‘Flawed green policy proving costly’

In the backdrop of recent quakes, which killed thousands in Nepal and India, a noted environmentalist in the city said the present lifestyle has lead to climatic changes and other natural hazards, even as he pitched for bringing nature studies in a big way in educational curriculum. Anil Joshi also questioned the way the government’s policy on <g data-gr-id="25">environment</g> is framed, without the involvement of rural communities. 

“A consumer must be a contributor,” Joshi said at a meet, harping that the society consumes more and contributes less to environmental conservation. He also questioned the policy of building high-rise concrete jungles in towns and cities in the name of development and sought that rural communities be included in the decision-making process.

“Most of the members of the so-called expert committee on any environment-related issue have never done any field work and they don’t know the ground realities. They don’t know how a community should behave with nature,” Joshi said.

The society has become insensitive to earth, forgetting that too much interference with nature leads to <g data-gr-id="23"><g data-gr-id="22">catastrophe</g></g> such as earthquakes and landslides. 

In metro cities, the construction policies are poor. “We bother only after big tragedies. Any high-magnitude quake for a longer duration can demolish multi-storeyed buildings and kill thousands in <g data-gr-id="29">single</g> blow,” he said. He rued that despite so many examples, concrete jungles are mushrooming in quake-sensitive zones. “We talk of Japan and China, but never learn from them,” he said. Recalling the landslides and floods in Uttarakhand, he said the state has been witnessing such incidents for the last two decades due to faulty policies.