The lone crusader
From social worker, to government contractor, to politician, and then to the highest political station of the state. It has been an interesting journey.
The lone crusader
Born in Yamnang, a sleepy little in Sikkim's west, Chamling got involved in rehabilitation of landless people after completing school. "In fact, I donated some of my own land to settle landless people" he says, recalling his days as an activist. Transition from social work to politics came naturally, more so when the state was witnessing the movement for democracy. " I used to earn my living as a government contractor in those days," he says, "but soon politics got me in its throes completely." Chamling was 25 when Sikkim became a part of India in 1975. "It was difficult to keep out of politics at that time," he says. In 1982, Chamling was elected the sabhapati (president) of his village panchayat. He won his first election to Sikkim Legislative Assembly from Damthang in 1985 on a Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) ticket. In the 1989 Assembly Chamling won from Damthang with a whopping 96.26 per cent of the votes cast going in his favour. As a minister in the Nar Bahadur Bhandari-led government, Chamling handled industries, information and public relations and printing.
Soon, differences cropped up between him and Bhandari. In 1992, he was dropped from Bhandari's cabinet as well as SSP. "He was dropped because he was seen as a rival to Bhandari in SSP" says Jigme N Kazi, editor, Sikkim Observer. A year later, Chamling formed his own party, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). But with Bhandari breathing down his neck, Chamling was forced to go underground in June 1993, only to resurface during the assembly elections the following year.
He returned to the assembly in 1994 with an absolute majority and was elected chief minister. Chamling, however, wears an uneasy crown. The masses see him as a man with the right intentions and vision but lacking support from his people. Tashi Pema, a school teacher in Sikkim, put it succinctly: "He is too sweet and simple to handle them, but if you spare the rod, you spoil the child and that is exactly what is happening here." "He is a man ahead of his times" says Chukie Topden of Concerned Citizens of Sikkim, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), "and his steps will be appreciated a decade from now."
Many people believe that the common people might not elect him chief minister the next time around. They do not approve of many of the conservation and environment laws Chamling has introduced.
The masses see his efforts at conservation as whimsical decisions, "Commitment to environment is fine, but for Chamling all this is part of a strategy to generate support for himself at the national level. What has he done for the common people? Has any of the steps he has taken made life easy for the common person?" asks Tara Nima, an agricultural labourer from Rangpo town. Common people complain that prices of essential commodities have gone up in leaps and bounds in the state and the government has done nothing to address it. REVIEW OF WORK
"The negative work of the previous Sikkim Sangram Parishad government's 14-year rule is still haunting us. But I do not want the greenery that is still around us to degenerate completely. Prevention is better than cure," says chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling. He has passed several laws to protect the environment. But only on paper. It is this lack of implementation that mars his projects to protect the environment.
Among the series of environment-related programmes that the chief minister has initiated in Sikkim-are: a ban on use of plastic bags in the state capital Gangtok; large-scale afforestation; integrated pest management; joint forest management-cum-integrated watershed management; grazing ban in forests; and scrapping of a hydel power project and of also the army's G-firing range.
Chamling is seen as someone who has a vision but cannot carry it forward for the lack of team support. MLAs of his party are not convinced about his vision, though he keeps insisting that he is trying his best to educate them. At a recent public rally, he said, "As long as these bureaucrats criticise me, It means that I am with you. The day they start praising me, take that to mean that I have lost touch with you." Environmentalists in Sikkim generally laud Chamling's zeal to involve community participation in the conservation and development process despite tremendous political and bureaucratic opposition. "But he also loves to play the martyr," observes Rajiv Rai, president of Concern Sikkim, a NGO, adding, "He keeps saying in public meetings that he receives no support from his party legislators and bureaucrats in addressing environmental issues and that he is fighting a lone battle".
There is severe water crisis in the chief minister's constituency Damthang, in southwest Sikkim. "It was not like this 20 years ago," says Rajiv Rai, president of Concern Sikkim. "Arbitrary marking of trees by the forest department and felling of trees by smugglers has led to a situation where the loss of tree cover has resulted in drying up of streams," he says,
Immediately after coming to power, Chamling declared the area drought-prone and urged people to work towards conservation and afforestation. He has not started an afforestation programme per se but has been telling people the importance of forests in public speeches and pamphlets. He took out a pamphlet that spoke of bringing about Harit Kranti (Green Revolution) through afforestation, conservation and grazing ban in forests. The forest cover of the state is 3,129 sq km, which constitutes 44.1 per cent of the geographic area. According to the State of Forest Report 1997, there was a net increase of 2 sq km during 1993-1995. The credit, however, should not go entirely to Chamling; the forest cover increased even during the tenure of former chief minister Nat Bahadur Bhandari.
But what probably tilts the balance on his side is the effort to educate and involve the masses. In all his public speeches, he has focused on increasing public awareness and has tried to motivate them to participate in the afforestation and conservation process, say local NGOs.
Cattle rearing is one of the principal occupations of several communities living in Sikkim. Extensive rearing of livestock is done especially by communities living in the higher altitudes. And grazing is the principal source of animal feed. Livestock is maintained in substantial numbers. As no serious attempt is made to cull unproductive animals, Sikkim has witnessed a drain of biodiversity due to overgrazing.
When Chamling came to power in 1994, he banned grazing in forests. But this was not because he understood that the ecologically-sensitive alpine forests and biodiversity were at risk. It was more out of an observation that over the years animals reduce the productivity of the forests. "I have seen what grazing does to forest,. Earlier, the forest could sustain itself because the livestock population was small. But now the cattle population almost equals the number of people in Sikkim. At least that is what the 1991 Census Says," quips the chief minister. As an alternative, lie proposed stall-feeding. The grazers have taken the matter to court. But even at the cost of his popularity, Chamling has refused to lake the order back.
Environmentalists and NGOs welcome the ban but say there is no scientific evidence to prove that it was warranted. "The ban should have been preceded by a proper study on the effect of grazing in Sikkim forests. It was an arbitrary decision that came from his own observation. And here the bureaucrats are to blame. They did not brief him properly," says Chhezung Lachungpa, a forester and president of Green Circle, a NGO.
The orchards of Lachen district, once the highest producers of apples in the state, have hardly produced any apples in the past decade. The reason: indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers to fight apple-scab during Bhandari's regime. "Pesticides and chemical fertilisers have never been popular with farmers in Sikkim. In fact, Sikkim is one of the lowest consumers of pesticides in India," says Chamling.
In 1994, the Bhandari government had initiated an integrated pest management (IPM) project in East Sikkim. The I 0-week training-cum-demonstration programme for farmers was extended to other parts of the state by Chamling. At present, farmers' field schools (FFSs) have been set up in 12 villages. These help farmers recognise their friends (predators, parasites and pathogens) and foes (chemical pesticides and fertilisers). A total of 41 agricultural extension officers and 360 farmers have been trained at these schools from 1994 to 1997.
The project, however, does not cover all the villages in the state. Besides, other crops like ginger, cardamom and mandarin orange, which are large revenue earners for Sikkim, are yet to be included in the IPM project.
In May 1998, the chief minister introduced the joint forest management (JFM)-cum-integrated watershed management programme in the state. "Though in the planning stage, it has already generated a lot of interest among the people, especially as they are being involved in the planning process in a large way," says S B Singh Badoria, conservator of forests, Sikkim.
Sikkim has 30 watersheds. Afforestation under JFM and watershed management will be done through a four-tier system that will involve local people, NGOs, panchayats and the forest department. A rural appraisal programme was conducted to spread awareness among the people about the project. "People are being asked to draw the maps and point out rivers, streams, houses, important sites and landslide-prone areas, Officials then convert the rudimentary sketches into scientific maps. And as we are heavily depending on local knowledge, there is greater participation and less conflict," says Chhezung Lachungpa, president of Green Circle. However, the efficacy of the project will be judged only after its implementation.
Pawan Chamling became a hero of the masses in 1994 when he scrapped a major hydel power project in Rathong-Chu in west Sikkim after Rs 15 crore had been spent on it. "For that single act, Chanding will be the hero of environmental activists in the state," says Chukie Toptlen of the NG0 Concerned Citizens of Sikkim (CCS). "Chamling had been very adamant about carrying on with the Rathong-Chu project till his political adversary Bhandari started backing the movement to scrap the project," says Jigme Kazi, who obviously sees political motivations.
There is a glacial lake in Rathong-Chu and the area is ecologically fragile. "We used to hear up to 36 blasts a day when the work was in progress. It would have been disastrous if the project was completed," says Pema Namgyal of CCS.
But many feel scrapping the project was not a deliberate effort to stop environmental degradation. It would have submerged a Buddhist monastery. Moreover, Buddhists in Sikkim believe the glacier is the home to many of their deities.
The monks as well as the common people were against the project. "You could say that the chief minister played to the gallery by scrapping the project. Yet, apart from the social tension that it avoided, it also saved the environment," says Namgyal. However, the restoration work at the project site is yet to start. A committee, which had been instituted to plan the restoration work, has just submitted its report.
In 1992-93, there was a proposal to construct a G-firing range by the army on forest land in north Sikkim. "But the area is ecologically-sensitive. It is rich in biodiversity, and though the army was ready to compensate us with land elsewhere, the species that we would have lost would not have been regenerated elsewhere. Especially medicinal plants and herbs," says S B Singh Badoria, conservator of forests, Sikkim.
Besides, the forest is the habitat of rare animals such as the snow leopard, the musk deer, the Tibetan wild ass and various species of rodents. Local NGOs like Green Circle also agitated against the firing range. Chamling stepped in. At his personal initiative and canvassing, the programme was finally scrapped in 1997.
THE KING OF SMALL THINGS
'A small king, a small portfolio', was the popular reaction in 1985 when Digvijay Singh became irrigation minister of Madhya Pradesh (MP). For the next five years, the civil engineer-turned-politician advocated small dams in agriculture. "He was speaking the language of the villagers who traditionally irrigate their land through small dams," says Biren Tewari, a senior Congress leader. Since then, he is known as a grassroots leader. "Being a civil engineer and a farmer, he understands the importance of land and water very well. He always thinks from the grassroots level," says Tiwari. The tennis-loving and soft-spoken raja (king) of Raghogarh is known for his patronage to all initiatives at the grassroots level. When he became chief minister in 1993, he immediately called an all-party meeting on the controversial Sardar Sarovar dam and protested the project on technical and cost-benefit grounds.
His first major decision was to implement Panchayati Raj. That done, Singh began working on the agenda for the panchayat bodies; he implemented and developed better sanitation, education, land and water management projects in the name of Rajiv Gandhi Missions (RGM). People got sweeping powers in developmental activities. "It was very difficult breaking the conventional pattern of power flow," Singh conceded in an interview to Down To Earth.
Yet, as our survey reveals, he is often accused of ignoring urban environmental problems. "He does not seem interested in checking pollution by industries. Rather, many of his friends are owners of these units," says Hariram Patidar, village leader from Ratlam, pointing to the H-acid contamination of groundwater near the industrial town. Similarly, leaders of victims of the Union Carbide disaster show scepticism. "With a Bhopal tragedy in our past, no chief minister can show as much insensitivity to industrial pollution as Digvijay Singh. He patronises all polluting industries," feels Satinath Sarangi, a trustee of Sambhavana Clinic that treats Bhopal gas disaster victims.
Also, his decentralisation agenda is strongly dismissed as "decentralisation of corruption". Local people often echo this sentiment while talking to the press. Since he took over as chief minister, some of his cabinet colleagues have been accused in corruption cases ranging from timber smuggling to swindling of money meant for panchayat bodies. He denied election tickets to five colleagues in the November 1998 assembly elections as they were facing allegations of corruption.
Despite all these charges and accusations, his attention towards the grassroots agenda is believed to be the reason for his victory in the last assembly elections, upsetting all poll predictions. His agenda, it seems, remains the same in the second term. After his swearing-in ceremony, he announced that he would go in for further decentralisation of power.
A small order? "I will be gainfully employed," Singh says, pointing out what he will achieve from it.
BASIS OF RATING: Two-thirds of the environmentalists who replied felt that he has taken personal interest in sustainable development and promoted participation of NGOs and the poor in environmental management. The environmentalists have also cited the Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Watershed Development as a successful programme. They see a definite change for the better in the state's environment. REVIEW OF WORK
Grassroots organisations are as important, if not more, than the engineering structures in the watershed, writes Digvijay Singh in the foreword to the Madhya Pradesh Human Development Report, 1998. It echoes his style of governance. A look at his various schemes - Rajiv Gandhi Missions, Panchayati Raj and Joint Forest Management (JFM) - reveals that there has been a conscious attempt to make people the pivot of development. People have been made responsible for their development and have been empowered to pursue it.
In the case of watershed management, watershed committees have been made representative by involving all villagers. And these committees have unprecedented powers to manage land and water resources through the watershed mission. By this arrangement power has been decentralised beyond the panchyat level. These organisations would be taking over the engineering structures after the mission withdraws. The marriage between watershed activities and it m is another innovative way of involving people closely with ecological regeneration in the state.
He adopted a similar approach - decision making by the community - for the controversial Sardar Sarovar dam as well. While accepting the protest against the dam, he facilitated discussion among the protesting organisations, the affected people and government officials. The movement got a fillip with his formal demand for reducing the height of the dam. He even propagated small dams as alternative to the big dams.
Realising the importance of natural resources for survival, the Digvijay Singh government introduced the Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Watershed Development (RGMWD) on August 20, 1994. Initially, it proposed to improve 1.2 million hectares (ha) of degraded land within four years. The target was revised in 1996 to more than 3.4 million ha of degraded land. RGMWD is funded by the Union government's Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) an Drought-Prone Area Programme (DPAP).
At present, the mission has been implemented in 8,198 villages covering 5,714 micro-watersheds. Further, 30,344 self-help groups have been formed in watersheds across the state. The mission's activities have also improved the economy: in just three years, 14 million person-days of employment has been created in the state.
Though the mission has been introduced in all 61 districts of the state, Jhabua, a tribal district in the state, has met with the maximum success. The district was facing chronic drought and 60 per cent of its land was degraded. With the initiation of watershed management, it is not only getting back its forest but the degraded lands have also been brought under cultivation.
Seed banks under the RGMWD were set up to ensure continuous supply of seeds to villagers in the watershed development areas. This has helped villagers avoid moneylenders, who charge a high rate of interest on the loan. A villager gets a loan of seeds from this bank on the condition that it is returned with an interest in seeds only. All villagers are members of the bank and also provide the premise for it. At present, there are 314 such banks functioning in the state.
IFM-cum-watershed management programme is a relatively new concept. It was adopted in Jhabua even before the Union ministry of rural development issued guidelines in 1995. It began in 1994 with the formation of 20 village forest committees (VFCs). VFCs are responsible for protecting and maintaining forests with the help of the state forest department. The number of VFCs had gone up to 4,376 by 1998. For greater women's participation, 50 per cent of members in these committees are women. Similarly there are 3,925 forest protection committees (FPC) to guard densely-forested areas.
Though JFM was adopted in 1991, a resolution was issued by the state government in 1995 to make it more participatory and to have an integrated approach to watershed activities. It is now termed as the Village Resource Development Programme.
An intensive awareness programme was undertaken by forest officials before introducing the scheme. "Initially people used to look at us suspiciously. We told them that forests were theirs, yet they were disappearing fast. We offered them help in regenerating the forests," says A B Gupta, who was the divisional forest officer of Jhabua. "Simultaneously, I asked mv own staff to change their attitude towards villagers," he says.
Today, 60 per cent of Jhabua's total forest area is covered under JFM and there are more villagers guarding forest than forest guards: for every forest guard, there are two villagers protecting the forests, Altogether, there are 3,925 forest protection committees under JFM.
"While JFM has protected the forest, watershed has given back the land's fertility in the form of rising groundwater levels," says Gupta. In November 1997, 22 gram panchayats decided to hand over another 4,000 hectares of village land to the programme and declared it forest area. With this success, the government has set a target of covering 50 per cent of the 30,000 villages of the state situated in the periphery of forests under JFM by 2000.
"Digvijay Singh is very sensitive to the problem of rehabilitation and the environmental impact of big dams as proposed under the Narmada Valley Development Project (NVDP). His practical and pro-community approach to this controversial issue really helped us a lot," says Shreepad Dharmadhikari, an activist of Narmada Bachao Andolon (NBA). Under the NVDP, 30 major dams, 135 medium-sized and some 3,000 small dams are proposed and almost all of these would be in Madhya Pradesh, except the Sardar Sarovar dam that is coming up in Gujarat.
Though a large forest area would be submerged and a lot of people would be displaced by these dams, the only benefit from it would be electricity supply. No government in the state protested against the project except the Digvijay Singh government.
NBA wants the project scrapped, as there are several problems associated with rehabilitation of the displaced and the dam's adverse impact on the environment. In 1993, when Singh came to power, he called an all-party meeting on the issue. At the meeting, he acknowledged that the issue of rehabilitation had not been worked out properly. He opposed the project on "technical, economical and environmental grounds."
He also lodged a formal protest with the Prime Minister, asking for reduction in the height of the dam from the proposed 139 metres to 117 metres. He even promised to compensate Gujarat for the monetary loss due to reduction in the height.
In his complaint, he explained the fault in the design of the dam; it would not carry as much water as is expected. And its submergence of more forest areas would disrupt the cost-benefit balance. He stuck to this stand in the Supreme Court in response to NBA's petition against the dam.
After the all-party meeting came the workshop on all dams proposed under the NVDP. The workshop, attended by NBA, government officials and the affected people in December 1997, set up a task force in January 1998 to review the dams proposed with a special reference to the Maheswar dam. "These kind of steps suddenly changed our approach and we became open to suggestions from the government. Discussions really help you to sort out problems," says a member of the above-mentioned task force. He has reportedly accepted the recommendations of the task force that suggested smaller dams in place of the big ones.
In case of two other dams, Bargi and Tawa (already built), Singh intervened by giving fishing rights in the reservoir, which earlier used to go to contractors, to the rehabilitated people.
In case of Bargi, he set up a committee in 1993 and accepted its recommendation of rehabilitating the displaced by forming a cooperative to give it fishing rights. The same rights were given to the villagers rehabilitated by the Tawa dam.
Taking the lead
Environmental issues never really mattered in Indian realpolitik. Pollution, deforestation and land degradation have always been fringe issues - either by choice, neglect or perhaps, by ignorance of those who mattered. Neither the ruling parties nor the opposition ever put in any effort to make an issue out of the environmental status of their respective states. Politicians always felt that "India has other things to worry about". But lately, signs of change are becoming apparent. Top state politicians are beginning to discover the votes 'hidden' beneath all that green. Look at Madhya Pradesh. A chief minister (CM) of a faction-ridden parry rides back to power on the strength of his eco-friendly rural policies (See Down To Earth, Vol 7, No 15 ). Do CMs think green? Down To Earth (DTE) conducted a survey among its readers and India's environmentalists and found that they do, at least in some states.
DTE carried a readers' survey in September 1998 to rate the CMs of each state. We received 335 responses. In addition, some 1,100 letters were sent out to noted environmentalists. And after several CMs lost out in assembly elections held while DTE, was compiling the results, some 237 valid responses were left. In the environmentalists' survey, the CMs who came out with flying colours were Pawan Kumar Chamling of Sikkim and Digvijay Singh of Madhya Pradesh, in that order. However, the readers awarded Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra Pradesh CM, the top position in the survey, pushing Digvijay Singh to the ninth position. Possibly, the "on-line" and techno-savvy CM is closer to the hearts of the English-reading middle class.
Chamling also suffered, the readers pushed him down to the lower rungs in the survey. However, environmentalists were all praise for his efforts to curtail logging and to restrict timber transport. He also won praise for pushing eco-tourism that gives employment opportunities to a lot of poor people. Maintenance of tourist spots and promotion and conservation of ethnic culture are some of the other factors which endeared him to environmentalists.
The survey has largely been a study in difference of perception. In Sikkim's case, 78 per cent of the respondents fell that the urban as well as the rural environment was improving. (See table: Urban scenario). In Madhya Pradesh, more than 66 per cent felt that the rural environment was improving, though only 50 per cent felt the same about the urban environment.
In the case of Andhra Pradesh, environmentalists were evenly divided about the issue of improvement of urban and rural environment. Some 40 per cent for and 40 per cent against. Himachal had a unique triangular pattern of voting regarding the environmental status of rural environment - 33.33 per cent felt that it was improving, and a similar percentage felt it was worsening, while 33.34 felt there was nothing worth talking about.
Rural-urban biases notwithstanding, welfare measures gave brownie points to several CMs. P S Burial and Jyoti Basu came on the third and the fourth positions in the environmentahsts' survey.
Environmentalists have acknowledged afforestation measures by Badal as well as Basu. To Basu's credit goes the successful implementation of Joint Forest Management (JFM) programmes. The success of JFM, a greening programme for Calcutta, and the implementation of a few good environmental verdicts by the "green bench" of the Calcutta high court could offset the damages done by mindless urbanisation and rampant industrial pollution in the state, environmentalists felt. In power for over two decades, Basu seems to know the pulse of the "masses". Despite his policies having choked Calcutta wetlands with urban growth, the environmentalists of Bengal forgave Basu.
Apart from afforestation moves, there are certain eco-friendly measures common to several states, as the survey results show. Everyone gave brownie points to the CMs of the respective states. Examples comprise efforts to promote Panchayati Raj (rural, local self-governance), micro-level watershed management and environmental awareness and to curb the solid waste menace, caused especially by the rampant use of plastic bags.
In the environmentalists' survey, along with Digvijay, Singh, Naidu and Nipamacha Singh of Manipur, P K Dhamal of Himachal Pradesh figured in the list of CMs showing an active interest in watershed development. Digvijay Singh obviously has a high-profile watershed project and his public relations machinery ensures a watershed of votes in return. Himachal had sunk a lot money in watershed projects. The efforts to involve local communities in their management has earned a high rating for the CM. Community forestry projects are the favourites of Naidu, Digvijay Singh, Basu, Dhumal and Nipamacha Singh. One of the first important decisions that Dhumal took after assuming power in March 1998 was to set aside Rs 10 crore from the state budget for a radically different forestry project. This community afforestation project includes micro-level planning, management and even handling of money. The Himachal Pradesh forest department is now trying to learn from the mistakes of the so-called donor-funded 'joint forest management efforts'. Earlier, people could not join these efforts dictated by the stiff forestry norms, and turned their back to them. On the contrary, Dhumal has allowed villagers to choose the kind of forest-related activities, such as water-shed, trees, drainage and access, needed in their area.
Environmentalists have lauded Nipamacha Singh for making efforts to conserve the Loktak lake, famous for its floating islets and paddy fields. Loktak is a vulnerable ecosystem of global importance and it supports the lives of rare species such as the dancing deer. Naidu has won laurels for making his 'cyber raj' reach the grassroots. He has formulated a four-year integrated plan to boost watershed management activities. He promoted water users' associations to ensure equitable distribution of irrigation water. He has to do it because Andhra Pradesh has one of the highest rates of deforestation. He has also launched the Janmabhoomi programme to involve people in the overall development process.
Community-level environmental programmes and Panchayati Raj often go hand in hand. The Madhya Pradesh government has promulgated its own progressive laws in this regard and implemented them, especially in tribal villages and hamlets. In West Bengal, JFM worked in the plains, especially benefiting the poor. But it faltered in the hills, environmentalists point out. They see it as a part of the overall neglect of the development of hill areas. The JFM efforts in Andhra Pradesh meant more points to Naidu. Dhumal, who was a leading contestant in the environmentalists' poll till the last entries came in, had a plus point here, too. He recently evolved a strategy to involve non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and people's groups in development activities right from the state level to the village level. This move has made him the darling of several NGO activists in the state.
Restriction or ban on recycled plastic bags is on the agenda of several CMs, environmentalists point out. These cheap bags proliferate, get littered all over, check grass growth, clog drains, and emit toxins when burnt. In Sikkim, Chamling has banned plastic bags in Gangtok after a series of landslides in 1997, reportedly caused by plastic-choked, rain-swollen drains. Dhumal has implemented a ban on recycled bags notified by his predecessor. While I H Patel of Karnataka has tried to restrict their use, and Bansi Lal of Haryana has banned littering of plastic bags. Goa already has an anti-littering law in place. Environmentalists, however, note that the implementation of these bans has not been very effective.
In the environmentalists' list, the tail-enders are Kalyan Singh of Uttar Pradesh, J H Patel of Karnataka and Rabri Devi of Bihar, in that order. Rabri Devi and J B Patnaik of Orissa trailed in the readers' survey as well. Environmentalists gave Kalyan Singh and Patel zero marks on three counts - personal interest in sustainable development, promotion of civil society, and public participation, especially by the poor.
What pipped Kalyan to the post was his "anti-poor" forest policies, which marginalised forest-dwelling communities. "His forest department is terrorising the people," alleges an environmentalist. Tough, anti-people forest laws, especially in the protected areas of up, have often invited media and NGO criticism. Kalyan Singh, in short, has generated a lot of controversy. E K Nayanar of Kerala figured fourth from the bottom in the environmentalist's rating because of his "I don't care" attitude towards the environment.
What contributed to Rabri Devi's lack of popularity washer opting for large-scale embankments and her giving unbridled power to bureaucrats. Those who refuse to buy the theory that Rabri Devi is a mere puppet of her husband LalooPrasad Yadav note that she is dancing to the tune of the bureaucracy. Patnaik, along with Manohar Joshi of Maharashtra, drew flak for industrialisation without adequate environmental checks. Joshi's move to promote environmentally-hostile power projects, highways in forests and housing colonies in wetlands were seen as an overall disrespect for environmental norms.
Joshi also has to bear the burden of his party, the irrepressible Shiv Sena. Environmentalists perceive Sena as an "authoritarian" one-man show that leaves no room for people's participation. Sena's stance on several environmental issues were not people-friendly, they point out. Meanwhile, Patel was criticised for his "lack of respect" for environmentalists.
It is back to book for the CMs. What is the moral of the story? It is no longer fashionable to unleash bulldozers into forests amidst the rhetoric of development and it may no longer be enough to whip up emotions to win elections either. There are people watching. And this time, most of them are thinking as well. Even the poor think. And the poor interact very closely with the environment.
Reported by Samyabrata Ray Goswann .(Sikkim), Richard Mahapatra (Madhya Pradesh) and Manish Tiwari (Andhra Pradesh). Edited by Mridula Chettri with inputs from Max Martin and D M Nair
CYBERBABU OF HYDERABAD
Chandrababu Naidu ia known more for his obsession with technology and computers.
Little is known about his watershed mission
Dream politician. Going by common sense, that seems like a contra-
diction in terms. But recently, N Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister
(CM) of Andhra Pradesh, has been dubbed just that: a near-perfect
model of one such "dream politician". The World Link magazine,
published from Davos in Switzerland by the World Economic Forum,
recently included him in its "dream cabinet" of political leaders.Naidu, with 48 Andhra summers behind him, is better known for his efficiency in management and not his rural development programmes. "The CM has systematically planned his programmes and the success of his ideas are gradually reflecting in people's increasing participation in the development process," says Randeep Sudan, special secretary to CM.
Extremely techno-savvy and most comfortable clicking away at his laptop computer, he keeps a tab on the latest developments in the state. Naidu's obsession with technology and efficiency has earned him the moniker of Andhra Pradesh's CEO, He has been pushing hard to make the state capital Hyderabad India's answer to USA's Silicon Valley, meeting Bill Gates, CEO, Microsoft Inc, and persuading him to set up a research and development facility.
M S Shankar, a senior journalist and political analyst in Hyderabad, says, "Naidu has gradually shifted focus from urban development to rural uplift after an internal party survey of the Telegu Desam Party (TDP). The survey results showed that the party would get only 50-60 seats out of 294 in the coming assembly elections if it continues with its urban-oriented policy. The main vote bank for TDP is in rural areas. However, Sudan denies this, stressing that Naidu has been focusing on rural development ever since he became the CM.
At present, some of the CM's central concerns are rural development and environment protection. "Its our responsibility to give our future generations a better environment," he says. Kallol Biswas, district forest officer, Anantapur, says: "I have not known a chief minister who takes so much interest in forest conservation activities. He himself reviews the forest activities and holds regular meetings with forest officials."
That is Naidu today. A quarter of a century ago, Naidu completed his post-graduation n economics from the Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, and became politically active. In 1978, he was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Chandragiri constituency in Chittoor district. As the general secretary of the TDP in 1985, Naidu was instrumental in strengthening the party's organisation from the grassroots level, where the TDP has its base. In 1989 and 1994, Naidu was elected to the state legislature from the Kuppam constituency of Chittoor district. On September 1, 1995, he was elected as the state's chief minister. After coming to power, he introduced several developmental programmes, including the Janmabhoomi programme and other projects such as Joint Forest Management and watershed development. "I want to empower people and give them better governance," the cm explains. However, some people express dissatisfaction with the implementation of the programmes. "Naidu is corrupting the very idea of participatory watershed development programmes. Politicians and bureaucrats have formed NGOs just to grab the projects with an aim to mint money. Transparency in most of the watershed projects is missing," says P V Satheesh, director, Deccan Development Society, Hyderabad. Further, D L Ravindra, Congress MLA and former minister, says that the way Naidu is launching programmes, it is not possible to fulfill their objectives. Most of Naidu's programmes have not taken off due to a fund crunch, he says.
Naidu is now working towards bringing several administrative reforms n the state n an attempt to cut red-tapism, which, effectively kills all government initiatives.
BASIS OF RATING: There is more to Chandrababu Naidu, the "CEO" of Andhra Pradesh Inc, than just information technology, say readers. Among the 335 respondents, he was the choice of 21 percent. But only half of the environmentalists felt he was working towards sustainable development Two-thirds of the respondents felt he had promoted the civil society. They gave examples of the Janmabhoomi, Joint Formt Management and watershed management programmes to justify this
REVIEW OF WORK
"My vision of Andhra Pradesh is one where poverty is totally eradicated; where every man, woman and child has access to not just the basic minimum needs but to all the opportunities for leading a happy and fulfilling life; a knowledgeable and learning society built on the values of hard work," says Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister (CM) of Andhra Pradesh. To make good this vision, people have to be involved in the development process. "My biggest priority is rural development," he says.
He launched the Janmabhoomi, watershed management and Joint Forest Management (JFM) programmes to bring about sustainable development in the state. He has also initiated several self-help groups such as the Water Users' Association to involve farmers in the management of irrigation systems, Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) groups, and village education and health committees. The Janmabhoomi, JFM and DWCRA programmes have been successful. According to Randeep Sudan, special secretary to CM, "Environment is one of the focal points for the government's programmes. The state government in the Vision 2020 has identified environment as a priority."
The Janmabhoomi programme was launched in May 1997. In this, people identify their problems in gram sabhas, which are conducted by the nodal officers of the particular region, and send project proposals to the government. Gram sabhas are conducted in areas with a population of more than 200 people.
The five core areas of Janmabhoomi are community work, primary education, primary health, family welfare and environmental protection. Work is under two categories: earth work and non-earth work. The former includes building of roads, canals and drains. The government and the public contribute equally for every project. Non-earth work includes plantation of trees, meeting educational, health, fodder and drinking water needs. Here, the public pays 30 per cent of the cost of the project in the form of shramdan (voluntary labour) and the government pays the rest. All the projects are executed within a stipulated time period.
In 1997-98, the government planted nearly 46 million trees under the Clean and Green Campaign, which is a part of the Janmabhoomi programme. It has sanctioned 66,883 proposals for community development, valued at about Rs 941.17 crore. On the education front, 631,000 children have been enrolled in schools. In the same period, nearly 811,000 children were immunised and 2,472,000 patients treated in 91,648 special health camps. "The confidence levels of people have risen and their attitude towards government-run development programmes has changed," says Murali Dhardu, professor at the department of rural development, S K University, Anantapur. The CM closely monitors day-to-day affairs of the Janmabhoomi programme. Yet people in rural areas have complaints. "We are so disillusioned with the implementation of the Janmabhoomi programme that we have decided not to allow any nodal officer to come to our village," says H Annapurnama, a villager from Hottebetta in Anantapur. Some of the projects which were identified in the eighth round of the programme have not been taken up till today, she says.
Watershed programmes are not new to villages of Andhra Pradesh. But the Naidu government's plan to focus extensively on watershed development has given many drought-prone districts such as Mehboobnagar and Anantapur the much-needed boost to work towards meeting water requirements.
The state government has made a four-year (1995-96 to 1998-99) watershed development plan. It has already invested more than Rs 3,000 crore in 4,239 watershed projects covering 2.1 million hectares (ha) of land. Naidu has sought help from Anna Hazare, the person behind Ralegan Siddhi's success. "Some of the watershed projects based on Anna's methods have helped farmers cultivate two crops a year," says R Rajamani, a former bureaucrat.
Groundwater levels in several villages have also gone up. "Earlier, water was available only at a depth of 18-20 metres. Now, we get it at six metres," says Harinath Reddy of village Vanjuvanka in Anantapur. Naidu has sorted out financial problems. Money is directly given to watershed committees.
The joint Forest Management programme was launched in Andhra Pradesh nearly five years ago. In 1995, when Naidu took over as chief minister, there were merely 200 vana samrakshana sarnithis (VSS). Today, the number has gone up to 6,271 with a total of 1.4 million hectares (ha) of forest land under the programme.
Government has entrusted the villagers with the task of regenerating and protecting the forests. The entire timber and bamboo produce is given to VSS members. According to P Raghuveer, deputy conservator of forests, Andhra Pradesh Forestry Project, Hyderabad, "The government has allocated Its 360 crore for the VSS in the current financial year."
vss programmes in the districts of Anantapur, Visakhapatnam, Chittoor and Mehboobnagar have shown remarkable results. In Anantapur, there are 95 VSS, managing 22,319 ha of forest area. Within two years of adopting the programme, the availability of fuel and fodder has also increased and has provided employment to many poor people.
"Villagers feel responsible for protecting the forest," says Kallol Biswas, Anantapur forest officer. This could be because "for the first time, we have got a chance to get 100 per cent profits from protecting the forests", says Dase Goud from Hottebetta, Anantapur, who has been instrumental in the formation of a VSS in his village.