Interview

With Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and former Union Minister of Environment and Forests by Pandurang Hegde, founder, Appiko movement for forest conservation in southern India.

Pandurang Hegde: Was your response towards setting up WGEEP (Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel) instinctive, borne out of your inherent belongingness to the region reflected in your taking a decisive position as a responsible minister? Were concerns regarding mindless development (read destruction) from your childhooddays (in the region) played heavy on your mind then?

Jairam Ramesh: I spent much of my childhood and teenage years in Chikmagalur. Much later, I was profoundly impacted by the manner in which Indira Gandhi had handled the Silent Valley issue. I had also been reading Madhav Gadgil and was aware of Shivram Karanth’s campaigns. So yes, when I became Environment Minister in May 2009, I did bring some familiarity with and sensitivity to the Western Ghats.

 

According to mythology, Parasuram is credited with carving out the Western Ghats from the sea, and there is little doubt that a Jairam has been instrumental in rewriting the preservation of the mythical heritage. Do you consider your job ending at that or is there more of you expected by way of leaving conclusive footprints of your efforts to protect the Western Ghats?

When I became minister, a number of project proposals came to my desk for approval – in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. These were projects being implemented by both the Union and state governments. There were some private sector projects too. Invariably, they involved diversion of forest areas for non-forestry purposes which was not illegal but which I found wholly undesirable. That is when the idea of a comprehensive and integrated look at the environment-development issue in the Western Ghats first came to my mind. We were clearing projects without any assessment of their cumulative impacts and without looking at the ecosystem as a while. Ecosystems know no geographical boundaries.

 

For many, your decision meant a personal commitment without the full political backing of your government/party at that time. Had it been otherwise, it may not have been upturned by the next incumbent that led to a dilution of WGEEP by the HLWG (High Level Working Group on Western Ghats) Report. Did you ever try dealing with it at your end or do you regret letting it take its own course?

It is certainly true that my stance was not very popular with my own colleagues in the government and with various political parties. But I was determined to set up the WGEEP and Madhav Gadgil was its natural chair. He brought not just scientific knowledge and years of field experience but also sensitivity to democratic decision-making by local elected bodies. In contrast, the Kasturirangan Committee that followed the Gadgil Committee was purely technocratic and top-down. I have written about the battles I had to fight within the system in my 2015 book, Green Signals: Ecology, Growth and Democracy in India. That I lasted 26 months as environment minister was a miracle in itself.

 

What may have surprised you, and indeed most others is the vehement opposition by all political parties/governments to both the reports? While politics is considered the art of the possible that you had set in motion by your decision, it failed to be seen the same way by others. Why does dissent only have shades of grey?

Some many interests are threatened – mining, real estate, construction, contractors, among others. Opposition was only to be expected. But the frequency of natural disasters over the past decade has made people more aware of the need to protect the Western Ghats and not tamper with it in the name of so-called development.

 

Has the concept of Ecologically Sensitive Areas been read differently by government/politicians? Even the catastrophic floods haven’t helped made them think differently. How can the elected representatives be made to see the writing on the wall? In your opinion, what can civil society do to bring political parties on board?

Civil society has been playing an exceedingly important role, a role that is sought to be emasculated in the Draft EIA Notification 2020. This must be resisted. The fact that floods have been more frequent should have led to greater sensitivity on the part of governments, but that sadly has not been in evidence. We just have to keep at it and hope that public campaigns and protests will have some effect somewhere. The National Green Tribunal and the judiciary should be made full use of. The media too is an important ally.

 

You have clearly emphasized equity and sustainability, as against over emphasis on GDP, as the leitmotif of development in Green Signals: Ecology, Growth and Democracy in India (2015). But we suspect if the message has even sunk within your own party. What is the reason behind such monumental, unpardonable neglect?

The ‘grow now pay later’ model is deeply ingrained. All governments are victims of this model. They speak of balance between growth and environment but environment always takes a back seat. This is proving disastrous as pollution, contamination, deforestation, climate change are all having public health impacts both in terms of morbidity and mortality. This is the link we have to keep highlighting – that by protecting the environment you are protecting your own health today and not in some distant future.

 

By saving the Silent Valley, Indira Gandhi had set environment as a political agenda. However, in Indian politics such visionary figures are rare. Is the current leadership (Sonia/Rahul) seized of that heritage, and willing to go an extra mile to make a difference? Please suggest how to make such concerns cut across party lines.

Indira Gandhi was certainly a rarity – the only political leader I know who walked the talk on the environment. I have discussed this aspect of her personality in my 2017 book Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature (2017). All I can say is that whatever we may think of her politically, on the environment she was visionary and courageous, a role mode for all political leaders.

 

Even the Supreme Court was unable to rein in the monster of air and water pollution. But with the onset of Covid-19 pandemic these problems were solved in a short time. Is this euphoria short lived? Do you think it is a game changer that will transform the development strategy and the mind set of politicians in favour of sustainability for the country in general, and for WG in specific?

The Covid-19 crisis has a very deep ecological dimension. The way we manage biodiversity (wet markets, etc) has contributed to the pandemic. This is the time to enforce environmental laws, not weaken them in the name of ease of doing business. Ultimately we must realise that ‘Nature Protects Those Who Protect It’. This is our ancient wisdom. Indic traditions teach us how to live in harmony with nature but we have forgotten or we deliberately ignore that heritage. Talk is easy and plentiful. It is action that matters and counts. This is where our political leaders – especially those at the helm of affairs today – are failing miserably.