Calcutta Notebook
B J

Indira Gandhi had enacted the Forest and Environment Protec tion Acts so that the Central Government could take measures to save these critical natural resources. The Ministry of Environment and Forests was established to implement these laws. Those who have inherited the legacy of Indira Gandhi have, however, turned the tables upside down. Objective of the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the present leadership is to find ways to circumvent the Forest and Environment laws made by Indira Gandhi and to find ways of handing over these resources to companies for commercial exploitation. An example of this is the recent reconstitution of the Forest Advisory Committee.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has been constituted by the Ministry to examine the benefits and costs of cutting of forests in detail and allow cutting where the benefits are huge and loss is small. Cutting of a few hundred trees for reaching a motorable road to a remote hill village should be allowed because benefits are much more than the costs. On the other hand, cutting of forests for establishing a golf course would not be acceptable. This assessment of benefits and costs is to be done by the FAC. Previously, the Ministry had appointed mainly officials to the FAC. Some Environmentalists approached the Supreme Court on the indiscriminate permissions being granted by FAC for cutting of the forests. Thereupon the Supreme Court virtually disbanded the FAC and started vetting all proposals for cutting of forests itself. Peeved at this curtailment of its powers, the Ministry agreed to appoint two known conservationists Mahesh Rangrajan and Ulhas Karanth to the FAC. Thereafter, the Supreme Court was satisfied that the FAC was doing its duty properly and once again allowed the Ministry to give permissions. Appointment of independent persons to the FAC is crucial for preservation of Indian forests. Left to itself, the Ministry will be trigger happy and allow the forests to be denuded wholly.

The second and more interesting part of the story starts now. Tenure of Shri Rangarajan and Karanth came to an end recently. Thereupon the Ministry replaced them with Shri K P Nyati and Dr N P Todaria. Shri Nyati has been associated with the Confederation of Indian Industry for last 20 years. He has been acting as a liaison officer with the Ministry for various mining companies. He is not 'independent' by any stretch of imagination. Dr Todaria has been working for hydropower companies. He had undertaken Environment Impact Assessment of Kotlibhel IB hydropower project for National Hydro Power Corporation. He had recommended that the project be allowed to go on and forests be allowed to be cut. The Ministry happily accepted his recommendation. However, the National Environment Appellate Authority quashed the Environment Clearance granted to the project by the Ministry. The FAC also rejected his recommendation. This sequence of events indicates that Shri Todaria is happy to kill the environment and forests and is not fit to be appointed member of FAC.

It is necessary for independent persons to be appointed to the FAC because a dispassionate assessment of benefits and costs is required. Forests provide people with varied services like oxygen, biodiversity, timber, fuel wood, grazing, natural beauty, tourism and wildlife protection. On the other hand, cutting of the forests also provides people with many benefits such as mining of coal and minerals, construction of highways and production of hydro-power. It is necessary to balance the benefits and costs. The Forest Conservation Act, therefore, provides that cutting of forests will be allowed only where the costs are minimal and benefits are huge. There is no gainsaying that application of this principle requires an independent and dispassionate assessment of benefits and costs of cutting of the forests.

This writer studied the statement of benefits and costs filed by many hydropower companies under the Forest Conservation Act for obtaining permission to cut the forests. These statements are invariably outright false and misleading. The Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC), for example, has said in its filing that the benefits for every rupee invested in the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti project will be Rs 7.61. First mistake in the calculation of these huge benefits is that future benefits are not discounted to present values. A person has to deposit only Rs 50 today if he wants Rs 100 after six years. The discounted present value of Rs 100 after six years is, therefore, Rs 50. Similarly, the benefit from electricity to be produced after 10, 20 or 30 years has to be discounted to present value. The present benefit from one rupee of electricity produced after 30 years will only be less than 10 paise. THDC, however, has shown benefit of one rupee today for one rupee of electricity that will be produced in future. This is like saying that there is no difference in value of money today and after 30 years.

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 20, Nov 25-Dec 1, 2012

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