Encephalitis taking a huge toll

85 children between 3-13 years died at Gaya's Anugrah Narain Medical College and Hospital. Governments are at sea.

Kumari Chitra/ Gaya (Muzaffarpur)

It is a great irony when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, now on much-hyped Sewa Yatra in his obvious pan-Indian scheme of things, has started working on health cards of over three crore children between six and 14 years under Nayi Pidhi Swasthya Guarantee Scheme, state health department has little clue on suspected encephalitis/ brain fever/ cerebral malaria in Gaya and Muzaffarpur reporting 137 deaths in last four months. Precisely, over 500 children were admitted in two Muzaffarpur hospitals and one Gaya hospital.

Eighty five children between three and 13 years died at Gaya's Anugrah Narain Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH) and 20 have been still undergoing treatment. Of 390 admissions in Gaya - from Gaya,

Aurangabad, Arwal and Chatra and Palamu Jharkhand), those who returned home are also not without neuro-psychiatric side-effects.

While Muzaffar[ur hospitals have no cases now, Gaya is in thick of news with National Centre of Disease Control (NDCD), Delhi and National Institute of Virology (NIV) teams visiting Gaya's premier government hospital and "fine tuning" diagnosis being offered and most importantly, collecting blood samples.

But it has been part of routine process every year: Central teams come, seldom give their reports. Doctors here are left with little option but to offer symptomatic treatment, which is so predictable.

These patients often come with complaints of acute convulsions (chamki

in local parlance), high grade fever, unconsciousness leading patients to go into coma at times and vomiting in some cases. ANMCH doctors have pasted the line of treatment at entrance of children's wards. Nurses find it comprehensive but not conclusive.

A visit to Gaya hospital shows there are constraints. Only generator for back-up power supply has not been working for days. X-ray machine has also gone out of order. There is no bed-to-bed oxygen point to meet emergency situations. Oxygen cylinders have to be moved from ward to ward manually.

But Gaya hospital administration calls it trifle complaints. They pat their back with death figures and its comparison with global mortality percentage. Dr AK Ravi, head of department of pediatrics at the hospital, good at explaining medical jargons to journos, said: "We reported only 21 per cent death as against global mortality rate of 40 per cent".

He, however, is surely worried that all types - four in all - of encephalitis are not detected and diagnosed. Though Gaya cases were mostly Japanese Encephalitis, Bihar hospitals had no wherewithal to test non-JE cases. Doctors also did not rule out possibility of some Gaya encephalitis cases being similar to Gorakhpur cases, mostly acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), which can be cerebral or bacterial meningitis and other unknown types.

The hospital also blamed NCDC, Delhi, which had already taken 30 blood samples from the hospital, had not yet given its reports. Bihar medical hospitals can only diagnose JE cases with Elisa test of cerebral spinal fluid. The 100 per cent confirmatory test - Advanced Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR - is available only at NIV, Pune. Elisa can test category I and II of encephalitis cases marked by high fever, convulsions and occasional vomiting. Elisa test, however, cannot diagnose Category III case which has same

symptoms with non-JE virus. Muzaffarpur, where 52 patients died of suspected encephalitis this year, might fall in category four, indeterminate type. Of 40 samples collected from Muzaffarpur, no JE case was confirmed. The state government, whose JE vaccination programme is not going great, has readymade excuse to offer - even JE vaccination will not prevent spurt of encephalitis every year. They blame it on low-lying temporal region suitable to encephalitis virus, some of them still not known.

Bihar principal health secretary Amarjit Sinha said there was little the state government could do besides offering symptomatic treatment.

He also did not rule out some AES cases in Gaya and Muzaffarpur but then, there was no evidence in absence of sophisticated test. Bihar hospitals can test only category I and II - which is JE and probable JE - with same symptoms but coming from different tempral regions. The third category has AES that can be cerebral malaria, bacterial meningitis and cerebral meningitis. The fourth category disease can have same symptoms but high degree of acuteness because of presence of non-JE virus.

But one thing was similar in both regions reporting these cases. Almost 90 per cent patients came from poor socio-economic background. In Nitish Kmar's definition, they are Mahadalits (read schedule castes), rearing pigs, living bare-chested amidst flies and mosquitoes. Ask any one about fumigation and DDT spray, they will put the question back to you - What is all this?

Take case of Phulwanti (10), daughter of Surendra Kumar, a small farmer from Atri, at Gaya hospital. "She has yet been able to keep her right hand and leg straight. She also cannot take food properly," said Kumar wishing everything will be alright soon. He said with media intervention and expert teams frequenting the hospital, the level of alertness has surely increased. But they want permanent cure. Another summer, they may complain same problems.

Jhunnu (7) from Arwal has been admitted with similar complaints of convulsion and high fever. Jhunnu has also shown some improvements but his brother Nawlesh is deeply concerned. Nawlesh says doctors have been coming four times these days after frequent media and expert teams visit.

Dr A K Ravi said: "We have been offering best services under limited staff constraints. No patient has gone to any private hospital. There is no sure-shot cure for encephalitis in absence of 100 per cent diagnosis". Dr Ravi conceded that the hospital should be provided wherewithal to diagnose category III cases so that AES can be treated with definite line of treatment. He, however, said Gaya cases had no parallel with Muzaffarpur cases falling under "category IV of

indeterminate" cases. He said most cases came from areas rearing pigs, vectors of JE virus.

Bihar government has approached Union health ministry for a comprehensive study to decode the disease striking Muzaffarpur and adjoining districts since 1995 during or before monsoon. "Litchi plants and mosquitoes present in the region can be studied", suggested Dr Arun Shah, a leading Muzaffarpur pediatrician, also president of Indian Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr Shah said NIV that already ruled out Japanese Encephalitis needed brain tissues to decode any virus or any other type of disease. The NIV team visiting Muzaffarpur hospitals suggested that brain tissues would tell if it is any other viral encephalitis, some kind of meningitis, Ray's Syndrome, cerebral malaria or heat stroke. He added all these diseases had symptoms of fever and convulsions, as being reported in Muzaffarpur.

Dr Shah said they learnt from experience that the disease subsided with mercury shooting down. The mystery disease outbreak hit Muzaffarpur first in 1995 and continued to cause deaths in subsequent years. ICMR or any other medical body has not conducted any research on Muzaffarpur or Gaya.

The safest option for state health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey is to play blame game with Centre and seek reports from central teams.

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar's vision of healthy new generation may well have to wait.

Changing face of Indian Post

Alkesh Tyagi/ New Delhi

Along with its mandated obligation of delivering mails, it also provides the necessary infrastructure for providing economic activities…

Discarding its traditional image India Post is emerging as a socially committed, technology driven and forward looking organization. The huge network of 1, 55,015 Post Offices across India of which 1, 39,144 are in rural areas is the largest postal network in the world. India Post has so far introduced 850 franchised outlets to cater to the demand where it is not possible to open departmental post offices. This network not only helps meet the social obligation of providing essential postal services to all citizens but also provides the necessary infrastructure for providing economic activities in these areas. Progressive use of computers and thus connected network of post offices on a single integrated platform presents an opportunity to India Post to retail products and services of other service providers.

Changed mail profile has substantially increased volume of mail in Business-to-Customer and Business-to-Business segments. Changing economic scenario has enhanced expectations of common man in terms of services and facilities. The Governments and corporate sector have decided to use credibility and huge network of India Post to reach out to the masses.

Some of the services being rendered through post offices are: National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) -The Department of Posts has been given the responsibility to disburse the wages to NREGS beneficiaries through Post Office Savings Bank account. Starting with Andhra Pradesh Postal Circle in 2006, the payment of wages under NREGS is currently operational in 19 Postal Circles comprising 21 States. The scheme is operational through 1, 00,000(one lakh) post offices. Nearly 4.9 crore(5.04) NREGS accounts have been opened up to March 2011(July2011), and the amount disbursed in this financial year (20010-11) alone amounts to Rs. 7300 crore.

The India Post has tied up with State Bank of India to sell its assets and liability products through identified post offices. Initially, the scheme was started in five states; the scheme was later extended to 23 States and Union Territories. The total number of different kinds of accounts opened is 1.04 lakhs and total assets sold up to Rs.17 crores.

The Department of Posts in collaboration with NABARD is providing the facility of micro-credit to Self Help Groups (SHGs) through identified post offices on agency basis. The corpus fund for implementing this project is given by NABARD. The pilot is in operation in five districts involving seven divisions of Tamil Nadu Circle. The revolving fund assistance has been raised to Rs.3 crores. There are 1200 SHGs benefitting from the scheme.

As a tie-up with Reliance Money Limited, sale of gold coins has been launched in October 2008 in selected post offices. Scheme is available in 672 Post Offices in 21 States.

Old Age Pension is being paid through 20 lakh Post Office Savings accounts in Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand and North East, and through Money Order in J&K, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

The Department of Posts has been assisting other public authorities under the Central Government in implementing the Right to Information Act (RTI) by providing services of its designated Central Assistant Public Information Officers (CAPIOs). Sub Post Masters at Tehsil level act as the CAPIO for accepting RTI requests and appeals. The Department has designated 4000 Post offices as receipt points for RTI applications and forwarding to public authorities. An RTI software has been got developed to deal with such applications.

The scheme for sale of railway tickets through post offices is presently operative at 170 locations, and will be extended to rural areas also.

Ministry of Statistics and program implementation (MOSPI) has entrusted the job of collecting statistics for ascertaining the Rural Price Index from 1183 post offices across the country with effect from October 2009. Branch Post masters collect prices of 185 to 292 commodities on fixed week days. The data so collected is electronically transmitted to MOSPI. Department of Posts has earned revenue of Rs. 7.33 crores from this activity.

Department of Posts is striving to provide complete solution for delivering the Unique Identification Number to all the residents in the country. The Department of Posts with its vast network of post offices is the only organization in the country that can provide an end to end comprehensive solution to the requirements of the UIDAI in this regard. The mandate of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to provide a Unique Identification Number to each and every resident of the country.

Courtesy: PIB Feature

Tea Board neglect small tea farmers

Sankar Ray/ Kolkata

More than 86 per cent of small growers in India continue to be outside the ambit of regulations…

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its performance audit report (PAR) on Tea Board of India, the apex monitoring authority on tea economy which is a mix of agriculture and industry, indicted the latter for virtually looking down upon several thousand small tea growers or tea farmers who sell tea-leaves to large tea companies which in turn convert them into made-teas for the market.

"Even after more than five decades of existence, Tea Board has failed to discharge even its basic regulatory role effectively. More than 86 per cent of small growers in India continue to be outside the ambit of regulations by the Tea Board. System of inspection for regulating the activities of various shareholders was weak and non-transparent. Tea Board was not able to ensure submission of business information by stake holders so as to exercise effective control on their activities", the CAG stated in its PAR, submitted to the department of commerce, Government of India. The DoC oversees and monitors the functioning of Tea Board.

Small-growers have a conspicuous presence due to a strong co-operative movement in Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris in particular, unlike in two largest tea-producing states, Assam and West Bengal .There are co-operative factories in Nilgiris to small tea growers with very small holdings sell their produce at remunerative prices. They formed a central organisation of 15 Industrial Cooperative Tea Factories - Tamilnadu Small Tea Growers Industrial Cooperative Tea Factories' Federation Limited (INDCOSERVE). In fact, the Indcoserve and Industrial Cooperative Tea Factories are the largest producers and sellers of tea in Nilgiris with a 17 per cent share in total production in the state.

The Indcoserve set up a network of services for co-operative tea factories along with warehousing facilities in Coonoor, Coimbatore and Cochin. Supply of fertilizers and jute bags for packing of tea, machinery spares, and other inputs to the small tea grower members through tea factories are a part of the network. Small wonder, Tea Board admitted in its reply, 16.904 small tea estates have been officially registered and 75,332 are registered provisionally.

In contrast, DoC concedes, "In Assam, most of the small growers do not possess the required land documents to establish their ownership. Because of this reason, as against, 69,000 small growers in Assam, as of date, only 3943 growers have been registered with the Tea Board.

Rather, the situation is slightly better in northern part of West Bengal, the tea-growing segment of the state . Small tea growers in north Bengal have made an all-out effort to form self-help groups and subsequently, co-operative societies to set up bought-leaf factories in order to generate better financial resources. They formed a body, United Forum of Small Tea Growers Association which submitted a proposal to the Tea Board for setting up a bought-leaf factory under a co-operative ownership.

However all this is in a very rudimentary stage. There are about 28,000 small tea growers producing 225 million kg of tealeaves on an average a year. The Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bangalore and Tea Board organised a workshop for the small growers a couple of years back. It was agreed that new bushes produce good quality teas, provided proper adoption techniques are imparted to the growers. Self-help groups the UFSTGA envisions, is of Kenyan model.

Tea Board secretariat is sympathetic towards small-growers but large estates that dominate the Indian Tea Association and Tea Association of India are a hindrance to self-reliance of small growers. This powerful lobby wants to keep buying green leaves at low prices and mint high profits using the under-utilised capacities in in-situ factories in large tea estates. Tea Board has granted financial assistance to the state governments of Assam, West Bengal and Tripura for a survey for enumerating small tea growers. The reports are awaited. Hopefully, Tea Board will submit a plan for a comprehensive development of small tea sector in view of the growing demand for the non-alcoholic and medicinally strong beverage in India and abroad.

End of an era as the doyen of tribal culture dies

Vasavi Kiro/Ranchi(Jharkhand)

Noted tribal scholar and leader has passed away on September 30, leaving behind a dream for his friends and followers - to unite bring about social harmony which used to be the hallmark of tribal villages and to sing and dance together just as the forefathers did a few decades back.

'Je nachi, se bachi,' (one who dances, will survive) Dr Ram Dayal Munda often said whenever he discussed about art, culture and tradition which is fast disappearing in this age of consumerism. Traditional villages, not only in Jharkhand but in other states of the country as well, villages met at one place where they would share their joys and sorrows of the day and often play the musical instruments and sing.

In Jharkhand, this place is called 'akhra' where the tribal and non-tribal villagers would gather in the evening after day's hard work. If two villagers are at angry with each other over some matter, they would reconcile there and join each other in songs and dance.

This tradition, however, started witnessing hiccups after industrialization and consumerism started replacing the traditional values of the society, thereby breaking the society where villagers shared their joys and sorrows with each other. Ram Dayal, unhappy with the erosion of values, had thought of a way to save the culture. It was through songs and dances at the 'akhra'-the common place of the village.

Born in Deori near Tamar of Jharkhand in 1939, Munda in 1963 went to the US to study at Chicago University, Ram Dayal was an associate professor at department of South Asia Studies in Minnesota University when the then Vice-Chancellor of Ranchi University Dr Kumar Suresh Singh decided to open a Post-Graduate Department for Tribal and Regional Languages at his varsity. In 1982, Ram Dayal left USA, where he taught for nearly 17 years and decided to come back to Jharkhand. He set up an akhra at the Tribal and Regional Language department of Ranchi University with sakhua and karam trees in the middle.

His dream was to modernize the akhra in the Jharkhand villages equipping them with facilities like computers, library and meeting halls. He has donated Rs 95 lakh from the Rajya Sabha member's area development fund to Ranchi district which will develop his idea of setting up a modern akhra at Tagore Hill and make it into a cultural centre for Jharkhand.

Ram Dayal, after coming from the USA, played a very important role in separate Jharkhand movement. It was then that separate statehood movement had picked up tempo in Jharkhand. With his close associate Dr Bisheshwar Prasad Kesri, also a professor with Tribal and Regional Language department of Ranchi University constituted All Jharkhand Students' Union (AJSU) in early 9180s. The students' body later played a very crucial role in the separate statehood movement of Jharkhand.

Then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, after visiting Jharkhand, had asked tribal leaders to present a report on why a separate Jharkhand was necessary. With Ram Dayal as its chief architect, the report paved the way for the new state.

Ram Dayal, though a scholar and probably a world leader of indigenous people-he took part in the annual conventions of Permanent Forums for Indigenous People at United Nations and voiced the issues related to the indigenous people, had no political acumen. Though Jharkhand People's Party, a political wing of AJSU had been formed with his leadership, he later fought elections as candidates from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Janata Dal and Indian National Congress. However, he could never win an election.

Dr. Munda, who also served as Vice-Chancellor of Ranchi University, retired from active teaching in 1999 but his involvement with the cultural mobilization of the people continued which also included his active policy making at the UN Working Group on Indigenous People at Geneva and the UN Forum of Indigenous Issues in New York, in the capacity of a senior official of the ICITP, an all India tribal led and managed movement.

Dr. Munda authored several books including 'Adi Daharm'- a book on tribal religion and was a consultant and participant in important issues of the tribal people of the country. He represented India in the Festival of India in the USSR, and other cultural events in China, Japan and the South East, besides participating at the World Social Forum conferences in India.

For his contribution towards performing arts, Dr Munda was honoured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (for the year 2007). Later in 2010, he was awarded with Padma Shree award by President Pratibha Patil, who later nominated him to the Rajya Sabha.

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi had later inducted Dr Munda as a member of National Advisory Council that advises the Prime Minister on crucial issues-a body which is chaired by her.

Dr Munda has left behind his son Ekir Gunjal and wife Amita, apart from thousands of associates and followers in Jharkhand and other parts of the country.n

(The author is a member of Jharkhand State Commission for Women and also a close associate of Dr Munda)

रेणुका बांध, विनाशकाले विपरीत बुद्धि

मीनाक्षी अरोड़ा और सिराज केसर

दिल्ली जल बोर्ड (डीजेबी) हिमाचल प्रदेश पॉवर कार्पोरेशन लिमिटेड (एचपीपीसीएल) के साथ मिलकर अपनी पानी की जरूरतों को पूरा करने के लिए ददाहू कस्बे के पास गिरि नदी पर एक बांध बनाने की कोशिश में जुटा है। यह कस्बा हिमाचल के सिरमौर जिले में है। गिरि नदी पर बन रहे रेणुका बांध के तुगलकी फरमान के तहत ददाहू (सिरमौर, हिमाचल) के 37 गांवों के कम से कम 6000 लोग विस्थापित होंगे, 1600 हेक्टेअर जमीन बांध में जलमग्न हो जायेगी, जिनमें ज्यादातर अति उपजाऊ जमीनें या घने जैवविविधता वाले जंगल हैं। गिरि नदी यमुना नदी की सहायक नदी है। इस स्थान पर 148 मीटर ऊंचे बांध बनने का मतलब है काफी घरों, खेतों- जंगलों और रेणुका वन्यजीव अभ्यारण्य के भी एक हिस्से को डूब जाने का खतरा।

148 मीटर ऊंचे बांध की वजह से लगभग 24 किमी. लंबा कृत्रिम जलाशय बनेगा और उसमें डूब जायेंगे 18 लाख पेड़। रेणुका बांध निर्माण में गलतबयानी के कई नमूने उजागर हुए हैं। रेणुका बांध संघर्ष समिति के पूरनचंद कहते हैं कि किसी भी तरह गिन लीजिए 15 लाख पेड़ से ज्यादा ही बैठेगा। हुआ वही। एचपीपीसीएल ने डूब क्षेत्र में पेड़ों की गिनती करने के लिए शुरू में जिन ठेकेदारों को रखा था उन्होंने लगभग 18 लाख पेड़ बताए। एचपीपीसीएल के नौकरशाहों को लगा कि इतने ज्यादा पेड़ों की गिनती बांध परियोजना को ‘फॉरेस्ट क्लीयरेंस’ मिलने में दिक्कत पैदा करेगा। यह जानकारी आम जन तक पहुँचे इसके पहले एचपीपीसीएल को कुछ नये आंकड़े लाने थे। उन्होंने ‘टेस्ट चेक’ करवाए। उस हिसाब से भी 12 लाख 65 हजार पेड़ की गिनती बनती थी। इस आंकड़े से भी बांध परियोजना को ‘फॉरेस्ट क्लीयरेंस’ मिलने में बाधा थी। ऐसे में एचपीपीसीएल के नौकरशाह नई चाल चल रहे हैं। डूब क्षेत्र में आने वाले किसानों की जमीनों पर खड़े पेड़, चारागाहों की जमीनों पर खड़े पेड़, ग्रामसभा और सरकारी जमीनों पर खड़े पेड़ों की गिनती कम करने की फिराक में लगे हुए हैं। ले-देकर फिर बचा केवल रिजर्व फॉरेस्ट का एरिया और वन्य जीव अभ्यारण्य का क्षेत्र और उन पर फैले 1 लाख 51 हजार 439 पेड़। अब नये आंकड़ों को निकालने के लिए पेड़ों की फिर से गिनती हो रही है। जोड़-तोड़कर एचपीपीसीएल बांध परियोजना पर फॉरेस्ट क्लीयरेंस लेने की कोशिश में लगा हुआ है।

ऐसे में एचपीपीसीएल की एक और नई साजिश देखने में आ रही है कि वह लोगों को जल्दी से जल्दी मुआवजा देना चाहता है ताकि लोगों के लालच को उभारा जा सके। जिन गांवों में एचपीपीसीएल के अनुसार पेड़ों की गिनती पूरी हो चुकी है उनको जल्दी से जल्दी मुआवजा देने की कोशिश की जा रही है। क्योंकि ऐसे में गांव वालों को यह लगता है कि अब मुआवजा मिल ही चुका है, तो ये पेड़ सरकारी हो चुके हैं। इन पेड़ों को नौकरशाहों के मुह लगे ठेकेदार काटें इससे पहले ही वे खुद काट लेते हैं। ये ऐसी सुनियोजित साजिश है जिसमें पेड़ गांव के लोग खुद ही काट रहे हैं और एचपीपीसीएल के बांध परियोजना में बाधा जंगल और पेड़ों की गिनती अपने आप कम होती जा रही है।

एचपीपीसीएल को इस बांध परियोजना के लिए अभी कई वैधानिक मंजूरियों की जरूरत है। इसके बावजूद भूमि अधिग्रहण की धारा 17(4) के तहत जमीन अधिग्रहण की जा रही है। यह धारा सभी तरह की आपत्तियों को दरकिनार करते हुए तत्काल जमीन अधिग्रहण का रास्ता साफ करती है। देश में 18 से ज्यादा ऐसे कानून हैं जिनसे सरकारें जमीन अधिग्रहण करती हैं। हजारों बांध परियोजनाओं के लिए जमीन अधिग्रहण करके लाखों हेक्टेयर जंगल हम डूबो चुके हैं। मजेदार बात यह है कि आजादी के 64 साल बाद भी ‘वन या जंगल क्या होता है’ इसकी कोई परिभाषा नहीं बनाई जा सकी है। कोई क्षेत्र वन क्षेत्र क्यों होता है और वन क्षेत्र कैसे घोषित किया जाता है। इसका पर्यावरण और वन मंत्रालय के पास कोई जवाब नहीं है। अभी हाल ही में एक आरटीआई में मांगी गई सूचना के जवाब में पर्यावरण मंत्रालय के ‘ग्रीन इंडिया मिशन’ के संयुक्त सचिव बृजमोहन सिंह राठौर का कहना है कि हम अब भी वनों की परिभाषा पर काम कर रहे हैं और एक बार यह परिभाषा तय हो जाने के बाद बता दिया जाएगा। पर्यावरण और वन मंत्रालय के आधिकारिक दस्तावेज बताते हैं कि भारतीय वन कानून 1927 वनों को परिभाषित नहीं करता और जंगलों क कानूनी सीमा अधिसूचनाओं की प्रक्रिया पर निर्भर करती है। जरूरतों के लिए सर्वोच्च न्यायालय के 1996 के फैसले के आधार पर वनों को परिभाषित किया जाता है। इस फैसले में कहा गया था कि शब्दकोश में दी गई परिभाषा या किसी सरकारी दस्तावेज में वनों के नाम से दर्ज भूमि के रिकार्ड के आधार पर किसी इलाके को वन माना जा सकता है। हास्यास्पद बात यह है कि वनों की कोई मान्य परिभाषा न होने के बावजूद देश में वानिकी मिशन (ग्रीन इंडिया मिशन) को मंजूरी दी गई है। यह मिशन जलवायु परिवर्तन पर राष्ट्रीय कार्ययोजना की आठ परियोजनाओं में से एक है। ‘ग्रीन इंडिया मिशन’ पर 450 करोड़ रुपए खर्च करके एक करोड़ हेक्टेयर भूमि को 2020 तक वनों से आच्छादित करने की बात करता है।

पेड़ों के लिए लम्बी लड़ाई लड़ रहे जेपी डबराल कहते हैं कि इंसानी लालच के चलते हमारी पेड़ों की अमूल्य धरोहर हमसे छीनती जा रही है। चंद पैसों के लिए हम पर्यावरण को बेच रहे हैं। किसी भी परियोजना में प्रतिपूरक वनीकरण एक मजाक जैसा ही है। रेणुका बांध की वजह से कट रहे 15 लाख पेड़ के प्रतिपूरण में 15 हजार पेड़ भी लगा लें तो बड़ी बात होगी। गिरि के डाऊनस्ट्रीम में पड़ने वाले कई कस्बों में पानी का संकट हो जाएगा। उद्योगपति सुबोध अभि जो जन एकता समिति से जुड़े हैं, कहते हैं कि अब तो यह बात साफ हो गयी है कि बांधों में गाद के साथ-साथ ही ऑर्गेनिक मटीरियल भी जमा हो जाते हैं और वे मीथेन गैस पैदा कर रहे हैं। बांध जितने पुराने होते हैं, मीथेन उत्सर्जन की मात्रा बढ़ती जाती है। पर्यावरण मंत्रालय इसको भी पर्यावरण मूल्यांकन में शामिल करने की बात तो करती है। पर करती नहीं।

दिल्ली - लालच

दिल्ली के इतिहास में एक रोचक प्रसंग दिल्ली के सुल्तान तुगलक के काल का है, जब उसने 1326 में दिल्ली से राजधानी उठाकर दौलताबाद (देवगिरी, अहमदनगर, महाराष्ट्र ) ले जाने का प्रयास किया था। दिल्ली से 700 मील दूर दौलताबाद लोग जाने को तैयार नहीं थे, जो नहीं जाना चाहते उन्हें डंडे के जोर पर ले जाने का फरमान हुआ। हां दौलताबाद राजधानी तो बना नहीं पर इस तुगलकी फरमान से हजारों लोग रास्ते में मर गए और दिल्ली काफी वक्त के लिए उजाड़ हो गई थी।

दिल्ली अपने तुगलकी फरमान के उसी रास्ते पर चल रही है। दिल्ली से 250 किमी दूर रेणुका बांध दिल्ली में पानी की कमी को पूरा करने के लिए बनाया जा रहा है। पर लगता तो ऐसा है कि दिल्ली की प्यास शायद ही बुझाई जा सकती है। दिल्ली राजनीतिक और आर्थिक शक्तियों का इस्तेमाल करके आसपास के इलाकों और प्रदेशों का पानी छीनकर प्यास बुझाने में लगी हुई है। भाखड़ा नांगल बांध, टिहरी बांध के बाद अब रेणुका बांध पर नजरें गड़ाए हुए हैं इसके साथ ही यमुना से पानी का और ज्यादा हिस्सा, उत्तराखंड में किसाऊ और लखावर-व्यासी बांध से भी पानी पाने की भी उम्मीद किए हुए है। दिल्ली मुख्यतः ‘दौलताबाद’ यानी लम्बी दूरियों से आयात किये जाने वाले पानी पर निर्भर है। इसके बावजूद दिल्ली में लाइसेंस प्राप्त पानी के बॉटलिंग प्लांट, दिल्ली जल बोर्ड एवं रेलवे के प्लांट सहित, गोल्फ कोर्स, वाटर पार्क आदि बहुत सारी टाली जा सकने वाली जल आधारित गैर जरूरी गतिविधियों की अनुमति जारी है। ऐसे में दिल्ली लम्बी दूरी से पानी लाने को कैसे जायज ठहरा सकती है, जबकि ऐसे गैर-जरूरी पानी की खपत वाली गतिविधियों के जारी रहने की अनुमति है? भारत के सभी शहरों में दिल्ली में प्रति व्यक्ति जल आपूर्ति सबसे ज्यादा है। यहां जल आपूर्ति 200 लीटर प्रति व्यक्ति से ज्यादा है जबकि अगर अन्य शहरों पर नजर डालें तो बंगलुरु (74),चेन्नई (87). कोलकाता (130) और मुंबई (191) है। 11वीं पंचवर्षीय योजना के दस्तावेजों में भी यह बात स्वीकार की गई है कि दिल्ली में प्रति व्यक्ति जलापूर्ति पेरिस से भी ज्यादा है। हांलाकि दिल्ली में पानी के वितरण की असमानताएं इन संख्याओं में दिखाई नहीं देती। सच तो यह है कि दिल्ली को जितना ज्यादा पानी मिलता है। यह उतना ही बेपरवाही से इसका इस्तेमाल भी करता है। दिल्ली जल बोर्ड के निजीकरण के लिए जोर देते समय दिल्ली जल आपूर्ति और सीवेज परियोजना )निरस्त( के तहत विश्व बैंक ने इस बात की ओर ध्यान दिलाया कि दिल्ली का 40 प्रतिशत पानी पुराने और टूटे-फूटे पाइपों की वजह से बर्बाद हो जाता है। यानी दिल्ली लगभग 720 एमजीडी पानी की आपूर्ति करता है और नुकसान 288 एमजीडी का होता है। यह नुकसान ही रेणुका परियोजना से की जाने वाली जल आपूर्ति से ज्यादा है। तो इसका मतलब यह हुआ कि रेणुका बांध सिर्फ इसलिए बनाया जा रहा है कि पानी बर्बाद करने वाले इस बेपरवाह शहर के लीकेज और नुकसान की भरपाई की जा सके।

पर जब विनाशकाले विपरीत बुद्धि हो तो ...?

रेणुका परियोजना से प्रभावित होने वाले 37 गांवों के लोग विस्थापन पुनर्वास और मुआवजे जैसे मुद्दे उठा रहे हैं पहले तो उन्हें परियोजना से जुड़े अधिकारियों के वादों पर यकीन था कि उन्हें अच्छे से अच्छा पुनर्वास और मुआवजा दिया जाएगा। बाद में जब उन्होंने देखा कि जमीन के बदले में कोई जमीन नहीं थी बस उनके नुकसान के लिए मात्र कुछ रुपयों की पेशकश की गई थी। अंत में जमीन की जो कीमत पेश की गई उससे तो लोगों का भ्रम पूरी तरह टूट गया। सिरमौर जिले में जहां एक बीघा जमीन का दाम 8-12 लाख के बीच था वहीं उन्हें पचास हजार से डेढ़ लाख प्रति बीघा की पेशकश की गई थी। यानी इतना थोड़ा पैसा कि वह अपनी जमीन खोकर उस पैसे से कहीं और जमीन खरीदने की स्थिति में नहीं थे। कुल मिलाकर देश में चल रही बाकी और परियोजना की तरह इन्हें भी बेघर और भुखमरी के जीवन में ढकेल दिया जाएगा। स्थानीय निवासियों ने अब रेणुका बांध का विरोध करने का पूरी तरह मन बना लिया है। अब उन्होंने इस परियोजना के आधार पर भी उंगलिया उठानी शुरू कर दी है। उनका कहना है कि अगर दिल्ली गिरि नदी का पानी इस्तेमाल करना ही चाहता है तो उसमें डैम बनाने की क्या जरूरत है यही पानी तो यमुना में बहकर दिल्ली तक जाता ही है। पर जब विनाशकाले विपरीत बुद्धि हो तो....?

- लेखक द्वय इंडिया वाटर पोर्टल हिन्दी से जुड़े हुए हैं।