A Public Information System to map unplanned urbanisation in Bengaluru unveiled

Scientists from IISc unveil a Public Information System to map unplanned urbanisation in Bengaluru  

A recent study by IISC that has mapped the transformation and evolution of Bengaluru city has found that there has been a sharp rise in built up areas mainly concrete and paved surfaces and a reduction in 79 percent of the water spread area, and 88 percent loss of vegetation that has impacted carbon sequestration in the last 50 years. 

This analysis was presented while unveiling a Public Information System BuiS (Bangalore Information System) and BLS (Bangalore Lake Information System) by making use of the free and open source software to help researchers and policy makers understand the extent of unplanned urbanisation happening in the city.

The water spread in the city has plummeted from 2324 hectares in 1973 to just 696 hectares in 2023, 98 percent of the lakes have been encroached upon and 90 percent have been filled with sewage and industrial effluents. This has also had an impact on the groundwater levels in the city (Times Of India).

Kharkhunda villagers in Rajasthan collectively turn barren lands  into common pastures

Khakhunda in Mandalgarh administrative block of Rajasthan faced a unique challenge as more than 90 percent of the pasture lands had been encroached upon. The absence of formal institutional and structured byelaws for common land worsened the issue. The village had no structures to harvest water or conserve soil moisture and livestock grazed on common lands.

In 2017, the village decided to change its situation by establishing a formal institution with the help of Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) supported by Axis Bank Foundation. Thus, the land that was once barren and encroached upon, has now transformed into a flourishing and vibrant landscape. Taking insights from Section 170 (a) of the Panchayati Raj Act 1996, the Charbhuja Charagah Vikas Samiti was established in 2017 that included a management committee of 18 members including women, who were trained in maintaining bank accounts, and handling records and payments.

The committee took charge of 36 hectares of pasture land, which is now under community governance, with soil moisture conservation work covering 21 hectares.  The land has cattle protection trenches that are not only useful as a safeguard but also help in water storage accumulating 90 lakh litres of water in eight cycles. Continuous contour trenches, over a stretch of 7,350 metres have been dug that store an additional 1 crore litres of water in eight cycles. This collective effort has significantly reduced soil erosion and increased vegetation and increased groundwater levels in the village (Village Square).

Traditional forest dwellers pledge to protect their environment and forests

Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers from nine districts of West Bengal gathered in large numbers in Kolkata on March 6 to voice their concerns regarding the dismal condition of The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, (FRA).

The major demands which were discussed prior to this meeting and reinforced for further awareness and action included implementation of FRA 2006 in its true spirit, cancellation of the Amendment of the Forest Conservation Act 2023, guaranteeing the safety and conservation of all natural resources, stopping any sort of forest encroachment or government work which does not take into consideration the Gram Sabha’s rights and approval and strict punishment for all government workers who do not cooperate in the process of Gram Sabha formation and functioning.

As per the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), which is the implementing agency for FRA, 686 community forest resource rights and 44,444 individual forest rights have been distributed in West Bengal till the period ending December 12, 2023 (Down To Earth). 

Catch the Rain, 2024 campaign launched

The Ministry of Jal Shakti on Saturday launched the 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain-2024' to optimise rainwater harvesting and other sustainable water management practices. The event themed 'Nari Shakti se Jal Shakti', which marked the fifth edition of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan emphasised the pivotal role of women in water management, conservation, and sustainability. 

Under 'Nari Shakti se Jal Shakti', the campaign seeks to establish a strong connection between women empowerment and the sustainable management of water resources. The campaign aims to cover water conservation, rainwater harvesting, geo-tagging of water bodies, establishment of Jal Shakti Kendras, intensive afforestation, and awareness generation.

The campaign also focuses on desilting and cleaning of water bodies, revitalising abandoned borewells, geo-tagging, and mapping of water bodies, intensified afforestation in catchment areas, snow harvesting in hilly regions, and rejuvenation of small rivers (Economic TImes).

IMD plans to set up new radars to boost weather prediction in the country

IMD plans to install 85 radars across India to improve monsoon predictions in the years to come. IMD now has 39 radars as compared to 15 in 2010. Apart from this, 1000 automated weather stations, 20 deep sea floating platforms on both coastlines, 30 ships of INS and coastguard, 206 voluntary observing merchant vessels send hourly feeds on the weather situation.

Twenty five new radars are coming up with one each in Mumbai, Pune and Chatrapati Sambhajinagar with more to come in other parts of India. Isro’s recently launched satellite will further boost IMDs observation and weather surveillance abilities (Times of India).

This is a roundup of important policy updates from 1st March to 15th March, 2024. Read our news updates here.