Cement, Energy and Environment

t "I'm happy with the rate of investment in infrastructure, but we would like to grow faster. If you look at the overall investment in infrastructure, there is not much gap between the achievement and the target. However sector-wise, there are sectors that need to pick up. These areas are ports, road and railways. There has been problem in attracting investment in railways," Commission member BK Chaturvedi had told FE in a recent interview. In the first three years of the current Plan, the government was almost on target with the private sector investing significantly in telecom and oil & gas, while there was not enough interest in roads, ports and railways. This led to the government increasing the projection for telecom by over 30 per cent. Targets for ports, roads and railways, on the other hand, have been reduced by 1-53 per cent. Public investment in Infrastructure is expected to increase from around Rs. 13 lakh crore during the current Plan to over Rs 20 lakh crore in the next. In the current Plan, private firms are likely to contribute 36 per cent of the total infrastructure investment, with the Centre and states chipping in with the rest. Courtesy: The Financial Express, New Delhi, 19.6.2010 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC MODEL FOR CONSERVATION Sunita Narain Director of Centre for Science & Environment On World Environment Day 2010, let's take a moment to remember the birth of the green concern in India. It started not in the garbage of our cities but in the forests of faraway villages. But we must remember that the women of Reni, who protected their trees from the woodcutter, did not do so to "conserve" the forests. They did so to demand the first right to cut the trees; their local economy was built on the survival of these forests. Theirs was a political movement which demanded rights and deepened local democracy over development pathways. They told us the environment could not be protected if development was not inclusive. This is the challenge we face today, more than ever before. On a map of India, mark the districts in terms forest wealth - where the rich and dense tree cover is found. Then overlay the water wealth - the sources of streams and rivers. On this, plot the mineral wealth - iron ore, coal, bauxite and all things shiny that make economies rich. Then , mark on this wealth of India, another indicator districts where the poorest people of our country live. These are also the tribal districts of the country. You will find a complete match. The richest lands are where the poorest live. Now complete this cartography of the country with the colour red. These are the same districts where Naxalites roam, where the government admits it is fighting a battle with its own people, who use the gun to terrorize and kill. Clearly, here is a lesson we need to learn about bad development. The problem is we have never taken seriously the issue of sharing wealth with the people whose land it is. This is not part of the development mandate. Take forests. Some 60 per cent of the country's dense and most biodiverse and economically rich forests are found in these tribal districts. This is where tigers are found. Ask again: if there is extraordinary wealth, then why are the people who live there so poor? The fact Is that we have never built a development model for natural resources, which Is both sustainable but yet can benefit local economies and people. The first phase of development was when the state extracted and exploited the forests. Large areas (much like what is happening with minerals today) were handed over to paper and pulp industry; swathes of dense forests were cut, land was denuded to build the economic wealth of the country. This was the forest wealth that built the fortunes of governments and private companies. But not for its people. Then came the period of conservation. The nation decided that forests had to be protected; tigers and other wild animals had to be safeguarded. But instead of building an economic model, which shared the benefits of conservation with We have never built a development model for natural resources, which is both sustainable and beneficial to local economies and people. 67