GROWTH PREVAILS OVER ENVIRONMENT : VANAM JWALA NARASIMHA RAO

(Recovered and Reloaded)

GROWTH PREVAILS OVER ENVIRONMENT

VANAM JWALA NARASIMHA RAO

METROINDIA NEWS PAPER (09-06-2016)

            What makes an environmentalist think that protection of trees is just enough no matter what could be the otherwise pollution by not disturbing them. If the pollution is double and triple by keeping the trees as it is, the traffic problem as it is, and, the cost on fuel as it is, then, there is something wrong with the environmental activists. The carbon dioxide pollution supposed to surface when 2000 and odd tress are either felled or trans-located for constructing multi-level grade separators, would be much lesser compared to traffic congestion pollution at KBR National Park if the present state of affairs of long waiting of hundreds and thousands of vehicles at the signals is continued for some more time. When development is needed there might be few problems including environmental. It does not mean to do away with it just because few people object to it. Environment in opposition to development is not always right.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has prepared Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP) to ease traffic congestion and to meet the growing requirements of the city, which has a population of over one Crore. Multi-level grade separators at different junctions on priority basis would come-up and as part of execution of the plan Information Technology Minister laid foundation among other places at KBR National Park in Banjara Hills which is located in the center of Hyderabad. The National Park is spread over an approximate area of 400 acres.

All the link roads joining the peripheral road of the National Park act as major arterials for carrying the traffic from one part of the city to other part of the city in all directions. Traffic flow in the vicinity of all around the KBR Park is very high. These corridors have experienced rapid growth in traffic intensity in the past few years resulting in severe traffic congestion. At present these junctions are controlled and managed with traffic signals due to which the idling time is increasing more particularly during peak hours. Hence GHMC proposed to take up Construction of Multi level Grade Separators at Six junctions around KBR Park to provide relief to the road users and to reduce the pollution.

According to GHMC a study has been conducted by experts to study the intensity of adverse effects if this situation is allowed to continue for long and the results are shocking. The total traffic volume which is estimated to be around 2.5 lakhs per day, currently, would be more than doubled in the next two decades.  On account of traffic congestion at all the six junctions an estimated 33 thousand liters of fuel is wasted every day resulting in emission of pollutants equivalent to 107.92 tons of Carbon Dioxide per day. This is an alarming state of affairs. SRDP designed the project in such a way, utilizing the open land available all around the National Park only, and nowhere the National Park land is affected in any manner.

When once the Construction of Multi level Grade Separators is completed, the total pollutants will come down, resulting in reduction of pollution level. In other words, the pollution load is estimated to come down to about 126 tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent per day which means a decrease of approximately 72% in pollution level. Otherwise it will result in pollution load equivalent to about 456 tons of Carbon Dioxide per day in the next two decades or by year 2035. In addition to this, if the project is grounded there would be traffic improvement at these junctions resulting in an estimated saving of about 41 Crore liters of fuel over a period of 20 years from 2015 to 2035 which again reduces pollution.

GHMC authorities say that it has enumerated in all 2319 trees of different species with different girths which are required to be either felled or trans-located to improve all six traffic junctions. However in the phase one only four junctions would be taken up which requires 1394 trees to be either felled or trans-located. In any case the immediate need is to fell or Trans-locate just 181 tress which fall in the area of foundations of flyover for commencing the work. The balance will form part of phase two. As a matter of fact, none of these trees are age old ones and were only planted by Urban Development Authority about a decade and half ago. All these trees are totally outside National Park and none of the inside trees are touched. GHMC has already drawn plan to transplant and also take-up compensatory forestation in the vicinity of the project site within three kilometers from location and 17 such locations have been identified.

As per the tree felling enumeration about 76 tons of carbon accumulated over the period of tree growth will be lost on account of felling of 1394 trees. This is being compensated by taking-up compensatory afforestation over three times the trees proposed to be felled in addition to pavement plantation according to GHMC officials. GHMC is also planning to take up tree planting within three months from the day of grounding of work and that too during current monsoon season itself. The trees panned to be planted include among others: Rain Tree, Pogada, Gulmohar, Subabul, Neem, Mamidi, Marri, Medi, Ravi, Moduga, Kanuga, Silver Oak, Badam, Seemachintha etc.

Environmental concerns only complicate the development picture. Infrastructure is essential for increasing economic progress and reducing poverty. The focus should invariably be on economic growth even if it comes at the expense of the environment. In fact, the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis says “pollute first; clean up later”, though the validity of the EKC hypothesis has been seriously questioned.  ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE is a hypothesis stating that developing nations must initially focus on economic growth of the nation even if it comes at the cost of environment and clean up the environment later on as and when they become developed. The principle is to POLLUTE FIRST AND CLEAN UP LATER. In any case as part of SRDP at any stage it is not envisaged to pollute and on the other side the effort is to reduce pollution.

Why then an agitation against the SRDP?