How India performed in managing forests, water and plastic waste in 2019

PM Modi on many occasions in 2019 announced plans to rid the country of single-use plastic by 2022.

BS : As the year 2019 draws to a close, we take a look at how India performed in managing its forests, water and waste.

India approved 99% of proposals to fell forests for non-forestry uses (until June 2019). It ranked 13th among the most water-stressed nations in 2019. And as the prime minister urged the nation to stop using single-use plastic, states and cities remained underprepared.

Forests

In the first six months of 2019, out of 240 proposals seeking diversion of forest land, the government of India only rejected seven--98.99% of forest land considered for diversion was allowed to be put to non-forestry uses, as per this August 2019 analysis of the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), a Delhi-based advocacy.

This rate of diversion “is a matter of serious concern”, said the analysis.

The forest area approved for diversion till June 2019 was about 92.20 sq km. This, combined with diversion approvals from 2017 and 2018, amounts to 588.20 sq km--larger than the union territory of Puducherry--according to the analysis.

About 43% of forest land recommended for diversion in 2019 falls in ecologically sensitive wildlife habitats, the analysis said.

Over 500 projects were cleared in India’s Protected Areas and their ‘Eco-Sensitive Zones’ by the National Board of Wildlife over the four years of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government between June 2014 and May 2018. In comparison, the preceding United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had cleared 260 projects between 2009 and 2013, as IndiaSpend reported in September 2018.

No more than 1.1% of projects were rejected annually, on average, between June 2014 and May 2018, dropping from 11.9% under the previous UPA government between 2009 and 2013, according to an analysis by the Delhi-based advocacy, Centre for Science & Environment.

These compensatory plantations, often monoculture adding little value to biodiversity, are further leading to state-approved violation of the rights of forest dwellers, IndiaSpend reported on June 25, 2019.

India set to outlaw six single-use plastic products on October 2: Report

India lacks an organised system for management of plastic waste, leading to widespread littering across its towns and cities.

India is set to impose a nationwide ban on plastic bags, cups and straws on October 2, officials said, in its most sweeping measure yet to stamp out single-use plastics from cities and villages that rank among the world's most polluted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is leading efforts to scrap such plastics by 2022, is set to launch the campaign with a ban on as many as six items on October 2, the birth anniversary of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, two officials said.

These include plastic bags, cups, plates, small bottles, straws and certain types of sachets, said the officials, who asked not to be identified, in line with government policy.

"The ban will be comprehensive and will cover manufacturing, usage and import of such items," one official said.

India's environment and housing ministries, the two main ministries leading the drive, did not respond to emails from Reuters to seek comment.

In an Independence Day speech on August 15, Modi had urged people and government agencies to "take the first big step" on October 2 towards freeing India of single-use plastic.

Concerns are growing worldwide about plastic pollution, with a particular focus on the oceans, where nearly 50% of single-use plastic products end up, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, studies show.

The European Union plans to ban single-use plastic items such as straws, forks, knives and cotton buds by 2021.

China's commercial hub of Shanghai is gradually reining in use of single-use plastics in catering, and its island province of Hainan has already vowed to completely eliminate single-use plastic by 2025.

India lacks an organised system for management of plastic waste, leading to widespread littering across its towns and cities.

The ban on the first six items of single-use plastics will clip 5% to 10% from India's annual consumption of about 14 million tonnes of plastic, the first official said.

Business Standard