An aware populace led by an active group of environmentalists should spring into action and urge the political parties to make their stand clear on environment during the ongoing campaign for the lok Sabha election
The campaigning for elections across the country has witnessed political parties appealing to the electorate on a plethora of issues, with corruption being the foremost subject. However, at the same time environmental issues have been relegated to the back seat. Thanks to the fervour of elections, all major political parties have made tall promises, be it for eradication of poverty or controlling prices, but most of these parties have failed to focus on ecological concerns. It is beyond comprehension as to why environment is not treated as a mainstream issue especially when the country is facing critical problems that are threatening to affect human well-being, besides causing irreversible ecological damage. To make matters worse, political parties are treating environment issues as irrelevant and secondary.
Elections are the apt time when the common man can choose responsible governance. Given this opportunity, it is surprising how a country with a highly committed and vocal group of environmentalists can suddenly fall silent and allow the political establishment to push a sensitive subject such as environment into the background. An aware populace led by an active group of environmentalists should spring into action and urge the political parties to make their stand clear on environment during this period.
Holding events such as public debates and deliberations on the subject of environment can ensure this and ascertain the resolve of the political parties towards the critical issue. In addition, the political parties have recently started to frame their election manifestos in consultation with the people. This is a remarkable opportunity for the well-wishers of environment to come forward and ensure that the concerns are suitably represented, if not in party document, at least later.
As the summer ahead promises water shortage in both urban and rural areas and threatens to bring to light various health, sanitation and climate change issues, the political parties could have had a more coherent approach to the same in the manifestos. Instead of blunt and clichéd promises which do not seek to examine the causes behind the crucial environmental issues, political parties should explore and sincerely understand the factors leading to environmental exigencies caused due to rapid industrialisation, mining, promotion of industries that destroy our forests, rivers and other water bodies. A sincere appreciation of the ecological problems on hand will enable the political parties to take accurate steps based on realistic promises. This in turn will help the parties to utilise environmental conservation as an opportunity to differentiate themselves from other groups.
The hardships suffered by the people and continued apathy of the political parties towards environment, especially during the elections, is starting to get noticed, and unless corrective measures are taken by the parties, this indifference may prove costly not only for the environment but also for the destiny of the political parties.
For instance, the worrying desertification process in Odisha has accelerated. But political parties hardly promise to do anything about this, as no party has made a specific reference to the grave issue during its campaigning.
Similarly, the recent Vidarbha Nature Conservation Society meeting at Nagpur , which was attended by conservationists, environmentalists and social activists, discussed issues related to forests, agriculture and neglect of units based on them. The forum also expressed its anguish that the political parties had no agenda for forested Vidarbha, as result due to the consistent and unchecked deforestation the region has become unstable and warm. Neither do the parties have any plan to tackle the man-animal conflict occurring in many parts of the country nor is there an effective plan for the relocation of villages in tiger reserves, and for forests and wildlife conservation.
Maybe the political establishment in the country can learn from Sikkim where ecological issues are at the forefront of the political debate during elections. The Sikkim Democratic Government has successfully taken a number of environment protection initiatives in the last two decades, such as increasing forest cover and making agriculture organic. This also speaks volumes of an aware population led by environmental activists who refused to let ecology take a back seat and are well on their way to ensuring that Sikkim becomes a fully organic State.
The ever-vigilant environmental protection groups have now noticed the proliferation of hydel projects in their State and have started to intensify their opposition to the same. If the rest of the country can emulate such well-informed and timely activism, the environmental conservation will move leagues ahead, besides compelling the political parties to recognise the subject as a mainstream issue.