Jairam Ramesh slams Environment Ministry, says green conservation is a losing battle

Senior Congress leader and former Union Environment minister Jairam Ramesh today said environmental issues are primarily political matters and they have to be settled in political domains.

"Today's political appetite is not for environment and nature conservation, but for faster growth and development," he said while delivering the annual Bodeswaran Foundation lecture here. Stating that he was a bit pessimistic about the future of nature conservation campaigns and movements in the country, Ramesh said environment conservation has become a 'losing battle' now-a-days. "Environmental issues are not social issues or ecological issues or economic issues. They are political fundamentally.

They have to be settled in political domains. It is ultimately the political establishment and political class which has to take call on the matter," he said. "In my view, the fight for environmental protection and conservation is a losing battle. It s an unpopular battle..it's a battle which involves making difficult choices," he said. Whether it was damming of rivers, protection of biodiversity or mining, the battle is between economic growth and conservation and conservation is taking a back stage now-a-days, he said.

He also alleged that the Union Environment minister had yesterday sent a message to all his officials, telling them not to forget that "the priority of the government is ease of doing business" while considering environment proposals. These are the trends now-a-days, he claimed. Ramesh also said he was now remembered as the man who had brought down India's economic growth and not as the one who tried to protect his environment for the pro-environment policies he took up during his tenure as Union minister.

The leader, however, noted that people's mindset would change if civil society takes on the challenge and carries forward the battle for nature conservation. "Situation is serious...the mindset is not in favour of conservation. So what we need is the creation of a broader coalition, cutting across political barriers," he said. Referring to the four-decade-old Silent Valley movement of Kerala, he said it was the second most important landmark in the country's environment history after the Chipko Movement.

"It was not an easy fight. It was an unequal fight initially. Because all the influential political personalities were on one side and all the activists who really have no political influence were on the other side," he said. He also mentioned that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had expressed her strong views on the Silent Valley even though the party was against the campaign. The annual lecture is organised by city-based Bodheswaran Foundation, in memory of eminent poet and social reformer Bodheswaran.