Don't know how to deal with those who call me anti-development: Jairam

In an uncharacteristic show of humility, Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh — under attack for 'preventing' progress — has admitted being clueless about how to deal with those who paint him as being anti-development.

The minister, who was recently forced to leave his moral high ground and approve the Navi Mumbai airport, said India has to make a "critical choice" between having a healthy environment and achieving 9% economic growth.

The minister's comments are seen as a reflection of his own struggles with many of his cabinet colleagues over approvals for mega projects that pose environmental risks.

The minister was reacting to a talk by noted American political and
economic thinker and Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom, calling for a
community-led approach to conserve forests.

"We [the forest department] can save the forests from local encroachments — the cattle, the people... all that can be managed. But the growth dynamic cannot be managed," rued Jairam, who has rapidly gained worldwide attention as an expert on implementing environmental law even in challenging circumstances.

He said he had no answer to those who asked him why the environment should take priority over economic growth, and by implication, over alleviating poverty, and termed the 'developmental threat' as the biggest challenge to the preservation of Indian forests.

Jairam has routinely turned down big forest-gobbling projects such as mines, power plants, and even dams, exercising his powers as the country's environment minister.

In a controversial move, he also set aside nearly 40% of India's core coalfields as 'no-go' areas where no mining would be allowed, to protect forests.

He has also written strong protest letters to many state chief ministers asking them to rescind mining leases given in protected areas and wildlife reserves, adding to his reputation as an 'anti-development' minister.

"If you want to have more and more open-cast coal mines, Tadoba is history... If you want Tadoba, you have to cry a halt to open-cast  mining," Jairam said, referring to the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve in Maharashtra.

"Why should a Tadoba or Mahananda [sanctuary in Darjeeling] stop a billion people in their quest for 9% growth," he asked rhetorically after the talk by the Nobel laureate.

Jairam also indicated that his ministry is willing to move away from India's long-held goal of having a third of its area covered by  forests, from just 21% at present.

"I don't know where the one-third figure came from... We should focus on regenerating the 40% of our forests that are considered open and degraded... [where] you look up and see only the sun," he said.