Assam’s Flood and Management

GS-PAPER -1 Geography – Flood Management

The recent flood in Assam has led to heavy casualties, displacement of people and animals and destruction of property and the environment. It has also led to the inundation of 80% of the area of Kaziranga National Park.

The reason behind Floods:

• Ill-maintained or poorly constructed river embankments are the main reason behind the flooding. One major feature of flood management in Assam is total dependence on embankments.
• Assam began constructing embankments in the 1960s and most of them have outlived their utility. Many of these started breaching or collapsing in the 1990s, more seriously from the 2000s. Massive deforestation in catchment areas of rivers or release of waters by dams upstream.
• Climate change is also a factor behind floods.
• Destruction of forests and ecosystems.
• Urbanisation.

Floods in Kaziranga’s Ecosystem:

• Experts believe that floods are necessary for Kaziranga by virtue of its riverine ecosystem. The system won’t survive without water.
• Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) is sandwiched between the Brahmaputra river and the Karbi Anglong Hills. The entire area is formed by alluvial deposits from the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
• The regenerative nature of floods helps replenish Kaziranga’s water bodies and maintain its landscape, which is a mix of wetlands, grasslands and semi-evergreen deciduous forests.
• The floodwaters function as a breeding ground for fish, which are carried away by the receding waters into the Brahmaputra. i.e the Kaziranga’s floods replenish the Brahmaputra’s stock of fish.
• The waters also help get rid of unwanted plants such as water hyacinths which collect in huge masses in the landscape.

Issues Involved:

Frequent Floods: Earlier, a big flood would come once in ten years, now they come every other year.

NH-37: When the flood water hits a certain level, the animal moves towards safer, higher ground in the Karbi Anglong hills. However, they have to cross NH-37 which cuts across the park, which leads to the killing of animals in road accidents. Animals are also killed by poachers who take advantage of their vulnerability.

Human-animal Conflict: Animals also move towards villages in floods, this leads to human-animal conflict.

Steps taken during Floods:

• The authorities keep a track of updates from the Central Water Commission, and monitor water levels of the Brahmaputra tributaries upstream in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Camps are organised to create awareness against poaching and harming wild animals that are rendered vulnerable during the floods.”
• When the floods hit, Section 144 of CrPC is imposed along NH-37, speed limits are enforced and fines levied. Barricades are also placed to help animals cross over to Karbi Anglong.

Conclusion

In the absence of long-term alternatives, the government has to invest in strong, durable embankments to ensure that the situation does not deteriorate every year. Kaziranga, with its rich grassland habitats, has a primary role to play in supporting the wildlife populations.

Emphasis needs to be put on securing animal corridors and ensuring a safe passage to the Karbi hills. Need for a landscape-scale conservation approach that recognises the value of the Karbi Anglong hills. The highlands of Karbi Anglong, where the animals take refuge, are the lifeline of the park during the floods.

Earthquakes management

GS-Paper-1 Geography- Earthquake (PT)

According to a recently published study, researchers have developed a new way to improve the prediction of earthquakes.

Earthquakes:

Earthquakes usually occur along faults (fractures between rocks which can range from a few millimetres to thousands of kilometres). When two blocks of earth slip past one another, seismic waves are generated in a short span of time and earthquakes occur. The waves travel to the surface causing destruction and are difficult to predict, making it challenging to save lives.

Earlier Attempts

Scientists have attempted to recreate the faults and their sliding in laboratories to try and understand the conditions in them during earthquakes.

However, the actual conditions are so complex that it is difficult to recreate them with full accuracy which makes the prediction of earthquakes difficult.

New Method:

• Researchers have now used a different approach for earthquake prediction by trying to predict the frictional strength of phyllosilicates.
• Frictional Strength: It is the force required to cause movement along a fault.
• Phyllosilicates: Minerals in the form of thin plates are found along the weakest part of the faults where earthquakes occur.
• The researchers analysed artificial fault zones on a microscopic scale to identify processes that occurred during the experiment.
• A set of equations were then formulated to predict how the frictional strength of phyllosilicate changes, along with a change in conditions such as humidity or the rate of fault movement.
• This made it easier for modellers to simulate fault movement in natural conditions, including earthquakes.
• The new model predicts that movement along phyllosilicate-rich fault zones becomes more difficult as it becomes faster and this has been consistent with experiments.
• This behaviour of movement becoming more difficult prevents earthquakes and suggests minerals other than phyllosilicates play an important role in causing earthquakes.
• However, more work and research are needed to clearly explain it and to understand the relation between the force that holds a fault together and the force needed to move the fault.

Zonal Master Plan for the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone

GS-Paper-3 Environment (PT-MAINS)

Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has approved the Zonal Master Plan for the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone to pave the way for faster execution of Char Dham Road Project.

Background: In 2012, the MoEF&CC issued a gazette notification declaring the watershed area along the stretch of river Bhagirathi, covering 4,179.59 sq km from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi, an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ). ESZs are the ecologically important areas designated to be protected from industrial pollution and unregulated development under the Environment Protection Act of 1986.

The 2012 notification was issued keeping in view the requirements of the local people without affecting their rights and privileges and also ensuring eco-friendly development for their livelihood security. It sought to protect the entire fragile Himalayan region by restricting hydropower projects of over 2 MW, riverbed mining and change of land use.

However, it was amended in 2018 following Uttarakhand government’s objection that the notification was ‘anti-development.’ The 2018 amendment approved land use change to meet the local needs including civic amenities and other infrastructure development in larger public interest and national security with the prior approval of State Government with due study of environmental impacts. It also allowed cutting of hills in eco-sensitive areas with proper study and construction on steep slopes in exceptional cases for the benefit of the community.

Zonal Master Plan (ZMP):

• The Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone notification mandates the State Government of Uttarakhand to prepare ZMP to be implemented under the supervision of the Monitoring Committee.
• The ZMP is based on watershed approach and includes governance in the area of forest and wildlife, watershed management, irrigation, energy, tourism, public health and sanitation, road infrastructure, etc.
• Watershed development approach is based on participatory planning following a bottom-up approach for developing a context appropriate plan for execution, strengthening of local level institution, conservation and appropriate management of watershed’s natural resources.
• Watershed is a geo-hydrological unit draining into a common point by a system of drains.
• The approval of ZMP is expected to give a boost to conservation and ecology of the area and also to undertake developmental activities as permitted under ZMP.

Char Dham Road Project:

The Char Dham project proposes to provide all-weather connectivity to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath, and has 53 projects of 826 km length, involving an investment of Rs. 12,000 crore. Bhagirathi is the source stream of Ganga. It emanates from Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh at an elevation of 3,892 m.

Concerns:

• In a report prepared after the Kedarnath disaster (2015), the Geological Survey of India stated that road construction in mountains reactivates landslides as it disturbs the ‘toe of the natural slope of the hill’.

• The Himalayas is the region where Indian tectonic plate goes under the Eurasian tectonic plate.
• Himalayas are in seismic zone V, thus a major earthquake can happen anytime.

Legacy waste: Brahmapuram Dumping Site

GS-PAPER-3 Environment: Solid waste

Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued an order pertaining to the case of legacy waste (old municipal solid waste) piling up at the Kochi Corporation’s Brahmapuram dumpsite.

The NGT Judgement:

• The Chairman and Member Secretary of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) will be held liable if they fail to initiate prosecution and recover compensation from those responsible for the unscientific handling of waste at Brahmapuram.
• The progress (remediation of waste) appears to be very slow and is disregardful of the statutory and constitutional obligation of providing a clean environment.
• Further, the tribunal asked why there should be a bar on a single tender considering the critical situation.
• The government decided to float fresh tenders as only one agency had met the minimum eligibility criteria when an e-tender for biomining of legacy waste at Brahmapuram was floated on 20^th March, 2020.
• The Bench suggested that other available options (besides biomining) be considered for compliance with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
• The tribunal expressed doubts on whether the leachate (dark liquid that gets generated within the solid waste) generated at the dumping yard could be treated in an ordinary septage treatment plant as it contained heavy metals.

Brahmapuram Dumpsite:

• Only 1% of the recyclable plastic waste is recovered while the remaining 99% ends up as heaps in the dumping yard.
• The leachate from the waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram is a major source of pollution of the river Kadambrayar.
• Legacy waste was found to be a reason for the fire outbreaks. In 2020, the government took over the task of scientific management of legacy waste accumulated at Brahmapuram waste dumping yard from the Kochi corporation by invoking the provision under Section 24(e) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Municipal Solid Waste Management

• Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management is one of the most serious challenges to environment protection and although Solid Waste Management Rules have been framed in 2016, their implementation remains a problem.
• The local authorities are responsible for the development of infrastructure for collection, storage, segregation, transportation, processing and disposal of MSW.
• There are two major challenges of solid waste management:
  Managing the continuous flow of solid waste on a daily basis.

Dealing with the legacy of neglect which has resulted in garbage heaps having built at dumpsites that were meant for waste processing and landfills.

• In July 2019, the NGT directed that each local body would have to pay a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh per month (for population of above 10 lakh); Rs. 5 lakh a month (for population between 5 lakh and 10 lakh), and Rs. 1 lakh per month for other local bodies for non-compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 from 1^st April, 2020 till compliance.
• This compensation is equally applicable to local bodies found erring on the issue of remediation of legacy waste (to be completed by 7^th April, 2021 statutorily).
• If local bodies are unable to bear financial burden, the liability will be of state governments to take remedial action against the erring bodies.
• An environment monitoring cell may be set up in the office of chief secretaries of all states/UTs for compliance.
• Remediation process is expected to be done as per the guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Remediation of waste will help in unlocking the land occupied by waste sites which then can be used for setting up of biodiversity parks/buffer zones. Some parts can even be monetized. Further, protecting the environment is a constitutional mandate. Kochi needs to learn from success stories of urban local bodies like Thiruvananthapuram corporation, which is bigger in terms of population but is effectively managing waste with hundreds of Thumboormuzhy bins, material recovery centres and a mobile application.

Basmati and GI tag

GS-PAPER-3 IPR

India is the only producer of premium Basmati and it has been grown from time immemorial in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) area of India and 18 districts of Pakistan’s Punjab. It had been a tough battle for the country to protect Basmati name from the encroachment of various nations which all came out with their own versions of Basmati.

• • APEDA got GI tag for the region located in IGP below the foothills of the Himalayas, spread across seven states (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Western Uttar Pradesh (26 districts) and Delhi) in May 2010.
  • Reasons Given: The origin and reputation of Basmati rice as a ‘long-grain, aromatic rice’ from the IGP is found in tradition, folklore, scientific and culinary literature and political-historical records.
    
    • Dehraduni Basmati, Amritsar Basmati and Tarawari Basmati are few varieties which have become famous over the period of hundreds of years.

Claims and Efforts Made by Madhya Pradesh:

• • MP claims that its rice possesses the same characteristics and qualities as that of the rice grown in the IGP.
  • It also claims that nearly 80,000 farmers of the state are growing Basmati in 13 districts and exporting worth Rs. 3,000 crore annually.
  • MP appealed in Madras High Court where its plea was rejected in February 2020.
  • In 2016, Intellectual Properties Appellate Board (IPBA) in Chennai had given the decision in favour of the APEDA.
  • Despite these orders, MP has been repeatedly agitating and raising banter through political and bureaucratic channels.
• Basis of Rejection:
  • Under the World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (WTO TRIPs) agreement, physical attributes are not enough for a product to earn a GI tag.
  • As per the Goods (Registration and Protection) Act in 2003, ‘reputation’ to a geographical area is central to the recognition of a GI product and only seven states have that reputation.
  • MP falls in the Madhya Bharat Pathar (plateau) and started cultivation of varieties of Basmati rice only around the middle of the first decade of this century.
  • Even if the rice grown in MP has all the required characteristics it would not still entitle such rice to qualify as Basmati.
• Possible Effects of Inclusion of MP in GI list:
  • It will nullify APEDA’s efforts to secure and protect Indian Basmati since 1995 by taking up over 1,000 legal actions in nearly 50 countries.
  • APEDA has spent around Rs. 250 crores in promoting Basmati rice, defending its GI status and shaping it into a global brand.
  • If MP gets permission, Pakistan and China will grab the opportunity to start sowing Basmati. All those 50 and more nations who had been restricted from calling any of their aromatic rice with even ‘Basmati-like’ names will also start growing it and contend for its status.
  • It will deprive over 20 lakh farmers of seven states from the economic premium of growing this unique product. Therefore, the commercial considerations cannot be sacrificed for expanding the area of GI.

High Level Safety Review Committee (Railways)

• The Ministry of Railways had appointed a High Level Safety Review Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar to review the safety of the Indian Railways and recommend improvements.
• The Committee recently presented its report. The Committee recommends a total financial investment of Rs 1,00,000 crore over a five year period.
• If the Committee’s recommendations are accepted, the total financial implication over the five year period is likely to be Rs 1,00,000 crore.

Recommendations of the Committee are listed below:

1. In the present situation, the three vital functions (rule making, operations and the regulation) are all vested in the Railway Board. There is need for an independent mechanism for safety regulation. The Committee recommends the creation of a statutory Railway Safety Authority with enough powers to have a safety oversight on the operational mode of Railways.
2. The Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), the apex technical wing of the Railways, is highly constrained. This has hampered the ability of the system to internalize emerging technologies. The Committee recommends restructuring of RDSO for greater empowerment. It also recommends that a Railway Research and Development Council (RRDC) be set up directly under the government.
3. The Committee recommends the adoption of an Advanced Signalling System (akin to the European Train Control System) for the entire trunk route length of 19,000 km within 5 years. This is estimated to cost Rs 20,000 crore.
4. All Level Crossings (both manned and unmanned) should be eliminated over five years. An estimated expenditure of Rs 50,000 crore will be required for achieving this target. The Committee is of the belief that this amount will be recovered within 7-8 years through savings in maintenance costs and improved train operations.
5. The Committee also recommends a switch over from the ICF design coaches to the much safer LHB design coaches. This is likely to cost Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years.
6. Other Committee recommendations on the maintenance of safety related infrastructure are estimated to cost about Rs 20,000 crore.

ASPIRE Portal for Automotive Industry

GS-PAPER-3 Economy (PT-MAINS)

The International Centre of Automotive Technology (ICAT) is developing a technology platform for the automotive industry called ASPIRE - Automotive Solutions Portal for Industry, Research and Education.

The Portal is expected to help in developing a strong and self-reliant automotive industry in India which is in tune with the vision of Make in India and Atmanirbhar vision of the Government of India.

The Portal is being developed in line with the initiative by the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) under the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises. DHI has taken an initiative to promote innovation and to develop the related ecosystem.

Objective: To enhance the technological capability of the Indian automotive sector through the exchange of knowledge & expertise, in order to make them self-reliant and to facilitate the growth of the automobile sector and overall socio-economic progress of the country.

Functioning: It will facilitate the Indian auto industry, R&D institutions and academia (colleges & universities) to come together for R&D, technology development, shop floor/quality/warranty issue resolution, and expert opinions on issues involving technology advancements. The portal will also host grand challenges in line with the need of the industry as will be identified from time to time, for the development of key automotive technologies.

International Centre for Automotive Technology

• ICAT is a leading world class automotive testing, certification and R&D service provider under the aegis of NATRiP (National Automotive Testing and R&d Infrastructure Project), Government of India. NATRiP is a fully Government of India-funded project with a total project cost of Rs. 3727.30 crores. The vision is to create state-of-art research and testing infrastructure to drive India into the future of global automotive excellence.
• It was established in 2006 at Manesar, Haryana.

Kayapo Tribe

• They live alongside the Xingu River in the eastern part of the Amazon rainforest, in several scattered villages ranging in population from one hundred to one thousand in Brazil.
• The Kayapo use intricate black body paint covering their entire bodies. They believe that their ancestors learned their social skills from insects, so they paint their bodies to mimic them and to better communicate with the Spirit that exists everywhere.
• Older generations of Kayapo men wear disks on their lower lips.

Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML)

• It was established in memory of Jawaharlal Nehru.
• It is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• It is located in the majestic Teen Murti House, the official residence of the first Prime Minister of India.
• It has four major constituents namely:

1. A Memorial Museum,
2. A Library on Modern India,
3. A Centre for Contemporary Studies and
4. Nehru Planetarium.

Anti-defection

GS-Paper-2 Governance (PT-MAINS)

The Tenth Schedule, technicalities and also the Anti-Defection Law would be cited during the crisis. Ultimately the matter could also end up in the Supreme Court.

What is the anti-defection law?

The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.

• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
• The decision on the question as to disqualification on the ground of defection is referred to the Chairman or the Speaker of such House, and his decision is final.

The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

Disqualification:

If a member of a house belonging to a political party:

• Voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party, or
• Votes, or does not vote in the legislature, contrary to the directions of his political party. However, if the member has taken prior permission, or is condoned by the party within 15 days from such voting or abstention, the member shall not be disqualified.
• If an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
• If a nominated member joins a party six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.

Exceptions under the law:

Legislators may change their party without the risk of disqualification in certain circumstances.

• The law allows a party to merge with or into another party provided that at least two-thirds of its legislators are in favour of the merger.
• In such a scenario, neither the members who decide to merge nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification.

The decision of the Presiding Officer is subject to judicial review:

The law initially stated that the decision of the Presiding Officer is not subject to judicial review. This condition was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1992, thereby allowing appeals against the Presiding Officer’s decision in the High Court and Supreme Court. However, it held that there may not be any judicial intervention until the Presiding Officer gives his order.

Advantages of anti-defection law:

• Provides stability to the government by preventing shifts of party allegiance.
• Ensures that candidates remain loyal to the party as well the citizens voting for him.
• Promotes party discipline.
• Facilitates merger of political parties without attracting the provisions of Anti-defection
• Expected to reduce corruption at the political level.
• Provides for punitive measures against a member who defects from one party to another.

Various Recommendations to overcome the challenges posed by the law:

1. Dinesh Goswami Committee on electoral reforms: Disqualification should be limited to the following cases:

A member voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party

A member abstains from voting or votes contrary to the party whip in a motion of vote of confidence or motion of no-confidence. Political parties could issue whips only when the government was in danger.

2. Law Commission (170th Report)

Provisions which exempt splits and mergers from disqualification to be deleted.

Pre-poll electoral fronts should be treated as political parties under anti-defection

Political parties should limit the issuance of whips to instances only when the government is in danger.

3. Election Commission:

Decisions under the Tenth Schedule should be made by the President/ Governor on the binding advice of the Election Commission.