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A Tribune Special
Sariska relocation exercise a success: Sinha |
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Indian hockey is ailing
Making right to information more effective
Profile
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A Tribune Special
At one time (1980s) there were just 12 Californian Condors left in the wild and one in captivity. Now there are 300. This bird would have gone but for a small group of people who would not give up. As long as we have people like that, there is hope for wildlife… — Jane Goodall (Dec 2009). That pithy statement assumes relevance today as we search for the ultimate revival plan to avert the Tiger’s looming extinction. I recall when in the 1960s Jane Goodall, a wispy 17-year-old American undergrad, gave up education, civilised living and risking her very “womanhood” went to Central Africa, to save the last surviving pack of 30 Mountain Gorillas from extinction. She not only saved that pack but at the end of her some 18-year-long, single-handed field work, the Mountain Gorillas as a species was very well re-established in the wild. Now, not so long ago, India was the only country which was home to the “Four Big Cats” of the world. Unfortunately, once the Mughal Emperors, the British colonisers and the Indian aristocracy had espoused the hunting of the Big Cats as the acme of manhood and nobility, it was a matter of time when these animals would cease to exist. And indeed by 1900 AD, the Asiatic Lion was reduced to less than 20, confined to the Gir forest in Saurashtra. The last three Cheetahs in India were despatched in November 1947. The Leopard and the Tiger still survive, but just about. The leopard by nature is the most cunning of all carnivores and thus able to outwit his adversary, more often than not. The tiger, on the other hand, is the most reclusive of the big cats and inhabits comparatively dense, forested hilly-tracts crisscrossed by streams and small rivers, making both detection and access to him a challenging endeavour. No one knows for sure, how many tigers we had had in India. Jim Corbett had opined that in 1900 AD India had about 18,000 tigers. However, E.P. Gee, a tea-planter from Assam who was acknowledged an authority on the status of our wildlife, had in 1963 put the figure at 4,000 tigers only. Subsequently, this became the generally accepted benchmark both by the layman and the scientist fraternity at large, in India and elsewhere. Fortunately for the tiger, the decade of 1960s was to prove most fateful. For, this was the time that the Nature-Conservation paradigm became a world-wide movement. On the international plane, the ethos of the movement was articulated by Guy Mountfort, a trustee of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-International) based in Switzerland. And in their collective wisdom, this consortium of Nature Conservationists declared that the tiger had entered the twilight zone of survival. Their concern for the tiger was heeded on the global scale except for China. So in 1970, at a joint meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (a UN organ) and the WWF, Guy Mountfort was authorised to make an offer of one million dollars to India to launch an all out effort to avert the tiger’s extinction. Indira Gandhi, who was the chief guest at a special function in New Delhi, not only grasped the dire straits the tiger was in but also accepted the leadership role. And on the spot, she spontaneously pledged $2 million to the corpus fund. As was her wont, Indira Gandhi moved with alacrity and set up a Tiger Steering Committee under her chairmanship. And yet again, by her infinite intuitive wisdom, she chose Kailash Sankhala (an Indian Forest Service officer of the Rajasthan cadre) as Director of Project Tiger. She permitted him direct access to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for all concerns of the Project. She further ventured to ask Sankhala, “What are your demands ?” Now we find tiger’s destiny prompting Sankhala to say, “Give me 10 years without political and bureaucratic interference and God willing, we shall save the tiger, Madam” or words to that effect. Concurrently, he shut the tiger reserves to tourism. The rest is recorded history. Over the next 15 years and before the tragic assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, the tiger was considered well on the way to total recovery with the official estimate of about 2,500 animals in the country’s first nine Tiger Reserves alone. In addition, there were some more tigers in India’s remaining wilderness. But the tiger’s blighted “Karma” was to resurface with a dreadful vengeance. Over the next two decades it was an almost clock-work routine to learn (once a quarter at the least) of “31 tiger skins, 581 leopard skins…seized in Tibet in just one Nepalese truck going to China but all killed in Indian forests”, or that “the Tiger Reserve at Sariska was found cleared of all its 22 tigers” or that “the Namdhapa Tiger Reserve has lost all but one of its 61 tigers”. So, today the tiger in India numbering perhaps fewer than 900 in all is in the gravest crisis ever. The writing on the wall shows boldly that (a) the tiger has never been closer to extinction than it is now, (b) the Chinese Year of the Tiger which commenced on February 1, 2010 will galvanise the unseen international tiger-poaching syndicates to fatal intensity of destruction and (c) timely action for tiger revival is of essence. Fortunately, we have a healthy crop of young and old scientists, policymakers, visionaries, administrators, field-hands in the mould of Kailash Sankhala and they are almost unanimous that the only way to save the tiger in its current circumstances is (a) through an Ordinance, place the National Tiger Conservation Authority under the PMO and transfer all the Tiger Reserves and contiguous sanctuaries/ protected/ notified forests in the country under it for a period of 10 years, together with their current assets and liabilities; (b) offset the loss of revenue to the states arising from this arrangement through annual, special budgetary allocations; (c) hold an annual Tiger Revival Audit by an independent body of 3 to 5 experts from within and outside the country; (d) the Prime Minister must keep Parliament informed both on the recommendations and implementation of the Audit; (e) close all Tiger Reserves to tourism for 10 years; (f) provide legal safe-guards/immunity in the event of encounter-deaths of poachers at the hands of the forest staff inside the declared boundaries of Tiger Reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, National Parks and their adjunct entities; and (g) create a Save the Tiger Caucus (in the manner of the Capitol Hill phraseology and practice) in both Houses of Parliament to keep nudging the government into action, to regularly monitor results and insist upon mid-course corrections when circumstances so demand. Save the Tiger Caucus in both Houses of Parliament must simultaneously assume the larger role of spreading awareness of their mission and prevail upon their fellow parliamentarians for a unanimous commitment towards the preservation of the tiger and his habitat in India. As the logical next step, they must enlarge it into a people’s movement, so that Tiger the National Animal is handed from one generation of Indians to the next as an honoured heritage. Now assuming that there are about 300 tigresses in the cub-productive age (among the 1145 surviving tigers) and allowing for the average survival of one cub per litter to adulthood and also factoring-in 20 old-age deaths each year, there is every chance our tiger population will reach the 2,000 to 2,500 mark ten years hence. Most tiger-biologists would agree that 2500 to 3500 tigers is the optimum figure to look for given the size of our protected areas network and the tiger prey-base availability. Thus, every Indian will be able to exercise his birthright both to preserve and watch a tiger in the wild. And we Indians as a body, let us ever remember: Article 51-A(g) of the Constitution of India (Part-IV-A Fundamental Duties) which enjoins that “each citizen shall protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and have compassion for wild creatures”, and the wisdom of the Red Indian Chief Seattle in his warning to President Franklin Pearse of the US when in 1854 he felt that the “White Man” was close to destroying through excessive hunting the entire American Wildlife heritage: “What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man will surely die from a great loneliness of the spirit.” So let us persevere that the tiger and India’s wildlife in totality enter the 22nd century
AD!
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Sariska relocation exercise a success: Sinha
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premier institution of biodiversity conservation in South Asia, Dehradun’s Wildlife Institute of India’s contribution to managing wildlife and its habitats across the country has been immense. It had been engaged in successful tiger translocation exercise, the first of its kind, in Sariska, Rajasthan. WII’s Director P.R. Sinha has led many of these successful projects including the recent tiger relocation. He speaks to The Tribune in Dehradun about some of the past projects, current programme and future challenges of the Institute. Excerpts: Q: The Second All India Tiger census has begun. When can we expect the new tiger figures of the country? A: The second All India Tiger census across 17 states is a mammoth exercise spanning three lakh square kilometers. Sixty young researchers and 10 faculty members are guiding the state forest departments in conducting the census and by November end, the current status of tiger will be revealed. However, tiger estimation is much beyond counting numbers. It entails assessing the health of this charismatic species in terms of long-term survival. Identifying important tiger population areas, connectivity and the status of habitat quality hold the key to the census exercise. Q: How is the exercise different from the one in 2007? A: We had left out Sundarbans from the census last time due to tough geographical conditions. But the start of tiger census in Sundarbans this year stands as a big achievement for us. Last time, swampy conditions created hurdles in going ahead with the exercise. This time we are trying to come up with a new methodology to ensure that the census exercise is conducted in this important habitat of Royal Bengal tigers. We have already radio collared two of the tigers and six more are to be done shortly. Q: How is your Forensic Cell dealing with wildlife offences? A: It is playing a key role in checking the wildlife trade. It received 197 wildlife offences cases for identification of species form various enforcement agencies last year. These cases were of skins, meat, bone, antler and others that included bile, bloodstain, brushes, feather, hair, scat, shawl and ivory. More important, we have recently concluded preparation of identification manual for Chiru, the Tibetan antelope and also another identification manual of pairs of hairs of about of 60 other species. This will assist laboratories across the country in effective detection of wildlife offences. Q: Do you plan to bring back cheetah into the country, particularly after the successful tiger relocation exercis? A: Yes, we are currently evaluating the suitability of available habitat for Cheetah. The possible areas for introduction of Cheetah in the country are being explored. The Wildlife Trust of India, a Delhi-based organisation, has been assisting us in the project. The work on project is expected to pick up after mid-March. Q: Was Sariska Tiger relocation a resounding success, particularly after reports of genetic incompatibility of tigers that were shifted to Sariska National Park in Rajasthan last year? A: I would like to make it clear that Sariska tigers face no genetic threat. If healthy tigers are taken from locations with bigger population variability as in case of Ranthambore tigers, now in Sariska, the question of genetic incompatibility will not arise. It is wrong to belittle Sariska tiger relocation. Sariska tigers are healthy. Genetic studies would entail huge investment, time and energy. Administrative reasons also hinder bringing tigers from one state and translocating them to another. Sariska has been a big success. Several countries have greeted us for our successful relocation of tiger. Even the Indian Air Force, whose chopper was used for translocation appreciated WII for its meticulously planning asserting that they had least expected it from any civil department. Q: What next at Sariska? A: Two more tigers would be introduced in Sariska shortly and a similar number would be put in at Panna. We want to bring the number of translocated tigers to each of these reserves to five. Q: What about evaluating protected areas? A: WII has also been evaluating National Parks and Sanctuaries other than tiger reserves across the country. While we had taken up 30 of such protected areas last year, 30 more are to be taken up for evaluation this year. There are 658 protected areas in the country and on the basis of this evaluation, the Union Environment and Forestry Ministry guides the state government. Q: What other projects are in the pipeline? A: Formulation of a composite plan for Terai Arc landscape is being taken up by the institute which would encompass all the issues linked to this key wildlife landscape which faces challenges on corridor blockages, poaching and other fronts. Shifting of vegetation due to climate change vis-a-vis its affects on livelihood of the people is also being studied.n
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Indian hockey is ailing
In doldrums for a long time, Indian hockey needs a versatile and experienced mariner to steer its sinking ship to safer shores. Series of debacles since its last gold medal triumph in the truncated Moscow Olympic Games has not only cost hockey its unofficial title of national sport but also weaned away sponsors, supporters and spectators. The game is on the verge of becoming history in the country that had eight Olympic gold medals and one World Cup title to its credit. It twice won the Asian Games gold. But in the last four years, the decline has been so sharp that India failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games for the first time in 80 years. Worse, it could not get into the semifinals of the Asian Games at Doha in 2006. True, the British introduced hockey in India, choosing some cantonments, including Jalandhar, to lure suave, flexible and energetic Punjabis into the game. Since it was easy to get the playing equipment and use open spaces in the villages to play the sport, it soon became a household word in undivided Punjab with Sikhs and Muslims as its main patrons. Anglo-Indians followed suit and soon Mumbai, Bhopal and Kolkata emerged as other major hockey centres in the subcontinent. In 1928, the Olympic champions British withdrew from the Antwerp Olympics hockey tournament and instead entered India as an Imperial Colony. The Indian team came out trumps winning a gold medal on its debut. It continued to reign supreme till 1960 when Pakistan, in their fourth appearance in the Olympics, managed to wrest gold medal from India. India fought back to regain glory in Tokyo in 1964. Then came the Mexico Olympic Games, where India made a rude experiment of naming joint captains of the team that failed to qualify for the final for the first time in 40 years. A bronze at Mexico was followed with a similar medal at Munich four years later. In the subsequent 1976 Olympic Games, hockey saw introduction of the synthetic surface. Days of Indian dominance in hockey were coming to an end. India failed to make the semi-finals in Montreal. But for the truncated Moscow Olympics where India won the gold, it was virtually the end of road for India. In between India had won the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 1975. That was the last time India played in the final of a world cup. Though India organised the 1981-82 World Cup in Mumbai and now after a gap of 28 years in Delhi, it is yet to come anywhere near its performance in the first three editions of this prestigious event. A bronze in the first, silver in the second and gold in the third was an ideal progress for India. But then came the thaw. So here is Indian hockey, tottering and struggling to survive. Factionalism, politics, apathy of the state and, above all, its shrinking base have virtually put the game out of reckoning. True, controversies are nothing new to Indian hockey. They have been there from day one even when India ruled the roost. But now India has been on a constant losing trail. Even those extending financial and moral support to the sport have started looking elsewhere. “Hockey politics is dirty. Those in the control of the game do not want it to come up,” has been an apt remark Richard Charlesworth, highly esteemed in hockey circles, made on his return to Australia after he decided to threw in his towel, disgusted at the politics and red tape in Indian sports. For more than a year now, the control of the game has been with an ad hoc committee that initially functioned under the control of Indian Olympic Association. The ad hoc committee, too, started playing politics. When it was directed to hold elections by the International Hockey Federation, it decided to keep important units like Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi and Rajasthan out of list of units that were initially affiliated for attending the election meeting. The ad hoc committee’s intentions of a unified Hockey India were suspect. Punjab decided not to take it lying down. Instead, it raised the banner of revolt. The Union Ministry of Sports said that all genuine units must be affiliated. A few units decided to take to legal recourse. Hockey India failed to have an elected body in time for the World Cup. The International Hockey Federation extended the deadline for a democratically elected body to run the affairs of the Hockey India till May 31 this year. This reprieve is now being used by the warring groups to win over as many units on their side as possible. One of the groups has the backing of the powerful IOA lobby as also huge financial resources to lure voters. The other group is committed to hockey and has some former players, including Olympians. They claim to have those mariners who can help steer the shuttering ship of Indian hockey to safer shores. Of late, sponsorship for the World Cup by corporate houses has been a big boost to the sport. If a few corporate houses decide to adopt hockey for the next couple of years, chances of revival of Indian hockey look bright. A good dynamic team for controlling the affairs of the game and corporate backing can revive the old glory Indian hockey
enjoyed.
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Making right to information more effective Any Constitution dedicated to the democratic set-up of dynamic, progressive and conscious communities or nations can seldom be rigid or static. Amendments to the Constitution or new provisions become imperative to realise the people’s democratic aspirations and enforce the people’s right to know under Article 19(1) A of the Constitution. The Indian Parliament had enacted the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. However, the Union Government realised that to make the right to seek information simplistic, purposeful, effective, progressive and people-friendly, there was a need to enact an altogether new legislation. Accordingly, in addition to setting up a Central Advisory Committee, the Centre sought opinion from other organisations on enacting a Right to Information Act. The experiment in various countries was also scrutinised for possible replication in India. Consequently, Parliament passed a Bill providing for the right to information which received the President’s assent on June 15, 2005. Thus came into force the Right to information Act. It was formally implemented from October 12, 2005. The RTI Act enables a citizen to seek information from the government on any important issue. Indeed, it is a revolutionary step because it has made the administrative system transparent, accountable and corruption free. The Act is so powerful that on January 12, 2010, a three-Judge Bench of the Delhi High court comprising Chief Justice A.S. Shah, Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice S. Muralidharan declared that Chief Justice of India could not claim immunity from it. It rejected the appeal made by the Supreme Court seeking the CJI’s exemption from the ambit of the RTI Act. Justice Sen ruled that judicial independence is not a privilege for a judge. Instead it is a responsibility whose onus is on the judiciary. The Chief Justice of India is a public authority and his office falls under the purview of the Right to Information Act, he observed. In fact, Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan has time and again reiterated that his office does not fall under the purview of the Act and thus he cannot divulge information regarding the brother judges’ assets. In fact, when the offices of the Prime Minister and President, who appoints judges, fall under the purview of the Act, the CJI should not have taken such a stand. Interestingly, the Supreme Court has filed a review petition in the apex court against the ruling. The Central and State Information Commissions are playing a pivotal role in making it successful. The civil society and other agencies are using it as a potent weapon to ensure transparency and accountability in administration. The media is also playing a responsible role by disseminating information about the RTI petitions. The Central and States also organise training and refresher courses for the officers and staff. Regular surveys are also being conducted. The Act is not free from shortcomings. Under Sections 4 and 5, there are some glaring defects. There is a need to provide for compensation to the petitioner, if information is denied to him/her, by amending Section 4 (1) (B). Also a senior officer should be appointed in each state to ensure its effective implementation. Under Section 26 (1), no steps have been taken to educate the people, train the information officers and create logistics. According to a survey, only 13 per cent rural people, 33 per cent urban people, 12 per cent women and 26 per cent men are aware of the Act. While 47 per cent are unaware of the procedure to file petitions, 89 per cent have failed to see records and 39 per cent are unaware of the Information Commissions’ decisions. The State Information Commissions are facing problems. Owing to inadequate staff and poor infrastructure, they are unable to do justice to their work. Reports of increasing attacks on those seeking information under the Act in many states are alarming. The murder of Satish Shetty, a key RTI activist, in Pune by the land mafia was most unfortunate. Indeed, attacks on RTI activists are an assault on freedom and
democracy. The writer is the State Information Commissioner, Punjab
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Profile The BMVSS charity has also recently sent a team to northern Sri Lanka to provide 1,000 amputees with artificial limbs. The BMVSS has provided more than 350,000 people with artificial limbs, around the world including in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Sierra Leone. The Jaipur foot is regarded as the most inexpensive and cost effective artificial limb in the world. A long standing civil servant, D.R. Mehta, envisioned and set up the MBVSS in March 1975 to mark the 2500th death anniversary of Lord Mahavir. Apart from the commitment to his official work, Mehta is deeply involved in the social causes both at the policy and operational levels. The idea of BMVSS was born out of a trauma. In 1969, Mehta met with a serious car accident in which his legs were crushed. However, despite the ominous forebodings of the surgeons, both his legs and life got saved. Dr M.M. Bapna and Dr Ganga Ram Purohit of Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Jodhpur, who were his surgeons, would constantly remind him of the plight of poor patients, who in such a situation, often lost their limbs. Deeply touched by the sufferings of such people, Mehta vowed to help them. Fund raising was a difficult task but once the funds were forthcoming and the organisational structure worked out by Mehta, the BMVSS was set up. Prof C.K. Prahlad in his book, The fortune at the boot of the pyramid, wrote thus: “ In the first seven months after the development of Jaipur foot in 1968, hardly 50 limbs were fitted. In the first year after the formation of society, 59 limbs were fitted. Now, the number of the limbs fitted every year approach 16,000… had it not been for the value system and patient-centric management practices followed by the BMVSS, Jaipur foot might have remained on the shelf and in limbo.” The BMVSS’ main concern is that the dignity and self-respect of patients should be maintained and, if possible, enhanced. This aspect has to be specially addressed because of the peculiar characteristics of patients. The amputees who come to the centres of BMVSS suffer from three disabilities. They are physically handicapped making them depend on their kith or kin and losing self-respect. They are often poor and below poverty line. In fact, most of them had been poor before they became handicapped and became poorer because they ceased to be economically productive. Some of them are also uneducated. In India, there is one more problem — a large number of patients live in rural or remote areas. These factors make the problem of the handicapped complex and multi-faceted. Taking these into account, the BMVSS decided to give assistance in the form of limbs, callipers and other appliances free of cost. While the assistance is being given free, it is ensured that the BMVSS, its donors and beneficiaries recognise such assistance as help and not charity. The assistance is provided without any distinction of caste, creed, religion or region. Patients are treated with respect and human beings. The idea of making Jaipur foot was first conceived by Ram Chander Sharma, popularly known as Masterjee, who designed and developed the foot and the limb. The limbs made with the latest technology are closest to a normal human limb. The Jaipur foot has virtually got the same range of movements which a normal human foot has. It allows an amputee not only to walk comfortably but also squat, kneel, sit cross-legged, walk on undulated terrain, run, climb a tree and drive an automobile. Sudha Chandran, an Indian actor and dancer, lost her limb in an accident and was fitted with Jaipur foot. She started dancing
again.
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