Much ado about ‘Sunday’
Editor,
Succumbing to the dictates of some fanatics, the Government of Meghalaya has decided to begin the final day of the Cherry Blossom Festival after 3:00 pm. By giving in to extraneous pressures the Government has exposed it spineless attitude. At the same time the Government shows little or no respect for the minorities in our State, in spite of them having written it in a very clear and transparent manner that Meghalaya is not a Christian state by virtue of our Constitution.
I do not know about others but I feel that our government often falls prey to the dictates of many pressure groups in almost all the government policies and orders. The various pressure groups seem to be running a parallel government and at times it appears as if they always have their way.
Mr. Paul Lyngdoh, Minister Tourism correctly pointed out that if the different pressure groups always impose their might and violate government orders, they should actually fight the elections and then legitimately oppose all and everything.
In 2011 too, there was this same agitation regarding this very Festival but the Government at that time paid no heed and the festival went off smoothly. But the present government is showing its ineffectiveness by succumbing and compromising to the agitating groups. This is now how a state is run when everyone is holding the Government to ransom.
Yours etc.,
Helen Dkhar,
Via email
Border security of the NE states
Editor,
The lack of secure border formalities such as immigration and trading has led to various unwanted problems in the region. The NE states have international borders with China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan. The region has a length of 5182 Km of international border and the topography and rainforest jungles of the region also makes it difficult to access. Moreover, the region has diverse races, ethnicities and communities and suffers from development backlog and attention from the central government. The separatist movements which have been going on since Independence are due to many other factors. The North East international borders have become a breeding ground for various illegal activities such as illegal immigration, human trafficking, drug businesses, arms trading, and every illegal thing under the sun. The Government of India has tried to develop and connect the NE states by launching policies such as Look East (1992) and Act East (2014) but in vain. Some of the problems faced by the states due to the border issues are:
1. Separatist Insurgency Groups: There are various insurgency groups in NE India which are funded by China and Myanmar in order to disrupt the peace in the states. These groups often cross over the borders and get military training from Myanmar. The insurgencies in the states have been a big issue for the Government of India as these groups will not sign peace treaties and have been causing chaos.
2. Drugs and Arms: The Indo-Myanmar border is located near the ‘Golden Triangle’ and due to this the NE state have become a hub of all kinds of drug business and supply of arms.
3. Illegal Immigration: Due to the length of the international border and the terrain many people have migrated illegally into the Indian states and this has been causing population increase and many other issues such as loss of indigenous poption.
4. Goods Trading: I strongly believe that the government should open up the borders for trading because people are still trading illegally. So if we instead open up the borders with a proper system, the NE region has the potential to become a trading hub internationally.
There are many more problems. I hope the Government of India would pay due attention to the NE states and put in more effort into securing a better international border.
Yours etc.,
Sapam Niroda Devi
Via email
Forest Conservation Act 2023- A hornet’s nest
Editor,
I am writing to draw your attention to the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 passed by the Lok Sabha on 26th July, 2023. The Bill amends the Act to cover specific forest lands and exclude certain others.
The Forest Conservation Amendment Act received the assent of the President a month ago and will become a law once it is notified in the government gazette. The Act aims to amend the 1980 Forest Act which adopted a rather protectionist stance, making forest clearance time-consuming and a costly option.
In this context, I am deeply concerned about the Act which was passed in the Parliament behind the facade of the Manipur violence without any debates and discussions. The Act significantly dilutes the Supreme Court’s 1996 judgement in the T.N. Godavarman Thirumulkpad v/. Union of India & Ors. case, which extended protection to wide tracts of forests, even if they were not officially recorded as forests and rather gave a narrow interpretation of the term forest.
I fear that the latest FC Act will result in thousands of kilometres of forest losing legal protection. The Act also introduces exemptions for construction project such as zoos, safari-parks and eco-tourism facilities. In my understanding, a zoo or a safari park is neither a forest nor it can provide us the complex functional units and once it is destroyed it is very difficult to restore them. I find it highly illogical to destroy a natural forest and replace them with zoos, safari parks and eco-tourism services.
In Umpling (Meghalaya, Shillong) 2021, the Forest Department said it had received orders from the Ministry of Forest and Environment to cut down 4,447 pine trees in the locality which is 71-km-long, some of them over a century old for a “mega road project.” The Forest Department said as compensatory deforestation, they would plant ten trees for each tree felled. However, they have not yet fulfilled the promise.
Recent events in Uttarakhand and North Indian states have shown the grim results of human interference with nature. Forest and other natural ecosystem cannot be replaced by any man-made ecosystem. What concerns me is that under this Act the land within 100 km of Indian borders needed for national security projects, land for security and defence projects are exempted from this Act (NE shares over 5000 km – International Border). These areas are home to some of the most ecologically important ecosystems. While recognising the need for military security, it is equally if not more important to recognise that ecological security is an important part of national security.
This Act will be a threat to the forest dwellers as the people will no longer be consulted for forest clearance. This Act is in direct conflict with special provisions given to the tribals under the 6th schedule and also under Article 371(A-J). This Act will likely ride roughshod over the rights of forest dwelling tribals and other people.
The law goes against tribals and could cause unrest in the North Eastern States which share over 5000 km with international borders while only 21 km border with India- through the chicken neck corridor. The state assemblies and civil societies must oppose such Bills at all costs.
I hope that this letter awakens the sleeping minds and that we raise our collective voice towards protecting the natural forest and safeguarding the rights of the forest dwellers in particular and Northeastern states and hill states in general.
Yours etc.,
Uranim KC Shaiza,
Via email