use of light, but even carefully used light fundamentally alters natural conditions.
    • Specific categories of light pollution include light trespass, over-illumination, glare, light clutter, and skyglow.
    • A single offending light source often falls into more than one of these categories.

    How does a satellite contribute?

    • Large fleets of communication satellites that have been unleashed in space not just add to the light pollution but also collide and form more debris.
    • Light from this piling debris cloaks astronomical bodies like ‘the glowing clouds of stars in the Milky Way’ from human sight.
    • While telescopes and sensitive cameras often resolve space objects as discrete points of light, low-resolution detectors of light such as the human eye see only the combined effect of many such objects.
    • Astronomers have complained that the growing number of artificial space objects choke the sky and disturb observations.

    Impacts of light pollution

    • As a major side-effect of urbanization, it is blamed for compromising health, disrupting ecosystems and spoiling aesthetic environments.
    • Health effects of over-illumination or improper spectral composition of light may include increased headache, worker fatigue, medically defined stress and an increase in anxiety.
    • Likewise, animal models have been studied demonstrating unavoidable light to produce adverse effect on mood and anxiety.
    • For those who need to be awake at night, the light at night also has an acute effect on alertness and mood.

  • Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project

    The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, in its draft budget for 2021-22, has set aside Rs 1050 crore for the Sabarmati River Front Development phase 2, work on which is to begin soon.

    Rs 1050 crore fund! See how rich even the Municipal Corporations in India are!

    Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project

    • The SRDP is an environmental improvement, social uplift and urban rejuvenation project that will renew Ahmedabad.
    • The project is being developed by the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd. (SRFDCL), a company wholly owned by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
    • The project will reclaim approximately 200 hectares of land from the riverbed.
    • To reclaim the land, protect low lying developments from floods, and prevent erosion of the river banks, retaining walls have been built on both sides of the river.
    • Since Sabarmati is a seasonal river, water is channelled into the river from the Narmada canal, which intersects the river upstream from Ahmedabad and is retained in the river using the Vasna Barrage which is located downstream.

    Significance of the project

    • The reclaimed land will make Ahmadabad’s riverfront, a public asset.
    • The project will provide Ahmedabad with 11.5 km long pedestrian promenades at the water’s edge along both the banks of the river.
    • In addition, many new public facilities will be built on the reclaimed land: cultural centres, museums, sports facilities, trade fair grounds and open-air markets.
    • A small portion of the reclaimed land will be sold for private commercial and residential developments.
    • The project has won Prime Minister’s National Award for Excellence in Urban Planning and Design in the year of 2003.

    Also, revise the concept of Water Divide from your NCERTS or refer to this link: https://www.ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/iess103.pdf

    Back2Basics: Sabarmati River

    • Sabarmati is one of the major west-flowing rivers in India. Being a rain-fed river it runs dry most of the year.
    • It originates in the Aravalli Range of the Udaipur District of Rajasthan and meets the Gulf of Khambhat of the Arabian Sea after travelling 371 km in a south-westerly direction across Rajasthan and Gujarat.
    • 48 km of the river length is in Rajasthan, while 323 km is in Gujarat.
    • There are several reservoirs on Sabarmati and its tributaries. The Dharoi dam is located on the main river. Hathmati dam, Harnav dam and Guhai dam are located on the tributaries.

  • Places in news: Chilika Lake

    The Chilika Lake in Odisha, Asia’s largest brackish water lake, was once part of the Bay of Bengal, a study by the marine archaeology department of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, has found.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. In India, the Himalayas are spread over five States only.
    2. Western Ghats are spread over five States only.
    3. Pulicat Lake is spread over two States only.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3 only

    Chilika Lake

    • Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha.
    • It is located at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km2.
    • It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the largest brackish water lagoon in the world after The New Caledonian barrier reef.
    • It has been listed Ramsar Site as well as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site.

    Its formation

    • The process of the formation of the Chilika might have begun in the latter part of the Pleistocene epoch, around 20,000 years ago.
    • India’s peninsular river Mahanadi carried a heavy load of silt and dumped part of it at its delta.
    • As the sediment-laden river met the Bay of Bengal, sand bars were formed near its mouth.
    • These created a backflow of the seawater into the sluggish fresh water at the estuary, resulting in the huge brackish water lake.
    • Marine archaeological studies on the Odisha coast clearly show that the Chilika once acted as a safe harbour for cargo ships bound for Southeast Asia and other parts of the world.

    Historical accounts on Chilika

    The lake has been a useful centre for maritime activities since the third millennium before the Common Era (CE).

    • Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy (150 CE) described Palur as an important port of Kalinga and referred to it as ‘Paloura’.
    • This port was situated close to the ‘point of departure’ located outside the southern tip of the lake at Kantiagarh, from where ships used to sail directly for Southeast Asia.
    • Stone anchors and hero stones from Manikapatna, Palur and the adjoining onshore regions of the Chilika suggest that the present brackish water lagoon was in fact a part of the Bay of Bengal.
    • Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (7th century CE) recorded ‘Che-li-ta-lo-Ching’ as a flourishing port.
    • This port was located at Chhatargarh on the banks of the Chilika.
    • The Brahmanda Purana (10th century CE approximately) says the Chilika was an important centre of trade and commerce, with ships sailing to Java, Malaya and Ceylon.
    • The famous Sanskrit poet Kalidas called the king of Kalinga ‘Madhodhipati’ or ‘Lord of the Ocean’.

  • Amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

    The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has proposed several amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (FCA), which may enable infrastructure projects to come up in the forest areas more easily.

    What are the amendments?

    • They propose to grant exemptions to railways, roads, tree plantations, oil exploration, wildlife tourism and ‘strategic’ projects in forests.
    • The proposal also aims to empower state governments to lease forest land to private individuals and corporations.
    • If the proposed amendments come into force, they would dilute the provisions of the landmark 1996 decision of the Supreme Court in Godavarman

    The amendments, however, propose two changes to strengthen the applicability of the FCA, according to the documents accessed:

    1. To complete the process of forest identification in a time-bound manner
    2. To enable the creation of ‘no-go’ areas, where specific projects would not be allowed

    The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

    The FCA is the principal legislation that regulates deforestation in the country.

    • It prohibits the felling of forests for any “non-forestry” use without prior clearance by the central government.
    • The clearance process includes seeking consent from local forest rights-holders and from wildlife authorities.
    • The Centre is empowered to reject such requests or allow it with legally binding conditions.
    • In a landmark decision in 1996, the Supreme Court had expanded the coverage of FCA to all areas that satisfied the dictionary definition of a forest; earlier, only lands specifically notified as forests were protected by the enforcement of the FCA.

    The FCA is brief legislation with only five sections of which-

    • Section 1 defines the extent of coverage of the law,
    • Section 2 restrictions of activities in forest areas and the rest deals with the creation of advisory committees, powers of rule-making and penalties.

    Key propositions of the Amendment

    The proposed amendments seek to make additions and changes to Section 1 and 2.

    (1) Concessions to survey and exploration

    • In the proposed new section 1A, a provision has been added to exempt the application of FCA on forest land that is “used for underground exploration and production of oil and natural gas through Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) originating outside forest land.”
    • The exemption is subject to terms and conditions laid down by the central government.
    • A new explanation added to Section 2 says that “survey, reconnaissance, prospecting, exploration or investigation” for future activity in the forest will not be classified as a “non-forestry activity”.
    • This means such survey works would not require any prior permission from the government.

    The only exception is if the activity falls within a wildlife sanctuary, national park or tiger reserve.

    (2) Exemptions to Railways and roads inside forests

    • Land acquired by the railways for establishing a rail line or a road by a government agency before 25.10.1980 (the day the FCA was passed) would be exempted from seeking a forest clearance — if they put the land to the same use for which it was acquired.
    • This is included in a provision in the proposed section 1A.
    • The exemption is subject to terms and conditions that the central government will lay down through guidelines, which include planting trees to compensate for the loss of forests.

    (3) Leases on forest land

    • Section 2(iii) of the FCA requires the central government’s approval before assigning forest lands on lease to any private person/corporation/organisation not owned or controlled by the central government.
    • This clause, however, has purportedly been deleted in the proposed amendment.
    • This may mean that state governments can issue leases for the use of forest land without the Centre’s prior approval.

    (4) Exemptions to plantations

    • A new explanation to Section 2 proposes to exempt plantation of native species of palm and oil-bearing trees from the definition of “non-forest purpose”.
    • Since the FCA applies to the conversion of forest land to “non-forest purpose”, this proposed amendment would effectively mean that anyone who wants to clear a natural forest to raise such plantations would not require any approval from the government.
    • The government will only impose conditions for compensatory afforestation and payment of other levies and compensations.

    (5) Exemptions to wildlife tourism, training infrastructure

    • The FCA classifies activities related to wildlife conservation as “non-forestry” purposes, which means such activities — building checkpoints, communication infrastructure, fencing, boundary, etc — which include do not need a forest clearance.
    • The proposed amendment claims to add to this list “forest and wildlife training infrastructure” and the “establishment of zoos and safaris” managed by the government or any authority under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
    • It may also add ecotourism facilities approved under the Forest Working Plan or Working Scheme approved by the central government.

    (6) States may grant forest clearance for strategic / security projects

    • The proposed Section 2A may empower the central government to provide for state government approval for projects on forest land for “strategic” or security projects of “national importance”, according to the documents accessed.
    • There is no clarity on the scope of these terms, or on the determination of national importance, or illustrative examples of such projects.

    Limiting the coverage of the Supreme Court’s decision

    • The Supreme Court in Godavarman Case 1996 had held that the meaning of “forest” under the FCA would include not only statutorily recognised forests.
    • It would include any area recorded as forest in government records, regardless of ownership.
    • The restrictions in the FCA would, therefore, be applicable to both de jure and de facto

    The proposed amendment purportedly seeks to reduce the scope of this judgment by limiting the applicability of the FCA to only such land that has been:

    • Declared or notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927
    • Recorded as forest land in the government record prior to 25 October 1980, with the exception of such land if its use has been changed from forest to non-forest purpose prior to 12 December 1996
    • Identified as “forest” by a state government expert committee up to one year from the date of the amendment.

    The judgment interpreted the Act as it stood then. The addition of a specific definition thus limits the scope of the judgment. De facto forests are, therefore, excluded from the purview of the FCA.

    Creation of ‘No-Go’ areas

    • The proposed amendment inserts a new Section 2B, which will allow the central government to delineate forest areas where conversion to specific non-forest uses would not be permitted for a fixed period of time.
    • The delineation would be based on the basis of pre-defined criteria.
    • This could mean, for instance, that a certain dense forest would not be allowed to be converted to a coal mine for the next 30 years, but it could be allowed to be cleared for a thermal power plant.
    • In the Godavarman case, the Supreme Court had directed states to set up expert committees to draw up a list of forests that were not notified under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (IFA), but deserved to be protected by the FCA.
    • Several states are yet to comply with this requirement.

    Impact

    • The proposed Section 1A(ii) excludes from the purview of the FCA those forests which were described as such in government records (but not notified under the IFA).
    • The Karnataka High Court recently dealt with a matter wherein the state government had passed several orders to de-notify lands classified as “state forest” (but not notified under IFA), and to divert them for non-forest purposes.
    • The lands were then allotted for the rehabilitation of displaced people. The state government completed this process of dereservation of reserved forests in 2017.
    • On March 4, 2021, the high court struck down actions of the state government for not taking “prior approval of the central government” as required under Section 2 of the FCA.
    • It recommended criminal action against any officers responsible for allowing non-forest use of forest land.

    What lies ahead?

    • If the proposed amendment is enacted, the insertion of Section 1A(ii) would exempt the application of the FCA to the land which was converted to non-forest use by the Karnataka government.
    • The exemption of zoos and safaris from “non-forest purpose” comes a year after the government proposed to open a zoo in Mumbai’s Aarey forest and a tiger safari in Madhya Pradesh led to objections from biologists.
    • While state governments may certainly continue to seek dilution of the FCA during enforcement, the removal of the requirement of central government approval is a step towards a dilution of restrictions on forest land use.

  • Inter-state Tiger Relocation Project

    Sundari — a tigress shifted as part of India’s first inter-state translocation project in 2018 from Madhya Pradesh to Odisha has returned home.

    What is the news?

    • The five-year-old tigress Sundari spent 28 months in captivity in Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Odisha.
    • The two states lingered on the process for her relocation despite the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) shelving off the much-vaunted inter-state tiger translocation drive.

    What was the Tiger Relocation Project?

    • The tiger relocation project was initiated in 2018 wherein two big cats, a male (Mahavir) from Kanha Tiger Reserve and a female (Sundari) from Bandhavgarh from MP were relocated to Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha.
    • The relocation was meant to serve two purposes
    1. to reduce the tiger population in areas with excess tigers to majorly reduce territorial disputes and
    2. to reintroduce tigers in areas where the population has considerably reduced due to various reasons

    How were Mahavir and Sundari chosen for the project?

    • Both the big cats were selected for the translocation project as per the NTCA guidelines and in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India and the GoI.
    • Two key factors were considered for choosing the animal — first, a dispersing young animal which is to find a new and second, an adult transient which was yet to establish any territory.

    What is the Satkosia Tiger Reserve and why was it chosen?

    • Encompassing an area of 963.87 sq km, the Satkosia Tiger Reserve spreads across four districts and has as its core area 523 sq km.
    • According to NTCA, Satkosia falls under reserves where “there is a potential for increasing tiger populations”.
    • Declared as a Tiger Reserve in 2007, Satkosia had a population of 12 tigers then. The numbers reduced to two in 2018.
    • The purpose of the relocation was to repopulate tigers in the reserve areas.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:

    Q.With reference to India’s Desert National Park, which of the following statements is correct?

    1. It is spread over two districts.
    2. There is no human habitation inside the Park.
    3. It is one of the natural habitats of Great Indian Bustard.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1,2 and 3

    Unexpected outcomes of the project

    The project ran into trouble within weeks of initiation.

    • The arrival of the tigers was followed by severe protests by villagers living on the fringes of the reserve and the matter eventually snowballing into a poll issue.
    • Forest department officials were attacked and their offices burnt down by irate villagers most of whom were tribals.
    • The villagers feared the big cats would endanger their livelihoods, lives and livestocks. They also alleged that they were not consulted or informed prior to the translocation.
    • The major reason which contributed to the failure of the project was the lack of confidence and trust-building between the forest department and the villagers.
    • Within months of the translocation, Mahavir was found dead and was killed in poaching.

  • Places in news: Zabarwan Mountains

    Prime Minister has asked tourists to visit the tulip garden, located at the foothills of the Zabarwan range in Jammu and Kashmir.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:

    Q.Siachen Glacier is situated to the

    (a) East of Aksai Chin

    (b) East of Leh

    (c)North of Gilgit

    (d) North of Nubra Valley

    Zabarwan Mountains

    • The Zabarwan Range is a short sub-mountain range between Pir Panjal and the Great Himalayan Range in the central part of the Kashmir Valley.
    • Specifically, the range is known to be what overlooks the Dal Lake and holds the Mughal gardens of Srinagar.
    • The Shankaracharya Temple is built on the edge of the central part of the Zabarwan Range.
    • The highest peak of this range is Mahadev Peak at 13,013 feet (3,966 m), which forms the distant background of the eastern mountain wall.
    • On the northern slopes of the central part of the range, there are three Mughal gardens built by Emperor Shah Jahan.
    • These include Chashma Shahi, Nishat Bagh and Shalimar Garden alongside the Pari Mahal (the fairy palace).
    • The Dachigam National Park is the main feature of the range which holds the last viable population of Kashmir stag (Hangul) and the largest population of black bear in Asia.

  • Vehicles scrappage policy: A step forward but a missed opportunity

    The much-awaited draft policy on vehicle scrappage is finally out. But the draft policy also misses an opportunity: Of designing the policy as an effective stimulus programme for green recovery in the sector to achieve deeper and quicker air quality benefits.

    Background

    • The policy outlines the criteria for defining end-of-life vehicles and scrapping them.
    • It also makes provision for scrapping facilities for safe disposal of waste and material recovery.
    • This is an important step forward towards building infrastructure for organised and scientific scrapping of old vehicles.

    The proposal

    • This proposed policy seeks to phase out unfit vehicles to reduce vehicular pollution, meet the climate commitments, improve road safety and fuel efficiency, formalize informal vehicle scrapping industry and recover low-cost material for the automotive, steel and electronics industry.
    • The policy expects to spin jobs and attract investment as well.
    • It is a big positive for supporting a network of well-equipped scrappage facilities with adequate environmental safeguards to stop unsafe dismantling that contaminates the environment.

    Must read:

    New Vehicle Scrappage Policy

    Issues with the policy

    (1) Advisory nature

    • This policy has only ‘advised’ the state governments and the automobile industry to provide voluntary incentives to the owners of old vehicles.
    • The central government has not committed to make it a fiscal stimulus strategy for quicker renewal of ageing, heavy-duty vehicle fleet with BS-VI vehicles — or to link other segments with targeted electrification.

    (2) Achieving fleet renewal

    • The focus on targeted fleet renewal for maximum emissions gains is still weak.
    • The proposed policy puts the entire onus of incentivizing fleet renewal on the state governments.
    • They have been advised to waive off a big chunk of road tax and registration fees on replacement vehicles.
    • These are important sources of state revenue, and the reaction of the state governments is still not known.

    (3) No stimulus

    • The more compelling question is whether the central government would consider a centrally supported stimulus programme for post-pandemic green recovery.
    • This is the global trend wherein governments have been giving conditional bailouts or tax support linked to emissions targets.

    What can be an effective strategy?

    (1) Transportation vehicles

    • For heavy-duty vehicles, the policy can take a more nuanced approach.
    • Consider that some truck owners may want to only dispose of the very old trucks without replacing them. But others may want to scrap and replace the older trucks.
    • In that case, a rebate can be given to the owners of end-of-life vehicles who are interested in ‘only scrapping’ the vehicle without immediately replacing them.
    • And this rebate can be given based on a scrappage certificate from authorized scrappage centres.
    • Old trucks with more economic life left can get a comparatively higher incentive as that will give higher emissions benefits.

    (2) Personal vehicles

    • For these vehicles, the central incentive can be linked with replacement with electric vehicles.
    • This can be added to the normal scrapping of end-of-life vehicles as already proposed in the draft policy. This can maximise air quality gains.
    • Personal vehicles are numerous and general public support for their fleet renewal can divert a lion’s share of the allocated budget from the priority heavy-duty segment.
    • Therefore, the public support for the personal vehicle segment can be linked only with voluntary electrification.

    Build-in manufacturers’ responsibility

    • The new policy also needs to align with the mandate for the manufacturers to meet targets for recyclability of material.
    • Make this mandatory as part of the scrappage policy.

    We have AIS 129

    • It is encouraging that the Automotive Industrial Standard-129 (AIS 129) on reuse, recycling and material recovery from vehicles were framed in 2015.
    • This requires 80-85 per cent of the material used in vehicle manufacturing by mass to be recoverable/recyclable/reusable at the end of life.
    • AIS-129 also restricts the use of heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, etc, and asks for the coding of plastics to inform dismantlers.
    • The requirement of recyclability should be extended to 85-95 per cent to maximise material recovery as well as energy recovery from residual waste like used oil, non-recyclable rubber etc.

    Way forward

    • This first-ever formal scrappage policy in India is urgently needed to help build infrastructure for safe disposal and material recovery to minimise environmental hazards.
    • But India would be adopting scrappage policy during these unprecedented pandemic times, so it is necessary to leverage this targeted fleet renewal with well-designed central support for a post-pandemic green deal.