Once again - the Kerwa tiger

Very encouraging reports have been appearing in the newspapers about the forests around the Kerwa and Kaliasot dams close to Bhopal, a town of more than 1.8 million people. The camera traps installed to monitor the movement of the tiger that has repeatedly been seen in these forests have recorded a thriving wildlife population. Apart from the tiger, among the animals trapped in the camera are leopards, bears, wild boars, foxes and a species of cat that has so far defied identification and has not been seen for quite some time. It is through the instrumentality of the tiger that the forest department has acquired the knowledge about the presence of several species of wildlife in these forests. That they have survived for so long in the vicinity of such a large town despite the depredations of unthinking men is quite a wonder. None, however, knows how diverse the flora in these jungles is.

I recall having read in the net some of the impressions of these jungles recorded by a few former students of the National Law Institute University, an institution of national repute, built close to Kerwa. They used to go on treks in the jungles surrounding the Institute and had recorded glowing reports about them. They did not see tigers but they used to frequently see the other big cat, the leopard, apart from various other herbivores. These boys would venture into the forests for the sake of pleasure meaning no harm to their denizens. However, with the news of the wildlife population appearing in the press now, shikaris have started frequenting the forests. Fortunately the forest department has got wise about the goings on, thanks to the frequent sightings of the tiger.

The tiger seems to have settled down in this environment. Barring a few cattle-kills it has not harmed humans so far. In fact, according to reports that appeared in the vernacular press, a herder even chased it away with the help of his cane. Apparently, it finds the habitat conducive (recently reported to be excellent) and has, therefore, not moved back to where it came from, presumably the Ratapani sanctuary. As indicated earlier, either the prey-base has shrunk or the tiger numbers have gone up far too much for it to find itself comfortable in the sanctuary. The sanctuary should have become a tiger reserve but for the intervention of the Chief Minister who appears to be somewhat anti-tiger conservation. The Ministry of Environment & Forest of the government of India has already approved its conversion into a tiger reserve.

The forest department has, however, been mulling various options to deal with the tiger which, it seems, is kind of a problem for them. There was a proposal to fence off the Kerwa and Kaliasot dam areas. The latest, however, is to relocate it to Madhav National Park Shivpuri, which from available reports has inadequate prey-base to support tigers. There were reports of a tiger residing in it but it seems to have moved away to adjoining Kuno-Palpur forests. One wonders as to why the department is keen to take this trouble. If a tiger that is the denizen of the forest is confining itself within its boundaries there seems to be no reason to physically move it to as far away as Shivpuri. Quite rightly, an experienced forest officer, the former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, JJ Dutta, has reminded the department of the case of the tiger that was relocated to Panna from the Pench Tiger Reserve. Guided by its strong homing instinct, it had started marching towards Pench. Luckily it was not poached before it was apprehended scores of miles away from Panna Tiger Reserve. Another forest old-timer, PM Lad, in whose time Van Vihar was created, has said that it is the humans who have encroached into the tiger territory and not vice versa. He felt that any harm coming to the tiger in relocating it would make a dent in the process of conservation of the species.

Obviously, everyone, including wildlife experts, wants the tiger to be allowed to rest in peace in the surroundings it finds congenial. One wonders whether the forest department, led by the Forest Minister, is being forced into action by colonisers and/or construction lobbies who are very close to the current government. One recalls that the tiger is moving in areas that include Chandanpura where the Sanskaar Valley School of the Dainik Bhaskar Group is located and where land-use change was proposed in the now-cancelled Bhopal Development Plan 2021. Curiously, all the forest areas around the town are being eyed by these lobbies and, perhaps, that is the reason for widening of the road to Kerwa that has been undertaken at the cost of about 10000 trees which are going to be felled.

Instead of translocating the tiger the forest department would do well to listen to voices of reason and take steps to ensure that it is comfortable in the forests of Kerwa and Kaliasot and that it in no way harms the humans in and around them. Such an action would retain the biodiversity of these jungles in their natural state for the benefit of everyone, including the people of Bhopal who, in fact, will benefit the most for reasons that hardly need reiteration. If for this reason the forests would need to be fenced, so be it.

Bhopal roads inflict ordeal on citizens

What was once only feared has now come true. The dug up roads are causing not only inconvenience, they have also been instrumental in increasing sickness among the citizens. The Hindustan Times recently came out with an “unsettling” report based on the opinion of medical experts which suggested a rise in respiratory problems due to dust floating around in the city. Citing as evidence the contentions of some medical professionals, it was reported that nasal and respiratory allergies among the people are on the rise. Citizens of various localities have reported that constant inhalation of dust has led to sore throat and frequent sneezing. Among the factors that have contributed to rise are mainly the dust kicked up by the vehicles from the roads that have been dug up and ceaseless construction in the town.

The newspaper has also reported that the problem has been compounded by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) which chopped down thousands of trees, many of them massive and decades old, in the on-going process of creating a BRTS corridor. Trees not only bind the loose earth, they also absorb a lot of dust, noise and atmospheric pollution. Among other benefits “Streetswiki” says “Street trees are a key feature of a liveable neighbourhood. Urban trees have significant and multiple benefits, from energy and water conservation to reduced road maintenance costs. A major transportation benefit is the favourable impact of mature trees on the pedestrian environment, particularly in urban areas. New evidence suggests roadside trees also increase traffic safety. While selecting, planting, and maintaining street trees present challenges, the benefits of trees far outweigh their costs. Cities can maximize these benefits through aggressive tree planting and maintenance programs.”

The Corporation has not made any efforts to substitute the felled trees by new plantations along the new corridor. A few months back when the Commissioner BMC accompanied the Principal Secretary Urban Administration & Development to a meeting of the Bhopal Citizens’ Forum he was asked about his plans of compensatory plantation along the upcoming corridor. He replied that a few thousand trees had been planted on a hill beyond Shahpura miles away from the town. There was no plan to plant trees along the roads. Obviously, like many other officials, he is not aware of the benefits of roadside trees. This is what has been the bane of India. A glaring example of the differences in our attitudes and those of the British is Delhi. While Lutyen’s Delhi has surfeit of roadside trees of native varieties, at places in double rows, the later additions to the expanding city like the settlements along the Ring Road are bereft of trees. The Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road have hardly any roadside trees.

The dug-up roads are another kind of scourge on those who ply the streets. The other day an auto-driver told me how not only his auto-rickshaw has repeated breakdowns because of the uneven, potholes and ditches-infested roads, his consumption of fuel has also gone up because he can never maintain an even pace. On top of that there have been repeated fuel price hikes. All these, plus the expensive medical attention needed because of exposure to acute pollution, have been cutting into his income. This applies to all those who have to commute in the city. BMC has been instrumental in whittling down the disposable incomes of the locals because of its lethargy and incompetence.

None knows when the ordeal of the people will come to end. Jaipur also created a corridor but it completed it within two and a half years flat. The Rajasthan government had established a special purpose vehicle to carry out the work. The Bhopal Citizens’ Forum had requested the chief secretary to create an empowered task force comprising technical and financial experts for enabling quick decisions in carrying out the works of JNNURM to prevent cost and time overruns but he, apparently, did not think it fit to pay heed to the Forum’s counsel. As on date, not one stretch of BRTS corridor is fully done and the commuters necessarily have to negotiate several lengths which are bouncy and dusty and at places barricaded. Looks like, the corridor will be commissioned when there will be no need for it as, given the frequent hikes in petrol prices, number of vehicles plying on the roads may drastically get reduced. Already, the recent hike seems to have had a tell tale effect

The main arteries perhaps will be taken care of even if it takes months and years to do so. What perhaps will take decades are the roads that have been dug up inside various localities for one reason or the other. Once dug, they stay dug and are never mended although the contracts provide putting them back in original condition. The contractors, engineering and other officials almost always swallow the money. The citizens of Bhopal have a long wait in front of them for a cleaner air and roads that are devoid of dust, scattered pieces of stones, potholes, ditches and overflowing sewers.

A pretty sorry plight!

Green construction in India

Environmental conservation is virtually the flavour of the season. Human intervention with nature has mounted to such an extent over the last few decades that today the progressively degrading environment has started posing a threat not only to the Planet Earth but also to the wellbeing, even survival of the human race. Waking up to the serious threat, sustainable living has become a catchword that has prompted humanity to balance its progress with preservation of the surroundings that it sustains itself in. Aware that every economic activity impinges on the natural world, humanity today has become more conscious of the need to conserve the environment. Green construction or building green buildings is a manifestation of this evolving consciousness.

Construction by the very nature of the activities it involves makes use of natural resources. Primitive man had simple and limited needs. His abode therefore had very little impact on his environment. With the civilisational evolution human needs have escalated and greater sophistication in construction has hugely impacted on nature. The growing urbanisation, especially in the developing world, is going to tap not only more and more natural resources, it also is going to impact the environment more and more around the urban areas. No wonder, therefore, the concept of green construction, which in effect means erection of buildings that are environment-friendly in all respects, has acquired greater currency. It has been estimated that as many as 10% of the buildings that are going to be constructed in the United States during the current year will be green.

According to Wikipedia, “Green construction refers to erection of a structure using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle, i.e. from the stage of siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition.” It basically involves in efficiently utilising energy, water and other resources, protecting the health of occupants and, in many cases, enhancing their productivity and, last but not the least, mitigating waste, pollution and environmental degradation.

One has, thus, to be conscious of the environment at every stage of the building process. The stage of siting a structure is as important as those that follow it. Siting is important to ensure that the building is conveniently located near facilities so that the occupants do not have to needlessly commute long distances for their day-to-day needs. Besides, siting a building near existing infrastructure, like roads, sewers and storm-water systems (where provision is not made for recycling of waste water) allows builders to lessen negative impact on a building’s surroundings.

The architectural designing has to keep in view the soil of the site in order to ensure acceptance of the required structural loads, the climate of the area to reduce the artificial cooling or heating needs, availability of water resources to determine the need for water harvesting systems and so on. In terms of climate, the building’s orientation can be aligned in different ways with the movement of the sun to reduce the need for artificial lighting or electrical cooling or heating. It can also be so oriented with the general wind direction so that the structure lets in as much fresh air as possible and reduce its carbon footprint.

Another effective way of controlling energy consumption is by making provision for green roofing. A green roof needs not very expensive surface but it manages to appreciably reduce the temperature in the building and also positively impacts on the ambient temperature. Germany and the United States have gone in for green roofing in a big way and the gardens put up on the roof not only add aesthetics to the buildings but also pull off some of the greenhouse gases from the atmosphere besides promoting bio-diverse environment in urban spaces.

Architectural design of a green building, thus, can reduce energy consumption and control even its waste. After all, most important reason today of building green is energy conservation and to reduce carbon emission levels. By facilitating use of solar energy or, wherever possible, use of other renewable sources or by the use of insulated panels appreciable amount of energy can be saved. In the United States a few of the rural houses have gone off-grid, meeting their energy-needs with the solar energy that they capture and the energy produced by biomass.

Water efficiency is another area which is an important ingredient of a green construction. Water is the fastest depleting natural resource, more so in India. Not only its consumption, therefore, needs to be controlled, its waste also is to be eliminated. Wherever feasible, provision of harvesting rain-water is necessary to supplement the supply from the water utilities. Provision for recycling waste water for watering the green areas either on ground or on the roof is necessary. The basic idea is that a green building is a “zero discharge” structure. It does not let out any waste to pollute the surroundings.

Materials-wise eco-friendly constructions are resource efficient and call for the use of green construction materials. Several local and renewable materials have developed as a response to the knowledge that buildings often have a negative impact on our environment. Architects and builders worldwide are now using construction techniques that have been developed in response to local environmental concerns and the physical resource opportunities available, coupled with modern technological refinements. These buildings range from rammed earth construction, which involves clay-based material mixed with water, to straw houses since straw is a great insulator, a breathable material that filters the air passing through it, is fire-resistant when compressed and is of low cost.

The Government of India has been pushing fly ash products as eco-friendly and durable construction material. The country has a huge accumulation of fly ash in numerous thermal power plant sites which, unless made use of, are likely to cause widespread pollution. Among the fly ash products available are cellular light-weight concrete blocks that have, inter alia, better strength-to-weight ratio, reduce dead load resulting in saving of steel & cement, reduce foundation size and provide better thermal insulation, clay fly ash bricks that have better thermal insulation, are cost-effective and environment-friendly and fly ash based polymer composites that can be used as substitute for wood. One could complement it with organic paints for an improved quality of the indoor environment.

One would tend to wonder as to why one should go in for a green construction particularly when costs of such a constructions are higher. But that is a fallacy as the cost of construction of a green building is only marginally – about 4% to 10% – higher than that of a conventional building. At this marginally higher cost one gets benefits in different dimensions. The first dimension is environmental. Green construction enhances and protects biodiversity and ecosystems, improves air and water quality, reduces waste streams and conserves and restores natural resources. Their economic benefits are reduction in operating costs, shaping and expansion of market of green products and improvement of human productivity. The third dimension relates to social benefits which are enhancement of occupant comfort and health, minimizing strain on local infrastructure and improvement of overall quality of life.

In India green construction has been slow to catch on but there has been a distinct progress. From 6000 square metres of green spaces in 2003 they rose to 305,000 square metres in 2008. The Indian Green Building Council is promoting and fostering their construction. The first green building in India was the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad. Kolkata’s Technopolis lays claim to be the country’s first green building for information technology which also makes money through carbon credits – about Rs. 75 lakh a year. It is the first building in the world to be registered under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a clean development mechanism project. Green construction can thus also be a money-earner.

Photo: Complex of the police chief, Gulbarga, India - a LEED Gold construction

(The article was published in September 2011 in the inaugural issue of "Shubhalaya", a real estate quarterly published from Bhopal and is reproduced here with its permission)