This definitely isn’t a cry of a die-hard environmentalist. I am not going to point out to the alarming number of mature trees being felled year after year, thereby exposing Mother Earth in the most sorry state. It’s just another day called as the Environment Day celebrated (supposedly, though I doubt people are aware that 5th of June every year is coined thus) globally to create awareness about the environment; that reminded me of my environment. The lush greenery of your plush residential complex situated in an uptown area of the suburb is not the only thing that qualifies as environment. It’s surprising to see how the builder’s get away by instituting townships by clearing huge acres of forest land and compensating for the green cover by planting a few shrubs in the boulevard. Who really cares about the wild life that loses its habitat? Is there a need to wonder when one finds a cheetah in the middle of a highway or a snake crawling in your bathroom? Of course the cheetah isn’t directing the traffic! Where are these poor creatures supposed to go and dwell when their living places are wiped away mercilessly? Scores of environmentalists have expressed concern about the depleting green cover, the declining number of endangered species and they fear extinction of many of them very soon. Village Forest Committees are working with the Joint Forest Management agency to restore millions of hectares of the degraded forests. But our efforts are being out-paced by the rate of destruction of the environment. Our honorable environment Minister finds it unrealistic to get 33% of the country’s area under the green cover. Planting 2 crore saplings (government target) in a year and then further strengthening the Politico-Builder’s nexus can never really be a solution to our green problems (or green becoming grey problems)!
The problem with our country is that green means different to different people and हरी पत्ती still has an over-powering colour-based influence on the Indian mindset. People still fail to realize the true meaning of being in the civil society environment. It’s a lot beyond the trees and saplings; it extends to your behaviour and civic sense. If you don’t throw your bus ticket when you get off the bus, you are contributing to the environment by not littering. If you are using the public transport in the first place instead of your personal car, you are firstly doing more good to the road blocks and then to reducing green house gas emissions too! If you avoid getting printed slips of your ATM transactions and you work towards going the e-way, then you are preventing the cutting of trees by saving paper. If you switch off the lights and fans when not in use, you are conserving energy. If you redress a broken tap with urgency, you are valuing the resource of water. If you are not smoking in public, you are able love your lungs and be concerned about the air the others breathe too!
It’s fairly easy to love your environment. India is a beautiful country, landscaped very scenically and crafted with care. It deserves to be valued and nurtured and not be left in a state of neglect. Don’t dirty the beaches, don’t the paint the walls of ancient monuments in the colours of your jilted love, don’t spit on the road (it makes you look more detestable than anything else) If you can’t go on hunger strikes when government claims huge acres of land in the name of development, you need to realize that you can contribute by doing a few things right. It goes to the grass root you see, where every small step counts!
