Is the “fruit-bowl” only for show?

“Van Thana” is the latest word in policing in India. “Van Thana,” which means forest Police Station, was introduced in Himachal Pradesh in May this year to check the timber mafia that is becoming increasingly rampant in the state. The state which is 66 per cent covered by forest timber is an irresistible opportunity for the mafia.

It is no surprise that the first exclusive green task police stations of the country were in Himachal Pradesh—the state had been in the forefront of energy conservation and efficiency for quiet sometime. In the last quarter of the 2008 alone, the state witnessed three major energy efficiency initiatives:

In August that year, the state planted about one million saplings on a single day and in October the state introduced a voluntary “green tax” for automobiles. The money thus collected would go into planting indigenous varieties of trees across the state.

When the BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) had reduced the CFL price to 15 rupees(same as that of incandescent lamps), Himachal Pradesh government supplied CFLs free of cost; four per household.

These initiatives though not revolutionary by itself, represents a public concern to the cause of environment and energy efficiency, something which is which is sadly lacking in rest of the country. Though the state was ranked only 7^th in power sector performance out of 29 states, this public mandate is the basis of sustainable and clean energy development.

Here, in this “fruit bowl” state, the life of the people is intertwined with its ecology. In the recently concluded General Elections in India, Himachal Pradesh was one of the few states where environment was an issue.

Though the government’s energy efficiency initiatives worked in paper, it often failed to work in the real world because larger social and economic aspects were overlooked.

Consider this: the states hydroelectric projects are facing delays because of protest by tribal. Besides environmental issues, livelihood of the people are a major cause of these clash. The Karcham Wantagoo Hydroelectric project on Sutlej river by construction major Jaypee Group, is a case point.

The hydroelectric projects are no doubt, a commercial viable clean energy source, especially for Himachal Pradesh which earns revenue, supplying power to the neighbouring states. The ADB’s Multitranch Financing Facility for the Development of Clean Energy, which in the last year ushered major hydroelectric projects in the state, over looked the water shortages its run-of-river projects will cause, besides the concerns of cutting down trees. Had the capacity development agency formed under this project focused on the environmental aspect of the construction, there wouldn’t have been so many hitches to its sixteen odd projects, and the resentment of the local people could have been avoided.

In India, the fact that Energy Efficiency does not stand in isolation seems to be often forgotten by the policy-makers. The Himachal Pradesh state governments promised “Enviornment Master Plan” should bring in a much broader perspective.