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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Thackerays’ ‘Taandav’ for trees, tigers

AI generated image Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the government for the systematic degradation of the state’s environment under the garb of development, even as the climate change poses a direct threat to the environment, economy, agriculture, public health and the future of both rural and urban centres. Questioning the state government’s claims of having planted millions of trees, he rued how the World Environment Day has been...

Thackerays’ ‘Taandav’ for trees, tigers

AI generated image Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the government for the systematic degradation of the state’s environment under the garb of development, even as the climate change poses a direct threat to the environment, economy, agriculture, public health and the future of both rural and urban centres. Questioning the state government’s claims of having planted millions of trees, he rued how the World Environment Day has been reduced to an annual ritual of tree-planting drives and clicking selfies for social media, though 90 pc of the saplings don’t survive even a day. “Only the government knows where those trees really are,” said Raj sternly. He recalled a "Blueprint of Maharashtra’s Development" he had proposed in 2015, in which he advocated how development without environmental sensitivity is hollow. Justifying, he said that the consequences are visible where roads, bridges and infrastructure projects are hailed as achievements, but even a short spell of rainfall can paralyze entire cities. Referring to recent reports on farmers returning from the fields after 10 am due to the scorching heat, Raj said that the worsening climate crisis has become an everyday reality. Citing official statistics, Raj claimed that extreme heat has caused productivity losses of nearly USD 159 billion and slashing of 160 billion work-hours annually in recent years. He mentioned the World Bank estimates that India’s GDP could plummet by 2.5-4.5 pc while 57 pc of the country’s districts sheltering 76 pc of the population stare at serious climate-related crises. Taking a swipe, he said while the governments boast about growth figures and economical rankings, they are silent on the staggering costs of environmental destruction. He questioned the development model “whether flooded cities, washed-away crops and unbearable summers” genuinely indicate progress. Claiming that Maharashtra was increasingly becoming unliveable for upto 8 months in a year, he said excessive monsoon rains disrupt rural life and urban floods cripple cities, while extreme heat make normal life a torture in summers in both urban-rural areas. Targeting the Centre, Raj alleged that nearly 173,984 hectares of forest lands were diverted in the past 11 years for mining and infrastructure projects to benefit the PM’s single favourite Adani Group. He said that these lands amount to 1,730 sqkm, or equivalent to the area of 16 Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) that is spread over barely 104 sqkm. Dissolve state wildlife board: Aaditya Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray has accused the Maharashtra government for issuing a permit to carry out mining activity in the sensitive tiger corridor between the Tadoba-Andhari and Indravati sanctuaries housing the big striped cats. In a strongly-worded letter to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Member-Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Thackeray sought his immediate personal intervention, sacking the Maharashtra State Board for Wild-Life (SBWL), revoking the permit, and probe against the Chief Wildlife Warden & Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) M. Srinivasa Reddy for the alleged lacunae. Aditya’s two-pager says the permit has been granted for “scientific exploration and excavation/systematic recovery of low-grade iron ore in existing mines in villages Hedri, Bande, Parsalgondi and Round Parsalgondi, in the Etapalli taluka of Gadchiroli district”. Last January, Aditya – MLA from Worli – had first raised the issue saying that the proposed mine would create only 120 jobs, including 32 permanent, and the estimated output is pegged at 1.1 million tons in a year. Referring to two letters of Reddy – on April 28 and May 21 – the SS (UBT) leader claimed that in communications to the state government, the PCCF had changed his stance on the issue. Aditya said that in the first letter, Reddy had effectively opposed the government plans for mining activity but in the second letter, he took a somersault, ostensibly due to government pressures or some commercial interests, “the U-turn is disgraceful and detrimental to India’s national interest” – and this abrupt shift in stance must be investigated thoroughly. In view of the contrary stance of the PCCF Reddy, entrusted with protecting the wildlife but failing to defend the NTCA and NBWL, point to serious malfunctioning of the SBWL, and hence it must be dissolved, besides reviewing all its decisions in the past three years, particularly those pertaining to hazardous activities in sensitive areas, demanded Aditya. 444 tigers roam in 11,000 sq.km As per the Status of Tiger Report (2002), and the Maharashtra Economic Survey 2025-2026, the state boasts of 444 tigers prowling in the wild along with other menacing creatures. The state’s total protected wildlife network of 88 Notified Areas of National Parks, Sanctuaries, and Conservation Reserves - including 6 dedicated to the striped big cats – is spread over 11,092 sq. kms as per current data.

MNS: Steamless engine in yard

Mumbai: When Swararaj Shrikant Thackeray, or Raj, launched the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) with fanfare 20 years ago, there was widespread optimism that his ‘steam engine’ symbol would travel far in politics, trigger realignments and perhaps emerge as a viable alternative in Maharashtra.


Raj’s dramatic break from his illustrious mentor and uncle, the late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray, and a split from cousin Uddhav Thackeray created more than ripples — it unleashed a wave of expectations. After all, compared with the soft-spoken Uddhav, he was a firebrand orator with a sharp political instinct.


Two decades on, the MNS is jostling for relevance - much like a commuter trying to board an overcrowded local at Dadar - in a formidable, competitive and unforgiving political landscape. The ‘steam engine’, barely having had a steamy roll, has lost much of its early sting.


Political ‘siding’

Albeit marginalised but still counted as relevant, Raj, now 57, is attempting a reset of goals - his recent speeches at Raigad Fort and in Mumbai signal an effort to craft a fresh political blueprint.


The first signs of this emerged in mid-2025, when Raj and Uddhav buried the hatchet after over two decades of estrangement. The Thackeray cousins joined hands for the January 2026 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.


Yet, as debates continue over who really gained from the alliance, the outcome was clear: the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ceded ground to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, which captured the BMC - ending the nearly three-decade-long Shiv Sena rule over the civic body.


Undeterred, Raj is building up the MNS and readying to embrace a changed political and social landscape, where a new generation of voters - Gen Z and even Gen Alpha - shape electoral outcomes, driven by aspirations and ambitions.


‘Twenty years ago, when the Marathi voice was fading, the MNS sparked an awakening through agitations and elections,’ Raj said last week, reminding how the party championed regional identity.


Poor Record

Nevertheless, the MNS’ electoral record highlights its shrinking political fortunes - it peaked in the 2009 Assembly elections, when it won 13 of 288 seats. Thereafter, the slide was steep and consistent - no seats in 2014, a solitary MLA in 2019, and virtual insignificance by 2024. The MNS has never won a Lok Sabha seat.


Several factors were responsible for this - Raj’s perceived ideological inconsistency; his pro- and anti-BJP political ding-dongs blurred the party’s identity; its core plank overlapped with that of the Shiv Sena, limiting options for supporters. His aggressive rhetoric, particularly targeting North Indians in earlier years and later Muslims, alienated potential allies and voters, while a missing organisational structure beyond a few urban pockets in Mumbai, Pune and Nashik left the party stunted.

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