Budget doesn’t hold much for the environment or its protection

Although the last year was largely overshadowed once again by COVID-19, one event that arguably stood out was COP26. Whether it was a success or not is another matter, but it did highlight the emergency and Sir David Attenborough’s stirring seven-minute speech, a passionate call to action, seemed to have finally got the world to stand together as one for the single global cause of fixing the planet. In that backdrop, it is essential to see where we are headed, and it was hoped that the Union Budget would help decipher that direction.

But Budget 2022-23 presented in Parliament on Feb 01 does not seem to have hit the climate mark or even considered the seriousness of the environmental problems that are meant to be tackled with the utmost sense of urgency. There is an increase in allocations for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), marginally higher at Rs 3,030 crore, when compared to Rs 2,520 crore in FY22. Similarly, there are marginal increases in initiatives like Project Tiger and the Deep Ocean Mission. But these hikes are negligible and the transition to clean energy is where the good news, if any, begins and comes to a halt.   

For instance, the budgetary allocation for the effort to save the tiger has increased from Rs 250 crore last year to Rs 300 crore this time.  But then this project has been reduced by Rs 100 crore over two consecutive financial years - from Rs 350 crore allotted to it in 2019-20, the amount was reduced to Rs 300 crore in 2020-21 and to Rs 250 crore in 2021-22. The budget for Project Elephant, which was launched to conserve jumbos across the country, has been minutely increased from Rs 33 crore to Rs 35 crore – that is, Rs. 2 crore more for the Indian elephant! A hike that is about double the amount that it takes to maintain a single elephant in captivity in America for a year!

50 major coastal cities will have to soon start adaptation measures to prevent rising seas from swallowing them

There have been parsimonious increases elsewhere like the budgetary allocation for the National Mission for Himalayan Studies by Rs 8 crore. Allotments for the various regional offices and statutory institutes, like the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, the Forest Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India, National Green Tribunal etc, that oversee the flora and fauna of the country, have also been wafer-thin especially when compared to their size and spread. The budget for these has gone up totally by Rs. 27 crore, from Rs 460 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 487 crore this year.

In other areas there have been reductions. The budget for the National Coastal Mission, which was nearly doubled in the last fiscal at Rs 200 crore was reduced by Rs 5 crore this year and stood at Rs 195 crore for 2022-23. In 2020-21, the NCM was allotted Rs 103 crore, an amount that was raised in 2021-22 to Rs 200 crore. The NCM is responsible for the livelihood and security of fishermen and coastal communities. It also protects the country’s vast coastal stretches.

The hike in the budget for the environment ministry is 510 Cr. and the allocation for the Climate Change Action Plan is a mere 30 Cr! This can only show that the government has missed the bus where climate resilience and adaptation are concerned, and seems more predisposed towards industry and ‘development’. The thrust on development through infrastructure and megaprojects, according to environmentalists, could sharply aggravate the environmental degradation that India already faces. One such example they give is the proposed expansion of highways in Budget 2022-23, by a whopping 25000 km.

Environment damaging changes seem to receive better consideration than eco-friendly ones like the announcement in the Budget of five more river linking projects. These are other than the already controversial nearly Rs. 45000 crore Ken- Betwa project which is expected to displace 10,000 people in ten villages, submerge over 9000 hectares, most of it in the Panna Tiger Reserve and bring down 23 lakh trees. Ken Betwa has been widely opposed.  Challenging the wildlife clearance recommended by the standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife, the central empowered committee (CEC) appointed by the Supreme Court had said in 2019 that the rare flora and fauna here, impacted by the project, would perish forever. “No amount of mitigative measures can create this kind of unique ecosystem which has evolved over millions of years to reach the present level of biodiversity,” the CEC report noted.

The balance between business and environment seems to mostly tilt in favour of the former. A fortnight before the Budget, on January 17, the MOEFCC announced the implementation of a new system of rating each State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). The process is based on the speed with which the SEIAAs grant environmental clearances (EC) to projects (like mining operations or construction). The memorandum issued by the environment ministry states that the system has been put in place to “incentivise States through a star-rating system, based on the efficiency and timeliness in granting EC”. States must satisfactorily fulfil seven criteria that can earn them a maximum of eight points, and a rating of five stars. These criteria include how quickly the EC is granted, site visits, and the percentage of EC proposals disposed of within six months.

The thrust on development through infrastructure and megaprojects could sharply aggravate the environmental degradation

And one such recent example is the requirement of an EC done away for ropeways which have been presented by the government as an environment-friendly form of transport in the Himalayas. One example is the ropeway terminal under construction at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. Experts and locals say the ropeways risk disturbing fragile mountain ecosystems and disrupting livelihoods. There probably are more such projects in the pipeline, given the relentless pursuit of a $5 trillion economy.

With the systematic dismantling of protection mechanisms or lopsided monetary allocations as highlighted in India, how do we prepare for the massive, impending displacement that is to be brought on by climate change? A new climate study shows that 50 major coastal cities will have to soon start adaptation measures to prevent rising seas from swallowing them. Rising sea levels could threaten the very existence of some major cities in the States of Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and West Bengal. Parts or most of cities like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi in Kerala and Cuttack in Odisha maybe below tide-level by 2030 says the study. Are we prepared for this or are we continuing to build highways, link rivers and chase higher growth numbers?

(The writer is an independent researcher and author)