PM IAS JUNE 27 EDITORIAL ANALYSIS

Editorial 1 : The row over Delhi’s water crisis

Context

Amidst a heat wave in several parts of north India, the national capital has been struck with an acute water shortage over the past couple of weeks sparking a battle in the Supreme Court with its neighbouring States including Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Why is there water shortage in Delhi?

• Delhi depends heavily on its neighbouring States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to fulfil its drinking water needs.
• The capital’s raw water supply comes from four sources with approximately 40% of it coming via Yamuna through Haryana.
• The raw water is treated in Delhi’s Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and sent across through its pipelines that covers over 15,000 kilometres.
• In the past couple of weeks, the Delhi government has blamed the ruling government for blocking Delhi’s share of water through the Munak Canal, which is one of the primary sources of water for the capital.
• The canal, which falls under the Haryana government, starts from Haryana and enters Delhi with raw water.
• Additionally, the L-G office has claimed that the presence of privately run tankers which are finding illegal sources of water and selling them at high rates is adding to the issue.

What has been the court’s response?

• The Delhi government had moved the Supreme Court to seek a direction to Haryana to supply more water to the crisis-hit national capital on May 31.
• The Supreme Court on June 3 directed the Centre to hold an emergency meeting of its Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) with the States of Delhi, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh to address water scarcity in the national capital amid soaring temperatures.
• On June 6, the Congress-led Himachal Pradesh government agreed to share water resources with the capital in the Supreme Court, promising to release 137 cusecs of water through the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana into the Wazirabad barrage in Delhi.
• However, Haryana, through which the water must pass to reach Delhi, raised objections.
• And later on, even the Himachal Pradesh government went back on its statements, stating that water was already flowing in the Yamuna, and that it had made an incorrect statement of being able to spare Delhi 137 cusecs of water.
• The SC has now bowed out of the row, stating that it does not want to interfere with the proceedings of the UYRB.
• The main function of the UYRB is to regulate the allocation of available flows amongst the beneficiary States.

What is next for Delhi?

• With an acute water shortage in Delhi, the powers in the capital need to focus beyond politics, be it the Centre or the State government
• Rajendra Singh, a water conservationist who is popularly referred to as the ‘Waterman of India explained that Delhi must focus on three solutions to the problem.
• First, drinking water in the capital needs to be made its top priority; water for irrigation and other works needs to be redirected for drinking water.
• He further stated that Delhi needs to thoroughly re-examine its water resources and work on the principles of ‘retreat, recycle and reuse.
• The capital needs to look closely at its WTPs and build successful models to sustain its needs. The water flowing through Delhi needs to go into the cycle of reuse.

Way forward

• Additionally, instead of depending on other States, Delhi should investigate its harvesting methods. The spaces in Asola Bhatti mines can be made into water harvesting structures
• Ground water resources used to be recharged in Delhi by the water in the Aravalli belt, but that is not the case anymore which is leading to wastage.
• The Aravalli belt should be modelled into a water sanctuary and the Yamuna flood plain banks into a water bank.

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Editorial 2 : Read the rocks to improve India’s geological literacy

Context

India’s collective regard for its extensive geo-heritage is abysmal.

India’s geological features

• With landscapes that range from the world’s greatest peaks to low-lying coastal plains, India showcases a diverse morphology that has evolved over billions of years.
• In several places, we find a variety of rocks and minerals and distinctive fossil assemblages.
• These geological features and landscapes tell us the spectacular ‘origin’ stories derived not from mythology but from scientific interpretations.
• India’s tumultuous geological past is recorded in its rocks and terrains and should be considered as our non-cultural heritage.
• India offers many such examples. Geo-heritage sites are educational spaces where people acquire much needed geological literacy, especially when India’s collective regard for this legacy is abysmal.

Scant traction in India

• Geological conservation seeks to ensure the survival of the best representative examples of India’s geological features and events so that present and future generations can appreciate more of the world’s best natural laboratories.
• Despite international progress in this field, geo-conservation has not found much traction in India.
• Many fossil-bearing sites have been destroyed in the name of development and real estate growth, Destructive stone mining activities also add to this misery.
• The magnitude of these activities is evident from the fact that the area covered under stone-mining operations exceeds more than 10% of the total area of India.
• Ironically, on the one hand, we reach out to Mars in search of evidence for early life but on the other, we destroy such proof that is so precious and right in our backyard.
• How many of us know about the little-known Dhala meteoritic impact crater in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh?
• This between 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion-year-old crater is evidence of a celestial collision when life must have begun.
•  The more famous Lonar crater in Buldhana district of Maharashtra was earlier dated to be about 50,000 years old, and a recent study suggests its origin around 5,76,000 years ago.
• The importance of the shared geological heritage of our planet was first recognised in 1991 at a UNESCO-sponsored event, ‘First International Symposium on the Conservation of our Geological Heritage’.
• This declaration foresaw the establishment of geo-parks as sites that commemorate unique geological features and landscapes within their assigned territories; and as spaces that educate the public on geological importance.
• Geo-heritage sites in many countries such as Canada, China, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom have been developed as national parks.

• UNESCO has also prepared guidelines for the development of geo-parks. Many countries also have the necessary legislation to build, protect and designate geo-parks.
• Europe celebrates its geological heritage across 73 zones. Japan offers another good lesson in such conservation. Today, there are 169 Global Geoparks across 44 countries. Thailand and Vietnam have also implemented laws to conserve their geological and natural heritage.

India has no such legislation

• Though a signatory, India has no such legislation or policy for geo-heritage conservation.
• This situation calls for sustainable conservation approaches, such as those we have been able to formulate to protect biodiversity.
• The Biological Diversity Act was implemented in 2002 and there are now 18 notified biosphere reserves in India.
• Although the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has notified 34 geological monuments, it lacks the regulatory powers to implement the preservation measures.
• A recent development in the case of a cliff in Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, is a typical example.
• This cliff which overlooks the Arabian Sea is made up of rocks deposited millions of years ago and has been declared by the GSI as a geological heritage site.

Half-hearted measures

• The Government of India has attempted to address these concerns on some occasions.
• In 2009, there was a half-hearted attempt to constitute a National Commission for Heritage Sites through a Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
• Though it was eventually referred to the Standing Committee, the government backtracked on it for some unstated reasons and the Bill was withdrawn.
• More recently, in 2022, the Ministry of Mines has prepared a draft Bill for preservation and maintenance, but no further progress on this has been heard.
• As the annexure to the Draft Geoheritage Sites and Geo-relics (Preservation and Maintenance) Bill, 2022 says that the  sharp contrast to the well laid out protection and conservation measures addressed with relevant legislation on archaeological and historical monuments and cultural heritage sites, India does not have any specific and specialized policy or law to conserve and preserve the geoheritage sites and geo-relics for future generations.

Way forward

• Specifically, India needs the following at the earliest: first, create an inventory of all prospective geo-sites in the country.
• Second, frame geo-conservation legislation for the country along the lines of the Biological Diversity Act 2002; and third, have a ‘National Geo-Conservation Authority’ along the lines of the National Biodiversity Authority, with independent observers, while ensuring that the establishment will not lead to red tape and encroach on the autonomy of researchers and academically-inclined private collectors.