Ramesh favours ‘green bonus’ for Himalayan states

The minister rejected the demand for a separate ministry for Himalayan states or mountain development. “This will create more problems than solving the existing ones,” he said.

The minister,however,accepted a major demand raised by Himachal Pradesh to declare all forests 4,000 metres above the snowline as non-forest areas. “The new forest report coming up in the next few weeks will not include those areas,where no trees can be planted,as forest cover,” said Ramesh.

About the ‘green bonus’,he said: “I have already spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and taken up the issue with the Planning Commission to give some incentive to the states. We may start with a small amount and can expand it later.”

Speaking to the media later,the minister said: “Green bonus is similar to the demand raised by the chief ministers to reimburse the cost incurred on environmental services. My concept is that the states conserving ecology by protecting their green wealth should be compensated.” It would be,however,up to the states to pass on this incentive to the stakeholders involved in the preservation of the green cover and ecology at local levels,he added.

The minister also spoke on the issue of cement industry posing threat to the ecology and admitted the need for an environment assessment of the areas where such plants are located or proposed. He said an independent National Environment Protection Authority is proposed at the national level,which will monitor implementation of the guidelines given to the promoters of hydel projects to protect the environment. “In the last 20 years,the guidelines have been violated as there was no one to monitor them,” said the minister.

Speaking on forestry issues,the minister said the Indian forestry needed to change its mindset of considering people as enemies of forests,adding that the ministry would shortly take measures to set this right.

The minister said there should be a limit to hydro-electric projects on rivers. “The projects can not be allotted based on the environment impact assessment of one project. It will wreak havoc with the ecology. It has to be a comprehensive assessment of the entire river basin,” he said.

Ramesh said he had already issued directions to have an assessment of the entire river basin of Tiesta,adding that the exercise would be carried out on other rivers too.

He said the Centre proposed to declare 130-kilometre stretch of the Ganga from Gaumukh to Rishikesh as eco-sensitive zone,but the matter had to be sorted out in consultation with the Uttarakhand government.