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If they come to power...

  • 14/12/1993

PARTY manifestoes have repeatedly shown that election promises come cheap. Green ones may come even cheaper. The Congress party's environmental concerns have been stressed in its election manifestoes since the mid-1970s. However, that has not stopped the party from presiding over heavy exploitation of India's forests and groundwater. Now, it has promised to "protect the green lands wherever left" in Delhi and projects to recharge groundwater reserves in Madhya Pradesh. In UP, the Congress plans to intensify efforts to rid the state of air and water pollution, even as the Taj Mahal is threatened and the state's Ganga Action Plan limps along.

The Bharatiya Janata Party pledged to make Delhi a "model city" in terms of sanitation, urban planning, health and education. So who knows, the party's enthusiasm for urban planning may only increase demolitions! The Janata Dal promised that embankments would be put up in flood-prone areas of Uttar Pradesh. The party seemed unaware that embankments only worsen floods and increase waterlogging in low-lying settlements.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Janata Dal vowed that tribals would not be allowed to cut trees and would be given free firewood and wood for construction on the basis of ration cards. But the party did not say where the wood would come from, if not trees.

Far away from the tribal areas of MP, the same party became pro-tribal. It promised that all relevant laws and policies would be reviewed and amended to guarantee the customary rights of rural communities (especially the adivasis) over land, water and forest resources. The Janata Dal would clearly have serious problems coordinating its state and central policies.

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