Policy Watch: Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability – May 2021

This issue is on the theme, Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability.

This Policy Watch carries four articles on different issues pertaining to environment and natural resources in India.

The first article by Mr. Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS, critically analyzes the development slogan of Himalayan state Uttarakhand—the ‘Urja Pradesh’. The article attempts to assess gains envisaged from more than a hundred hydroelectric projects in the state such as the state’s ability to export energy, high economic gain, and huge job creation. It also delves into ecological, environmental, and disaster-related consequences of rampant construction of hydropower projects in the highly fragile mountains of the state.

The second article by Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat is an interesting case study from the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir where he documented innovative use of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 by Tarzoo village panchayat. This panchayat invoked Section 5 of the Forest Rights Act to restrain the Sopore Municipal Corporation from dumping its solid waste in the forest on which villagers of Tarzoo are dependent.

The third article is based on RGICS’ study on Common Property Resources (CPR). Mr. Piyush Saurabh Sharma describes dependency of people in the Bodoland Territorial Council Region (BTCR) of Assam on common property resources such as fish ponds, paddy fields, and irrigation canals. The article analyzes the effectiveness of traditional institutional systems to sustain these resources over more than a hundred years.

The last article on performances of District Mineral Foundation Trusts by Dr. Vishal Massey and Jeet Singh is based on a multi-state study on performances of DMF and fund utilization. Based on field study in five different states, this article analyzes use of DMFT funds for developmental and environmental concerns of mining-affected areas.