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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.

River Revival

Maharashtra’s rivers have long borne the burden of the state’s economic success. As cities expanded and industries multiplied, waterways such as the Mithi and the Mula-Mutha were reduced to conduits for sewage and effluents. Against this backdrop, the state cabinet’s decision to establish the Maharashtra State River Rejuvenation Authority is both timely and laudable. With 54 of India’s 296 polluted river stretches located within its borders, Maharashtra’s problem is emblematic of a wider national failure to reconcile growth with ecological stewardship.


The new authority promises to centralise what has hitherto been a fragmented and often ineffective effort. Modelled on the National River Conservation Plan, it will serve as the apex decision-making body, bringing together key ministries - from finance to urban development - under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister. Its mandate is expansive: from sewage treatment and industrial effluent control to riverbank demarcation and the prevention of encroachments.


A corpus of Rs. 2,000 crore, supplemented by state contributions and corporate social responsibility funds, suggests that the government recognises the scale of the task. After all, river rejuvenation is not a one-off intervention but a sustained commitment, requiring both capital and administrative persistence. By embedding funding streams into the authority’s design, the government has sought to avoid the stop-start cycles that have undermined similar projects in the past.


Yet, if intent is clear, execution remains uncertain. India’s experience with environmental authorities offers ample reason for caution. Too often, such bodies become mired in opacity, their decisions shaped less by ecological priorities than by political and commercial considerations. The risk of corruption is particularly acute in such projects.


To mitigate this, tendering processes should be open and competitive; expenditures should be publicly disclosed; and independent audits must be routinely conducted. Without such safeguards, the authority risks becoming another layer in an already crowded governance landscape that absorbs funds without delivering commensurate outcomes.


Equally critical is the question of staffing. The authority’s secretariat is set to include non-governmental organisations and environmental groups. Their expertise is valuable, particularly in a domain as complex as river ecology. But the government must guard against the drift from expertise to activism. River rejuvenation is not an arena for ideological posturing; it is a technical and managerial challenge requiring competence, discipline and a willingness to make difficult trade-offs. The authority will need professionals focused on implementation rather than advocacy.


The stakes are high. Rivers such as the Bhima, the Panchganga and the Nag are not merely ecological assets but lifelines for agriculture, industry and urban settlements. A credible clean-up effort would yield dividends far beyond aesthetics, improving public health, water security and the overall quality of life.


Maharashtra’s initiative is a welcome step but only a beginning. The true test will lie in whether the authority can resist the familiar pitfalls of corruption and bureaucratic inertia, and whether it can assemble a team driven by results rather than recognition. 


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