UNIT 6
Environmental Policies & Practices
Article 48(A) 48A and 51(A)g
Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life The State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country. Sher Singh vs State of Hp on 6 February, 2014.
The citizens of the country have a fundamental right to a wholesome, clean and decent environment. The Constitution of India, in terms of Article 48A, mandates that the State is under a Constitutional obligation to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forest and wild life in the country. By 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, the Parliament, with an object of sensitizing the citizens of their duty, incorporated Article 51A in the Constitution, inter alia, requiring a citizen to protect and improve the natural environment including the forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have a compassion for living creatures.
The legislative intent and spirit under Articles 48A and 51A(g) of the Constitution find their place in the definition of 'environment' under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (for short the 'Act of 1986'). The legislature enacted various laws like the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and other legislations with the primary object of giving wide dimensions to the laws relating to protection and improvement of environment. It is true that Part III of the Constitution relating to Fundamental Rights does not specifically devote any Article to the Environment or protection thereof per se. However, with the development of law and pronouncement of judgments by the Supreme Court of India, Article 21 of the Constitution has been expanded to take within its ambit the right to a clean and decent environment.
Not only this, there is still a greater obligation upon the Centre, State and the Shrine Board in terms of Article 48A of the Constitution where it is required to protect and improve the environment. Article 25(2) of the UDHR ensures right to standard of adequate living for health and well-being of an individual including housing and medical care and the right to security in the event of sickness, disability etc. The expression 'life' enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution does not connote mere animal existence or continued drudgery through life. It has a much wider meaning which includes right to livelihood, better standard of living, hygienic conditions in the workplace and leisure.
The right to life with human dignity encompasses within its fold, some of the finer facets of human civilization which makes life worth living. The expanded connotation of life would mean the tradition and cultural heritage of the persons concerned. In the case of Consumer Education & Research Centre (supra), the Court discussing the case of C.E.S.C. Ltd. v. Subhash Chandra Bose (1992) 1 SCC 441) stated with approval that in that case the Court had considered the gamut of operational efficacy of human rights and constitutional rights, the right to medical aid and health and held the right to social justice as a fundamental right.
The Court further stated that the facilities for medical care and health to prevent sickness, ensure stable manpower for economic development and generate devotion to duty and dedication to give the workers' best performance, physically as well as mentally. The Court particularly, while referring to the workmen made reference to Articles 21, 39(e), 41, 43 and 48-A of the Constitution of India to substantiate that social security, just and humane conditions of work and leisure to workmen are part of his meaningful right to life. Small Hydro Power Developers' ... vs Transmission Corporation of A.P. ... on 8 May, 2008 The said decision itself is an authority for the proposition that what is granted can be withdrawn by the Government except in the case where the doctrine of promissory estoppel applies. The said decision is also an authority for the proposition that the promissory estoppel operates on equity and public interest. Thus, the State has discretion to alter its policy. The courts cannot interfere with the policy decision unless it is found that the decision to change the policy is arbitrary, unreasonable and unfair. In the instant case, the State Government has not changed or withdrawn its policy of incentivizing the generation through renewable sources of energy. The policy directives contained in GOMs are also not inconsistent with the expressed or implied provisions of any statute.
Rather the policy is in conformity with the preamble to the Electricity Act, 2003 and Article 48A of the Constitution. As seen from above the thrust of the National Electricity Policy is upon the use of nonconventional sources of energy to augment generation and for production of green energy. In fact, the electricity policy as also the MNES policy, the preamble to the Electricity Act, 2003 and Section 61(h) thereof and GOMS 93 are in tune with the provisions of Article 48A and 51A (g) of the Constitution and treaties, conventions and protocols on the issues relating to environment. In order to support conservation of environment, Constitution was amended by 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. By virtue of the amendment, Articles 48A and Article 51A(g) were inserted in the Constitution. Article 48A, interalia, provides that the State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment.
Similarly, Article 51A(g), inter alia, casts a duty on every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment. Articles 48A, Article 51 A(g), the Preamble to the Electricity Act, National Electricity Policy, MNES policy and GOMS 93 reflect the concern for ecology. This concern stems from the ill effects of pollution and global warming. Since the environment needs to be protected, adequate and pre-empting measures are required to be taken to incentivise the generation of power through renewable sources of energy. But in case the original PPAs are re-opened for fixing higher wheeling charges than what is provided in the G.O.Ms. No. 93., there is bound to be a set back to the generation of power through renewable sources of energy. The hike in the wheeling charges of power generated by plants based on renewable sources of energy does not serve the purpose of promotion of power generation through non- conventional sources. Setting up of power plant requires heavy investment and it has a long gestation period. It is also well known that till the technologies are improved, the cost of production of power through renewable sources of energy could be higher than the production of power through conventional sources of energy.
The impugned increase in wheeling charges of energy produced by renewable sources is against the preamble and Sections 61(h) of the Electricity Act, the National Electricity Policy, GOMs 93 & 112 of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, MNES policy and thrust of Article 48A of the Constitution. In Chhattisgarh Biomass Energy Developers Association and Ors. v. Chhattisgarh S.E.R.C. and Ors. 2007 APTEL 711, it was observed that where Power Purchase Agreements between distribution licensees and the generating companies utilizing renewable sources of energy are in conformity with MNES guidelines or various policy guidelines, the agreements are not to be tinkered with. The Commission has not considered the impact of the aforesaid decisions, the preamble and Section 61(h) of the Electricity Act, 2003, the National Electricity Policy, MNES guidelines, Article 48A and 51A(g) of the Constitution and the aspect relating to protection of environment, which has been the subject matter of various treaties and conventions.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living conditions and resources are used to continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability goals, such as the current UN-level Sustainable Development Goals, address the global challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
Climate Change
For many, a warming climatic system is expected to impact the availability of basic necessities like freshwater, food security, and energy, while efforts to redress climate change, both through adaptation and mitigation, will similarly inform and shape the global development agenda. The links between climate change and sustainable development are strong. Poor and developing countries, particularly least developed countries, will be among those most adversely affected and least able to cope with the anticipated shocks to their social, economic and natural systems.
The international political response to climate change began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, where the ‘Rio Convention’ included the adoption of the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This convention set out a framework for action aimed at stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to avoid “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” The UNFCCC which entered into force on 21 March 1994, now has a near-universal membership of 197 parties. In December 2015, the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21/CMP1) convened in Paris, France, and adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement which aims to keep a global temperature rise for this century well below 2 degrees Celsius, with the goal of driving efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The consequences and costs of climate change on our world will define the 21st century. Even if nations across the planet were to take immediate steps to curb carbon emissions—a warmer climate is inevitable. As the recent report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted, human-created warming will persist for centuries to millennia and will continue to cause further long-term changes in the climate system, such as sea level rise. As these effects progress, they will have serious impacts on human society. In the coming decades climate change will increasingly threaten human security in many parts of the world, disproportionately affecting the least developed countries. Climate change will pose economic, social, and political predicaments that will challenge the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is a stocktaking piece on the physical and social consequences of climate change, with a specific focus on whether and how climate change via its effects on economic growth, migration, and conflict challenges the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals. This paper surveys the recent relevant literatures to identify the mechanism and contexts that give generate the interconnection between climate-economy-migration-conflict and evaluate the relative importance of climate as a hindrance to SDGs.
Global warming
Global warming is a Global phenomenon. It refers to a gradual increase in the temperature of the Earth due to trapping of green house gases. A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants. Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are 95-100% certain that it is primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Gases such as CO2, SO2, NO2,CH4, etc. Are the green house gases. Most of these are the polluting gases that are produced by the industries. These gases trap the heat from the sunrays that are reflected from the sun.
Causes of Global Warming
It is the effect of the process of trapping of Heat due to CO2 which has been going on since times unknown. As we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for energy or cut down and burn forests to create pastures and plantations, carbon accumulates and overloads our atmosphere. Certain waste management and agricultural practices aggravate the problem by releasing other potent global warming gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide.
The major greenhouse gases are water vapour, which causes about 36–70% of the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26%; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9%;and ozone (O3), which causes 3-7%. Clouds also affect the radiation balance.
Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radioactive forcing from CO2, methane, troposphere ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide.
Effects of global warming
- Sea level rise is accelerating. The planet's temperature is rising.
- Dangerous heat waves are becoming more common.The number of large wildfires is growing.
- Extreme storm events are increasing in many areas. More severe droughts are occurring in others. These are having significant and harmful effects on our health, our environment, and our communities.
Prevention Of Global Warming
The various ways to control Global Warming are:-
- Control of population. But, since it is not possible to control population, the best way to control Global warming is by planting trees - Decrease deforestation/plant forests
- Produce more fuel-efficient vehicles
- Use of ecofriendly and biodegradable products.
- Improve energy-efficiency in buildings
- Develop carbon capture and storage processes
Acid rain
ACID RAIN is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is usually acidic i.e. it has low pH. Acid rain is caused by emissions of Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.
Involves deposition of aqueous acids, acidic gases and acidic salts. Acid deposition has 2 parts: wet and dry - Wet deposition refers to acidic rain, fog & snow - Dry deposition refers to acidic gases and particles - Half of the acidity in the atmosphere falls back to earth through dry deposition.
Sources
Acid rain comes from chemical reactions in the atmosphere among oxygen, water and sulfur or nitrogen oxides. When sulfur dioxide dissolves in small droplets of water in clouds, it reacts with the hydrogen and oxygen of the water to form a weak solution of sulfuric acid. Similarly, nitrogen oxides form weak nitric acid in water droplets. The clouds can drift over hundreds of miles carrying their acid droplets. When conditions are right for rain, the droplets grow and fall to the ground. In many areas of the United States, such as the great plains, the acid rain falls mostly on land used for agriculture.
Causes of Acid Rain
- The primary cause of acid rain is the emission of harmful gases and emissions by industrial power plants and factories, and to some extent, cars as well.
- Burning of fossil fuels lead to emission of gases that give oxides of Sulphur and nitrogen.
- Burning of gasoline and diesel in cars build the amount of acidified water droplets in the atmosphere.
Effects of Acid Rain
- The effects of acid rain are unhealthy and harmful. Buildings, national monuments and bridges tend to deteriorate faster.
- Acid rain has been found to be very hard on trees. It weakens them by washing away the protective film on leaves, and it stunts growth.
- The biggest reason to find satisfactory solutions for acid rains is the damage to natural ecosystems. This rain will affect the plants, trees, rivers, lakes, soil and land wherever it may fall on.
- Animals and plants that live in such areas are severely affected. Their food sources get diminished, they may develop unhealthy diseases or mutations, or they may even die in extreme cases,
EFFECT ON HUMANS
The pollutants that cause acid rain—Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides damage human health. These gases interact in the atmosphere to form fine sulphate and nitrate particles that can be transported long distances by winds and inhaled deep into people's lungs. When we breathe in air pollution, these very fine particulates can easily enter our body, where they can cause breathing problems (asthma), bronchitis and over time even cause skin cancer.
Solutions for acid rain
To solve the acid rain problem, people need to understand how acid rain damages the environment. They also need to understand what changes could be made to the air pollution sources that cause the problem. Use Low Sulphur Coal The amount of Sulphur oxides emitted by a power plant can be reduced by burning coal with a very low percentage of Sulphur present.
Ozone layer depletion
The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, preventing it from reaching the earth’s surface. This layer in the atmosphere protects life on earth from the dangerous UV radiation from the sun. The chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs, which were used as refrigerants and aerosol spray propellants, posed a threat to the ozone layer.
The destruction of the ozone layer is seen to cause increased cases of skin cancer and cataracts. It also causes damage to certain crops and to plankton, thus affecting natures food chains and food webs. This in turn causes an increase in carbon dioxide due to the decrease in vegetation. Protecting the Ozone Layer Ban the use of CFC’s Have to replace with something Current replacements are greenhouse gases and do not eliminate ozone depletion, just slow it down.
Key Takeaways:
- Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend.
- The pollutants that cause acid rain—Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides damage human health.
- Acid rain comes from chemical reactions in the atmosphere among oxygen, water and sulfur or nitrogen oxides.
Environment protection act
An Act to provide for the protection and improvement of environment and formatters connected therewith. Whereas the decisions were taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm in June, 1972, in which India participated, to take appropriate steps for the protection and improvement of human environment. The Environment (Protection) Act 1986 was introduced after the Bhopal gas tragedy during Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of our country.
OBJECTIVES
- To protect the forests and wildlife in the country.
- To improve the quality of life by protection of environment.
- To co-ordinate the activities of the various regulatory agencies already in existence.
Environment it includes water, air and land and the inter relationship which exists between water, air and land and human being, other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms and property.
Environment pollutant
It means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be injurious to environment pollutant.
Hazardous substance
It means any substance or preparation which, by reason of its chemical or physic-chemical properties or handling, is liable to cause harm to human beings, other living creatures, plant, micro-organism, property or the environment.
Environment pollution
It means the presence of any environmental pollutant in the environment. It includes all extraneous materials that are harmful to human being ,animals and plants life.
Sources And Causes For The Pollution
- Combustion
- Construction
- Mining
- Agriculture Chemical plants
- Coal-fired power plants
- Oil refineries
- Petrochemical plants, Nuclear waste
- Large livestock farms (dairy cows, pigs, poultry, etc.)
- PVC factories
- Plastics factories and other heavy industry are increasingly significant in the pollution equation.
Air(prevention and control of pollution)act
Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air that are detrimental to human health and the planet as a whole. It is an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of air. Sources of Air Pollution are:-
- Man-made
- Natural
Major Air Pollutants
- Carbon Monoxide
- Sulphur Dioxide
- Carbon Dioxide
- Chlorofluoro Carbon
- Nitrogen Oxide
- Ozone
Object
- To provide for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.
- To provide for the establishment of central and state board with a view to implement the Act.
- To confer on the boards the power to implement the provisions of the Act and assign to the boards functions relating to pollution.
Prevention And Control Of Air Pollution
- Power to declare air pollution control areas
- Power to give instructions for ensuring standards for emission from automobiles • Restrictions on use of certain industrial plants
- Person carrying on industry, etc. not to allow emission of air pollutants in excess of the standards laid down by State Board
- Power to take samples of air or emission and procedure to be followed in connection therewith
Environmental Pollutants
- Burning fossil fuel
Burning fossil fuels in cars and power stations releases SO2 and other green house gases.
- SO2 dissolve in rain – acid rain
Acid rain damages trees and pollutes rivers and lakes which Results in erosion of buildings and statues.
Penalties And Procedure
Failure to comply with the provisions of section 21 or section 22 or with the directions issued under section 31A.— (1) whoever fails to comply with the provisions of section 21 or section 22 or directions issued under section 31A, shall, in respect of each such failure, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year and six months but which may extend to six years and with fine, and in case the failure continues, with an additional fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which such failure continues after the conviction for the first such failure. (2) If the failure referred to in sub-section (1) continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than two years but which may extend to seven years and with fine.
Water(prevention and control of pollution)act
The Water Act was enacted by Parliament Act, 1974 purpose to provide for the prevention of control of water pollution and the maintaining or restoring of wholesomeness of water. As on day, it is applicable in all the states of India.
OBJECTIVES
- The water(prevention and pollution control) act 1974, provides for following:
- Prevention and control of water pollution
- Maintaining or restoring the wholesomeness of water
- Establishment of board for prevention and control of water pollution
- An act to provide for the levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by persons carrying on certain industries and by local authorities, with a view to augment the resources of the central board and the state boards for the prevention and control of water pollution constituted under the water (prevention and control of pollution) act, 1974.
Application and Commencement
It applies in the first instance to the whole of the States of Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal and the Union Territories.
POLLUTION
- Pollution means such as
- Contamination of water or
- Alternation of physical, chemical Or biological properties of water or
- Discharge of any Sewerage effluent Or trade Effluent Of or any other liquid or solid substance into water As may render such water harmful
- To public health
- To domestic , commercial , industrial, agriculture
- To life of animal And plant or aquatic Organisms.
Sewage effluent
Sewage effluent means effluent from Any sewerage system or Disposal works and Includes silage from open drains. Trade effluent Trade effluent includes . Any liquid ,solid or gaseous Substance Which discharge from any Premises Used for Carrying on Any industries operation or processes, or treatment And disposal system Other than domestic sewage.
Wildlife protection act
The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India only had five designated national parks.
Objectives
Prohibition on Hunting of Specified wild animals, birds and plants.
Setting up and management of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
Control of Trade and Commerce in wildlife and wildlife products.
Definitions under the Act
- "animal" includes amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and their young, and also includes, in the cases of birds and reptiles, their eggs.
- "animal article" means an article made from any captive or wild animal, other than vermin, and includes an article or object in which the whole or any part of such animal has been used and an article made therefrom.
- "hunting" includes
- capturing, killing, poisoning, snaring, or trapping any wild animal, and every attempt to do so
- driving any wild animal for any of the purposes specified in sub clause
- injuring, destroying or taking any body part of any such animal, or in the case of wild birds or reptiles, disturbing or damaging the eggs or nests of such birds or reptiles.
- "taxidermy" means the curing, preparation or preservation of trophies
- rugs, skins, and specimens of such animals mounted in whole or in part through a process of taxidermy
- antler, horn, rhinoceros horn, feather, nail, tooth, musk, eggs, and nests.
- "wildlife" includes any animal, bees, butterflies, crustacean, fish and moths; and aquatic or land vegetation which forms part of any habitat.
- Hunting of Wild Animals • The Act prohibits hunting of wild animals. No person shall hunt any wild animals as specified in the schedules.
However there are some exceptions to it.
Sanctuary: - An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. • Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death.
National Park:- A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns.
Forest conservation act
Forest conservation is a practice of planning and maintaining forested areas for the benefit and sustainability for the generations.
The Forest Conservation Act of 1980 was acted to control deforestation.
Penalties for offences in Reserved Forests: – No person is allowed to set fire or clearings – Cattles are not permitted – No permission to collect any forests products
Protected forests – No permission to do anything for trees which are mentioned in Act.
Natural Reserves
Nature reserve, area set aside for the purpose of preserving certain animals, plants, or both. A nature reserve differs from a national park usually in being smaller and having as its sole purpose the protection of nature.
Endangered species are often kept in reserves, away from the hunters who brought them close to extinction. In the United States, numerous wildlife refuges have served this purpose, especially with respect to birds. Nature reserves are also numerous in Europe, India, Indonesia, and some African countries.
The origin of modern nature reserves lies in medieval times, when landowners established game preserves for the protection of animals that they hunted. The idea of protecting animals simply to keep them from dying out did not arise until the 19th century.
Natural reserves and parks are areas of land or water set aside by governments or private groups to preserve them from uncontrolled development and exploitation. In international discussion, the term protected areas is used to denote all types of land and ocean areas where access and development are restricted in ordered to protect, at least partially, the natural character of that area. Not all protected areas are pure wilderness; in some cases, human settlements remain within the boundaries of the area.
Tribal Population and Rights
The word ‘Tribe’ denotes a group of people living in primitive and ruthless conditions. These tribes are a social group living in a fixed territory having no such specialization of functions and the people living in these social groups are known as tribes or tribal people. Tribes also have several sub groups and collectively they are known as ‘Tribal Society’. Tribes are the inhabitants of forests since prehistory and even in this modern world this trend is followed by many people. Tribes constitute around 8.6 percent of the total Indian population, and of the total tribal population around 80 percent are found in Central India.
India has the second largest tribal population in the world. In India, Scheduled Tribes are mainly spread across the forests and hilly regions of India. Tribes in India are mainly characterised by their geographical location and distinct culture. In India, tribes are treated very low, are execrated and are even treated as untouchables by the prevailing adherence to social norms and caste system. The tribal people were compelled to perform duties which were considered inferior because of their economic backwardness and illiteracy. Since, these people were ill-treated and were not enjoying equal status with other people which is guaranteed to all the citizens of India by Article 14 of The Constitution of India i.e., “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India”, so there was a need to provide these tribal people some rights for their welfare and development. In earlier times, Mahatma Gandhi fought for the rights of the tribal people and recognized them as Girijans or the Children of the Forest God and after Independence in 1947, the Government of India spent lot of resources to improve the standard of living of tribal people and also helped them through legislations and developmental programmes and in safeguarding their rights.
Historical Background
Back in history, the tribal people were in fact self-governing first nations. These subjugated tribal groups were forced by the people belonging to upper castes to perform menial jobs like small household works, sweeping, cleaning of excreta, leather works, removal of dead bodies etc. The tribal people were considered untouchables and they were not even allowed to sit along with the people of upper caste. Their sovereign existence outside the mainstream led to the preservation of their socio-religious and cultural practices as there was no interference by the mainstream society.
The tribal people were considered unclean by most of the people of Indian society and they were socially distanced and often used to face violence from the society. Apart from the encounter of the tribes with the various civilizations, there was also the influence of the foreign missionaries in the past and of the dominant society through the fundamentalist forces in the recent past. In the past, there were several human rights violations and brutality, particularly on tribal women. Tribal communities also used to face isolation and social discrimination from the mainstream society which always used to oppress them.
Initially the demand for the rights of tribes and equal status in society in India was started by Mahatma Gandhi. He considered these people as Girijans or the Children of God and treated them equally in the society. Gandhi started working with these people who were seen as untouchables by the mainstream society and when it was seen by the other people it became a revolt but situation did not change much.
After Independence in 1947, Government of India passed various resolutions and a ministry was made to safeguard the rights of tribal people. Even in the Constitution special rights are guaranteed to the people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Problems Related to Scheduled Tribes
The most common problems relate to the tribal people living in peninsular India and the north-eastern tribes. The separate systems were approved by the Constituent Assembly formed at the time of independence after receiving recommendations that the distinct ‘community structures’ and ‘attitudes’ of the tribes in the two regions could be treated in a common law. Under the 2006 Forest Rights Act, providing land rights to forest-dwelling communities of the country, only 15 lakh complainants out of the 39,56,262 cases filed; were given the legal recognition to their property. The tribes have their own social problems. They are traditional and bound by customs. Due to lack of education and development they are superstitious and believe in outmoded and meaningless practices which can be harmful at times.
Child marriage, infanticide, homicide, animal sacrifice, exchange of wives, black magic and other detrimental practices are still prevalent among them. They believe in supernatural powers and have a keen desire to maintain these practices. They don’t want to change their significant tribal character and hence it’s said that “tribes are the tribesmen first, the tribesmen last, and the tribesmen all the time.”
Geographical Separation
The tribes are of special concern in Indian society in view of their general economic backwardness, low technological development and complex problems of socio-cultural adjustment to distinctive cultural identity. As the tribal communities are spread in different areas of India, the development of tribal people is very challenging for the Government of India. Most of the tribal people living in India are geographically separated from the rest of the population. It becomes very difficult for them to establish relations as some of them live in remote areas like dense forests, mountains, hills, deep valleys etc. and hence they cannot correlate with the modern society. This kind of social as well as physical separation or seclusion has declined the tribal development. The welfare schemes, programmes and projects undertaken by the Government, sometimes do not even reach these people because of this isolation. So, the tribal people must be protected from leading an isolated and segregated life away from the mainstream society living in cities, towns and villages.
Land Alienation
Rights of tribals over forests is an inalienable and irrefutable historical fact. But the problem of alienation of land from the tribal to non-tribal is there from the time of British colonialism in India when the Britishers started interfering in the tribal region to exploit the rich tribal resources. Along with Britishers, money lenders, zamindars and traders started encroachments on tribal lands. As the tribal people had no legal rights over their land, it became easier for non-tribal people to acquire their land.
Forest policy of Britishers was inclined towards commercial purposes and was not for the tribal people, so it led to displacement of tribal people from forests. Britishers even reserved some forests with rich natural resources where only Government officials and authorized contractors were allowed to cut the timber which was used by the Britishers and the tribal people were kept isolated even in their own habitat.
Tribal people are mainly dependent upon the forest products for their livelihood and many tribes including their women are involved in agriculture, hunting and food gathering. But when outsiders or non-tribes start interfering and exploiting the natural resources, the life cycle of tribal life is greatly disturbed. The tribes have gradually lost control over community resources such as forests. Tribal lands in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh revealed a nexus between traditionally influential nontribal landowners and corrupt government officials. The latter exercised their discretionary powers to favour non-tribes by transferring lands over which tribal communities may have had a valid claim. Even in a tribal majority state like Jharkhand in the north, the tribes are the worst affected in the entire population since the state government’s mining operations and hydroelectric power projects exploit natural resources in the resource-rich tribal areas, thus making the tribes outsiders in their own land.
Many people have tried to acquire the tribal lands by marrying the tribal women and there are ample proves that these people were non-tribal and belonged to upper caste and ruling class of coastal Andhra.
The tribal people have been living and cultivating on these lands from ages and suddenly they are deprived of their land displaced. In Attappady, Kerala alone, over 10,796.19 acres land had been alienated from tribes between 1960 and 1980. Often law declares these unregistered lands as national parks, sanctuaries or reserved forests. In some forests the tribal people are not given access to forest produce and grazing of cattle is rendered illegal by the Government. These people live under the continuous threat of being ousted from their homes. They do not have any legal right and the only legal protection they have is the due process of law. Their demands for their rights is often subdued by the forest authorities and whenever they try to protest for their demands they are trampled to the extent that their right to life is taken away.
Cultural Problems
The culture of the Tribal communities is entirely different from the mainstream or civilized society. The customs, practices and traditions followed by the civilised people are not understood by the tribal people and they become suspicious of the civilised people. Different religions are trying to influence these tribal people by their religion and this is being done from the British colonial period. Some foreign Christian missionaries in British rule attempted to proliferate their religion in some of the Tribal areas.
“In several tribal areas, mass conversion to Christianity had taken place during the British period. While the missionaries have been the pioneers in education and opened hospitals in tribal areas, they have also been responsible for alienating the tribes from their culture. Christian missionaries have many a time instigated the tribes to revolt against the Indian government.”
On the other hand, R.S.S., Vishwa Hindu Parishad, The Ramakrishna mission has tried to spread their ideology of Hinduism in many parts of tribal regions of India. The tribal leaders have also started popularizing their tribal religion and culture. These different ideologies and propagandas have created a huge confusion and even conflicts between the tribal people. The cultural gap between tribal people and civilised people is widening day by day and this gap can only be filled by the joint efforts of Central Government, State Government and leaders of tribal region. This gap is coming in way of integration of the tribal people and the mainstream society of India.
Educational Problems
Literacy rate among tribes is 58.96% (2011 census). While in 1961, it was 18.53 per cent, in 1991 it increased to 29.60 per cent which compared to general literacy rate of 52.21 per cent in the country is very low (1991 census), because while the growth of literacy rate in the past three decades in the country was 28.21 per cent, among the STs it was only 11.7 per cent {The Hindustan Times, July 11, 1995). Though tribal literacy rate in Mizoram is 82.71 per cent and in Nagaland, Sikkim and Kerala it is between 57 per cent and 61 per cent, lack of literacy among tribal people has been identified as a major development problem.
The exploitation of the tribal people by the Government, money lenders, landlords can mainly be related to the illiteracy and their ignorance towards education. Obtainment of literacy is very difficult for the tribal people who speak only their mother tongue and live in their familiar areas because it is coupled with learning of a new language. The main problem is that when some teachers are appointed by the Government to teach the tribal people, there is a communication gap between them because most tribal people do not know any other language except their mother tongue so there should be some literate tribes in the tribal communities who can interact with the teachers and the Government officials.
Another main problem is that the tribal people do not consider education as necessary, since tribal people are poor and live in a remote place, they are not very aware of education. Education appears to be a luxury for them and they do not feel any urge to educate their children also. These people are far away from the influence of the modern society and do not have any faith in formal education. They do not consider it a primary responsibility to give education to their children and want them to work either in field or at home.
Another main problem is that the curriculum of education is not suited to the tribal people and do not have any relevance to them. So, the Government should take some initiative to teach them and make them able to lead a prosperous life. Education is the only way out by which the tribal people can be made aware of their rights otherwise they would be of no use, so the main focus of the Government should be to provide them education.
Economic Problems
The tribal people are economically one of the most backward communities in the country. According to the reports of Lakdawala committee and Tendulkar committee for the year 2004-2005 27.5% and 37.2% of scheduled tribes population respectively comes under below poverty line. These people are often exploited at the hands of outsiders, landlords and money lenders due to their innocence and illiteracy. The British policies exploited the tribes to the core by benefitting the zamindars, money lenders, forest contractors and revenue officials.
The tribes have been involved in the agriculture of the crudest type since ages. Their participation in tertiary and secondary sector is negligible. Due to the lack of resources and uneconomical land holdings this practice has proved to be futile for them. Many times, their land holdings are transferred to the non-tribal people and despite their continuous demand for the return of their land they are left empty handed. The demands of the tribes are suppressed by the authorities and they have to lead a life of poverty.
The literacy rate of tribes in India is quite less and has led to the under development of these groups. The people are either unemployed or underemployed. They are in search of jobs which can keep them employed throughout the year. They need to be helped in developing secondary source of income.
Due to the lack of banking facilities in the tribal areas tribes have to depend on money lenders who exploit them by charging high rate of interest on the loans they provide to the tribal people. The tribes suffer indebtedness due to exorbitantly high rate of interest and often it leads to dispossession of land. Land alienation is the major cause of indebtedness, also family income and social compulsions lead to it.
The poverty-stricken tribes due to the lack of employment opportunities agree to work as bonded labourers in agriculture sector, brick kilns, stone queries, power looms and hand looms. They are irregularly paid and are made bonded without workplace protection.
Health and Sanitation Problems
Health and sanitation is becoming a huge problem for tribal people because of illiteracy and ignorance and they are not ready to welcome the modern concepts of health and sanitation. Tribal people have another problem that they still believe in superstitions and super natural powers and believe that diseases are caused by these super natural powers. They do not even appreciate the modern ways of diagnosis and have their own traditional means of cure.
Alcoholism is one of the major problems existing in tribal regions. Brewing of alcohol from traditional methods like from rice, fruits, millets and flowers is practiced on daily basis and consequently they get cheap alcohol. This not only affects their health but also increases crime rate. Blood borne diseases like Hepatitis B virus infection is likely to be high in the tribal population because of the common social practice of tattooing. This together with alcoholism may result in increased number of chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis of liver cases.
The modifications in the environment and the ecological aspects of the habitat increase the risk of communicable diseases. Some of them get transferred through direct contact like the venereal diseases whereas diseases like tuberculosis get transferred through indirect contact. The communicable diseases prevalent among tribes are dysentery, diarrhoea, filariasis, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
The non-communicable diseases like liver cirrhosis, cancer, hypertension, chronic respiratory diseases, hypertension and malnutrition are common in the Indian tribes. The high infant and child mortality are a result of lack of literacy and poor sanitation facilities. This can be curbed by educating the illiterate mothers. The genetic disorders like sickle cell anaemia and glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenise enzyme deficiency affect the human health adversely and act as silent killers.
The lack of knowledge and proper sanitation has made the tribes vulnerable to these diseases. Moreover the dearth of medical facilities and the reluctance of the doctors to work in rural areas has aggravated the situation.
There is a need to open up medical units in the areas inhabited by tribes. Regular medical awareness camps need to be organized and regular medical checkups should be there. The tribes should be provided with economic and social support to combat the communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Water borne diseases are also very prevalent in tribal regions as there is no such proper facility of drinking water. Sometimes due to scarcity of water in remote tribal regions, people are forced to drink contaminated water giving rise to a number of diseases like amoebiasis, helminthiasis, giardiasis and diarrhoea. These water borne diseases have claimed many lives of Tribal people in various places like Odisha, Chhattisgarh where ladies have to travel long distances holding pots in their hand to get water. Government has made hand pumps and wells but either they are not working or the water is contaminated.
It is observed that the Thodas of Niligiri hills have been suffering from some modern diseases like venereal diseases, diabetes, blood pressure, etc. after coming in touch with British who made Niligiri hills one of their summer resorts. These diseases take a heavy toll on tribal life. Suspicion of tribal people and lack of faith in modern doctors have made them not to avail themselves of the modern medical facilities. So, the problem of Health and Sanitation is a very serious issue and steps should be taken by the Government in tribal regions for spreading awareness on healthy environment in tribal areas.
Welfare Programmes and Projects for Tribal People
Tribal population consist of 8.6% percent of the total population of India (2011 census). It is the duty of Government to take care of their interests and ensure them equal rights in the society. In India not only the Central Government, State Government or authorities are helping the tribes to ensure their rights but other voluntary organisations like The Bhil Seva Mandal, The Indian Red Cross Society, The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, The Bharatiya Adim Jati Sevak Sangh, The Rashtreeya Swayam Sevak Sangh, The Vanavasi Kalyanasharma, The Ramakrishna Mission and other various independent organizations are also working in this regard and have undertaken various steps.
Constitutional Rights to Tribal People
The Constitution of India has provided special provisions to the tribal people to safeguard their interests.
- Article 15 of the Indian Constitution states that the state shall not discriminate any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them. This explains that every citizen of India is provided equal rights and opportunities without any discrimination.
- Government of India has made reservation for the tribes in employment under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India.
- The Government of India has reserved seats in The House of People (Lok Sabha) and The State Legislative Assemblies under Article 330 and 332 of The Constitution of India.
- Article 19(5) of the Constitution of India guarantees the tribal people right to own property and enjoy it in any part of the country.
- Article 338 of The Constitution of India grants the right to appoint a Commissioner to look after welfare activities of tribes.
- Article 46 of the Constitution of India states that, The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
- Under Article 275(i) of the Constitution of India the Centre Government is required to give grants-in-aid to the State Government for approved Tribal Welfare Schemes.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru referred dam and valley projects as “Temples of modern India”. These big dams and rivers valley projects have multi-purpose uses. However, these dams are also responsible for the destruction of forests. They are responsible for degradation of catchment areas, loss of flora and fauna, increase of water borne diseases, disturbance in forest ecosystems, rehabilitation and resettlement of tribal peoples.
India has more than 1550 large dams, the maximum being in the state of Maharashtra (more than 600), followed by Gujarat (more than 250) and Madhya Pradesh (130).
The highest one is Tehri dam, on river Bhagirathi in Uttaranchal and the largest in terms of capacity is Bhakra dam on river Satluj in Himachal Pradesh. Big dams have been in sharp focus of various environmental groups all over the world, which is mainly because of several ecological problems including deforestation and socio-economic problems related to tribal or native people associated with them.
The Silent valley hydroelectric project was one of the first such projects situated in the tropical rain forest area of Western Ghats which attracted much concern of the people.
The crusade against the ecological damage and deforestation caused due to Tehri dam was led by Shri. Sunder Lal Bahaguna, the leader of Chipko Movement.
The cause of Sardar Sarovar Dam related issues have been taken up by the environmental activitist Medha Patkar, joined by Arundhati Ray and Baba Amte. For building big dams, large scale devastation of forests takes place which breaks the natural ecological balance of the region.
Floods, droughts and landslides become more prevalent in such areas. Forests are the repositories of invaluable gifts of nature in the form of biodiversity and by destroying them (particularly, the tropical rain forests), we are going to lose these species even before knowing them. These species could be having marvellous economic or medicinal value and deforestation results in loss of this storehouse of species which have evolved over millions of years in a single stroke.
Human Wildlife Conflicts
In a developing economy like India where majority of human population depends heavily on natural resources, the forest- dwellers have co-existed with the wildlife for long. However, the growing human dependency on natural resources and degradation of wildlife habitats, have resulted in a conflicting situation between humans and wildlife, and authorities involved in wildlife management. With significant conservation and economic consequences, human wildlife conflict (HWC) undermines well-being of both the parties and threatens the conservation goals. It impacts the people's food security and livelihood and psychosocial wellbeing. We reviewed articles that deal with monetary loss incurred by involved communities and discuss the effectiveness and the short comings of measures taken to address the issue and prevent the loss, in the Indian scenario. There is a lack of studies dealing with monetary cost associated with HWC and no realistic estimates are available for involved species. Majority of the studies are from protected areas with un-protected forests represented poorly. It is imperative that action plans, which target offsetting economic loss of locals and enhance public participation, are put in-place to meet the integrated conservation and development goals in a landscape where human and wildlife can coexist.
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