Introduction
Since 1972, we have been celebrating World Environment Day.
From local bodies to the highest decision-making level, our fellow citizens
indulge in campaigning with a great voice that the resources are limited and we
should not over use them. Have these persistent campaigns percolated to the
ground? Can we see the discernible
change in the mindset of people? These are the vital questions we need to address
if we have to preserve something for the future generations. The fact of the
matter is that things have not changed much on the ground with environment
disintegration happening everywhere.
World Environment Day
As before, we had celebrated the World Environment Day with
great pomp and gaiety on June 5, 2015. On that day, we had campaigned hard for maintaining
order and utilizing the resources with great care. Many celebrities, including
popular actors, came with their precious views on environment preservation.
Every lakhs of rupees have been spent on the topic of looking after the
environment. This year the theme is “Seven Million Dreams, One Planet, Consume
with Care”. No doubt, the theme is well conceived and relevant in the present
world where the over-exploitation is the order of the day in the name of
cut-throat competition.
Response to World Environment Day
Some of the government departments such as Gurkha division of
Indian Army went out of its barracks to clean the environment. In response to
the Clean India campaign, the pet project of Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, many people came out started cleaning the environment around them. When
people saw the celebrities and functionaries on the street with a broom, they
started coming out in large numbers. But the enthusiasm died down when the media
glare was turned off. Many competitions were conducted for the benefit of
children to let them know the importance of keeping the environment clean and
intact. Radio campaigns were aired with
the slogans on environment preservation to target the distant villages that don’t
have television sets.
Reality Check
Despite the campaigns and sloganeering, nothing on the
ground has changed. The forest cover is slowly diminishing due to the felling
of trees. The only thing is that afforestation has picked up and people have
become aware of the need of trees in cooling the environment. It has to pick up
at the massive scale to offset the felling of trees, which is quite rampant in
many parts of the country. The authorities have been turning a blind eye
towards these destructive trends. As a result of this, the soil erosion and
landslides have occurred in many parts of the country. These environment indicators show that things
are not in good shape. Unless things are done at a war-footing rate, the days
are not that far off when desertification of land becomes quite fast. So, we
need to pull up our sleeves and start doing whatever we can to save the
environment from those people who want to exploit it in the name of
commercialization.
