Monideepa Sahu acquaints us with the city of Chandannnagar in West Bengal, along the banks of River Ganga, which bears the evanescent French influence

Chandannagar in West Bengal offers a whiff of French culture on the banks of the mighty Ganga. Broad, clean streets and elegant French-style buildings, a picturesque riverbank promenade, lovely old Hindu temples and French churches and a museum with unusual relics from a French colonial past; Chandannagar, earlier known as Chandernagore, has all this and more.

Chandannagar was already an established French settlement before the British took over a huddle of villages further down the Ganga, laying the foundation of modern-day Kolkata. In the 17th century, when the writ of the Moghul empire ruled over our subcontinent, Europeans made tentative forays to establish trading posts. In 1673, during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb, the French established a trading outpost on the banks of the Hooghly river (Ganga) in West Bengal. They acquired legal ownership of the area from the Moghuls in 1688 and built Chandannagar around three villages — Borkishonpur, Khalisani and Gondalpara.

It was only later in 1690 that Job Charnock established a British presence in the village of Sutanuti, heralding a new age of British dominance in Bengal. Joseph Francois Dupleix was appointed governor of Chandernagore in 1730, and the town expanded considerably. The river offered a clear route to the sea, and trade flourished.

Days of business

In its heyday, Chandannagar was the primary hub of European commerce in Bengal. Bengalis called it Farashdanga (Farash = French) in those days, and associated it with a classy and luxurious lifestyle. Delicately woven Farashdanga dhotis were preferred by the Bengali elite. Louis Bonnaud was one of the first Europeans to introduce indigo cultivation here.

The Bengalis of Chandannagar were highly enterprising as well. Batakrishna Ghosh was among the first natives to found a cloth mill. Dinanath Chandra was one of the earliest manufacturers of European and traditional Indian medicines. Another local merchant, Indranarayan Chowdhury, was appointed a courtier of the French East India Company in 1730. He was later honoured with a gold medal from the king of France. He was a patron of local Bengali folk culture and constructed the lovely Nandadulal Temple.

Chandannagar was also a centre for culture and education. Le Petit Bengali, the town's first French newspaper, was published here from 1879. Educational institutions founded by the French continue to enlighten students to this day. The Sacred Heart Church of Chandannagar is a charming example of French architecture. The imposing French Governor's Palace has now been converted into a museum. It showcases a rare collection of antique French furniture — cannons used in the Anglo-French wars and artefacts from local Bengali culture. The palace also houses the Institut de Chandernagor, which continues to conduct French classes.

French architecture

There are several examples of aesthetic and unusual buildings constructed by the Bengalis. The Nandadulal Temple, the Nabaratna Mandir and the temples on the banks of Goswamighat are lovely examples of Bengali temple architecture. The Patal Bari (underground house), built by the zamindars of Bansberia, has an underground floor which is submerged by the Ganga. Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and Rabindranath Tagore were among the eminent guests who stayed here. Rabindranath appreciated the unusual beauty of this building. He mentioned it in several of his stories.

French and Bengali influences gave Chandannagar its own unique culture. Antony Firingi was a famous example of such multicultural influences. Antony was the son of a Portuguese gentleman who had settled in Chandannagar in the 18th century. (The Portuguese had their own settlement on the banks of Ganga, in neighbouring Chinsurah) Antony fell in love with a Bengali Brahmin lady and eloped with her.

He wore a dhoti, learnt Bengali and associated with Bengali Hindus. He founded a group of kabis or poets and started composing his own songs in Bengali, to recite and sing in kobir larai contests. Antony's poems in Bengali are appreciated to this day.Chandannagar suffered through several wars between the French and the British.

In 1757, Robert Clive of the British East India Company and Admiral Watson of the British navy captured Chandannagar. They bombarded and destroyed the town's fortifications and buildings. The French regained control in 1763, but warfare continued and the city repeatedly changed hands. As a result of such instability, Chandannagar's supremacy as a hub of commerce and culture gradually waned.

Neighbouring Calcutta prospered from uninterrupted British rule and soon eclipsed Chandannagar in importance. The French ruled without further interruptions from the beginning of the 19th century. When India became independent in 1947, the French handed over charge to the people of Chandannagar. In a referendum in1949, nearly 99 per cent of the city's people opted for merger with India. Chandannagar officially became a part of India in 1950.

Strolling down the picturesque Chandannagar Strand, one can enjoy the gentle breeze from the Ganga and dream of glorious days gone by. Tree-lined lanes branch off from the Strand into the old European quarter of the city, offering vistas of gracious buildings and sunlit spaces. European-style old buildings dot the rest of Chandannagar, which is a typical Indian urban sprawl. The tropical climate and time are taking their toll. These once-lovely buildings are often scarred with moss and lichens and overgrown with weeds; a reminder that the old must fade away, making way for the new.

-The Deccan Herald, 2nd February 2014

With groundwater levels dipping across Delhi, and really fast in some areas,rainwater harvesting is the one tool the government has to ensure that the city has recourse to some internal source of water. So far, Delhi has been almost entirely dependent on other states for its water supply and there is no likelihood of an increase in this supply in the next few years. The population is rising rapidly and to avoid a water crisis the city must immediately dust its rainwater harvesting projects and ensure proper compliance with existing laws.

Rainwater harvesting is compulsory in Delhi for all new buildings that are more than 100sqm in size or are built on a plot larger than 200sqm, or have a minimum discharge of 10,000 litres per day. The government was supposed to have implemented it on flyovers and roundabouts as well.

However, the city has managed to achieve very little in the past few years. Several group housing societies have implemented rainwater harvesting, as have some individuals, but to make the project a success it has to be implemented across the board and maintained properly after that. Cities like Chennai enforced rainwater harvesting successfully because the government ensured that those not following the law were taken to task. If Chennai can do it, so can Delhi.

There are several reasons for its failure in Delhi, including inadequate financial assistance for projects, long winded procedures and poor maintenance of structures once they are built. Among various financial mechanisms for funding rainwater harvesting structures are the chief minister's My Delhi-I Care fund, Delhi Jal Board's rainwater harvesting scheme that offers assistance of up to Rs 1 lakh for resident welfare associations, MLA and councillor funds, Delhi Parks and Gardens Society Fund and assistance from corporate houses.

Monitoring of rainwater harvesting has been excessively poor with no agency maintaining a record of the buildings within their purview that have installed rainwater harvesting structures. Based on a high court order, PWD, DDA, Delhi Cantt, NDMC, etc, have only now started compiling this record. Secondly, very few government buildings have implemented the order and many flyovers and roundabouts do not have the mandatory rainwater harvesting features. Where new buildings are supposed to show rainwater harvesting in building plans before they can be sanctioned, there is no monitoring mechanism to ensure that these structures are finally built.

In 2013, DJB appointed two agencies to act as one-stop shops for getting rainwater harvesting carried out in group housing societies or localities. The agencies have been entrusted with the entire work of setting up the systems — right from designing to obtaining all permissions and monitoring on behalf of the RWA. Only execution of the work will be the RWA's responsibility.

Jyoti Sharma, director of the NGO FORCE that works on water related issues, says the government should start by first ensuring that all government buildings, irrespective of how large they are or when they were constructed, should get rainwater harvesting systems. It should similarly be implemented on flyovers. "Several societies have their rainwater harvesting plans ready but the government needs to assist them financially. Under the My Delhi-I Care scheme, each DC has Rs 7 crore at his or her disposal for infrastructural development. This fund can be used for such projects," she said.

Experts say Delhi has more than 600 water bodies and these should be cleaned and connected to the nearest storm water drains to act as natural reservoirs. Check dams could be built along the 22 nullahs of Delhi and old dysfunctional tubewells should also be used as storage points.

"In areas where water is saline, like Dwarka, the government should encourage direct storage of rainwater because it will take extremely long to form a layer of fresh water over the saline layer," suggested Sharma.

-The Pioneer, 3rd February 2014

One of the largest man-made wetlands in the foothills of the Himalayas, the Pong Dam reservoir in Himachal Pradesh, is currently home to around 43,000 bar-headed geese, probably half their numbers globally, wildlife officials said on Sunday.

They said it was the largest influx of any winter migrant in the Pong wetlands. "Around 43,000 migratory bar-headed geese were recorded during the two-day census of waterfowl species, conducted by the State Wildlife department from January 29 at the Pong reservoir," Assistant Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) DS Dadwal told IANS.

Besides the bar-headed goose, the other prominent species spotted in the Pong in the Kangra Valley are the common coot, northern pintail, common pochard, tufted pochard, red-crested pochard, common teal, little cormorant, great-crested grebe and greylag goose. The census recorded 128,200 birds of 119 species. The common shelduck, sarus crane, osprey, buff bellied pipit, Indian skimmer and the little gull, which are rarely observed in Indian wetlands, have also been recorded.

Dadwal said this was the first time that such a large number of the bar-headed geese, a species that has been a regular visitor here from Central Asia, including Tibet and Ladakh, was recorded at the Pong Dam reservoir, some 250 km from State capital Shimla and 190 km from Chandigarh. The goose, with two distinctive black bars across its neck, starts descending in wetlands in October and stays there till March-end.

Bombay Natural History Society assistant director S Balachandran told IANS that Pong has been attracting a good number of the bar-headed goose. "Most of the water bodies and lakes across the country have been getting bar-headed geese every winter. Their number is between 3,000 and 4,000 in each water body. But Pong is the only place which is getting the largest influx of bar-headed geese," he said.

Balachandran, who has been tracking migratory routes of the geese and some duck species through satellite and leg-rings in Pong, said the total global numbers of the geese were believed to be around 100,000. He said the bar-headed geese, which were ringed in Pong, have been spotted in Punjab and Kashmir wetlands too. In Pong, the bar-headed geese can be spotted in marshy areas along the reservoir like Nagrota Suriyan, Nandpur Batoli, Chatta, Jambal and the Rancer island.

Records of the State wildlife department say the largest influx of the bar-headed geese in Pong Dam was recorded in 2010. At that time, their number was 40,000. Barring 2001, when only 5,500 birds were spotted, numbers have ranged between 28,000 and 23,000 in the past few years. However, in 2013 experts found 34,000 bar-headed geese in Pong.

The gregarious bar-headed goose feeds at night in grasslands on riverbanks. It is listed under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Their numbers are believed to be declining due to hunting, say ornithologists. A bar-headed goose along with three other migratory species that was tagged with global positioning system (GPS) transmitters in 2010 in Pong returned to their wintering base here the following year, after traveling thousands of miles.

That particular goose had returned from Kailash Cora Lake in Tibet. The 307-square km Pong wetlands are also home to many native birds like the red jungle fowl, large Indian parakeet, Indian cuckoo, bank mynah, wood shrike, yellow-eyed babbler, black ibis, paradise flycatcher, crested lark and the crested bunting. A total of 421 species of birds, both migratory and local, 18 of snake, 90 butterfly, 24 mammal and 27 of fish have been recorded so far in Pong.

-The Pioneer, 3rd February 2014

Chandni Chowk has many old buildings, some with gates that have outlived their utility. Take Katra Neel, which houses merchants and their shops, whose wares are much sought after by both the Delhiwallah and outsider, among them foreign tourists. The same is true of Kinari Bazar despite its narrow street. But Haveli Haider Quli has its own distinctive mark and its history is worth retelling as it has been a residence without a break for some 300 years, which saw many ups and downs in its fortunes. Situated at the fag-end of Chandni Chowk it is now a ramshackle building with a huge entrance that yawns in the face of history, but there was a time when its owner was the big gun at the court of Mohammad Shah. This was literally true because Haider Quli was in charge of the Mughal artillery.

How he got that post is interesting. Hussain Ali, a nobleman was Haider Quli's patron and introduced him to the royal court, where he was given command of Atish (artillery). Having secured the prized post Haider Quli was egged on by ambition to indulge in intrigues, which were such a regular feature of 18th Century Delhi. Besides other idiosyncrasies, Haider Quli was fond of fakirs and so mendicants found favour in his haveli. Among these was a "mast kalandar" who went about half-naked, beating himself with a chain and walking up and down Chandni Chowk even in the middle of the night. Then there was a fakir from Thatta, in Sind, who meditated at the shrine of Sarmad Shaheed at the foot of the steps of the Jama Masjid. Sarmad, an Armenian, had trading links with Thatta before he came over to Delhi and forsook the world. The fakir of Thatta eventually became a conspicuous visitor to the haveli of Haider Quli.

Having got a hint from those close to the emperor that Hussain Ali should be done away with, he lost no time in hatching a plot. The fakir of Thatta was made to dress up like a woman milk-seller and sent daily to the Red Fort where he came in contact with the mother of Mohammad Shah. Through her help the plot against Hussain Ali began to thicken and Mohammad Shah himself became involved in it. "So much so that when Hussain Ali was present the emperor would speak only in Turkish, a language the unfortunate nobleman did not understand". A maid, Sadrunnisa also helped. Then one day while Hussain Ali was going in a palanquin, a hired assassin, Haider Beg, accosted him on the pretext of presenting a petition. As soon as the palanquin stopped, the intruder's accomplice passed on a hookah to the unsuspecting man while Haider Beg plunged a knife into his chest. He then pulled his victim out and cut off his head.

A relative of Hussain Ali, a boy in his teens, witnessed the murder and immediately fired a pistol at the assassin, killing him on the spot. But the other conspirators, who were close at hand, fell on the poor boy and cut him to pieces. Haider Quli was rewarded by the emperor for the murder but was not a happy man after that. His haveli passed into other hands following his sudden death and today is a reminder of one of the conspiracies that marked the reign of the frivolous Mohammad Shah. It is said that Haider Quli was a coolie who was made a courtier after he saved the life of the emperor's son. But this does not seem to be true. Quli is appended to many Muslim names in history though they were never coolies. The word coolie is derived from "Kuli", an aboriginal tribe of Gujarat and was later used to describe manual labourers and then railway porters. Now Haider Quli's haveli is occupied by the nonagenarian philanthropist Narain Prasad and his 93 year-old sister, Sarla Sharma. The haveli is hemmed in by a rabbit warren of shops but at one time it was surrounded by open land and a park. The address, "513 Haveli Haider Quli" is a remnant of the original but still has a fort-like appearance. It consists of three storeys with a concealed staircase for purdah women.

The present occupants are descended from Raja Partab Chander, the founder of Partabpur, now known as Sohna, in Haryana. His descendants were uprooted during Babar's invasion. Garhmal Shah was the raja at that time. After he was killed, one branch moved to the court of Jind, the second settled down as Mughal munshis near what is now Mori Gate and the third went to join the service of the Nawab of Awadh in Lucknow. The haveli was acquired by the family in Delhi during the twilight of the Mughals and ever since it has stayed put there.

-The Hindu, 3rd February 2014

Every time Naintara Devraj gets up in the morning, she feels sick and groggy. Thick black smoke swirls around her residence at Sukhdev Vihar through the night.

"There is a perpetual, acrid smell in the air, like in a crematorium. Sometimes there is the distinct smell of plastic burning. Often the smoke mixes with the fog and remains over rooftops," the 47-year-old housewife says.

She is not alone. There are many who say a waste-to-energy plant emits brownish, soapy ash, causing eye irritation and difficulty in breathing. They say ash sits on houses, cars and plants and furniture; it can leave a stain on the skin and burn holes on clothes hung out to dry.

Vanya Joshi (51), a filmmaker, says, "My doctor tells me that the smoke from the chimneys has affected my immune system. I do not smoke but my lungs have developed black patches. If this continues I will have to sell my flat and move somewhere safer."

Residents say they have been holding demonstrations, fighting court cases, and meeting officials for two years now, seeking relief from the smoke and ash. Gopal Krishna of anti-pollution NGO Toxic Watch Alliance said, "We gave a petition to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on January 11. We asked environment minister on January 27 to intervene."

Another resident, Rishi Bansal, has complained to government authorities. "I was playing football in a park. A sudden cloud of smoke came from the direction of the plant and settled all around us. Finally, we had to quit the game," he said.

Residents claim toxic emissions from such plants have been linked to cancers, respiratory ailments and birth defects. "And it's not only Sukhdev Vihar which is suffering. Other affected colonies include New Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh, Ishwar Nagar, Jamia Nagar, Jasola Vihar and Sarita Vihar, besides Jamia Millia Islamia University, Holy Family Hospital and other institutions," said Krishna.

A delegation of Okhla AntiIncinerator Committee (OAIC) has also submitted to Delhi the environment minister documents "which nail the lies of the company that runs the plant and the regulators." Ranjit Devraj, another resident, said, "We have submitted proof that the union environment minister wrote to the Delhi CM, questioning public hearings on whose basis clearances were given to the plant." Though Hindustan Times could not independently verify the claims of the residents, pollution control authorities have in the past found that pollution levels were above permissible limits. Delhi Pollution Control Committee member secretary Sandeep Mishra admitted: "The plant has violated pollution-control norms four times in the last two years."

-The Times of India, 3rd February 2014 "

Once a desolate spot, Yamuna Biodiversity Park has now become a favourite haunt of bird-watchers. The park has been welcoming hundreds of migratory birds from Siberia, Europe and the Himalayas every year, but this year, hundreds of Red-crested Pochardshave been sighted in the park. Scientists credit the successful restoration of the ecosystem for it. On World Wetland Day on Sunday, environmentalists sought that the government invest in converting wasteland near the riverinto wetland, and revive dying wetlands in the city.

In the park, scientists have restored close to 20 forest communities, which exist along the Yamuna in other parts of the country. "Our aim was to restore the ecological system. We have restored wetlands near the Yamuna in Wazirabad. This is the only park which gets Red-crested Pochard-a Siberian bird-during winter. Recently, we spotted more than 200 of these birds in the park," said Dr Faiyaz A Khudsar, scientist-in-charge at the park.

Experts say wetlands help improve the quality of water in rivers as they are a highly productive ecosystem. Wetlands act like a nursery for rivers. "The objective of creating or restoring wetland is to keep a substantial amount of flood water. These wetlands, which have different types of forests, insects, fish etc, can purify sewer water before it mixes with the river," said Khudsar.

This year's theme for World Wetland Day is 'wetland and agriculture'. The soil here is very productive and should be used for agricultural purpose, said an expert. "But before that we need to restore wetlands in the city. Once the old ecosystem is put in place, then the land can be used for agricultural purpose,'' added Khudsar.

There are several wetlands in Bhalaswa and Usmanpur which are in a state of neglect. "If we want to clean the river, then it is important to restore wetlands in the city,'' said an environmentalist.

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- The Times of India, 3rd February 2014

Highlighting the Chinese communist hardliners' move to destroy the rich heritage, art and culture of Tibet, spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dalai Lama on Sunday called upon the people to make the 21st century, a century of peace through dialogues.

The 14th Dalai Lama made the appeal in Guwahati on Sunday while interacting with cross section of people including Tibetan refugees at various places in Guwahati. The Dalai Lama was in Guwahati to inaugurate a Festival of Tibetan Art and Culture, which is being held for the first time in Guwahati.

"The Chinese communist hardliners are trying to destroy Tibet's rich heritage, art and culture. They are doing this in many ways-by putting restriction on Chinese citizens who wants to learn more about Tibets's art, culture and history, destroying the historical places and etc," said the spiritual leader while interacting with the people.

"However, the number of people who wants to learn the Tibetan language and study the art and culture of Tibet has been increasing despite all the restrictions. At present their are over 400 million people across the globe who are interested in studying and learning about the art, culture, history and Tibetan language," he said.

The spiritual leader also appealed the Tibetan people to continue the non-violent struggle for freedom and appealed the people to make the 21st century, a century of peace through dialogues.

"The non-violent movement for freedom of Tibet will set an example for hundreds of other nations who are struggling for freedom across the globe. We must continue the freedom struggle through the way of non-violence, which is the Buddhist way. It is important for us to win the struggle. If the struggle or the movement fails, the world will feel that the non-violence and Buddhism has failed," said the spiritual leader while interacting with the members of Tibet Support Group, Assam in the morning hours.

The Tibetan spiritual leader also took up the issue of environment and said that the Tibetan movement for freedom is also important for the ecology and environmental aspects.

"The mighty Brahmaputra river which flows through many parts of India and South East Asia has its origin in Tibet. The success of the Tibetan movement is an imperative for saving the environment and ecology of the entire world," said the Dalai Lama while referring to the Chinese Government's move to build major hydro-power projects on Brahmaputra river in the Tibet region.

"We must continue the freedom struggle with non-violence and Buddhist spirit. The Chinese Government is systematically destroying Buddhism and Buddhist culture in Tibet, which must be resisted," hen said.

-The Pioneer, 3rd February 2014

In about 20 years from now, the Lutyens' Bungalow Zone (LBZ), known for its typical white houses built during the British era, will don a pink hue, according to a proposal floated by the Ministry of Urban Development.

The agency tasked with the job — the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) — has proposed to use Dholpur stones from Rajasthan to refurbish the century-old houses. Kota stones will be used to strengthen the foundation of the bungalows. "These bungalows were built by the British between the war period when they were facing budget constraints… they were never built to last. The roofs were not even concrete. They kept the cost as low as possible to complete the construction. The residential bungalows are themselves of no heritage value unlike the Rashtrapati Bhavan," AGK Menon, convenor, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), said.

Concerned with the old bungalows, some of which it believes have become structurally unsafe, the Urban Development Ministry had moved a Cabinet note in 2012 to raze the structures and construct them all over again. Recently, the note was moved to the expenditure finance committee, which will do the cost-assessment of the project.

According to the proposal, 516 bungalows will be reconstructed in eight phases and the government will spend Rs 3,032 crore on it. The deadline is 2036. The first phase will see the makeover of 29 bungalows by the end of 2015. There are 1,200 bungalows in this zone. The CPWD spends Rs 40-45 crore annually on their upkeep.

Earlier, the ministry was planning to replace the bungalows with multi-storeyed buildings but the proposal faced stiff resistance from scores of politicians and ministers.

"We aim to complete the construction by 2036-37 and will be involving the best of engineers. Each bungalow will be a single-storeyed RCC structure, with embedded steel bars or fibres to strengthen the structure," a senior official said. According to him, the construction will be state-of-the-art with modern amenities. For example, there is a provision for modular kitchens and the structures will be earthquake-resistant.

"Special attention will be paid to include measures to ward off monkeys, a menace in the area. The buildings and surrounding areas will be planned in such a way that monkeys are kept at bay," the official said.

The CPWD plans to use granite stones for flooring of the external lobby, verandahs and kitchen.

-The Indian Express, 3rd February 2014

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered a rare ‘ancient mint city’ of 7th to 10th Century at Majra in the Haryana’s Rohtak district that may get wiped out soon because of the rapid ongoing real-estate construction activity at the site.

With the excavation at the site yielding over 31 coin moulds and ten crucibles besides pottery in just one day itself on Sunday, the ASI is all set to write to the State Government to temporary halt construction activity in the region so as to enable it to unearth the valuable ruins before they are demolished. There are sufficient evidences which show that the site was particularly used for minting coins of various metals during the period ruled by king Mihir Bhoja of the Gurjar Pratihara dynasty, Indo-Sassanian dynasty and Shahi dynasty during 7th to 10 century.

“However, unfortunately, the ongoing heavy construction activity at the site is all set to damage the remnants of this important dynasty,” said Dr BR Mani, Additional Director General of the ASI, a premier organisation for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation. Dr Mani along with the ASI team had visited the site on Sunday and recovered over 31 coin moulds, ten min crucibles used to pour melted metal in the moulds and remains of bigger crucibles used for melting metals.

He said that Haryana Government will be requested to issue order to halt the construction activities at some idenitified area at the site so that it can salvage more leftover historical items before they get demolished. In fact, thanks to the three huge electricity towers erected at the site that the region is still spared from getting demolished.

“The three towers have proved lucky for us as most of the artifacts that have been recovered from the mound have been explored below these towers at an area of 100X100 metres. We are hoping to recover more from this area,” said archeologist expert Manmohan Kumar who was instrumental in intimating the ASI about the historically important remains.

“The excavation hold importance as this would shed more light on the history of the periods of Gurjar Pratihara, Indo-Sassanian and Shahi Dynasties. In Mihir Bhoja time Gurjar Partihara Dynasty was at its zenith and peak of prosperity. He was undoubtebly one of the outstanding political figure of India in ninth century and ranks with Dhruva and dhampala as a great general and empire builder.

Dr Mani added that as a matter of fact, it is not possible to seek permanent ban on construction at the site and declare it as excavation site of national importance. “We can only salvage the leftover artifacts from the site.”

-The Pioneer, 4th February 2014

According to the Ramsar Convention, February 2 is World Wetlands Day. A day to emphasis the importance of one particular ecosystem.

February 2 is designated World Wetlands Day.

In 1971, in Ramsar, Iran adopted the Convention on Wetlands. It is an intergovernmental treaty and gives the framework on how wetlands need to be protected and how to use its resources wisely. The mission of the Convention is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.

Importance

Why are wetlands important? To begin with wetlands prevent flooding by holding water. They keep water levels normal and also filter and purify the surface water. They function very much like a sponge would when submerged in water. When water levels are low, wetlands slowly release the water they hold.

As we can see wetlands are not only essential but also unique. However, they are not isolated and independent but connected to the land around it, the flora, fauna, animals and people. It is the wetlands that improve other ecosystems because they act like cleansing agents. In fact, they work as kidneys do in a human. They control the water flow and clean the system. Wetlands clean the water because they can filter out sedimentation, decomposing vegetative matter and convert chemicals into useable form. This ability to recycle gives them an important role to play in the well being of the earth. Wetlands are probably the only eco system that is as productive or unique in its process of conversion. It is for this reason that in some places artificial wetlands have been created.

The theme for World Wetlands Day 2014 is Wetlands and Agriculure. This is because 2014 is the UN International Year of Family Farming.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Ramsar Convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and the Convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.

For millennia, wetlands have been used directly for agriculture, and for supplying food, fuel and fibre to support lives and livelihoods. Wetlands continue to play an essential role in supporting modern day agriculture.

-The Hindu, 4th February 2014

In an indication to Sukhna’s plundering ecological dimensions, the number of resident and migratory water bird species has witnessed considerate decline this year.

The waterfowl census conducted on February 2, 2014 showed sharp decline in water bird species at Sukhna Lake and Sukhna Reserve Forest as compared to last year. Fourteen species of migratory birds were recorded during the waterfowl census conducted by Avian Habitat and Wetland Society (AHWS) and UT Forest and Wildlife Department on February 2 (Wetland Day) at Sukhna. During the waterfowl census, a total number of 585 birds of resident and migratory species were sighted. Last year, the total number of birds recorded was 806 birds while over 1500 birds were recorded in the previous year. Disturbance at Sukhna Lake and its catchment, problem of weed and silt in water bodies here, environment changes due to ongoing construction work in Sukhna catchment, are believed to be the reasons for the decline in population of water birds here.

-The Pioneer, 5th February 2014

While Yale University researchers have claimed they couldn't find "reliable and accurate" air quality data from India, the Centre has expressed doubts over the veracity of satellite data Yale has used for Environment Performance Index 2014. System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research under the ministry of earth sciences stated in a statement issued on Friday that the ranking should have been based on ground level data which gives an authentic picture of air pollution.

"The report does not consider any Indian ground-based measurements of air quality which is the most accurate method so far. Non-uniform and incomplete sampling by satellites have the potential of creating bias. Satellite samples are from one location at one particular time in a day. Since this technique does not have capability to take measurements during cloudy conditions when air quality is best in India, it cannot consider good data for that period," says a statement by SAFAR. "Sampling error of satellite-derived PM2.5 is larger in regions influenced by biomass burning, mineral dust, or persistent cloud. Hence, concluding something based on such uncertain factors may be seen with precaution," it adds.

Scientists at SAFAR told TOI that Indian agencies could have given the required data to Yale researchers if they had asked. They, however, did not deny that air quality was indeed very poor in India.

Angel Hsu, lead author of EPI, clarified that they have used only satellite data for assessment. "We produce country-level aggregations of average exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) using satellite data processed by research teams at Yale, Columbia, and Dalhousie Universities," Hsu said.

Many agreed with Yale researchers, though, on lack of reliable air quality data in India.

"We have real time monitoring only for major cities but it has to be implemented in Tier II cities. Our manual monitoring stations outnumber automatic ones which is why the data eventually reported is not credible and often conservative. However, Delhi is now in position to replicate robust monitoring like that of China by including an air quality index and a health advisory. They should do it soon," Anumita Roychowdhury, head of air pollution and clean transportation programme at Centre for Science and Environment, said.

-The Times of India, 5th February 2014

In a bid to decongest the Chirag Dilli junction along the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand, the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) has come up with a proposal to reduce signal time, after having received major resistance to BRT as a concept.

In an attempt to improve the corridor, DIMTS has proposed circulation changes, which will divert traffic away from the Chirag Dilli junction and will reduce three signal phases.

This circulation proposes to do away with right turns from Savitri Cinema, Moochand and IIT. This plan has been shown to Transport Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj. The AAP government had said that it would review the project before taking a decision on whether it will keep the BRT or remove it.

The short-term improvement plan for decongestion of Chirag Dilli intersection is to use existing infrastructure, and improve traffic management and circulation. While the long-term plan aims to construct grade separators, new roads and underpasses in the area.

The short-term plan includes constructing two slip roads in the area to facilitate smooth flow of traffic. One will be made behind Masjid Moth, where an existing road is present but has been blocked, while the second slip road will be made near Soami Nagar, where land near existing drain is present, claimed DIMTS. “At Masjid Moth an 18-m four-laned road is available on which only surfacing needs to be done,” a DIMTS spokesperson said.

A U-turn will also be created near the Savitri flyover before the turn towards Savitri Cinema besides creating another signal opposite to Chirag Dilli village for dispersal of traffic before the Chirag Dilli intersection towards Nehru Place. “We have also proposed restricting traffic movement under the flyover, from Panchsheel towards Nehru Place and Press Enclave,” the spokesperson added.

“From IIT to Press Enclave, a person can take Savitri flyover and take U-turn (which will be created) under the flyover and go onto the new slip road, which will be created made Masjid Moth leading towards Press Enclave. From Moolchand to IIT, there will be an option to turn towards slip road built behind Masjid Moth and take Chirag Dilli flyover to get to IIT and, for those travelling from Nehru Place to Moochand, one can get onto the Chirag Dilli flyover and use slip road created near Soami Nagar, which brings you to the other side of the Chirag Dilli flyover,” the spokesperson said. The signal phases at other intersections will also be improved.

Chirag Dilli is one of the major junction along the BRT, which has seen rapid increase in car volumes over the years. In fact, private vehicle increased more than 10 per cent per annum, as per 2012 data of DIMTS.

“The Chirag Dilli junction has experienced rapid increase in traffic due to development within its catchment area with shopping malls, district courts, hospitals open up over the years. Also, rapid urbanisation in Saket area and Gurgaon has increase private vehicles. But the transport infrastructure has not improved. Some of the approved road links were never implemented. More exit connections are needed along this stretch,” the spokesperson said.

The long-term plan includes creating an underpass near Chirag Dilli village, which will lead upto Nehru Place, creating a parallel road along the BRT or creating a grate separator which will connect with the existing Chirag Delhi flyover.

-The Indian Express, 6th February 2014

As the air we breathe and the water we drink become increasingly toxic, it is the Government’s responsibility to contain falling environmental standards in urban areas

Amid the frenetic pace of development and busy lifestyles, urban communities are unable to keep a check on the cost at which growth is taking place. Cities are becoming exceedingly inhospitable due to newer environmental challenges, paired by an ever-increasing threat to human health. Recently, Delhi shot into environmental notoriety by overtaking Beijing for excessive levels of air pollution.

On its part, Beijing fought a grim battle to aggressively control air quality standards, and improvement is beginning to show. However, due to an exasperatingly slow-to-react administration in Delhi, the city is yet to formulate a coherent action plan that is backed by effective policies to rein in a runaway environmental problem.

Smog in cities across India is beginning to extract a heavy price on the collective health of the population, in the form of chronic respiratory symptoms, asthma, chronic obstructive lung diseases and severe coronary disorders, especially in the elderly. Toxicants such as lead, mercury and chromium cause mental retardation, cancers, neurological damage, gastro-intestinal and auto-immune disorders. In extreme cases, such exposures result in death.

The World Health Organisation has rated air pollution as a Class 1 carcinogen and estimates that one-fifth of the global burden of disease is attributable to environmental health problems. The Global Burden of Disease report 2013, categorised air pollution as the fifth largest killer in India. Left unchecked, air pollution combined with toxic chemicals and wastes have the potential of fuelling a global epidemic.

In order to recover from the setback, the Government needs to concretise its action plan for environment restoration. As a part of this, the number of vehicles plying on the roads need to be regulated. Alongside, it is crucial to improve the quality, affordability and scale of public transport. Besides this, discouraging the use of diesel fuel and propagating compressed natural gas can pay rich dividends and improve the environmental report card.

The recent decision of Union Minister for Environment and Forests Veerappa Moily to reduce the cost of CNG by Rs 15 per kg in Delhi is heartening. The price drop amounting to almost 30 per cent in Delhi and a similar price reduction of about 25 to 30 per cent in other States, coupled with the provision of CNG at uniform prices to all States with a distribution network is a welcome move in this regard. The Government also needs to examine the possibilities of vaulting to Euro V and Euro VI emission standards from the current Euro IV, in order to compliment its action strategies.

An effective strategy to restore the environment cannot be complete without a 360-degree evaluation and audit of urban water bodies and rivers passing through the inhabited areas. The health of the city population is as much dependent on the air it breathes as on the water it consumes.

According to recent estimates of the Central Pollution Control Board, faecal coliform levels in the river Ganga mainstream, a stretch of about 2,500km from Gangotri to Diamond Harbour, remain above the acceptable level. In the high-altitude and oxygen- rich stretches, such as Rudraprayag and Devprayag, the faecal coliform levels are within acceptable levels, but are rising fast. This indicates an inadequacy of the flow needed for dilution. It also points towards the incapability of the Government that allowed the coliform levels to increase despite being in the know.

As exceedingly tough environmental circumstances develop, challenging urban communities to fulfill the basic needs of quality air and water, the Government on its part needs to deploy tougher measures to curb the threat of falling environmental standards. As part of this, it should explore levying stiff penalties on municipal corporations under whose watch, air and water pollution is found to be more than the permissible limits. Another indicator for attracting penalty could be the increased numbers of health disorders related to adverse environmental impact.

Similarly, the city administration should be trained to maintain and monitor a healthy air and water quality level by using state-of-the-art technology. The same technology can be adapted to generate daily advisory messages for the population, by way of updates through smart-phone applications, on how to avoid areas of extreme pollution, and related health tips.

This will help to make environment monitoring an active, real time and mainstream concept that is refreshingly different from the current practice of passive monitoring and data collection which ends up in voluminous reports that hardly anyone is interested in.

-The Pioneer, 6th February 2014

Arunendra Kumar inaugurated the Darjeeling Hill Railway loco and coach at the 37th anniversary of the National Rail Museum

National Rail Museum of the Ministry of Railways celebrated its 37 years of existence in Delhi recently. Arunendra Kumar, chairman Railway Board, was the chief guest at the celebrations. On this occasion Kumar inaugurated the Darjeeling Hill Railway (DHR) loco and coach after restoration by the National Rail Museum engineers, technicians and professionals and dedicated it to the public.

The Ho-Ho bus service has also been introduced for National Rail Museum. Kumar also flagged off the first Ho-Ho service from National Rail Museum. The other important dignitaries present included Kanta Kumar, president RWWCO, Railway Board members, Alok Johri, AK Mital, DP Pande, Kul Bhushan, Subodh Jain, Rajendra Kashyap, financial commissioner, HK Jaggi, secretary Railway Board, VK Gupta, general manager Northern Railway, PHOD’s of Northern Railway and Northern Railway officers, secretary and executive committee members of RWWCO officers from Railway Board, CMD’s of PSU’s, AK Sachan, DRM/DLI and his divisional team, Manu Goel, Uday Singh Mina, director, National Rail Museum.

Kumar also felicitated the winners of the on-the-spot drawing and painting competition that was organised for children on the occasion of children’s day in 2013. Kanta Kumar, president, RWWCO was present. A cultural progamme by Sangam Kala Group an NGO for promoting budding talents was organised on the occasion.

-The Pioneer, 6th February 2014

The Centre has given its nod to Delhi’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage City status. Delhi has cited the historical city of Shahjahanabad and the more recent Lutyens’ Delhi in its bid for heritage status. The deadline for submitting entries ended last week.

While Delhi’s bid has been sent as the final entry, Mumbai is also in contention as an alternative. “January 31 was the last date for sending entries. In a meeting held earlier this month, the government cleared Delhi’s proposal. Mumbai has been kept as an alternative,” conservation architect Shikha Jain said. She is member-secretary of the advisory committee on world heritage constituted by the Ministry of Culture. The committee cleared the proposal.

On the choice of Delhi, Jain said, “It was a collective decision. We have to look at whether a proposal meets the World Heritage operational guidelines, especially with regard to management. Over the last couple of years, Delhi had revised its proposal.” Initially, of the seven historical cities in Delhi, four figured in the dossier prepared for the bid. Following consultations with international experts and in line with UNESCO guidelines, the list was pruned to just Shahjahanabad and Lutyens’ Delhi. “Narrowing it down to these two capitals and focusing on a storyline worked in Delhi’s favour. But the proposals by Mumbai and Ahmedabad were also good and could be considered next year,” Jain said.

Called ‘Imperial Cities of Delhi’, Delhi’s dossier focuses on Old Delhi’s Shahjahanabad area — which served as the capital under Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan from 1638 to 1648 — and the British capital planned by architect Edwin Lutyens. According to AGK Menon, Delhi convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, which prepared the dossier, these two cities stand out in a number of ways. “Both capitals were build as new cities… Both capitals still function… Both are living cities. They are not ruins or dead cities,” he said.

Heritage experts said UNESCO’s decision will be known only next year. “This June, they will appoint people for evaluating the dossiers. After scrutiny, they could seek clarifications. A decision will be made only in June 2015,” an expert said. Listing the challenges that might emerge, Jain said, “The greatest challenge is with regard to management in an Indian city. In cities that have this status, strict legislations protect the heritage structures. In India, we have not looked at urban heritage in that light until now. The rigorous screening process will raise such concerns.”

Menon, however, felt it was unfair to compare India with developed countries. “India is a developing country, a democracy which is difficult to govern. This does not mean we do not have heritage. It cannot be compared with Europe. All these factors have to be taken into account…”

-The Indian Express, 6th February 2014

Thanks to migratory waterbirds taking refuge here, the Najafgarh drain, the longest sewage drain in the Capital, has now been transformed into a wetland habitat.

Asian Waterbird Census (AWC), an international census for wetland and water birds monitoring, recorded more diversity of birds at the Najafgarh drain this year.

Dearth of a sustainable wetland in the city has forced migratory waterbirds to make the drain their habitat. The total species of resident and migratory birds at the drain site “numbers 3,341” with bar-headed goose, graylag goose, greater flamingo and black-winged stilt, cattle egret (resident species) and various threatened species (black-headed ibis, oriental darter) being the most prevalent. However, the population of waterbirds is more at the marshland downstream.

“Compared to previous years, a total of 50 species have been sighted this year. This sewage wetland attracted 30 species of winter migratory waterbirds such as bar-headed goose, graylag goose, Eurasian spoonbill, coot and Northern shoveler in large numbers. These birds, residents of South Asia, are seen during the breeding season in Central and North Asia. These birds include four International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red-listed category of threatened species – black-headed ibis, oriental darter, painted stork and black stork,” said environmentalist T. K. Roy.

Mr. Roy feels it is high time that policy-makers need to take a look at this ecological development. “Governmental intervention to protect the environment and sustainable conservation in Delhi is badly required. If this wetland habitat has to be preserved for the residents of Delhi, particularly avid bird lovers, then government or environmental organisations need to step in,” Mr. Roy told The Hindu.

Explaining the reason for the sudden increase in waterbird population, Mr. Roy said extreme habitat disturbance at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary during the migratory winter period compelled many species including the flock of greater flamingo to abandon the sanctuary and make Najafgarh drain their home.

The census data of the migratory waterbirds at the drain site was collated and analysed by Wetlands International – South Asia. The census was carried out as per the standardised monitoring methodology and field protocol for counting waterbirds of the Wetlands International. The census data is fed into an international programme to maintain an overview of the population size, status and trends of water birds and the wetland habitats.

AWC 2014 was conducted with active participation of thousands of volunteer birders under coordination of the state coordinators and a national coordinator.

-The Hindu, 7th February 2014

In a major boost for wildlife conservation and protection of corridors, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has okayed eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) proposal for Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district. According to NTCA sources, decision was taken at a meeting called by MoEF at Delhi on January 29. The eco-zone of TATR will be 1,347 sq km, more than double the area of Tadoba (625 sq km). In a victory for the greens, the proposal includes controversial coal-beds in Bandar in the North of Tadoba and Lohara in the South thus precluding any mining activity there.

On May 5, 2010, government already notified 1,103.34 sq km Tadoba buffer zone. It includes 125 sq km area under Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), 901.66 sq km with Chandrapur division and 76.17 sq km with Brahmapuri. All these areas are under administrative control of Tadoba field director. However, an additional area of 244 sq km has been brought under eco-zone.

When contacted, Dilip Singh, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF) for planning & management (wildlife), who attended the Delhi meeting, refused to go into the details but confirmed that all formalities had been completed and MoEF may issue an official notification of Tadoba eco-zone soon. ""The eco-zone proposals for other sanctuaries and national parks are on track,"" Singh added.

According to sources, apart from entire notified buffer zone of Tadoba, the additional area that forms the corridor to Umred and another patch that moves down towards Chaprala has been included in eco-zone. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) officials also approved the proposal.

There were certain clarifications on Tadoba ESZ plan that were complied with immediately. There were some proposals from states like MP too.

More than 50% of the ESZ area included reserve forests. The physical boundary of Tadoba ESZ includes boundary of Chandrapur and Nagpur forest circles in the North, railway line between Gondia and Chanda Fort in South, Human river and boundary with Chandrapur and Brahmapuri division in the East and Irai dam and its backwaters in West.

The MoEF had issued guidelines for notification of ESZs around national parks and sanctuaries on February 9, 2011. However, progress was far from satisfactory. Only a few states including Maharashtra came forward with proposals. It has been more than a decade since wildlife conservation strategy-2002 was adopted by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) that envisaged, among other things, declaring lands falling within 10km of the boundary of the parks as eco-fragile zones. However, due to reservations by states, the matter was examined by the NBWL in 2005, wherein it was decided to have site-specific ESZs. Eco-zones are created under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to deter projects like mines, power projects, saw mills and hazardous industries that negatively affect the protected area. Sources said the MoEF would issue a draft notification after which 60 days would be granted for suggestions and objections. A final notification will follow.

What will Tadoba ESZ mean?

* In ESZ area, polluting units like mines, quarrying, power plants, saw mills that are hazardous and cause air, noise and water pollution are prohibited. This will help protect forests and tiger corridors * Controversial mines like Bandar and Lohara, which were being pushed by influential politicians to benefit private power companies will not be allowed * Erection of electric cables and telecom towers will be regulated by underground cabling.

* ESZ will help reduce man-animal conflict in Chandrapur

* Ongoing agriculture and horticulture practices by local communities along with dairies, dairy farming, aquaculture and fisheries will be permitted. Rain water harvesting will be promoted

* Widening and strengthening of roads and construction of new roads shall be done with proper mitigation measures * Adoption of green technology for all activities will be promoted. Cottage and small-scale industries not causing pollution and village artisans will be promoted

-The Pioneer, 7th February 2014

Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has informed National Green Tribunal that 33 restaurants in Hauz Khas Village have been given consent to operate after they filed the required documents.

These restaurants have also installed effluent treatment plants (ETP) and generator sets that meet noise and air pollution standards. Following the DPCC submissions, the tribunal disposed of the plea that had alleged that the eateries in Hauz Khas Village were discharging untreated effluents into the environment and not complying with norms. As DPCC has given the clearence, "we hold that nothing survives in so far as the said 33 restaurants are concerned", the bench said.

DPCC has been directed to find out about other such eateries and take action against them. It will have to report the same to NGT before the next hearing on March 26.

-The Times of India, 8th February 2014

It was an interesting blend of historical narrative and knowledge on contemporary conservation work for all those who assembled at the Humayun’s Tomb, a world heritage site, on Saturday morning.

A group of people from different walks of life were explained the rationale behind certain architectural design patterns and gardens of the Mughal era. Most importantly, they were updated about the significant restoration work undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which has also improved the socio-economic conditions of people living in the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti.

Part of The Hindu Lit for Life, the event aimed at shedding light on the Mughal era was thankfully not a monologue but an interactive one as curious heritage lovers bombarded with questions AKTC project director Ratish Nanda, who spearheaded the restoration work of the Humayun’s Tomb. Mr. Nanda succinctly explained the work done so far by his organisation.

The participants were first taken to the Isa Khan’s Garden Tomb, which pre-dates the Humayun’s Tomb. “We are standing within the large Humayun’s Tomb complex. It is an ensemble of the 16 Century garden tomb. How many of you have read the Baburnama? In his memoir, Mughal emperor Babur was critical of the lack of enclosed gardens in Hindustan. Isa Khan was a noble in the court of Sher Shah Suri. It is the only octagonal tomb surviving of that period,” said Mr. Nanda.

Reconstruction of the collapsed portions of the gateway, restoration of the finial on the dome and structural repairs to the garden retaining wall have been undertaken as part of the conservation work at the Isa Khan’s Garden Tomb.

While explaining the significant work carried out, Mr. Nanda was critical of the “nasty” reconstruction work undertaken during the past 150 years. He said using inappropriate construction material such as cement had led to deterioration of heritage buildings. Pointing out that Aga Khan offered to restore the garden of Humayun’s Tomb on the 50 anniversary of India’s Independence, the AKTC project director said cement concrete laid in the tomb during the 20 Century to prevent water ingress was removed from the roof. “As cement plaster was accelerating deterioration, we had to apply lime plaster. The conservation work was carried out to restore the architectural integrity. There were lightning conductors in canopies. The dome was leaking. So we had to fill the joint with limestone.”

As part of the conservation work, master craftsmen from Uzbekistan trained youngsters from the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti in the art of traditional tile making which had been lost in India.

During the interactive session, Mr. Nanda revealed that Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar had taken refuge at the Humayun’s Tomb thinking “the British would not dare to intrude inside.”

“But he was wrong. After his capture, it became important for the British since the Mughal emperor had been captured there.”

For one of the visitors, the field trip was an engaging exercise and a treat since the AKTC project manager explained comprehensively the challenges to restore the Humayun’s Tomb to its pristine glory. “In Europe, we have such sessions where the main supervisors explain the architectural work carried out. We should have more such events.” Senior citizens from Delhi and the National Capital Region and foreigners also participated in the nearly two-hour-long heritage walk.

-The Hindu, 9th February 2014

We are blissfully ignorant of the artistic treasures that surround us, and the recently launched Aesthetics Project intends to bridge just this gap.

Aesthetics is not just about beauty, it’s about the distillation of a mood, an emotion, a thought, an ambience, a smell, a note, a colour based on the knowledge of the process of its creation. The Aesthetics Project held in Delhi over two days last month brought together national and international scholars, who spoke on new research in Indian aesthetics. “Their talks stemmed,” said Pramod Kumar of Eka Resources, the creative brain behind the project, “from a gamut of experiences, ideas, concepts and objects as depicted and seen through the filters of painting, connoisseurship, jewellery, architecture, ceramics and archaeology.”

What made the exercise outstanding was that it acted as a mediating ground between practitioners and academics who know and work in the field but don’t get a chance to talk about their ideas on a public platform. Like John Seyller, Professor of Art History at the University of Vermont, U.S., and a leading expert on Mughal History, who was really happy that he finally got to meet Dr. Jyotindra Jain, an Indian art and cultural historian whose work he has been reading over the past few years. Seyller also got to address an Indian audience.

His talk spoke of how his work gets to the underlying ethos of Mughal painting by using codicology, looking at the margins, inventory notes, and comments to determine how Mughals used their paintings and manuscripts. In the middle of the 16th century, their art included European techniques, historical and Hindu themes, and a greater diversity of subjects. “A magnifying glass, second-class travel and lots of patience” helped him find many informal, hidden notes, a number of workshop orders prescribing instructions to subjects, even due dates for each art work.

Molly Emma Aitken’s talk on Mughal Connoisseurship of Longing took us through themes from poetry, love as it happened in India, social gatherings and court life, to painting and music. Like the Laud Ragmala album where Persian and Hindu traditions came together, leading to the enjoyment of both traditions, Mughal and Rajput. The intellectual history that came together from this intertwining of painting and poetry forged the social milieu of both their worlds.

Dr. Usha R. Balakrishnan, an independent historian who lectures at SNDT University in Mumbai, focused on the influences on Indian jewellery during the late 19th and early 20the centuries. It was an age when Indian princely magnificence met European design, she said. Apart from their immense visual appeal, she spoke of the historical evolution of design, and the influences of European and Indian craftsmen on each other, thus unfolding a multi-layered narrative.

Giles Tilletson spoke of how in 1867, Samuel Johnson moved to Jaipur and with the building of Albert Hall, Indian engineering took a turn when style and tradition were integrated into modern drawing. Thakur Amar Singh’s diaries reveal the making of Narain Niwas, tracing the evolution of architectural design through well-preserved documents in the Amar Singh Library and Museum at Kanota. While Umaid Bhavan in Jodhpur remains a spectacular example of 20th century palaces, Ramgarh Lodge was made by Sawai Man Singh as a hunting lodge in neo-classical style.

The art and history of ceramics added another dimension to the Aesthetics Project. Cristine Michael talked of the role that colonialism played in the development of ceramics. From the experimentation done by Alex Hunter with red clay in Chengalpattu to make bricks, it was an intense and gripping study of a lot that we take for granted.

Of community and antiquarian practices in archaeology, unique stories were unravelled by Nayanjot Lahiri, Professor of History, DU, taking us through the archaeological significance of the villages around Delhi. Community practices of worship and ceremony and local legends are responsible for keeping the sculptural and built relics well preserved. Non-western practices ensured preservation within a context where they were revered. Traces of objects being collected as decoratives have showed up in Taxila – indication that such practices might well be rooted in ancient times though they are not documented.

Francesco Clemento’s famous Pondicherry Pastels put forward what he thought of identity as being fragmented with no centre, although he added that geography was important to give root to your work. “In India, excessive light burns all colours during the day and at night they are born again — as pastels.” Going through the Sun Moon Five Senses collection with Jyotindra Jain, he said, “There is a fortunate time in the life of an artist when he has limited means and doesn’t have endless choices,” — thus choosing to leave this series unfinished since that was the way he perceived life.

The writer is CEO of Siyahi, a literary consultancy.

-The Deccan Herald, 9th February 2014

Around 7,000 trees across 32 acres (think 1.5 times the size of Oval Maidan in south Mumbai) of forest land have been cut down in an eco-sensitive zone of the Western Ghats between December 2013 and January 2014 to make way for a toll plaza on NH-17. If built, it will involve the flattening of hills on either side of a road. The issue is currently in appeal in the Bombay high court.

The area, which falls within Banda village on the Mumbai-Goa highway, is a stone's throw from the Maharashtra-Goa border. A cursory glance at a map shows that the area is unsuitable for a toll booth as several roads around it can help bypass the spot.

A high court petition against the project claimed mining is the real reason why the government wants to acquire the 1.3 lakh sq m land. A 2010 note by Maharashtra's Directorate of Geology and Mines said: "It is expected that the project area may incorporate substantial quantity of iron ore, so no-objection certificate may not be given to RTO (to build the toll booth)." Several other objections, including by government officials, have been made, but been brushed aside.

Banda village was never a part of the original plan for the toll booth. Villagers say the area is also an elephant corridor. Moreover, it is now among the villages on the list of eco-sensitive areas declared by the ministry of environment and forests in a November 2013 directive. Activities such as quarrying, mining and building and construction projects on 20,000 sq m and above are not allowed in such areas.

But a month later, in December 2013, the tree authority of the Sawantwadi forest department allowed 1,279 trees to be cleared in the area on the grounds that no part of Sindhudurg district had been declared eco-sensitive. In a matter of days, the area was shorn of trees. Now the same tree authority has said that while permission was given to cut 1,279 trees, Maharashtra's border check-post authorities had cut an additional 5,429.

The toll booth is part of a 2008 proposal by the Maharashtra State Road Development Cooperation (MSRDC) for the modernization and computerization of 22 toll booths. The original proposal talks only about Insuli village. Till today, the MSRDC website shows Insuli as the spot for the proposed toll booth. Banda cropped up in a handwritten MSRDC note which called for a study of the costs and benefits of both Insuli and Banda for the toll booth. No mention was made of the fact that more roads from Goa to Mumbai bypass Banda than Insuli. Incidentally, there is already a checkpost at Insuli.

The divisional commissioner for the Konkan region, in a letter dated June 20, 2012, had raised several issues over violations in the process of land acquisition for the project.

Further, villagers from Banda who lost their land for the proposed toll booth have shown, in their petition to the high court, the area falls under the command area of the Tilari-Banda canal. According to the Maharashtra Irrigation Act, no quarrying or mining using explosives is allowed within 200m of a canal boundary. The irrigation department, in response to an RTI application filed by Saiprasad Kalyankar, a chartered accountant from the village and one of those affected by the project, says it has not given the government any permission for blasting or quarrying in the area.

The villagers battling the project have pointed out in court that a report on the site by a land acquisition officer in 2009 was fraudulent, did not mention the canal, and was made without a site visit. The high court, in an order dated April 5, 2013, ruled against the villagers. "The objection that a false report was submitted without actually carrying out inspection does not render the acquisition illegal," the court said, adding, "Merely because certain queries were made by the Divisional Commissioner, the acquisition does not become illegal."

When contacted, MSRDC MD Bipin Shrimali said the site was identified by the transport department and land acquisition done by the revenue department. "I cannot comment on this particular spot. However, when it comes to cutting trees, this is always done with the approval of the competent authority," he adds.

-The Times of India, 9th February 2014

The Asian Waterbird Census has thrown up happy surprises this time. Not only the number of wetland birds spotted in Delhi during the census has increased marginally, but their diversity has also gone up quite a bit compared to previous years.

For instance, Pied Avocet, a black and white coloured wader, is usually not seen in Delhi but the census team spotted about 23 of them. They also spotted eight River Lapwings, a threatened species.

The species spotted most is Black-winged Stilt. The team found 207 of them at various wetlands compared to 77 last year. "We are seeing a lot of birds which we usually don't see in Delhi. The diversity of birds has improved. This could also be because birds have moved from Okhla sanctuary to other wetlands upstream," said AWC's Delhi state coordinator TK Roy. In October, UP government had withdrawn a lot of water from Okhla wetland for maintenance work at the barrage which, according to Roy, may have disrupted their habitat.

A team of 16 volunteers had covered three wetlands in Delhi—Okhla bird sanctuary, Najafgarh drain basin and Yamuna for the census on January 11-26. "We documented 23 species and about 439 birds during this census. Diversity was best at Najafgarh drain basin. Most sightings happened upstream of Yamuna because the water is comparatively cleaner there. The census this year shows that if wetlands can be revived, Delhi will have good wetland bird diversity," added Roy. Most birds were spotted between Wazirabad barrage and Nizamuddin bridge.

-The Times of India, 10th February 2014

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials have assured trouble-free Char Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand this season. In a meeting on Saturday, DG Lt Gen AT Parnaik ascertained Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Oscar Fernandes and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat that all roads leading to the pilgrimages would be operable by April 2014.

BRO has set itself April 30 deadline for completing road repair work in the higher terrains of Uttarakhand, which was ravaged by flash floods and torrential rain in June, last year.

The BRO has been entrusted with the task of repair and reconstruction of damaged roads leading to the famous Himalayan shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri. Last December, reconstruction work in the region had come to a standstill. The BRO had blamed bad weather and shortage of funds, manpower and machinery as reasons for delay in repair work.

In a fresh bid to the Government, the BRO has sought more funds, manpower, machinery and material from the Government to help it achieve its target.

“The BRO has been asked to submit its requirements to the State Government by February 15. The State in-turns, if it deems necessary will further forward a formal request to the centre, if it fails to give funds from its own resources,” said an official from the Ministry of Roads.

The BRO has also been asked to identify road stretches close to rivers which are vulnerable to erosion and submit a list in this regard to the State Government for taking of corrective measures. Rawat assured the BRO that mobile vans, water tanks and food subsidy will be provided to its personnel who are engaged in road repair work. Stone crushers and other building material will also be provided, he added. Fernandes said that the entire amount sanctioned to the BRO for restoring the road network would be released soon and assured that there will be no dearth of funds for the work.

Large stretches of roads in Uttarakhand suffered extensive damage in the mid-June flash floods in the State last year.

-The Pioneer, 10th February 2014

Putrid water is being released by 16 drainage channels in Delhi, says Irrigation Minister With water from the Yamuna river becoming increasingly contaminated and unfit for human consumption in Agra and Mathura, the Uttar Pradesh government has served notice on the Delhi government to ensure that toxic water is not released into the river by factories.

The State government is of the firm view that toxicity of the Yamuna river increases downstream as it flows into Agra and Mathura, mainly on account of the putrid water released by 16 ‘nullahs’ (drainage channels) in Delhi.

“Our priority is to provide safe and potable water to the people of Agra and Mathura,” said Uttar Pradesh Irrigation and Public Works Department Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav here on Sunday. Referring to the notice served on the Delhi government on Friday, Mr. Yadav said sewage treatment plants should be installed in factories operating in Delhi. He said 16 ‘nullahs’ drained dirty water into the river in Delhi.

“About 400 cusecs of water from the Ganga is supplied to Delhi and although Uttar Pradesh would not want to suspend the water supply, if there is no reply to the notice by the Delhi government, the State government will consider the option of supplying the same water to Agra and Mathura,” Mr. Yadav told reporters on Sunday.

The Minister said filthy water being released into the Yamuna in return for clean drinking water being supplied to Delhi was “certainly not on”. The toxicity of the river has proved harmful for humans and marine life, he said.

Taking pot-shots at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal without naming him, the Irrigation Minister said Mr. Kejriwal has been elected by the people and “should work towards their benefit instead of indulging in naatakbaazi (theatrics).”

The Yamuna water issue has been taken up with Delhi earlier too. Mr. Yadav said he had raised the subject with former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit at a meeting of Chief Ministers presided over by the then Union Water Resources Minister, Harish Rawat. However, no headway was made, he said.

-The Hindu, 10th February 2014

During a session of the Delhi Heritage Club, historiographer Akbarabadi Sahib narrated facts and stories about the city and some of its monuments, writes R. V. Smith Last week the Delhi Heritage Club held an engrossing Sunday afternoon session at the enclosure known as Wazirpur-ka-Gumbad. Headed by Vikramjit Singh, the club meets at some historical site or the other from time to time. Vikramjit’s Namdhari sect had a 19th Century Guru, Ram Singh, who was exiled to Rangoon some years after Bahadur Shah Zafar following the Kuka rebellion of 1872. That’s how the young business executive got interested in history.

Well Wazirpur-ka-Gumbad, despite the building of a temple and a gurdwara on one side, is still very much a picturesque place. About 50 people, from different professions, scientists, businessmen, a photographer, a history buff, Arif and housewives all flocked to hear a talk on Delhi of the past. They sat on the grassy lawn just outside a medieval baoli or step-well and did not let their attention waver despite the distraction caused by children.

Ramakrishna Puram has around it the villages of Munirka, Mohammadpur, Basantnagar and Kusumpur. The area is dotted with numerous tombs, mosques and pavilions, most of them of the Lodi period. Here we have the three-domed Tin Burji, east of Mohammadpur, Malik-Munirka mosque in Munirka (Wazirpur-ka-Gumbad is one km to its north) and the dome-less Munda Gumbads nearby. Munirka Gumbad, south-west of R. K. Puram, has an octagonal chamber and Bada Lao-ka-Gumbad to its east. Bajre-ka-Gumbad, 500 metres away is on the north-east and a nameless tomb to the north-west dating to Sikandar Lodi’s time. Another monument of the second Lodi ruler’s time is Khwajasarai Basti’s tomb, along with a beautiful baoli with dalans or verandahs. To the west is a mosque with inscriptions of Quranic verses. Its gateway has a chhatri as its crown. The tomb of Basti Khwajasarai is in front of the gate. The Khwajasarais were hermophrodites who were born as such with underdeveloped male organs. Khwajasarai Basti served Sikander Lodi and was honoured by him even after death, as is evident from his monument.

In South Extension-Part I, north of the Ring Road, is Kale Khan-ka-Gumbad built in 1481 at the time of Bahlul Lodi, founder of the dynasty. In it is buried Mubarak Khan, father of Darya Khan, whose tomb is near by. Not far away are the Bhure Khan-ka-Gumbad and Chhote and Bare Khan Gumbads. Kotla Mubarkpur has the tomb of Mubarak Shah Sayyid who reigned from 1421 to 1434. He was murdered at the time of Friday afternoon prayers at the behest of Sarvur-ul-Mulk whom he had dismissed as Revenue Minister. “With a low dome, buttresses and chhatris, the tomb looks stunted but is a good example of the octagonal Sayyid tombs”.

In such surroundings after a discussion on the area’s architecture, it was time for a talk on Shahjahanabad. The historiographer touched on many landmarks and other aspects of the old city.

Here are some excerpts: When Delhi was planned by Shah Jahan, it had Agra as its model. Whatever embellished the capital of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan initially was reintroduced in Shahjahanabad and whatever was dross was omitted. The narrow streets of the older city were a hindrance to the smooth flow of traffic.

They also got choked when royal processions were taken out. The shops that came up in Chandni Chowk and the mohallas surrounding the Jama Masjid were low compared to the ones in Agra, where few of these survive. During the time of Jahandar Shah (1711-12) the dandy emperor’s detractors used to refer to Chandni Chowk as Kothawali-ka-Rasta because his concubine, Lal Kanwar came that way to the Red Fort. In Mohammad Shah Rangila’s reign it acquired the epithet of Rangila Chowk but in 1739, when Nadir Shah massacred the residents, it was branded as Khooni Chowk. To the north of it the Red Fort square is cluttered up with all sorts of vehicles now but there was a time when mud houses made this place a veritable jhuggi-jhonpri colony. That was after 1857 when Bahadur Shah had been banished to Rangoon and the fort placed at the disposal of the British troops. People who had been uprooted during the uprising found shelter in mud hutments which led to the formation of slums right up to Kashmere Gate.

Delhi has many kutchas or enclosed localities but Kutcha Dilwali Singh (or Singhan) is one which has an enviable history. The personage who lent it his name was the maternal uncle (mamu) of Guru Gobind Singh. The story is now the stuff of legends.

How did lonely people pass their time in Delhi? Now of course there are the movies, TV, recreation clubs, restaurants, parks, public lectures and the world of art. Marco Polo, a columnist who toured India 50 years ago, found to his disappointment that even after Independence the people had changed little from 1908 when Sir Frederick Treves remarked on them.

Later the novelist E.M. Forster had commented that loneliness affected more people in India than perhaps anywhere else in the world.

To get over loneliness some still tell tales, like the fishermen of the Jama Masjid area. When the tales end it is time for the fishermen’s dinner. But that Sunday it was time for the historiographer, Akbarabadi Sahib to leave for a late lunch after his exhilarating narration.

-The Hindu, 10th February 2014

The Little Rann of Kutch offers wildlife enthusiasts and tourists an experience to cherish The first thought on entering the sanctuary of the Little Rann (which means salt marsh in Hindi) of Kutch (LRK) is - can this wilderness be a paradise for birds and animals? One gets the answer only after touring LRK, set up in 1973 in Kutch district of Gujarat in an area of 4,953 square kilometres. It is the abode of a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates and plants and the last refuge of the wild ass.

Entering from Dhrangadhra, one sees vast fields of cotton and cumin seeds. The latter are fenced with colourful saris - to keep away the birds. After traversing for 15 minutes one saw a siege of common cranes (grus grus) in flight. The long-necked slate grey birds have blackish head and upper neck with a dull red naked patch on the nape. The bird feeds on groundnut and spends the day and most of the night on river sandbanks. During the breeding season it becomes more carnivorous, feeding on insects, frogs, rodents, snakes and small birds.

The lake was a riot of colours with flamingos — both Greater (phoenicopterus rubber) and Lesser (phoenicopterus minor) - present in large numbers. The Greater Flamingo, the State bird of Gujarat, has a rosy white plumage with splashes of red on the wings with its pink bill turned inwards. It outstretches its long legs and neck with the black-bordered scarlet wings in full display when in flight. The lesser flamingo — the smallest of the family — is pale to dark pink in colour and has a dark red bill. Both the species feed on algae, insects, worms, crabs, etc. The highly social birds move around in flocks, whether feeding, breeding or travelling. Nests too are made in colonies by piling up mud to form large mounds. After the single egg hatches, both parents share feeding and baby care duties.

After travelling some distance, one spotted a herd of Indian wild ass (equus hemionus khur) which was once found in areas beyond Gujarat as far as Rajasthan, Sindh, Baluchistan and right up to Afghanistan and Iran. The group comprised three females and two foals. The male is always alone and does not join the group. The pride of LRK, it grazes on the local vegetation (morad and unt morad), weighs between 160 and 260 kilograms with a life span of up to 28 years and gives birth to one foal at a time, after a gestation period of 11 to 12 months. Gifted with an extremely well developed sense of smell, the creature with a sandy coloured coat is very shy, as was evident when the herd moved away sighting the visitors. The sanctuary boasts a population of 4037 wild asses, with the next census due this year.

While leaving the sanctuary, a stroll in the interpretation centre of the forest department proved enlightening as it displayed exhaustive descriptions and pictures of the flora and fauna of LRK with forest guards providing useful information. LRK can be accessed from Bajana village, Dasada, Zainabad and Dhrangadhra. Connected by a network of metalled roads, it can be reached from Ahmedabad airport (130 km) and Dhrangadhra railway station (22 km). The best time to visit is from mid-October to mid-June.

(The writer was at the Little Rann of Kutch on the invitation of the 4th Global Bird Watchers’ Conference 2014, organised at Gandhinagar recently by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited, Forest Department, Government of Gujarat in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Industry and Commerce.)

-The Hindu, 10th February 2014

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana government on an application to take immediate and adequate steps to prescribe stringent emission standards for both petrol and diesel vehicles to control and reduce air pollution and protect the health and well-being of citizens.

The Green Bench comprising Justices A.K. Patnaik, S.S. Nijjar and Ibrahim Kalifulla issued notices after hearing senior counsel and amicus curiae Harish Salve bringing to the court’s notice the report of the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority for the National Capital Region and seeking its immediate intervention. The report said: “Particulate pollution, a serious public health threat and key target of air pollution control measures, is rising rapidly after initial stabilisation. The annual average PM10 levels were reduced by about 16% between 2002 and 2007. Since then particulate levels have increased dramatically by 75%. During the same decade (2002 to 2012), vehicle numbers have increased by as much as 97%, contributing enormously to pollution load and direct exposure to toxic fume. Studies show that about 55 per cent of Delhi’s 17 million people, who live within 500 m from any road side, are directly exposed to toxic vehicular fume.”

It said: “This winter, Delhi’s air pollution levels increased to dangerous levels. Almost throughout this winter, levels of PM2.5, tinier particle that go very deep inside the lungs, have remained two to three times reaching up to four to seven times the standards and during high smog episodes even hit eight to 10 times the standards. This is extremely dangerous for people suffering from asthma, other respiratory and cardiac problems and also for children and the elderly.”

Immediate introduction The report wanted immediate introduction of Bharat Stage IV standards nation-wide and said: “It will give substantial benefits. While Bharat Stage IV particulate standards for cars are 50% cleaner than Bharat Stage III standards and Bharat Stage IV particle standards for trucks and diesel buses are 81% cleaner. Uniform emissions standards will allow trucks and interstate buses to move to cleaner fuel and technology that otherwise pollute cities during transit.

The court in July last had issued notice on the petition filed by Dr. Arvind Gupta, economist, highlighting the pollution being caused by diesel vehicles.

In his petition, he had said: “The data available from the WHO shows that Indian cities are almost 10 times more polluted than the other cities of the world, which is a serious infraction of the fundamental rights of the citizens of India. The WHO estimates that more than two million people die every year from breathing in tiny particles present in indoors and outdoors due to air pollution. PM10 particles, which are particles of 10 micrometers or less, which can penetrate into the lungs and may enter the bloodstream, can cause heart disease, lung cancer, asthma, and acute lower respiratory infections.”

The bench directed the matters to be listed for further hearing on March 3.

Take immediate and adequate steps to prescribe stringent emission standards on all parameters, says the Green Bench

-The Hindu, 11th February 2014

The British-era Howrah Bridge, Kolkata’s iconic landmark that serves as a crucial gateway for the eastern metropolis and ferries hundreds of thousands of vehicles every day, is getting a fresh coat of paint after eight years. The steel behemoth, also known as Rabindra Setu, which forms the crucial connect between the bustling eastern metropolis and Howrah district over the Hooghly river, is getting spruced up with a whopping 26,000 litres of lead-free paint.

“This is a routine paint job which is done after 5 – 6 years. The last time it was painted in 2005. The National Test House officials will check the quality of the paint, the thickness...and other crucial parameters,” said Chief Engineer A.K. Mehera of Kolkata Port Trust – the body responsible for maintenance of the bridge.

The 26,500-tonne structure, which finds mention in Rudyard Kipling’s works, was commissioned in 1943 replacing a pontoon bridge linking the two towns. It was the fourth longest cantilever suspension bridge in the world at that time. Stretching for 2,150 feet and rising up to 280 feet from its foundation, the ‘Gateway to Kolkata’ ranks as the sixth longest bridge of its type in the world.

As the structure is exposed to environmental factors like pollution and weather changes, the first part of the mammoth job involves getting rid of the rust and old paint.

“This is followed by a primer which has anti-corrosive properties. Then aluminium paint will be applied for further protection, following which the final rubber-based paint will be applied...the shade will be steel, as before,” he said.

-The Hindu, 12th February 2014

Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat has urged the 14th finance commission to incorporate forest cover in the devolution formulae or give at least an additional Rs 2,000 crore a year as ‘green bonus’ to the state.

The state government’s plea is that extensive forest area with a need for conservation in the national and global context prevents alternative economic use of land resources, which can result in higher marginal returns, and increases transaction costs because of the time and effort needed to get clearances.

“A natural endowment thus becomes more of a handicap. I, therefore, make an earnest request to the finance commission to give weight to Uttarakhand forest as a national and even global resource and the best way to address it is to build it into the devolution formula and treat it as a special problem while arriving at the total quantum of transfer to the state,” Rawat said.

The 13th finance commission had recommended only Rs 205.4 crore over the five-year period for management of forests as per working plan prescriptions, he said.

Rawat said the small size of Uttarakhand municipalities was another unique feature that often becomes a handicap. “Most municipalities have to bear the burden of a large floating population without corresponding revenue generation,” he pleaded before the 14th finance commission.

Citing the high pilgrim inflow during May-November when most shrines become accessible, the CM said there was a dire need of funds to improve infrastructure, including roads, considering the limited rail network in the state and almost non-existent air services.

Rawat also highlighted the losses the state suffered in the last year’s flash floods.

-The Indian Express, 12th February 2014

A 2,200-YEAR-OLD Rampurva Lion Capital statue, which had made news after it was damaged during restoration work of the National Museum in Kolkata, was pieced together with adhesives. The NBCC, a subsidiary of the urban development ministry that was carrying out the restoration at the museum, had come under fire for damaging the statue. It has now come to light that the statue was broken before the restoration work was undertaken and had been put together using adhesives. When the officials tried to shift it, the statue broke into three pieces.

-The Indian Express, 12th February 2014

Archaeological Survey of Indiahas proposed group notification of heritage bylaws for Begumpuri Masjid, Bijai Mandal and Sarai Shahji.

The proposal has been made to National Monuments Authority at a time when they are examining bylaws for Begumpuri Masjid prepared by Intach Delhi Chapter. ASI has suggested incorporating bylaws for nearby monuments Bijai Mandal and Sarai Shahji also in the same notification. NMA is yet to take a view on this.

The prohibited area (100m radius) of Begumpuri Masjid overlaps with the prohibited area of Bijai Mandal, while the regulated area (101-300m radius) of Begumpuri Masjid overlaps with Sarai Shahji. "All monuments are centrally protected and situated in similar surroundings. We have suggested notification for Begumpuri Masjid can be extended to the other two monuments as well," said an official.

The idea can be repeated in other areas like South Extension, Mehrauli or Hauz Khas where a number of monuments are located close to one another. "For instance, in South Extension, there are monuments are located in the middle of residential area, so the bylaws made for one can be extended to the others and they can be notified together. By this method, we can expedite the process for notifying bylaws," said a source.

Under pressure to speed up the process of notifying heritage bylaws for the 3,600 plus centrally protected monuments in the country, the culture ministry has notified four institutions as expert heritage bodies which can assist in the drafting of heritage bylaws. The four institutions include Delhi's School of Planning and Architecture as well as IIT Delhi.

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage was, until recently, the only institution identified as an expert heritage body under the amended ASI Act of 2010.

Till date, only two monument bylaws, Sher Shah Gate and Khairul Manzil, have been notified but now, with more institutions involved in the process, the number is likely to go up. According to senior officials from ASI, bylaws for several monuments, including Delhi's Begumpuri Masjid, Keshi Ghat in Vrindavan, Dwarkadeesh, Sarkhej in Ahmedabad, Pataleshwar caves in Pune, Currency Building in Kolkata, churches of Goa and Farrukh Nagar in Haryana are almost ready and likely to be notified within a month.

"We will hold a meeting with all these institutions shortly and invite expressions of interest from all of them to speed up the process for drafting bylaws. The parameters are already in place and we need to sit together to fast track the process," the official said.

-The Times of India, 12th February 2014

CITYSCAPE A look at Connaught Place, for years the definitive icon of Delhi

Forget the potholes and dug up roads that have clouded our thoughts of Connaught Place in recent years. Let’s go back to the times when it was the heart of New Delhi – its four cinemas, its age-old Gaylord and Standard eateries, its United Coffee House, Volga and even Palika Bazaar which came up much after Connaught Place was established but went on to carve out its own distinct identity. Let’s go back to the circular market named after the Duke of Connaught – uncle of King George V – and its impressive colonnaded verandahs, its circular park with its jamun and jarul trees, its gulmohars and a central fountain.

Remember those days of leisure and languor; those walks past shops selling antiques on Janpath or being amused at the sight of jay walkers on Barakhamba Road, the street named after twelve pillars none of which survived to see independent India. Or spare a moment for Parliament Street which was so designed to facilitate an uninterrupted view of the city from Raisina Hills to the historic Jama Masjid. Or go a little deeper into Connaught Place and quietly take in all the concentric circles. Each one has a story to tell, each one has had its patrons, its artists and even politicians. Talking of politicians, Connaught Place has seen the mightiest of them all, ranging from the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Iron Lady Indira Gandhi and the eminently amiable Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Connaught Place has been many things to many people at many times. In winters, office-goers once soaked in the sun on its vast lawns circled by jamun trees, in monsoon the same trees provided ample fruit. In summers, the paanwallah roamed around offering Mughal-time post-lunch delicacies as did the jeera pani-wallah. Once people watched a film here and hopped on to a tonga to ride all the way to the Walled City.

The mashaq-wallah – water skin – the tonga-wallah, the soothsayers are all gone. Connaught Place, like a sepia-tinted family album, lives on its past. And its formidable name.

-The Hindu, 13th February 2014

After Connaught Place and Palika Bazaar, New Delhi Municipal Council has turned its attention to Gole Market, INA-Dilli Haat, Khan Market and Sarojini Nagar Market in the new financial year. Presenting the budget for financial year 2014-15, NDMC chairman Jalaj Srivastava said there is an urgent need to decongest these markets and redevelopment plans are on anvil.

As per the initial plan, the civic agency will construct an underground car corridor around these markets to address the growing parking requirement. The markets will have common air-conditioning units, uniform facade and more space for pedestrians. While work on Khan Market redevelopment plan will start soon, the civic agency will hire consultants to prepare a redevelopment plan for three markets.

"These markets have high footfall. But the parking space is inadequate. Now, we have to upgrade the infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the areas. The underground car corridors will provide a solution to the parking problem. We will identify parking sites in and around these markets and connect them through the car corridors," said Srivastava. Officials say the main focus in the next financial year will be on augmenting existing services ranging from water and power to sanitation. It has allocated close to Rs 1,600 crore just for redevelopment and upgrade of existing amenities. The civic agency is also set to implement its round-the-clock water supply scheme. The Rs 153-crore project has been approved by the Council and work will start shortly.

While it is planning new projects to address the parking problem, the civic agency admits that the two multi-storeyed automated parking lots in Sarojini Nagar and Baba Kharak Singh Marg have not been "complete.

-The Economic Times, 13th February 2014

Will remain open to public from February 16 to March 16

President Pranab Mukherjee will declare open the annual ‘Udyanotsav’ at the world-famous Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan on February 15. The Mughal Gardens will remain open to the public from February 16 to March 16. However, it will be closed on Mondays for maintenance.

Skill on display

This year’s main attraction will be 5,000 tulips in red, orange and yellow mixed with red and white in full bloom. Flower carpetswill also be on display at the central lawns showcasing the skill and craft of Rashtrapati Bhavan gardeners.

Soil-less farming

Other attractions include the Spiritual Garden, Herbal Garden, Bonsai Garden, Bio-diversity Park and Musical Fountain. Yellow is the dominant colour scheme of this year’s ornamental flowers. Plant lovers will be able to see a new method of soil-less farming (aquaponic cultivation) of vegetables and house plants along a vertical wall. A small cactus corner will be part of the Mughal Gardens display as in previous years.

Exclusive visitors

The entry and exit for the general public will be from gate No. 35 of the President’s Estate. The Mughal Gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For farmers, the Mughal Gardens will be open exclusively on March 18, while for the differently-abled it will be open on March 19. For defence and para-military personnel it will be open on March 20.

Entry for the differently-abled will be through the main reception of Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Herbal Garden (Tactile Garden) will be open for the visually impaired on March 19 from 2 p.m. to 4-30 p.m. Their entry will be from Gate No.12, situated on Church Road (opposite the North Avenue).

-The Hindu, 13th February 2014

India and Pakistan may be at loggerheads today, but they share the same legacy, as also the stars of Independence struggle. So, Pakistan's efforts to preserve Bhagat Singh's birthplace at Chak No. 105 GB (now Bangay village) as a heritage site come as no surprise.

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The Faisalabad district administration decision was reported by The News on Sunday, weekly edition of The News International published from Pakistan.

The News report said the plan included developing the martyr's village as part of a wider campaign to preserve the region's history and restore 45 historical buildings. Faisalabad's district coordination officer (DCO) Noorul Amin Mengal visited Bhagat Singh's house and the report quoted him saying the district administration had constituted Lyallpur Heritage Foundation for research and preservation of the site.

The native village of philanthropist Sir Ganga Ram, also in the same district, is on the list, too. "Bangay is a typical central Punjab village, surrounded by wheat and sugarcane fields," Waqar Gillani, staff reporter of The News International, wrote in an email to HT.

The house where Bhagat Singh was born still has some of his family's belongings, including his mother's spinning wheel; a big copper paraat (kneading tray), two wooden trunks and a heavy closet of steel. The items occupy the two rooms of his now almost reconstructed house which now belongs to advocate Muhammad Iqbal Virk.

The daily also quoted Virk on his family's efforts to keep the objects safe.

Welcoming the move, Jagmohan Singh, Bhagat Singh's nephew in Ludhiana, said India should also participate with the help of Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). "Thanks to the Virk family for preserving the place for so long, it's a reflection of our common heritage, struggle and history," he said.

Last year, Mengal had also initiated the process to name a roundabout in Lahore after Bhagat Singh. It is at the spot (part of the old jail) where the revolutionary freedom fighter was hanged.

-The Hindustan Times, 13th February 2014

The November 13 order, passed by Jayanthi Natarajan when she was Environment Minister, imposed a ban on clearances for new mining and other polluting industries.

The Environment Ministry informed the National Green Tribunal on Thursday that a final decision on the implementation of the Kasturirangan Committee report on the Western Ghats would be taken in a month. It clarified that the ban on new projects in the 6,000-square kilometre zone would continue.

The Ministry said it had written to six Chief Ministers, asking for their views, and their reports were to come in by February 16. Once they were received, the Ministry would take four weeks to take a final call.

The Tribunal recorded in its order: “… Additional Solicitor-General… submits that the notification/directions issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, dated November 13, 2013, continue to be in force. The Ministry has not superseded the same.”

The November 13 order, passed by Jayanthi Natarajan when she was Environment Minister, imposed a ban on clearances for new mining and other polluting industries.

After taking over the reins of the Ministry, M. Veerappa Moily announced that he would consult the Chief Ministers before implementing the report, causing confusion over the status of the previous orders. Subsequently, the Kerala government passed an order permitting small mining in the State without prior environmental clearance.

These issues were raised by the petitioner, Goa Foundation, in an on-going case before the Tribunal.

In its orders, the Tribunal said: “It is submitted that the Environment Minister has written to the Chief Ministers [asking them] to submit their views in relation to identification of eco-sensitive region by February 16. The Ministry, on submission of such views, would take a final view. For this reason, time is prayed on behalf of the Union of India.”

The Tribunal asked Kerala to clarify whether its orders also pertained to mining within the Western Ghats zone.

It will hear the case again on March 24.

-The Hindu, 14th February 2014

The National Green Tribunal has directed the agriculture ministry to hold a meeting with Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi to prepare "composite" guidelines to prevent pollution caused by straw burning.

A bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the agriculture ministry to also specify the manner and time frame required to implement the guidelines.

"We direct the ministry of agriculture to hold a meeting with all the states, including Punjab and Haryana, central pollution control board (CPCB) and the national academy of agricultural sciences and prepare composite and complete guidelines for preventing and controlling the pollution resulting from burning agricultural remnants in open fields...modality and time frame for its implementation should be placed before the tribunal," the bench said.

The order was passed after all the parties, including the Centre, state governments and CPCB suggested the formation of general guidelines. The tribunal has listed the matter for further hearing on March 21.

NGT was hearing a plea by environmentalist Vikrant Tongad who has alleged that burning of agricultural residue in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh is responsible for air pollution locally and smog in the NCR.

In the winter of 2012, a major smog episode was witnessed in the city. The Delhi government had blamed the neighbouring states for it. Environment Pollution Control Authority had directed the states, especially Punjab, to issue notifications to stop the burning of agricultural residues.

-The Times of India, 14th February 2014

“Architectural Guide Delhi” is an introduction to the built heritage of the Capital, with an emphasis on the period after 1947”

Architectural Guide Delhi, published by DOM publishers and launched recently in the Capital, is a comprehensive introduction to the architecture of Delhi. Divided into different periods — Historical (1200-1800); Colonial (1801-1947); Post-Independence (1948-70); Regionalism (1971-1990); Liberalisation (1991-2000); Post-liberalisation (2001-present day) — it includes over 200 known and obscure architectural projects, with photographs and details about their architect, accessibility, and year of completion. These are supplemented with essays on the architectural styles corresponding to these periods.

The book has been authored by Anupam Bansal, a Delhi-based architect and co-founder of ABRD Archtects, and Malini Kochupillai, also a Delhi-based architect and a photographer. For both of them, the book represented an opportunity to take the self-enclosed world of architecture to a larger public.

The authors had drawn up a list of about 300-350 projects, but could not include all of them, due mainly to the paucity of information. Talking about the process of selection, they say, “Projects were considered for architectural value, and availability of information…They were sourced largely from the architects, because there are no archival records of the city which you can extract these from.” Visuals proved a tricky affair too, with most public buildings out of bounds for photography.

Although the selection includes examples from all significant periods of Delhi’s history, there is a clear emphasis on post-Independence architecture of Delhi. “Every time you open a book on Delhi, there is a lot on Mughal, Sultanate and Colonial Delhi, so you kind of forget whatever has happened after Independence…The city has grown multi-fold, so it was important to document the contemporary and the modern,” says Anupam.

The period after Partition created an urgent need to resettle displaced persons, and led to the planning and building of localities of Lajpat Nagar, South Extension, Karol Bagh, New Friends Colony among others. The book acknowledges the crucial role played by the architects of Central Public Works Department, and later, the Delhi Development Authority, in creating a mix of institutional and housing projects, which continue to define the image of the city even today.

University Grants Commission, Triveni Kala Sangam, Hotel Ashok, Sheila Theatre and Vikas Minar — which may not be as celebrated as the reminders of Sultanate and Mughal Delhi, but are no less significant — are among the many architectural projects featured from this period.

“At this point in time, the design aspiration of India was at par with the rest of the world. Indian architects and designers were not at all awed by the fact that we were a newly independent country, and had a lot of catching up to do….it was a period of high idealism,” says Anupam, characterising the period from 1947 to 1990 pithily as a journey “from midnight to boom”.

The boom, to his mind, has turned to doom in the two decades since liberalisation. While the practice of architects has gone up exponentially in the period, the design aspiration has been less than mediocre, he says. “A majority of buildings have been designed and built thoughtlessly, sacrificing form and function at the altars of time and profit,” writes Malini. The examples provided in the book are those that hold out some hope — of a sensitive reconciliation between India’s rich heritage and traditional building practices with its need to project a global image. These include Sanskriti Kendra, India Habitat Centre, Dilli Haat, Alliance Francaise de Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Castro Café among others.

-The Hindu, 15th February 2014

Imagine Louis Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ballabhbhai Patel, J B Kripalni, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Abdul Haleem Gaznavi, Liyaquat Ali Khan and Baldev Singh discussing Partition of India sitting on ornate Raj era furniture, exactly as they did on June 3, 1947. In a few years, visitors to a new museum at Rashtrapati Bhavan can walk into the same room where it happened – a transformation to the tragic moment of history with statues of the participants in animated pose. Another moment that will be created is the oath taking ceremony of the first President, Dr Rajendra Prasad on January 26, 1950. The massive 1 lakh square feet history-telling museum’s furniture would be used to create ‘theatre stages’. “A new building will be raised close to the entrance of Rashtrapati Bhavan for this purpose. Animated statues of important personalities would occupy those chairs to enable visitors get a glimpse of near replica of historic events,” Saroj Ghose, museum advisor to the President, has told HT. “President Pranab Mukherjee is keen on engaging people with the Rashtrapati Bhavan on a broader scale. He not only wanted to make the coveted collections at the Rashtrapati Bhavan available for public viewing but also wanted the museum to be interactive with the viewers,” Ghose said. Also, a small museum is being prepared and it should open in another four months. This museum would house various presents and souvenirs received by various Presidents, besides other collectibles. There would also be an audio-visual presentation showcasing the history of Rashtrapati Bhavan from the time of the Viceroys.

-The Hindustan Times, 15th February 2014

Villager in Sripuranthan has a 30-year-old photograph of Nataraja and his consort Villagers in Sripuranthan, who have been lamenting the theft of the 1000-year-old Nataraja idol from their temple, have something to cheer. The prospects for the return of the idol, now displayed in Australia, improved further this week.

The villagers have now come up with the 30-year-old photograph to strengthen their claims over the idol and refute Kapoor’s version.

The Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu police has alleged that Subhash Kapoor, a U.S.-based antiquities dealer, masterminded the theft of the idol from Sripuranthan in Ariyalur district.

Case history

Using a photo provided by the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP), it was able to visually match it with the one exhibited in the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra, which bought the Nataraja from Kapoor for US $ 5 million. Other than the photo provided by the IFP, the investigators did not have any supportive photographic evidence. The documents provided by Kapoor to the NGA stated that the Nataraja idol was in an art shop, in Delhi, and a Sudanese diplomat bought it in 1970 before selling it to Kapoor.

Claims strengthened

Govindarajan, 75, is a farmer living in Sripuranthan. Like others in the village, he knew the broad contours of the idol theft case, but not the details. Hence, he never realised the importance of a picture he had.

Mr. Govindarajan got a copy of the photograph of Nataraja with his consort about 30 years ago and has been holding it with reverence in his house since then.

When he heard that the investigators were looking for supportive evidence to strengthen the idol theft case, he realised that the photo he had would be helpful and handed it over to the police.

Mr. Govindarajan told The Hindu over the phone from Sripuranthan that “30 years ago, during an important festival, the temple organisers brought a photographer from Kumbakonam and took pictures of the idols.”

He added that though he knew that the stolen idol was sold abroad, he was not aware that it had reached Australia. Govindarajan is sad that the village lost the deity and wishes that it returns quickly.

Further enquiries

When this correspondent contacted the Idol Wing, DSP Ashok Natarajan, chief investigating officer, confirmed that they had received the photo.

He said that the Nataraja in the photo visually matches with the one in NGA.

The police are investigating and are also enquiring about the of the goddess idol in the photo, which was also stolen along with the Nataraja idol.

-The Hindu, 15th February 2014

NO ‘HIS EXCELLENCY’

* He dropped the honorific tag, and has made 67 visits around the country — about one in eight days. Plus, he has kept in touch with former political colleagues. Protocol was tweaked to include senior BJP leader L K Advani as well as Leaders of the Opposition in both Houses of Parliament in the list of invitees for functions held at Durbar Hall, the central dome of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

* An in-house video conferencing studio enables Pranab to interact with state governors, as well as vice-chancellors and students of universities.

OPEN HOUSE

* Since January 2013, tours of the Rashtrapati Bhavan can be booked on its website for a minimal registration fee. Around 50,000 people have visited the Bhavan, open for tours thrice a week, since.

* The Change of Guard ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, held every Saturday, is open to the public since December 2012.

* Rashtrapati Bhavan now has an official Facebook page and YouTube channel, with regular updates.

* A three-month internship programme started in 2013 allows people to work at the Bhavan office.

RESTORATION

* One of the first rooms to get his attention in the 340-room building was the library. Rare books, dating back to 1795, were restored, and others are being restored with the help of experts. An audio-visual section has been added, with recordings of old speeches of previous occupants such as Lord Moutbatten, C Rajagopalachari, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Dr S Radhakrishnan etc. * A two decade-old tradition was revived last month when Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his Queen became the first guests to stay in the newly refurbished guest wing.

* Other rooms kept locked and stacked with unused furniture and artefacts have been opened up and most of them, including the Office of the President, restored with the help of old pictures. Some of the artefacts restored date back to 1900s.

* “The Morning Room, Committee Room and the Yellow Drawing Room have been redecorated with furniture found in the stores. Original carpets and furniture have been reinstated. The Grey Dining Room has been restored to its original use as a smaller State Dining Room. The Garden Loggia has a whole new look and is used for receiving guests for state banquets. The Upper Loggia, Fountain Loggia, Grand State Staircase and the State Corridor have got a complete makeover using carpets, furniture and artefacts retrieved from the Bhavan stores,” says a senior official.

* The Long Drawing Room, which came to serve as a store room, is now used as the Presidential Meeting Room with modern acoustics. * The imposing Durbar Hall, where Rajaji, Nehru and Prasad took oath of office, was used as a museum till the National Museum was founded in 1960. Then, it had become a dumpyard. Its marble and stone pillars have now been polished, elegant seating created, and the grand canopy over the Buddha statue stands refurbished. The Hall is now used for state functions.

* The existing galleries — for the gifts given to the President, for British-era artefacts, and for the kitchen museum that was the brainchild of Abdul Kalam Azad — have been spruced up.

GREEN TOUCH

* The 320-acre Presidential Estate that includes the Mughal Gardens, a herbal garden and a cactus garden, now has a committee of experts supervising its landscaping, horticulture and overall maintenance. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi has been installed outside the Ashoka Hall. Some 2,000 new varieties of trees are being planted.

* The cactus garden with 80 varieties has advertised for missing specimens — Oreocereus trolli, Echinopsis marsonery, Pygmaeocereus denudatus ‘cristae’ and Astrophytum capricorne.

REACHING OUT

* Among the new facilities for the residents of the Estate and their children are the renovated Peacock Sports Complex, a mobile vegetable haat selling produce from the Bhavan farms, and a renovated shopping complex.

* The Bhavan manages an in-house mid-day meal scheme for over 100 students of the Kalyan Kendra.

* A dilapidated building has been developed into the Pranab Mukherjee Public Library for use of inhabitants of the Estate.

-The Indian Express, 16th February 2014

My recent trip to Gujarat had only one mission — to visit Patan, hometown of the world-renowned Patan patola saris. Yes, the Patan patola saris of Gujarat, that are some of the costliest saris on the face of this earth. I wanted to visit Patan to understand why those saris were priced the way they were — anything from Rs 1.5 lakh, making them almost unreachable for most of us.

Well, my visit to Patan introduced me to the history of these saris too. According to recorded history, these saris are woven by the Salvi silk weavers of Karnataka and Maharashtra who made Patan their home in 12th century AD during the reign of Solanki Rajputs, rulers of the whole of Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan, known for their encouraging attitude towards art and culture.

Solanki rulers were so enamoured by the intricacy of Patan patola weaving that they themselves wore patola robes! After the fall of Solankis, rich Gujarati merchants were equally encouraging towards Salvi weavers, so much so that Patan patola saris almost became a must-have for Gujarati women.

Patola saris are woven in many cities including Surat, Cuttack, Hyderabad and Pochampalli too. However, it is the Gujarat patola that is the best of the lot. Even in Gujarat, patola saris are of two kinds — Rajkot patola and Patan patola. While the Rajkot patola is single ikat, Patan patola is double ikat.

The best part of these saris is that they can be worn on both sides, since both the sides look the same. Known for their bright colours and geometric designs, these saris are woven on simple traditional handlooms. The dyes used are made from vegetable extracts and other natural ingredients and hence are longlasting, inspiring the famous Gujarati saying that the colour lasts longer than the fabric!

According to Vaishnav Tapadia, a Salvi weaver, there are four distinct styles in the patolas woven in Gujarat — while patolas with designs of flowers, elephants and parrots are woven for the Jains and Hindus, patolas woven for Maharastrian Brahmins are plain with borders bearing designs of women and birds, those for Muslims have geometric designs, and patolas woven for export are altogether different. Patolas enjoy a great demand in the Far East, I was told.

If Tapadia is to be believed, patola saris last for generations, without losing their sheen. Their making is also very time consuming, owing to the laborious process involved. “Patola saris take as long as six months to make as dyeing alone can take anything from 40-50 days, while weaving takes around a month,” says Tapadia.

Talking of costs, each sari can cost anything from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, as only genuine silk is used, I was told.

I left Patan, rich with information on patolas, but without the courage to buy one. Of course, they even make dupattas and rumaals for people like us who cannot afford to buy patola saris. But, dupattas are dupattas and rumaals are rumaals — they can never take the place of the famed Patan patola saris, you see.

I resolved to return to Patan, some day, with lots of money, to buy the saris.

-The Deccan Herald, 16th February 2014

Bird lovers across the country including Delhi spent the entire day trailing birds in different bird-rich locations. As part of the Big Bird Day 2014, 384 birder teams-comprising about 3,000 to 5,000 people-documented the diversity of bird species. In the capital, 27 teams participated. They covered Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, Yamuna Biodiversity Park, Aravalli Biodiversity Park and other sites.

For the first time, six teams from Pakistan joined the bird race. Teams also came from Spain, Dubai and the US. Every state and union territory including Daman and Diu, Pondicherry, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and others participated, organizers said.

"The response has been huge this year. Last year, there were only 160 teams," said birder and co-organizer Bikram Grewal. He plans to make it an international event starting next year.

The Big Bird Day started from the Delhi Bird group-a team of avid bird-watchers a few years ago. In another first this year, the exercise is being computed on a software called E Bird. "Last year it was slightly ad hoc, so we tried to make it much more organized this time by urging everyone to submit their results on EBird which can compute the results accurately," added Grewal. The final results of the number of species that were spotted across the country will be declared on Saturday.

Nikhil Devasar, another birder and co-organizer of Bird Day, said that the results will indicate the health of bird diversity in India. "We are not mapping numbers but numbers of species. It's a huge exercise, so it will take us time to compile the results," he said. There are no binding rules, participants usually make their own teams , set out at sunrise and come back at sunset. Some teams also do it only for a few hours.

At Aravalli Biodiversity Park, for instance, a seven-member team participated from 7.30am to 1.30pm but 79 species were recorded compared to 84 last year. "This may be due to fog and bad light in morning hours. After it became sunny, more species were encountered," said M Shah Hussain, scientist in charge at Aravalli Biodiversity Park. Some important species they spotted include Eurasian eagle owl, Orange headed thrush, Rufous fronted prinia, Booted eagle, Grey breasted prinia, Common wood shrike and Oriental honey buzzard.

Teams at Yamuna Biodiversity Park also had a ball spotting 95 species. "The Thick-billed flowerpecker was seen for the first time. It's a rare bird. We are thrilled with the sighting," Faiyaz A Khudsar, scientist in charge at Yamuna Biodiversity Park, said.

-The Hindu, 17th February 2014

CITYSCAPE Many lesser known monuments of the Capital are repositories of Delhi’s chequered past. Time we cared for them, writes R.V.SMITH

Delhi’s glorious heritage is fast getting eroded because of rampant despoliation, encroachment, urbanisation and neglect. Nawab Dojana’s haveli, known as Dojana House in Matia Mahal is now a flatted building which is already showing signs of deterioration. Haveli Sadr Sadur, bang opposite it, has been so encroached upon and rebuilt in parts that it is hard to recognise it. The haveli of Nawab Buddan, said to be a great fashion trendsetter, could not be traced perhaps because of alterations. The old hamam in the same street, which had become a shop, is also not easily recognisable. The building behind Jama Masjid associated with Dara Shikoh has become a school.

The monuments of Mehrauli that are not among the official list (despite Maulvi Zafar Hasan’s classification) are slowly disappearing as most of the care and attention is lavished by the Archaeological Department on the well-known edifices. The same is the case in Nizamuddin area. The gateway of the house of Mirza Jahangir, favourite son of Akbar Shah II and Queen Mumtaz Mahal II, in the Nizamuddin Dargah complex is showing signs of deterioration. His tomb and that of Mohammad Shah Rangila (which look almost identical) are also showing signs of wear and tear. Mirza Jahangir is the one whose return from exile in Allahabad in the early 19th Century resulted in the institution of the annual Phool Walon-ki-Sair. The Tughlak period Langar Khana in the same complex is a picture of neglect as is the eastern gateway of the Dargah.

The two dalans or verandahs of Atgah Khan’s tomb complex, which were used as khanqas or hospices in Mughal times, look dilapidated. Atgah Khan was the husband of Ji Ji Angah, a wet nurse of Akbar, who was murdered by Adham Khan, son of the other wet nurse, Maham Anga out of jealousy. Atgah’s mausoleum has however been renovated under the restoration plan of the Aga Khan Trust. Bari-ka-Gumbad, east of Atgah Khan’s tomb, is deteriorating, so also a gateway north of the Chausath Khamba. The gateway of Inner Kot, west of Kali Masjid, is in a bad state. It leads to a small fortification which, according to INTACH, once had the houses of the Pirzadas of the Nizamuddin Dargah. Khan-i-Jahan Tighlinani’s tomb in Nizamuddin village shows signs of serious deterioration. He was the Wazir of Firoz Shah Tughlak and father of Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, who succeeded him as Wazir. It is supposed to be the first octagonal tomb built in Delhi. New buildings have come up close to the tomb so that it is hemmed in between them. Junan Shah built several mosques, some say nine, in Delhi of which the Khirki masjid is one.

A mosque similar to it was constructed by him in Nizamuddin. But Halima’s tomb is more of a ruin though the gateway is well preserved. But the same cannot be said of the gateway of Arab-ki-Sarai. The tomb of Sayyid Yasin of the Lodi period nearby on Mathura Road is another picture of neglect. Afsarwala tomb and mosque of Akbar’s reign, dating to 1566-67, also shows deterioration. Afsarwala seems to have been a royal court official. The Sundarwala Burj, Mahal and well of Sundar Bagh nursery are in need of better upkeep. Bara Bateshwarwala Mahal and Chhota Bateshwarwala Mahal are also deteriorating. Bara Bateshwarwala Mahal has the tomb of Muzzafar Husain Mirza, a grand nephew of Humayun, who died in 1603-1604, a year or two before Akbar. The Chhota Bateshwarwala Mahal contains the tomb of an unidentified nobleman of the early Mughal period. Chilla Nizamuddin, north of Humayun’s Tomb, erected by Firoz Shah Tughlak, now has Dumduma Sahib gurudwara as its neighbour and is a picture of neglect. So also the grave platform, east of Bhartiyan, built of Lahori brick and containing many unidentified tombs.

Gol Gumbad on Lodi Road and Khan-e-Dauran Khan’s mosque, west of the Nizamuddin Dargah complex, are rapidly deteriorating. The former is the tomb of Khan Bahadur Mansur Jung, who held the mansabh of 7,000 (horse) during the reign of Farruksiyar in the early 18th Century. He died in 1739 when Mohammad Shah was on the throne in the year Nadir Shah invaded Delhi. The Gumti in Kotla Mubarakpur contains a pavilion of Lodi times and is in a seriously deteriorated state. A forgotten tomb, situated off Mathura Road in open land, east of the Nizamuddin flyover, also of the Lodi period is slowly crumbling as it does not find mention in historical records.

There are many such structures dotted all over Delhi that are suffering neglect on that account. Yet they too are the repositories of the Capital’s chequered past and could be saved for posterity if the ASI shows more initiative. Kale Khan-ka-Gumbad, in which is situated the tomb of Mubarak Khan, father of Darya Khan Lohani, in South Extension-I belongs to the Lodi period and is believed to have been built in 1481 during the reign of Bahlul Lodi. As such it is a monument that needs greater care. Such grand monuments, had they been in some other country, would have been preserved with great care but unfortunately this is not the case in India and what’s more in its Capital!

-The Hindu, 17th February 2014

It takes three days and three artisans to make a nagaswaram

‘Narasinghapettai nagaswaram’, a classical music instrument, stands before the Geographical Indications (GI) Registry for getting a tag that will give legal protection to the artisans who are known for its craftsmanship.

The Thanjavur District Fine Arts Protection Society, facilitated by Intellectual Property Rights Attorneys Association (IPRAA), has filed a formal application before the GI Registry here.

Inheriting the skill of making from predecessors, only a few artisans have been chiselling the wooden instruments in Narasinghapettai, a nondescript village situated a few kilometres from the temple town of Kumbakonam. According to the artisans, it takes three days and three artisans to make one nagaswaram.

P. Sanjay Gandhi, president of IPRAA said, “Only a handful of artisans are involved in the production of the musical instruments. If this GI tag is granted to the Society, it will confer legal protection to the artisans and their products and prevent unauthorised use of the brand name by others.”

Evolved with time

The ancient instrument went through many changes, resulting in the creation of the present-day pari (long) nagaswaram, which replaced its predecessor, the ‘thimiri’, the short instrument producing a sharp and high pitch with a shruthi of three. Nagaswaram, also known as ‘nadhaswaram’ is a double reed instrument with a conical bore, which gradually enlarges towards the end. The instrument is made of wood taken from old houses or ‘acha maram’ traditionally.

The instrument has five additional holes drilled at the bottom that are used as controllers. It has a range of two and a half octaves like the flute. The applicant said an inspection body comprising of experts and artisans would be formed to strictly regulate the quality and parameters of the pith works.

-The Hindu, 17th February 2014

They will hit ecology and biodiversity as far away as Assam

‘A report commissioned by the Central Water Commission has recommended scrapping of 15 of the 44 dams planned across the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh. It has also suggested stricter regulations for the ones that are to be built in future.

The report has warned that the proposed 44 dams, meant to establish a capacity of 18,293 MW, will affect the river ecology and biodiversity and the region all the way down to Assam. Cumulatively, the projects will impact more than 500 km of river stretch. Of this, 353 km will be converted into reservoirs, and water will travel through tunnels for another 160.8 km. More than 18,000 hectares of forests will be impacted.

The report notes: “Siang Lower HEP (2,700 MW), Siang Upper Stage II (3,750 MW) and Siang Upper Stage I (6,000 MW) are planned to cover almost the entire length of the Siang in India. 208.5 km of the river will be converted into one continuous reservoir as all three projects are planned back-to-back without any free flowing intermediate river stretch.”

The report only asks for the smaller capacity dams, with a total capacity of 473.5 MW, to be done away with.

“It is strongly recommended that after dropping these projects, these river reaches should be kept free. These projects should not be re-allotted by altering their features, locations and names. Also on other free stretches/tributaries, no further hydropower projects should be planned/allotted in the entire Siang basin even if they are small (less than 25 MW) and do not fall within the purview of the EIA notification,” says the report.

The Ministry has decided to assess the Tato II project for clearance, claiming it is the first project in the river basin, though it assessed the 1,000-MW Siyom (Middle Siang) project for environmental clearance as far back as 2004-05.

The Ministry’s panel for forest clearances will also review the Lower Yamne State I and II projects, which fall in the Siang river basin and add up to 184 MW. The CWC report has assessed this sub-basin to be of the highest biodiversity value in the overall Siang basin.

-The Hindu, 17th February 2014

Excavation started a month ago has already yielded relics from the Sultanate period (1206-1526 AD) and archaeologists hope to find older material deeper down. Digging in the 1970s threw up pottery from 300 BC.

The oldest monument in the city will soon have the first open excavation site for visitors. Two excavation projects and 40 years later, the grounds in Purana Qila are once again being dug up by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to find relics of the city's earliest human settlements and new evidence to understand their way of life.

Over a month of excavation, ASI has stumbled across fragments of pottery, terracotta figurines , beads of semi-precious stones, etc. The project's focus is on finding Painted Grey Ware (PGW), a type of pottery first discovered during the earlier excavations that linked the Purana Qila grounds to the Mahabharata era.

The new site has been dug up to the southeast of Sher Mandal, 20m away from the previous dig. One trench has been dug, two are being excavated simultaneously and a fourth has been marked out.

"In historical times, human settlements were always made closest to a river bank or source of water. The excavation spot at Purana Qila has been identified because of its proximity to the original flow of the Yamuna, so we are confident of finding evidence of human settlement there,'' said ASI circle chief Vasant K Swarankar, who is overseeing the project.

So far, archaeologists have found the wall of a house from the Sultanate period and a stone paved drain from the Mughal era. "Two partition walls that form the cells or rooms of the house were also noticed,'' said an official.

Among the smaller relics, fragments of clay pottery, pieces of bangles, terracotta pots and stems, and semi-precious beads of carnelian have been found. ASI hopes to hit PGW in the deeper layers. "We hope to reveal real evidence of the Rajput, late-Gupta , Kushana and Mauryan periods, and the most significant finding will be PGW from stratified deposits,'' said Swarankar.

Excavation inside the fort grounds in the early 1970s yielded Black Polished Ware and PGW dated to 300 BC, pointing ASI and historians to the belief that the fort's site was part of the mythological Indraprastha, built by the Pandava prince Yudhishtir. "We have excavated to two metres but aim to go down to seven. The previous excavations have shown that cultural deposits can be found that deep. We hope to come across more artifacts that shed new light on the history of Purana Qila and the grounds,'' said Swarankar. The new findings will also be displayed at the archaeological museum in the fort.

Unlike the earlier digs in Purana Qila that were filled up, the current site will be conserved for visitors. Plans are afoot to cover the trenches with a shed. Glass sheets will be placed over them for visitors to look inside without climbing down. Information boards stating the time, period and purpose of excavations will be installed.

ASI is considering conserving the earlier excavations at Purana Qila for visitors. ASI officers say dusting off excavation sites and exhibiting them to visitors will ensure their protection, terest while increasing in historical the monuments public's in.

Earlier excavations in Purana Qila: 1954-55 , 1969-73

Articles from present excavation: Fragments of clay pottery, terracotta pots, stems, beads of semi-precious stones like carnelian, terracotta figurines of animals, broken pieces of bangles.

Other excavation projects in Delhi: Jahanpanah, Lal Kot, Red Fort, Salimgarh Fort, Qila Rai Pithora, Siri Fort, Makhdum Sahib's mosque.

-The Times of India, 19th February 2014

His house and school near Lahore will be restored to their original condition

The Faisalabad government has proposed to develop Bangay, freedom fighter Bhagat Singh’s village, as a heritage site with a budget of Rs two crore as part of a plan to restore places of historical importance.

Malik Mushtaq Tiwana, district officer, human resource management, told The Hindu over phone that Bangay, 150 km from Lahore, would be developed with five other historical villages in the district. The cost of the project to be undertaken by the Lyallpur Heritage Foundation is Rs 12 crore.

A proposal would be forwarded to the Punjab Chief Minister soon for approval, Mr. Tiwana said. The idea was to restore places of importance in the villages to their original appearance, and provide infrastructure so that people could visit them.

Besides Bangay, Gangapur, the village of engineer and philanthropist Sir Gangaram, and Kharal of freedom fighter Ahmed Khan and two others of national importance, would be developed. The funds would be used to provide a facelift to the villages and provide the much-needed basic amenities. The villages are part of the list of 45 historical sites notified by the Faisalabad district government recently.

Classes still on

The house where Bhagat Singh was born and the school in which he studied will be restored to their original form. The one-room government primary school still stands, with its walls and roof fallen in. But the blackboard and some of the old door frames are intact. Even now, a few classes are held in the grounds outside as a mark of respect to Bangay’s most famous son. Bhagat Singh’s house is occupied and the authorities hope to acquire it with the consent of its owners.

Last December, for the first time, the dilapidated primary school in which Bhagat Singh studied as a child rang to songs that were sung after his execution. Madeeha Gauhar, director of the play “Mera Rang De Basanti Chola,” staged a few songs from the production in Bangay.

-The Hindu, 19th February 2014

An exquisite ivory throne gifted by the Maharaja of Travancore to Queen Victoria in 1851 is at the centre of a row sparked by Prince William's remark that he would "like to see all the ivory held by Buckingham Palace to be destroyed" as a message to stop elephant poaching. The throne, one of the priceless ivory possessions in the royal collection, has rarely been seen in public since it was first displayed at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. It was last shown to the public at an exhibition titled Victoria & Albert: Art & Love, in August 2010.

Prince William reportedly made the remark to veteran primatologist Jane Goodall after last week's conference on wildlife, where 46 nations pledged to tackle illegal wildlife trade.

Goodall told The Independent on Sunday that she had spoken to Prince William and he had told her he would "like to see all the ivory owned by Buckingham Palace destroyed".

The remark was welcomed by wildlife campaigners, but also drew sharp criticism by art and antique experts as being "bonkers beyond belief".

Reflecting the craftsmanship of Travancore (now Kerala) artisans, the throne with a footstool was despatched to London in October 1850 and displayed in the exhibition in Crystal Palace the next year.

After the exhibition, Queen Victoria had written to Maharaja of Travancore: "Your Highness's chair has occupied a prominent position amongst the wonderful works of art which have been collected in our metropolis and your highness's liberality and the workmanship of the natives of Travancore have received due admiration from the vast multitude of spectators."

The throne and other items in the royal collection are technically not owned by any individual, but "held in trust by the Sovereign for her successors and the nation".

In recent years, Prince Charles has also reportedly asked for ivory items at Clarence House and Highgrove to be put out of sight. In a video message last week, Prince Charles and Prince William said: "We have come together, as father and son, to lend our voices to the growing global effort to combat the illegal wildlife trade."

"A trade that has reached such unprecedented levels of killing and related violence that it now poses a grave threat not only to the survival of some of the world's most treasured species, but also to economic and political stability in many areas around the world."

-The Hindustan Times, 19th February 2014

Archaeologists have found a rare 9th century stone sculpture of Lord Shiva from a stream in Shopian district of Kashmir.

"The department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, Kashmir, has found a rare stone sculpture of Lord Shiva at Wachi in Shopian," an official spokesman said.

The sculpture was unearthed from the river bed of Rambiara stream at Malhora during sand extraction and was handed over to the Archaeology department, he said.

Experts have described the find a big achievement in field of Kashmir sculpture history.

"The sculpture has been identified as that of Lord Shiva, wearing three peaked crown.

"The sculpture, which has broken arms and legs, depicts Lord Shiva with a third eye on its forehead," the spokesman said.

The sculpture had been dated to the 9th century AD and had close resemblance with the Vishnu sculptures found earlier from Awantipora.

-The Outlook, 20th February 2014

A survey by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found that 24 monuments are untraceable, while 12 monuments have submerged under reservoirs, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Replying to a question, minister for cultureChandresh Kumari Katoch said 14 other monuments or sites were affected due to rapid urbanisation.

According to a performance audit report of comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG), 92 monuments or sites were reported as missing or untraceable, she said.

A detailed inspection of all these monuments or sites reported as missing by CAG was carried out by the respective field offices of ASI, the minister said.

Among them, 42 are physically existing, it was found. "Regarding the monuments/sites, which are affected due to urbanization or commercialization or habitation, these are examined on case to case basis and appropriate measures are taken after examining the actual situation for their revival and protection," Katoch said.

The ASI is making its best efforts to maintain the authenticity of the monuments or sites, which, physically exist by way of proper conservation and preservation, she added.

-The Times of India, 20th February 2014

The first phase of the ambitious Green India Mission (GIM) which aims at increasing forest cover by five million hectares by 2020

The first phase of the ambitious Green India Mission (GIM) which aims at increasing forest cover by five million hectares by 2020, will be considered by the Cabinet on Thursday. The Cabinet will take up the first phase of the mission, which is worth R13,000 crore for the 12th five-year Plan period (2012-17), said environment and forests minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday. However, since two years of the current Plan period are almost over, the proposed fund has the provision of one year spillover in the 13th Plan period.

The government intends to increase forest cover by 10 million hectares in the next 10 years at a cost of R46,000 crore. It has two components — quality improvement of forest cover and creating new forest cover — which are to be implemented through various measures including decentralisation of forest governance.

This comes at a time when Moily has been both praised as well as criticised for rushing through green nods for many projects. “There are well-laid procedures and we are not hastening through those. We have fast tracked everything without compromising on the norms. There are no unbaked or immature decisions,” Moily said.

He also clarified that he had not received any letter from the coal ministry to assess the feasibility of grant of forest clearances (stage II) with regard to 10 coal blocks allocated to companies like Hindalco, JSPL, Tata Steel and Essar Power before the next meeting of the inter-ministerial group on coal blocks. The ministry is giving the status of environment and forest clearance of 61 coal blocks.

On the issue of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh favouring genetically modified crops, the environment minister said that the matter is with the Supreme Court and an affidavit is being finalised along with the agriculture ministry.

-The Financial Express, 20th February 2014

The Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) on Monday formally launched a number of city-level proposals aimed at improving urban lifestyle and aesthetics of the national capital. These reports — compiled by the commission — have been sent to the Urban Development Ministry and will now be given to the city’s local agencies.

The reports focus on several problem areas, particularly shortage of parking space, dangling power cables, unauthorised colonies, green areas not being tended, destruction of heritage sites by encroachment and insufficient housing.

Among the main issues taken up by the DUAC is the problem of unplanned growth in urban slums of the capital. “Delhi is presently the hub of trade and commerce. But while employment opportunities have increased, low-cost housing hasn’t been developed in the same manner. Today, there are over 2,000 slums in Delhi and unplanned growth has made life very difficult for residents,” an official said.

The commission has offered solutions that include site-specific design for wards, while the rehabilitation of unauthorised colonies involves 20 studies aimed at bettering the look of the city

-The Indian Express, 20th February 2014

Haryana has a bizarre and logic-defying formula to balance urban development and environment protection in NCR. The state government has proposed that some of the nature conservation zones, which are critical for sustainability, could be scrapped in "urbanizable" areas and relocated somewhere else.

This sub-regional plan will be placed beforeNCR Planning Board (NCRPB) on Thursday. But some members of the planning committee received details of the plan late Wednesday afternoon.

Nature conservation zones include most part of the Aravalis, riverbeds and areas surrounding other major water bodies. The proposal may prove to be a disaster for NCR since only the state government can decide which areas are urbanizable. "This is a ridiculous provision. How can you finish a conservation zone in one area and identify another somewhere else? It's not like compensatory forestation," said Chetan Agrawal, an environmental analyst.

Haryana has already prepared the draft plan for Mangar region, proposing a mega tourism complex in the area that has a sacred forest. "Once this proposal is cleared, they can make an eco-sensitive zone an urbanizable area. Hope some members object to this proposal," said Tykee Malhotra, who has also been fighting for saving Aravalis.

Sources told TOI that another provision in the proposed plan suggests giving a free hand to the government for any land use in agriculture zone in "controlled/ development/ regulated areas". It says that "any other use" can be allowed in these areas as "approved by the town and country planning department as per the policy parameter decided by the government".

Haryana government officials said that this is not the final plan and changes could be made if the planning committee suggests amendments. "We will also put our case in the meeting. If they still suggest changes we will incorporate them and put the final draft before the empowered committee, which has the power to approve sub-regional plan," an official told TOI.

-The Times of India, 20th February 2014

The ban on mining of the Aravalis is being openly flouted on the premises of an academic institution in southwest Delhi, sources have said.

Even though the forest department cracked down and stopped the operations three days ago, it is being alleged that the damage has been done with precious blue and pink stones having been quarried away from right inside the campus of Delhi University's Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College in Dhaula Kuan since November 2013.

Moreover, college sources have intimated that, although the corporation did not approve it as learnt through an RTI application, construction work is in progress on the campus. And, if this were not enough, the urban development ministry has levied a fine of Rs 5.37 crore on the college for misuse of land agreement in July 2013, sources said. The college authorities, however, denied all charges.

However, photographs as recent as January 24, procured by TOI, show large parts of the land being dug up and loose blue stone lying inside the college campus. In November 2013, advocate Amit Sethi had filed a complaint on behalf of Atma Ram Trust to the secretary, ministry of environment and forest, about illegal activities affecting the environment taking place in ARSD.

"Once we complained, the assistant inspector general of forests in December directed the additional principal chief conservator of forests to look into the issue and submit an action taken report. The mining activities stopped for about a week. When they resumed, I filed an RTI plea asking for what action had been taken ," Sethi said.

Finally, the mining works stopped about three days ago. Sources in the college said the forest department had written to the college to stop them. "But the damage has been done. The Aravali range which falls inside the campus has been dug up and more than 500 truckloads of valuable stones, which are the property of the government, were illegally smuggled out," Sethi said.

But the college principal, G K Jha, who took over in November, the time when alleged mining activities began, denied the charge. "No mining has been done. This is college property and we were just levelling the ground," he said. On the large are as being excavated and pillars erected, Jha claimed these are "just renovation work". The college is also being accused of violating construction rules.

Times View

Allowing conservation zones to be developed by mandating that land for the purpose may be given elsewhere makes no sense. Where these zones ought to be is not something that we can arbitrarily determine, it is determined by natural factors. This is not a zoo that can be shifted from one location to another at man's convenience. It is sad that short-term real estate considerations are allowed to trump long-term ecological sustainability is such a cavalier manner. Better sense should prevail and this move must be prevented from becoming a decision.

-The Times of India, 20th February 2014

Now people around the world will be able to explore the Taj Mahal and other Indian monuments online through Google Street View. With the support of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Google is releasing the first 360-degree online imagery of 30 iconic Indian heritage sites, including the Taj Mahal, Humayun's Tomb, Red Fort and Agra Fort on Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute.

The ASI and Google are unveiling panoramic imagery of these 30 sites as part of their joint initiative to help make 100 of India's most important heritage sites more accessible for the world to experience. The Indian monuments now live on Google Maps and Cultural Institute are all over 100 years old, and by allowing people to virtually explore them online, Google aims to help share more of Indian culture and heritage with people at home and abroad.

Here is the link to Google's Street View of the Taj Mahal.

Here are videos that show how Google's World Wonders Project works -

Google's World Wonders Project video

Shows the Street View Trekker device

"Today, this partnership with Google makes it possible for billions of people across the world to see and explore our magnificent heritage, to take a walk at the Rock Cut Jain Temple, to marvel at the Nagarjuna Konda Buddhist Stupas and to relive history in Fatehpur Sikri. With the release of these new panoramic images, we aim to create a dynamic, immersive online experience by which people within India and around the world can understand and engage more of India's diverse cultural heritage," said Honourable Union Minister of Culture Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch.

"Google is deeply committed to helping preserve and showcase cultural heritage across the world. India is unique in terms of the sheer wealth of heritage and iconic historical monuments, and it has been our privilege to work with the ASI in collecting new 360-degree photos of 30 Indian heritage sites. We hope the imagery will help make India's heritage and culture more accessible to people at home and abroad," said Rajan Anandan, Vice President and Managing Director, Google India.

"The images coming online today through Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute provide a new way for people around the world to view, interact with, and learn about some of the most important heritage monuments in India. We hope this new way of exploring national treasures such as the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Qutub Minar will help share more of India's diverse culture with new audiences, and help preserve this part of India's identity for generations to come," said Pravin Srivastava, Director General of the ASI.

This is the first step towards bringing more of India's national monuments online, and Google and the ASI look forward to announcing when additional imagery of heritage sites will be available on Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute.

-The India Today, 21st February 2014

Odia is billed as the first language from the Indo-Aryan linguistic group and the case for making it a classical language

Odia on Thursday became the sixth language of the country to get “classical language’’ status after the Union Cabinet conceded a long-pending demand for putting it in the same league as Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

Odia is billed as the first language from the Indo-Aryan linguistic group and the case for making it a classical language was also premised on the fact that it has no resemblance to Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali and Telugu. The proposal was moved by the Culture Ministry.

Once a language is declared classical, it gets financial assistance for setting up a centre of excellence for the study of that language and also opens up an avenue for two major awards for scholars of eminence. Besides, the University Grants Commission can be requested to create – to begin with at least in Central Universities – a certain number of professional chairs for classical languages for scholars of eminence in the language.

The criteria for declaring a language as classical mandates high antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500-2,000 years, a body of ancient literature/texts which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers and a literary tradition that is original and not borrowed from another speech community. Also since the classical language and literature is distinct from the modern, there can also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

-The Hindu, 21st February 2014

Laws on constructions around national monuments are unequally applied; sometimes troubling the common man, at other times damaging heritage structures

The National Monuments Authority was established under the aegis of the Archeological Survey of India in 2010. It is the nodal agency for notification of all protected heritage monuments. The functions of the NMA include formulation of relevant modified bylaws in the already existing laws under The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010.

The law imposes a blanket ban on new construction of any kind in the ‘prohibited area', which extends to 100m around a protected monument. Outside of the prohibited area, lies the ‘regulated area' that goes up to 300m. Construction of new buildings and reconstruction, addition, alteration or modification of existing structures may be allowed in this zone, depending upon the vulnerability of monument's structure. Even then, any construction activity here requires a No Objection Certificate from the NMA. In a densely populated city like Delhi, where many constructions already exist near protected monuments, it is difficult to strictly adhere to the rules. Realising the plight of scores of people living around protected monuments, the NMA has decided to address the shortcomings of the existing law and modify the bylaws.

One of the most important functions of the NMA is to classify and grade monuments according to their size and national importance. It was, therefore, suggested that the laws should be site-specific. For example, Qutub Minar cannot be clubbed with Chor Minar as they are not equally important. Accordingly, separate bylaws were to be formulated for different categories that would address the 100m blanket ban on construction and allow for relaxations of norms in the case of renovation activities. Unfortunately, three years down the line, the NMA has failed complete this task. When questioned, the NMA officials refused to commit to a time frame in writing. They only said that the process was underway.

Meanwhile, those who live in houses built around such monuments continue to suffer. Most of these buildings were constructed, before the current laws came into force, with due permission from the civic authorities. Several decades later, they are now in a dilapidated state and need more than just renovation and repair work. However, the owners are not getting permission for rebuilding their houses, even though the original foundations have given away. In many cases, the family members have multiplied and now they do not have a place to live. In other cases, owners can't find buyers for their decaying properties which are also mired in legal complexities stemming from the absence of proper rules and regulations.

Also, it seems like the MNA does not apply its rules equally. For instance, many of the protected monuments are in south Delhi. Yet multi-storied buildings replace single-storied homes everyday even in the prohibited areas. How is this allowed? Does it mean that might is right and the law-abiding meek are wrong? Or are the law and justice on sale? There is a general complaint that the NOC which is required from the NMA is hard to get. Months, sometimes years, go by and applications are left unanswered. Moreover, there are some protected monuments which are no more than a metre-wide mound of stones. They are left uncared for, and even used as garbage dumps. Such structures need to be identified, de-notified and demolished.

Conservation, preservation and protection of monuments are the responsibility of NMA. Then, how come large-scale encroachments are routinely taking place in prohibited and regulated areas? Also, encroachment doesn't happen overnight. So, why is there no surveillance around the monuments? This situation reeks of a nexus between politicians and bureaucrats.

-The Pioneer, 24th February 2014

Days before the Lok Sabha poll dates are to be announced, government is likely to notify the revised regional plan for NCR (2021) which allows tourism activities in ecologically sensitive zones and permits constructions in these areas beyond the current 0.5% cap — moves that environmentalists claim will be disastrous for green belts such as the Aravalis.

Top sources said urban development minister Kamal Nath, who chairs the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB), has approved the minutes of the last board meeting in which it was decided to allow tourism activities in nature conservation zones (NCZ) and construction beyond current limit, albeit with the permission of the Union environment ministry.

Multiple government sources confirmed the development to TOI. The board is likely to hold its next meeting in the first week of March and the plan is expected to be notified without delay.

-The Times of India, 24th February 2014

Did Ibrahim Lodi forget to tie the amulet given to him by sufi Makhdum Sahib around his arm at the first battle of Panipat, or did the tabeez somehow get lost, resulting in the end of the Lodi reign?

There’s a mini-park in Mayfair Gardens’ bungalow locality, touching the walls of Siri Fort, where is situated the 15th Century tomb of Makhdum Sahib, visited by devotees throughout the year. Sheikh Makhdum Sabswari came to Delhi from Sabswar, in Central Asia, at the end of the reign of Bahlul Lodi or the beginning of the reign of his son, Nizam Khan Sikandar Lodi, in 1488. He had been directed in a dream to go to India and preach his mission there. Makhdum Sahib’s sufi discourses were ardently heard by those who visited his jungle abode, where wild animals roamed about but did not harm anyone because of the (sic) influence of the saint, says a legend. Eventually the Lodi sultan (father or son) heard of him and invited the dervish to the royal court. He went there reluctantly and came back dissatisfied with the sultan’s conduct.

Perhaps realising that he had offended Makhdum Sahib, , the sultan, while out hunting one day, decided to visit his khanqah or hospice. What he saw there amazed him, for Makhdum Sahib was feeding a wild leopard with a bunch of grass as though it was a goat. The sultan immediately dismounted from his horse and after offering his salaam decided to sit in a corner. The leopard was ordered to leave by the saint, who then turned his attention to the sultan. The latter apologised for having been rude at the court and requested him not to leave his kingdom but continue to reside in it and bless its subjects.

Makhdum Sahib nodded and gave the sultan (Bahlul or Sikandar) a tabeez or amulet which he had brought from Makkah. He told him that so long as it was tied to his arm or that of his successors, the sultanate would continue to flourish, otherwise it would be conquered by an invader who would rule for long undisturbed, as would his descendents. The sultan took the tabeez, salaamed the saint again, mounted his horse and rode away. As history shows, the third ruler of the dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi, lost the kingdom in 1526 to Babar, with whom the Mughal dynasty started and continued to rule India until 1858, when Queen Victoria proclaimed herself empress and Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled to Rangoon.

One tends to believe the story about the saint’s prediction but at the same time wonders what happened to the amulet. Did Ibrahim Lodi forget to tie it around his biceps at the fateful first battle of Panipat, or did the tabeez somehow get lost? May be yes or no; also the prediction may not have been wholly true after all. But standing in front of the mazaar of Makhdum Sahib one tries to banish these thoughts lest they be regarded as sacrilegious.

The reason for visiting the mosque and mazaar of Makhdum Sahib was a strange story related by Hafiz Manzoor Ahmed of Basti Nizamuddin during a winter evening in 1981. The Hafiz died not long after, but what he said continued to feed one’s curiosity for the past 33 years until the temptation to visit Makhdum Sahib’s shrine could no longer be resisted. Now this is the story Manzoor Ahmed related: There was a widow named Nadira whose husband Saddique had died without leaving an heir. Nadira was 55 years old, lonely and sad, when she came to the shrine one afternoon in the first decade of the 20th Century. She had either been told by somebody, or had the urge herself, to pray there. And the prayer was strange for a woman of her age. She sought the saint’s blessing for a son who could continue his father’s lineage. She prayed with tears in her eyes and all at once experienced a sensation which passed through her face, bosom and lower abdomen and then ceased to excite her. Nadira then had a great urge to go to the toilet but as there was none near the shrine she squatted under a tree. When she got up she felt as though she had just conceived. The widow went home dazed and had a dream the same night in which she saw a bearded old man blessing her and confirming that her wish had been fulfilled.

Believe it or not, nine months later Nadira gave birth to a son who was strange in his behaviour at first and did not either speak or walk properly. But after three years he began to improve and by the time he was five was able to attend school. He turned out to be a brilliant student and following graduation secured a good government job. His name was Javed and after he got married and became the father of twin boys, Nadira died. Javed migrated to Karachi and what happened to him and his family was not known to Manzoor Ahmed. But one supposes it flourished with the saint’s blessing.

Incidentally, Makhdum Sahib’s tomb is still in a fairly good condition on Khel Gaon Marg, its stone-domed roof (with four decorative minars) supported on 12 pillars. Both the tomb and the mosque on the North are protected monuments. The masjid has several prayer chambers and a fluted roof. However the huge gate near it, which was erected earlier in Tughlak times, is not in a good state of preservation though it too is protected by the ASI.

-The Hindu, 24th February 2014

A trip to Churu is ideal for a weekend of exploring Rajasthan’s lesser-known historical wonders

The landscape of crumbling sandstone-coloured havelis typical of Rajasthan is abruptly punctuated by a palatial mint-green structure. Grand old buildings line the narrow streets of Churu’s old-town, and of these, the 110-year old Malji ka Kamra is a stately landmark.

Sitting on the edge of the desert in northern Rajasthan, Churu is a 400-year old town that was once defined by its magnificent architecture and love for showmanship, but now much of it lies in ruins.

Massive doorways painted blue and gold, and intricately layered with wood and iron lie locked. These lead into havelis from the early 19th century that were built by the merchant clans of Churu. Until 2006, Malji ka Kamra was among these mansions that lay in shambles. After careful restoration by the Balan-Kothari families, from 2006 to 2012, it is now a flamboyant hotel.

Malji ka Kamra was built in 1920 by Malji Kothari, a well-known merchant of the Kothari clan. Back in the day, when Churu still belonged to the state of Bikaner, the hotel was used as a rang mahal to host and entertain Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, on his travels to the region.

Churu’s old town is a quiet, little-known place, that’s a far cry from the tourist-overrun cities of Jaipur and Jodhpur. In an effort to maintain the rang mahal’s original look and feel, the hotel’s green and white façade is embellished with figurines of British soldiers standing alongside Indian men and women. Italian influences are evident in the architecture, with columns, arches and stucco design.

There are 15 rooms, each with traditional Rajasthani drapes, bedspreads and furniture. Some of the rooms still have original Shekhawati-style murals painted on the walls showing scenes of local life, the popular Maharaja Ganga Singh and the owner — Malji Kothari.

History buffs will love the ancient city’s Rajasthani-style frescoes. A walking tour with guide Lal Singh is the best way to explore these treasures. The twin havelis of the Surana brothers are among the best maintained in the town. Built in 1871, the painted façade has images of Maharaja Ganga Singh and portraits of the Suranas, while the rooftop offers a magnificent view of the old city’s chattris. Another interesting stop is Churu’s very own Hawa Mahal with 1,111 doors and windows.

After a day of walking around and taking in the old-world charms of this place, watch the sunset at the beautiful 120-year-old Sethani ka Johara — a water reservoir bordered with small chhatris, built during a time of famine to create jobs.

Retire back to the hotel and indulge in Rajasthani specialities which can be enjoyed sitting in the porch overlooking the expansive lawn or dine beneath the stars on the columned terrace that overlooks the rooftops of the neighbouring havelis.

Five-hour drive from Delhi, Churu promises enough history, architecture, food and photo-ops for a weekend getaway.

-The Hindu, 24th February 2014

Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) will write to the civil aviation ministry after fresh concerns about flight movement over Qutub Minar and the effect of vibrations. Officials said the flight path over the 12th-century minaret was shifted a few years ago, but planes have lately been noticed flying too close to the monument.

ASI sources said they were planning to write to the aviation ministry so that flights flew outside the safe zone.

"We have once again observed flights too close to the monument. The issue has come up before and we are keeping close track," said an official.

The monument body has also asked IIT-Roorkee to prepare a report on the natural tilt in the minaret, but it is expected to take at least a year.

According to IGI officials, aircraft landing on the airport's newest runway, which is closer to the Gurgaon side, pass over the monument. Aviation authorities said the aircraft fly at a level where vibrations can't affect the monument. Also, it is not possible to change the aircraft's route. "This is the final approach path. Aircraft have to align with the line at the centre of the runway and the path cannot be changed. There is no danger to the minar," said an official.

To steer clear of a Shiva statue, the aircraft approaching for landing on this runway have to fly high till this point and touch down after crossing a considerable part of the runway. Had the statue not been there, aircraft would have flown much lower on their approach path and been even closer to the monument

-The Times of India, 25th February 2014

A “water heritage walk” and a new gallery on royal guards inaugurated in the historic 16th Century Jaigarh Fort, near here, will showcase the military and diplomatic careers as well as the magnificent fort architecture of the erstwhile Kachwaha Rajput rulers of Jaipur. Tourists visiting the fort are set to get detailed information through the new initiatives.

Largest cannon

The royal guard gallery launched on Sunday at Jaigarh — which also has the world’s largest cannon as its main attraction — highlights the life and times of the last two rulers of Jaipur, Sawai Man Singh II and Sawai Bhawani Singh. It was inaugurated by J. Paul Getty Trust president and CEO James Cuno along with Diya Kumari of the erstwhile royal family. Ms. Diya Kumari, daughter of Sawai Bhawani Singh and trustee of Jaigarh Public Charitable Trust, pointed out that the Jaigarh fort had played an important role in war times. “The military and diplomatic careers of the last two Maharajas of Jaipur are well known. The gallery will do justice in highlighting their illustrious times.” The water heritage walk, also organised on Sunday, underscored the significance of the catchment area for the fort and threw light on an elaborate network of drains, canals and their arteries in and outside the fort extending to about 4 km. The participants were informed that the small canals bringing rain waters from the higher reaches of the Aravalli hills were designed in such a way that they were on a gradient and, at the same time, had an undulating course,

-The Hindu, 25th February 2014

In keeping with its efforts to keep Delhi cleaner, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has devised an environment friendly way of disposing the huge quantity of horticulture waste it generates everyday. The experts from IITs and BITS have evolved a technology to instantly convert the waste into manure that can also be used as fuel for smoke-free cooking. The civic body has resorted to this innovation as an alternative to its usual practice of burning the green waste in its area which emits smoke containing poisonous methane gas.

Termed as ‘decentralised organic-reject management’, the new system is expected to be totally pollution free. Built by a group of engineers who run the organisation named, No Kooda, the innovation is said to be far more cost-effective than waste to energy plants. “All the green waste which can include grass, leaves, flowers, kitchen waste or even thick firewood is put inside a compact 6/7 feet machine. While at one end the waste gets inserted into the machine, on the other side ‘bio-sticks fuel’ is produced simultaneously. It needs minimal manpower and saves the months that are taken when the waste is left in landfill sites for decomposition,” said Manish Pathak, Director, No Kooda. A test done by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) also revealed that the ‘bio-sticks fuel’ produced in the process is nearly three times better than the usual manure used for plantation. Besides, the sticks can also be used for smoke-free cooking, added Pathak. To start off, the NDMC is installing these machines at three of its gardens, namely Talkatora Garden, Nehru Park and Lodhi Garden. “The machine is potable, compact and also makes far less noise than other machines. While a waste to energy plant can go up to crores, this one can range anywhere between 8-30 lakhs only,” said a senior NDMC official. The project was first successfully taken up by the CPWD for its 75 acre park, Buddha Jayanti Park, in New Delhi. The machine when at work generates around 75 decibels, the average noise of a single car horn.

-The Pioneer, 26th February 2014

Creating landfills in two villages of Zone P-II in north Delhi, a part of Yamuna floodplains, may contaminate groundwater and further pollute the river. A proposal for this has, however, been made in the zonal development plan by DDA.

Though Delhi's 4 landfills are nearly saturated, necessitating setting up of alternative sites, environmentalists say locating landfills in floodplains can be disastrous. Members of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan have written to the lieutenant governor and Delhi Development Authority for identifying a new site, but a reply from DDA suggests that their objections will no longer be considered.

In a letter dated February 4, 2014, DDA's planning department explains that the development plan of Zone P-II was notified in 2010 only after inviting objections and recommendations of various expert committees.

"DDA planners are looking at the issue with a closed mind. Zone P-II, falling between Yamuna and a national highway, is an important groundwater recharge zone and an agricultural area. Sanitary landfills shouldn't be located in such an eco-sensitive zone because leachate-liquids from decomposing waste in a landfill-will pollute groundwater and the river," Manoj Misra, convener, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, said.

Bakhtawarpur and Hamidpur, the proposed sites, are largely rural and fall within the agricultural belt. A 1936 map of the zone shows some channels and streams passing through these villages. These have dried up now. The plan is to make most of the area "urbanizable". "Zone P-II is as important as Zone O, the river zone. I think this area is potentially a great source of water and food security. It shouldn't be urbanized," added Misra.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on urban development has pulled up the government for not considering "eco-friendly" ways of disposal like composting. "The mountain of municipal solid waste that is produced everyday has to be managed in a manner that will ensure least pollution-water table contamination, air pollution and zero health and nuisance value to the human population near the dumping sites," it has said. The committee urged MoEF to ensure that urban local bodies implement the ministry's guidelines of choosing landfill site only in consultation with it.

This also reflects a waste management crisis in Delhi. Instead of managing waste at source, the city is desperately looking for more landfills. The ones at Okhla, Ghazipur and Bhalswa, cannot be called landfills at all, according to Delhi Pollution Control Committee. "These are just dumping sites where a lot of waste is being piled up but not managed. They are not built scientifically," said Sandeep Misra, member secretary of DPCC, which had refused to grant licence to these so-called landfills. After repeated demands for more landfills, 10 sites were identified, including those at these two villages.

-The Times of India, 26th February 2014

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Delhi government to send its proposal for an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around the Okhla bird sanctuary within 15 days to the ministry of environment and forests. The ministry will then consult the Delhi and UP governments and will give its decision to the tribunal.

The bench headed by Justice P Jyothimani also directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to visit all the building projects and check if their submissions in form 1 A, on the basis of which they are given an environmental clearance, are correct. The petitioner's counsel had submitted to the court on Tuesday that a lot of project proponents have been submitting incorrect information about the existence of a bird sanctuary within a few kilometers from their project.

"In form 1 A, one has to clarify whether there is any bird or wildlife sanctuary within 15km radius of the project. We submitted that some projects have not mentioned that Okhla bird sanctuary within 15km radius of the project. We submitted that some projects have not mentioned that Okhla bird sanctuary is located in less than a kilometre's radius. The court has asked the departments to check if this is true," said advocate Gaurav Bansal.

While the petitioner has claimed that the ESZ for Okhla Bird sanctuary should be an area of 10km radius around the sanctuary, a committee under the chairmanship of district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar recommended it to be an area of 1km radius.

-The Economic Times, 26th February 2014

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday directed the Centre to take an appropriate decision on the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments’ proposal recommending creation of an eco-sensitive zone around the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.

A Bench headed by Justice P. Jyothimani also directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) to visit various projects within 10 km of the sanctuary and verify the correctness of the information tendered by builders, on the basis of which they have secured environmental clearance. The tribunal’s order came after petitioner Amit Kumar’s counsel Gaurav Bansal submitted that builders had secured clearance by furnishing false information. Mr. Kumar had moved the NGT against various builders constructing projects within the eco-sensitive zone of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary situated on the Delhi-U.P. border.

The tribunal also asked the Delhi government to send its proposal about the eco-sensitive zone around the sanctuary to the Ministry of Environment and Forests within 15 days.

During the hearing, U.P. submitted that it had sent its proposal recommending a 100-metre eco-sensitive zone around the bird sanctuary and the same is pending before the Ministry. “We direct the UPPCB, represented through State government, to visit the various projects in respect of the applications received in Form No. 1 [for environment clearance] situated within the area of 10 km from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary and in respect of which environment clearance has already been granted and report before this tribunal about the correctness of the various statements given by the project proponents in Form No. 1,” the tribunal said.

“The said particulars shall be furnished by the next date of hearing. The National Board of Wildlife, in the meantime, shall also submit its proposal before this tribunal on the next date of hearing,” it added and fixed the matter for March 26.

-The Hindu, 26th February 2014

The NCR Planning Board will meet on March 6 to discuss, among other things, an approval of Haryana's crucial sub-regional plan.

The Centre's haste to get the plan, on which the fate of mega-realty plans hinge, cleared is evident in the fact that it will be only the second time in almost three decades that the NCR Planning Board will hold two meetings within 45 days of one another.

Getting the sub-regional plan approved is critical for the Haryana government since the Punjab and Haryana high court has put an embargo on issuing licences for real estate projects in districts, including Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonepat, till the plan gets NCRPB's nod.

Coming on the back of the recent approval it gave to the amended regional plan allowing construction in more than 0.5% of areas in natural conservation zones, the sub-regional plan, if cleared, will be another blow to ecologically sensitive areas in NCR like the Aravalis. Approving Haryana's sub-regional plan tops the list of three agendas that has been circulated to all NCRPB members for the March 6 meeting.

The state's revised sub-regional plan has incorporated provisions of the amended regional plan, including the provision to allow construction beyond 0.5%, with permission from environment and forest authorities. Like the regional plan, it also mentions that tourism projects in the green zones should be allowed "as per state policy".

"The sub-regional plan can only be cleared after the revised regional plan is notified. So, now it's evident that the amended regional plan that suits Haryana's demand will get notified in the next one week," said a government official on condition of anonymity.

The last time the NCRPB met in such close succession was 1986 when two consecutive meetings were held in less than two months.

The Union urban development ministry, meanwhile, reconstituted the board issuing a gazette notification on February 14 and one of the most interesting inclusions in the list of members was the town and country planning secretary of the Haryana government.

Questions are also being raised as to how the board can have different parameters for approving sub-regional plans of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. UP's sub-regional plan was cleared by the board in July 2013 with the rider of not more than 0.5% construction in the green zones.

TOI had reported that minutes of the NCRPB's recent meeting had been circulated among members, approving revisions to the regional plan. The approval triggered protests from green activists, who feared that realtors would undertake various activities in the name of promoting tourism.

-The Times of India, 27th February 2014

Some changes were ordered on the direct instructions of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister’s office has repeatedly ordered and orchestrated dilution of environment and forest clearances in order to fast-pace industrial projects, documents with The Hindu show.

In a series of orders and missives sent to the Union Environment and Forests Ministry over 2012-2013, the PMO instructed that regulations and norms had to be diluted or done away with. These included application of the United Progressive Alliance’s much touted pro-tribal law to the clearance process — the Forest Rights Act.

At times some of these changes were ordered on the direct instructions of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and required time-bound compliance by the Ministry, documents and correspondence show. To ensure dilutions, the PMO ordered that a committee be set up with a pre-meditated outcome of rolling back the specific regulations.

The orders were sent to the Ministry by Pulok Chatterjee, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, and other, more junior officials. Most of these were followed up and complied with, though some were opposed in parts for various reasons.

The PMO recommended that the requirement of environmental clearance for projects worth up to Rs. 500 crore be done away with entirely. Projects worth up to Rs. 1,000 crore should be evaluated only at State level and should not come to the Union government for clearance.

The PMO also asked that all buildings, real estate projects and Special Economic Zones be taken out of the purview of environmental clearance. It asked that expansion of capacity up to 25% for mining projects be done automatically without any public hearing.

On forest clearances, the PMO asked that projects requiring up to 40 hectare of forests, instead of the then existing limit of four hectare, be handled by regional offices of the Ministry. Instead of having one Forest Advisory Committee, several statutory panels should be set up across the country to become the final deciding authorities, the PMO said.

It demanded that the handing back of rights over forests to tribals under the Forest Rights Act be not verified before hiving off forestland to industries. The UPA’s flagship law for tribals disallows changing ownership of forestland until after the people’s rights have been settled. To put the forest clearance regulations in alignment with the FRA, the government altered the rules to ensure compliance.

In another letter to the Environment Minister, the Principal Secretary asked that a committee be set up to recommend dilution of some of the norms which were discussed earlier. The dilution was dictated, only the justification to do so was left to the committee.

The dilution meant exemption for buildings and real estates from environmental clearance, exemption for NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) and other road expansion projects up to a width of 60 metres and 200 km, and withdrawal of the norm on the height and width of roads linked to fire safety.

Easing of norms for the SEZs was done as desired by the PMO. Through an office memorandum the Environment Ministry ordered that public hearings for individual projects within the SEZs be done away with. A committee was set up to look at various issues the PMO had raised and it delivered the results as demanded, leading the Ministry to dilute the norms.

On direct instructions of the Prime Minister, the Ministry was informed that the panel to review the Madhav Gadgil report on the Western Ghats should be headed by Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan and should include the Joint Secretary or higher officials from the Urban Development and Road Transport and Highways Ministries.

-The Hindu, 27th February 2014

Experts say this is a distinct possibility, based on new research that is part of a wider project led by the University of Cambridge and Benaras Hindu University, which has been funded by the British Council UK-India Education and Research Initiative.

The multi- disciplinary project hopes to provide new understanding of the relationships between humans and their environment, and also involves researchers at Imperial College London, the University of Oxford, the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and the Uttar Pradesh State Archaeology Department.

Project experts have demonstrated that an abrupt weakening of the summer monsoon affected northwest India 4,100 years ago.

The resulting drought coincided with the beginning of the decline of the metropolis-building Indus Civilisation, which spanned present-day Pakistan and India, suggesting that climate change could be why many of the major cities of the civilisation were abandoned.

The research, reported this week in ‘Geology’, involved the collection of snail shells preserved in the sediments of an ancient lake bed. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/Popup/2012/3/18_03_12-metro19b.jpg

Read: Harappan-era seal found in Rajasthan

By analysing the oxygen isotopes in the shells, the scientists were able to tell how much rain fell in the lake where the snails lived thousands of years ago.

“We think that we now have a really strong indication that a major climate event occurred in the area where a large number of Indus settlements were situated,” said David Hodell, from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences.

“Taken together with other evidence from Meghalaya in northeast India, Oman and the Arabian Sea, our results provide strong evidence for a widespread weakening of the Indian summer monsoon across large parts of India 4,100 years ago.”

The Cambridge experts that included Gates scholar Yama Dixit collected Melanoides tuberculata snail shells from the sediments of the ancient lake Kotla Dahar in Haryana.

-The Hindustan Times, 28th February 2014

Last rites of senior national leaders will be conducted at a common memorial site starting next year. CPWD has begun construction work of Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, which is located behind Ekta Sthal near Rajghat, and is likely to finish it by November.

Spread over 11 acres, the site will have a common crematorium and a five-foot high semi-circular boundary wall. A photograph of the deceased leader along with their brief life history will be placed on the wall. CPWD officials say the crematorium complex will be constructed on 5.5 acres. The remaining area will be developed as greens.

In 2000, the NDA government decided not to make any more samadhis due to paucity of land in the capital. But it took the central government almost 13 years to pass the proposal and identify a site for the common memorial. Last year, the Union cabinet gave a final go-head to the Rs 22 crore-project.

"There is not much land available to construct any more samadhis for VVIPs. Therefore, departed national leaders will be cremated here subject to Cabinet approval. The site will also have space for public gatherings," said a CPWD official.

Construction work is in full swing and is likely to be completed by November. CPWD officials say its horticulture department will start landscaping work once the basic structure of the crematorium and wall are ready. "We have to develop 5.5 acres of land around the main structure as greens. We are in the process of finalizing the plan. But work can start only after August," a CPWD official said.

At present, more than 200 acres of prime land in the city has samadhis of national leaders and nearly Rs 20 crore is spent annually for its upkeep. But CPWD officials say maintenance is not a serious concern. "The main problem is of land. At present, there are close to 13 memorials in and around Rajghat. But, due to shortage of land, we can't construct any more memorials," a CPWD official said.

-The Times of India, 28th February 2014

Excavations in a pre-historic site in Chhattisgarh by archaeologists have yielded tools believed to be of 10,000 years old.

The significant discovery was made at the archaeological site at Tarighat, nearly 30 km from here, where remnants of an ancient city have been unearthed recently.

“We have found tools made of various materials at Tarighat site. The tools have been assigned to microlithic period and date back to 8000 BC (10,000 years old). The artefacts have been found 20 ft below the surface,” Tarighat excavation director and archaeologist in the culture department of Chhattisgarh government J.R.Bhagat disclosed to this newspaper here on Thursday. More than 100 tools of various materials and varied sizes have been excavated at the site recently.

The artefacts found were in shapes of blades, lunettes, scrapers, burins, and cores and predominantly instruments.

Some tools have suffered erosion in sharpness indicating that they were used items, while some others were found to be re-used. According to Mr Bhagat, in Mesolithic period, these types of tools were integrated with wood and used for skinning the animals and cutting trees.

Incidentally, thousands of Mesolithic tools have been found scattered on the surface at Parsuldih.

-The Times of India, 28th February 2014