Taking note of the assault on a woman forest officer in Telangana, the Government on Monday said in the Rajya Sabha it views the incident on a serious note and said it cannot be tolerated. Giving this assurance, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar also said “we as a regulator will do whatever possible.”
Other issues to figure in the Upper House related to concern over climate change and water crisis in the country, drought in many parts, plight of Andhra tobacco farmers and poor working conditions of workers in the backdrop of 15 labourers dying in Pune due to wall collapse.
On the attack on the woman officer, Javadekar said the Government has taken a serious note of the assault on a forest department official in Telangana and will do whatever possible as a regulator.
The Telangana Police on Sunday arrested ruling Telangana Rasthra Samithi’s MLA Koneru Kannapa’s brother Krishna Rao for assaulting Forest Range officer C Anitha in Komaram Bheem in Asifabad district over a land issue.
“We are taking it very seriously because this cannot be tolerated. We, as a regulator, will do whatever possible,” Javadekar said. Condemning the attack, TRS working president K T Rama Rao had said no one was above the law even as Opposition Congress and BJP slammed the K Chandrasekhar Rao government.
Drawing the attention of the house to fast receding glaciers in Indian Himalayas, Jairam Ramesh(Congress)said there are about 10,000 glaciers in that region.
Referring to a recent US report, he said the rate of melting of glaciers had doubled in the last 15 years as compared to the previous 15 years and urged the Government to take immediate remedial measures as it could lead to water crisis. The entire opposition associated with Ramesh’s assertion.
Assuring the House that the Government is serious in addressing the issue of climate change and pollution, Javadekar said India is progressing well in achieving goals under the Paris pact to check climate change. He also said while India is not responsible for the problem of pollution at the global level but wants to be part of the solution.
The issue of plight of tobacco farmers of Andhra Pradesh was raised by G V L Narasimha Rao(BJP)who urged the government to help the distressed growers.
He said quality of tobacco crop, including in the West Godavari district, was poor due to consecutive five-year drought in the area and farmers were not getting reasonable price for their produce.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the
World Health Organisation(WHO)has highlighted evil effects of consuming tobacco. He said the Health Ministry and other wings of the Government were trying to impress upon people to see that area under cultivation of tobacco gets reduced and progressively farmers go for alternative crops.
Binoy Viswam (CPI) raised the matter of death of poor people due to heat wave. He said about 500 people have died due to heat wave and expressed apprehension that many would die during the cold wave in winters. Jharna Das Baidya(CPM) talked about drought like in many states including Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and some other states.
Manoj Jha(RJD)sought stringent laws to protect workers in the backdrop of 15 labourers who died in Pune some days back after a wall collapsed on their abode. Javadekar informed the house that two builders were arrested and appreciated the need for strict laws to ensure safety of workers.
Tiruchi Siva (DMK)raised the issue of drilling of wells to explore oil and natural gas in Tamil Nadu leading to water table going down and creating serious problems for farmers. Naresh Goyal (SAD) raised the issue of growing gun culture in the country, with firearms being used with impunity.