Letters

Legal framework

I have the following points to make concerning the Green Budget article (Down To Earth, February 15, 1993).

Apart from tax or fiscal incentive, a clear regulatory legal framework is essential for industry and trade. As we do not have a truly competitive market situation, one should not rely too much on pricing to promote efficient use of such inputs as water and energy.

A strict environmental policy is often seen as a hurdle in the path of the consequences of the structural adjustment policy, such as pushing exports and liberalising government controls. The industrial development policy of July 1991 does not explicitly give importance to either energy conservation or environment protection and finance minister Manmohan Singh made no clarification in a lecture in June 1992. Perhaps, all industrial ventures should be required by law to publish individual environmental impact reports.

Your suggestion for an environment security cess should be considered as a contribution to be levied from all industries that use any input or raw material from the natural environment. The proceeds should be used to build up a national environment security fund to promote clean technologies.

I do not think that there should be exemption from income tax for companies involved solely in running common treatment plants. There is no reason why these companies cannot raise capital from the market.

While providing a tax concession for Ecomark products, rather than taxing them at the "lowest slab", it should extend to wood substitutes and other "conservation" products.

Restricting consumption of petrol and other petroleum products could be attempted through an income tax rebate for not owning or using a personal vehicle and barring employers from providing concessional or free transport to workers. But it may not be practical to allow lower excise duty rates for units practising energy and resource conservation, waste minimisation and recycling.

Companies planting trees should be allowed to deduct attendant expenses fully, and any income from trees planted should not be taxed.

Automotive industries need to be regulated by specifying emission levels and the dates by which these should be reached. The government should also ban all automobile traffic in large cities once a week or fortnight.

V B ESWARAN
New Delhi...

Innovative teaching

Creative science teaching and learning requires that children should be provided with opportunities to investigate problems on their own, make their own hypotheses and draw their own conclusions.

This can be achieved in schools with limited financial resources by using waste and scrap materials, such as empty matchboxes, used bicycle spokes, fused electric bulbs, shells, empty cigarette packets, torch-light bulbs, plastic tues and tongue-cleaners and ruber bands - all of which are easily and cheaply available. These materials offer the extra advantage of letting children use them freely without adult admonishment.

A project to promote low-cost teaching aids is being implemented by the Krishnamurti Foundation in India. It will involve rural and urban teachers in developing teaching aids relevant to their own environment. Anyone interested is welcome to visit or get in touch with us.

TUSHAR TAMHANE
LCTA-MHRD Project
Rajghat Education Centre, KFI
Rajghat Fort, Varanasi -- 221 001...

Gas versus coal

I would like to clarify a statement attributed to me in the article on natural gas use (Down To Earth, February 15, 1993). I feel there is a case for gas-based power for places far away from coal mines. There is also a need to substitute imported petroleum products with natural gas, as, for example, substituting kerosene with cooking gas and petrol and diesel, with compressed natural gas.

Please accept my congratulations for bringing out one of the best magazines in India, with plenty of interesting material reported with care and flair.

JYOTI PARIKH
Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
Goregaon, Bombay...

Interesting perspectives

We are implementing two environmental programmes involving 80 villages in the central highlands of Sri Lanka.

Down To Earth is extremely valuable to us in interpreting world and Indian developments that present a new environmentalist perspective. We also use your magazine extensively in our educational work.

GAMINI YAPA
Regional Coordinator
Asian Cultural Forum on Development,
Kumburegama, Sri Lanka...

Letters Letters