Wait and go for the Kill

By Malvika Singh in The Telegraph

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The battle to hang on to the minimal forested spaces continues unabated. The prime minister's office, along with the ministry of forests and environment, is desperately trying to undermine the existing laws that govern our forests by putting forth a draft that, if approved and passed, will "return" forest lands, including national parks and sanctuaries, to the tribals of yore.

Those who were relocated decades ago will be back in the few forests that remain. Those pushing this populist political agenda, within the PMO and without, should comprehend the reality that the "tribals" too are disconnected from their old hunting and gathering traditions and today have the same Gimme-a-Nokia aspiration that all other castes and communities have in this fast- changing world. Land mafias will swallow them up.

Wherever one looks, there are unbelievable realities overwhelming this polity. Fighting for causes is exhausting, and the bureaucrats who fiddle with the laws and force the battle are deviously "patient". They wait for you to give up the fight and then go for the kill. And, believe me, much has been killed by them, and much corrupted. Institutions have been diluted, resulting in a deeply embedded amorality that has become the common denominator in our lives. To correct this is a mammoth task, one that could well take two generations to rectify.

It is incomprehensible that the poaching of tigers cannot be dealt with decisively by the government and its agencies. To think that in Sariska and Ranthambhore in Rajasthan, hitherto reputed reserves, the population of the big cat has dwindled dramatically is shameful. Corrupt forest service officials in the state were not checked and punished. They held governments to ransom, and today they use the "press" to cover their tracks. The media fall to their bait as they are not prone to indulging in solid research into the issue and are happy to present what appear to be "plausible" handouts. With corruption in governments, aided by a lazy press, departments of the government cannot carry out the correctives.

Bharatpur, the famous bird sanctuary in the same state, an international heritage site, has been damaged beyond repair. A true scandal. But no one cares, and life goes on with exploitation of all descriptions.

The Red Fort in Delhi has been the scene of vandalism under the nose of the Archaeological Survey of India, the institution whose mandate is to protect and conserve the monuments of India, the man-made heritage. What they have "allowed" in Delhi is criminal. Trees have been cut, and the wood sold to crematoria. Under the Tree Act, this is a cognisable offence. The ASI is busy covering its tracks, and the director has done what all babus do, he has set up an "internal inquiry" to ensure that the truth gets buried forever. If this kind of crime had happened at any site anywhere else in the world, the authorities would have taken charge and punished those involved. Not so in Bharat. There is no point of reference, no port of call that will right the wrong.

All that this careless condoning of the breaking of the law by those who make the laws proves in the first place is that there is no belief or respect towards the job at hand or for this country. When the "authorities" act like the miscreants, hope can only turn to despair. How will this destruction be stalled? How will the overhaul and restructuring come to be? Who will bell the cat? Or, will it all merely disintegrate till a generation is born that cares, and cares with a vengeance? Will we be that footnote in history as the lot that destroyed the true strengths of India because of an opportunist, callous and unthinking attitude towards our habitat?