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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.

‘Vahini’ crowned NCP’s new ‘Maharani’

Mumbai: Damning all political ‘pundits’ and ‘punters’ on the fate of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after its President and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s numbing death in an air-crash on Jan. 28, his widow Sunetra Ajit Pawar seamlessly bounced into his place, both in the party and the government.


Feeling orphaned and rudderless, the top-brass quickly elected Sunetra, 62, a Rajya Sabha Member, as the new NCP President, as the NCP Legislature Party Group Leader and as the Deputy CM of the state – making her the first woman to occupy the august post – and ensuring continuity with change.


Most political analysts – who crowed of an impending doom for the NCP – were left speechless and breathless at Sunetra’s dramatic catapult into three key positions, wielding full control, barely 72 hours after her husband’s passing.


For the soft-spoken Sunetra, these official positions may be new, but she’s hardly naïve and boasts a quiet and commanding profile in public life, in the social and business fields, though she was rarely seen and hardly heard, letting Ajit Pawar bask in the limelight.


Political Clan

Hailing from a prominent state political clan, her reluctant political journey started in summer-2024 when the NCP fielded her against her ‘nanad’ (and Ajit Pawar’s cousin), Supriya Sule, a three-time veteran MP from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency.


It was intended to score political brownies over the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) of Sharad Pawar after the party he founded 25 years ago suffered a bitter vertical split in July 2023 - that even divided all the people in every home of Baramati.


The 2024 Baramati LS contest rivalled that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Varanasi), but in the ‘Vahini’ ‘Nanad’ fight, the latter emerged victorious. However, Sunetra Pawar took it in her stride and she became a Rajya Sabha Member in June 2024 – which she quit today after taking over a Dy CM.


Both Sunetra and Supriya enjoy cordial relations, both were MPs, both ensured the heat and dust of politics did not affect familial ties – as strictly ensured by Sharad Pawar since the past six decades – and was visible when the entire Pawar clan turned out to support her after Ajit Pawar’s sudden death.


Away in Shadows

Born in Ter, Dharashiv, Sunetra is the younger sister of former Minister and ex-MP Padamsinh B. Patil, and is a B.Com. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, but preferred to stay away in the shadows.


Silently working, Sunetra gradually built a public profile rooted in sustainable development, environmental conservation, women’s empowerment and rural transformation. Combining community-based involvement with institutional leadership, she played a significant role in shaping mass rural development models in the state.


In 2010, she founded the NGO Environmental Forum of India (EFOI), that focused on environmental awareness and sustainable rural practices, introduced India’s eco-village model, integrating sanitation, renewable energy, waste management, green-bridge technology, solar technology and livelihood generation into rural development. It caught national attention after Katewadi village in Baramati was transformed into the country’s first eco-village in 2008.


She led the Nirmal Gram (Clean Village) Campaign through self-help groups across 86 villages in Maharashtra, promoting organic farming, biodiversity conservation, water management and drought mitigation. Over the years, her initiatives bagged her multiple honours like the Sant Gadge Baba Swachata Abhiyan Award, Green Warrior Award, Cyber Gram Award, Nirmal Gram Award presented by then President Pratibha Patil, and recognition at the SACOSAN Summit under SAARC.


In 2006, she took over as Chairperson of the Baramati Hi-Tech Textile Park Ltd, a multi-modal garment manufacturing cluster under the Centre’s Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks. Employing over 15,000 rural women, the park provides subsidies, training and skill-upgradation facilities, and ranks as her flagship contribution to women’s empowerment, with widespread recognition.


Sunetra is a Trustee of Vidya Pratishthan, the premier educational institution with over 25,000 students, founded in 1972 by Sharad Pawar, and is a member of a Think Tank, the World Entrepreneurship Forum, France, since 2011, and is a Trustee-Advisor to an old age home in Baramati.


Sunetra Ajit Pawar – propelled into high-profile duties three days after her husband Ajit Pawar’s death – is usually seen sporting pastel-shaded plain saris of different materials, silks, starched cottons, with light designs, accompanied by matching or colourful or printed blouses.

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Sunetra Pawar was allotted excise, sports, minority development and Aukaf departments, but not finance and planning which her late husband Ajit Pawar held.

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