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Prime concern:
Western Ghats
Last word:
M. Mangapati Pallam Raju |
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Prime concern:
Western Ghats
The Unesco has accorded the Western Ghats — spread across four states and one of the eight hottest hotspots of biodiversity in the world — heritage status, but the local communities, as also politicians, are opposing the tag for fear of losing their “rights” to the dense forests.
In
his epic poem “Raghuvansham”, Kalidasa, while describing King Raghu’s conquest of the four corners of India, likened the mountain range of the Western Ghats to a comely young maiden — her head near Kanyakumari, Anaimalais and Nilgiris her bosom, Goa her hips, and her feet near the Tapi.
The threats
Indiscriminate mining Irrigation, hydro-electric demands and wind power generation Population pressures, encroachment Grazing and fuel wood extraction Human-wildlife conflict Unesco heritage status In July, 39 sites of the historic forests got the heritage status. Covering 7,95,315 hectares, the sites are spread over Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharastra. The largest number of sites are in
Kerala (19), followed by Karnataka (10), Tamil Nadu (six) and Maharashtra (four). What makes the Ghats precious
In the modern era the exquisite flora and fauna found in the forests of the Western Ghats attracted the attention of experts. Consequently, in July this year, 39 sites of the historic forests were accorded heritage status by Unesco. Covering an area of 7,95,315 hectares, the sites are spread over the four states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharastra. The largest number of sites are in Kerala (19), followed by Karnataka (10), Tamil Nadu (six) and Maharastra (four).
Treasure trove
The forests, according to experts, contain exceptional levels of plant and animal diversity for a continental area. The level of endemicity for some of the nearly 5,000 plant species recorded in the Ghats is said to be very high. The forests are also the key to the conservation of several threatened habitats such as unique, seasonally mass-flowering wildflower meadows and Shola forests. DK Ved, a former Indian Forest Service officer associated with the Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine at Bangalore, says the forests house a wide variety of medicinal plants. “There are 13 medicinal plant conservation areas (MPCAs) in the Ghats in Karnataka. Notification of 29 more such MPCAs have been proposed. Plants like myristica malabarika, used by ayurvedic doctors for treating many ailments, are only found in the Ghats,” he says. Of the nearly 650 tree species in the Ghats, 352 (54 per cent) are endemic. Animal diversity in the forests is also exceptional with 179 amphibian species (65 per cent endemic), 157 reptile species (62 per cent endemic) and 219 fish species (53 per cent endemic). Invertebrate biodiversity, once researched, is also likely to be quite high (with some 80 per cent of tiger beetles endemic). A number of flagship mammals are also present in the forests, including parts of the single largest population of globally threatened “landscape” species such as the Asian Elephant, gaur and tiger. Endangered species like the lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri Tahr and Nilgiri Langur are also unique to the area. The Ghats have been identified as an endemic bird area, with 16 endemic bird species. Mining has been identified as a major threat to the forests. Although not part of the 39 sites, there are mining concerns at Sindhudurg in Maharashtra. Similarly, Kudremukh National Park in Karnataka has a large iron-ore mine in the centre of the site. No mining activity is taking place at the moment, but it has the potential to be reactivated. Irrigation and hydro-electric demands and wind power generations are the other threats facing the forests. High population pressures and encroachment; grazing and unsustainable non-timber forest products (NTFP); and fuel wood extraction are the other persistent threats. Some protected areas have been declared “grazing free”, thanks to eco-development projects financed by the government. However, in many other areas grazing remains a visible problem. Human-wildlife conflict is also a major issue at a number of sites.
IUCN evaluation
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which carried out a technical evaluation of the forests in 2010 (as a pre-requisite for accordance of the heritage tag), noted “strident opposition” to the proposal in some places such as Kodagu in Karnataka. The IUCN said there were some 40 Adivasi and indigenous groups in several states of the Ghats region and it had been “made aware of continued significant concerns about the nomination and rights issues from sections of the indigenous local
community”.
Vested interests
TV Ramachandran, a faculty member at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, claims Karnataka MLAs have vested interest in opposing the heritage tag as many of them are involved in the “illegal” business of forest produce and are apprehensive that the heritage status will attract tourists to the forests, creating hurdles for their illegal activities. “Inclusion in the World Heritage List of the Unesco will help in getting funding from agencies for conservation activities,” says Ramachandran, who is also a member of the Western Ghats Task Force set up by the Karnataka Government. The sites in Karnataka that have been accorded the heritage status are already protected either as wildlife sanctuary (four), national park (one) or reserve forest (five).
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Last word:
M. Mangapati Pallam Raju I am daunted by the stature of my predecessors and humbled by the trust the Congress leadership has reposed in me. HRD is a huge responsibility. The portfolio is all about shaping the lives of people…. I hope to meet
expectations.
As
the Prime Minister last month reshuffled his team to give it a younger look, one man who sat straight faced in the front row reserved for new Cabinet Ministers was M. Mangapati Pallam Raju, India’s 30th Human Resource Development Minister. His lack of airs was in contrast to the feat he had pulled off in being elevated from Minister of State for Defence to full Cabinet rank in the Education Ministry, the best development portfolio anyone can seek in the government. It was termed by observers as a “double promotion”. What is it that worked for Raju, the mild mannered, soft spoken, three-time MP from Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada segment, known in the Defence Ministry as a “man of few words”? Kapil Sibal, his predecessor in the HRD Ministry, was known for traits that were just the opposite. This contrast in manner could well have been reason for the decision to push Raju to HRD, where key legislations are stuck for want of political consensus. Raju is known for his deliberative, consultative skills.
Mission education Being a focused worker, Raju would be expected to forge consensus on the government’s education agenda ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He admits, “We need to take everyone on board on these Bills. We must convince everyone that these are for the future generations and the credit would be collective”. Out of the 13 Bills that Sibal pushed to liberalise the sector by allowing the entry of foreign education providers, setting up of educational tribunals for dispute resolution, establishment of accreditation authority for institutions and an overarching regulator for the sector, nine are facing the Opposition hurdle. Former UPA ally TMC has also described most Bills as “anti-federal”. Aware of the legacy of Sibal, who wanted to “do to education what Manmohan Singh did to the economy in 1991”, Pallam Raju says the “good work of his predecessor would be carried forward and consolidated”. The multiple challenges confronting him are implementation of the Right to Education, improvement of school learning outcomes and teacher training. On the higher education front, he must build universities. India needs 1,000 universities and 50,000 colleges to meet the target of Gross Enrolment Ratio of 30 per cent in higher education by 2020. Right now, the ratio is 18 per cent, which means only 18 students passing Class XII actually reach college. “We have to create infrastructure. Unprecedented efforts have been made in the past by building new IITs and IIMs. We need to strengthen this,” says Raju, who has other plans as well. An engineering graduate from Andhra University and later an MBA from Temple University in Philadelphia, he wants children to learn the value of heritage. “We need to reinforce moral values in students and see that teachers are imparting these.”
While he brings a lot to the table in terms of new ideas and grounding, Raju knows he will be keenly watched for the sheer legacy of the HRD Ministry, which has been held by stalwarts such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Humayun Kabir, P.V. Narasimha Rao, V.P. Singh, Arjun Singh, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Murali Manohar Joshi and Kapil Sibal. “I am daunted by the stature of my predecessors and humbled by the trust the Congress leadership has reposed in me. It is a huge responsibility. The portfolio is all about shaping the lives of people…. I hope to meet expectations,” says the minister, who has begun to talk business. He said on assuming office that only 17 per cent of Indian graduates were industry ready and 30 per cent trainable. “The rest are not of the standard the industry requires. We must develop academic-industry linkages to address this challenge,” Raju said. While he has gotten down to getting briefed by officers on school, technical and higher education, sceptics are already debating his chances of success. “He does not have the political substance of his predecessors. The country does not know what he thinks about major social challenges like inclusion. He is there because he fits the Congress’ caste equation in Andhra,” says a political observer.
Politics of power Raju is a Kapu, a dominant caste from costal Andhra’s East Godawari district. The Kapus comprise around 14 per cent of the state population and matter for the Congress, which must fight Jagan Mohan Reddy’s growing influence in Andhra. That’s why the new Cabinet has Chiranjeevi, another Kapu. But politically speaking, Raju is no novice. His grandfather was a state minister in Andhra and his father M.S. Sanjeevi Rao an Electronics Minister in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet. It was when Rao was indisposed due to illness that he called his son, then employed with a computer firm in Norway, to inherit the family’s political legacy. Soon, Raju, at 26 years, found himself in the ninth Lok Sabha (1989) as its youngest member. He caught the attention of Rajiv Gandhi and his proximity to the Gandhi family continued after Rajiv. Many believe he has entered the Cabinet because of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s blessings. Whatever be the case, his task is cut out. He must shape Sibal’s reform agenda — by successfully conducting the common test for central engineering institutes next year; extending the RTE’s March 31, 2013, deadline in a way that states can achieve the targets; and create systems to test learning outcomes of students.
Transition time People who know Raju say his transition from the closed-door style of functioning of the Defence Ministry to HRD would be smooth, though they add he would now require a more outward-looking profile to make a difference. “Unlike in Defence, where an inward profile was good enough, in HRD, Raju would have to go out and talk. He would have no problems because he is a simple man to get along with, has great grasp of concepts and the ability to work long hours. Even at school he was both studious and playful,” says Raju’s childhood friend Kishore Kothapalli, an industrialist in Hyderabad. As Air Marshal BN Gokhale (retd), former Vice Chief of Air Staff who has seen Raju work, says, “He is a highly educated man with tremendous capacity to listen and absorb things. In Defence, he brought a culture where people could express their views freely. He built dialogue. This consultative approach and a habit of not pushing things will help him in HRD.” His family — wife Mamatha and children Vahini and Jatin — would vouch for his values, considering he balances work and life well and cares a lot about his wheelchair-bound father. However, settled in Hyderabad, they don’t get to see him often. As Raju confesses, “I am accused of being an absentee father and an invisible husband”. The good part is, he has never been accused of being an absentee minister, yet has kept to himself. A senior Congressman says, “As MoS in Defence, Raju retained his sense of right and wrong. He attended huge meetings, including defence acquisition, but was never flashy about what he knew. He understood that any publicity is not good publicity.”
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Therefore, it did not come as a surprise, when, in a rare display of solidarity, Karnataka MLAs cutting across political affiliations resolved to reject the heritage tag for the Ghats. Leading the protest in the Assembly was Speaker KG Bopaiah, who hails from the picturesque Kodagu district, formerly Coorg. Bopaiah expressed fear that Unesco tag for the Ghats would deprive the locals of their rights to the forests. Similar sentiments were expressed by legislators whose constituencies abutted the forests.
