Trust writes to PM Narendra Modi on 'environmental loot' by Karnataka government

The Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamenting environmental 'plunder' in Karnataka.

The letter reads, "When we listen to "Mann ki baat" we are truly inspired and relieved that our country has, at long last, found a genuine leader, but the actions of your government and the bureaucracy are in fact a 180 degree turn from your emphatic words. Your government has explicitly committed to the Paris Agreement and Sustainable development goals so that development is not at the expense of irreplaceable, depleting resources."

The trust remarked that the commitments made by the government to protect the environment, unfortunately, can only be seen as political gestures if they are not acted upon in a manner that is visible, measurable and tangible.

"The government of Karnataka has declared that they will de-notify 60% of the deemed forest in the state for commercial use and farming. The Government of India recently filed a deceitful and false AFFIDAVIT in the High Court and the officer concerned admitted in open court that he was "told to sign it" - meaning coercion

from his superiors. The state government unilaterally - and against all scientific arguments to the contrary as also its own earlier recommendations - reduced the ESZ of Bannerghatta National Park by 100 Sq Km."

A proposal to make Hesaraghatta (a green area in the vicinity of Bengaluru) a conservation reserve was rejected by the State wildlife board which is headed by the chief minister in the name of development. The NHAI (A Government of India body) filed an affidavit in High Court that organizations selflessly attempting to save mother nature are "Influenced by foreign

powers", an embarrassing affidavit which the lawyer for the NHAI was forced to withdraw," the letter informs the PM about the brazen moves by the government.

Managing Trustee, Vishnu Narain writes that the trust has filed more than 20 complaints at the local police station regarding land grabbing, poaching and threats to life in the BNP but no action has been taken so far.

"Every natural resource needing protection is being ruthlessly exploited for personal benefit by those in positions to do so and even the COVID pandemic has been dealt with in a purely capitalistic and opportunistic fashion. As for climate change, which the whole world is now recognizing as catastrophic, a rise in the atmospheric temperature by 0.8 degrees Celsius may not seem like much but anyone can appreciate what this seemingly small change can do to biological systems. If the body temperature of a human being were raised by 0.8 degrees Celsius, he/she would need 500 ml of water more per day and would shorten his life by a year. On the qualitative front his efficiency would reduce by 25%. What that would do to the GDP and GNP may be estimated. There are also several expert opinions which link the recent Uttarakhand disaster to over exploitation of surface water for generating power," the letter reads.