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Subject: Environment

  • 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’.

  • What to consider before India takes ‘net-zero’ pledge

    There are several issues with the adoption of net zero-emission targets. One of the most important being the lack of equity. This article deals with this issue.

    About net-zero emission targets

    • The “net zero” idea is inspired by an IPCC report that calls for global net emissions – GHG emissions minus removal of GHGs through various means to reach zero by mid-century.
    • This builds on a clause in the Paris Climate Agreement, calling for a balance between sources and sinks of emissions by the second half of the century.
    • It is worth underscoring that none of this implies that each country has to reach net-zero by 2050.
    • Net-zero announcements signals a progressive direction of travel and has the apparent merit of presenting a simple and singular benchmark for assessing the performance of a country.

    3 Issues with net zero targets

    • First, it potentially allows countries to keep emitting today while relying on yet-to-be-developed and costly technologies to absorb emissions tomorrow.
    • Second, its focus on long-term targets displaces attention from meaningful short-term actions that are credible and accountable.
    • Third., it calls into question concerns of equity and fairness.

    Balancing the concerns of developing and developed countries

    • The Paris Agreement, while urging global peaking as soon as possible, explicitly recognises that peaking will take longer for developing countries.
    • The Paris Agreement calls for achieving balance in developing and developed nation “on the basis of equity” and in the context of “sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty”.
    • Therefore, the Paris Agreement does not advocate uptake of net-zero targets across developed and developing countries, as currently being advocated by many countries.
    • Rather, the emphasis in the agreement on equity, sustainable development and poverty eradication suggests a thoughtful balancing of responsibilities between developed and developing countries.

    Factors India should consider before taking zero-emission target

    • Our first nationally determined contribution (NDC) submitted under the Paris Agreement has been rated by observers as compatible with a 2 degrees Celsius trajectory.
    • We are ahead of schedule in meeting our contribution.
    • Now, India will need to decide whether to join a growing number of countries (over 120 at last count) that have pledged to reach “net zero” emissions by 2050.
    • But it is not clear that enhancing mitigation action can definitively deliver net-zero emissions by 2050, given that our emissions are still rising, and our development needs are considerable.
    • There is a possibility that a not fully thought-through mid-century net-zero target would compromise sustainable development.
    • Moreover, such a major shift in our negotiating position will have implications for the future, including our ability to leverage additional finance and technology to help shift to low-carbon development pathways.
    • Our 2 degrees Celsius compatible NDC, bolstered by the Prime Minister’s announcement in 2019 that we would achieve 450 GW of renewables by 2030, could be strengthened.
    • Building on this track record suggests an alternate and equally, if not more, compelling, way to indicate climate ambition in the future than uncritically taking on a net-zero target.

    Way forward

    • We would benefit from taking stock of our actions and focusing on near-term transitions.
    • This will allow us to meet and even over-comply with our 2030 target while also ensuring concomitant developmental benefits, such as developing a vibrant renewable industry.
    • We can start putting in place the policies and institutions necessary to move us in the right direction for the longer-term and also better understand the implications of net-zero scenarios before making a net-zero pledge.
    • It would also be in India’s interest to link any future pledge to the achievement of near-term action by industrialised countries.
    • That would be fair and consistent with the principles of the UNFCCC.

    Consider the question “Growing number of countries have been setting net-zero emission target. In light of this, examine the issues India should consider before setting itself the net zero emission targets.”

    Conclusion

    India, like others, have a responsibility to the international community, we also have a responsibility to our citizens to be deliberate and thoughtful about a decision as consequential as India’s climate pledge.

  • 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.

  • Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP)

    In the presence of PM and Jal Shakti Minister, the CMs of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have signed an agreement to implement the Ken Betwa Link Project (KBLP).

    Must read:

    Interlinking of rivers: Significance & Challenges

    What is the Ken Betwa Link Project?

    • The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for the interlinking of rivers.
    • Under this project, water from the Ken River will be transferred to the Betwa river. Both these rivers are tributaries of the river Yamuna.
    • The project is expected to provide annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares, drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.

    The Project has two phases:

    • Under Phase-I, one of the components — Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses — will be completed.
    • While in the Phase-II, three components — Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha barrage — will be constructed.

    Regions benefitting from KBLP

    • The project lies in Bundelkhand, a drought-prone region, which spreads across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
    • It will be of immense benefit to the water-starved region of Bundelkhand, especially in the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.
    • It will pave the way for more interlinking of river projects to ensure that scarcity of water does not become an inhibitor to development in the country.

    What about the Panna tiger reserve?

    • Out of the 6,017 ha of forest area coming under submergence of Daudhan dam of Ken Betwa Link Project, 4,206 ha of the area lies within the core tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve.

    Previous examples of river-linking

    • In the past, several river linking projects have been taken up. For instance, under the Periyar Project, the transfer of water from the Periyar basin to the Vaigai basin was envisaged.
    • It was commissioned in 1895.
    • Similarly, other projects such as Parambikulam Aliyar, Kurnool Cudappah Canal, Telugu Ganga Project, and Ravi-Beas-Sutlej were undertaken.

    Recent developments on the interlinking of rivers in India

    • In the 1970s, the idea of transferring surplus water from a river to a water-deficit area was mooted by the then Union Irrigation Minister Dr K L Rao.
    • Rao, who himself was an engineer, suggested the construction of a National Water Grid for transferring water from water-rich areas to water-deficit areas.
    • Similarly, Captain Dinshaw J Dastur proposed the Garland Canal to redistribute water from one area to another.
    • However, the government did not pursue these two ideas further.

    The National Perspective Plan

    • It was in August, 1980 that the Ministry of Irrigation prepared a National Perspective Plan (NNP) for water resources development envisaging inter-basin water transfer in the country.
    • The NPP comprised two components: (i) Himalayan Rivers Development; and (ii) Peninsular Rivers Development.
    • Based on the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) identified 30 river links—16 under the Peninsular component and 14 under the Himalayan Component.
    • Later, the river linking idea was revived under the then Vajpayee Government.

    Ken Betwa Link Project is one of the 16 river linking projects under the Peninsular component.

    Clearances required for a river-linking project

    • Generally, 4-5 types of clearances are required for the interlinking of river projects.
    • These are Techno-economic (given by the Central Water Commission); Forest Clearance and Environmental clearance (Ministry of Environment & Forests); Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Plan of Tribal Population (Ministry of Tribal Affairs) and Wildlife clearance (Central Empowered Committee).

  • Indian monsoon 25 million years ago resembled present day Australia’s

    Using leaf fossils, researchers have found that the Indian monsoon 25 million years ago resembled present-day Australia’s.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one of the following is the appropriate reason for considering the Gondwana rocks as the most important rock systems of India?

    (a) More than 90% of limestone reserves of India are found in them

    (b) More than 90% of India’s coal reserves are found in them

    (c) More than 90% of fertile black cotton soils are spread over them

    (d) None of the reasons given above is appropriate in this context

    India’s drift

    • About 180 million years ago, India separated from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana and took a long northward journey of about 9,000 km to join Eurasia.
    • During this journey, the subcontinent moved from the southern hemisphere, crossed the Equator to reach its current position in the northern hemisphere.
    • Due to these changing latitudes, it experienced different climatic conditions, and a new study has now tried to map these climatic variations using leaf fossils.

    Clueless over the evolution of monsoon

    • The evolution of the monsoonal climate in India is still debatable and not fully understood.
    • Though recent data indicates that the monsoon system we experience now dates back to about 25 million years, it is still unclear how the climate was during its long voyage.

    Indian research

    • The researchers analysed the morphological characters of fossil leaves collected from Deccan Volcanic Province, East Garo Hills of Meghalaya, Gurha mine in Rajasthan and Makum Coalfield in Assam.
    • The four fossil assemblages were found to be from four different geological ages.
    • It has been observed from across the globe that plant leaf morphological characters such as apex, base and shape are ecologically tuned with the prevailing climatic conditions.
    • The research applied this model to characterize the past monsoon from fossil leaves.

    It’s finding

    • The results indicated that the fossil leaves from India were adapted to an Australian type of monsoon and not the current Indian monsoon system during its voyage.
    • The reconstructed temperature data show that the climate was warm (tropical to subtropical) at all the studied fossil sites with temperatures varying from 16.3–21.3 degrees C.
    • All the fossil sites experienced high rainfall, which varied from 191.6 cm to 232 cm.

  • What are the Diatoms?

    The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has relied on a forensic test known as diatom tests for leads in an alleged murder case of a person inviting high stage political drama.

    What are Diatoms?

    • Diatoms are photosynthesizing algae that are found in almost every aquatic environment including fresh and marine waters, soils, in fact, almost anywhere moist.
    • Diatoms have cell walls made of silica, each species has a distinct pattern of tiny holes in the cell wall (frustule) through which they absorb nutrients and get rid of waste.
    • A diatom is a photosynthetic, single-celled organism which means they manufacture their own food in the same way plants do.

    Diatoms are important as they:

    • provide the basis of the food chain for both marine and freshwater micro-organisms and animal larvae
    • are a major source of atmospheric oxygen responsible for 20-30% of all carbon fixation on the planet
    • can act as environmental indicators of climate change
    • form the basis of some household goods such as pest/mite prevention and mild abrasive

    Never underestimate UPSC. Try this PYQ before you reach any conclusion.

    Q.Which one of the following is the correct sequence of a food chain?

    (a) Diatoms-Crustaceans-Herrings

    (b) Crustaceans-Diatoms-Herrings

    (c) Diatoms-Herrings-Crustaceans

    (d) Crustaceans-Herrings-Diatoms

    What is a diatom test?

    • Diagnosis of death by drowning is deemed as a difficult task in forensic pathology.
    • A number of tests have been developed to confirm the cause of such deaths with the diatom test emerging as one of the most important tests.
    • The test entails findings if there are diatoms in the body being tested.

    The science behind

    • A body recovered from a water body does not necessarily imply that the death was due to drowning.
    • If the person is alive when he enters the water, the diatoms will enter the lungs when the person inhales water while drowning.
    • These diatoms then get carried to various parts of the body, including the brain, kidneys, lungs and bone marrow by blood circulation.
    • If a person is dead when is thrown in the water, then there is no circulation and there is no transport of diatom cells to various organs.