Recently Power Minister AT Mondal warned that the water level at the Umiam Lake is at a critically low level and that this might lead to unstable power supply in the coming winter months. Meghalaya has already been listed as a region that has joined the ranks of rain-deficient states. This is not without reasons. A visit to several parts of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills particularly East Jaintia Hills and West Khasi Hills reveal that the rivers there are drying up and the rocks lining the river beds are all exposed. Should the Minister in charge of PHED not speak up and caution those denuding the forests for large scale charcoal burning or for timber to stop in their tracks before the people of this state are imperilled and are pushed to migrate to other states as refugees?
The State Forest Department appears to be sleepwalking even while forests are disappearing at a rate faster than the trees glibly planted on World Environment Day – a day that has become just a symbolic celebration and has lost its meaning. What’s the point of a top-heavy State Forest Department when the forests are disappearing faster than the Forest Administration is able to react, unless the Department is itself in collusion with the predators. For, it is impossible to believe that the Forest Department does not know that there are thriving timber factories in the state when the Supreme Court had in 2006 clearly stated that timber harvesting must follow a detailed working plan which has to be duly approved. The Supreme Court never differentiated between forests under the District Councils or those managed by the Forest Department. The apex court tasked the State Forest Department to make the Forest Working Plans in collaboration with the Councils. Here questions also arise as to the role of the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAC) which was created to safeguard our forests and not to give forest clearance to every applicant. Such institutions ought to be brought under judicial scrutiny before our forests disappear completely and Meghalaya turns into a desert as predicted by climate experts.
Climate Change in Meghalaya is a human-induced problem. The depth of meaning of the words Climate Change and its irreversible impacts are not well understood in the vernacular languages and nor has its meaning been transmitted to the level of villages so that there are discussions around the theme of Climate Change impacts. Unless this term is understood and percolates down to the rural hamlets and schools, deforestation will not be arrested. A time has come for the people of Meghalaya to rise as one and unite under the banner of “Save Meghalaya’s Forests and Rivers,” and challenge the Government on its lackadaisical attitude towards conservation. This despite all kinds of assistance coming in from organisations like AstraZeneca which is ostensibly paying for carbon sequestration. No one really knows where this carbon sequestration is happening; how its happening and who is measuring it. Much has been flaunted about the Payment for Eco-system Services (PES). Where are those forests? And who are their guardians?
